[D3 LA] - The Bad and the Worse

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn barely made it back to the suite she and Baelon had been granted at Warrior's suite before the time Corrine's message had posited. Truth be told, in some ways later would have been better...but she wanted to see her cousin before the investigator's meeting rather desperately. Her various errands had kept her apart from Baelon, but only having been blind and deaf would have stopped word from reaching her about the confrontation at the mines, even if accounts were still too sparse and too varying to make much head or tail of.

The chaos this could throw things into was exactly what no one needed right now. Firm hands were needed. And sharp eyes.

She straightened up in a hurry, making sure clothes were put away and the bed had been made to her liking. The servants they'd brought handled most of that, but double checking made her feel better. Too little time, too much to do, but asserting any kind of power over the environment made her feel a little more at home.

Thank gods she hadn't done any of the work she'd need to change her appearance for yet since her first meeting with Corrine. The last thing she needed was to look at Corrine's new spy with spots of makeup on and straw in her hair.

A splash of water, a deep breath, and she decided she was ready. Then it was just the uncomfortable wait for that knock on the door, and the announcement of who had come.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine arrives promptly, with Samurel, in disguise as an attendant, by his lady's side.

She knocks on the door, taking a deep breath. She has composed herself, but she is clearly tense.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn opens the door and ushers them both inside.

"
Cousin...and you'd be Samurel?"
She peers at his face curiously, trying to recognize him from the boy she'd glimpsed around Hartshorn, but rarely noticed. "
Well met. I know there's a lot to talk about, but I think it's best if I let you ask your questions first...then if there's anything else to say after that, I'll fill it in."


With that, Gwyn nods. "
So go ahead."


She indicates a few plush chairs, then goes to fill some glasses with wine for everyone.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Once the door is closed, Corrine looks to Samurel;


"
You can remove your disguise now, Sam."


She looks over at Gwyn;


"
Do please keep his name quiet in public. He can do his work better when few people know his identity and connection to me."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn nods and gives Samruel a wistful smile. "
Indeed it's so. A well known face and name are...would be significant hurdles to overcome in such pursuits."


She offered each a glass.

"
I am at your disposal. Ask what you will."

[Samurel Manderly]

Samurel would quickly Bow his head concealing his face, placing one of his hands on his chest and the other behind his back. His tone shaky and worried, a very carefully constructed series of stutters and missteps to the careful ear. [url=Deception (Act)][/url]: 5d6k4 17

"
N-no MY lady, it-its my pleasure to b-be of ser-ser-service, I am Br-Br-Brynn."


Seeing Gwyn go for the glasses and the wine, Samurel would stop her with a gentle gesture,

"
Ple-please my lady, I-I am my lay-lady's Servant and-and my-my duty to ser-ser-serve you."


Samurel proceeds to fill the wine classes for both Gwyn and Corrine, before handing them to both Ladies, and standing beside his lady, taking note of any suspicious sounds outside of the room. [url=Awareness (Notice)][/url]: 4d6k4 18

"
My-My Lay-Lady,"
Quickly transitioning into a more formal and eloquent speech form. "
Ofcourse My Lady, I do apologize for my act, it is necessary that I remain unexposed, my strength is my anonymity"

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine accepts the glass, giving her temple a little rub.

"
Well, firstly, can you tell me how much you know about the incident at the mines this morning? So that I can ensure we are on the same page, so to speak."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn steps back to let Samruel play his part, an amused smirk flitting over her features, but quickly giving way to grudging admiration. She's never enjoyed being bested at something she considers herself good at, but he's far better at this than she...

"
Relatively little, unfortunately. I was busy with other matters when it happened, and I haven't had a chance to speak much with Baelon or Daveth since I first heard. I know Daveth's upset with Baelon...and while Baelon accepts that he could have handled the situation more tactfully, he maintains that his actions were warranted...though the consequences of it were unintended and frankly rather disastrous."


She takes a glass for her own and drains a healthy sip.

"
The unfortunate part is that he may be correct in that...which is not so much an endorsement of his actions as much as a recognition of the very high stakes we are currently playing at."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine sighs heavily, clearly very drained.

"
So you know Athelstan Pyke is dead then. Well, not wanting to go over largely erroneous details, I shall simply say that Baelon should have come to me with his evidence, rather than the shambles he staged this morning. And certainly should not have flounced off without accounting for his actions. Because he refused to stand down, after both myself and Ser Jorah tried to reason with him, the person best placed to furnish us with the truth is dead. I am sorry, Gwyn, but I will be calling for an inquest into Baelon's actions if he does not explain himself to my satisfaction."


Her tone is geniinely regretful, but there is restraint in her voice, possibly masking anger.

[Samurel Manderly]

Samurel does not sit, nor does his side leave either the door or his Lady. Samurel's tone becomes sharp, and cold, His eyes not focusing on anything it would appear.

"
This... Incident, with an Athelstan as My Lady calls him, Bastard as he were, seems to have made our work here significantly more difficult to accomplish. I suspect that news of this conflict will reach culprits on both sides of this conflict, using it as a means to elude us, play off our mutual enmity. This does not bode well for a peaceful solution ignoring the state of communication between the houses... whatever state the houses leave each other with tomorrow, I suspect, will hint that their actions unseen by us and ours."


Samurel takes a glass and sips a minuscule amount before setting it down, moving it in his mouth bad and forth in a fluid motion before swallowing. his eyes trained on His Lady, and Lady Gwyn.

"
This can all be.. handled in a way, this conflict is a primer opportunity to rework the relations between all the houses involved, the question remains, what do you wish the outcome to be. The path before us has split in so many directions because of Athelstan's death, from my understanding, his work and his place makes his death one that effects every house."


Looking at the glass once more, Samurel's tone becomes a bit softer, and significantly warmer.

"
Lady Gwyn, What are your thoughts on the news that has been made apparent?"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
There are a few things you're not considering, most likely because you're not aware of them,"
Gwyn replied evenly. "
Firstly, the situation with the wildfire is one we only just became aware of early today. We haven't been keeping it secret. Rather, when we learned of it, we directed all of our resources to immediately trying to learn the truth of the matter. Baelon's confrontation with Athelsten was..."
she twists her mouth a little in a grimace, "
...it should have been handled differently. Baelon's too close, I think."


She raises her eyes to Corrine's. "
What you have to understand is that whatever wildfire Athelsten moved is only a tiny fraction of the total amount. There is enough wildfire out there, somewhere, to fill a wagon and we don't know where it is. And there's a delegation from the Royal Family en route as we speak."


Gwyneth sighed and took another drink from her wine. Not just a sip this time. "
He was our only solid lead at the time. I've been busy with Loreia and her dog, trying to track the wagon, trying to get the scent of wildfire around the area. I have every contact at my disposal hunting rumors. Daveth, Baelon and I have devoted long hours to trying to unfold this plot, but since the actual evidence has all been scooped up and moved around, we have almost nothing to set us on the trail of the wildfire save one man's word."


"
A man who committed suicide rather than give that word."


She wiped the back of her hand across her lips and looked down into the glass moodily, her calm veneer slipping a little to show the strain of the past two days.

[size=85:38t4htd2]**OOC Note - After conferring with my Houses and checking dates, it turns out Drakeson learned of the Wildfire Plot early Day 3, not late Day 2. My apologies for the confusion;
this post has been edited to reflect that correction. **

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine listens in silence, and only speaks when she is sure Gwyn is finished.

"
I understand the urgency of the situation. Which is why I urged everyone to get searching, rather than fighting."


She shakes her head;


"
Baelon was entirely the wrong person to confront Athelstan, and he did it in the worst way possible. He should have known that threats and pointed weapons would only make Athelstan less co-operative. Even if Baelon couldn't have told me beforehand, he should have at least told me when he arrived and let me handle Athelstan. If Baelon hadn't been so forceful, Athelstan would still be alive, and we could have gotten the information, if he even had it."


Corrine took a big drink from her glass.

"
I should have used my authority sooner, commanded them to stand down. If I had been able to have a quiet word with Athelstan, I think he would have co-operated. He would have listened to me. I think... he still had feelings toward me."


Gwyn can see plainly the regret, sorrow, and weariness wrought upon her cousin's face.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Confronting Athelsten was not the plan when Daveth and Baelon went to the mine to investigate,"
Gwyn stresses. "
We had no idea where he was going to be. From what I can tell, it was a simple matter to start with. A suspect and witness to a terrible crime is spotted, and he had to make a fast decision. He chose to try to take Athelsten into custody for questioning."


Gwyn shakes her head. "
I don't think he was wrong to do so. And Athelsten is so...unpredictable, that from what I've heard he entered the situation prepared for the worst;
that he'd try to flee, fight, or threaten you when confronted. It's easy with hindsight to say he made a mistake, that he was too emotionally involved, that he should have done this or that...and those things should be said, or there's no learning for next time. All I ask is that you also bear in mind that these have not been situations where we've been carefully plotting and planning what to do. In the moment, not expecting or knowing what to expect, it's much easier to make mistakes like that than it seems like it should be in calmer moments."


She refills her glass halfway, then takes a seat as well.

"
I'm well aware that I have a lot of work to do in the future, trying to patch some of this mess up. That said, I maintain that the focus of our efforts still needs to be finding this wildfire. The political implications of this are, incredibly, even worse than the simple human risks involved."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Look, Gwyn, I understand that we all make mistakes. I am just saying that there will likely have to be a separate investigation into this particular incident, and Baelon will have to justify himself to a higher authority. I too want the wildfire found, and called for all present to join in that search, but everyone, including Baelon, rode off in a temper after Athelstan's corpse was recovered, leaving Ser Markus &
I alone. I'd have an easier time justifying Baelon's actions if he had bothered to join the search."


Her tone becomes increasingly agitated;


"
As it stands, every other House that turned up there and buggered off once they'd had their little spat can go hang, since they seemed so much more interested in posturing than actually co-operating to find the damned wildfire. I'm so utterly sick of all the secrecy. A man has died needlessly because of it, and I intend to end it tomorrow at the gathering."


Her hand was gripping her glass so tightly, her knuckles were white;


"
We're supposed to be working together to end this feud, not create new ones, for fuck's sake!"


Her eyes well up, but her jaw is tight, desperately trying to contain her emotions.

[Samurel Manderly]

Samurel placed his hand on the white knuckled fist that Lady Corrine had around her glass.

"
My lady, please."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine only then became aware of how tense she was, and let go of the glass hurriedly, pushing it away from her and folding her hands, head lowered shamefully.

"
I am sorry, both of you. This is a very trying time,"
she said softly, still fighting her impotent tears.

[Samurel Manderly]

Pulling away his hand slowly, Samurel bows his head before Lady Corrine and Lady Gwyn.

"
These are indeed trying times my Ladies, raw emotion is to be expected, especially for you who hold the weight of your houses on yourselves."


Standing up straight once more, Samurel once again examined the door, listening for the telltale sound of an eavesdroppers breath or his foot beat. [url=Awareness (Notice)][/url]: 4d6k4 11

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
There is worse yet to come,"
Gwyn warns intently. "
And with that in mind, may I make a suggestion? I realize that at the moment I have very thin ice to stand on, but I think it's something you need to hear."


"
Take command, Corrine. From the start of this, there's been very little coordination, very little defined goals, or explicit expectations or requirements set upon us. As head investigators, it is in your right to do these things. Use that right. Do not passively expect everyone to do their part and obediently make reports. Make rules, and hold us to them. Give each of us specific duties, and oversight. Use this upcoming meeting to establish that. Otherwise we'll all keep chasing our tails around, snapping and growling at each other. Wasting time that none of us have."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
That is what I intend to do,"
Corrine replies, flatly. "
Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

[Samurel Manderly]

Samurel takes a moment to clear his throat, placing a fist in front of his closed mouth before speaking

"
Lady Gwyn I believe is right in some regards to this, a firm hand is needed here, a more deliberate effort to monitor everyone is a delicate subject however. Oversight... will be a point of contention for anyone with something to hide or with a point of pride with such a command as yours being given. A delicate matter in all senses of the word My Lady"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

There was a little mirth in Gwyn's subdued smile at Corrine's manner. It was good to see she still had spirit after all this.

"
Quite a bit more, in fact. But do you have any other questions you want to ask first? Anything specific you want to make sure I cover?"

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
I honestly don't know, Gwyn,"
Corrine sighs, perturbed. "
It is difficult to know the right questions to ask when so much is unclear. Let us move on to other subjects than today's incident. I've spoken on that a good deal more than I care to right now, and nothing can be resolved until I have spoken with your husband. I do want to know as much as you and he kniw about the situation so far. What you've found so far in your investigations."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn nods. "
That's fine...I didn't know if you had anything else to ask. Worry not though, I have much more to say."


"
I've gotten some word on the ongoing attacks at Pennytree, for example. These new raids aren't by the same warriors as the previous attacks...and I've a man who claims some of them were swords sworn to various 'Black' causes that he recognized from a tourney. Not the most substantial of leads, but it's something we can follow up on...see what we can find of their current allegiance and so on. The situation in Pennytree isn't as immediately pressing as other places, but tensions are high and getting worse. It'd be a mistake to ignore it."


She takes another sip of wine. "
I believe Ser Jorah is following up on the missing Daleford girl...I hope to have more on that front soon."


"
The real catch of the day though is Blackbuckle."


Over the rim of her glass, Gwyn eyed Corrine to gauge her reaction. "
We were able to determine the exact poison used there."


[size=85:3pv0y2lf]** OOC Note 2 - Notealoo - Yep, my lead was that the swords in question were black sworn swords, not Blackwood...gah, sorry for the mistakes everyone. I want to be sure I'm not giving out info that is OOC incorrect here.

[Samurel Manderly]

Samurel Blinks once at the mention of poison, a very deliberate and heavy blink. and turns his head so that it might be fully facing Lady Gwyn.

"
Now would be quite the find Lady Gwyn... I don't suspect you were alone in finding this information, unless of course you would dirty your hands with the pursuit the poisoners art?"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn chuckled. "
No, our maester and Daveth are skilled healers though, and knowledgeable in a number of subjects. Among them, crucially in this case, is history. The poison used in Blackbuckle is no kind of common brew. It's a poison that hasn't been seen since the fall of Valyria, and was thought to have been lost in that conflagration."

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