Meanwhile, the things in Adrian's schedule:

> Tomorrow is Convocation meeting day.
> You are about to meet the girl Ula recommended to be Beribo's 'bride'. Better think up a good alibi for her.
> You've asked for dirt to be dug up on Omoreg.
> Meanwhile, if you'd like to prepare for the Chariot Races (sigh) or the Fourth of Fifth (yay!), say what you'd like to do.

> Meanwhile, to turn on the heat for Beribo, you've asked for some people to try and make trouble in front of his tavern and inn, the Green Willows. Roll d100 for that.

>>19250320

... oh man. We... probably shouldn't kill the guards, right?

Go up and ask them what's going on inside now, what party it is.

>>19250365
Act a little tipsy while we are at it. everyone underestimates drunkards

>>19250320
What kind of servant is this? Do we have a name and description of them? Do they know that we're coming? Wandering around inside without knowing who we're looking for, dropping hints that we're looking to take someone out of there, seems like an incredibly terrible plan.

>What do/say?
Two options for entry: Stealth or bluffing. Bluffing is probably a better bet. We could probably convince the guards that we were invited to this party by Oromeg after having met him at a previous party. Name-dropping a specific party where we supposedly met him, particularly if he was noted as leaving that party incredibly drunk or passed out, would help if we've got that information. My guess is that Oromeg has already met more than one person that way and the guards would not be surprised to see another.

It would help if we didn't claim our actual name and/or changed our appearance somehow, though, just since there's a risk we'd stick in the guards' memories and they'll put together what happened. That could inconvenience us or the Earl in the future, if Oromeg finds that we've acted against him.

rolled 56 = 56

>>19250353
Prepare for the Fourth of Fifth by setting some of the jewels into jewelery in our workshop. Have Lavender help and get to know her better. Substitute Rose into her spot researching taxes and laws along with Amaryllis.

As for Katesas... hmm. Go buy a few bottles of nice liquor and act as if we are bringing them as a gift from Beribo.

rolled 37 = 37

>>19250353

>>19250385
>>19250365
>>19250395

> Will elaborate on the servant in the next post. Your post is noted.

You walk out of the shadows. The guards take notice of you immediately. They lower their spears at you until they see the sword on your sash; then they raise them again. If you have a sword round these parts, the guard either approved it, or can do nothing about it.

'Are you lost, sir?'

'Eh? Lost? Nah.' You speak a little louder than you normally, blink your eyes. The guards look at each other, and then at you. 'I was just... oh wait, I am lost. This isn't the front entrance to the residence of Oromeg and his family, is it?'

'Um, no sir. You've got to go round the alley and up and you'll see it.'

You turn round and look, then back. Well, well. Since you've decided to bluff and walk in, you might as well walk in the front door...

> What do/say? Do you still ask the question about what party it is? That seems to be inviting conversation and memory from the guards...

rolled 43 = 43

>>19250395
Seconding bluff approach and rolling for distractions and troublemaking at the front that we can use as an excuse for approaching the back gate.

rolled 95 = 95

>>19250446

Rolling for what this guy says.

Also, for the chariot races, can we place bets? Is that legal? Or possible?

You got word about the servant from some of your friends who help write and courier messages around the residences for the servants, for a fee. There's never a lack of little notes, coordinating papers, and personal stuff - love letters, settlements of debt, and the like.

They say they got a call from this guy, pretty upstanding fellow in Oromeg's, served as a cellar boy then as a stock taker, who rarely approaches them for messages but has suddenly asked them to write him a letter for help. When they asked, he says it's an emergency thing.

You do know his name, and you also know that he has asked to meet you near the storage room of the residence. 'It's not very far from the latrines, so you could excuse yourself and go to the toilet or something.'

Huh. 'Is he trustworthy?'

'Well, no idea about how good a servant his masters think he is. We think he's a nice boy, and it's not every day someone comes and tells us to write a help letter. If he's that flustered, it could be serious.'

>>19250455

You were just about to consider getting some liquor as a gift when the blast of bronze trumpets jolts you into the real world. Hiding for a moment, you peek round and see a large procession moving towards the entrance to Beribo's. This could be an opportunity!

The opportunity only gets better when you go up and see who exactly it is. Dear heavens. It's a member of the White Council, coming round for a visit! You go up and see that there's actually a few of them, and they immediately recognise you too.

'Hey! It's you!'

'Yes, what a pleasure!' You stop the guy before he blurts your name out, and then - smiling and laughing - you are hustled into the residence. It's a big, spacious courtyard all laid out for open-air dining; meanwhile music is already being played, and dancing girls in yellow and green sleeves are preparing for their routines.

You settle down in one of the tables, and wine is poured for you. Saruseg, one of the White Council guys, looks over at you. 'So... what have you been up to?'

> What do/say?

>>19250563
"Merry making at the moment! Work is tough, but there is always time for moments of pleasure."

(Interesting idea switching POV by the way. It would be cool to develop Katesas along a certain path and cultivate certain relationships with a vastly different dynamic. Upstairs/downstairs kind of stuff.)

>>19250563

Traveling afield and now taking some time to enjoy my return to the city and prepare for the festivals!

How goes things for you and your friends?

>>19250563
What exactly is our relationship to the White Council? We're friendly with them, but how friendly are we talking here? Firm relations, or just amicable? Do we consider them someone we can trust? Katesas' relationship with them might well be quite different from Adrian's and I'd rather not misjudge it.

>>19250579

Thanks! I was kind of considering that, a bit. Being a nobleman all the time, with things given to you, might conceivably get boring.

Maybe one of the POVs would be a hobo, and then the whole world is in a psychic hobo's head, and my brain officially explodes.

>>19250597
>>19250602
>>19250624

> Don't worry: Katesas, on the whole, doesn't really have enemies in Margade. He's not around for long enough to make too many enemies. He and the Whites have had some dealings before, and Saruseg is a good acquaintance.

'Well, I'm working hard - but leaving a little time for this sort of merriment!'

Saruseg laughs. 'Yes, it's merriment for some of us...'

'What occasion is this, anyway?' You look around and see yellow lanterns being hung up, and painted bamboo screens set up all around. 'This... looks pretty major.'

'Oh... well, we're the main guests this time round.' He nods, then gestures at the other three or four members of the White Council. 'We... and that guy.'

You follow where he's pointing, and then blink as you realise who you're looking at. Niduseg is sitting properly, thanking a serving girl for the liquor, and then a young man comes down from the hall and talks to him. 'That's Oromeg's younger son, ambitious fellow. He's one of the people who helped push this plan through.'

'Plan?'

'Oh, you know, the plan to help finance the Royal canals? I don't know why, but the King's been asking to build lots of things recently. We stand to make a good killing from the merchants, and they stand to gain credit in the eyes of the court...'

> Huh. What do/say?

>>19250667
"That's very interesting. I should think the Earls are up to their elbows looking to help. I've heard one of them in particular is looking to improve Margade with such public works."

>>19250667

'I wonder what lies behind that building binge. Not that anyone's complaining, eh? How about on the side of the nobles? Surely they're eager to... help out, as well?'

>>19250320
>Looking for dirt on Oromeg
>Have forgotten who Oromeg is
>Not on wiki
>Time to fly blind!

>>19250667
"That is good to hear. The more time I spend in this city, the more things I see that could be bettered by a bit of construction. What else has been going up?"

>>19250725
>>19250742
>>19250758

> Sorry! Oromeg is the person whose daughter has been promised to Beribo. And he's a powerful local merchant, so the more leverage on him the better.

'Well... who knows what happens at Shuganak?' he shrugs. 'And who complains? But I have heard something of the dimensions in their plans, and I have to say - that is either a seriously large irrigation canal, or it's in fact a shipping canal.'

'Eh? Going west?' You frown as Saruseg nods. Surely an eastward canal would be more profitable, by linking to the East Lake? Anyway, if you want to go from the west to the capital, there's such a thing called the Omera River, and a few other rivers too...

'Well. Like I said, not complaining.'

'I'd say there's a lot more work to be done in and around Margade, though,' you say, and just then the music starts and you have to raise your voice. 'I know of an Earl who is into that.'

'I see your Earl and raise you another one!' Saruseg says. 'I take it you're talking of the Third Earl. Well, his lordship is a good man, and clever. Sometimes I hope he's cleverer than the rest of them. Also, look at the legs on that girl.'

You can't help but look. How ironic - dancing with slit skirts to exhibit the curve of the calves, enhanced by sloping heeled shoes - that's an Eastern thing! Oh well, if it gives an erection, who cares if it's barbarian eh...

> What do/say?

> Also, the time for you to go to the loo is coming close. You've been told to go on the second watch.

>>19250792
"Which of the other Earls is worth talking bout? One is a religious nut, the other an exile and the last a violent maniac! I say a toast to the good health of the Third Earl, may he one day be First and Only!"

No point in pretending. Let us see their reaction.

>>19250825
No man

Katesas is supposed to be on the down low

We can use throwaway scrubs as vocal supporters

>>19250792

If this is how the women of the East are, I may have to go afield once more some time soon.

>>19250825

Dude, no! We don't even work for Adrian yet!

'That is probably to be hoped for. Who's that other earl you're raising?'

>>19250792
>'I see your Earl and raise you another one!'
"Nicely spotted. You're a man of taste." Friendly grin, it's important to keep things friendly rather than business. "And you're right, I was speaking of the Third... one way or another he'll be one to watch. Which Earl were you raising me?"

>>19250802
How long is the second watch?

>>19250825
How about no

>>19250864
>>19250849
>>19250860
>>19250839

You look at that girl Saruseg points out, then the girl beside her. This one's pretty too, this one. Slightly shorter, but just as clearly well trained for her dancer role.

'You've got good taste,' you say, smiling, and give a toast to good taste. 'Also... raise me another Earl?'

'Oh, surely Katesas knows who I'm speaking of? One is barricaded away from the palace, and the other is a child.'

That must mean the second, then. Well, no surprise there... then again, the word he used for child could just as well mean imbecile. And you know the second lordship is rather more an imbecile than the youngest...

Just then, the second watch gong strikes. You've been eating, though careful not to drink, all this while, and you do feel rather full. Servants come round with new dishes, but you get prepared to leave.

You see, from the corner of your eye, Niduseg also get up.

> Roll d100 for perception.
> Also, do/say anything more before going? You know the way to the warehouse... roughly.

>>19250909
Rolling to perceive

> Also, do/say anything more before going?

Consume liquid courage

rolled 16 = 16

>>19250962
whoops

rolled 79 = 79

Rollan.

Take a drink, note where Niduseg is going before moving.

>>19250909
Don't we need to meet with this servant? Excuse ourselves to the loo.

>>19250968
>>19250962

> 79: success!

'Where're you going, then?'

You consume the last of your liquor. Ah, that feels good. 'Nature calls.'

'Right, right... I'll see you later, then?'

You nod, and then you notice Niduseg walking to the younger son. After a short talk, they move off inside, into the hall. Then you notice that while most of the dancing girls have moved down the corridor one way, that one you noticed, the shorter girl with lovely calves, she's moving off towards the warehouses too...

Moving to the latrines, you spot her run off to one side, turning down a path into where the storage compound is. The latrines are empty- oh, shit, they aren't. A man stands up, and you know him to be Oromeg's older son.

'Oi! Who... who the hell are you!'

Clearly drunk off his arse. But drunk off his arse and also armed; you look at the sword on his sash. He pulls up his pants, hiccups, and then walks towards you.

> What do/say?

rolled 65 = 65

>>19250909
Rolling.

> Also, do/say anything more before going?
Ask if the Whites have anything special planned for the chariot races.

>>19251021
"Yer a great bloke, top bloke. Yer dad puts on a great spread, very lovely show. Bless 'im and all his house, a toast on it in fact!"

Act friendly and drunk.

>>19251021
Slur something unintelligible and stumble into a wall, then smile drunkenly at nothing in particular.

After he moves past move silently but swiftly after that woman. If we find her wink and say we saw her dancing and were hoping she would have a drink with us. Don't let on that we know she might be here for the same reason we are, make her think we're just a drunk guy who wants to sex her to get her guard down.

>>19251021
Yield the path to him, introduce self as member of the White entourage, and move for the latrine.

>>19251021
Adopt a slightly drunk demeanor, but don't take it too far.

"Easy, sir. I came in with the Whites. Just here for the latrines."

>>19251051
>>19251059
>>19251058

'Eh? Hahahaha... yer a great bloke! Yer' the first son aren't you?' You point at his face deliberately - no one would do that when sober, except perhaps the slightly suicidal - and laugh. He stares for a moment, then laughs too and comes up to slap your shoulder. Ow. Ow. OW.

'Yess... yeahhh we put up the banquet you whiteys better send the loans through. Them races we better string em up GOOD! String em bookers up GOOD! you hear me? Ah, man...'

You try to process what he said as he stumbled off. No, wait. First things first. You glance around, and the slip into the alley and the warehouses, listening out.

'It's you!' comes an urgent whisper. You freeze, and then you realise it's not addressed to you. 'Oh god, you made it!'

As you go close, you hear soft sobbing, sweet nothings, and you round the corner just as they are about to kiss. Then they see you and gasp. It's the dancing girl, and a lanky young boy. 'What... who're you?' Then his face lights up. 'Are you Katesas, sir? Are you here to help us?'

Wait. Help 'us'? Also, just then, you hear drums from outside signalling the second course, which is when speeches are normally given. Clever timing, boy!

> What do/say?

>>19251134
First I want to know what you need.

He probably wants to run away with his girl or something but knows too much. Someone who knows too much would be a very valuable person to the Earl.

That means if we can spirit him away and take him to one of the earl's new secret residences in the city...

>>19251184

Does the earl have such a place, though?

>>19251206

From the wiki:

> You now own the Jade and Cloud Mansion, a mansion in the south of Margade. It was once a residential estate, but you are free to do with it as you wish.

... do we know where it is, though? And do the two of them know a way out quickly?

>>19251134
That timing is indeed clever, but damned if I don't want to hear those speeches now, after what the first son dropped. Ah, well.

"I am Katesas indeed... though I was only expecting one. What exactly is the situation here?"

>>19251222

> Have to stop copying my own notes into the thing to remind me of what to type. But yes... might as well do it now, roll d100 to remember where the Jade and Cloud is.

> You do know Adrian owns it now, since you met him after the merchant meeting thing.

>>19251184
>>19251224

These, do they want to leave, or what?
Maybe we should take them straight to the palace if it's urgent, though?

>>19251246
Right. but I don't see any logical reason for Adrian to have told us that yet. The Third Earl plays cards close to the vest. I think it would be out of character for us to know.

That makes it harder on us at the current time, of course... but it would keep the theme we've been going for.

> Hmmm. This is a bit hard to determine... but you have a point. Well, first questions first.

>>19251224
>>19251184

'Um.... yes, sir.' The lanky boy lets go of the girl. You have to say, good job kiddo, landing a chick like that. But anyway. 'The master... he wouldn't allow us to leave and get married. So we'll have to... run away...'

Wow, elopement - that tends to end well, doesn't it? (No, it probably doesn't.)

'Do you know a way out of the mansion easily, then?'

'Yes, sir, it's just down the path over there,' he points it out. 'But... there might be servants around there right now, doing the cleaning up...'

> What do/say? And where bring the two lovebirds after you take them out of the residence?

>>19251341
No time like the present.

Seems like we should have planned that in advance.

Where is Katesas staying in the city?

We could take them to Ulla's shop or something like that.

>>19251341

Before anything though let's go clear out the exit. Scout ahead of them, try to bluff any servants away.

rolled 76 = 76

>>19251341
Well, if you want to leave, we can always play the drunkard being helped by servants outside, only this time the servants don't come back.

And if you can't find the mansion, why not hole them up in an inn on the docks for a night. Docks are not White territory and we could use the extra time to find the mansion.

>>19251341
We could always head up to the palace. Leave these two in an alley by themselves and tell them to stay put while we go inside, ask where the thing is, then come back and take them there. They'll be fine waiting in an alley near the palace after all, it's not like there's much crime that close to it.

Hardly the most direct route but likely the best. We don't want to send any messengers that would learn of the secret residence's location, nor do we want to let anyone in the palace see that we've helped these two.

>>19251411
Sounds far too risky to leave them unattended in an alley.

>>19251385
That might be a good idea. It's being built on our property right? So we would naturally know where that is.

They could hang around inside and avoid workmen while we go to the palace and ask the Earl where he wants them and if he wants to interrogate them himself.

>>19251463
>It's being built on our property right?

No the teahouse is being built on Sadereg's land. Ula's thing is presumably an existing structure because there really isn't anywhere left to build inna city.

Also did Adrian even tell Katesas about Ula?

>>19251385
I... don't think we know about that one, although I suppose it's not impossible. Regardless, I don't like the idea of entangling our intelligence assets with one another- particularly when we're using this kid to gain intelligence which we're planning to turn around and use against someone that his master is friendly with. If they pursue him and find him at her shop, then this whole operation could get blown wide open.

Don't let our assets touch one another, whenever possible. Then one disaster can't spill over from one onto another in the event that things do go horribly wrong.

>>19251400
>>19251399
>>19251411

You tell the two of them to hide - and tell the girl to take off her damned heeled shoes - before sneaking down to the gate. Seriously, going around like a thief in someone's house! This hardly befits a noble-born man...

... ah, shit. There are indeed servants gathered round, though they don't seem to be working. You go back and hatch a plan. 'The two of you, carry me out. I'll be drunk.'

'But I'm not a servant...'

'Well, you're helping your hopefully engaged, aren't you?'

> 76: success!

You are almost amazed it works, though you put that down to the general ennui of the servants. They nod at the guy, then look at the girl. 'Eh? What's up?'

'Don't what's up me you damn common-born arrgaraghdamnthingsbahhraaragapffft...'

'He's drunk,' the boy helpfully explains.

'Yeah, we can tell,' the servants clear the way quickly as you make to vomit. 'Oh quickly get him out of there!'

They slam the door behind you as you simulate vomiting so accurately that the girl puts a hand to her own mouth.

'Where to now then, sir? Also, who exactly do you work for?'

Both questions are intriguing, but the first one first... you don't actually know any place in the city which belongs to the Earl. You could perhaps ask the Reds, who are friendly to the Earl (you know that), or... you could just go to the Palace.

> What do?

>>19251517
Well, I think we know the Earl well enough at this point to figure he wouldn't be telling the Reds where his secret bolt holes are.

Palace it is.

Oh, you could also hole them up where you currently live in the city, as was suggested earlier. You do know where you live, naturally.

>>19251517
Go to our residence and send someone to the palace. We shouldn't be openly implicating Adrian in this. Send a boy to ask for Peony to come and find us at our quarters. We no doubt are aware of her, by reputation at least even if we may not have directly interacted.

She'll know what to do.

>>19251517
Adrian keeps a lid on things outside of his household, we'll probably have to go to the palace and talk to one of his attendants, but I think it is best if we do not reveal who exactly we are working for.

Let's go to our place. Then we go look for the Earl.

>>19251567
This sounds fine. Peony has a reputation around the household and the Earl is rarely seen without her, so it makes sense to send for her.

>>19251517
If possible, we should avoid bringing the Earl into this. Unfortunately, it may well be noted that we left the party early and unexpectedly- and also that the servants disappeared. That means we could be implicated, so our own residence is a no go as well.

I'm thinking the Reds are our best bet here- though I'd rather not bring them into it either, at least not overtly. Take the pair of them to a Red-affiliated inn and have them lie low there for a while, pass the innkeeper a bribe to not mention them to anyone and imply that we have Red strings to pull, and then go home and get some rest in case someone comes looking for us. Report to the Third Earl tomorrow with our accomplishments and get further instructions.

Hopefully we won't be connected with the servants' disappearance; I would hate to harm our good relationship with the Whites.

>>19251612
>>19251568
>>19251567

It isn't too long a trip to where you live, and you quickly bundle them into the little apartment. The place smells of you and the many, many previous occupants of a rented room in Margade. You've tried your best to keep it neat, though...

'So... are you helping us on someone's orders, sir? And... and who is that?'

'Later,' you say. 'The two of you stay here. Be very quiet. I'll be out and back soon.'

And with that, you step out into the night, looking out to the west. Above the walls of the city rise even mightier, rammed earth walls, topped with covered walkways and the princely gatehouse of Raumar. Heaven, compared to the city below.

> Viewpoint change incoming.

>>19251622

> Sorry, mate! I was writing.

> Anyway...

Raumar Palace really is heaven, or at least it seems so to anyone from Margade. As you stand at the railing of your apartments watching Peony lead the girl in, you see her looking every which way, taking in the decor, the cleanness, the... grandeur of the Palace. Mind you, the place hasn't been properly redone in a decade and a half, and you think a lot of it is falling apart. But you have different standards.

Soon you are seated in front of the table, and the girl whom Ula has recommended is sitting opposite you. 'Health to your lordship,' she says, as Lavender pours for both of you. She's pretty, that's for sure - delicate ears, pale skin. She looks the part of a noblewoman. How does a prostitute keep herself so well...?

And then the answer comes when you ask some other questions. 'I work the Cove Market as a performer and actress, sir.'

Huh. Well then. She glances at you. 'I... heard from Ula that your lordship requires my assistance for a plan. May I know... more about the plan?'

> What do/say? Come think of it, we've been a bit fuzzy on the details of the marriage plan. Do outline what exactly we wish to accomplish by sending a pretty girl to a rather violent man in deception.

>>19251692
Well, if she is a whore then when he marries her his reputation is easy to destroy. We simply let out who she is and where she used to work one day before the convocation and make sure it gets spread around. Pay some beggars through our urchin-spy proxy, perhaps?

Then, perhaps, have her show up at the convocation with two other men on her arms and wearing his wedding ring.

Of course, doing this would mean she is absolutely finished here in Margarde. We would have to send her off somewhere, perhaps the capital, with enough money to make it all worthwhile.

>>19251692

We... are sending her as a noblewoman in order to 'get married' to Beribo. That will cause him to abandon his current match for a new one.

Then we reveal her to be a commoner, and make him lose face! Or something like that? What do we do after he shifts his attention to this girl?

Aren't we trying to stop him from solidifying an alliance through marriage or something?

I was never sure what 'the plan' was. It's vague to me as well.

>>19251784
Weren't we going to kill him once his bodyguard was out of the way? Or was that someone else?

>>19251788
Earl Adrian: Genius, or totally clueless? You decide!

>>19251692
>Do outline what exactly we wish to accomplish by sending a pretty girl to a rather violent man in deception.
I don't know. I didn't come up with this supposedly clever scheme. If the one who did isn't here, we might be in a great deal of trouble.

To stall for time, I request an infodump/recap on who the parties involved in this are and what our interest in all this is.

>>19251774
>>19251784
>>19251788

I guess by one day before Convocation you would be referring to a subsequent meeting (which will, indeed, happen). The first meeting is tomorrow.

You tell her the plan - she is to try and lure Beribo away from a previously arranged marriage by being offered to him as a noble-born girl. As to why this noble-born girl hasn't got a proper matchmaker or retinue, she's down enough on her luck to be marrying a common merchant, isn't she?

'That... does make sense, sir.' She thinks, and fingers her lapel. Don't look, Adrian, it's impolite. 'So I am to try and disrupt his marriage arrangements?'

'Quite so.'

'Is there anything else you would like me to do, then...? Are we actually going to get married?'

You say yes, tentatively. Indeed, you're not very sure about this bit already. It would make Beribo look idiotic, yes; but it would also make him look like a victim, being scammed by someone. That could have terrible consequences for the girl, given Beribo's track record with women he's slept with...

> What do/say? More consideration, perhaps?

I'm under the impression that the plan is to destroy his reputation. If he marries a whore unknowingly then how can anyone trust him to evaluate goods correctly? Then there will be the social stigma, and the fact that we will have destroyed his potential alliance with Oromeg. After all, he chose to marry a whore over Oromeg's daughter. That's a bona-fide insult right there, and a powerful enemy. It's basically saying his daughter is worse than a whore.

All of this scandal will make it so what when we move against him he will have no friends to aid him, and more than a few enemies who want to make him pay.

I don't think it was anything more than one step in the scheme to take him down. We'll have to do something else to actually destroy the stuff he currently owns. I figured this was just to make it so that nobody wanted to be associated with such a shamed man and therefore make our job a lot easier when bringing him down.

>>19251812

Yes, let's have a bit of that.

Your interest in Beribo is, simply put, to destroy him. This is because he is an adulterer, thief, and serial murderer. Katesas' good friend Geharo is determined to kill him.

But Beribo is currently enjoying quite a bit of attention within the city. He is buying up assets and already has enough to join the Convocation.

> He was going to be on the Immigrants' nomination list, but you've scotched that for now.
> He is probably going to be on the Locals' nomination list, which you haven't gotten round to scotching.
> He is also angling to get married into the Margade merchant community, and is currently negotiating with Oromeg over his daughter. (That's why Katesas is digging up dirt on Oromeg.)
> You don't know what other tricks Beribo has up his sleeve. He has a capable man in Niduseg, and one of the Earls is supporting him with funds. As far as you can tell, he wants to gain a Convocation seat which would confirm his position in the city and protect him from effective prosecution; there are limits on what the magistrates can do to a Convocation member.

>>19251846
Honestly, it would make him look less like a victim and more like a terrible fool. What good is a merchant who is easily scammed?

>>19251896
> He is probably going to be on the Locals' nomination list, which you haven't gotten round to scotching.
Can you explain exactly how the nomination/election process works? Is this a "if he's on that list he'll get the seat" situation, or is there a way that we can make sure he doesn't get the seat even if he stays on it?

Also, you'll need to sort out some details. First of all, how would you like to introduce her to Beribo? And how would you make sure he falls for it?

He does have a capable man with him, so those are things that need watching out for. Man, if only Niduseg could be removed from the picture somehow...

>>19251985
Do we know anything about this capable man?

I mean, I'd like to call him out to some godforsaken place alone, via anonymous message pretending to want to blackmail him over something in his past... then have Orchid put an arrow through his eye.

But first, I don't think we have any dirt on him. Second, I don't know if Orchid would be up for that or if we trust her to the level of having her assassinate people for us yet.

>>19251985
We need to kill Niduseg.

>>19251979

Yep, sure.

Under normal circumstances, a single merchant or a group of merchants can recommend a person who fits the wealth criteria (they all do, so don't worry too much about that) to fill up a seat. The more recommendations one gets, the further up he is on the consideration list.

So once that's done, and the consideration list has been drawn up, they are then considered and debated from the top down. Customarily, the Convocation must have at least one round of debate for each nominee, but that's mostly for show.

The final round is voting. Again, voting goes down the consideration list, and as the Prince's Delegate you technically have the calling vote and can veto a decision.

As you can see, this puts the Immigrants in a severe disadvantage - assuming the Locals have all gotten together to come up with a nomination list, they can easily overwhelm the Immigrants on the consideration list. All the seats would be filled before you even get to any of the immigrant merchants. This is why the Immigrants are all banding together to push a list, hoping to get the drop on the locals.

>>19252021
I'd trust Orchid to plant an arrow between his eyes.

>>19252021
If we could draw him out alone we don't need to use Orchid. Geharo and pals would be glad to put the sword to him, I'm sure, since it's part of bringing down Beribo and this man is almost assuredly privy to all of Beribo's dark secrets as his right-hand-man.

>>19252039
You know, why would we even want to kill him right away? Why not lure him out then kidnap him and force all of Beribo's secrets out of the man before cutting his throat and dumping him in the harbor?

>>19252053
Why kill him at all? Surely if he is a clever man we can make him see how serving us would be better than some upcoming merchant.

Sorry to interrupt, guys, but let's leave the assassination of Niduseg for later. First, the 'wife'.

What do you intend to do with her? What is the *plan*? She's waiting for you to answer with increasing apprehension.

So far:

> Introduce her (how) as a down on luck noble
> Hopefully that gets Beribo to cancel the wedding and marry her
> Hilarious reveal
> Anything else? Or shall we just go with this?

>>19252087
Or just leaving town.

We don't need guys in our crew who get chummy with serial murderers.

>>19252038
I think using our attendants for the casual assassination of people we find inconvenient but who have personally done nothing to offend us is a very bad path to start down, and we should not.

Using other people for their casual assassination isn't a great thing, either. We could probably arrange for him to get the flux or be called out of the city or something.

>>19252031
That's more than just a severe disadvantage- if the people with the vote are the members of the Convocation already, it's practically tailor-made to ensure that those with the power keep the power. We agreed to support the immigrants, but with a system like that I don't see how we possibly could make a difference- if we don't veto things we can't actually stop the existing native merchant majority from electing their own people, and if we start vetoing left and right not only do we look bad, it doesn't compel them to vote in candidates that they don't want.

So how exactly do the immigrant merchants see this playing out, that they needed to secure our assistance?

>>19252097
Just getting him to cancel the wedding should be enough.

She can then disappear or whatever, less likely to backfire.

>>19252125
That relies too much on uncertainties. She isn't Diao Chan, and he isn't Lu Bu in service to Dong Zhou.

>>19252097
Use Beribo's own knowledge against him.
1) He probably knows we fucked him out of getting elected by the immigrants. He probably does not like us for that.
2) We have a ton of women around us at all times.

So... this girl is a noblewoman who, after a tryst and (maybe, unsure on this part) getting knocked up by the Third Earl, is desperately seeking someone to support her. Beribo clearly doesn't care about a woman having children already because of what he did to Geharo's mother.

So, that's one way she can be introduced. Perhaps have some third-party nobleman introduce her to him. And, why, we have the son of a Baron who can do the job!

>>19252106
>Using other people for their casual assassination isn't a great thing, either. We could probably arrange for him to get the flux or be called out of the city or something.

We have long been on the route of being a master of assassins and spies. Stop being such a /tg/ white knight. Assassination is a part of politics, that's just how it is.

>>19252106

Well, the thing is that the individual votes themselves are relatively easy to buy. Everyone knows their seats are for a year, you get them, pass them on for a good price, and then get it back again. Hell, since they have to buy their seats back, they aren't that into jacking up prices indiscriminately. (That's how we got to have 7 Immigrants in the Convocation in the first place, and they pass their seats around too.)

The main issue, rather, is that the consideration list system makes it far more likely that a whole list of people get voted on first, filling up all the available seats. If the Immigrants' joint nomination gets through, they get the drop on the locals by bumping their guys up near the top. You can probably veto the random one or two, and the merchants will do their vote-buying shenanigans.

Those 7 previous guys got their seats because they individually got in contact with moderate Locals, but now that there's 7 of them in, things have gotten far more polarised. The locals use the consideration list to keep immigrants ever coming to a vote; then the immigrants can't cry foul, because they weren't properly nominated!

If, on the other hand, they can get you to approve the consideration list, and push it through over the inevitable protests... then they have a fighting chance at a majority in the Convocation.

>>19252106
Haven't we been trying to get assassins for like ten threads now? What's the point of having assassins if you never use them to kill anyone?

I think it's fine to kill him, he's an obstacle in our way. We just need to make sure it doesn't get back to us.

>>19252158

Well, give yourself some credit - Beribo probably only knows he's been dropped, not that he was dropped by you.

... then again, Niduseg might have figured it out. But your great advantage now is that you have no known motive to be against Beribo or Niduseg currently. They don't know you're taken up Geharo's vendetta.

Meanwhile, you ask the girl her name, and she says her name is Imura. Well, that's a nice name. You give her more details about the plan, namely how you intend to introduce her to Beribo. 'You'll have to play a sufficiently noble part.'

'I can do that, sir, definitely...' she thinks it over. 'So once we're married, if we do get married, what happens? Or if we don't get married... will you be intervening, sir?'

You think that over. 'In fact, you probably will not be getting married. I will have you revealed as a commoner, and shame that merchant before his peers. This is why we must have him brag as much as possible about having a noble wife.'

She thinks that through a moment, and then nods hesitantly. 'So... someone else, another noble, will introduce me? And speak of my affair with... with you, sir? But wouldn't that implicate you in a scam, sir? After all, in a scam, the buyer is the fool... but the seller is a thief.'

> What do/say?

>>19252175
Don't sling around criticisms so easily. We're in this together, and I'm not objecting to assassination in principle- I'm objecting on the grounds of practicalities.

1. If we are ever connected convincingly to an assassination, it could be reputation-destroying.
2. We don't have the political contacts, experience, and savvy to keep ourselves properly distanced from the matter if something does go wrong.
3. We don't actually have any trained assassins right now, nor the infrastructure to support them effectively. We have a couple capable attendants, that's it.
4. Assassination may be part of politics, but it's not the first tool that you should reach for. There are ways to remove obstacles from your path without murder- murder is extremely final and only should be used on carefully chosen targets.

In short, it's not a matter of white knighting, it's a matter of not being a murderous goddamn idiot.

Also, so add this to your diary?

> Assassinate Niduseg

>>19252175

Not white knight, just not the second brother. We don't kill our way out of everything.

Niduseg is an annoyance, a problem at most. he can be bought off, recruited, or chased away. There's no need to murder him.

>>19252338
People seem to want it.
Though I still think we could use such a person in some way.

>>19252338
I saw yes.

That old adage, 'no man, no problem'.

>>19252295
That is why we will not be a seller, my dear! It will be another noble who introduces you, who will have no known association with me. This man will present it as an opportunity to Beribo... a chance to get some leverage on me. If it is found out I was so brazenly careless with a noble's daughter, after all, there would be a minor scandal.

Really, we could just as easily pass it off as the child of one of our other brothers or even our father. The effect is the same. I just suggested it be Adrian's "child" because he might hate us and have extra impetus to not think and just grab it. It won't have any actual association with us at all.

Perhaps it might even be better to bill it as a bastard of our Second Brother's? Or even Fourth Brother's...

>>19252371
My thinking is this:
Traitor once, traitor forever. If he turns on Beribo why wouldn't he turn on us in the future? Best to find our own competent men.

>>19252338
Yes, dispose of him. If we can extract some details of Beribo's dealings from him first with interrogation or torture we should try that too. But he has to die either way.

>>19252158
I really do not like the idea of bringing our name into this. There are probably dozens of other people Beribo doesn't like who could fill in for our role in that plot. If we get into subterfuge, then we need to not link our name and person to everything we do. Degrees of separation are necessary in every case where we don't mean to specifically claim credit.

>>19252338
Fuck no.

>>19252386
>>19252419

> Man, you do need political advisors it seems. Maybe you could ask Katesas to come straight into your service now, makes life easier...

Imura listens to your further details, and then nods, still a little hesitant. She's an actress; she's caught the hesitation in your eyes, probably.

'I will do as you command, sir,' she says solemnly, bowing. Then, abashedly, she names a price - 500 taels. It's for her family, who live in Margade.

As you consider this, the door opens a slit. You look and see it's Peony, who comes in to whisper into your ear that Katesas is here.

> Agree? And anything else do/say before you dismiss her? You can still meet her to talk about plans, but once you do send her off to be introduced, you can't see her anymore, for obvious reasons.
> Also, I see there's mixed responses for assassination, so leave that for a while first.

File: 1338067300041.jpg-(163 KB, 800x1000, 1330134715523.jpg)

>>19252460
>3 kills
>1 no
>75% supermajority on 4chan
>mixed responses
>not sure if serious

>>19252460
We have the money, let's not be penny pinchers at this precise moment.

>>19252395

Wait, what? If we killed Beribo, he's free to work for us. That's not treason.

Besides, if we couldn't work with every person who defects from a previous master, that's limiting ourselves a bit crazily. Be careful, but not paranoid.

>>19252460
Are you really making us have in-game effects for not coming to an instant consensus on an anonymous imageboard? Really?

>>19252515
The point is to kill him so we can get to Beribo. That's the entire problem, he's a major obstacle and highly competent. He could warn Beribo away, that's why he has to die.

>>19252525
He has no specific loyalty to Beribo, we could buy him off or chase him out of town just as easily.

>>19252506

There's two yes, 1 no, and a guy who says people seem to want it. That's not really a yes, I don't think so...

But sure, if you're that much for murder, we could always put it in.

Added to diary:
> Assassinate Niduseg

Meanwhile... you agree to the payment.

>>19252519

Sorry, what? What in-game effects...?

I say no to the assassination for I still think we can make use of him in some way.
>>19252460
Agree and dismiss her for now.
Time to see what Katesas has to say.

>>19252548
>Sorry, what? What in-game effects...?
Is her picking up on our 'hesitation' and being worried by it not an ingame effect? If it's just flavor, fine, but hesitation or a propensity to run/betray us is not cool.

>>19252548

Meanwhile, Imura nods and leaves, and you tell Peony to get the payment arranged.

> Money: 5,670 taels. Ah, it's still nice to be rich, isn't it?

Katesas is then led in, where he sits before you and tells you the results of his investigation. You were expecting news, but instead he tells you he's gotten two servants who've been working in the residence.

That... that could be brilliant. Or it could be useless. But you're sure it isn't for free. 'What do they want?'

'It would appear they're seeking protection from Oromeg, sir.' Katesas tells you about the little elopement story. That's sweet. And potentially useful, too. 'They're in my apartment in Margade now; I could bring them to see you now, or perhaps at a time of your choosing.'

> What do/say?

>>19252525
>He could warn Beribo away, that's why he has to die.
That logic does not follow. He could warn Beribo away, therefore we need to render him unable to do so. Off the topic of my head, we could:
-Kill him
-Incapacitate him
-Lure him elsewhere
-Distract him with larger/more pressing matters
-Bribe him
-Blackmail him
-Intimidate him
-Arrange for someone else to do any of the above

>>19252592
We really don't need to do this all personally. Have Peony handle them. We trust her implicitly.

>>19252599
While all of those are possible, the most final, safest, and easiest solution is just to kill him. So... yeah.

>>19252648
>Safest

Unless it gets back to us.

>>19252599
The only one of these that is a 100% effective method is killing him. A knife in a back alley, an arrow in the skull, his body just disappearing.

Killing solves nearly all our problems swiftly in this matter, and it has to be done quickly if we want the rest of the plan to work.

>>19252658
The same could be said of any other option. If there are no witnesses to the murder, there is no one who will talk.

>>19252633

You nod, and then tell Katesas to let Peony take care of that. He blinks.

'But... sir, they could have something important to tell, and they're under threat now. Perhaps it'd be best if you questioned them personally, sir?'

'Peony can do that,' you say. Then, thinking you might have been a bit too dismissive of Katesas' efforts, you thank him and say that Peony is your most trusted attendant - having her around would be like you being there yourself.

Katesas accepts what you say, and then asks if there's anything you'd like him to do. Also, he mentions he's seen Niduseg in Oromeg's party. 'He went to talk with Oromeg's younger son, and they went to speak in private. It probably is regarding the wedding...'

'We have to do something about Niduseg,' you say.

'He is a dangerous foe, yes... but a very useful friend.' Katesas frowns to focus. 'He's worked for many merchant houses to great effect, and enjoys great repute among them...'

> What do/say? You can give relevant instructions about Niduseg to Katesas now.

>>19252710
Find out his price or his motivations.

Does he have a family or goals or some such or is he in it for delicious taels alone?

>>19252592
OP, it's a sad fact that there is always going to be THAT ONE GUY eventually in any good quest. Please don't take this argument as anything but one guy being asspained at us killing someone and dragging it out because he didn't get his way. The majority of us are enjoying the quest immensely.

>
'It would appear they're seeking protection from Oromeg, sir.' Katesas tells you about the little elopement story. That's sweet. And potentially useful, too. 'They're in my apartment in Margade now; I could bring them to see you now, or perhaps at a time of your choosing.'
Like someone else said, we might be able to send Peony for this... or might not. How busy is she right now? We trust Peony implicitly but she has a lot on her plate.

It might just be better to sneak out and meet with them personally. Whatever the case, we need to find out everything they know.

>>19252592
This had best be dealt with quickly, before it's realized that they've gone. And, preferably, dealt with in a fashion that doesn't connect us to them- I don't know that a personal meeting is necessary here.

I'm tempted to delegate to Peony, but she's got a lot on her plate already. It's Peony's if she wants it, but I suspect that Linden and Katesas between them could get all the information we want out of these people, then arrange for them to safely leave the city. I'd like to keep them on hand as an intelligence asset, but keeping them in the city in the long term is just not going to work out so far as keeping them separate from us is concerned- we don't have large and diverse enough holdings here for plausible deniability.

>>19252737
Yeah, pretty much this. We need to lure him out somewhere alone to off him, so we have to find out what we can use to lure him out. Background, history, reasons for doing what he does, whatever we can find out.

>>19252772
Or actually buy him out/off

We've got ways and means, we don't need to go slaying bodies all day erryday.

>>19252710
Which merchant houses has he worked for previously? Are any of them amongst our allies- by which, I suppose I mean the immigrants since we don't really have ins with other merchants.

We might be able to get leverage over him- or even recruit him into our service- if we approach this properly.

>>19252780
We have no income yet, we are only temporary rich. A dagger in the dark is much cheaper than buying away someone's loyalty.

Plus, weren't people just going on about how we have to DISTANCE ourselves from ruining Beribo? Yeah, how about we just bribe his head of staff. I'm sure nobody will ever find out about that, especially after this extremely competent man makes the connections when Beribo is ruined right after we buy him off. Nope, totally no risk there.

Just stop arguing, please. You don't want to kill him. Everyone else does. We know your opinion.

>>19252738
>That one guy.
>Everyone who disagrees with me is just one guy.
Way to go full retard.

I personally have just been lurking rather than even try to deal with the clusterfuck of plots you guyshave going on, but that comment really fucking irritates me.

it's dismissive of everyone else's right to offer commentary and courses of action to a collective game.

>>19252813
>Hurp durp all the anons agree with me every other post is one guy.

Are you incapable of seeing how we could deal subtly with Niduseg without killing him?

Thus we see the effects of any morally ambiguous or reprehensible action when pitted against the psyche of /tg/.

I knew it was coming eventually, but I had hoped it would take longer.

>>19252813
>Implying Niduseg gives a flying fuck what happens to Beribo if we can give him a better deal

>>19252710
Learning more about Niduseg seems to be the best course of action for now and then seeing if he will come over to our side.
As for servants maybe it would be best if we talked to them personally.

>>19252861
>implying we would want anyone that mercenary as a key advisor

>>19252860
More like deciding to kill someone out of hand is fucking stupid, examine the problem from all angles /then/ have him killed if nothing better presents itself.

Especially where Adrian doesn't actually have any loyal assassin/hit men to his name and therefore would have to go to an outsider for the job (which is extra dangerous)

Adrian has a good reputation, rumors of murder would destroy it.

>>19252738
>>19252743

You know Peony is already running herself ragged - didn't you intend to ask her to attend you tonight? Not to sex her, but so you could watch her get some shut-eye before the Convocation comes down on the lot of you?

Nonetheless, Peony - who is present - is already nodding, and you see her left finger tracing something on her right hand. Katesas is looking too. 'Um... questions, sir. So I remember what to ask.'

'You are lucky to have an attendant as Peony, sir...' yeah dude, no shit.

> Tentatively: Peony will leave with Katesas once the meeting is over to ask the questions, and then come back and report to you. Acceptable plan?

>>19252737
>>19252772
>>19252780
>>19252792

'I do know that Niduseg has an older brother, who has some children. He appears to dote on them quite a bit. His father has already passed on; the older brother takes care of the mother.'

'As for the families he's worked for... well, one of them holds a Convocation seat now. He's one of the Immigrants.' From his description you remember the face, but no name comes to mind. Must be one of the quiet ones at the lodge meeting. Katesas says his name is Hurugun.

'I see...'

'What... what do you intend to do with Niduseg, sir?' Katesas sounds vaguely concerned. He might have sensed something of your thoughts.

> What do/say?
> Some forewarning: culturally appropriate advice might be given throughout this quest, and has been given so far. It might go against the convictions of the players, but I'll give it anyway.
> I'm saying this because there have been criticisms before of having Adrian 'run blind' into walls and looking idiotic, and then not there are criticisms of not following player intentions.
> You don't have to follow it, of course; that's why we're playing an Earl. But it might/will come, so I'm just saying!

>>19252887
>Key advisor

We could stick him with the Reds or an immigrant merchant house or send him off to manage our investments in East Bumfuck. No need to keep his untrustworthy ass in our house while still taking advantage of his talents.

>>19252896
Acceptable so long as she gets the night off afterwards.

We intend to make him stop aiding Beribo. Specifics yet to be determined.

>>19252894
>Adrian has a good reputation, rumors of murder would destroy it.
Rumors of anything we are doing in this chain of events would tarnish or destroy the reputation. You're pointing to a pond and saying how wet we'll get if we swim in it when we're already caught in a downpour.

>>19252896
I was under the impression that going there and taking their reports wouldn't take all night, and that the order to attend and get some sleep would still happen.

If not, well, we don't need to know these kid's story right this second. Take them to our manor in the city and give them rooms, we'll get to them tomorrow.

>>19252896
"Remove him, preferably without blood shed. But the tiger doesn't run when the dog is too foolish to retreat. If he won't see reason, he will be dealt with."

>>19252936
Not really.

Beribo is a serial murderer. If we can get some evidence or a confession, even if we end up associated with his downfall, we'll be a big damn hero if we spin it right.

Niduseg is just a shrewd businessman, killing him for getting in the way is bad news.

>>19252896
If it's not going to be quick then have Peony go tomorrow. She needs rest more than we need to hear the story right this second.

If we will kill each advisers of all of our enemys who is in our way, Margade will drown on blood. No for assassination.

>>19252961
>Niduseg is just a shrewd businessman, killing him for getting in the way is bad news.
Why? This has still not been answered. "But what if" is not a viable response since all courses of action are dangerous and we are on a dangerous course to begin with.

>>19252914
He could potentially black mail us with this whole thing.

Whether it is before or after Beribo is dealt with, I think it is best he dies.

>>19252974
Because we aren't a shit cunt

>>19252976
Blackmail us how?

ADRIAN ORCHESTRATED THE DOWNFALL OF A SERIAL KILLER WHAT AN ASSHOLE HUH EVERYBODY?

>>19252994
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The true source of the objection. Straight up moralfaggotry.

>>19252974
>Cannot into relative risks

>>19253016
Yes.

And?

>>19253008
Except this 'serial killer' is is/was a powerful person with friends and blah blah blah. You already know all this, stop being obtuse. It would be terribad for that to get out and you know it.

>>19253016
People don't like trusting, associating with, or doing favors for shit cunts.

We need people to trust, associate with, and do favors for us.

It is therefore inadvisable for us to be a shit cunt.

>>19253028
Once Beribo is dead I kind of doubt it. He seems to command a lot more fear than he does respect.

>>19252936
Incorrect, bringing down a merchant is something that happens from time to time by their rivals or nobility who dislike them, on top of that Most of Adrians reputation is with the lower class, who have little reason to care what happens to Beribo, and in many cases likely wish him dead outright (remember the reason we're after him in the first place). if he can't manage to stay afloat despite the opposition, he's obviously not a very good merchant.

Murder on the other hand, of a commoner by an Earl is something they've probably seen a lot of, and it's just more signs of oppression by the noble class, especially where Niduseg is known to perform well for the people who hire him, mercenary or not.

And you still haven't addressed my main point which is it's fucking stupid to kill someone off before determining if another method would yield better results.

Note that that is not an actual objecting to seeing him killed, it's an objection to wasting potentially useful resources that cannot be reclaimed, without proper investigation.

>>19253033
Nobody will know because the victim will be dead. The risk of being known as a "shit cunt" comes into play when someone disloyal is alive to tell the story. Which won't happen with the assassination.

>>19252965
>>19252952
>>19252935
>>19252935
>>19252955

Nah, it won't take too long. Knowing Peony.

As for Niduseg, you intend to stop him from aiding Beribo any further. Katesas agrees to this idea. 'In fact, sir, having him on your side would be like having three of me, in my opinion. It would damage Beribo, and aid you greatly.'

'Yes, but if he refuses to budge, then we'll have to consider other means.' You make it pretty clear what you are alluding to, and Katesas seems a lot less sure now.

'Sir, it is not my place now to offer you advice like this, but that would be a very costly move. The merchants of Margade know Niduseg as an effective steward. The people of Margade know Niduseg as a man of talent. If he is killed, there will be outrage. Anyone implicated would be marked for a long time.'

'Well, that would depend on implication,' you reply. 'Which is not as straightforward as you say it, isn't that so?'

'But you are now the overseer of the Convocation, sir, and Niduseg serves a man who is at the centre of the Convocation's controversies. If anyone might have a reason for getting rid of him bloodily...'

> What do/say? Katesas will leave after this, with Peony.

>>19253055
Oh we have a loyal corp of assassins now do we?

When did that happen?

>>19253058
Accusations are not proof, and suspicion even less so. When Beribo's crimes are revealed and implications made that his steward was a part of them then the number of people who would want them dead will be so great that I will not even make the list. Even if I do, a little wariness when it comes to crossing us is not a bad thing.

>>19253055
Except you know, for the people doing the assassination, who would have no loyalty to Adrian other than money.

They'd know.

Oh yeah, so would those homeless people living in a nearby alley that saw the whole thing but the assassins missed because who pays attention to homeless people.

Or the assassins could fail then Niduseg knows someone is gunning for him which might put Beribo on alert.

Having him assassinated isn't a surefire way to get him out of the way cleanly, and in fact carries quite a bit of risk.

>>19253058
Katesas has a point. Emphasize that a violent response would be only a final option.

And that Niduseg's association with Beribo will ruin aforementioned reputation should Beribo's crimes come to light.

>>19253072
An assassin is just a word for someone who kills someone important. We have several loyal people who could do the job.

If we are having this must white-knight buttrage at one very politically expedient assassination I can only imagine the outcry when we finally get our assassin corps up and running. Every time we need to eliminate someone this will happen.

>>19253058
"If he is willing to turn on a man I plan to ruin, a man he is sworn to serve, whose to say he won't betray me when my enemies start plotting? I am all for courting away talented individuals, but I'll not invite a viper into my den. If he is willing to step aside and let this business proceed, then he has shown wise judgement. If he thinks he can simply turn his coat my service, he has shown a mercenary attitude not welcome in my court. You understand, don't you?"

>>19253109
You can take your ball and go home any time if you can't deal with it.

Killing people is a part of doing what we do. We've already killed a fair number of people. We should not jump to killing people as a way of solving problems when we have other options.

We just want to bring Beribo to justice, it's not the matter of life and death for us. Ordering assassination of well known person is a very serious move for a high-ranking noble and should be executed only in the critical situation when all other options are impossible

>>19253123
When those other options are worse in every way, well, yeah you should.

>>19253109
You seem to have a hard time accepting the fact that having someone killed off carries risk. it's one thing to kill criminals, or kill someone on the field of battle, or even destroy their reputation and livelihood, it's quite another to have someone who has done no wrong killed quietly in the night.

And don't give me the "nobody will know" bullshit, history is full of assassinations that have failed, and the people who hired it found out, or even ones that succeeded and the hirer still found out.

>>19253058
"Tch. Rest assured that I wish to do anything but act rashly. Even if it comes down to force, I need only a few weeks of time, so permanent actions will likely not be necessary."

>>19252896
>'Um... questions, sir. So I remember what to ask.'
As long as we've got servants who probably have all kinds of information, we might as well go all the way. Katesas doesn't have much else on his plate right now, correct? So he can handle the bulk of the interrogation while Peony does other things, and she can drop by later to review and make sure nothing was missed. That should keep her from wasting too much time on this.

-Anything interesting or incriminating they know about Oromeg or any member of his family, on principle. As long as they're turning to us, we should be able to get a profile/description of every family member and any prominent servants or attendants.
-Anything they know about Oromeg's relationship to and past dealings with Beribo, business or otherwise.
-Information on Oromeg's close allies- who they are and what his relationships with them are.
-What Oromeg's current big projects and interests are.
-Everything they can tell us about Oromeg's daughter, her friends, history, personality, any rumors, anything they've got.
-Any useful tidbits of information they might have about the house and grounds or their personal histories.
-Knowledge of any other servants working for Oromeg with weaknesses that might allow them to be suborned.

Then arrange for them to travel safely out of the city. At no point should we, the Third Earl, be mentioned in connection to this- they don't get to know the identity of their benefactor, in case they're later caught and try to implicate us.

>>19253148
>>19252972
Those two posts are mine. Other posts against assassination are from other people.

>>19253152
>Give guy money
>He leaves

Yeah that sounds terrible. We should totally have one of our untrained female attendants stab him in an alley instead.

>>19253163
>And don't give me the "nobody will know" bullshit
Except that is, quite literally, the entire point of it. Nobody knowing.

>>19253093
>>19253108
>>19253121

'Niduseg did not know of Beribo until a week ago, sir,' Katesas points out. 'He could not have been linked to any of the crimes Beribo committed. When one casts a stone at a rat, one must take care of the porcelain vase beside it.'

'Why do you defend him so vigorously, Katesas, knowing that he is a man who would turn on anyone, who is disloyal and treasonous? If I could buy him over, who's to say he could not then be bought over by someone else?'

Katesas agrees with your second point. 'I must still say though, sir - after years of dealing within the city with merchants, Niduseg is one of few people who have had a reputation for relative cleanliness. There's a reason why so many merchants have competed to throw silver at him for his service. He has never served a political master as a gate-guest... I'm not sure if he would be willing, but I suspect it would not be the same.'

'I understand,' you say. 'Thanks very much, Katesas. I'll make sure it is the absolute final resort.' And with that he is dismissed. Well, you'd say that; it's up to you, of course...

> Do anything before Peony comes back with the report?

>>19253202
Niduseg may actually not even be aware of Beribo's crimes.

We need evidence more than anything else.

>>19253202
Get a head start on all the stuff Peony would be attending to tonight. It will almost assuredly take us way longer than it would her. She needs to sleep, not be kept awake by us swearing over how to turn the bathtaps.

>>19253202
What is the latest on that Hillman raider thing we've been looking into?

>>19253201
Except that is quite literally, impossible.

Unless Adrian does it himself, perfectly, and even then Niduseg dying in such a manner would cast suspicion on Adrian even without proof. due to their positions withing the convocade issue (not that Adrian would be alone in the suspicions, but it'd ruin his reputation.)

>>19253238

You haven't had any time to look into it. Tomorrow's the first Convocation meeting; it's been quite the rush.

The list of people to be executed has been sent to the magistracy already, though; you've been duly informed. Well, never say the Red Pines aren't ready and willing to die for a cause...

>>19253202
> Do anything before Peony comes back with the report?
I'm inclined to compose a message to Hurugun asking for a meeting, but I'm not sure that we have a convenient lunch or dinner free for that. How's our schedule?

Aside from that, I'm inclined to return to
> Meanwhile, if you'd like to prepare for the Chariot Races (sigh) or the Fourth of Fifth (yay!), say what you'd like to do.
What kind of preparations would be recommended/typical for these events? Are there things that we're expected to have prepared or do?

Still kind of disappointed that Katesas didn't ask the Whites if they were doing anything special for the chariots this year, but I've never been a quick enough poster for this game.

>>19253233
We have other attendants for that.

>>19253251
>it'd ruin his reputation.
Where does this bullshit coming from? Suspicion does not ruin reputations, ESPECIALLY when it could be any number of people who wanted Beribo dead.

Hell, for that matter let's go to the root of it. Why would we be suspected? The only thing we've done is have Beribo, very stealthily apparently, excluded from a seat on the Convocation at this point. Hardly a bloody glove.

>>19253266
>We have other attendants for that.
Well, yes, but the whole point was to get Peony to attend us and then force her to not work and rest instead, because she won't take off unless we keep an eye on her and force her to.

>>19253280
Because both Niduseg and Adrian are at the center of the entire convocation issue right now as demonstrated in >>19253058

and where do you get the idea that being suspected for murder wouldn't ruin Adrians reputation?

Have you ever been to a news site when it's announced that a murder suspect has been caught? Seen all the comments saying they want to kill the suspect, or beat them or whatever? That happens.

>>19253332
Except Ancient China is not Modern First World.

>>19253343
Except people are people wherever and whenever they are.

>>19253266

Dinner three days later seems fine. Just before dad comes back.

Amaryllis' father also send a request for audience for that day, maybe for lunch. Well, at least you have one day in the middle to sleep then...

>>19253266
>>19253188
>>19253233

You get Lavender and Rose to go and run you baths, get your bedclothes ready. They seem a bit puzzled, until you choose to tell them a little. Why not be a benevolent master, eh?

They chuckle. 'That's... that's very sweet of you, sir. If I might say so, sir.'

'It is, indeed...' they leave your room in a very good state... so good you don't really want to mess anything up now. It isn't long before Peony comes back, holding a bundle of scrolls.

'Did you really write all that in an hour?'

'No, sir, Katesas did a few.' She puts the scrolls on. 'It's a bit late to be reading the lot, but there's some important things need mentioning.'

> That's a long and detailed list! Actually that's a good thing, since you rolled 93 and 95 the previous thread. All the points you made have been dealt with satisfactorily in the report; you will recall information as is appropriate. The below are merely some salient points.

'What sort of things?'

'Scandal, sir. You were angling for those, right?'

The current Purveyor of Timber and Carpenters’ Materials is a family, headed by a local merchant named Gusumar. Gusumar and Oromeg go way back, but Gusumar’s son was promised Oromeg’s daughter. Incidentally, he only has one daughter.

In return for that, Gusumar paid a good sum to all the involved parties to secure a Convocation seat for Oromeg.

At the same time, Oromeg’s younger son was implicated in a case of assault, but the case was then hushed up. Money must have changed hands, probably. You'll need to check the archives.

> More incoming.

>>19253348
Tell that to the commoners we brutally murdered.

>>19253377
You mean the criminals we killed for poaching?

>>19253377
Tell that to anonymous accusations to our father of us usurping the justice by killing those commoners. Even those quite "legal" kills(they was criminals and we are an Earl after all) still have repercussions for us. The "illegal" assassination could go many times worse for us.

>>19253359
>Amaryllis' father also send a request for audience for that day, maybe for lunch. Well, at least you have one day in the middle to sleep then...
Weren't we going to meet with the Premier Earl at some point, too? Is that moving forward or just sitting? Do we need to be taking the initiative there?

And we need to look into the hillmen's problems, preferably before the Second comes back since he's effectively our opposition on that one.

And... I know that wiki list is incomplete and slightly out of date, but it's still intimidating. Why are we so busy? It's because we're ambitious, isn't it? Our whole household is going to collapse from overwork one day.

'There's something else that's really problematic, sir,' Peony says. 'I think... that Niduseg fellow? He's on to us. We're being compromised.'

'What do you mean?'

'The servant boy was attending a meeting with Niduseg. They weren't really talking about the marriage, but Niduseg told Oromeg about the lake lodge meeting.'

'The... wait, the what? But...'

'Yes, we kept it secret. But we were seen leaving the Palace, we were seen coming back - it's not surprising to be known. But somehow it's gotten to a merchant's steward in Margade.' Peony frowns.

'How much do they know?'

'They know enough, sir... thankfully they don't know what was said within the lodge, but they know we were there, and that the Immigrant merchants were there. Niduseg also appears to have guessed that it was your order which made the Immigrants drop their support for Beribo.'

'Do they know about the nomination list, then?' You suddenly feel a coldness.

'Oddly enough, sir? Wasn't mentioned at all. If Niduseg had gotten Beribo on that list, he must know its significance - getting the drop on the locals, and so on. But that was not mentioned at all...'

You rub your forehead as Peony continues. 'Also, the girl mentioned that a special motion is going to be put up at the meeting tomorrow. But she's unsure what it is.'

Oh gods. You just want to snuggle up and not wake up now...

> What do/say?

>>19253437
Well, we're so busy because for every one thing that gets solved two more pop up immediately.

As for the Earl, we overheard him telling his servant to send us an invitation to meet with him. We've been waiting on that, and still are.

>>19253437

> Very sorry about the wiki list. It's completely out of date. I'll need to change it, but work and life intervene. Well, the flow of info is always going to get wider. But as your staff improves you can probably cut it down rather and streamline it.

> More gate-guests probably needed...

>>19253451
Well, internally consider what sorts of special motions can be made. Externally proceed with Operation Restful Flower.

>>19253451

Not the end of the world. We'll see what happens at the meeting tomorrow.

>>19253451
"I am sorely tempted to murder every single one of them. Unfortunately, father would disapprove. In the mean time let us have some tea. What blend would you prefer?"

>>19253509
wut

>>19253509

No dude, tea before bed?
Let's just go and sleep. Yeah, try to think of special motions...

>>19253451
> What do/say?
Well, it sounds to me like on the one hand, we have basically a perfect lever for separating Oromeg and Beribo from one another with the daughter thing- which, coincidentally, can be used to create an in for our actress. Convince Beribo that Oromeg was just playing him and never intended to hand over his daughter at all, and he'll likely grow wroth at Oromeg and very inclined to look to other women.

The rest of it... Niduseg is playing a complex and skillful game and it's going to be a bitch to crack open, but that's not important for now. What's important now is that Peony get some rest. Tell her she's taking it easy this evening, no more work beyond conversing with us. We don't shut our eyes until she's out.

>>19253502
>>19253503
>>19253509
>>19253536

'You know what, sir, I've not slept in this bed for a long time,' Peony says. 'By which I mean about ten days.'

'What, when did you...?'

'When you were away, sir. It was a big bed lying there!' She plops on, and so do you. Then the candles are blown out.

You wonder what sort of special motion they could bring. The damn war, twenty five years ago, had concentrated so much power in the hands of the Convocation it's ridiculous. You can be sure they are not allowed to end or suspend the meeting, since it's been ordered from the Palace. They do have enough support to force the Prince to change an overseer... well, you don't think they'd do that. Not at the first meeting, while you are still popular.

Gah, you can't think of anything else. But then Peony turns around and snuggles into you, and you freeze for a moment - partly out of fear of razor-blades, but also because it feels very nice. Peony murmurs something into your shoulder, but you can't make anything out.

The soft murmurings lull you into a deep sleep, and you wake up to a hubbub of activity. Oh gods, it's Convocation day. But as you rub your eyes, Linden comes in with a proposal letter. 'It's... the special motion from the Convocation, sir.'

You open it, and blink. Wait, what? They're pushing a motion to turn the meeting into a normal, procedural meeting? That means matters of appointment will not be discussed until the next meeting, which is half a month later...

> What do/say/ask?

>>19253630
Well how many of them are pushing for it and how are these things decided?

No big thing for us really if they want to put it off.

>>19253630
Makes sense, since word that we might be on board with the immigrants got out.

What is the procedure for things like this?

>>19253630
Is Peony still in bed with us? If she got up extra early and went to work, I will be displeased but entirely unsurprised.

> What do/say/ask?
I need questions answered.
-Can they do that in a practical sense, since they were ordered to hold the meeting?
-Can we veto it?
-Is this at all normal?
-If they do successfully push that through, do we retain our position as Prince's overseer?
-Would it piss off Dad if that went through?
-What kind of support do they need to make their motion happen?

I'm sure there are more questions, but none spring immediately to mind.

>>19253652
Actually, it is a rather big thing for us. It completely waylays all our improvement plans, since the immigrants are the ones who want what we want... and they won't have any power until then.

But the meeting has been ordered by the palace itself. I think we can leverage that. Look at the exact wording on the documents relating to the Convocation, and see if we have a chance to be all, "Though I hear your motion, I must express my profound regret that the order from the Prince himself is quite clear, this is to be a special convocation meeting for elections."

Basically use the word of our father as a ward to block this off.

>>19253652
>>19253657

Well, the motion goes to you since you are the chairman of the meeting. You have the option to veto it if it's not unanimous.

And it damn well isn't unanimous. All the Immigrants have signalled against it already. Peony looks at the letter over your shoulder, with sleepy eyes. Oh man, if it was Linden doing that you'd have...

'Huh. They're trying to buy time, then?'

'What, to redo their nominations list and overwhelm the Immigrants?' The implication of that hits you. If you agreed to put it off, that's giving the locals two weeks to completely destroy the Immigrant plan you've asked to support.

'Yeah... sir, you have to veto this. This is quite a no-brainer.'

> What do/say?

>>19253630
That certainly gives far more time to plot and get Beribo taken care of, it also however gives him and Niduseg more time to plot themselves.

I support the motion, it gives Adrian more time as the center of attention for the merchants and therefore more time to manipulate them into changing things the way he wants things to go.

Prepare the most formal robes and hat Adrian has, not so much to impress the merchants as to show them that we take them seriously.

>>19253711
Well alright. I don't like how our hand is being forced, but our position is strong enough that we can handle this.

Veto that noise.

>>19253716
Beribo isn't the only thing going on in the city.

The Convocation proceeding as-is sort of throws off our bigger plans for the city and whatnot.

I have to wonder why they would do this if they knew we were already on the immigrant's side. I'd prefer to use some other reason for not doing it than a pure veto, just because I smell a possible trap here.

Guys, let's think of some way around this. I threw out looking at the order from our father. Is there anything else? Maybe precedent that this would be in violation of? We have until the convocation starts to comb through records.

>>19253750
>I have to wonder why they would do this if they knew we were already on the immigrant's side

They not be certain and are thus trying to confirm their suspicions.

Finding a technicality to invalidate their motion would be better than just NOPEing in their collective faces.

>>19253776
They may not be certain, even

Veto the shit out of it.

>>19253696
>>19253679

> Sorry, didn't see this.

You check the order from your father; unfortunately it only mentions that the meeting *must* be called, and it should address 'the matter of the Convocation's membership'. Ooh, that's a damned woolly phrase that is... you could use that, but it's not as certain as you'd like.

This sort of thing does happen, though not very frequently. You will definitely retain your post - this has nothing to do with your post, not for now anyway. As for support, since 18/25 support it and 7/25 oppose it, without your veto it will go through without a hitch and they'll be talking about the price of cabbages probably.

Gods-damn it. As for your father, he'd probably be a bit pissed at your apparent inability to subdue the merchants. Or maybe he thought this would happen all along...

You do wonder about using the 15 Purveyor seats, however. You could call it to their attention, and their vote on the matter would be a recommendation, either supporting or opposing. You don't know which way they'd lean...

> What do/say? Anything else you'd like to find out?

>>19253711
> What do/say?
Figure out how to leverage this. We were just abruptly put into a position where our word- and, essentially, our word ALONE- can determine the fate of a huge number of the city's merchants, since if we veto this the immigrants get their political battle and if we don't then they get quashed.

You know what that means? It means that the Convocation needs to get us to do what they want, and they know it. There's a significant chance that we can name our price, and they will pay. No more of that cheapskate bullshit- to avoid our veto on this they could damn well shower us with wealth.

It's worth considering before we knee-jerk veto.

Still waiting for GM answers to there:
>-If they do successfully push that through, do we retain our position as Prince's overseer?
>-Would it piss off Dad if that went through?

>>19253830
We were already going to order a review of the Purveyor seats, weren't we? Calling it to their attention would just give us more people opposing it.

>>19253866

Don't think we were, actually. Nothing was planned, and we weren't going to touch that...

>>19253880
Oh. I thought we were going to order the Purveyor review because that was pretty much what we were being persuaded to do. The seats that are always up for change are always up for change. The purveyors are the ones that the immigrants want. Correct?

>>19253908

No, the Purveyor seats are unfortunately not yours to change. The Prince will decide where he wants to get his silk robes from; neither you nor the Convocation can change that bit.

You could bring up a case for review if there has been accusations of malpractice, however.

>>19253853

So, do you intend to put pressure on the Immigrants to give you a lot more money? What would you like from them, then? Give a price first.

Peony will draft the letter and send it if you want that; meanwhile you can get dressed.

>>19253853

Oh, also, the answers to your questions are in >>19253830.

> You will keep your position
> Dad will probably be a bit pissed, but what's new?

>>19253937
I don't think we should put excessive pressure on the Immigrants. We have taken our bribes and given our word, in essence, so now we need to uphold our bargain. Just because things get a little different or harder doesn't change that. We're a vicious cunning asshole, but we need to have faith in our given word upheld.

I do think that we should send them a letter, though. Just something polite and friendly. Inform them of the vote and that we plan to keep it from going through, as we know it is best for both the city and our friends. Then sign it "To our continued friendship, Earl Adrian of Mar"

That will pretty much be stating: "I'm on your side for now, and I'm keeping my word. But this is something extra and I am doing you a favor, I expect you to do me favors too, in the future."

This would be a tremendous debt they would have to us for doing this. It's the king of thing where they would send us good opportunities and deals for the rest of our life, because they owe us and they want to KEEP getting favors like this in the future.

>>19253937
>So, do you intend to put pressure on the Immigrants to give you a lot more money? What would you like from them, then? Give a price first.
Please allow a certain amount of internal debate on this before making a move.

We could pressure either the immigrants to pay us more, basically extort the Convocation with the threat of veto, or do both at once. The question is, how much would that hurt our PR? Would doing something like that make them all hate us, or would it be more of a "that's just business"? Would pressuring the immigrants make them see us as someone who doesn't stay bought, or in situations like this is it normal for people to ask more of their allies? If we stay loyal to the immigrants and don't ask for anything in particular, but maybe send them a message that we're doing significantly more for them than we thought and imply that we're claiming a marker to be called in later and/or would appreciate spontaneous expressions of gratitude on their part, would that be reasonable or rude?

I feel that I need a clearer view of the potential ramifications of this move, basically.

>>19253946
Yeah, sorry about missing that.

>>19254024
>If we stay loyal to the immigrants and don't ask for anything in particular, but maybe send them a message that we're doing significantly more for them than we thought and imply that we're claiming a marker to be called in later and/or would appreciate spontaneous expressions of gratitude on their part, would that be reasonable or rude?
This gets my vote.

>>19254024
They would all hate us. No one likes being fucked, and doing that would fuck everyone.

>>19253998
>>19254024

Well... in this culture, it's a little like the Godfather - it's much easier to owe money than it is to owe a favour. You sense that if you pressed them for more money, they would probably pay it, though they might think less of you as someone willing to sit on your friends if it benefitted you. But if you said nothing and rode in, and made a show of defending their interests, that would definitely make them owe you a massive favour.

If you do that, you wouldn't need to send a message. It would be very churlish of the Immigrants not to see what you've done, and they're not a churlish bunch.

Of course, you then have to balance that with the political cost of making enemies out of the rest of the Convocation. If you rode in publicly to make your favour known to the Immigrants, then it also becomes known to the locals. So you've clearly taken sides, then, and that's going to make the rest of the Convocation meetings pretty tough, probably.

> What do/say/think?