Friends, Neighbors, and Broken Lances

[Baelon Drakeson]

While technically now a Northman, Baelon knew that House Drakeson's fortunes were far more closely tied to the Riverlands - maintaining a solid relations with the Riverlords - particularly the most influential ones - was crucial. Besides, he had a reputation to maintain.

After a fine introduction by Ser Eoric, Baelon and Gwyn had become fast friends with Lord Forrest Frey and his Lady Wife, Sabitha Vypren. On Lord Forrest's suggestion, Baelon spent the time following his farce of a trial in Riverun on familiar ground - the tourney circuit. He filled his time between tourneys attending weddings, parties, or simply paying visits to old friends and acquaintances in the region. Money was neither an objective nor a limitation - indeed, he spent as much as he made from his tourneys on lavish gifts and playing the role of a wealthy socialite. Unsurprisingly, Baelon frequently ran into a few familiar faces. Notably, he found himself spending a great deal of time with Lord Forrest and an old acquaintance, Lord Lymond Mallister, deepening his bond with both men.

Finally, Baelon took the opportunity of tourney at White Harbor to finally meet his Lord Paramount - Lord Cregan Stark. The tourney was small - jousting is not as common of a competition form in the north as it is further south - and moreover, short. As such, Baelon had little time to do aught but introduce himself to the Lord of Winterfell, and afterwards was not confident he had made much of an impression at all. Disappointing, but Baelon was never one to let such trivialities get him down. Returning home to Caladan Hall, he enjoyed a week's respite before traveling with Gwyn for one more event - the Redwain wedding and tournament.

Knowing that Lord Redwain was marrying Yoren's sister did not put Baelon's mind at ease. However, he and Gwyn had been invited by Lord Forrest, and he was not about to refuse simply because the odd ironborn had so vehemently come after him. If Yoren wanted to ruin his sister's wedding over it, that was up to him. Baelon chose to be the better man - to not hold grudges, to not escalate a meaningless conflict - that way led to madness like the Blackwoods and Brackens. It's not like the ironborn's antics had really harmed him. In some ways, quite the opposite.

[OOC: Note, Lord Lymond Mallister is the canon name of the current Mallister lord, it is the same individual that previously appeared in the game, just an updated name.
Mechanics previously handled in a private forum.]

[Reader]

By lance and sword Lord Drakeson won himself much in coin and fame, and such exploits won favour with the martially minded Lord Mallister.

Yet whenever he retired to Caladan Hall there was a new letter from the young Kerry Bracken waiting for him, despite her recent marriage. Lord Drakeson's charming attempts to deflect her attention at the Warrior's Seat had only fanned the torch she carried for him...

[Reader]

[OOC: right, finally some mechanics here.

Cunning (logic) or Knowledge (streetwise) [latter rquires a destiny point for ability substiution] at TN 9 by Lady Drakeson to be aware of the letter. 2 DoS or more and she's aware of it before Baelon is and can conceivably deny him access.

Language - to examine the letter by any Drakeson house member that reads it. Blind TN. DoS matter.

Cunning (logic) - Gwyn only. TN 9. DoS matter.

Intrigue - if Baelon enters in to correspondence with Lady Kerry Blackwood nee Bracken.]

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Busy she may be, but precious little happened in her own hold that Gwyneth didn't know about. Though the letter from Kerry was addressed to Lord Drakeson, it found its way to her hand first. She mulled over the idea of opening it and reading it before letting Baelon see it...but decided that it would be better not to. He'd given her no reason to treat him with distrust. The next time they were alone together she'd give it to him personally, unopened.

They'd discussed the idea of using Kerry's infatuation to some effect before...but now that the business in Battle Valley was over, her use seemed rather limited.

Although...Market Town wasn't far away, now was it? And while she had a few eyes and ears in the town, she had no one inside the court. But how to string the girl along without spawning embarrassing rumors? She'd have to think on it.

[url=Knowledge (Streetwise) for Friends, Neighbors, etc][/url]: 6d6k4 19 (Actually, meh, I'll spend the DP. I have another one to spare and it's cooler this way anyway)

[url=Language at Friends, Neighbors, etc][/url]: 3d6 8

[url=Cunning (Logic) for Friends, Neighbors, etc][/url]: 5d6k4 16

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon frowned as he took the letter from Gwyn. He puts his arm around her as he stares at the letter for a while, like one might stare at a snake trying to decide if it might be venomous.

"
Whatever this says, it can't be good. I'd hoped she would be too busy with her new husband to even think of me."
He sighs. "
I suppose we can't just burn it and pretend it never arrived. There might be an actual problem that we can assist with, and more good will with House Blackwood could be be valuable.

He broke the seal and began reading.

OOC:
[url=Language (Kerry letter)][/url]: 3d6 5 wow... just... wow.
[url=Language (Kerry letter) Lucky reroll][/url]: 3d6 12 much better!

[Reader]

[OOC: PMs sent based on rolls]

Lady Kerry's letter was quite forward by the standards of Westerosi noblewomen and included some more than passable love poetry, gently directed towards her Dragon, with plentiful imagery regarding sheltering wings. It included an offer to meet with Lady Kerry for hawking and poetry - a veil of decorum for her obvious intentions.

Lord Drakeson's efforts to deflect Lady Kerry had only fuelled her ardour, making him seem yet more chivalrous and charming in her eyes.

What would the Lord and Lady Drakeson discern from studying the letter? What would they make of the passions Baelon had lit, that threatened to unpick the peace that they and others had helped forge?

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn read through the letter once, looked up at Baelon for a moment, then read the letter again before offering it back to him.

"
Well now. That's interesting."


She turns away and goes to gaze thoughtfully out the window, gears in her mind clicking away.

The question of whether or not to make Lady Kerry a pawn was already settled then. Now the only question was who's pawn would she be, in the end.

"
What do you think of all this, love?"
Gwyn asks.

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon sighs.

"
It is her hand, but not her words. Perhaps she simply had a confidant with whom she was conferring as she wrote, but we cannot ignore the possibility that someone is using her as a pawn against us, or against the peace we worked so hard for. If the first or second, we could simply ignore it. If it is the third, this could be a harbinger of more dangerous ploys. We need to know who the other author was."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
I don't know who brought her the words,"
Gwyn said, "
But I have a good guess who's hand moves the pieces."


She turned to face Baelon.

"
There's plenty of people who know I like to visit Corrine on her nameday, but the other date is special to me for reasons far fewer would guess. And of those people, only one I know of has motive to try so petty a thing as this."


Gwyneth crossed over back to Baelon. "
And it suits her style as well...to attack us with what she sees as your weakness, so that her hands seem clean even unto the end. After all, if you were pure of heart, none of this would trouble us even a jot, yes?"


"
At least, that's how Isobel would see it. This feels to me like an opportunism though, rather than a full attack. Perhaps a feint, to test us. It costs her nothing she values to send this girl at us, after all."


A thoughtful expression settled over Gwyn's features then. "
...or does it. Hmm."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
It does if Lady Kerry publicly accuses her. A poorly timed or executed feint can be a swordsman's undoing;
the same applies here. On one hand, it would be quite gratifying to see your Aunt get her comeuppance. On the other hand, that could be damaging to Corrine. I suspect she feels we cannot move openly against her lest we drive a wedge between us and our cousins. No, an open move against her is out of the question. If you can take this to Corrine, though, perhaps she can stem her mother's plotting. She may wish for some evidence of the matter of course... what better than having Lady Kerry confess to it?"


He smiles.

"
This is perhaps an opportunity, as well. If we can convince Lady Kerry to be our informant and to devote herself to her husband, we could gain valuable insight into Lady Isobelle's plotting and reinforce the peace in Battle Valley. That's up to you and Corrine, though. Gwyn, I can't keep stringing her along and giving her false hopes. It's not fair to her and it could cause major problems in the future."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
It would be incredibly amateurish for Kerry to know who is helping her,"
Gwyn points out. "
She strikes me as too singleminded in her pursuit of you to -care- much who's telling her things, and why, so long as it gives her some avenue of attack. If you think you can get anything useful out of her, by all means try...but I have another idea."


She puts a finger on the letter.

"
If I were a simpleton, and got this letter after the fact...I might conclude you were already seeing her behind my back. And I'd be devastated. And who would I turn to for comfort?"


"
I think I might see Corrine, and ask for her advice. I can show her the letter. Explain the significance of these dates, as if in hindsight. I think she is clever enough to connect the dots, if they are laid out carefully."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
You know your family best, but remember they know you too. Do you think any of them would believe that you are a simpleton? Besides, I fear what Corrine's reaction towards me might be. Though she be little, she is fierce. I fear she might already harbor dark feelings towards me. If she thought I had betrayed you... well, I might have to take up permanent residence in Essos - or maybe even Qarth - to escape her anger."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyneth laughs at that. "
I think I can deal with her expectations of me. And you...I'm sure she will counsel me to confront you strongly and sternly...much as she'd do to Ben if she suspected him of such a thing."


"
It's all about presentation. It's clearly imperative for her to know what Isobel is up to, but if I visit her and simply warn her that her mother is meddling, then I am open to counterargument. 'You have no proof. I will be careful.' And so on."


She took a deep breath, and worked up a little water into her eyes. "
But...if I come to her, flustered and vulnerable. If I reveal to her that there's a problem that I'm not sure how to deal with, she will immediately look for that problem. On finding it, she will commit herself to solve it. That's who she is. There will be no arguing, no equivocating...not as long as she's the one who links a...to b...to c."


"
We just have to make sure that the problem she finds is her mother."


With a sigh, Gwyn rubbed her cheek. "
It's underhanded, I know...but in the end it's the same information being brought to her. Just in a particular way that will motivate her to act on it, instead of ignoring it as she'd otherwise be tempted to do."

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon puts his arms around his wife and considers her argument.

"
'Make sure that the problem she finds is her mother'. You make it sound so easy. What if she jumps to the obvious and deems me guilty?"


He pulls away and peers out a window, wracking his brain for a solution to the conundrum. He slams his hand against the stone wall in frustration before turning back to her.

"
It's not like I've never done anything to rouse such suspicions. This is my own fault. I let myself develop this reputation, and this is the price for it. Isobel may have capitalized on it, but she's not the reason this is so believable, nor is she the one who didn't do what had to be done to put a stop to Kerry's fantasies in the first place."


He growls in frustration, gripping the bridge of his nose between his eyes and squeezes to try - unsuccessfully - to ward off the encroaching headache.

"
I don't want Corrine to think that of me. If she believes it, nothing I can say or do will change her mind, or that of Ben, Kevan, Sophia, and the rest of them. I know it's important to you to go after Isobel for this, and she deserves it... but not at that cost. Worse yet, if Corrine figures out you deceived her, she'll be mad at you, too. You know our world is only getting more dangerous. Should anything happen to me, you're going to need her. I don't want you to risk your relationship with Corrine because of my mistakes."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Baelon, relax,"
Gwyn instructed, going on her toes to give his cheek a kiss. "
The letter is an invitation, not an account of an affair. It will be easy to later on attest that you were faithful to me...but that won't change the obvious fact that Kerry was provided with information that she used to help her try to seduce you. Information that could only have plausibly come from within House Marsten."


"
Corrine may be upset with you, but she will leave you to me."


She leaned her head against Baelon's chest. "
I know that there's a risk in this. Even though I think Corrine will benefit from it in the long run, she'd be upset if she ever thought I approached it this way. But what else is there? We set proof of her mother's sympathies before her eyes in Battle Valley, and she's barely twitched a finger."


"
She needs something more emotional, I think. Something to tug at her heartstrings. And it would please me to turn the sword in Isobel's hand. To have her strike at your heart, only to find that she has struck her OWN heart in the process."


"
Lady Kerry herself remains an issue, of course...I'm sure if you simply spurn her she will spread any number of scurrilous rumors in a petulant rage."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
I know it would please you, and you know how much I like to please you, but..."


His voice trails off as he tries to put his thoughts into words.

"
How sure are you that it was Isobel? The significance of those dates is not widely known, but it is hardly a secret. Certainly Lady Kerry had an informant, but what's more is that she had assistance in writing the letter. It could be Isobel or an intermediary, but it could just as easily be anyone who passed through Hartshorn claiming to be acquaintances of ours and having a friendly chat about how the Marstens must miss you."


He starts at a sudden thought.

"
You know, if this is really an attempt to lure me into an indiscretion, it is a clumsy one. Did they not suspect that I might notice that Lady Kerry somehow had knowledge of your travel habits? No, either this mystery schemer is basely incompetent, or we have made a mistake about the about the schemer's intent. Where did you find the letter again? I'm wondering if you were the intended recipient all along, and that the schemer hoped you would believe it to be genuine, and that I had provided the information to Kerry."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn hesitated at that, a stubborn pout stealing over her lips. She pulls away from Baelon, a signal of some displeasure, but he could see that he'd given her something new to think about.

"
You're sure she had assistance?"
she asked. "
I admit, the words seemed a little flowery for her...but she's apparently been spending a lot of time writing poetry, and hawking."


She trailed off for a moment at that, then finished, "
...which would give her quite a bit of time to be alone with someone."


Finally Gwyneth admits, "
You have a point. Isobel isn't the only one who would know, and it's possible someone could have paid for the information. But that seems like more trouble to go through, doesn't it? Paying for information, risking being discovered, personally directing Lady Kerry's writing. For this?"


"
There is another possibility."
She looked back at Baelon. "
Lord Tybolt Reyne and Ser Clarent Crakehall. They were recently called on by none other than Lady Isobel Marsten. And without more than a token escort. A curious matter, yes? Particularly when you learn that both of these men were at one time comrades at arms with Jon Cobb."


"
Perhaps it is not one hand, but two we need to be concerned about?"

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon does not respond immediately.

"
Jon Cobb... not a name I've heard in a while."


Another pause, clearly still trying to think over the implications.

"
It could be connected, but it could also be that Isobel still thinks of him fondly and wished to learn more about his past. Even if it is something sinister, that..."
he gestures to the letter. "
...is not really what I would expect out of sell-swords or soldiers. It's not a bad idea to look into them, but I don't think we should ignore the only person we absolutely know was involved - Lady Kerry Blackwood. We need to put an end to her infatuation, and we need information from her."


He pauses yet again, thinking.

"
I... I really don't have a clue how to go about this. If it were just her we could ignore it, pretend it never happened and hope her infatuation would fade in time. It's not just her though, so we need to talk with her. It's easy enough to get her to meet somewhere, but what then? If I spurn her, she becomes an enemy. If I lead her on, she will continue to be used against us. If you confront her, she will not believe what you say, and continue seeking my attention. If we confront her together, she will think that I am acting as I am because of your presence, and so still not believe us. I think we need to get outside assistance, but whom? Do we talk to Ser Myles? That could drive a wedge between them, which could lead to reigniting the feud. Lord Haigh? She might listen to him, but he has a temper, and I don't know what would happen if she were to openly defy him... which could also reignite the feud."


He shakes his head, clearly grasping for straws.

"
I've never wanted to make someone like me less. I suppose I could try to make myself less appealing... pretend to get off on cutting women, or something like that... she might start spreading rumors about it, but I'm used to being the subject of spurious rumors... but if she were to call my bluff, what then?"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn 'hmmed' at that and tapped just under her nose over her lip.

"
I don't like playing her game,"
she decides. "
Showing up where she wants, when she wants...there's too many ways that could go badly, even if she herself isn't necessarily aware of it. You invited them to the tourney, yes? That might be a preferable time to get her alone and have this out."


"
And it will be much easier to arrange for the meeting to be observed, if need be, to make sure rumors don't grow out of it."


She looks away. "
I could also see about having her lands watched. She's reputed to spend a lot of time hawking...which could be how she's meeting whoever's passing this information on, without any obvious visitors to their household. But that's a very uncertain way of getting results."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
There's too much uncertainty already, I think. Yes, the Blackwoods have been invited;
the Brackens as well. It will be a fun time keeping the peace if this goes even more wrong than it already has."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
They're not the ones I'm worried about,"
Gwyn replied distractedly. "
I mean, I'm aware of the tensions, but...that's why it doesn't worry me. We can prepare for them."


"
You know, this is actually a good time to talk to you about our invitations, public...and otherwise. There's some people I'd like to have a chance to meet, and the tourney is a good excuse to do it. You men will have your jousts, but I need something to occupy my time as well after all."
She smiled. "
And with any luck it could help ease our issues with Ser Marbrand, and further the Princesses cause."

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon is a bit taken aback.
"
Of course, invite anyone you wish. This isn't my tourney, it's ours."

He smiles, placing his hand in hers.
"
Though we shouldn't forget that it's really about our son. Our family."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

It's Gwyn's turn to look a little poleaxed, and she breaks into a grin and a laugh...reminders of days now in the past, but not so long.

"
I suppose I'm missing the forest for the trees, aren't I? Looking at this as just another way to do business, when it's really a celebration."


She stepped forward and embraced Baelon, resting her head against his chest.

"
Thank you for calling me back. There IS business to be done here, for us, for our House and son, but that is just one thing among many. And not the most important thing. He is. You are. We are."


Gwyneth laughed. "
Strange isn't it? I'm supposed to be the one keeping you down to earth and grounded."

[Baelon Drakeson]

He wraps his arms around her in an embrace.
Sheltering wings indeed... but this place is occupied.
"
I suppose we're rubbing off on each other. That's a good thing, I think."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Certainly better than the alternative."


She backed away, but stayed in arms reach. "
So. I'll make sure that news of our tourney reaches his ears...and hopefully he'll come on his own. If not, it's not critical. We'll just have to move more carefully. I'd still like to invite this Greyjoy though. Someone who can push back against Yoren's green influences would be useful to us. I'm also thinking it might be nice to see if we can find out what Isobel was doing with Cobb's old friends. Both of them are men of repute enough to warrant an invitation."


"
What do you think?"

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