| Mounting Tension |
| Summary: | Martyn, Kamron, and Saffron vent some frustration about the state of affairs at The Roots. |
| Date: | 31/07/2012 |
| Related Logs: | About the Accord |
| Players: |
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| Guest Quarters, Four Eagles Tower |
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| A simple set of quarters put aside for long-term guests. |
| 31 July, 289 |
Kamron isn't exactly fuming as he leads Martyn back toward his room. As he opens the door and walks through it, he turns back to his cousin, "What do you think, coz? If we hadn't been there, do you think they would have just dismissed it out of hand?" He's not being terribly specific, because he hasn't checked to see if there are any servants (or fiancees) in his small, one-room chamber, but he's definitely venting a bit.
"Probably," Martyn replies to Kamron's words. "If they hadn't torn themselves apart earlier or something?" Pausing for a few moments. "Should I grab one of those bottles I got hold of in Stonebridge, cousin?" He glances around the corridor for a few moments now.
Saffron is seated on the main sitting room's couch, speaking in earnest with one of the maids who tends to Kamron's rooms. They are both laughing and smiling brightly, but both those expressions wash away instantly as the Mallisters storm the room. The noblewoman sits up straighter in her seat, brushing her hands across the skirts quickly as she glances between the two. "Kamron," she says in soft surprise. "Is everything alright?"
Kamron shakes his head at Martyn, "No… they got their heads out of their…" And he stops, turning around and dropping into a bow at the female voice. A bit of laughter touches the greeting, "My Lady… I'm sorry, I should have warned you that I might be delayed." He moves over to reach out with his hand to take one of hers, bending over it to offer a kiss across the knuckles, "In the end, yes, My Lady, it is." He glances over to the maid, and doesn't deign to speak anything more direct yet.
Martyn blinks a bit as he hears Saffron's greeting, and offers her a bow as well now. "Lady Saffron," he offers, stepping inside a bit more properly as well. "I hope you are well today?" Gesturing to Kamron for a few moments. "We just had a rather… trying time of trying to advice the Terricks a bit," he offers, as if to explain the conversation now.
Worry lines crease in her brow as she looks between the pair, but it softens a bit at the kiss to her knuckles. She frowns a bit. "It is alright, Kamron… I was talking to Salla here," she nods to the maid, who is looking a bit meek before the pair of Mallisters. She considers both their words before she glances to Salla. "Salla, you are excused. Thank you for the company." After all, if they are talking the Terricks, they best not talk about them around one of their retainers. Saffron maintains silence until the girl excuses herself, leaving the woman with the two men — perhaps not the best arrangement, but it will do. "Now… what advice?"
Kamron nods his head to Salla as she departs, then looks back to Martyn and Saffron, settling over into the chair settled down beside Saffron's side of the couch. He unbuckles his axe-belt and sets it down alongside the chair before sitting down. He gestures over to another chair for Martyn, "The Charlton offer, My Lady. They were going to refuse it out of hand in order to try to make deals with the Erenfords, Haighs, Naylands, and Groves separately. Deals which have not been made yet." The scathing annoyance in his voice is quite clear. "Martyn, Muirenn, and I — along with Justin and Lady Anais some of the time — talked them into at least making a counter-offer."
"And refusing it without making the counter-offer could have seemed like an insult." Martyn shakes his head a little bit. "Something which might complicate matters in other kinds of negotiations as well." Taking that offered seat, he sinks into it perhaps a touch too heavily. "Seemed like quite a few of them were too set on the fact that a few of the parts of the offer were unacceptable, and that they should reject it without trying to negotiate at all."
This news draws a frown onto her lips. "Do they not see that the Roost cannot take another war conflict on their lands?" Saffron sighs a bit. "The Charltons are at least offering us a far better deal than any else so far… they don't seem to want to cripple it with debt or completely embarrass the House." She rubs at her forehead as she leans back, looking vexed. "What was the overall feeling of the meeting?"
Kamron shakes his head, "They couldn't even say what the f — " he glances to Saffron, then shrugs a little apologetically, but goes through with the curse, " — the fuck they had problems with, besides sending Lady Lucienne to ward at Hollyholt and having qualms about the possibility of hiring Roost smallfolk over to Highfield." Apparently he's already shared the entire base agreement with his betrothed, because he talks as if she's fully in the loop up until the start of the Terrick meeting. He shrugs at Saffron's questions, "Eventually, I think we convinced them, but they're still investigating other possibilities," he holds up a hand, "Which I understand. It just felt like they were more willing to ally with the Naylands than the Charltons, which I don't understand at all." He snaps his fingers, sitting forward in his chair, "That reminds me though… can I borrow your squire to send with another guard, coz? Mine's down in Seagard with another message right now."
"It seemed they were afraid of the Charltons getting too powerful. Which I can understand, of course." Martyn begins, shaking his head a little bit. "But if you have a strong neighbor you're afraid of, the worst thing to do would be to anger them when it would work so much better to at least make an effort to make it seem like they're trying to come to an agreement." He lets out a bit of a sigh. "And as for the part about the craftsmen, they seem to think that it would be like selling them, while Justin tried pointing out that there's bound to be some of them willing to travel to Highfield and work there to see their family and friends fed." The mention of the Naylands makes him grimace a bit. "Especially with the way the last round of negotiations went between their houses. Accusing the Charltons of wanting to embarrass them, only to negotiate with someone they know will try to do that? That makes no sense at all." At Kamron's question about his squire, he nods a little bit. "Of course, cousin."
"We all knew that there was no way in the Seven Hells that Lucienne would be warded with the Charltons. He wouldn't dare send his only daughter away unless its through marriage." The redhead sighs, leaning back into the couch now, cupping her cheek with her hand. She looks off toward the darkening windows, her expression almost unreadable as thoughts circle about her head. "The Charltons could help the Roost get back on its feet, and that is what the Roost should concern itself with." She glances over toward Kamron and then Martyn once more. "I thought I understood that it was only willing smallfolk who would go? And that it would be a limited internship with the Charltons?" Then she rubs at her brow a bit. "I wish we were still in Seagard," she murmurs just loud enough for the pair to hear.
Kamron nods to Martyn, "I'm wary of the Charlton ambitions as well, and I think that we," meaning the Mallisters, "will have to watch out for them. And there is some benefit to getting some of what The Roost needs in several different places. I just don't think they can count on the Haighs, Erenfords, Naylands, and Groves to work together. Especially not the Haighs and the Erenfords and Naylands." He nods his thanks to Martyn's response to his request, then shifts his attention over to Saffron, reaching out to lay a hand lightly on her upper arm, "It is only for willing crafters, and for a year, at which point they can stay there if they want to." His fingers tighten lightly, intending to comfort the Banefort, "We will be back there soon, My Lady, for a little while." A wan bit of a crooked grin paints his features, and he adds, "And we're needed here, as I think this proved neatly."
Martyn nods a bit as he hears that. "And if they' been ready to send her off as a ward, they wouldn't want someone that's already betrothed to another house in return, I believe." He pauses a little bit at that point, but doesn't say anything more on it. "And I don't think they can expect all of the others to work together that closely either. For one thing, the tensions between the Naylands and the Charltons, including some of the less predictable behavior from the Naylands, would scare some of the others a bit. And I would suspect that the Haighs, if pressed to take side with one of those two, would take Charlton's side. There's more blood relations between those two houses, including the aforementioned betrothal." At the mention of still being in Seagard, he's unable to hold back a bit of a grin. "Part of me wishes that as well. But then again, it's sort of good to be out of reach of mother, after all."
It does not look as if Saffron is all that comforted by the Knight, which may be a bit disheartening for him. "What use do we serve if they only begrudgingly even listen to what you have to offer? I wasn't even suppose to still be here," she says, perhaps a bit reproachfully. No, she was suppose to be married off to a Reach House by now. She shakes her head a bit, lifting a hand to her brow. "Sers, I'm sorry. I cannot seem to find my balance tonight." She shakes her head a bit as she rubs at her neck. "What will be the next step? And what will happen if the Terricks and Charltons cannot come to an agreement?"
Kamron shrugs slightly at Saffron's first query, "If they listen at all, it's worth the effort, I think, My Lady. For the sake of their smallfolk if nothing else." Looking back to Martyn, he nods, "To say nothing of their breaking guestright and holding nobles without trial." The last words from his cousin draw a chuckle as well, "You're just worried about telling Aunt Aduliana about Ser Otto and then the possibility of the breaking of the courtship." Saffron's question, however, draws a sigh, "I say that if nothing at all happens and there's only a month of supplies left, we suggest to Lord Mallister that he intervene." And that has a somber, cold sound to it.
"It's okay, Lady Saffron, we all have days like that," Martyn offers with a bit of a smile. "And I think it actually shows that it's worth the effort, since they at least managed to listen enough to see that they should continue negotiations. Begrudgingly listening is better than no listening at all. I'm a bit worried if people's got their own agendas at the moment, though." He nods to the words about the Naylands, sighing a little bit. "Too many of them seem to be a bit too unpredictable too." At the mention of his mother, he offers another grin for a few moments. "Ah, you obviously haven't seen my dear lady mother on her bad days, cousin. She can be a very scary woman at times." He then nods a little bit, "We might perhaps need to do that a few weeks earlier than when it's just a month left, so there's time for him to actually intervene," he says, after a few moments of pause.
With an apologetic look, Saffron reaches out to gently squeeze his fingers as if to finally acknowledge his comfort. "Thank you," she murmurs to him before she glances back over to Martyn. It is now that a small frown begins to settle on her lips. "What sort of agendas are you worried about, Martyn?" She asks, almost softly. It is not as though she does not trust these walls, but they are now speaking on the balance of the Terricks as a whole. She then regards the pair with arched brows. "What sort of intervention would you expect from Lord Patrek?"
Kamron nods to Martyn at his description of the Terricks, although he grimaces at his suggestion about the timing of an intervention, "I don't want to suggest anything that drastic without giving them all the chance we can." Looking over to Saffron, he twists his hand to take her fingers in his, an unthinking gesture that doesn't match his sober and solemn words, "If the Terricks cannot care for their smallfolk, then they do not deserve to rule them." Simple, straight-forward, and direct.
"To be honest I'm not really sure. But every now and then, it seems that a few people are opposing each other, not because of the ideas themselves are bad, but because of who's suggesting them. It feels a bit like the captain of a sinking ship refusing people to get to safety, just because he can," Martyn replies, with a bit of a sigh, shaking his head a little bit. Nodding a bit at Kamron's words about giving them all the chance possible. "True, but we need to factor in the time it would take to get supplies in here to avoid both famine and outright rebellion."
Saffron Banefort — soon to be Mallister — looks between the two before she releases a sigh. "We all know that Lady Lucienne and Lady Anais are naturally at odds… whatever one suggests, the other will automatically dismiss without consideration of its merits." There is a small sigh that passes through her lips, and she squeezes the knight's fingers gently. Then she nods with Martyn's words. "The state of the Roost, the rations, and the wedding preparations… I find myself growing weary and impatient. I can only imagine how the Terricks tensions are mounting — in the end, we have another home to go to. This is all there is for them."
Kamron nods his head at Martyn, "I bet we could arrange supplies for another month or two at least within a single month with the resources of House Mallister behind us. Maybe it's a month and a half then." He closes his eyes, sinking back into his chair and letting out a long, slow breath, "I don't want to even suggest such a course of action to Lord Mallister, but the people are looking to House Terrick, and then to House Mallister, to keep them fed, housed, and clothed. It was actually Ser Dmitry being the most idiotic at this meeting. Lady Lucienne and Lady Anais actually agreed on a point or two before they got to one another."
Martyn nods a little bit as he listens now. "Yes, the two of them didn't argue as much as they used to. Not until the end, anyway." Nodding a little bit at Kamron's words about not wanting to even suggest it, he grimaces a little bit. "Nobody wants to suggest it. But if things go on, without any agreements seeming to be made, then someone *has* to do it. No matter how much it would pain us all. I've come to like the town and its people too much to see it all fall apart."
Saffron sighs. There is a silence from the young woman as she listens to them both with an earnest ear. Her gaze tilts back toward that dark window, and she suddenly feels a wash of tiredness slide over her. "There is some time left, Martyn, before we will have to make more… drastic decisions." She grasps onto the edge of the couch, sliding up to her feet. "Let us wait and see what happens with the Charltons. Perhaps we will be given a reprieve, and finally some actual peace."
Kamron nods his agreement with Martyn's words, his eyes still closed. "Fuck me sideways…" He flushes then, peeling open one eye to look at Saffron, "Sorry, My Lady. I just hate the situation we're in." And then he sees that she's standing, and he pops up to his feet, "I'll walk you back to your room, Lady Saffron. I'm sure we can find something a little more conducive to restful sleep to talk about."
"There is more time, thankfully. And hopefully an agreement can be worked out with the Charltons. The people here deserve some peace." Martyn nods a little bit now as he gets to his feet, a bit slowly. "I'll find Xander and tell him to come by in the morning, if you want that letter sent, cousin," he offers, after a few moments of pause. "I wish you both a good night's rest, and thank you both for the conversation," he offers, as he starts in the direction of the door, a bit slowly.
Saffron nods gently to Kamron, offering a softer smile. "Thank you," she murmurs to him before she bows her head gently to Martyn. "Sleep well, Martyn." Then she is waiting for her betrothed to be ready to take her back to her rooms, and hopefully they will talk about much happier things to set her mind at ease.
Kamron shakes his head slightly at Martyn's offer, "If you don't mind, I'd like to write the letter and get it sent out tonight. It's nine hours to Seagard if they ride fast, and the Terricks only have two days… one now. Could you send him by in an hour, coz?" After waiting for a response, the younger Mallister reaches down to grab the belt holding his axe, buckling it onto his hip, and then offers out his arm to Saffron to escort her through the halls to her room.
"Of course," Martyn replies to Kamron, nodding to Saffron's words as well. "In an hour it is. And a good night to you both." And with that, he slips out, moving to get hold of his squire now.
