I will look at House Swann first, as a possible connection
"May the Mother give you and your father conciliation Ser Weyland, but the Warrior is going to be busy with all the prayers in this tourney" laughing hard and waving Ser Weyland good bye as he moves the Tully guards around to finish the procession.
Ophelia goes in search of Cassondria so they can once again continue with babysitting. If she manages to locate Garran in order to get some last minute spear practice in before the morning's hunt, she will do so with Cassondria while out of sight from prying eyes. Perhaps inside a pavilion.
Lucen
Finally catching up with Darne, Garran says, "My lord, if you have a moment to spare, I'd like to visit the shopkeeps with you so we can get you a proper boar spear. Do you have the time?"
Darne turned about to see Garran "Ah, yes. We should do so, it probably wouldn't hurt to give father a bit of time to cool down and think before seeing him. But I do need to check in with Maester Lucen before the next event I think" he said following Garran to the market real quick.
As Ophelia takes Kritus, Weyland heads towards the encampment of House Wylde.
Maester Lucen approaches the Maester of House Swann to politely broach the topic of a union between the two houses.
Marcus approaching the tent of his lord and listening if Lord Deddings was still there. Couching and speaking up "My Lord, Marcus here. I would like to have a moment of your time. This is urgent and considers the reputation of House" Marcus urgently speaks.
Walking in after receiving lord Naeraleons approval Marcus quickly bows and continues - with a hesitation if Lord Dessings is still there, but the news will anyway reach him at somepoint - addressing his lord "I am afraid that we have a problem at the moment. There was an accident with the Queens carriage, damaged wheel, which resulted them to stop. This itself does not really matter to us so much but what followed after that is a dire matter. Matthias, without thinking approached the carriage almost immediately" I never knew he could move so fast, have to remember that "and began to help with the carriage. The worst part? He was the first one to arrive to help. I am afraid that there will be a lot of rumours going on and decision to be made of his "behaviour" so we are marked to be supporters of green my Lord" and with last words Marcus grimaces as he waited his lord answer and eruption of anger
Lucen
Maester Andres takes you for a walk through the pavilions on his way to the library "You seek a match for lady Cassondria? I've heard she is quite attractive, but also that you have better luck courting a shadow cat of the Vale"
Marcus
Lord Deddings was long gone, but they attended together to the Queen's arrival, and each returned to their respective pavilions.
"The reputation of the House, are you talking of the stupidity of my Matthias?" he puts his hand in his face "I understand his need to be seen, but he is naive and a fool of the greater things at hand, he does not know the stakes are so high" half understanding his behavior, but his angry part takes the better part.
"I saw it Marcus with my own eyes, I left immediately as discretely as I could, but I know some eyes were still on me even then. We are a House with valyrian blood, this war will see us choose a side, but I want to remain neutral until I can see a clear choice, now I have to decide what to do with Matthias and how to fix this monumental problem. If he wouldn't have been my blood I would cut him down, but even then it would be taken as support for the blacks, so I must regretfully do something more appropriate for him to learn this game if he wants to play with the Naelareon name so lightly" looking at Marcus "I must rest, the princes will be here in an hour or two, thank you for warning me Marcus, your loyalty will be rewarded in a proper time"
Little Birds
The great lords of the realm in attendance, wise heads know that the games played out on the tourney field are as nothing compared to the game of thrones.
Servants, squires, couriers and maids are all drafted in to the game of thrones by their paymasters and lords. Skulking in the shadows, they play a more dangerous game than many, potentially exposing those unskilled in intrigue to great risk.
However, those who can root out these agents of subterfuge will be able to turn the situation to their advantage...
Participants
Characters of any age may participate, however, the difficulties of the challenges are increased by 3 for anyone of adult age or older.
Post your rolls and roleplay, one post per character please.
Challenge:
Awareness (7) – to determine who is spying on your house
Athletics (7) or Cunning (7) – to catch the spy before they go to ground.
Persuasion (7) or Deception (7) – to extract useful information from the spy.
[Any specialty may apply to the rolls above, if justified in your role-play]
Consequences:
Select one of the rewards below – you may wish to note your goal in your character rather than in discussion thread.
Information - Learn a useful piece of information about a rival NPC house.
Misinformation – feed a false piece of information to a single House targeting yours with the Information option.
Countermeasures – increase the difficulty by an amount equal to your total DoS across all three challenges against those all those targeting your house.
On his way back to the yard, Matthias changes direction, deciding instead to go to the Drunken Huntsman for some food and drink.
Upon entering the Huntsman, he seeks an open table or spot at the bar (if the Huntsman has one). Getting the attention of a serving waif or Mistress Heedle, Pardon me. If you will, I'd like cider, some bread and stew.
Thanking his Lord Marcus swiftly moves out from the tent and returns back to watchout the happenings on their camp and sighs. The day has only just started but already it seemed to be a huge hurdle for House Naelareon
Challenge
= 10
Consequences : Information
As Marcus stands in the yard and looks around to see the ongoings in the yard, he notices that there is more people than usual. Somehow finding this strange since Marcus himself was doing most of the listing of people, who would come with them to the tournament and who not.
Trying to recall most of the servants and recognise even some of the distant faces Marcus notices something strange about 2 of the maids. Looking around and seeing that no one really paid attention Marcus moved slowly towards the maids as he called to them "You two there, I see you do not have yet work. Come with me or I will have guards whip your bottocks" using his booming and commanding voice to get their attention as the nearby House Naelareon guards turned to see what was going on
Looking sharply at them as they approached him to grap both of them from arms and bring them to his tent. Inside the covers Marcus swiftly throws them to the bed and approaches with a cruel look on his face "Now my fair maiden, I do have a few questions. It would be in your best interest to answer everything I want to know... or there will be consequences" as he slowly slides his sword out of the scabbard "I do not recognise you two from House Naelareon? Which of the Houses do you serve? What are trying to do here? and no tell tales missies. I have a short temperement with liars!"
The braver of the two looks at you back "Ser we were just here to help and talk to the men, we are ladies of the night getting to know the clientele" she smiles, quite the pretty girl "I work for Lyra Brewer, proprietor of the Painted World" she moves with seducing grace in the bed "I could give you some entertainment to easy your tension Ser"
Challenge:
Awareness (DC 10).
Athletics (Quickness)-16(DC 10).
Deception -11(DC 10) Spend Destiny point for extra Die on roll.
Consequence:
Information.
As Ser Weyland walks in search of the pavilion where his father's pavilion is set, he notices someone trailing him. He double backs around a set of Knights on horseback trotting by and catches the sneak unawares.
"I dislike being followed and my sword dislikes it even more. If you are following me, then you know who I am and what I can do with said sword. Talk or bleed, the choice is yours".
As Garran and Darne walked through the market, Garran stopped a moment to check the lace on his boot. As he did so, he noticed a young, thin man who seemed to be incredibly interested in a lady's hat that was on display. Keeping an eye on him as he progressed through the market, he noticed the man seemed to walk where they walked, always keeping a bit of distance behind them. Sometimes, when they would stop to inspect some of the displayed boar spears, he'd seem to lean towards them, as if to overhear some small bit of information.
Who is this fool who seeks to follow the young Lord Darne? Some pickpocket, no doubt, thinking him an easy mark. Well, he is far from the most dangerous animal to have hunted me, and I will ensure we are no easy prey.
At a turning of the road, Garran remembered a shortcut that afforded poor visibility to someone following another, and said to Darne, "My lord, we shall take this next left. It is a quicker route than the main thoroughfare to a very skilled craftsman." Garran moved them onto a 'street' that was narrower than they had been on, and more crowded for it, with merchant's stalls and wares requiring maneuvering. The young man, not as able to navigate the crowd as a Lord and his retainer, was quickly falling behind due to the press of the crowd and the obstructions in his way. With a grin, Garran waited until they were out of sight behind a cart, then said, [b]"This way, my lord," taking a quick right. They emerged onto the next 'street' across from the craftsman he had spoken of, with the young man none the wiser of where they had gone.
Challenge
[ooc]15 after removing two[/dice]
Consequence: Information
Darne made small talk with Garren as they entered the market talking about the various tactics they would employ during the hunt but Darne wasn't heavily invested, his eyes were wandering about the crowd and noticed they were being watched.
He bid Garren a moment of pause in their talk and dipped around a building to sneak up on the maids who were watching them and whispered sweetly in one's ear.
"If you are requesting a bit of my time, it is only proper to compensate yes? Pray tell, how would you compensate one of my stature?" he said softly trying to keep the conversation from prying eyes and ears.
"Lyra Brewer hmm. Is there anything you two have found out so far here? Any information regarding other Houses?" Marcus ignores the womans attemp and squirming on his bed as he kept questioning both of them
Darne:
They blush not sure what to answer at first "Well, we just wondering what a handsome man like yourself was up to and if you were as dashing as Ser Matthias, in his rescue, you share some ancestry with the Velaryon knight" as there thoughts of wonder "We must return to our lady Sosan Keath, my lord" they walk as fast as they can from the market's giggling.
Ser Weyland:
An Estren man, you recognize the uniform "Aye, Ser Weyland your sword may kill me, but you lack the balls to do it, besides I am free to walk were I please" he sniggers and taunts you before leaving you there knowing full well you wouldn't break the lord Paramount peace under his own roof.
Garran feeds some false info to the man of their intentions in the market.
"That Ser, I'm afraid you would have to take it with Lyra, this was our first stop" as they get up "Now if you do not mind, we are leaving, I know when we are not welcome, I just feel sorry for your men when they visit, their prices might be steeper" chuckling and ready to leave knowing you can't really stop her without creating a scene in the Naelareon pavilion.
Weyland grins at the man, "Aye, I'll not break the peace on day one. With eight days left you may wish to make yourself scarce before the tenth day. I have shown many men their balls and entrails and all other manner of viscera one more is of no consequence to me. Go sneak about like a woman perhaps you should wear a gown for your next attempt, it would suit the likes of you".
"Oh, now that sounds something daring my love" Marcus answers as a dangerous glint appears on his eyes "There are better times to have "fun" and business than now wont you agree. I will see and remember you girls" Marcus steps out with them as his gaze follows their leaving with a smirk on his face
2 birds to be found and hunt the dark thoughs appears on Marcus mind as the gaze of predator appears on them
As Marcus watches after the girls in his own dark thoughs his gaze glimpses a shape nearby tents of other Houses. Remembering seeing the person standing there also yesterday watching their doings, Marcus frowns about this. Much has happened and soldiers were known to have big mouths.
Approaching the soldiers of House Naelareon and silently moving from one to another, telling them not reveal anything about the business or doings of their House to the strangers as well having "night service" for the duration here - or there would be heads rolling down and Marcus would personally beat the soul out of them
Join me for a drink or not. But whatever your business, deal it open and honest, My voice edged with a matter of fact tone,I am an honest man and will tolerate no falsehood. I finish as I lock gazes with the man sitting at the next table. My hand resting on the hilt of my sword.
Awareness
Ophelia cannot shake the feeling she is being watched. Looking around, she notices someone.
Athletics
Giving chase, Ophelia manages to catch up quickly.
Deception
"I am glad I caught you. I think you were supposed to tell me something? What was that passphrase that I was supposed to say so you would tell me. . . Darn! I can't seem to recall. Before I get in trouble, would you save me? Please?"
Matthias
"Draw it, if you have to the best is going to get you is a trial by combat at the end, and the Beast of Bracken will tear you to shreds" the man smiles "Rather good show, all dashing and yet not the enough strength to pick it up, should have left it to real men, Ser Matthias, but is no worry, if all in your House are as you are" the man pays his drink "I'll be sure to let m'lord Bracken you want to have some fun" and leaves
Ophelia
"Save your self m'lady, you got the wrong person to ask for help I'm just a humble servant of House Velaryon" the truth or lie, you cannot tell, but the man leaves you there.
As the man reaches the door, Matthias calls out to him, voice touched with a hint of anger, A real man has no need of a simple errand boy to make himself known. However, I smile wickedly, voice filled with contempt, one cannot expect better from an animal.
Matthias finishes his meal, paying a couple of extra coin for the hospitality, before heading back to the Naelareon yard. Angered and troubled, Matthias sees Marcus, Marcus, I call out, We must speak with Lord Domeric. I wait a moment for Marcus to join me, before entering the pavilion.
My Lord, I bow my head, voice filled with regret, I beg forgiveness for my rash actions. I thought only to help, not considering the greater implications of what those actions would mean to those who watched. Matthias then looks up, bracing himself for his Uncle's wrath, voice concerned as he continues, My actions have drawn the ire of Lord Bracken.
Sighing as he again has to enter the pavillion of Lord Naelareon after a short time "I dont know if that is a wise choice Matthias. Lord Naelareon need his rest and he was tired before there is the meeting with princes." Marcus frowns but follows Matthias slowly as if resigned to his fate
Hearing what Matthias had to say Marcus added "It seems also Lyra Brewer has sent some courtesans here but I do not believe she would have done it willingly. Someone from Tully must have pressured her to do it, I am afraid my Lord." pausing for a moment while glancing at Matthias "I am sorry to disturb your rest My Lord. I will take my leave now to let you continue with your rest"
Lord Domeric is not in attendance but his wife lady Gwyneth receives Matthias "Child, you best not even search for him, he is sleeping right now and with some trouble"
Nodding to both your comments "It is natural they have turned curious, since your actions have more weight than you are even thinking Matthias, you literally screamed to westeros that House Naelareon supports the queen in the bid for the throne" she pauses letting the real problem sink in "Trouble with lords can be settled, troubles with Dragons only end in blood and fire Matthias." she says it like a mother speaking to her foolish child to show him his mistakes, then turning to Marcus "That one is no surprise Marcus, after what Matthias did, I'm sure at least half the Houses present have eyes to see if we truly lean green and the other half seeks the same or worse" true concern in her face "Matthias has now put in stake the existence of this House by showing us willing to participate, and while we have allies, we don't know who and how many, that is if we stay Green or switch to black. There is no neutral now gentlemen"
Ser Weyland approaches the area of the pavilion where his Lord Father will likely be holding Court. He shakes hands and smiles with servants he knows and nods to those who have come since he has gone.
If he is siting with someone, he will nod and respectfully wait his turn.
Once the path to Lord Jasper is clear, Weyland approaches. "Greetings father. Much time has passed since we have discoursed in person. Once I learned you were here, I decided to come by and pay my respects. The Riverlands are quite the journey from King's Landing, I trust your trip was pleasant?"
Matthias nods at his Aunts words. I am truly a fool. I best make myself scarce before I do anymore damage. Bowing deeply, With your permission, I shall take my leave.
Nodding to Marcus, Matthias seeks out Maester Lucen.
Maester Lucen, I have need of your services. What information can you provide or dig up about House Bracken. It would seem my rashness has drawn their ire and I do not wish to cause further harm to our House.
Lucen will search his memory for any information on House Bracken.
Knowledge:
Darne spent the time forwards finding the boar spear that Garran was so picky about. They honestly all seemed the same to him but the man was a Huntmaster for a reason so he did not question his requirements in the matter. Once they finally found one, Darne excused himself as the name that he had etched into his brain thanks to the flirty young maids needed some investigating and he could think of only one person to go to with it.
He headed to Maester Lucen and asked him kindly for any information he might offer on the House of Keath, more specifically Sosan. It was there he met Matthias. "Ah, I have been meaning to speak to you. Your rather quick action caused quite an upstart. It seems that you have gotten our House it's fair share of attention now for better or worse. It seems that House Keath, more specifically Lady Sosan of House Keath has interest in myself or possibly you thanks to your actions and I fear we must know as much about them as possible with the upcoming events." he said sternly though trying to play it off as if the boy had made a rather tasteless joke instead of what had truly happened.
Wonderful! Matthias exclaims sarcastically. A single, honest, if rash action, draws the ire of House Bracken, interest from Lord Tully, and now House Keath!?
Matthias takes a moment to compose himself, We may as well include House Keath with Maester Lucen's inquiries and investigations into House Bracken. My voice calm, yet filled with resignation.
So, Darne, what do you know, if anything, of the Beast of Bracken?
Darne smiled as Matthias at least saw that his actions had indeed rather haughty consequences. "Forgive me, while I might offer up some wisdom perhaps into the House...I feel it is better left to Maester Lucen. He is the one who has taught me what little I've managed to retain and I would not want to offer up any mixed information." he said keeping the smile like mask.
Returning to the camp with Darne, Garran parts from him as he seeks out the Maester. Moving through the camp, he encounters Marcus. "Well met, Ser Marcus. How goes your day? Did you see the Queen's arrival?"
Before the Princes is slated to arrive Weyland heads back to the confines of House Naelareon seeking out his Lordship and finding Lady Naelareon instead.
"My Lady I had a thought regarding our troubles from this morning and I wish to seek your opinion".
"Ah Garran. Yes, so far its only getting better and better... and I hope it would be the case. Unfortunately, yes I did as well did Lord Naelareon. Seems like our House has caused stir now among other Houses and ruckus. So far a lot of strange and unfamiliar people have been moving all around to investigate or just to see our reactions" Marcus speaks bitterly as he keep his watch on his surroundings
"Otherwise cant say much. The day is long from being over and I do hope there wont be any other incidents but who knows what can still happen during our stays here." as if resigning to his fate Marcus looks at Garren "How was the practise hunt with young lord and lady this morning? Any problems on your side?"
"The practice hunt went well, Ser Marcus. Darne at the very least should avoid embarrassment, and if the Lady Cassondria chooses to join, she should not fare poorly. I must ask, though, what ruckus has the House caused with the Queen's arrival?"
Garran appears genuinely confused, and not sure what Ser Marcus means.
Grimacing at himself as Marcus forgot that Garran was not really from noble families and was unfamiliar with these kind of situations.
Thinking for a moment what he should say but deciding in the end that it would be better to explain rather than just keep silent. Garran was one of the House Naelareon loyal servants but also trustable person. His longer time of service even spoke for itself.
"This morning the incident with Queens arrival regarding the broken wheel was unfortunate event but what really was more shocking in the eyes of nobility and higher status people, was how fast Matthias reacted to the situation. As honor and" and thinking for a moment to search for right words "loyalty usually dictates, loyal people should approach his lord or lady before any others"
Pausing for a moment to let the information sink in Marcus continued "Now there is a bickering and fight brewing between Queen and Princess Rhaenarya. Queen is wearing Green and Princess black. By arriving first, before Kingsguard or his loyal houses, Matthias send a "hidden" message to all onlookers that we are supporting the Queen. This of course was a major incident in political world" Marcus tried to explain in an understandable way
Lucen on The Beast of Bracken
Lord Haigh Bracken, a man the size of a bear and head of his house. Gained his nickname for fighting like a wild beast at a tourney were he killed Lord Blackwood's brother. Then he killed another blackwood knight in a trial by combat claiming he accidentally killed lord Blackwood's brother, he cleaved the man in half. This event is what ignited the last conflict between the Blackwoods and Brackens, they are known green supporters.
Lady Naelaron to Ser Weyland
Weyland smiles at Lady Naelaron, "The night before we left to come to this, event, I spoke with your Lord Husband. He felt that I should reconcile with both the Wylde's and House Estern. I was seeking to meet with my own father to do just that, however, it seems he has yet to arrive. Once that has been accomplished I shall approach the Lord of House Estern. It is difficult to know if they were following me due to my own history with my deceased wife Ilya or they are interested in my current House as the man was a buffoon who sought to incur my ire rather than speak with me".