| Uncoomfortable Conversations |
| Summary: | Two Terricks and a retainer exchange words in the market square. Tempers might feature. |
| Date: | 14/Nov/2012 |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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| Town Square, Terrick's Roost |
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| The town square of Terrick's Roost was once considered well-kept. The stone streets run right up to the building fronts around the edge and the locals have kept the spaces between free of grass and weeds that might otherwise sprung up between them, although dark streaks of stubborn soot have crawled in between the stones. There are several homes and shops located here which show the scars and cinders of the sacking of the town at Ironborn hands. The ruin of the town's Sept can also be seen from here with its ornate stone front rising above the surrounding structures just down the cobblestone road. |
| Wed Nov 14, 289 |
It's a grey day at the Roost, although not overly cold it seems. There might be no blue visible in the sky, but the clouds are not heavy, nor do they threaten rain beyond the vague possibility of a little drizzle at some point. Life seems to be going on as usual for the general population with people coming and going from the marketplace and inn.
Among those in the crowd is Mortimer, having spent the best part of yesterday in one of the outlying villages to settle a boundary dispute he seems to be firmly at home today. He's just strolling casually through the crowds keeping an eye out for any potential issues or known trouble makers. It would seem though that for now, all is quiet.
In the cool day, the clouds had sheltered the people and the sun itself from its blazing heat and instead, replaced it with a grey damp day. Commoners around went to their duties, working on whatever task they had for the day, the children either being scolded for not doing chores or laughing merrily as they ran from another and turned in circles again. Though there had been rough times and sad times that hit the Roost recently, and the seven knew that a grey day like this didn’t help, it seemed some were still able to enjoy their afternoons, going about them as if nothing were different.
"I can not believe the saddle broke." Gaelena comments dryly as she walks through the town square and headed in the direction of the leather worker. Behind her is a young girl that can only assume to be her maid and her two guards that are ever with her. One of the two guards has the very saddle she is mentioning heaped onto his shoulder. "This only happens when I wish to do something. Then it just…" her hand waves in front of her in gesture, "Magically breaks."
A man walks into the square, leading his grey horse. The pair comes in with a patrol that's been out the past few days. Justin is wearing his mourning black, a relatively plain black surcoat edged minimally in his House colours over his partial plate and mail. A crossbow is hung over one side of his saddle, a shield on his back, and an axe depends from his belt opposite his sword. The man looks in need of bathing as he ties his pale horse to the inn's hitching post.
Not seen around town a great deal, the Sheriff has tirelessly been pursuing patrols of the roads and hamlets in search of bandits and his brother's murders. Presumably to little fruition. Grim faced, the claw marks down his cheek are almost completely faded, long since healed. Justin strips off his gloves and slaps some of the road dust off of himself.
It's possibly not surprising that the arrival of a Lady and her entourage is spotted quickly by Mortimer, although Gaelena's little party does distract his attention from Justin's. As his footsteps bring him closer to the small group he offers a polite, yet brief nod to Gaelena, "m'lady." Spotting the saddle and plotting their course across the square he makes an educated guess as to her destination. "If you're heading to the master leatherworkers you'll be disappointed I'm afraid. He's out in Penwortham seeing to a farmer's tack and harness I'm afraid. He's expected back before sundown though, if it's urgent." It's then that he spots Justin's horse out of the corner of his eye and turns to greet his boss. "m'Lord. Any luck on the roads?"
It would be just her luck that the leatherworker was out. Sighing, Gaelena looks back at the saddle and the guard that holds it. Decisions, decisions, what was a lady to do. Turning back to Mortimer to speak, whatever it was about to be, its stopped at the sight of Justin. Pausing, she looks Justin over briefly keeping herself tight lipped as she does. "Its not urgent." Attention shifting once more to the guard holding her saddle, "Take it in there anyway and leave word with anyone in there that it is to be fixed and show them the area in which needs the most care. If no one is in there, leave a note."
The guard of course does as she commanded him to do and is moving in that direction, leave the Terrick Lady with her maid and single guard. The question posed to Justin from Mortimer was one of especial interest to her, and so she remains where she is to hear his reply.
"No, nothing." It is offered flatly. While good news in general for the Roost that all is quieter and presumably safer, anyone who knows Justin has probably heard the rumours that his blade has been very thirsty for blood. Quite unsatiated, alas. So he's kept to himself, becoming the loner and doing his work to keep himself buried in it when he has anything to do. Or riding endless patrols.
To his cousin he inclines his bared head, "My lady cousin. How do you fare?" His horse secured, Justin walks over a little closer towards Mortimer. He makes a gesture to the others who trailed in with him, a few Men at Arms for most of their 8+ party had broken up at the edge of town, "Day off tomorrow, then we'll meet up same time and place as usual and head out again." The men acknowledge his orders and head into the inn. Justin looks to Mortimer, "Any resolution on that boundary dispute? Need to me ride over with you, Deputy?"
Mortimer nods silently to Justin's answer regarding the roads. "Small mercies at least I suppose," he offers by way of a reply, knowing full well the other side of the coin in Justin's mind. He leaves the nobles to talk a moment, eyes following the guard sent to the leatherworkers a moment before the direct question calls his attention back. "Aye m'Lord. Wasn't too much hassle in the end. Both sides were agreeable enough and it was only a few foot in question. My best guess is a plough disturbed the stone and no one noticed at the time." He takes a moment to scratch his bread a moment then adds, "I image they'll be drinking together like nothing had happened by tonight."
To the bow of his head, Gaelena returns with a dip of her down that is followed by a small curtsey of greeting to her cousin. "Ser Justin." only replying to his question when she is straightened, "Well, thank you." drifting is her attention as he calls out to those that had followed him in from the road. Giving them their orders and seeing their responses. "Something will come forward. Nothing is kept secret for long. Someone will know something and it will lead you to what you desire to know."
As Justin approaches Mortimer and her proximity being within speaking range with him, she stays were she is. The boundary dispute too? Looking between the two men, "Do you not think you need some rest, Cousin?" Look at him, he was in need of a bath and no one had seen him in days, meaning he'd been hard at work. "Rest and food would do you more good."
"Good work, Mortimer. You are a good man." Justin tucks his riding gloves into his belt and would hand off his things to his squire, weapons and shield, if only he had one. Some day he really ought to look to that.
Gaelena regains his attention. Justin studies her and his mouth thins a little, "I rest and eat enough, lady Galena. I went to the wedding in Highfield as I gave my word to do. I prefer to have work to keep me occupied. I can not abide sitting around idle with nothing to do. Tomorrow we'll rest, then we'll go back to our duties." And he has been overdue to lead a hunt into western Highfield.
Jerold Terrick's son unstraps the shield from his back. He walks back over to his horse to secure it to the saddle - he can walk and lead his horse to where ever it is that he stables the grey these days, since he left off living up at the tower. "Things have been quiet?"
Mortimer holds his hands out in a silent offer to hold Justin's things for him if he needs it, he's not a squire but the Lord Sheriff is his boss as well as a Terrick. "Quiet enough aye, there was a bit of a blockage on the road yesterday but that was just the haycart taking it's time on the narrow section. Once they was cleared it settled down again quick enough." As Justin heads back to his horse he settles his hands back onto his belt and glances briefly back to Gaelena, "I'll see he gets a solid meal inside him m'Lady before he's off again. I need him fit and able to do his job, otherwise I'd have to."
Raising a single eyebrow at Justin’s response she stares at him for a long while. Ok. Well, being nice wasn’t getting her anywhere. Stiffly she nods her head, "You would know, I suppose." Gaelena's head tilts as she tosses her dark hair over her shoulder, causing her to raise her chin a half inch. "Despite what it might look like, Cousin, I do not like to sit idle either. Everyone has just been in too much of…" she stops her speech, it was proving to be a useless one anyway. Besides that, her guard that had been sent on to the Leather worker was returning, saddle free. He's obviously been able to follow direction. That was always splendid. "Were you able to find someone?" A nod is given to her as his reply. Maybe he knew that as little words were better around this Terrick. "Good."
Justin walks off towards his horse and despite herself she glances after him. To Mortimer she nods her head, "See that he does. He's beside himself with trying to track down these good for nothing bandits, he'll forget to care for himself, I can see it in him." her lips flatten. "Even if he wishes for no one to see it." Sighing, "I'll leave you men to your more important matters to attend." A brief glance given to her guards and then her maid, lifting her skirts she turns and starts to walk again.
Whatever they think, Justin looks fit. He's slowly been regaining weight with more regular rationed food and the little hunting he manages on the side. He secures his axe to the saddle as well, obviously not intending to leave his horse standing out here without someone to keep an eye on it. He turns his head, possibly overhearing some snatch of their conversation.
"Lady Gaelena, if I have offended you, you have my apology. It is not my intention to put you off." Justin gives Mortimer a glance then draws a slow breath. He strokes his horse's neck and then looks uncertain what to say. Social skills were never his strongest point. He licks his lips and skims a hand through his hair before he adds, "I need to go unsaddle my horse and stow my things. Clean myself up. If … eh, either of you want to share supper with me, you're welcome. I'll try not to be poor company."
Slowing to stop, turning her body half way back toward Justin, Gaelena stares back at him. Torn between storming off and coming back and making peace. A brief glance is given to Mortimer, then to her maid and lastly to her guards. Lifting a hand she waves one of them forward, the one that hadn’t gone into the leatherworkers shop. You had to take turns with your demands, you know. "Have Jordan take him for you." suggesting the horse be taken by her guard, "He'll see to the unsaddling, if you've other things to attend to." such as a bath. "You can get to them." decision made, "Then we can enjoy a meal together." she concludes. "That is… If you wish it to happen."
"Your Lord Cousin is better at taking care of himself than may think I've found," Mortimer replies to Gaelena with a faint smile, "he knows that if he's off form then it'll do him no good if he does find what he's looking for." He almost agrees to take Justin up on that offer on the grounds that it'll give him time to catch the other up on the comings and goings, but as Gaelena beats him to it he falls silent again, waiting for the cousins to come to some sort of agreement.
Mortimer knows Justin's been stripped of most of his motivations and frankly, he's quite indifferent where his family is concerned these days. Or in the case of his own father, quite disgusted and even hostile. Whatever trust he had is undermined so it may be of no surprise that he unties his horse and says, "No, I will see to him and my gear myself. Thank you however for the offer, my lady. I shall return in an hour or so and take whatever company there is here at the inn - I have no preference." The offer is made and he'll make no more of it than the offer. Gaelena can choose as she likes because Justin's long past bothering with his family. They can seek him out if they like or not.
Taking his horse's reins, the male Terrick gives Mortimer a nod, "Either way, I'll stand you a drink for settling the dispute, Deputy. Suppose I'm overdue to lead a hunt in Highfield. I trust you'll keep me informed if anything kicks up that requires my attention here, Mortimer."
Justin starts to walk past with his horse, heading for the market district. It seems he's taken to renting a room out that way, finally drawing his Sheriff's salary after having neglected to bother back when he lived at the tower. Now he actually needs it to live off of the pay.
If she could scream right now, she probably would. Instead, Gaelena stares after Justin as he makes his own way with his horse. Her gesture wasn’t taken, and maybe it wasn’t seen as a gesture to Justin, but it was one none the less. She'd heard what Mortimer had said to her, and still she tightened her jaw and had to pray to the seven for the patience that she lacked sometimes. Ok. Lacked /all/ the time. "So infuriating." she mumbles to herself and didn’t care if others heard it or not.
Stuck in a position of putting herself in one scenario or another. She didn’t like this, not one bit. "You seem to know him better than I, and he seems to like you better than I. So, you deal with it." she tells Mortimer. "Just see that he eats and that he takes care of himself." He was family and she would care, even if it was a fraction. "Even if he knows better than I think he does. Just see to it that he does." Whether she'll be at the Inn an in hours time or not is unknown at this point, she starts walking away
Mortimer glances silently between the two nobles as they converse then nods once to Justin, "I'll fill you in over that meal, assuming I haven't managed to find something else to keep me busy by then." He'll skip the drink though, although that’s a conversation for another time if ever there was one. As Justin leaves he turns his attention back to Gaelena and gives her a single nod "I'll see him as right as I can m'Lady, don't concern yourself on that. I served his father long before he was born and I'd do it for that sake if nothing else." He pauses for a moment, obviously considering something carefully for a moment before stepping quickly to catch up as she walks, "excuse me if I'm blunt m'Lady, but I've not the words to say it other. Your Lord Cousin has been ostracised and ignored by your family since their arrival and even more so since Lord Jerold departed. If you want to get to know him then be there in an hour, talk to him. If you can not bring yourself to do even that then what makes you think he should open himself to more disappointment at a later date?"
Justin has for his part walked on off with his horse to do as he said he was going to do. There's no anger, no sullenness, no nothing. He doesn't care enough to put forth the effort outside of his hunting - of men.
Gaelena had let Mortimer have his say before she walked away, giving him a nod even, before striding off muttering to herself. She thought that had been the end of it, she thought there was nothing left to be said, she thought she'd think about what to do next. But that wasn’t the case. Before she got too far, she was stopped and couldn’t keep the surprise out of her features when Mortimer had caught up to her to stall her. Again, she listened to what he thought so important for her to know. And when he was finished, she wished she'd kept walking on.
The more upset she become the more dead her eyes showed, glazed over and intent in one direction. "You're very blunt, aren’t you, Deputy?" Turning so that she can now face him fully she stares at him, "Might I suggest that as a Deputy you do further research before you make such a bold statement as that? I've not ignored him, I've talked him, I've done what I could to befriend him while he was still at the Keep and he was not off searching for the men that killed his brother, My Cousin, might I remind you.." oh yes, he had set her sizzle. "I know that my sister has done what she could to befriend him and get to know him. So by that statement you are including us all in the doing of my Lord Father and Lord Brother, the very ones that are now taking care of this very land?" There is a slight pause before she tilts her head at him, "When? When is enough effort before I am not to be considered ostracising and ignoring my own Good Cousin? One that, to be very honest, I had not even remembered existing when I left? When does it turn that it not be /MY/ fault that /I've/ not done enough to befriend him and get to know him, and when does it becomes /his/ for not making an effort either?"
Body rigid and arms crossing over her chest she stares at him, "Perhaps it is, I that does not want to be disappointed in the end to try to get to know a Cousin that has no interest in me?" she sniffs.
It isn't technically true that Justin's been ignored or ostracised by Gaelena's side of the family. Justin's withdrawn and become aloof all on his own, though considering the family he has /had/ one maybe can't entirely blame him if he's suspicious of them. Nonetheless he might be amused if he were a fly on the wall overhearing this conversation instead of stripping off to step into a cold bath to scrub himself clean.
Mortimer has, in his time, been yelled at by a good few people, drunks, sergeants, short tempered merchants, good old fashioned crooks, the lot. There is just nothing quite like a noble Lady pointedly not shouting. Keeping his expression carefully neutral, something he's well practiced at he stands silently as she gives her reply. Once she's finished he remains silent a moment longer. There's a lot he could say, some of it he even wants to say, but if Gaelena is right on one thing it's that she isn't the person who it's really aimed at. Given the circumstances, he does what anyone who knows what's involved in serving nobles would do and defers, saying simply if perhaps a little bleakly, "As you wish m'Lady."
Smirking, with no real humour involved, Gaelena arches a brow. "Nothing more to say, then…Deputy?" His four little words were enough to get her blood boiling all over again. Even want to throw a bit of a tantrum in frustration. He obviously didn’t see her point, and nothing could make her more annoyed then a man, not taking the time to see the point of a Lady. "No answer to any of my questions?" Inclining her head to him, "Perhaps then, it is more your wish than mine." On the verge of losing her patience, she turns before she does or says anything else that could later be insulting to her Family. So, instead, she walks away.
