War for the Crown Gameplay Part 2

"Okay, one by one..." Aurelia considers each woman in turn. "For you," she gestures to Adelaide. "We could use material and colours that shift and shimmer in the right lighting and angle, giving a sort of air of mystery where no-one can quite place exactly what colour your outfit is besides vaguely silver-esque, perhaps one with longer, more billowy sleeves as well. The mask would match, naturally," she suggests. "For you," she turns to Sarina, saving Josie's predicament for last, "I think a form-fitting black and emerald affair would suit you excellently. Black dress with green highlights and trim, and an emerald mask with obsidian decoration." Then she turns to Josie. "Hmm, yes, I see your challenge. First and foremost your outfit will have to be hooded, and your mask a full face mask, not that either of those are particularly unusual. You'd also likely need to wear gloves, or, less practically, have sleeves so long that they conceal your hands normally. Beyond concealment, is there any feeling you're looking for in the style and colour?"

Laelius grins wider at Corey's answer. "A masquerade, lad, a masquerade! I can sort you right out. Bold, primary colours would suit you well methinks, a deep blue? And naturally your clothes aught to fit your torso tight. A white doublet, a dark blue overcoat, and dark blue pants of the same colour that fit a little looser so that you might remain mobile and participate in any jousting or melees that are part of the event. And for the mask, you could go with the classic golden half face mask, unless you want something that hides your identity more effectively."

"Right, yeah, a mask-er-ade," Corey sounds out. "Ah like those colors, an' bein' able ta move'd be nice. Last party Ah went to got a bit on the hairy side, so even if Ah ain't s'posed ta be fightin' Ah'd still like the option. As fer the mask, Ah'm actually s'posed ta be hidin' it as best Ah can, so whatever'll do that the most is best."

"It certainly sounds like an excellent start. May I work with you more on the details, later?" Sarina asks.

Josie nods along as the woman talks, feeling somewhat more at ease. "That sounds reasonable. Definitely gloves rather than excessive sleeves. As far as style goes, I'm mostly wanting something practical and easy to move in. Preferably not a dress, though I wouldn't mind a skirt over trousers or something like that. Nothing too ostentatious, with the same going for the colors. Probably a darker color." She idly taps a finger on her hip as she thinks about what the outfit should look like. After a moment's pause, she blushes slightly and quietly adds, "A cape wouldn't be too terrible either."

”A regal theme could be fun for you, lad. Golden upper face mask, covers down to your nose, a crown shape at the top of it. Your coat could have a forest green lining for the imperial colours, it would be quite dashing. And everything would be flexible so you can move all you want. I’ve had quite a few requests like that since the Exaltation Gala - more and more people are choosing function over form now.” Laelius grins as he jots down his ideas for Corey’s costume.

”Of course,” Aurelia nods to Sarina. ”That can all be done easily,” she addresses Josie with a smile. ”Black hooded cape, same colour on both sides, dark red blouse with mid-length sleeves, black skirt over black trousers, loose and flexible, and a long pair of black gloves, no skin showing. Mask can be two-toned, half that dark red, half black?”

Josie smiles as she hears the outfit being described. "Yes, that all sounds good to me."

"Regal ya say?" Corey ponders the image in his head, then lets out a chuckle. "Well won't that just beat all. Alright, sir, that sounds like a mighty fine outfit."

”Excellent, I’ll iron out the details with each of you individually and take your measurements, then your costumes will be ready for your pick up first thing tomorrow morning,” Aurelia beams to the group.

”Alright lad, lemme just take your measurements and then you can come back tomorrow and take your clothes home,” Laelius nods and grins, pulling out several measuring tapes.

At the end of the week off, a carriage rolls up next to the Morilla residence mid-morning, and out from it steps Martella, seemingly rested and healed after her ordeal, wearing sensible travelling clothes. She gives the heavy oaken knocker three knocks, which triggers a magical ding through the entire residence, alerting everyone inside of someone at the door.

Adelaide goes to answer the door, the others gathering in the entryway as well, and grins when she sees who it is. "Good morning, Lady Martella!" she greets her brightly. "I'm glad to see you're well."

"Good morning," Martella returns the smile. "Likewise. I hope your week off was restful and productive. Are you ready to be going? There's a meeting in Aroden's View that I'd like to take you to before sending you on your way to... well, we'll explain at the meeting."

"I'm ready to go, assuming what I'm wearing is acceptable attire for the meeting," Sarina says with a glance down at her dress.

"It's fine, it's Aroden's View, but you won't need to dress up for the meeting," Martella waves a dismissive hand. With a wave of agreement, all the luggage is loaded onto the carriage and the group is off to Aroden's View. It isn't far, all the noble districts are in the same general area of the west side of the city, and the ride is only about ten minutes before arriving at a grand villa with immaculate exotic gardens, old marble sculptures, and a view over the Senate building and markets below. Martella leads the way in, where she's promptly greeted by a huge golden-brown catch-dog, barking and wagging his tail at her. Martella scratches him behind the ears before a voice calls from the waiting room, a deeper woman's voice, confident and slightly amused, "Taldogis, come," and immediately the hound pads back down the hall.

Adelaide grins at the dog, but her demeanor shifts to surprise when she hears the dog's name. "We're meeting with Princess Eutropia?" she asks Lady Martella quietly.

Martella gets a mischievous smile and doesn't directly reply, instead leading the way down the hall and beckoning, "C'mon in."

Down the hall and around the corner, seated in a cushioned chair in front of a window overlooking the city is Princess Eutropia, wearing a more casual afternoon dress, Taldogis sitting happily at her side. She watches the group appraisingly, waiting for them to react.

Extremely excited, but recognizing the need for propriety, Adelaide kneels and waits for her chance to speak. She's not immediately sure if she should have knelt or curtseyed, but better to be overly respectful than unintentionally disrespectful.

[FerretToday at 5:56 PM
Do me a favor and placeholder a slacked jaw followed by kneeling]

Sarina opts for a deep curtsey, as she had on the first time meeting the Princess.

Josie's eyes widen, and she quickly clenches her jaw to keep it from dropping open. Seeing Adelaide drop to a kneel, Josie hastily follows suit.

For once, Momo was too stupefied to do much other than take a knee, which she does. She bows her head as well.

"May I introduce Princess Eutropia Stavian I, the rightful Empress of Taldor," Martella sweeps a hand dramatically towards Eutropia, who rolls her eyes.

"You didn't even brief them, did you?" Eutropia asks with a sidelong glance at Martella, who has the decency to smile ruefully and shake her head. "Please, take your seats," Eutropia addresses the group and gestures to cushioned seats around a center table with a map on it. "We have work to do. In any case, I know who you all are, Martella brought you to the Gala when I requested that she trial five promising young people. That was supposed to just be the first step, but events have spiraled out of control somewhat. It's not the worst case scenario, but it's close. 72 senators are dead, and 108 aides, family members, defenders, and staff. Most of this has been kept quiet for now. What's more, it seems my father also died in the fighting. This has also been kept secret, by my understanding is that Pythareus intends to announce it very soon. Apparently, in his paranoia, my father formally adopted Maxillar Pythareus in a private ceremony to declare the general his heir. Or so Pythareus claims, and he has presented documentation, verified by the church of Abadar, to support his claim. There are even those nobles who believe the vote against primogeniture could not possibly have taken place, or was coerced by those same elements that attacked the senate." Eutropia takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. “I don’t know if I’m the best candidate for the throne, but I know Pythareus isn’t. He’s a warmonger and a regressive traditionalist. He preaches about waging war on the ‘upstart colonies’ and bringing them back into the empire by force. I won’t let him march us back into endless war, and I need allies of uncommon skill to ensure our nation’s future."

"As a thank you for your support thus far, here, have an estate," Eutropia reaches down beside her and pulls out the deed to the "Betony Estate". "Though this isn't a gift without strings attached. You see, my single biggest problem right now is a lack of resources. The Ulfen Guard, rightfully, have completely shut any access to any of the royal holdings until the issue of succession has been resolved. As such, I do not have access to the treasury, where my family's wealth sits. Comparatively, Maxillar Pythareus holds significant resources, a disparity I would like to correct."

"And that is where I come in," Martella speaks up. "My family, the Lotheeds, were granted stewardship of a second royal estate some years ago, the Palace of Birdsong, as a reward for loyalty to the former Grand Prince. However, I do not yet personally have access to any of these resources... given that my family effectively disinherited me several years ago. As it turns out, the trifecta of being a bastard, being half-Qadiran, and, most egregiously, lacking any arcane talent meant that my only value in my half-brother's eyes was to be married. In fact, the last words he said to me were to not come back until I had found a suitable husband," Martella explains. "But, given the... looseness of succession laws right now, if he were to somehow lose control of the estate, we could legally claim that he is not exercising his duty as steward adequately, and possession would revert to the only person with a familial claim to the lands. As you might be able to guess, that's where you come in," she smiles wide at the group. "The Betony Estate is just a stone's throw from the Palace of Birdsong, making you now my family's neighbours. I took the liberty of drawing up some documents proving a loose familial connection between you and the Betony family, the last direct member of which passed away a decade ago. You’ll be arriving just in time to make your debut at the annual Tanager Jubilee. The carriage and horses are yours to keep, as you can’t very well be seen walking to the jubilee; I’ll be riding on to Cassomir once we near the county border. Make friends, learn the lay of the land, and afterward do what you can to win the nobles’ and citizens’ loyalty. Undermine Bartelby, and wherever you can, try to improve peoples’ lives and engender loyalty. For any overt actions you take, you’ll likely want to hide your identity to keep Bartelby from cracking down on you."

As Josie listens, one particular piece of the briefing sticks out to her. Confused she asks, "Wait, so all five of us are supposed to related now?" She takes a brief look over at the others. "Because we are one really fucked up looking family." Realizing she just swore in front of the princess, she blushes and hastily adds, "Erm, I mean... we don't look anything like one another."

"Distantly," Martella chuckles. "As in, the documents I drew up go up to fifteen generations back to find a familial link. Now, I wouldn't recommend you let your own family's historians look at these documents, but to anyone not intimately steeped in your own family's history they should pass muster. Most Taldans are at some point in history related, if your bloodline goes back to the first ships."

Adelaide considers the matters presented, completely unsurprised by the adoption and racking her brain for a moment for what she knows about the task before them. "Arriving around the Jubilee should give us an excellent chance to make ourselves known, and well..." she muses. "Lady Martella, I've heard rumors about your half-brother's weaknesses, but is there anything you could tell us that rumor may not have carried?"

Momo hums, still in disbelief at the circumstances. ”Me, related to the Taldanes? Father will hate this,” she says with a rueful chuckle.

"If you want to ingratiate yourself to him, present your intellectual side to him, and perhaps pick up a gift like a spellbook or rare research book, if there is one thing he does respect it's a sharp mind," Martella offers. "If you wish to humiliate him, try to find a hole in his expertise and get him to talk about it - he won't be able to resist an opportunity to show off, even if he knows nothing about what he's saying. But I recommend making him think highly of you, it will make it easier to sneak more past him if he doesn't suspect you." She smirks at Momo, "Your 'history' involves a dalliance with a Taldan at our colony near Tian Xa deep down your mother's lineage. Our imperial legacy does make it easy to forge Taldan blood ties with people anywhere in the world."