Pravus turns and looks at Eftil
"F!*~ing, I know, right? I normally sing and dance, or, buy shipments of wine, not hodge podge with the f$@@ers who drink it! This is WAY above my head man,"
"You shouldn't use that kind of language at the dinner table Mr Pravus, cause I think Miss Milena might actually wash your mouth out with soap and that would ruin the flavor of your food and that would be such a waste because it's really good food. Unless you're food has gotten too cold or too warm or something? I can fix that for you in a jiff if you like, change the seasoning too. It's a handy trick to have. I learned it when I was very little cause that way even if I got sent to my room for being too disrecpecketfill...er disresspitful....for talking back too much, and only got porridge for dinner, i could still make it taste like cookies." ^.^
Pravus looked down at Lysi, who must of overheard him as she wandered around the table, considering she was seated on the far right side, far away from him, and spoke in a whisper, but with a smile.
"And you shouldn't be listening to other's conversations. They might be talking about you and your awful haircut!"
He reached down and scuffed her hair.
"Now, run along you sweet little scamp, and stop walking around!"
He turned to the people near him.
"Kids! Gotta love the little buggers. Shame there isn't a dedicated, secular, school for children of insufficient means. They'll all grow up to be thieves and beggars I think. Should be a way to educate the kids, give them skills and a way to appreciate the finer things in life, like art, wine, music, magic and swordplay. Oh, and let us not forget the theater. Truly, one may hear interesting and provocative stories of history in the theater!"
"Lysi, you are quite correct. Pravus, we are at a diplomatic event. I am quite sure you are accustomed to wealthy, noble customers. Perhaps you should exhibit better manners. You are being quite boorish. Your language around these children may be suitable for the street, but hardly suitable for a table of dignitaries."
Vandrake leans over and whispers in Jobe's ear.
Arry leans in to talk to his sister.
"Ah, here it is," Lysi said cheerfully, stooping to pick up an apple from the floor. "It rolled away. Wouldn't want anyone to trip on it," she said airily, handing the piece of fruit to a servant. She smiled at Pravus and waved vaguely in the direction of his plate. "Enjoy your food," she said sweetly before skipping back to her seat.
Arry:
Rodrik scowls at Pravus' language, but says nothing. Instead he turns to Sister Milena, smiling warmly.
"I had suspected you might serve Oranna. I used to own a farm, and our village had a small shrine to the goddess. I made a point of praying there every spring, and I received many bountiful harvests for it. A shame the inquisition eventually found out about it, but I don't think anyone lost their head over it... I haven't had time to visit the temple in Lord's Landing, I'm afraid. How fares the faith now that the capital is free?"
Arry smiles, then accidentally* drops his fork. He dives down to pick it up.
Arry dropped the fork on purpose.
"Little thief so sleek and furry, come to my side in a hurry!" He whispers, feeling the magic flowing through him. Mere moments later a golden weasel appears in front of the young Cinder. "Okay, see the puffy pants over there?" He asks the weasel, point toward Pravus's legs. "Just crawl up them, okay? Maybe hiss and growl a bit."
Eftil nibbles his bread. This stuff is disgusting. "Yum."
"I expect any true son of Netyhs has magical talent buried in them, though it is rare for it to manifest before puberty. Perhaps you could show me your spellcasting after dinner, Young Master?" Manius is clearly quite intrigued by the Twins.
"Um, sure, I guess." Arry replies. It would be nice to have Diricawl at his side again. "That shouldn't be a problem."
Lysi rolled her eyes. It was like the schoolmasters all over again. Always wanting to test everything and see demonstration after demonstration.
"By all means, I enjoy old war stories." Postumius responds, hand on his chin, "Well, you know, much in Nethys is the same as it was 5 years ago. The only real open warfare right now is between Thusia and ourselves, everyone else seems to be waiting for someone to gain the upper hand. The Volmians seem content to attack anyone whenever they feel like it, and there's few enough resources to spare to retaliate. When the Empire took Volmia, it took many of the greatest mages of the age to conquer that thick jungle, and no one has the man-power to spare at the moment. There have also been rumours of the Lethond massing an army, though for what purpose, no one knows. Xoltia, Nethysia or Coraillan could all be the target of their attacks."
The Cardinal listens intently to Vandrake and Milena's explainations, then nods. "This Flawless Diamond Hierarchy of yours certainly sounds like a noble and reasonable goal, Mr. Tyrantex. As for Nethys..." you note that her eyes narrowed somewhat at the usage of the word "cult". "Nethys is among the oldest gods, and it without question the greatest in knowledge. Nethys teaches us that knowledge, in all ways, is power. He does not demand worship like the lesser gods, but merely that people are always learning and bettering themselves through knowledge. Not dissimilar to your Hierarchy, Mr. Tyrantex. Being in his service means a life of study and dedication to the magical arts, and it is certainly no cult."
Evengi is oblivious to the goings on of the twins, as he continues to talk about trade with the Ambassador.
Pravus takes a large bite of his food.
"Well! I must take my leave!"
Pravus quickly makes for the door.
"Mr. Jobe here does seem to have taken the initiative, doesn't he?" The Ambassador replies, sipping at his wine. "It is a shame that our two countries cannot trade more freely. Nethysia is sadly landlocked, and to get here one must past through Lethond. Dreadful place that. Feri. The embassy of course would never dream of setting food in Lethond. We teleported here. Sadly, teleporting vast amounts of trade goods is not feasible." Gaius glances at Eftil here. "What of you, good sir? Much market in Corail for a strapping young mercenary?"
"Yeah, my father works in the government and he got me a job as an advisor... but I'm too young to be taken seriously, so no one takes my advice. All I do is waste my time. All this:" Decimus gestures, encompassing the whole meeting in the gesture. "This isn't the real Corail. This is the Corail that Mr. Jobe over there wants us to see. I want to explore the capitol, see what Corail is really like. But we're both stuck here aren't we?"
Jobe breaks from his conversation with Tesla to whisper back to Vandrake: "He is here in proxy for a man of some repute who fled the ruin of Sehlash. The man I invited said he was too busy to attend and would send someone competent in his stead. I certainly will not be trusting his subordinates again... but it looks like Pravus is leaving, and good riddance." Jobe returns to speaking with Tesla, his smile returning.
As Pravus gets up to leave, Decimus also gets up, bows politely to the table, and hurries after Pravus.
The weasel didn't get the quite quickly enough, and would have to run out into the open to catch Pravus.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
"No, not much yet. Still waiting."
Pravus, once outside, spat out and threw up his food.
"Ah! Someone did f%+#ing something to that turkey leg; it didn't taste like shit before! F$!&! Who was it? Who? Come on, tell me!"
Pravus started talking to himself aloud.
"No, no I'm not! I'm talking to you!"
Are...are you talking to me?
"Yes of course you! You know who did it, don't you?"
Sorry, can't say.
"You can't get out of this! It's in the contract!"
As Pravus lied horribly to, again, himself, he noticed Decimus walking towards him. He whispered to himself under his breath.
"We'll have words later, you and me..."
The scoundrel then straightened himself up and wiped away any remaining spew upon his face, and smiled at Decimus.
"Decimus! You wanna see the city? Really see it? Then let us go see the city, the real city, and get some real food; the stuff at the party was really shitty! Where do you wanna go? What do you want to see?"
What Pravus didn't know was that Decimus had heard the scoundrel talking to himself, like an idiot at best, like a madman at worst.
"Oh f&#% me,"
And continued to hear him talk to himself.
"It's okay, I didn't know he'd get up." Picking the little creature up, Arry grabs the dropped utensil and gets back to his seat.
Arry comes back up from under the table and wipes his fork off. Those sitting on his side of the table notice he seems to have acquired a golden-furred weasel somewhere. He whispers something to his sister before he starts giving the mustelid scraps of food when he thinks no one is looking.
Arry:
"Well, I am sure it won't keep that way. Lethond won't stand still for long, the brutes are itching for a fight, and I'm sure the fact that Coraillan is built on their land has them riled up. The Khallans as well. They might be occupied with the remnants of Sehlash but make no mistake, they won't let Coraillan go unchallenged for long." The Ambassador looks thoughtful as he takes another sip of wine.
Decimus looks at Pravus warily... obviously something a little strange going on here, but Decimus was from an empire of mages... sometimes genius and madness went together. He swallowed hard. The man didn't talk like someone who would murder you in an alleyway after all. "I want to see the markets and the slums, and have a drink - not some fancy Rethean wine - in a local tavern. Does that sound agreeable?"
Before they go anywhere else, Decimus takes a moment and mutters several words and draws a silver chain in the air. He then touches the magical tracing to himself and a fine sheen is adopted by his clothing, which fades over the course of a minute or so.
The Cardinal raises an eyebrow at Milena's elaboration, but then nods. "Apologies for my reaction then. The subtleties of language. The Nethysian word for cult is religiones, and it always a dismissive or even outright insulting word. I am glad to have learned more of the Khallan language today, and of Oranna. I wonder if you might be so kind as to allow me to view your temple after we've dined. I would be most interested in seeing such a place." The Cardinal is clearly passionate to learn everything she can, and during the coversation has not touched her food.
Arry gets some strange glances, especially from Manius, who takes a moment to say a quick word in draconic with an accompanying gesture, then smiles. "I see you've already started, young Master."
Arry looks down as he scratches behind the weasel's ears, grinning a bit. No one had ever called him Master before. It was a term of respect, right? The golden mustelid fades away before too long, and Arry goes back to eating.
"It's just a little trick I picked up." He tells Manius, wondering what had just been said.
Having eaten her fill, and the weasel no longer providing a distraction, Lysi starts playing with her food. She remembers to use her fork at first and then she starts getting creative, building a tiny castle out of the mashed root vegetables as she stares off into space. She hums to herself as she thinks up a new performance routine, completely oblivious to the table full of boring grownups.
"By all means, I enjoy old war stories." Postumius responds, hand on his chin, "Well, you know, much in Nethys is the same as it was 5 years ago. The only real open warfare right now is between Thusia and ourselves, everyone else seems to be waiting for someone to gain the upper hand. The Volmians seem content to attack anyone whenever they feel like it, and there's few enough resources to spare to retaliate. When the Empire took Volmia, it took many of the greatest mages of the age to conquer that thick jungle, and no one has the man-power to spare at the moment. There have also been rumours of the Lethond massing an army, though for what purpose, no one knows. Xoltia, Nethysia or Coraillan could all be the target of their attacks."
Rodrik sips his Cognac. "A massive Lethondi army? I don't like the sounds of that one bit. Unless they've changed their tactics quite drastically in the last decade, which I'll admit is possible, we'd be safe in our strongholds. What a force like that could do to a countryside, however, is unthinkable. I pray that they drive their army west. Now, I hope you'll forgive my ignorance, but I only know the very basics of Nethysian politics. What claim do these other states have that the people follow them?"
"Lethondi are brutes, but to assume that they will be able to get themselves organized to be a threat anytime soon is a bit much. Unless you have heard anything? We certainly don't know of any warload riling up the tribes." Evengi pauses to break a piece of bread. "There is a fair amount of trade with the tribes, it would be a shame if it stopped. Saurian bone does make nice decorative accents on woodwork."
|
Pravus shoots a quick, angry glance...*sigh* at the sky, before he smiles even broader at Decimus.
"Oh ho! Magic user eh? I've thought about taking that up, but I'm more of a singer dancer really good at talking kinda guy, not a jack-of-trades-but-sucks-at-them-all,"
He started walking, making a beeline for the slums, and a little bar he knew called the Mermaid's Mammary.
"I know this GREAT place. It used to be called the Nixie's Nipple, but some angry parents burned it and another place called Devil's down to the ground, sighting how it would influence their children somehow, even though the place is great fun for adults; I guess you could bring your kids...anyways, the rebuilt, and Nixie's became the Mermaid's Mammary, and Devil's became Baatezu's...but by that time, everybody realized it was just for fun, except for this one b++&% who couldn't let it go after her son got drunk and killed himself, even though most people know it was because she was, you know, a b#$+%. Anyways, we can go to Baatezu's afterwards, but the food isn't that great,"
"And do you have any tricks Miss Elysia?"
"We only have unconfirmed reports. Our scryers are concentrating their efforts on the war with Thasia. Thasia's 'claim' is that their leader is the bastard son of the late Emperor. Of course, how they dreamt up such hogwash is beyond me. All the others offer no real claim to the throne, and other than Admiral Invictus, do not seem keen on the re-unification of the Empire. Ungrateful sods." is Postumius' response, clearly agitated about the goings on in Netyhs.
The Cardinal is about to respond when Rutilia of the University of Nethysia cuts in: "It seems to me that the Church's main role in the life of the every day Nethysian is to tell them what needs to be studied, rather than leaving it up to the individual to decide." The women stare daggers at each other. Lucretia, the young attache seated between the two, shrinks back and looks extremely uncomfortable. "At least the Church can decide what to study, instead of spending a good deal their resources on constructing buildings which go unused for most of the year."
"Sadly, the Lethondi have no want for our major trade piece. Nethysian dyes are legendary, as I'm sure you know. We do not trade much with the tribes, though there has been no overt aggression from them, though they refuse even a minor consulate in their lands, more's the pity." Gaius strokes his beard thoughtfully. "The Xoltians have at least accepted a temporary chancery, though our embassy there is afforded every protection. Can't trust the brutes."
"A brothel, is it?" Decimus asks warily, ignoring the comment on his magic. The man matches Pravus' long strides towards the slums.
Vandrake answers Rutilla, "Do you believe the individual has superior insight into what should be studied over Nethys? The Church of Nethys is the mouthpiece Nethys uses to give his wisdom and guidance to the people. Why should the individual believe his own knowledge be greater than Nethys's knowledge? If Nethys wishes you to study the building of dams, might he not have done so because he has foreseen the need for them to protect his people? When a god provides his guidance, woe to those that do not heed. For a god would not grant such wisdom lest he excogitated to come by it foreseeing what common mortals cannot."
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Lysi had reached the stage of mashed root vegetable castle construction where the peas were now defending the castle from an invading army of green beans, who were now bringing up a small bone to use as a battering ram.
She looked up at the person who had asked her if she had any tricks with an expression of pure innocence.
"No, not at all. I'm completely ordinary."
*smile*
The Cardinal looks rather smug as Vandrake makes his explanation, nodding along, but it is Rutilia who replies. She's making an obvious effort to keep her voice calm and steady. "You are correct there my good man. However, what we cannot be sure of is that the Church is providing us an accurate representation of Nethys' will, or that they aren't twisting his words to suit their purposes. As far as letting the individual decide.. well, let us take the example of Sannatus, shall we? A faction broken off the Empire, completely secular, yet it could be argued that their engineering knowledge far outstrips ours. I've had the oppurtunity to see what their machines are capable off, and they do it all without magic!" The Cardinal scoffs, "Indeed, side with our enemies, Ms. Vice-President, I'm sure Tesla would be glad to-" Tesla herself now enters the conversation, glaring at the pair of women as she interrupts. Her voice is cold and reproachful, the tone indicates she expects no rebuttal. "That'll be enough, both of you. Acting like petulant children. Remember your stations." Tesla returns to her food, leaving an uncomfortable silence on this end of the table. Both women look a bit sheepish.
Manius looks amusedly at the scene which has formed itself from Lysi's dinner plate. "Didn't your parents tell you not to play with your food young lady?" he says with mock seriousness. Despite the levity in his voice, it is clear that Lysi has also piqued his curiosity.
Lysi shrugged. "Not that I recall. They were too busy yelling at each other. Besides....there are so many worse things that I could be doing," she said with an impish grin.
Vandrake makes eye contact with Rutilia. "There is an easy way to determine if the Church is not providing the proper guidance. Determine if your priests can still call upon the power of Nethys. If they can, then his favor is still upon them. If they cannot, then Nethys is no longer with them and is displeased. Priests are not wizards. Their magic is not intellectually based. Their magic is provided by their god or goddess. They can do almost nothing without them. If they are violating their god's commands, their power will be taken from them. I do not see how you can be confused about whether or not the will of Nethys is being carried out. And Sannatus's machines should be nothing to the power of Nethys. A god can provide power a machine cannot possibly compare to. All of this is elementary. The next time you doubt the Church of Nethys, ask the priest to display his power. If she cannot, then you will know Nethys does not favor her words or that particular action. If she is able, then Nethys favors her. We clergy are the instruments of a god, not god's ourselves."
"What is to trust? As long as the trade items are worth while and both parties agree, trade continues. I wouldn't trust the smelly tribesmen at my auntie's for dinner, but if they bring trade-goods, I am willing to work with them."
Lysi shrugged. "Not that I recall. They were too busy yelling at each other. Besides....there are so many worse things that I could be doing," she said with an impish grin.
"Please don't make her prove it. I don't know where she gets them, but I think she has an endless bunch of spiders. I woke up covered in webs once."
"Oh? Admiral Invictus seeks reunification? Is he willing to work with your Empress?"
Rutilia looks at Vandrake comtempably and says: "Indeed? Much in the same ways that sheep are not shephards. It is very arrogant to assume you know the will of the gods, or their motivations. Why do they grant clerics power at all? Surely, it seems, in some cases it is to carry out their will, though in others their motivations seem to be extremely subtle." Rutilia leans back smugly and says: "If Nethys is truely on our side, why do the Thusian clerics of Nethys still have their powers and blessings? Truly strange, wouldn't you agree?"
The Cardinal willfully ignores Rutilia and instead focuses on the conversation between Tesla and Milena "I would indeed love to see a temple to Oranna. The Nethysians are not a very religious people, so the only real temple to Oranna is in the old capitol, which is now closed to outsiders. Jobe and I have an... engagement to attend to after this dinner, but perhaps tomorrow we could tour the temple?"
"It is arrogant to question the will of the gods. It is wisdom to understand it. We clergy spend our entire lives dedicated to understanding and teaching the will of a god. You ask why do gods grant clerics power or guidance at all? The answer to that is simple: they have an emotional bond with their followers. Just as a parent takes joy in the raising of a child from infant to adult, so does a god enjoy seeing their followers take up their teachings and create from them a society they deem worthy of their notice. I assume in your land Nethys is revered for having provded Nethysia with such guidance over many centuries." Vandrake pauses a moment. "As for the answer to your second question: Nethys provides Thasian priests with power becuse they are faithful. Why do you presume Nethys should take sides in the petty conflicts of mortals? He provides beneficial guidance to his faithful, not support for one group of mortals over another. I assume both Nethysia and Thusia will be granted his power and guidance in equal measure should they have conflict. For his concern is not which of his faithful should achieve victory, but to be there for both afterwards to heal the wounds of mortal conflict. Why should it be otherwise? A god takes all his faithful into his realm and protects them after they are fallen allowing them to lay aside the trappings of the mortal realm including nationalism. What would you expect Nethys to do? Divide up his own realm as mortals divide up the physical world? Ridiculous. The answers to your questions are easily discerned if one spends the time to understand a god rather than expects them to act with the same caprice and simple motivations of a mortal."
Manius looks a bit worried at Lysi's suggestion, and is further supported by Arry's interjection. "No no young lady, that won't be needed." He chuckles uneasily and goes back to eating his food.
"Oh, by all means. I wasn't specifically talking about trade, but about protecting our ambassadors in Xoltia. Pardon if I wasn't completely clear. We've had war with Xoltia in the past 10 years, and so you can understand why we'd be leery."
"Thus far he has made no political inclinations whatsoever, except to state that he would see the empire whole again. He is allied with the so-called True Nethysians, and I believe they are waiting to see the outcome of the war between Thusia and ourselves before pledging support."
You get the feeling that Tesla isn't telling you everything, but also that her interest in the temple is genuine.
"I would personally expect Nethys to intercede and stop the fighting, but perhaps that is why I am not religious... My point remains that, like you said, it is not for us to understand the mind of a diety. They are complex and subtle, so you would agree that even if their followers provided the wrong information, or were inaccurate or false in the telling, their god might overlook it as mere "mortal squabbles", and still choose to provide their followers with-"
It is at that moment that all conversation around the table ceases as the shockwaves of what must've been a massive explosion rocks the temple, shattering one of the panes of stained glass. The sound quickly follows, loud and clear enough that the explosion must've been close. Jobe is instantly on his feet, his chair falls to the ground. "Servants, quick! Get the delegation to safety in the Catacombs under the temple!"
As the room explodes into action, Jobe's gaze lingers a long moment on Tesla before turning to the table. "I've got to go see what that was, you are free to either join me or go with the delegation to the catacombs, but I have to go now, so choose quickly." Jobe turns and hustles to the doors of the temple.
Being a couple blocks away, the explosion can still be heard, and a massive plume of smoke rises up from the street a ways back.
Eftil is already reaching down for his longspear. "I want to see what it was."
Vandrake is startled by the sudden explosion. He regains his composure quickly, "Arry, Lysa, you should join the delegates in the catacombs. I shall join the delegates as well unless you have need of a priest, Jobe."
Eftil smiles a little, though it looks forced. "I hope not."
Pravus laughed.
"OH NO! No, not a brothel...unless that is your fancy? But no, I wouldn't want to eat the food at a brothel...assuming they have food of course..."
As Pravus imagined Strawberries and Whipped Cream, the explosion shocked him from his thoughts. He looked at Decimus.
"Should we go back!? I also know this great place where we can hide..."
He eyed some nearby bushes warily.
"No, no I don't. I'll follow your lead Decimus,"