I think Kyra could help! She could try to distract some of the guards with a Sway/Consort - perhaps in her boy disguise, pretending to be looking for work.
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Sorry, work is very hectic and I don't have many spare brain cells. Are we splitting up, or are we all going together to Luthor's home?
Sorry to see you go, Luciana, but you need to do what's best for you. +1 to what GM WW said. :) Take care, and best of luck with everything!
Kyra could Sway/Consort other Blue Devils to get more info on Ambrose, although they're not usually her scene.
Kyra has brought a selection of candied fruits and spiced roasted nuts to share with the others - a small sample of what the Arbor had to offer to a prospective customer. It took great effort of willpower on her part to put the waxed paper bags on the table rather than secret them in her room to eat all by herself, and an even greater effort to not reach into the bags every ten seconds. Instead, she distracts herself with the matter at hand. "That is what I was thinking as well. Besides, ideally we should do this in a way that the Bakers can trace back to us, but the Arborists cannot. It would not do to smooth one set of feathers only to ruffle another. Buying the land ourselves would be too obvious, but perhaps we can purchase some of the debts that Lord Ambrose has."
I don't mind a slower pace. Just started a new job, so I have less time and brainspace than before. :D
Definitely talk to people. The fictitious party is a pretext for Kyra to stick her nose into people's business via gossip. So Consort/Sway to gather information, if that makes sense.
It was tempting to dismiss Lucretia's request (demand, really) as petty and unimportant, but Kyra knew that sometimes an apparently insignificant event could spin into unforeseen consequences. Sure, this Lord Dahzee may not be particularly well-known or well-connected, but who knows who else overheard that particular bit of snubbing and might decide to leverage it as a dig at House Bastien. Lucretia was, after all, the scion of the Prince, and her reputation was intrinsically tied with the reputation of the House. Still, Kyra disagrees with the suggested approach. No, the best way to deal with this is to discredit Lord Dahzee's taste and make him infamous as an unreliable arbiter in that area. It would take a bit of digging and judicious rumour-spreading, which is far more achievable than what Lucretia asked - and Violetta is right that their other priorities outweigh this matter. She accepts her assignment without comment, already thinking of what to wear for her visit to the Arbor. One advantage of being such a young Major House was that the Hand was not notorious yet. As such, she could affect the guise of a noblewoman of middling rank looking to cater her upcoming party. This had the advantage that it would prevent rumours spreading about House Bastien being seen in the area, which would a) tip the Bakers' Guild, and b) annoy House Elanda.
13 Gennaio 794 Kyra takes a pastry, but does not eat it. The sight of the delicate, flaky dough baked to golden perfection and the smell of buttered mushrooms and herbs is tantalizing, but already her mother has been making cutting remarks about maintaining one's silhouette and sudden ill-fitting gowns. The food at the New Year's gala had been out of this world, and Kyra supposes she did overindulge a little bit. Instead, she takes polite sips of the fragrant tea while the wheels of her mind are turning. Lady Calliope's choice of words snags her attention; often with people it was more about perception than reality. Even if the truth was that the Bakers' Guild had been slighted or shortchanged in some way, Kyra's first impulse is to try and reframe the situation to House Bastien's advantage without actually giving away anything of substance. If that didn't work, or was unlikely to work, they would need to figure out what was the bakers' greatest perceived loss: money, status, influence, something else? And conversely, what were their goals in the short term that house Bastien could assist with. Lady Calliope's choice of other words - 'goodwill, our word' - unfortunately seem to indicate that Kyra's preferred approach of buttering them up with pretty words would be insufficient in this case. Some loss of trust has occurred, and that needs substantive action to remedy. As she waits for Lady Calliope to answer Sasha's question, she idly wonders if the grain smuggling her protégé had uncovered is anything that the guild would like addressed, or if it's their own doing.
12 Gennaio, 794 Kyra had agonized for hours over what to wear after the summons came. She rarely saw Cesare, so she could not waste this opportunity. She had to present herself most advantageously, but not in a way that clashed with his tastes, both their stations, or the locale where they would meet. An impossible problem. In the end she opts for a striped silk shirt and a low cut leather vest that emphasizes her waist, worn with low-waisted velvet trousers that flare at the bottom over low boots. The outfit is completed by a long coat of fine wool with discreet silk embroidery on the cuffs and lapels. The style speaks of practicality; the shirt and vest somewhat resemble what many dockworkers wear at work; the quality of the materials and the precise fit speak of wealth and taste. No jewelry, save for a thin chain around her waist that makes a V-shape at the front, ending in a jeweled spike. As she arrives, she takes in the spread on the side table, fervently hoping that Cesare won't expect her to join him in drinking the horrid thing he so enjoyed. She arranges her features into an expression of pleasant expectancy; House Bastien had many problems, not just one, but she waits to hear which particular one Cesare is referring to.
I can change Calista's name to avoid confusion. I picked it means "very beautiful" and because it's similar to Calistria. And the shirt is Kyra's, but her mother wanted to borrow it as well and got angry when she found out that Kyra had already loaned it to Sasha.
8 Gennaio, KYRA: About an hour later, a pie and its alleged meat filling sitting uncomfortably in her stomach, Kyra is watching the waves surge against the dock pilings, blissfully unaware of what one of her coterie members (and her shirt!) are going through only a few hundred meters away. The freezing rain stinging what little of her face she left exposed is not conducive to paying much attention to your surroundings, anyway - or, indeed, to lingering too much in the open, no matter how thrilling it is to watch the fury of the storm. A scant fifteen minutes is the most that Kyra can endure before beating a hasty retreat back into the embrace of the city, which is anything but warm at the best of times, but it is in this particular instance preferable to freezing to death on the docks.
Back at Jian's place, with the soaked clothes hanging next to her friend's tiny stove, a hot cup of tea in her hands and Jian's spare blanket wrapped around her shivering body, Kyra is beginning to feel slightly more human. She watches Jian work, the silence punctuated by the drip of water on the broadsheets laid under the wet clothes and the scrape of Jian's tools as she crafts one of her intricate confections. She might spend the night here. And in the morning, go back to the house and mention that little Corvetto-Margravine Octavia business to Calliope.
I'm falling a little behind as I've been busy, although I also confess that I don't know what to do with Kyra at this point. My initial thought was to help Sasha, but she seems to have things figured out. Kyra is out of her element and on her own; the only thing I can think of is backtracking and investigating that Margravine Octavia business.
Correction: I don't think my mother is getting that shirt, which is fine by me! :D
There was something almost fun about tumbling into the gutter, into getting dirty. Sure she'll have to scrub the clothes clean later, but what else was new? Calista had been making them wash their own clothes since they were five or six, and only relented when Amparo pointed out that their chafed and calloused hands were starting to cause Comments in society. And where, oh where are the Corvettos going in such a rush, on a day like this? Olívio runs a bit after the vanishing carriage, hand outstretched. "Spare a fiore, sir! I'm very hungry, sir!" That last part was true, Kyra realizes; it was about lunch time and she had stormed out without eating, of course. Making a mental note of the carriage's rough direction, she turns down a street leading to the Docks. There would not be many street vendors in this weather, but perhaps she could risk a tavern. Being discovered would be disastrous, potentially deadly. But the sharp edge of danger is making her skin tingle and her heartbeat dance in what she tells herself is excitement, not fear. A half-bell later, she is standing at the mouth of an alley, marginally sheltered by the roof overhang, considering her options. Petra has his little stand out, as expected, but she's not that hungry. A little farther up the street there's a nameless eatery serving clam chowder and fish slurry, but Kyra cannot abide those textures in her food, so that's another pass.
@GM - I'm putting Kyra in the Docks area as that's where I understood Sasha to be and I'm hoping to meet up.
I can see Kyra as the ring finger. Now, the question is, who is Littlefinger?
The freezing rain cools Kyra's burning cheeks, a welcome sensation for about three seconds. But she does not seek shelter, not yet, her mind full of fanciful imaginings. She is lying in her bed at home, her face pale except for two spots of colour in her cheeks. Her lips are chapped and there is a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her hair ripples across the satin pillows, a dark nimbus. The House Grace stands at one side of the bed, hands clasped before her, brows pinched in concern. Kyra closes her eyes for a moment, the better to visualize every detail of the scene. And now, for the sweetest part. Calista, her face drawn, a trembling hand holding a handkerchief over her mouth. To hide the fierce biting of the lip, the... no, the trembling hand is too much. Calista would never allow herself such lack of composure. Her hands folded, then, to mirror the posture of the Grace. Her voice is calm as she asks, "Is there no hope, then?". Oh yes, her mother will be sorry for sending her into the storm like this. She will weep bitter tears when Kyra will catch a deathly cold and fall ill. Thankless. Ungrateful. Under the hood of her cloak, Kyra snarls. I am plenty grateful and thankful, mother. For the countless lessons in selfishness that you have imparted upon me. She is so consumed with her fantasy of revenge and the imaginary rematch she is having with her mother that she barely notices where she is going. Their house is in the Gilt, of course, on the southern side and as far as you can get from the Palace while still being in the Gilt - but that gives them a proximity to both the Silk and the Rose that Kyra appreciates. Now, she finds that her feet are carrying her on the familiar route that skirts the western edge of the entertainment district and ends in that liminal section of the city that is not quite the Rose and not quite the Groan, but an awkward space between them. Her friend Jian lives there, as rent is cheaper than elsewhere and it is not so far from where most of her customers live. Yes, getting into her other skin will do her good. It would be unconscionable to walk to the Arsenal in this dress, in this weather. The familiar building comes into view, a tall, narrow three-story house with a hoist beam and a pulley at the very top. The trouble with building in a city that is half water is that it is nearly impossible to have a basement; start digging more than a meter and the water seeps through the ground. So most of the houses built next to the canals use their attics for storage instead - hence the hoist beams. The one where Jian lived had been sub-divided a long time ago and her friend's apartment was tiny, but Kyra always felt comfortable there. She picks up the pace for the last dozen steps or so, eager to get out of the miserable, stinging sleet, and she almost runs into someone coming out the front door. He is cloaked as well, and his broad-hemmed hat is low over his face, but those boots are a dead give-away. A few moments and a soft knock later, Jian opens the door. She is wearing her apron, stained by a dozen or more shades of paint, her dark red hair gathered under a similarly stained scarf. They appraise each other with the practice of long familiarity; Jian can tell that Kyra had another fight with Calista, and Kyra can tell that Jian is tense. They hug once Kyra sheds her wet cloak, and Jian moves into the little kitchen area to set water boiling for the tea - and likely to give herself something to do rather than... "What was the bárbaro doing here? Did he want something from you?" Jian sighs, shakes her head. It is not an answer to Kyra's question, but a sign that she doesn't want to talk about it. "Will you want your other clothes?" Kyra thinks about pressing her, but whatever it is that's bothering her, Jian will tell her in her own time. "Yes. I'm talking a walk through the Shore." Jian nods, sets the steaming cup of tea on her work table, then kneels next to her narrow bed to pull out a trunk from underneath. Inside is Kyra's greatest secret - or at least somewhere in the top three of her greatest secrets. Carefully wrapped in oiled paper and hidden under spare bedsheets and blankets, two male outfits. One is wool and fine linen, reasonably well tailored - the clothes of a wealthy tradesman or clerk, but not a noble. The other one is more suitable for what she has in mind today, the heavy fabrics of a day labourer on the docks, a little frayed at the hems, faded by the sun and stained with sweat. Of course, the discoloration and stains were Jian's handiwork and not the real thing - Kyra had her limits. The last item is indispensable for both outfits, a long strip of woven cotton that she wraps tightly around her chest to flatten it, then secures it with a couple of pins. She gathers her long hair on top of her head, tying it and pinning it before she dons a workman's flat cap. Of course, the clothes are just one part of it. Her posture shifts, her limbs are looser, the ramrod straight back and highly-held head that Calista and Caliope had drilled into her over and over curve and droop. Somehow, she is bigger. It's not that she has physically grown, but she takes up more space, lets her footfalls be that little bit heavier. With one hand she picks up the tea cup and slurps - not sips - from it, while the other is reaching for the stick of charcoal that is ever present on Jian's table. A smudge on her fingers is transferred to her upper lip; just a shadow, the peach fuzz of a boy who is not yet old enough to grow a proper mustachio. There, she is ready now. Kyra walked into the building, but out comes Olívio, hunching his shoulders against the wind and rain as he ambles across the southern part of the Groan towards the Shore. It was rather fortunate that the weather was this bad; when she was in this mood, the one thing that helped her feel better and calm down was watching the waves crash against the piers and seawalls. Gazing at the sea and the horizon for hours on end, the tumult of the water echoing her anger and pent-up frustration.
I found a map of Ilrien here and I'm thinking that something similar might be useful for us as well, a place to mark where everyone lives, where our friends, rivals and paramours live and any other places of interest. Any thoughts on the best platform that supports thesee kinds of custom markers and annotations?
The Hand is perfect, five fingers and everything. Perhaps with an adjective, like 'reaching' or 'gloved'. The latter would fit better if gloves are used for formal challenges.
How about The Chimeras for a coterie name? We're a bunch of misfits with vastly different skills and goals, but the aspiration is that we will come together and work as one organism. Also, fire-breathing.
I hope you at least figured out which historical figure Constantin is in my head. ;) I have not. =/
Thanks for spotting that, updated my profile to remove the stray second dot in Survey.
Special Abilities: my vote is for Well-Earned Acclaim and The Waters In Which We Swim. I like A Matter of Charity for flavour, but the use may be too limited. Upgrades: The Lady's Blessing if we take The Waters in Which We Swim, otherwise Open Hearts to Open Eyes. Strength: I prefer Intelligence over Magic as the more populist choice, as only a small percentage of the population has the Knack. Reputation: Ambitious or Daring. Luciana's bonds: Kyra is Iberican as well, so a bond makes sense through shared heritage. Perhaps "Luciana is my rock. When the plan goes awry, I can count on them" or "I've often found myself apologizing for Luciana. No matter the gaffe, I'll smooth it out". The latter would make sense if Kyra was to help Luciana learn how to do the whole "be a noble" thing.
The Canals make sense due to the House's alliance with the Gondoliers. It is fitting for both Transport and Intelligence - which might put us at odds with House Lovell, and that would be delicious indeed. The newcomers are challenging not just the status quo and the old structures of power, but also bringing new fashions and tastes into the city, which are becoming more popular. As for the Prince, I envision them as a rather ostentatious matron, both calculated and ruthless (think Chrisjen Avasarala in The Expanse).
Yes, those were the vibes I was getting from Violetta - the mastermind planner, the one who notices patterns and connections, and leverages them. I love your bit of worldbuilding as well, what a mystery!
@Violetta - I was going to focus on Spirit in the future, in fact - since Kyra is less cerebral and more charismatic/alluring in my view. So if you wouldn't mind swapping, I'll redistribute some points to reflect that. Violetta strikes me more like the long-con, planning type, while Kyra likes to live in the moment. The bond you suggested sounds good to me!
@Sasha: yes, Calista would absolutely take that sponsorship as an unacceptable sign of Kyra's independence. Love your twist on the bond!
** I was going to take a couple of abilities from the Couth playbook later, but it would be good to make sure that Kyra and Violetta don't overlap too much - especially since it looks like we have the exact same actions ratings. :D I see Kyra more involved in the social aspects and unconventional approaches there, but I've put elements in her background that could have her invest more into Tinker if that's desirable. *** Could Kyra be the contact that helped Luciana enter the House? Bringing such an important letter would either provide leverage against another house, or protect a member of her own house if that's who the letter targeted, and she would be rewarded for bringing news of it and helping broker the deal. *** A similar situation could apply for a bond to Sasha - Kyra made use of her information brokering services and came across a precious nugget that she took to the House leadership. This may have contributed to them deciding to recruit Sasha, and to Kyra gaining a reputation as a budding talent scout for the House.
Looking at the house abilities for Bastien, I'm getting crowdfunding vibes - they rose to power with the support of the common citizenry, with the understanding that the house will represent their interests among the wealthy and powerful. Beggars and gondoliers would make excellent spies and couriers, dockers could help with smuggling or tips on what cargo is coming into Ilrien. Bakers can probably open many doors, as everyone needs to eat. Of course, it remains to be seen if House Bastien will honour these agreements, or if it will only pursue its own interests. I would say that some of its members take a particular satisfaction in leveraging information or assets gained from commoners against the other Major Houses. So from my point of view, ixnay on the organized crime (maybe little a smuggling, as a treat).
Excited to be here! Houses: * House Bastien fits Kyra best, as it is a house of audacious, grasping climbers who come from humble roots. They also seem closer to the common citizen than the other Major Houses.
I started writing down some things for Kyra, based on a couple of character creation questions I stole from another recruitment thread. The 20 basic questions are answered, I hope to make some progress on the advanced stuff tomorrow. I hope that gives you a better idea of her personality and goals, WW.
I believe Kyra's profile is now complete. (I shamelessly copy/pasted the nice formatting from other people's profiles. :D)
Kittenmancer's WiP profile. Still need to finalize the crunch and add a list of contacts, relatives and NPCs. |