[D4:MA] Old House, New House (closed)

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon leans against the wall of the wheel tower, listening to the creaking of the mechanism and waiting for the others to arrive.


OOC: Gwyn &
Edmund have special dispensation from Reader to be in this thread in addition to another MA thread.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyneth shows up with Edmund in tow;
the two of them showing up a bit late after meeting at the tourney field.

She gives Baelon a nod and a smile as she comes in...relieved to see him whole and well.

[Daveth Coldbrook]

(OOC: I don't know if Ser Jorah is joining us or not. If he is, he arrives with me. If not, I'll arrive with a generic Coldbrook guard, who stands apart from the negotiation.)

Daveth controls his breathing as he nears the arranged meeting point, letting his mask gently settle over him, and firmly attach itself. I'm ready.

He enters the meeting area, and sees the Marsten delegation. He greets each of them in turn. "
Ser Baelon, congratulations, and thank you for getting back to me. Lady Gwyneth, always a pleasure, and you must be Edmund Lyras."
Daveth extends a hand. "
Master Daveth Coldbrook. A pleasure to meet you."


[size=50:14rh7am3]Edit: Corrected Edmund's title

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
Daveth, so good to see you. I have been looking forward to this since we spoke at the bread and salt."

He pats Daveth on the shoulder in a friendly manner, smiling broadly.
"
I am eager to get back to the tourney field, so let's get straight to business. To start with, let's make sure that everyone is on the same page. House Coldbrook has offered to send troops to support House Marsten in a campaign against the mountain clans. We in House Marsten would like to accept that offer - should the terms be agreeable, of course."

His smile fades to a face of concern.
"
First however, I do need one assurance. We have received a similar offer from House Tullison, whom I am given to understand House Coldbrook has some grievance with. Before we even begin negotiations, I must have your assurance that there would be no... mishaps.. or... accidents... between your men and those of House Tullison. Is that going to be an issue?"

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Daveth raises an eyebrow at the new information. "
Well, we are fortunate that we are meeting now, for I can tell you that it was just yesterday morning that I met with Lord Tullison to discuss the relations between our houses.

"
And fortunately, the talks went very well. Once we'd established clarity on the issues, Lord Tullison was agreeable and generous, and the steps taken there have gone a long way to healing the rift that had formed. I can confidently say that the chance of any incident between our men is negligible, barring any unfortunate event in the remainder of the tourney."


Daveth then sighs. "
I say that, however, with a single exception. Ser Theomore Tullison. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but were I to deny that there is still resentment towards him in the Coldbrook camp, I would be lying. The result of the talks was positive enough that I would not describe an incident as 'certain', but it is likely enough, and the consequences dire enough, that I would be *very* leery of putting him alongside our troops for an extended period. My Lord and Lady parents are well-loved by our men, as was my brother. I can unfortunately all too easily see, in the chaos of war, one of our men deciding that politics doesn't apply to them, and then doing something ... regrettable."
he sighs again, and shrugs. "
And that's the pure ugly truth of the matter. It's up to you if you think you can work around that."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
I am glad to hear that the issue is, at least mostly, resolved."

And that I didn't have to get into the middle of it.
"
I think that should be workable. I suspect that Ser Theomore is well past the days of yearning for glory on the battlefield, and would be more than happy to sit out the fight. Gwyn, you know the Tullisons at least as well as I, do you think that they would agree to that condition?"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn nodded. "
As far as I know, Ser Theomore hasn't fought in a war since the Stepstones. He's a knight of renown, but no general. I'd be very surprised if he had any wish to lead troops away from home. Especially with the understanding that not all of said troops would be happy to have him there."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
There we have it then. What then, are House Coldbrooks terms for military support in the intended action?"

After introducing himself, Edmund is content to watch and listen to the conversation, given that he's only just arrived. Better to stay silent, he thought, than inadvertently stymie delicate negotiations.

Instead, Edmund studies Coldbrook, his mannerisms and language to get a feel for who he is.

[url=Study Daveth Coldbrook][/url]: 5d6k4+3 19

[Daveth Coldbrook]

(OOC: Congratulations, Edmund! You're the first person to actually successfully read me. via dice rolling, at least, rather than narrative fiat, anyway. So, what do you discover? Hmm. Let's see... (I'm assuming it's me who gives out the information, rather than Reader?))

Daveth presents a calm, reasonable front. Always polite, quietly smiling.

What you're able to pick up on is that it really is just a front. He's nowhere near as confident as he's portraying himself, genuinely nervous about having to take on both Ser Baelon and Lady Gwyneth simultaneously, and wary about you as an unknown factor. However, he's determined to do his best not to fuck this up.

Further, for all that his words are dispassionate, he can't quite hide from you that he is among those who hates Ser Theomore. A *lot*. But he keeps a tight lid on it, like he does all his other emotions.

(...There, that should be enough to be fair. Unfortunately, I need to clarify something with Reader before I can give Daveth's response. Sorry, only just now realised that.)

[size=50:3kl82u3s]Edit: corrected Edmund's title.

[OOC: No Ser here, just an upjumped page. You make it sound like reading you is worth glory in and of itself....wait. Is it? :;
):
Also, thanks for the info. Should it be in PM?]

[Daveth Coldbrook]

[OOC: No Ser here, just an upjumped page. You make it sound like reading you is worth glory in and of itself....wait. Is it? :;
):
Also, thanks for the info. Should it be in PM?]

(Ah, I will admit, I wasn't sure. I'll go correct that now, since I'm sure Ser Baelon's note would have mentioned that.

And no, not worth glory as far as I'm concerned. It's just that my defence is fairly high (16) and generally schemers haven't bothered, so there's been a few failures.

And as far as I'm concerned, it's not worth keeping to a PM. Nothing I've given you is a secret OOC - I tend to be pretty open about what's going on in Daveth's mind in the narration, and it helps avoid you cluttering up your inbox with notes as to what you learned when.)

[Ser Jorah Holt]

Ser Jorah arrived alongside Daveth. He had just come from the joust, so was fully armoured. As all were introduced, his ears pricked up when Edmund was introduced.

"
Edmund Lyras, any relation to Kevan Lyras?"


As the discussions continued, he provided some input.

"
Relations with House Tullison have been greatly improved, but I agree, Ser Theomore presence would be a potential concern and certainly that is not something that is needed when we need to present a united front."



ooc
Sorry, first chance to post due to sleep and work.

Edmund responds with a broad smile at Ser Jorah's question. "
Most certainly, Ser! Kevan is mine uncle and we spent some years together as squire and page within House Marsten."
He then asks, "
How do you know him, Ser Jorah?"


As the conversation winds on, Edmund finds himself simply listening. The negotiations seem to be going well, but his interest is piqued as the discussion revolves around this Ser Theomore. Clearly a figure that Coldbrook has strong feelings about. Curious.

For the moment, Edmund stays silent as the conversation moves towards terms.

[Ser Jorah Holt]

Edmund responds with a broad smile at Ser Jorah's question. "
Most certainly, Ser! Kevan is mine uncle and we spent some years together as squire and page within House Marsten."
He then asks, "
How do you know him, Ser Jorah?"

"
I know your uncle from when he was but a squire, a few years ago now. I had the pleasure of catching up with him last night."

[Daveth Coldbrook]

(OOC: Right! Apologies for the delay. But we know roughly where we stand now, so: onward!)

"
Let me start by saying what forces we are prepared to commit to help you. The main force is the Company of the Morningstar - my father's elite personal guard - I do not boast when I say that man-for-man I doubt you could find a better fighting force of that size anywhere in the kingdom. Supporting them will be Company Grenward - while not quite as impressive, they are still a group of hardened veteran infantry that any house would be proud to have serving them.

"
For their use, there are various things we require.

"
Firstly, there's a matter that's concerning us that you can help us with at practically no cost. We own Castle Grenward, but the proper recognition and paperwork was never seen to. We want this matter tidied up. Lord Tully has already agreed to handle the formal procedures for us, but also stated that we needed other houses to formally ratify our possession in order for it to stick. So, if you'd be willing to update your documents and maps to this effect, that would be a good first step.

"
After that, without wanting to sound mercenary, our key need is coin. Exactly how much help for how much coin is something we're flexible on."


Daveth pauses momentarily to take a deep breath in and out.

"
Although, there is an alternative. We have other issues you could potentially help us with. A lack of prestige and political power in particular. And that's not a problem likely to go away any time soon. Similarly, however successful this campaign is, the clans will return at some point, so your need for military assistance will be similarly enduring, regardless of if you do or have already managed to patch things up with House Kriegar. After all, having reinforcements available who aren't also hardest pressed when you most need their help would prove invaluable."
his tone throughout is matter-of-fact.

Daveth somehow manages to straighten his shoulders a little more before continuing. "
In short, I am not aware of two houses who have more to offer each other in a close alliance than ours. But such an alliance would need to be cemented with a direct Coldbrook-Marsten marriage. And I'm not familiar enough with your house's situation to know how feasible such a thing would be, nor if it would be considered a prudent investment from your side."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Well,"
says Gwyn mischievously, "
Since your House has nothing but boys and ours has nothing but girls, I should think it wouldn't be overly difficult to arrange something."


She glances at Baelon for just a moment, meeting his eyes, then focuses entirely on Daveth with a warm smile.

"
And for what it's worth, I agree completely that the needs and strengths of our Houses complement one another perfectly. Marsten is an old and well-respected name, and our friendship would do a great deal to reinforce your rule. And the matter of the castle..."
she waved a hand. "
Easily accomplished. There again, our influence will move mountains to legitimize your claim to the legendary cursed castle."
Her grin made light work of the supernatural ghosties lurking back home at Grenward.

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon meets Gwyn's eyes, then frowns.

"
Impossible."


He let's the word hang in the air for a moment.

"
The marriage, that is. I understand that it may cost us the long-term alliance, but it cannot be avoided."


He shakes his head. Raising his hand he ticks off a finger as he mentions each of the Marsten women.

"
I think you can understand that the hand of our Heir is not something that we can negotiate with for an alliance with a house that is rather young and, by your own admission, precarious.
Lady Gwyneth here is... not an option, for a variety of reasons... none of which I can disclose at this time.
Lady Dyana is a potential option, and perhaps a good match for your house... if you can convince her to go along with it. I will not even attempt to do so, as I prefer to keep all of my delicate bits intact.
That leaves Lady Isobel herself... but I doubt you or your brother would be interested in a lady old enough to be your mother - older than your mother, I believe.
We might be able to arrange something for one of Edmund's sisters... but it will be at least a few more years until the eldest flowers, so it would have to wait - longer, I am guessing - than you wish to."


He sighs.

"
As I said, impossible... so instead let us set our eyes on a more modest proposal. Your forces, for one campaign. In return, we will ratify your possession of Castle Grenward... which I should think would greatly improve your position in marriage negotiations with other houses."


[size=75:yj84c6kc]Edit:Spelling correction.

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Talk about mixed messages. I suppose that's the downside of bringing multiple spokespeople.

Alright. So, you've got disunity on their front, and it's the one with 'Marsten' in her name who seems more positive about the deal. He's clearly overstating your weakness, and his starting offer is frankly an insult, even to us. So, the best way to exploit this situation to your best advantage is-

"
So, to confirm, if I can convince Lady Dyana to say 'yes', you have no other objections?"


You've met her once, Daveth. Once! You are not Garret! Can you *please* start engaging your brain before your lips?

"
If I can't, well, things aren't looking good. Your starting offer is a pure insult for the quality of troops we are offering you, Ser Baelon. If you value them so poorly that you're not willing to offer a single coin, we're best off ending the negotiations now, pending seeing if we can go the alliance route. We can get our recognition from plenty of other places. There is nowhere else you can get help of our quality against the clans who are killing the people you are sworn to protect."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
If you can convince her, no, I have no objections. I just have one piece of advice - wear a codpiece."

He smiles, wickedly.

"
As for the offer being an insult... it has nothing to do with the quality of your troops. I'm sure they are quite well trained.
No, the error you are making is assuming that we need your troops. However, there are plenty of other options.
Tullison, Bartheld, Dulver, Bracken, even the Longshores have offered troops, though we're nowhere near that desperate."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn gave Baelon a frown, and quickly turned back to Daveth, stepping a little between him and her companion.

"
You'll have to excuse Baelon;
he sometimes forgets that the negotiating table is not a tournament ground."
She smiles. "
I assure you, no offense is meant. Of course you must be compensated for risking the lives of your brave men. And while even one campaign would be useful to us, I would like to think we can agree on an arrangement that will be more enduring. A foundation for a long and fruitful alliance, if you will."


"
Since the matter of the marriage is, for now, tabled, and you've already outlined what forces you're willing to contribute, I suggest we move on to working out what compensation is fair."


"
Our support for your ownership of the castle is part of that deal of course, but lets not let it end there. Daveth, how long a commitment can House Coldbrook offer?"

[Ser Jorah Holt]

Ser Jorah laughed

"
Bartheld really and do you have any turnips for the House Dulver troops to hide behind?"
referring to a famous comment made by Lord Dulver.

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon glares at Ser Jorah.
"
When you purchase wine, you may want Arbor Gold, but if the price is too high, you settles for a lesser vintage... and House Redwyne makes no money."

He smiles, lightening the tone.
"
Which appears to be what has happened at this tourney, judging from what was served at the feast yesterday."

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Daveth makes a gentle settling motion towards Ser Jorah, in a 'you're not wrong, but let's not inflame matters while they're going smoothly' gesture, before turning back to Lady Gwyneth.

"
There are two ways of handling this negotiation. Normally, we'd start by naming a figure that's too high, you come back with a figure that's too low, and we haggle until we come to something sensible. However, out of consideration for those of you who wish to get back to jousting, I propose that I simply make you an offer that's fair. Actually, I consider it rather generous. It's what we'd offer those who are friends or we would have as friends. And you can let us know if you accept or not. If you don't, we can go the longer route.

"
So, what I propose is this: you pay 200 gold dragons, and that gets you a 40 day campaign. If, at the end of that time, you want to extend, and our local commander is happy to do so, and we haven't sent you a message asking for them back, you can pay another 200 gold dragons, and get an additional 40 days. This is repeatable for as long as all those factors remain positive.

"
Time spent resting in Marsten lands does not count towards these days, and the Marstens will supply our troops with provisions and healing proportionate to that of their own troops for the duration of their stay. Further, you will provide them the ability to use your communication network, via whatever method you deem best, to pass us status updates every 40 days, starting from confirmation of their arrival, letting us know how things are going and if they're staying or returning at that time, as well as any emergency messages on an ad-hoc basis.

"
Oh, and there is room for a degree of flexibility in the days. If you're literally just a day or two off finishing things off, there'll be no problem quickly tidying matters up without further payment, rather than demanding payment for the full 40 days the moment you're one hour over. This is supposed to be a way for friends to help each other in the spirit of the agreement and grow closer, not screw each other over with the letter of the agreement and draw apart. However, if it drags on beyond those few days, obviously payment would be expected.

"
Is that acceptable?"


Edit: Changed the communication part based on info from OOC thread. Thanks to those who helped.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyn lifts her eyebrows a bit, but seems receptive to the offer. She glances at Baelon again, then says to Daveth, "
Give us a moment to confer?"

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