Re: [D4, LM] Assembly (Open)

[Jamys Rivers]

Jamys bows. "
Thank you kindly."

[Septon Arlyn]

Septon Arlyn bows to Lady Corrine, "
Thank you, My Lady, I will attempt to be brief and through.

When I arrived it appeared to Lady Corrine and Nathan Manson where speaking of the poisoning of Blackbuckle. Nathan reveled that the intent of the poisoner in Blackbuckle case was to kill the Blackwood soldiers being interrogated, probably to silence the information they might share there as well as to kill as many Brackens as possible, combatants and non combatants alike.

He then reveled that the attack on the Septry...

Septon Arlyn quickly revels what he has heard.

[Everyone can consider having IC knowledge of this thread If they were present, up to this post]

[Jamys Rivers]

[OOC - I've read the thread, so you could just hand wave it. "
Taking Jamys aside, Septon Arlyn speaks to him in a low voice for some time."
Or whatever. EDIT: Wicked. Let's proceed.]

[Ser Jorah Holt]

Listening to the theories and information, Jorah interjected.

"
Whoever attacked the Septry attempted to set up House Blackwood, but the attackers were not disciplined troops and used a style of shield that is no longer used by House Blackwood. If there is a stockpile of these old shield types, then it might be prudent to check on it."

[Septon Arlyn]

"
I am in agreement with Ser Jorah, my Lady Corinne. Should we begin presenting the evidence we have gathered? Or is there another topic you wish to discuss, my Lady?"
Asks Septon Arlyn.

[Baelon Drakeson]

[OOC: Sorry, just waiting on some Day 3 stuff to resolve before making an entrance - it could have a drastic effect on both the content and presentation. I suspect that might be the case for others. The discussion of evidence should probably wait until everyone who's going to be there have arrived.]

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

[OOC: Sorry, just waiting on some Day 3 stuff to resolve before making an entrance - it could have a drastic effect on both the content and presentation. I suspect that might be the case for others. The discussion of evidence should probably wait until everyone who's going to be there have arrived.]

[ooc: Ok. Post as soon as you can then. Nobody else has expressed intent to join, so we'll start once you make your entrance.]

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyneth enters the assembly hall without announcing herself, or moving out into easy view. Rather she hovers near the door for a moment, looking to see who's present, listening to hear what people are saying.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

A Marsten page hurried to Corrine's side, and whispered in her ear. She listened, then addressed the crowd;


"
Please excuse me a moment. I must step outside briefly. We will commence as soon as I return."


She followed the messenger out of the tent.

[Benedict Marsten]

Ben winces as she departs. Then only stands shaking his head in slight frustration.

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon, Daveth, and Loreia enter and take seats next to Gwyn.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine re-entered, her expression hard and cold, her arms folded. She stood at the head of the table, and surveyed the room. She took a deep breath, then began to speak.

"
Distinguished guests, welcome. Thank you for coming. I have gathered you here to address certain issues that have become apparent, particularly in the light of yesterday's events at Battle Valley. It has come to my attention that, despite being called to collaborate on investigating the crimes ostensibly committed by Houses Bracken and Blackwood, that most investigators are not, in fact, acting in the spirit of these instructions. I have been told infuriating stories of investigators guarding information and refusing to co-operate with one another. And, ultimately, these failures to properly communicate have led to the death of an investigator, losing a vital source of pertinent information."


She scanned the room with an icy blue gaze. Her voice was level, carefully intoned, though the more perceptive in the room could hear the tension and suppressed anger deep in her throat.

"
Those of you who have failed to report to me and share information with your fellow investigators;
shame on you! The King charged us with finding the truth, dispensing his justice, and working to establish peace. This investigation is not your personal political springboard!"


She caught her jaw and fists tightening, her voice raised, and forced her ire back down into her chest again, though it burned within her, eager to burst out over them all like dragonfire.

"
From now on, there are going to be changes, and some rules, in the hope of preventing yesterday's fiasco from happening again with someone else, and to get us all working together, like we should have been in the first place. Once I have laid these out, I will discuss yesterday's occurrence at the mines, and what is to come of that. I will also deal with another, most troubling matter that has come to my attention. Then, we will share our findings so far, in turn, so that we can go out into the world today and be more wise, efficient investigators."


She paused a moment to breathe deeply.

"
Firstly, from today onwards, every investigator House must compile a report on their day's findings, to be delivered to me personally by nightfall. Between early and mid-morning the following day, I will distribute sealed letters for the Head of each investigating House, appraising them of the collated information. That way, we will all be pooling our resources, and we avoid treading on old ground and eachother's toes. If you have something you consider too sensitive to make public, you may meet with me privately, but I insist on being appraised of all developments. If you object to this out of concens for my ability to handle sensitive matters and maintain neutrality, then you should not be here. I am the chief arbiter of this investigation, appointed specifically by the Crown. If you cannot accept my authority, go home. Now is your chance."


She stared at each person individually, and it was as though the ice queen, Isobel Marsten, was yet among them, her eyes freezing men's marrow, the room colder in the presence of her displeasure.

[Septon Arlyn]

Septon Arlyn nods in his approval of her words, although her firm tone is not lost on him.It is good that she is taking charge of this investigation. Hopefully things will begin to run smoother now and we can actually find the truth of these matters.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

[ooc: I'm expecting there will be no walkouts, but I'm about to go to bed, so I'll continue tomorrow afternoon.]

[Loreia]

Corrine's sweeping shaming pulled at Loreia. Something was trying to claw its way out of the Shieldmaiden, but she reigned it in. She was right, but her demands and declaration of top authority don't sit well.

"
M'lady, beggin' your pardon, but I've read the letter carefully since this assembly was planned,"
she starts humbly, and warily, "
an' the right to make these demands isn't laid down - or any power, really, 'cept generally what we're all here to do. It's the royals who have any say, an' the ones we report to. Should we not get their approval for these changes first?"

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Daveth can't quite fully conceal a hiss of frustration and an angry look towards Loreia. Great. Why the fuck did I think to bring Loreia here? It's not like I'd be attacked, and I know what she's like. I *really* need to get into her head how little 'being right' has to do with politics.

Fuck it. At least she was polite for once, and the words are said now. All I can do now is brace for the storm, and try my best to patch things up later. Still, he prepares himself to physically intervene if it looks like Loreia will be turning to harsher language.

[Septon Arlyn]

Septon looks shocked as Loreia speaks out. I don't know if that was the best idea...

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon, who had been sitting quietly and unresponsively to Corrine's well, 'tirade' was the term that came to mind, turned towards Loreia, a look of surprise on his face.

His mouth twitches.

The corners of his mouth rise.

Finally, he cannot restrain himself any longer, and he laughs.

In for a penny, in for a stag. May as well try to salvage Corrine's dignity a bit while I'm at it.

"
Honestly, I don't think that's particularly relevant, Loreia. The fact is that those that have something to hide will continue to do so. It's not like someone is going to openly admit to planting, moving, or destroying evidence, or to hiding the truth or slaughtering innocents for personal or political gain. Let's face it - there is nothing that anyone in this room could do to ensure cooperation by all of the houses tasked with this investigation."


He stands, and faces the podium where Corrine is standing.

"
Truly, Lady Corrine, I applaud your attempt to tame this hairy beast you have been out in charge of. I had intended to politely keep my peace, to let it happen and move on like the rest of this lot..."


He gestures to the representatives of the other houses.

"
... but now that the eight hundred stone mammoth in the room has been pointed out, I think we should talk about it. Lady Corrine, you have been set up to fail. Make peace between Blackwood and Bracken? That would be a miracle coming from a mediator with five times your years and a hundred times your experience. Why then would a young, inexperienced leader be tasked with such a mission? I say this not as an insult to you, Lady Corrine. On the contrary, I say it to absolve you of blame for this mess."


He pauses to let his words sink in.

"
Clearly, someone wishes to make an example of you, to claim that a failure here shows that women have no capability to rule. Someone close to the King has engineered this situation - not to honor House Marsten, but to damn it. I would be surprised if there were not one or more people in this room right now with specific orders from their superiors to undermine you. To prevent you from succeeding. So far, they are doing a bang-up job. Hells, the usual greed and partisanship alone is almost enough to make this impossible, but surely whomever went to such lengths to arrange this couldn't take the chance that someone as persuasive and successful as yourself might actually find a way to pull it off, could they? No! A nigh impossible task isn't enough, for if you succeeded it would undermine everything they were trying to accomplish here - worse, it would be a resounding blow to their position."


He walks to the front of the room to stand beside Corrine, and turns to face the audience.

"
There can only be one response - fuck them. Root out your enemies, and prevent them from undermining you any longer. Win, Lady Corrine. Do the impossible. I believe in you, though we have had our differences. I for one will back you - by force if necessary - regardless of what it does or does not say in the King's missive. As you said - they can accept your authority, or they can leave."


EDIT: added some additional 'stage directions'.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

[ooc: I actually would have posted right after Loreia did, Baelon, but I'm meeting with consternation behind the scenes about a particular detail, pertaining to your previous infodump. You may want to hold off.]

[Theomore Tullison]

[Eh, I have a bit too much to say OOC to put it here, see game discussion in a bit.

But dibsing right of early reply, may decide against using since I'm supposed to not spend too much time with this game..]

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Sit down, Baelon,"
Corrine snapped, glaring at him. She then looked at Loreia, taking a deep breath to still herself. Corrine's tone was less hard with Loreia, but still firm and formal;


"
It was Hartshorn to which the royal banner was delivered. This is a symbol of the King's deference. If, when the royal party arrives, they are dissatisfied with the rulings House Marsten has made, they are free to rescind them, and replace them with their own, if they can come up with something better. However, that would obviate the need to send us in the first place. I suggest that, if you trust your King, then you should trust that what I am doing is within reason, and for the good of the investigation."


She touched her fingertips to the tabletop agitatedly.

"
Now, if I may continue, the incident at the Battle Valley mines yesterday is still a contentious issue, which may or may not have constituted a wrongful death. There are valid accusations upon both parties. However, House Marsten acknowledges that it has neither the resources, nor the time, to field those accusations in tandem with it's own investigations, particularly with the added workload of fielding reports. I am appointing a tribunal of men of good standing to conduct an inquest into the circumstances of Athelstan Pyke's death, and Lord Baelon Drakeson's part in those circumstances. I will stress right now that I will not tolerate violence or slander towards Lord Drakeson owing to the incident or the inquest. Please allow justice to take it's course peacefully. In the light of this matter, and the safety concerns it raises, Lord Drakeson is to be accompanied in his investigations by six Marsten guardsmen at all times. They will be relieved of this duty upon the conclusion of the tribunal's inquest.

The men I wish to appoint to this tribunal are;
Ser Markus Elridge, Ser Jon Roxton, and Ser Jorah Holt. I will speak with you three privately on your remit after all other business here is concluded."


Her whole body was tense, her knuckles pressed against the table, trying not to punch it.

"
Since Lord Drakeson wishes us to discuss mammoths in the room,"
she continued, her tone almost sardonic. "
...let us deal with another. It has been brought to my attention that evidence at Pennytree has been tampered with. Blame for this has been levelled at Ser Theomore Tullison. I will not have it be said that House Marsten is biased in this investigation, so I ask that the tribunal also investigate the charges against Ser Theomore. As with Lord Drakeson, Ser Theomore will have a Marsten escort of six men at all times, until the inquest is concluded. Regardless of what Lord Drakeson may think of this investigation, House Marsten takes it very seriously, and if anyone thinks it is a doomed task or a joke, then go back to your homes and let the people who want to do some good get on with it."


She gestured to Nathan and Ser Jon;


"
These two men have done more to better the situation here than all of us put together! While so many of you were squabbling and scheming, they waded through the rotting corpses of innocent people, men, women and children, babes in arms, and are working still to give them something approximating a decent burial!"


Her icy mask was already slippimg, giving way to impotent rage.

"
We should all follow their example, and remember who suffers for our petty politics! These poor people, who were victims of a cruel massacre that was nothing to do with them! I intend to ensure that those responsible meet a fate so terrible that it will never be forgotten by history! Lord Drakeson laughs at me and says I am set to fail? That may be, but just because my enemies want me to fail does not mean I will give them that satisfaction! If I cannot bring peace between Bracken &
Blackwood, then I am merely a person who tried, which is more than most in five centuries. No. To not bring justice to murderers and rest to those hundreds of innocent souls? Not to return the Seven's light to the Battle Valley septry? Not to try. That would truly be failure!"


Her heart pounded so hard that she thought it might burst, the thundering of blood in her ears matching the stampede in her mind.

[Theomore Tullison]

Theomore remains stone faced as Corrine mentions his name, only a small hint of movement of the eyebrows observable only to those who where watching him already. He waits patiently for her to finish, lifting two fingers to signal that he intended to reply to that.

"
I imagine that some of my activities may indeed have aroused suspicion, and considering what has been happening at Pennytree, suspicion is not unwise. Better to have the matter cleared up than to leave questions in the air, no?"
At any rate, nothing to worry about unless false witnesses would be brought forward. But there was a plan for that, also. "
If my lady feels more comfortable with having some of her men with me, then I shall take them with me, however I must object to the choice of tribunal, while nobody can doubt the honor and integrity of Ser Jorah and Ser Markus, I see issues with both choices, they were both witnesses to Lord Baelon's actions, and thus may both be called upon to testify and possibly have their own memory conflict with that of other witnesses."


"
Further, Ser Jorah serves house Coldbrook, something Lord Baelon also does, and I have strong reason to believe that there remains a sentiment at Castle Grenward that the tragedy at the twins was no accident and that there exist a desire for vengeance, such conflict of interest is best avoided, even if it is not likely to have a hold on him. The choices we make here will be weighted and examined by far more than can fit into this tent, and we cannot afford a drop of doubt to fall upon these proceedings"


"
For the same reason, Ser Marcus is also a less than desirable choice, House Marsten may have been given the royal banner, and my lady has taken up the task of providing direction because someone has to, and nobody else seems fit or willing. However, house Marsten is one of seven houses with equal voice and authority under the king's mandate. One house must keep the others in check, that need should be apparent, but these must in turn then keep House Marsten in check."

[Ser Jorah Holt]

Ser Jorah raised an eyebrow at his appointment to the tribunal. Considering he had been there at the mines, he was surprised that he had been asked.
He looked at Trelane, but the young man was preoccupied staring at Corrine. Obviously Jorah would need to give the young man a lot of extra duties to curtail this, at least for now. Jorah nudged him to not be so obvious and Trelane turned his attention elsewhere turning his eye to Ser Theomore as charges were read out about him.

Baelon and Loreia were not helping, but the damage was already done. Undermining her would not help anybody and at least she was trying to take charge, as much as anybody could in this mess of a situation. Still, Baelon had a solid point;
either the King had a very high opinion of their abilities or they were expected to fail, especially as Lord Tully had been kept out of this situation.

Hopefully there would be efforts behind the scenes to sort out where certain groups had interfered with the investigation. Athelstan certainly had and hopefully that would not cause them too much heartache

Ooc
Read emotions on Ser Theomore by Trelane
[url=Awareness (empathy) on Ser Theomore][/url]: 5d6k4 18

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon thoroughly ignores Theomore - he's just not worth listening to.

Making no move to sit he addresses Corrine in a hushed, but harsh tone.
"
Laugh at you? Don't be ridiculous. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Did I say not to try? Not to succeed against the odds? No. I was expressing support for you. The way you and your husband treat your friends, you will soon find yourself surrounded with nothing but lickspittles and gain-seekers. Open your eyes, Lady Corrine. This isn't some children's tale where the just and righteous prevail for no reason other than being just and righteous. You are swimming with sharks, and you are driving off those who would help you for no other reason than wanting you to succeed."


He turns and walks back toward his seat. Halfway there he turns back.
"
I decline your demand for an inquest. What crime am I charged with? Killing a horse? I am guilty and will pay remuneration. Attempting to secure a known criminal, accused of interfering with the royal investigation? That is what we are here for, is it not? It is not to bury bodies, we are not silent sisters. We are here to investigate, and to deliver justice. That is what I have been doing. If you wish to call that a crime, then you will have to arrest yourself, as well."


He turns back and returns to his seat.

[Septon Arlyn]

does the boy not know when to keep quite when his betters are speaking? He asked as if he is a true born targareon, with no respect for the Faith, nor the authority of the crown. Septon Arlyn shakes his head slightly at the robust accusations that Lord Baelon leveled against Lady Corinne.

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