[Day 7, Late Morn] Sympathy delivered from a Heart of Fire

[Loreia]

["
The Heart of Fire"
is one of the titles R'hllor is known by.]

Loreia leans on the wall next to the gate at the Warrior's Seat. Badger leans forward on all fours, eyeing the rope she has in her hand and starting off with a quaint little jump at the beginning of each run when fetching.

The heavy door to the great hall slowly opens out of the corner of her eye, and through it steps Yoren Longshore. Loreia is throwing rather harshly for just a playful game of catch. At the latest forceful throw, her hound predictably bolts off to grab the toy, then follows its master as she goes forth to meet Yoren, still carrying the rope in its mouth.

"
Lord Yoren, I was wonderin' when I'd run into you again. How are you this day?"
The greeting is superficial, the see-through mask one wears in a typical greeting, and she hasn't bothered to paint said mask in spite of her pleasant attitude.

[Yoren longshore]

"
Fine, thanks."
Yoren smiles as he looks at Loreia: "
I hope you are faring well? I saw you at the stables when the fire broke out, who knows how many horses would have died if you weren't there to save them?"


Yoren then crouches to pet Badger: "
This dog only grows on me, it's intelligent, but you have still managed to train it well. I'm sure that if you wished to you could become an animal trainer easily."


"
Ever considered it? Leaving the sword and take up the whistle?"
Yoren asks Loreia.

[Loreia]

The casual speculation disarms the attitude behind Loreia's facade of etiquette. "
Save the horses? Beg your pardon, m'lord, I was helpin' to stop the stampede from hurtin' any more people."

"
Ever considered it? Leaving the sword and take up the whistle?"
Yoren asks Loreia.

Coolly, she reaffirms, "
I don't think so. The day I lay down my sword'll be the day I'm too weak to wield it. Besides, Badger's just a loyal hound. If dogs could make promises, they'd be better at keepin' them than any man in the Seven Kingdoms."


[OOC: There you go, Daveth! I finally said it. Sort of.]

[Yoren longshore]

Yoren looks up: "
I didn't mean to insinuate that you did not save people too, I was just thinking of the animals right now, seeing Badger and all."
Smiling he adds: "
You probably saved me too, I was in the stable, so if you had not calmed the horses I would probably be the first one ridden down."


"
Not all dogs are loyal creatures, I think it depends largely upon how you treat them. A dog that has been treated poorly would not have the same motivations to stay loyal, much like humans. In general, perhaps they would be decieving us less. Perhaps we could look at a way to communicate with them? There are many masters of the hunt who understands their dogs intuitively, perhaps we could find a way to chart their communications properly..."


Again Yoren talked himself out on a tangent. He recognised it and turned the conversation back onto the tracks: "
What are you doing here today? It is quite nice weather here, too bad we will have to spend the day running around gathering up all the pieces and putting them together. I was going to go for a walk, would you care to join me? The forrests might not be completely safe these days."

[Loreia]

Yoren looks up: "
I didn't mean to insinuate that you did not save people too, I was just thinking of the animals right now, seeing Badger and all."
Smiling he adds: "
You probably saved me too, I was in the stable, so if you had not calmed the horses I would probably be the first one ridden down."


"
Not all dogs are loyal creatures, I think it depends largely upon how you treat them. A dog that has been treated poorly would not have the same motivations to stay loyal, much like humans. In general, perhaps they would be decieving us less. Perhaps we could look at a way to communicate with them? There are many masters of the hunt who understands their dogs intuitively, perhaps we could find a way to chart their communications properly..."


Again Yoren talked himself out on a tangent. He recognised it and turned the conversation back onto the tracks: "
What are you doing here today? It is quite nice weather here, too bad we will have to spend the day running around gathering up all the pieces and putting them together. I was going to go for a walk, would you care to join me? The forrests might not be completely safe these days."

"
That'd be lovely, m'lord. I'll escort you on my way to Raventree Hall."
Would take my mind off the insulting gossip about Daveth.

In the woods on Bracken lands, Badger is given free reign to wander, chasing after rabbits when egged on by his master and returning when she decides he's ranged too far. "
You might be thinkin' about it too much, m'lord. If I were a poor master, Badger would only be loyal or obedient. I'm a good master, so he is both. You can't measure a dog's actions like a mason plots his projects, no more than a mother learns to talk to her babe. You've just got to learn it for yourself - havin' someone teach you, or just play it by ear."

[Yoren longshore]

While looking at Badger with a smile Yoren tells Loreia: "
Thanks for saving me in the stables, there was so much havoc there that it's a wonder we're all still here."


"
When I arrived here for the tournament things were so right. When I came it all made sense. My vision was clear, I loved the prospects of coming in to help my father, to make things better. I could only do better than what people expected me to, because they all expected me to fail."


"
I feel that last year things were much simpler, we joined in a weeks debauchery at the behest of Tully. Then you and me went off, saved people, helped people, did good deeds, and all was well. When I returned I helped my people, they all prospered, but now I have to meet their expectations. Now they trust me to do a good job. If I succeed then I will only do what they expected me to, and if I fail, they will grow disappointed with me. I can't win, I can only avoid losing."


When Yoren starts speaking it is hard to stop him, as he speaks fast, as if afraid of being interrupted. Once he's done he bows down to the undergrowth, picking up a stick, which he throws to Badger: "
Did Daveth send you?"
He suddenly asks, his voice suddenly suspicious.

[Loreia]

While looking at Badger with a smile Yoren tells Loreia: "
Thanks for saving me in the stables, there was so much havoc there that it's a wonder we're all still here."

"
Well, not everyone made it out alive. I did what I could."

When Yoren starts speaking it is hard to stop him, as he speaks fast, as if afraid of being interrupted. Once he's done he bows down to the undergrowth, picking up a stick, which he throws to Badger: "
Did Daveth send you?"
He suddenly asks, his voice suddenly suspicious.

Badger lies down and begins to chew on the stick. "
No. He doesn't decide where I am at every moment,"
she retorts. "
I'm here 'cause I wanted to come, so it wouldn't matter anyway."

[Yoren longshore]

“We all did what we could, that’s all we could do.” Yoren tells her: “Nobody could expect us to do any more.”
“I was worried that he had sent you… You see Daveth is most likely mad at me, and probably wanting to change my mind, I was worried that he had sent you to do the convincing for him.”

Yoren smiles: “But of course that was silly of me, Daveth isn’t like that, he will deal with his issues himself. Hopefully he’ll see that I’m right, I have to talk to him sometime.”

“They call you shieldmaiden for a reason, I thought you were here to shield Daveth from having to talk himself. Have you heard about me and Baelon?”

[Loreia]

“We all did what we could, that’s all we could do.” Yoren tells her: “Nobody could expect us to do any more.”
“I was worried that he had sent you… You see Daveth is most likely mad at me, and probably wanting to change my mind, I was worried that he had sent you to do the convincing for him.”

Yoren smiles: “But of course that was silly of me, Daveth isn’t like that, he will deal with his issues himself. Hopefully he’ll see that I’m right, I have to talk to him sometime.”

“They call you shieldmaiden for a reason, I thought you were here to shield Daveth from having to talk himself. Have you heard about me and Baelon?”

Loreia just lets Yoren talk. See that you're right? Right about what?

"
I'm not that kind of shield. What I've heard, is that you blame him for something that your brother did,"
she chides, beating around the bush. Let him lead, for now.

[Yoren longshore]

Yoren sighs: "
I don't blame him, perhaps he could have done something to rectify the situation, but just like people shouldn't blame us for not managing to stop the stampede I can't be mad at Daveth for not managing to take command over a chaotic situation. Had he taken controll I'd thanked him, but I can't blame him for not succeeding."


Yoren stoops low to pick up a flower, before continuing to walk. "
I should warn him to keep better controll over his subjects, if not he'll follow the path of the Mudds. I can help to clean out Baelon, but he will have to build up controll overvhis house after that. I'm sure that you can help him, it's probably not going to be much different from training a dog, assume dominance and people won't question it."


Yoren smiles fondly while watching Badger as they walk, unaware that Loreia might not know the full story.

[Loreia]

Loreia's tongue hardens to steel. Politeness, no assumptions, have to ask. "
Dogs an' people, right. I'm not sure I follow, 'clean him out'? M'lord, what's happened with you an' Master Daveth?"

[Yoren longshore]

"
Nothing has really happened, as I said, I don't blame him, but I will make sure that that platina haired bastard gets his due, for once he should feel that he's not above justice. Rigging a tribunal shouldn't be enough to escape justice, he should have to be honestly tried just like the rest of us. I just want Daveth to be aware of the dangers of having subjects more powerful than himself."
Yoren shrugs at the last bit before adding: "
Not everyone's as loyal as Badger."

[Loreia]

"
What."
Her hearing muffles slightly. Perhaps she heard him incorrectly. No. A convenient little lie she entertained but briefly, and refused to believe. Why would he cheat the tribunal? What's he done? ...Oh Seven Hells. "
What do you think happened at the mine? What's Baelon guilty of?"

[Yoren longshore]

"
He abused his powers. He let his own pettiness get the better of him, he withheld potential evidence, possibly fabricating it. The least he can get is a fair trial."
Yoren looks over at Loreia, suddenly a bit unsure: "
You understand that don't you?"

[Loreia]

"
He abused his powers. He let his own pettiness get the better of him, he withheld potential evidence, possibly fabricating it. The least he can get is a fair trial."
Yoren looks over at Loreia, suddenly a bit unsure: "
You understand that don't you?"

"
I do."
She knits her brows as if become stone, fine movements showing she was like a statue come to life. "
What I don't is why we're not talkin' about your brother."


Initiative: [url=Initiative vs Yoren, Day 7 Late Morning][/url]: 3d6 9

[Yoren longshore]

“What of my brother? A murdering bastard said that he had his reasons, said that he had found clothing of special Longshore seams. I am not saying he was an angel, but it is clear that Baelon had his own axe to grind, and with killing my brother, nobody knows what Athelstan did, and so it cannot be disproven. He’s essentially proven that he was right by being the last man alive.”
[url=initiative][/url]: 4d6 8

[Loreia]

"
You keep callin' him that, but you're leavin' out that Lady Corrine was with them, her and her knight protector. Ser Markus something-or-other? What do you make of that?"


Round 1
Initiative: Loreia, Yoren
ID: 8

Breeding: [url=Breeding vs Yoren, Day 7 Late Morning][/url]: 3d6 15 success
Read Target: [url=Read Target, Heart of Fire Round 1][/url]: 4d6k3 11

[Yoren longshore]

"
I make them just like Daveth, caught in a situation she couldn't cope with. She even tried to interwene, although she failed she at least tried. He needed twenty elite soldiers to dare face my brother, when he could just as easily have approached anybody about his concerns, and solved it peacefully."


Objective: Make Loreia see that Baelon should be put to justice
Disposition Friendly (DR2)
ID 10
Composure 15/15
frustration 0
[url=Convince Loreia round one sympathies.][/url]: 5d6k4 12+3 from disposition=15. 15-8=7, 2dos*5influence=10 damage

OOC: What does status (Breeding) do? If it affects my roll, just detract the number it affects it by.

[Loreia]

[OOC: At the beginning of an intrigue, if your opponent is Status 4 or higher, you may roll Status(Breeding) against his/her ID. Success grants you +1B to any one roll for the entire exchange, meaning you can choose one roll during the exchange to expend that 1B on. It is gone after expenditure. Every two degrees of success on said Breeding roll after the first degree(so at 3DoS, there is no 5DoS) grants another +1B.]

The statue freezes, and breathes. The fire in her eye demanding that she come to Baelon's defense here, in a forest where no tribunal is around to hear, flickers dimly. She shakes hear head. "
I'm not a judge, and I'm not sittin' in a judge's chair,"
she balms. "
You say the tribunal is rigged. How exactly? Wasn't it formed by Lady Corrine?"
You will explain. Then we shall see.

Objective: Agree that Baelon is not guilty of murder or fixing the tribunal
Disposition: Amiable
ID 8
Composure 5

Action: [url=Persuasion(+1B) vs Yoren, Heart of Fire][/url]: 3d6k2 7
Nothing

[Yoren longshore]

"
It was, and she made a huge error, that jury is very partial to Baelons claims, I have no reason to doubt their integrity, but people do judge their friends less harshly. I am not alone in that assesment, as a matter of fact I had not thought of it personally until somebody else thought of it."
Yoren pauses: "
They are all three honorable men, but one is bound to the same lord, and another has lived under the same roof as Baelon for years on end, they know him, and that might let him go easily of the hook."


Objective: Make Loreia see that Baelon should be put to justice
Disposition Friendly (DR2)
ID 10
Composure 15/15
frustration 0
[url=Convince Loreia round two sympathies.][/url]: 5d6k4 17 (+3 from disposition=20, 20-8=12 12=3dos 3dos*5dmg=15dmg)

[Loreia]

15 - DR 3 - 2 Frustration = 4 dmg

[I have something coming. For now, let's negotiate a yield.]

Composure 1
Frustration 2

Free: Yield
a)Believe her or not, Yoren gives Loreia the full benefit of the doubt, that Jorah will be(would have been?) a just and impartial judge in the tribunal.
b)Loreia concedes that her judgment may be clouded by her friendship with Baelon. She'll be willing to believe a guilty verdict on any of the charges, including rigging of the tribunal. Provided that Jorah is not removed from his assignment as one of the judges.

[Loreia]

[Yield negotiated via PM]

Loreia's stone exterior, fiery hot, begins to tarnish and move as though melting, as though she were standing in the midst of the Doom itself. She finds little resistance in her mind, however, to remember who objected to the tribunal. Herself, first and foremost. Baelon. One other, and the fact that she once wished to see him laid low only made his objection easier to remember.

"
I've known Ser Jorah for nearly ten years now. I've never seen or heard anything that was cause for doubt in his ability to serve justice without compromise,"
she affirms, with the barest hint of a shaking in her otherwise stalwart northern tone. The words come at the pace of curded cream, slowly and steadily covering the floor after a spill. "
And I know who you speak of. I reserve a trust for the man's integrity, though it be brittle. Aye, he may be a true knight, but if Ser Theomore believes Ser Jorah a knight unfit to be the Father's voice in the tribunal, then his words're not worth the piss an' shit in a merchant's chamber pot."


Before the lord of House Longshore, her raw emotion - in the form of barely-cohesive choler - pours forth from the heart, lacking a mummer's charm, or a serpent's silver tongue, or the temperance of a septon preaching hellfire;
her sheer will laid bare, untempered and inferior in its base form.

[Yoren longshore]

Yoren seems unfazed by the emotional display, he tells Loreia: "
I have acted wrong then, if you know that he would be a good choice... Then I'm sorry. Corrine might still keep the tribunal, if she wishes to."

Yoren pauses, not knowing what else he could say, instead simply walking over to where Badger lay, scratching Badgers tummy.

[Loreia]

Loreia closes her eyes and breathes. Faint images come to her, with no more substance to them as with fire. Yoren's smile in the company of his brother when she came looking for a fight. The sound of their shouting above the crowd in the great hall at Riverrun. "
I'm sorry, m'lord. I understand that you want justice."
Or vengeance. "
I know what he meant to you. I wish more of us did."

[Yoren longshore]

"
Loreia, I'm not blind. I know that many people disliked him. He was jaded to the world, he was prone to anger, he was stubborn. He was also my family, I knew him only for a short few months, but something just fitted. He was like me before I crossed the sea, sure, I was a bit more charming, sure I was a bit more popular, but I recognised so much of me in him. I was planning on having him sent across the sea, to learn, and perhaps when he returned he would have been rid of his vices."


Yoren shrugs: "
The trip across the sea worked for me. I became a changed man. You might be required to help Baelon escaping his justice. I understand that you have a duty to help him, and I will respect it."

[Sponsored content]