Re: Support the Arts [King's Landing, Phase 1]

[Ayleth Bartheld]

http://orokos.com/roll/496090

If I succeed, I'll just embarrass the blacks. Ayleth doesn't covet money much.

[Valar Dohaeris]

Ayleth:
Intrigue: 4d6+2 19 vs TN 12, 2 DoS
-1 points for Lady Heloise' play as the would-be mastermind behind a Black scheme is shamed for tying to dsisrupt the concert.

[Theomore Tullison]

"My lady Clayre, it is an honor and a pleasure." Theomore gives a bow as he enters her pavilion. "Oh, the honor is mine, ser. I understand that you tend to be very busy at occasions such as these." She tries a bit too hard to appear calm and composed, Theomore notes, hardly unexpected given the rumors he had heard of himself. "My lady is most astute, though I am hardly so occupied that I cannot find time to make such a lovely acquaintance."

"That is only half of it, as my lady surely must suspect. It so happens that my lord nephew, ever caring for those less fortunate, seeks to put together a charity for those left without homes, husbands or parents as a result of the war on the Stepstones, and he is soliciting contributions from such others as share his concern. House Kriegar is well known for it's piety, and thus I thought it might be a good place to start." Well, that was the half of it, and Clayre seemed to sense that, too. "Why come to me, ser? Surely my lord husband would be the man to discuss this matter with?" The man to say no, more like it, Theomore suspects.

"My lady would ordinarily be right, though I have reason to believe that the unique situation of House Kriegar being sworn to Lady Marsten changes things. Most men have difficulty seeing the obstacles laid in front of a woman's path, especially when it is one that is thought to be reserved for men alone, many wants to see her fail, and that paints a target upon not only the good Lady Corrine, but all being seen as her supporters. If my lady would cloak herself with patience as I explain, I have brought some of my mead if she would like a taste, a little project to keep myself occupied in my free moments, my lady wife finds it rather ridiculous, though I am starting to come close to make it suit her tastes well enough as to hope she might approve soon." And gods knows she would not approve of his previous pastime indulgence.

"As an example, my lady, I heard a story, one that went unnoticed by everyone else on account of the teller being a man of little repute, a man marked by a cudgel blow to his forehead, of the sort the Gold Cloaks use. Who would believe the vague descriptions from such a man? But I think it fortunate that none of Lady Marsten's enemies had the chance to hear it all the same." That got her attention, and understanding, the grip around the cup tightening, she knew this man, had paid him to steal a prized harp, it's loss would be of embarrassment for Lord Unwin. Courtesy of Raff though, the attempt had met with failure, and while Theomore did not quite want to believe Raff's off-hand mention of a pot shop accepting any sort of meat, there was little doubt that the man would not be heard from again.

"There are men far more reputable who might repeat the tale, perhaps dragging a witness to the magistrate, perhaps claiming to have witnessed the exchange of coin, or overheard the words. That is when proof of one's pious soul and gentle nature comes in handy to dispel claims of being neither of those things" He had her now, perhaps not in the way a hopeful part of his mind was thinking, perhaps he did, but he had no intention of finding out. "You make a good point, ser" She seems relieved, one would need to be incredible naivè to think Theomore would balk at doing whatever suited him with this knowledge. "I shall speak with my lord husband, he will surely see the wisdom of generosity."

Arts-Awareness: 4d6 +1 Raff Assists 9
Arts-simple intrigue w/Raff assist: 6d6k5+7 27 Is a 4 DoS.

Stop scheme (+1 to concert), do not expose schemer. Rather than coin, Theo gets Clayre to support Dunstan's charity.

NPC involvement approved by narrator.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

A concert is a beautiful thing. Like most beautiful things, it is graceful and elegant; a thousand different strands of disparate elements woven together to make art.

Like most beautiful things, it is fragile.

Gwyneth has not spent her time in King's Landing idly. By day she is breezing through the halls of the keep; a vision in blue and gold, charming the nobles with innocent wiles. By night, she dons a darker visage and wardrobe and ventures deeper into the city, under the shadow of the looming Red Keep. Silver buys hands to watch her back...but other favors require a more yellow kind of metal. The Nightengale glides between festhalls and dark alleys, buying the things she'll need. Not lockpicks or poisons...but rather forged documents and witness accounts of guard postings. There are precious few secrets in King's Landing that cannot be had for gold, if one knows who to ask.

Knowledge Streetwise for Support the Arts: 7d6k5 22

Then to the concert! One of the stage managers has had a rough night, it seems...but no matter. Here she is now. Someone who knew her might think she was oddly a bit shorter...but no one has time for nuanced observations at a big event like this, and this was her first time working in this group. That's why she was chosen for this.

The documents are good enough to fool harried, hectic stagehands. And she even does the job passably well...well enough that she wouldn't be quickly evicted. But there are oddities. Instruments sabotaged with little holes that are hard to see. Stage cues and instructions for lighting and other backstage work are altered. Different copies of them find their way to different hands, so no one's sure what anyone else is doing. During the hour or so before the concert is to begin, small rivalries are ferreted out and fanned, such that some performers can't work with others anymore. It is hard to imagine so much chaos can result from one person's intervention...but then again, chaos is self-perpetuating. It needs only a tiny push to start to grow.

It's hard to know for sure if the leadership of the event will be sufficiently organized to calm the little storm she's unleashed, but Gwyn slips away early, to avoid the danger of being spotted. It would be interesting to see what came of her butterfly wings, hoping to fan up a hurricane.

Deception to mess with concert: 5d6k4+2 16
(Using a DP to substitute Deception for Thievery)

[Valar Dohaeris]

Results:
Lord Unwin's Concert: 0 The concert is well attended, but there are many minor mishaps throughout. The gilded harp made by the master craftsman Stannis of Oldtown makes an appearance... but is strangely out of tune and a string breaks in the middle of the first song, so it is substituted with another, less well-made harp.

Lady Heloise Tully's Play: 0 The play goes well and is well received, but the audience is not very large. There are also rumors the one of Lady Heloise's acquaintances was trying to cause trouble for Lord Unwin's concert, so critics with positive accounts are silent for fear of being seen as partisans.

Ayleth: +1 Concert, -1 Play
Daveth: +1 Play
Gwyn: -2 Concert
Theo: +1 Concert

Tie, no points awarded. May call for a "sudden death overtime" tiebreaker later; or Reader can weigh in on which story was best (I like both Theo's and Gwyn's).

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