Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 4183849" data-attributes="member: 3448">It's great to be back to posting, Fimmtiu!  I'm just happy that there are still people reading.I've updated the post two posts ago-- I located a copy of the letter and fiddled with some of the dialogue.   Here's a new post as well:“What is your assessment of the Princess herself and her close retainers?”“Her Royal Highness has a certain amount of hope, but she is under no illusions.  She hopes, at best, to be the junior partner in a political marriage, to give the Archduke children and heirs, and to bring her people under his protection.  She is remarkably straightforward for someone of her rank.”“She was never meant to be the heir, of course.”“Perhaps that is it.  In any event, she has hope, finds the Archduke comely enough, but does not expect to ever capture his heart.  But then, you know how rarely marriages are for love among people of our rank.”“You loved your husband,” Dame Brionna observed.“Deeply, but we were the exception rather than the rule.  I never had the impression that you felt similarly towards Sir Denro, for example.”“We would have made an honorable marriage,” protested Dame Brionna.  “Perhaps we didn’t get caught up in overly romantic things, but…”“I meant no criticism.  I was simply observing that your marriage would have been more about honor and responsibility than about love.  That is not a bad thing, but simply how things are for most nobles.”Dame Brionna shifted the topic quickly.  “What about her mage?”“He was the reason she survived.  He is a potent wizard.  I do not know for certain how powerful he is, but he can cast at least the lowest cycle of the rune spells.  That is unusual for a human mage.  Based on that level of power, he may still owe allegiance to the Court of Chaos.  I think he would prefer to go back to teaching; he was at the academy, when our homeland still stood.”“Really?  We plan on founding an academy.  Perhaps we could honor her by appointing him to the faculty, while also protecting her from chaotic influences.”“Note that I have no evidence for his association with the Court of Chaos, simply his power.  I also believe he is older than he appears.  According to rumors, he is beyond his ninetieth winter.”“My thanks for that information.  We will conduct some investigation of our own.  On a different topic, have you heard any recent rumors of inappropriate behavior by His Grace in the North or cruelty?” “Yes, but they have been disregarded out of hand.  The general sense is that he is a womanizer but not harmful.  His reputation seems to have started when he was quite young.”“That certainly seems to be his reputation,” replied Dame Brionna.“Not that I would suggest that His Grace is in fact a womanizer,” added Lady Elaine, with perhaps a slightly too pious tone to be fully believed. “Of course not.  I would never suggest such a thing.”  Dame Brionna winked at her sister.  “Just between us, I choose his grace’s chambermaids carefully.  For security reasons.”“Oh?  Has that been a source of threats?”“There was an assassin placed within the palace.  Quite comely--I have no doubt that she was intended to seduce His Grace into a circumstance where she could attack him.  Fortunately, we kept her, and all other particularly attractive servants, well clear of His Grace to eliminate any risks as a precaution even before we knew that there was an assassin among the servants.  When we did find out and went to arrest her, she exploded.”  Dame Brionna shook her head sadly.  “A good guard died in that incident.”“The whole thing is shocking.  Still, your precautions were clearly wise.  Even if His Grace’s reputation is overstated, he is a young man…”Dame Brionna deliberately made small talk for a while before bringing up the next topic.  “What are the rumors with regard to Dame Katherine of Lyneham?’“That is an interesting question.  She is known to be a member of the court--it is not fully public, but enough people have seen her that word has spread.  There is some talk about the possibility that she is a rogue.”  On the last word, Lady Elaine’s voice dropped into a whisper.  Dame Brionna relied on years of practice to keep a straight face.  “There has always been a popular sport among the nobles of Canberry of trying to figure out who is a member of the Archduke’s secret circle.  The odds are running against her, 3:2, because she is too obvious, but some people think that she is the Royal Rogue.  Others think that it is just an artful disguise, and that she is the royal psionic advisor.  She has never shown any psionics, of course, but that is precisely why some people wonder.  And then there are one or two that maintain that she is the Archduke’s mistress, but most observers agree that she would be hidden better if she were.”Dame Brionna resolutely gave no confirmation for any of those guesses even though she knew that they were all true.  “Nothing about her background?”“Not much is known.  She is clearly titled but no one is quite sure where Lyneham is.  Most people guess her title is foreign?”“Lyneham is a prosperous barony in the North.  Good hunting there.”Lady Elaine nodded.  “Ah, that would explain why few can place it.”</blockquote>

Verification