Re: [D4, LM] Assembly (Open)

[Loreia]

Word is relayed to Loreia that the assembly wishes to hear from Maester Humphrey* first. Nodding toward Baelon, who remains outside, she opens the tent flap and allows Humphrey to enter ahead of her, entering behind him.

"
Presentin' Maester Humphrey of House Bracken."


* - whichever the players ultimately agree to hearing from first, if there is any conflict of preference.

[Baelon Drakeson]

[OOC: Baelon is not waiting outside - he has left the area altogether.]

[Daveth Coldbrook]

(OOC: note that Reader has PMd me the results, I'm not just making them up. Further note that THE NEXT POST HAS BEEN RESERVED BY READER.)

"
Thank you for coming, Maester. I am Daveth Coldbrook. If I might beg your indulgence in a small matter that will save some time, I would like you to perform a short series of actions. I simply ask that you trust that I would not waste your time, and that of the royal investigators, if there were not a point to it."


The Bracken maester huffs, though he notes the serious mood of the room. "
Very well, Coldbrook. I will indulge you, for a short time."


"
Thank you. First, please, look up at the roof, now hold your hands out in front of you, palms up. I'm about to put a few drops of something on your palm, don't look down yet. Okay, now, rub your hands together, please. Great. Now show your hands to the room, and feel free to look down."


Maester Humphrey's hands were quite clearly purple, with no orange visible.

Daveth lets out a small sigh of relief, and gives the maester a smile. "
Thank you, Maester. Please, wipe your hands clean with this."
handing him the rag from earlier.

"
Care to explain just *why* you saw fit to douse my hands in liquid purple vapour, Coldbrook?"


"
My apologies, Maester Humphrey. For now, the short reason is because I believed it necessary, and it was to your benefit. Thank you for your participation, but don't go too far, we may need you again."
not that the guards would let you, of course.

The Maesters are swapped out, and this time, it is Maester Arran who limps in, and is put through the same procedure, with Daveth making sure that Loreia is right beside him the whole time.

And then, the time comes for the Blackwood maester to show his hands to the audience.

Bright orange, all over.

Well, that at least went entirely as expected.

"
Let me add to that, to fill in the blanks."
Daveth says to his audience, in a calm, confident, and relentless, tone.

"
Maester Arran has served House Blackwood for decades. He views the people of the house as his dear friends and family.

"
As a young man, he was taken by Lyseni pirates while travelling on an errand to King's Landing. He suffered ferociously at the hands of torturers, which is why he still walks with a limp today. Understandably, given the pain he lives with every day, he has an extreme hatred of torturers.

"
In the citadel, he specialised in history. Remember that the poison was Valyrian? Well, in a situation where Valyrian troops were captured and being tortured, and their fellows were unable to mount a rescue of comrades, they’d typically deploy some mechanism or poison to end the suffering of their friends and exact vengeance on the torturers.

"
In Blackbuckle, Bracken troops were torturing Blackwood prisoners.

"
These factors combined into the tragedy we witnessed there.

"
What happened was that Arran himself went to Blackbuckle. He set off a stampede of cattle to draw off the people, then poisoned the well himself. We have a witness who saw 'a stranger, with a limp, and strong shoulders' moving in the opposite direction to be helping with the stampede. We can bring our witness in if necessary, but I think the identification is clear enough.

"
And then, finally, on the day of our arrival, Arran was busy destroying evidence, by burning or otherwise cleansing everything he had that could be bearing traces of the poison, which is why any efforts to simply test his bench or equipment failed.

"
In his haste, however, he missed *this*,"
and Daveth pulls out of a pouch a vial containing a viscous, colourless liquid, "
Which rolled outside his door, and was spotted by Ser Jorah's new squire, Trelane of House Connington, who picked it up as being suspicious under the circumstances, hearing the sounds of bottles being broken and a flame roaring inside his cell. Squire Trelane then passed it to me for identification. And yes, it is indeed Glass candle tears."


Daveth turns back to the man. "
Any part of that you wish to contest, Arran?"
he asks, deliberately skipping the title, as a couple of guards slowly close, to prevent any rash, desperate actions from the maester.

(OOC: Phew! That involved a *lot* of gathering notes scattered all over the place, but I think I remembered everything, and everything in there is accurate. Reminder: Reader has requested that the next post be theirs.)

[Reader]

Maester Arran lurched awkwardly, but it was merely the spasm of a broken man, rather than a desperate attempt to escape.

He steadied himself and fixed his feet as the guards came for him.

"
I contest none of it! I took action and saved countless lives in doing so!"


He looks around the room at the investigators.

"
WHO AMONG YOU CAN SAY YOU'VE BROUGHT AS MUCH PROTECTION TO BATTLE VALLEY?"


"
You politic and fight among yourselves, jockeying for position. I DID SOMETHING! I TOOK ACTION."


He is unaware of how some among them, such as Lord Marsten, have suffered.

"
If any of you had felt the horror's of the torturer's cruel arts, you'd have done the same. Anything to break the suffering of those poor people from those monsters."


"
I am not Ser Tyron or Ser Myles, able to ride in on a white horse and cut those suffering free."


He sweeps the room once more, this time pointing accusingly as the soldiers grab him.

"
I had to do something. I brought justice and the peace of the grave to Blackbuckle where before there was only suffering. Who many of you will have done so kindly by Battle Valley by the time the week is out?"


He breaks down sobbing as the soldiers make ready to drag him away, his guilt seemingly not in question.

But his punishment? Aye, there's the rub...

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Daveth response is cool and distant. "
Given the public confession, House Coldbrook wishes to see if there is support among the investigators for the death penalty for the poisoning at Blackbuckle.

"
And for the method, I wish for something a little more ... poetic than normal."
he taps the vial meaningfully. "
He receives a dose of this, and House Blackwood proves their condemnation of Arran's act by confining him, and ensuring that he lives through the full course of the poison, just as his victims did."


Maybe then those new nightmares will stop.

[Nathaniel Mason]

Several heads turned to the sound of breaking glass. In his fury, Nathan's grip had shattered the wine glass he was holding, it's contents dripped like blood down his gloved hand into the grass.

Ser Jon Roxton, standing behind him, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. To comfort and calm him perhaps, more likely to keep the boy in his chair. The look he was giving Maester Arryn was one of shear malevolence. If looks could kill, Arryn would slowly and painfully be melting into a puddle on the ground.

It was several moments before Nathan noticed he was being stared at, and the crushed goblet in his hand.

The mask fell back into place. "
My apologies, Master Daveth."
he said, flickering an unconvincing smile.

[Loreia]

Loreia's fingers curl, her lip curls as the man raves about saving people. "
I'd rather hand him over to the Brackens."


She too, at this time, is caught off guard by the shattering glass in the young man's hand.

[Septon Arlyn]

The rotting corpses of the dead in Blackbuckle float in front of Septon Arlyn's eyes. at least these dead will finally have their justice . "
Aye, and since it has been denounced by the Blackwood's, and they are assisting with recovering of the village, I would say that the citadel should pay reparations as well. The citadel needs to be held accountable for its Maester's, else the risk to society is too great, as many Maester's help manage the affairs of the Lords. If Lord's can not trust that the men in charge of their finances and teaching of their children will be true, how can we expect them to begin to trust one another? "

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Any individual man can be consumed by madness, or the demons of his own nature,"
Gwyneth points out. "
Be he farmer, king, or maester. If there was a pattern, where maesters commonly turned into beasts in manskin, then we might look to the Citadel with an eye to their methods and quality control."


"
As it is, I don't think Arran's insanity can be traced to the Citadel itself."

[Septon Arlyn]

"
No, I doubt that his insanity can be, but as a chained Maester, he should be held to a higher standard then a common man. To wear a chain is similar to taking the vows of a Septon, just as my actions could reasonably demand compensation from the Faith if I were to commit this atrocity, so too should the citadel not be sheltered from it's effects. I would say that the citadel should appoint a new Maester to the Blackwood's, and as his first order of business should be to do
Help repair the damage caused by this"
Septon gestures to the Maester, "
man. And that Maester skills and the citadels resources skills be used in the restoration of blackbuckle"

[Benedict Marsten]

Bright orange, all over.

Ben's jaw tightens. A scowl creeping on to his face.

Damn you man!

"
As a young man, he was taken by Lyseni pirates while travelling on an errand to King's Landing. He suffered ferociously at the hands of torturers, which is why he still walks with a limp today. Understandably, given the pain he lives with every day, he has an extreme hatred of torturers.

His left eye twitches beneath his narrowed brow at the mention of pirates and torture. The knuckles of his fingers softly pop as he clinches his fists.

Weak.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine felt her husband's tension beside her, and gently cupped one of his clenched fists in her hand. She looked at the maester with withering contempt;


"
Maester Arran, I have insufficient words for how appalled and disgusted I am by your actions. While I share your abhorrence of torturers and pirates, I will never condone your murder of hundreds of innocent people. The smallfolk of Blackbuckle did you no harm, yet you killed them in a horrific manner. Your experience is no excuse to devastate a whole village. You will be detained under guard until I and my fellow investigators decide what should be done with you. But, I assure you, your punishment will be severe."


She looked to the guards;


"
Get him out of my sight."


As they removed him, she glanced between Daveth, Gwyn, and Septon Arlyn.

"
I am inclined to agree with Lady Gwyneth. Any man can be driven to madness and cruelty. The Citadel should be informed, for posterity, but I do not believe they are responsible for Arran's actions."


Her attention then went to Nathan, wordlessly drawing a handkerchief from her sleeve and sinking to one knee at his feet, using the cloth to bind his hand, like a concerned mother.

[url=Healing][/url]: 3d6 11

[Nathaniel Mason]

"
You are very kind, my Lady. Please don't concern yourself, unduly. My glove protected me from any serious injury."
Despite his protests, he did nothing to stop her ministrations. "
Blackbuckle has frayed my temper. I suspected Maester Arryn, but with his guilt confirmed and confronted with his pride over such destruction... it got the better of me."


"
Does anyone know if a Maester can be stripped of his chain?"
Nathan asked the room. "
Assuming we don't want to hang him by it. I don't think anyone here wants the reputation of the Citadel to be tarnished by one evil man."


He glanced at Daveth. "
I agree with Master Daveth that he should 'get a taste of his own medicine', but I would like him to see Blackbuckle before he meets the Seven. If he is so proud of his work, let him see it before he dies. Let him look at boys dead in alleys and rotted mothers clutching rotted babies."


"
He stands there sobbing... trying to look pathetic! He says he saved lives... brought the peace of the grave? I cannot think of a punishment that would fit this crime... and I am very creative."
Nathan snarls.

Nathan takes a deep breath, to maintain control of his anger. "
There is one thing I wish to know, Master Daveth. Where did this man get the poison. If it is incredibly rare, it must have come from somewhere. Incredibly rare also means incredibly expensive. Who sold him the poison, and who paid for it!"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
The poison he used may well have been some of batches brewed before the Doom,"
Gwyn says softly. "
As much a historical relic as a venom, in the hands of even a slightly less damaged man. In that regard, a maester could have procured it in any number of ways...and as to your other question, yes I believe the Citadel can, in extreme cases, strip an errant maester of his chains. I can think of no better candidate for that than him."


She pauses, regarding Nathaniel. "
When you have a moment, and your hands are all right, come speak with me. Some elements of the investigation, as you surmise, are ongoing."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Satisfied that she had stemmed the wellings of blood beneath the glove, Corrine stood and gave Nathan space, stepping back into the security of Ben's proximity.

[Samurel Manderly]

Noticing Corrine taking back her place, Samurel places the cup, filled with a light red wine mulled with spices, fruits, in front of her. Then proceeds to quietly speak

"
My Lady, a drink, the heat is insufferable even at this hour."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Noticing Corrine taking back her place, Samurel places the cup, filled with a light red wine mulled with spices, fruits, in front of her. Then proceeds to quietly speak

"
My Lady, a drink, the heat is insufferable even at this hour."

"
Thank you,"
she replied, very softly, with a grateful look, taking the cup and sipping from it.

[Nathaniel Mason]

She pauses, regarding Nathaniel. "
When you have a moment, and your hands are all right, come speak with me. Some elements of the investigation, as you surmise, are ongoing."

"
Of course, Lady Drakeson. I am at your disposal."


[OOC: If you want to start a new thread in the same time slot, we can say it happened after the meeting.]

[Daveth Coldbrook]

"
My apologies, Master Daveth."
he said, flickering an unconvincing smile.

Daveth shakes his head dismissively. "
I went to Blackbuckle, too, Nathaniel, and not for as long as you. No apologies are necessary."

"
Does anyone know if a Maester can be stripped of his chain?"
Nathan asked the room. "
Assuming we don't want to hang him by it. I don't think anyone here wants the reputation of the Citadel to be tarnished by one evil man."

"
Yes I believe the Citadel can, in extreme cases, strip an errant maester of his chains. I can think of no better candidate for that than him."

Daveth nods solemnly. "
House Coldbrook supports that idea."

He glanced at Daveth. "
I agree with Master Daveth that he should 'get a taste of his own medicine', but I would like him to see Blackbuckle before he meets the Seven. If he is so proud of his work, let him see it before he dies. Let him look at boys dead in alleys and rotted mothers clutching rotted babies."

Daveth nods again. "
That seems entirely appropriate. House Coldbrook supports this idea as well."

Nathan takes a deep breath, to maintain control of his anger. "
There is one thing I wish to know, Master Daveth. Where did this man get the poison. If it is incredibly rare, it must have come from somewhere. Incredibly rare also means incredibly expensive. Who sold him the poison, and who paid for it!"

"
The poison he used may well have been some of batches brewed before the Doom,"
Gwyn says softly. "
As much a historical relic as a venom, in the hands of even a slightly less damaged man. In that regard, a maester could have procured it in any number of ways."


She pauses, regarding Nathaniel. "
When you have a moment, and your hands are all right, come speak with me. Some elements of the investigation, as you surmise, are ongoing."

Daveth nods his support of this, indicating that he is not ignoring the question, merely delegating the answering of it, since a definite answer is beyond him at the moment.

(OOC: Right. I think, of the active players present, we've yet to hear from Longshore and Kytely. I'll send them a PM, to let them know that stuff has happened they may wish to react to.)

[Yoren longshore]

[Thanks Daveth! I've been busy with work...]
"
Give the man the option of the wall"
Yoren speaks when the hubbub has died down, he dislikes raising his voice.
"
He'd be tremendous asset to them. Maesters are not found in big numbers on the wall, I'd expect they'd be happy to have him with them."

Yoren shrugs: "
I don't think he's going to do anything like this up on the wall, so give him the option of the wall. His head will be needed attached to his body."

[Daveth Coldbrook]

(Okay, in order to get some kind of overview of our positions, this is a purely OOC post to log each House's position. Every so often, someone can make a copy and update this, so we all roughly know where we stand. While people like Lady Gwyneth and Lord Benedict have a say, I'm assuming for the sake of this post that only the chosen representative can officially stake their house's position (in those cases, myself and Lady Corrine respectively). Obviously, positions may change, this is simply the situation as things currently stand, as far as I can see.

Proposals are in bold, who proposed them in brackets afterwards.)

Death Penalty (Daveth)
For: Coldbrook, Bartheld, Dulver
Against: Longshore
Undecided: Marsten

Send to the wall (Yoren)
For: Longshore
Against: Coldbrook, Bartheld, Dulver
Undecided: Marsten

Death by Glass Candle Tears (if Death Penalty passes) (Daveth)
For: Coldbrook, Bartheld
Against: Dulver (open to being convinced otherwise), Tullison
Undecided: Marsten

Citadel pays reparations to help Blackbuckle (Arlyn)
For: Dulver
Against: Marsten, Bartheld, Coldbrook

Citadel replaces the Blackwood's maester free of charge (Arlyn)
For: Dulver, Coldbrook
Against: Bartheld

Citadel is asked to strip Arran of his chain (Nathan)
For: Bartheld, Coldbrook, Dulver
Against: Tullison

Arran is shown his handiwork at Blackbuckle
For: Bartheld, Coldbrook, Marsten

[size=85:1h0x3or1]Edit: PM from Dulver clarifying positions, added Bartheld and Coldbrook positions

[Nathaniel Mason]

Nathan gives Yoren a rather stunned look.

"
Have you been to Blackbuckle, Yoren?"


He pauses for a moment, trying to rid his response of emotion.

"
The Wall is for people we wish to show mercy to. Do we wish to show mercy in this situation? Arryn is correct. The Blackwood men were being grievously tortured. Their death was probably a mercy. In the same position, I might poison them to end their suffering if I could see no other way.... but I would not poison a thousand innocent men, women and children along with them... and I would only do it as a last resort.

Was this his last resort? Did he speak to Lord Blackwood to perhaps negotiate a prisoner exchange? Did he try going to Lord Bracken and challenging him about the torture? Did he try speaking with his fellow Maester, Humphrey, and beg for mercy for his men? Did he try bribing the Bracken guards? Perhaps to stop the torture if not to secure their release. Did he try and have the guards most responsible for the torture assassinated?

"
That's just the things I can think of off the top of my head. I am no Maester. With the time, resources and skills a Maester has, he should be able think of dozens more possibilities I cannot. If he couldn't, then he is incompetent, and the Wall will not miss him. If he decided the best and only option was to poison the prisoners and murder as many innocent Brackens as he could in the process, then he is evil and not deserving of mercy. If it can be demonstrated he did this as a last resort, I might be persuaded to show him mercy, but only by someone who has seen the devastation he caused."


[OOC: Bartheld is against the Citadel paying reparations and against the free Maester.]

[Septon Arlyn]

"
Master Nathan speaks truly,"
States Septon Arlyn. "
Before we commit him to the gallows though I would like to speak with him, to determine what he knows, who helped him, who sold him the Dragon's glass tears. For if this substance is as rare as I think it is, then I doubt a Maester would have just happenstance upon it. The man is clearly deranged,"
and having felt the blade of the tortures knife, I bet there would be many who would fall into such a state"
,But because of that madness he might have been easier to manipulate. This man is guilty, beyond a shadow of a doubt, but who is to say that he was not merely a catspaw of someone else, taking actions to try to inflict a scandal onto the blackwood's."


"
I feel that the man should be stripped of his chain, that is not a question, as well as having him see with his own eyes he devastation he has brought. However I feel that the matter of being sent to the wall, his death, or his poisoning should be determined based on the information that he can give us, as well as any evidence that he can produce to name his accomplices."




[Dulver is for Stripping of the chain and having him see his handy work, and leaning towards the death penalty, although not convinced that poison is the way to go for accomplishing it.]

[edit for him not being in the room, but will plan on following this up at a later date]

[Loreia]

OOC: Maester Arryn has already been escorted out of the room by Corrine's guards.

[Theomore Tullison]

"
It is my understanding that stripping a maester of his chain is for the Citadel to decide, not us."
Theomore shrugs. "
And I doubt they would bother with that if we kill him anyway, and there isn't exactly much question of his guilt or what sentence his actions calls for."


"
But really, hang him and be done with it, or allow him to take the black where he still might do some good if he so wishes. There is no need for us to act with unnecessary cruelty."

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