War for the Crown Gameplay Part 1

"That's a great thought sir. Ah work fer Count Alec Varima, an' he's a good man sir, truly he is, but sometimes Ah get the feelin' he don't get what folks like mah daddy gotta go through ta get a successful harvest." Corey leans in conspiratorially. "Y'know he once tried ta move the harvest festival up a month cuz he had to come to the capital when we usually hold it? Shoulda seen the look on his face when no one showed up cuz they was all busy actually workin'."

"I'm well familiar with Count Varima," Count Zespire confirms, nodding. "I make an effort not to speak ill of my peers, of course, but I have offered to refer his nephews to some reputable naval commanders who I keep ties with from my days serving. Those were formative years for me and I would recommend service to anyone who is able." As he says that, he finishes writing the letter and seals it in an envelope, drawing out a stamp with his family's seal to close the back. "In any case, thank you for the company, young Mr. Crawford. Lady Morilla is the one who introduced Princess Eutropia for her speech, she should still be in the courtyard. Good luck, and do enjoy the rest of the gala." With that, he gives Corey a short bow, obviously dismissing him.

"Thank ya kindly, sir, it was a treat talkin' to ya." Corey clumsily copies the bow before scurrying off to deliver his next letter.

Meanwhile, Josie has some more success in listening in on Maxillar Pythareus's conversations, but this set is more idle chatter, this time with people who seem to be friends rather than political allies, as he speaks freely about hiking, mountaineering, and riding. At the same time, however, he does occasionally glance in the direction of Princess Eutropia.

Adelaide manages to have success in learning more about the best ways to approach Baron Okerra from people around him and what sorts of manners of speaking would have the best chance of appealing to him.

Momo, however, does not learn much about Duke Centimus when she attempts to prepare to find out how he plans to vote. She merely misses the subtext in conversations that could aid her in dealing with him.

Corey finds Lady Morilla in the courtyard, casually mingling. He patiently waits for her to finish speaking with someone before approaching. "Scuse me, Lady Morilla? Mah name's Corey Crawford, an' Ah've got a letter for ya."

Sarina next focuses on spreading rumors about Vernissant, using the open secret that his political rivals often suffer unfortunate accidents to suggest that he has hired a squad of assassins to cowardly remove those in his way. She changes the details about who the assassins are to further spur talk about the rumors, and again makes sure to hide her own involvement in spreading the rumors as much as possible.

With her tasks completed, Sarina says to Martella through the badge "My tasks are complete. Let me know if there's anything else I can do."

Having learned a bit about how best to approach Baron Okerra, Adelaide sees no sense in wasting any further time and goes to do so. The baron is finishing up a discussion with a young nobleman who, from the look on his face, probably fared quite poorly in a debate against the baron. When he leaves and the baron notices Adelaide, she gives a small curtesy. ”Good evening, Baron Okerra,” she greets him with a smile. ”I am Lady Adelaide Morilla. I was hoping I might speak with you for a little while?”

Lady Morilla flashes Corey a smile and accepts the letter. ”Thank you, Mr. Crawford - might I call you Corey?” After opening up the letter and starting to read it, she asks, ”So, before Lady Martella dragged you into our grand conspiracy, what did you do for a living?” Despite her word choice, she’s not whispering or seemingly trying to be subtle at all.

Sarina gets a quick message back from Martella, ”Perfect. Nothing right now, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to be alert.”

Baron Okerra tilts his head to Adelaide as though briefly appraising her, then nods. ”Morilla, you say? I know Lady Gloriana doesn’t have children, so... a cousin, a niece?”

"Oh, lotsa things. First Ah used ta work mah daddy's farm, then Ah was a stable boy fer Count Varima, and then Ah fought in some tournaments so Ah guess Ah was a pro fighter too-wait, conspiracy?" Corey suddenly looked around, mindful of the fact no one was supposed to know. "Ah, uh, dunno what yer talkin' bout. Hehe."

”Just look natural, no-one can hear us,” Lady Morilla chuckles, then tugs at her left sleeve to briefly reveal a brass cricket, identical to the one Martella had perched on the windowsil. ”Muffles our conversation to everyone outside a couple feet. Very useful little trinket.” As she speaks, she starts to write another letter of her own. ”Still, a professional fighter? That explains Lady Martella’s interest. And a glaive, too,” she notes the peacebound weapon on Corey’s back. ”Not a subtle weapon, but certainly a careful one.”

"Oh, ain't that a nifty trinket. Alrighty then." To Lady Morilla's question, Corey just shrugs. "It was mah daddy's. 'fore he was a farmer he was an adventurer. When Ah started growin' up he taught me everythin' Ah know."

”My father is her cousin, though for convenience, we tend to refer to each other as aunt and niece,” Adelaide explains with a nod.

”Knowing how to defend yourself is a valuable skill. And I’m sure he had plenty of stories for you,” Lady Morilla adds, folding up her letter and putting it into one more envelope. ”Here, could you please deliver this to Lady Martella up in the gallery?” she requests, handing the letter to Corey.

”Perfectly understandable. Just an initial impression, you seem to take after her quite a lot. And that is a compliment, to be clear,” Okerra adds with a short laugh. ”In any case, what was it you wanted to talk with me about?”

"It's one of the highest compliments I've received," Adelaide answers with a laugh. "So, I understand that you enjoy debating during these sessions, and I did quite well in debate when I attended Sinora Academy. I was wondering if I might engage you in a debate, about the subject of tonight's vote."

”Ah, the subject of the evening. I presume, given your family and status, that you support the vote. Tell me why.” The Baron adopts a confident smile and stands a little straighter when he prepares to debate.

”Perfect. Enjoy the rest of the party then. And if you find yourself in need of something to do, come see if I’m free - you’re much more interesting than most of these sycophants.” She then turns her head and spots the princess looking distinctly unhappy with her current partner of conversation, a red-faced, ostentatiously dressed older man. ”Excuse me, I’d best intervene before we have a duel in the courtyard.”

Adelaide smiles back, glad to have finally have reached the goal of the evening. "Well, I think one of the more objective measures for supporting the vote is the degree of stability it will bring to the line of inheritance. No more confusion as male 'cousins' appear from the backwaters, looking to lay claim to the throne or the estate - all involved will be able to rest easily so long as the current head or ruler has a child."

Okerra nods along as Adelaide speaks. ”All of that makes perfect sense. I do believe that Count Zespire holds that particular view as well. Though, you are not him, so what would you say to the counter argument? That this repeal causes immediate severe instability in many cases where women still live and should, under the new law, have inherited, but their younger brothers hold land and title in their stead? Would that not cause massive immediate instability?”

"Well, that supposition rests on the assumption that women will go wild with seizing any power they can under the new law," Adelaide answers, fighting the urge to twirl her finger in the air as she thinks. "Setting that aside, however, the temporary instability falls under matters we established the courts to resolve. All change brings temporary confusion of some kind, historically, but that doesn't mean it outweighs the long-term good of such change."

"A valid argument, to be sure," Baron Okerra concedes. "There remains the possibility that a male heir may retain the backing of his militia and resist the decision of the courts, but I hold enough self-respect to admit that those cases would be few and far between, and that it would be very easy for the crown to step in and enforce the court's ruling. Though, what other long-term goods would you identify? I'm sure you have more than just stability to argue for."

"It would be a little silly to base an idea this important on just one argument, yes," Adelaide answers, smiling. "I also believe this change would give competent women more of a chance to actually influence change. We know from General Orphyrea Amandar that women in roles of leadership can achieve great things. The colony she established then is still today strong, stable, and a bastion of Taldan culture in Tian Xia, all while being led by another woman, General Audrya Vanissar. The vote tonight doesn't establish a full meritocracy as exists in Amanandar, of course, but it gives capable women more of an opportunity than they have currently."

"I do appreciate a good meritocracy," Okerra nods along with that. "And I have nothing but the utmost respect for General Vanissar. She's an eminently capable strategist and competent administrator as well. The nation would certainly be served well by having more like her in positions of command. That being said, why would it be inherently more meritocratic? After all, it doesn't necessarily make the most competent person inherit, just the oldest now, so just as right now capable older sisters can be passed over for younger brothers, after the vote capable younger brothers could be missed for incompetent older sisters. Changing the priority order for inheritance isn't inherently more meritocratic because it is still based on a random lottery of birth."

As this discussion occurs, Josie attempts to spy on Maxillar one more time, but this time he seems to have his eye on her, and so she abandons the attempt.

As Momo learns more about Duke Centimus now, she learns that he's receptive to approaches that are either friendly or display some knowledge about the land and the creatures in it, subjects of casual interest for him.

Momo, the friendliest lady alive, decides to go with that approach. She waits until he has finished his conversation, then strides confidently up to him with a "Good evening, Duke Centimus, I'm Lady Myoui Momo. Do you have a moment to chat, perhaps?"

Corey brings the letter to Lady Martella, glancing around casually. "Scuse me, Lady Martella. Ah'm Corey Crawford. Ah was given this letter ta bring to ya." Impressively, Corey manages to get through his "introduction" without getting flustered or unintentionally giving anything away... right up until he gives her an exaggerated wink.

Adelaide frowns, as some of this is not something she had stated. Still, he must realize, and decides against pointing this out. "The concern about younger brothers being displaced is one that's just as often realized now with an older brother. At least in those cases, being in the line of succession still gives those younger brothers more of an avenue to power and influence than those outside of it will have. Right now, women aren't even a part of the lottery of birth, as you put it, and have no opportunity for their merits to have meaning. Excluding women from the pool entirely makes it so that extremely capable women who happen to be only daughters are much more limited. While those younger brothers are broadly hypothetical, we both know the only daughter situation isn't." There's likely no need to actually drop the princess's name here, she decides, and simply leaves the point there.