( by the wrinkling of her nose, this already sounds more involved in proceedings than she'd really like to be—the fact that she's the bride notwithstanding—but she lets it pass unchallenged, partly because he's her grandfather and partly because she's not going to turn down the opportunity to cross out a few names if need be. it's sensible.
then, with a shrug: )
Well, money.
( it's terribly crass to say so, but it is rather the thrust of this request. someone has to pay for it, and emeric's estate is increasingly tied up in affairs of the throne and the war. nevermind the fact he is, himself, at the front and in no position to oversee matters as romain might. )
Thranduil and Maker only knows who else will be handling all of ... that, but it's going to cost.
then, with a shrug: )
Well, money.
( it's terribly crass to say so, but it is rather the thrust of this request. someone has to pay for it, and emeric's estate is increasingly tied up in affairs of the throne and the war. nevermind the fact he is, himself, at the front and in no position to oversee matters as romain might. )
Thranduil and Maker only knows who else will be handling all of ... that, but it's going to cost.
[Almost gently:]
Yes, I rather expected. I meant what specifically. I expect you have a list, or can point me to the person who does. Most vendors require specific amounts.
Also, you may be washing your hands of most of it, but if you'll permit me, I don't think Inquisition leadership should be trusted with your choice of dressmaker.
[Standards.]
Yes, I rather expected. I meant what specifically. I expect you have a list, or can point me to the person who does. Most vendors require specific amounts.
Also, you may be washing your hands of most of it, but if you'll permit me, I don't think Inquisition leadership should be trusted with your choice of dressmaker.
[Standards.]
Oh.
( right. that probably answers for him immediately how much of this she's actually paying attention to, because she quite obviously by her face has no such list or knowledge of specifics. )
You'll want to speak with Thranduil, he'll know. I deputized myself only so far as asking you in the first place. The dress is the only thing I didn't want anyone else touching.
( right. that probably answers for him immediately how much of this she's actually paying attention to, because she quite obviously by her face has no such list or knowledge of specifics. )
You'll want to speak with Thranduil, he'll know. I deputized myself only so far as asking you in the first place. The dress is the only thing I didn't want anyone else touching.
As you like. I will coordinate with your [fiance is wrong, under the circumstances, but its only the briefest pause suggesting he didn't always meant to say:] fellow propagandist. In the meantime, I'll begin drafting a few letters of my own.
[A pause, then:]
It's a shame your grandmother doesn't have a chance to see. I think she'd have found the entire thing very much to her taste.
[A rare offering of something almost personal on his part. It's not done by accident.]
[A pause, then:]
It's a shame your grandmother doesn't have a chance to see. I think she'd have found the entire thing very much to her taste.
[A rare offering of something almost personal on his part. It's not done by accident.]
( it's immensely difficult—visibly, even, particularly to someone who knows her so well—not to immediately ask which one he means, considering his relationship to both of her human grandmothers and what she remembers of them as women. it's right there and she deserves a medal for managing to keep her mouth shut long enough for the impulse to pass.
what she says, instead, )
Well, Lady Morrigan will be standing in for my mother,
( begs the question of which she means. )
what she says, instead, )
Well, Lady Morrigan will be standing in for my mother,
( begs the question of which she means. )
[He, in turn, doesn't ask either, so they've both accomplished something this day.]
It's going to be a complicated day, inevitably. You may as well have someone you trust at your side for it, if you've the option.
[He doesn't know Morrigan, other than by reputation, but he can read his granddaughter's tone.]
It's going to be a complicated day, inevitably. You may as well have someone you trust at your side for it, if you've the option.
[He doesn't know Morrigan, other than by reputation, but he can read his granddaughter's tone.]
a not-at-all-mysterious-because-he's-a-duke-and-unsigned-envelopes-might-have-anthrax invitation
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matchymatchy
2019-02-13 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ When Romain wakes, he'll find that he's received a written invitation to meet with a charming young acquaintance of his granddaughter, in need of grandfatherly advice.
Romain doesn't have to accept the invitation, but I've already been told he's being bullied into it, so there. It's beautifully calligraphed, and thanks him most graciously for his indulgence in this small favour. Of course it's done for the good of the Inquisition, and not Ottoline — she's just so honoured to be able to facilitate an introduction.
After meeting at the manse, he’s to attend a very fancy card-game-slash-brunch at the Hightown equivalent of a very fancy board game cafe. The clientele are mostly wealthy merchants, both human and dwarven, with a few lesser members of the southern nobility.
OOC Note: Kitty is played by Hope. Feel free to play out a thread, handwave things, or ignore it entirely, but check with each other first! And probably check with Libby, since I didn’t beyond the broad strokes. ❤]
Romain doesn't have to accept the invitation, but I've already been told he's being bullied into it, so there. It's beautifully calligraphed, and thanks him most graciously for his indulgence in this small favour. Of course it's done for the good of the Inquisition, and not Ottoline — she's just so honoured to be able to facilitate an introduction.
After meeting at the manse, he’s to attend a very fancy card-game-slash-brunch at the Hightown equivalent of a very fancy board game cafe. The clientele are mostly wealthy merchants, both human and dwarven, with a few lesser members of the southern nobility.
OOC Note: Kitty is played by Hope. Feel free to play out a thread, handwave things, or ignore it entirely, but check with each other first! And probably check with Libby, since I didn’t beyond the broad strokes. ❤]
Edited (LMAO I'M SO SORRY AMMMY I KEEP FUCKING STUFF UP IN THIS) 2019-02-13 06:07 (UTC)
[ how do you...address a duke...when asking for a favor? ]
Do you have a moment?
Do you have a moment?
[If one can't be polite, one can be direct.]
I suppose I can find one. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?
[His tone is not especially indicative that it's a pleasure, but it's not hostile either. Maybe he's just Orlesian that way.]
I suppose I can find one. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?
[His tone is not especially indicative that it's a pleasure, but it's not hostile either. Maybe he's just Orlesian that way.]
John Silver. The Quartmaster of the Walrus.
[ does not sound impressive comparatively, but john's pressing on. ]
We spoke briefly during the matter of the Archon, if you recall. Your granddaughter suggested I seek you out for some assistance with a project I've undertaken.
[ does not sound impressive comparatively, but john's pressing on. ]
We spoke briefly during the matter of the Archon, if you recall. Your granddaughter suggested I seek you out for some assistance with a project I've undertaken.
Edited (breaks html) 2019-04-11 02:40 (UTC)
Ah, yes. I do recall.
[Not enough to be bothered to place his voice, apparently, but all the same.]
Knowing my granddaughter, I'm sure this project must be fascinating. What would I be assisting you in?
[Not enough to be bothered to place his voice, apparently, but all the same.]
Knowing my granddaughter, I'm sure this project must be fascinating. What would I be assisting you in?
I'd like to spread a few rumors among the Ostwick nobility. But to do that, I would need some introductions or else I expect the door would be slammed in my face before I can get started.
Ah. An old method, but not an ineffective one. I've a few contacts in the Free Marches, and one or two who owe me favors.
Do you have a particular venue in mind?
Do you have a particular venue in mind?
There's a party being held to celebrate some trader's favorite son. From what I've heard, it'll get just about everyone influential in one place.
[ helpful ]
If we can get through the door, we can get the word out in one evening.
[ helpful ]
If we can get through the door, we can get the word out in one evening.
I will be going through her papers, but I expect I know what I will find.
Is there anything of her mother's [ annegret, he means. ] that I ought to keep my eye out for?
Is there anything of her mother's [ annegret, he means. ] that I ought to keep my eye out for?
Edited 2019-05-24 03:29 (UTC)
I honestly am not sure. Jewelry would be the likeliest, I suppose. Things for her hair. But I'm not sure what she kept. Possibly nothing.
I won't contest anything of hers in particular you wish to keep. But if I may request leave to review anything else prior to it being given away or otherwise disposed of.
I won't contest anything of hers in particular you wish to keep. But if I may request leave to review anything else prior to it being given away or otherwise disposed of.
Anything I am unsure of, I will bring to you.
I am sentimental. [ frankly. ] but no hoarder. In a few months' time, there may be things in need of review.
I assume you have some manner of plan brewing.
I am sentimental. [ frankly. ] but no hoarder. In a few months' time, there may be things in need of review.
I assume you have some manner of plan brewing.
[Romain is not sentimental, but he is spectacularly bad at letting go of things; luckily his house(s) are large enough no one is likely to call him on it.
Instead of commenting on that:]
I am not the only one I expect will be looking to answer this, but there are plenty of people well-qualified to hunt down Venatori. Baron Deshaies, on the other hand, is a man I am in a position to make extremely uncomfortable.
But first I need to determined whether he was a fool or participated willingly. How I proceed [not "whether"] will look slightly different. I've sent some discreet ravens, but I will need to decamp for Orlais to begin work properly. I plan to depart as soon as the memorials have ended.
Instead of commenting on that:]
I am not the only one I expect will be looking to answer this, but there are plenty of people well-qualified to hunt down Venatori. Baron Deshaies, on the other hand, is a man I am in a position to make extremely uncomfortable.
But first I need to determined whether he was a fool or participated willingly. How I proceed [not "whether"] will look slightly different. I've sent some discreet ravens, but I will need to decamp for Orlais to begin work properly. I plan to depart as soon as the memorials have ended.
If there is any way I might aid you in your efforts, you only need ask.
[ he is keenly aware of the limits thedas has imposed upon him, his reach. romain has fewer. ]
With this matter, or any other.
[ he is keenly aware of the limits thedas has imposed upon him, his reach. romain has fewer. ]
With this matter, or any other.
As you like.
[Whether he will remains to be seen, but that has less to do with Thranduil in particular than it does Romain in general.
There is a pause when it seems there might not be anything more. But then:]
What do your people do, in mourning? The customs, I imagine, are not quite the same.
[Whether he will remains to be seen, but that has less to do with Thranduil in particular than it does Romain in general.
There is a pause when it seems there might not be anything more. But then:]
What do your people do, in mourning? The customs, I imagine, are not quite the same.
[ here, he falters somewhat. the question is wholly unexpected. he will remember this, fond as he already is of romain, even as he takes a moment to answer, his tone shifted into something more thoughtful. ]
They are not. There is no body to return to the soil, and it would be impractical besides. [ he would die before seeing gwenaëlle rise as a wight or preserved unnaturally in the nevarran fashion; luckily andraste has saved them from that. ] We mourn temporary, if lengthy, separation and not loss.
They are not. There is no body to return to the soil, and it would be impractical besides. [ he would die before seeing gwenaëlle rise as a wight or preserved unnaturally in the nevarran fashion; luckily andraste has saved them from that. ] We mourn temporary, if lengthy, separation and not loss.
The Dalish bury their dead in the ground, I hear. I confess, it's not a practice that sits easily, but I suppose...
[Well, in this case, it's moot. There's no question to be answered. He'd expected to help his granddaughter through the loss of her husband, if he vanished as so many other rifters had. This, he is unprepared to navigate.]
Some believe our spirits are reunited in the Fade, or whatever might lie beyond it. I suppose I have no way to disprove as much, but I am not a sufficiently pious man to lean upon such reassurances.
[Well, in this case, it's moot. There's no question to be answered. He'd expected to help his granddaughter through the loss of her husband, if he vanished as so many other rifters had. This, he is unprepared to navigate.]
Some believe our spirits are reunited in the Fade, or whatever might lie beyond it. I suppose I have no way to disprove as much, but I am not a sufficiently pious man to lean upon such reassurances.
[ not unkindly: ] I thank you for your assurances, Romain, [ yeah he’ll risk it. ] but I will not make use of that crutch. I had her for a shorter time than I had hoped, but I that I had her at all was enough.
The thought of her before the Maker’s throne in any capacity, let alone being made to wait by Himself, is an amusing one.
The thought of her before the Maker’s throne in any capacity, let alone being made to wait by Himself, is an amusing one.
[His tone is a bit wry.] I would not be entirely shocked if she made her way to His presence on brazenness and refusing to understand the word 'no' alone.
[If he might push back on the familiarity another day, well, this day is an exception in many ways. He feels tired and old and he is running out of family.]
I will spend some of my resources to make sure she is memorialized in Orlais. I know she would dislike it, but such memorials are for the living, not the dead.
[If he might push back on the familiarity another day, well, this day is an exception in many ways. He feels tired and old and he is running out of family.]
I will spend some of my resources to make sure she is memorialized in Orlais. I know she would dislike it, but such memorials are for the living, not the dead.
[ he might have hoped along the lines of a miraculous return along the lines of the miraculous appearance of the rifters, but he is not one prone to the hope of the impossible. the unlikely, but not the improbable. ]
In what manner? Something at the university?
In what manner? Something at the university?
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