War for the Crown Gameplay Part 2

Adelaide notices Corey approaching, and says to the servant who just brought the pot of coffee, "Would you mind pouring a second cup?" The servant does so, and Adelaide gives him a bright smile. "Thank you, I greatly appreciate your work." She turns back to Corey. "And you, Mr. Crawford, look as though you need the wake-up." Gently sliding the cup of steaming coffee forward, she asks, "Everything all right?"

Corey takes the cup with a grateful smile and downs about half of it before answering. "Just didn't sleep too well Ah guess. Awful bad night fer it, with the hunt today and all."

"I think we'd like a second pot of coffee, please," Adelaide says to another servant when they pass. "Thank you." She turns back to Corey again, chipper mood dimmed with a small frown. "Hm, quite. Was there any particular reason, or just a side effect of the general transition?"

"Bad dreams," Corey shrugs. "Nightmares, really. Nothin' too outta the ordinary, though Ah can't say as far as Ah knew where it came from."

Adelaide hums. "I won't pry, but I'm very sorry to hear that. Never fear, I'm sure my sudden agility with very small skewers styled as harpoons will balance out any fatigue you may have on our hunt today," she adds with a cheeky grin.

Corey chuckles. "Truth be told Ah didn't expect ta do that well today anyway. Dunno if Ah can put mah heart or mah back into huntin' folks like that."

Adelaide pauses, and decides against admitting she'd forgotten the nature of today's events. "Well, if we catch someone, we're probably one of the kinder options," she comments, though lowering her volume in doing so. "Sometimes, that's the best that can be done."

"Yer probably right," Corey nods, slumping a bit in his chair. "Wish it weren't necessary, but here we are Ah s'pose."

Nothing else to add to that, Adelaide simply focuses on her coffee.

Momo settled in next to Dame Crabbe, slightly befuddled at the breakfast of the day, but upon seeing other partygoers’ actions, manages to follow suit, muddling her kill somewhat but not making a total mess of the eel. ”Well, I can’t say I’ve ever had this for breakfast before. Is it common?”

"Unusual? Well, yes, it's quite difficult and expensive to keep enough eels alive and healthy for a party of this size," Dame Crabbe replies with a wide smile, her own eel split open and roasting next to the table with servants offering her different options for seasoning.

Momo ganders at the options, and nods. ”I suppose I’ve had eel before. I just haven’t killed it so immediately before cooking,” she mutters, and furrows her brow. ”Just how much gold was spent on this breakfast?” she mulls under her breath.

"It's certainly a rare treat. In the ports you can get it fresh caught, or sometimes even caught live and killed right before eating it, but not many will give you the opportunity to kill it yourself," Dame Crabbe replies, choosing to add salt, pepper, and paprika to her own eel.

Momo gives a pursed smile to that. [b]”Yes, it’s certainly a one-of-a-kind experience,” she agrees, not adding that she plans to never seek it again.

After talking with Corey and milling a bit longer, Adelaide decides it's a bit disquieting to know so little about the hunt, and goes to ask a trusted source. "Good morning, Baron Okerra," she greets the man on approaching, curtseying respectfully. "How is everything for you so far?"

Baron Okerra gives Adelaide a warm smile and a nod as she approaches. ”I’m well, Dame Morilla, yourself?” he asks, his tone neutral and pleasant.

"Well, breakfast was certainly satisfactory," Adelaide answers with a small smile. "I find myself with too little information about the day ahead of us to be certain as to my mood overall, however. Mr. Crawford relayed your information that it was somewhat... unsavory." Her volume drops a little after her breakfast comment, the smile fading.

Baron Okerra frowns when the conversation turns to the hunt and nods. "That's right. Rather than risk spoiling the party by having someone be injured hunting actual animals, instead Count Lotheed simply prefers to dress commoners who committed minor crimes as animals instead and has us hunt them, usually threatening them with a punishment disproportionate to their crime if they do not agree to participate."

Adelaide considers, frowning. ”What is usually your approach to this event in years past?”

Okerra sighs. "I participate, and I make sure that I take the poor person I've been assigned in as gently as I can."

Adelaide nods. ”Perhaps some of Dame Karthis’s magic can make our approach extremely gentle, then,” she mulls. ”I apologize for bringing up the subject in search of guidance,” she adds, frowning. ”I can see this weighs heavily on you.”

Baron Okerra shakes his head at the apology. "Not to worry. I've just grown more... conscious in recent weeks of the ramifications of cruel and irresponsible governance. This is but another example of that."

"Because of the massacre?" Adelaide asks, aiming for gentle with her tone.

”Aye. The Grand Prince was willing to slaughter even children just to spite his political enemies. It made me reflect on what it means to serve when the one you serve lacks any sense of decency,” He takes a long, deep breath and adds, ”Thank, well, Ragathiel in this case, that Lord Kastner was present and ensured that none of the children were harmed.”

”Something to be grateful for indeed,” Adelaide murmurs. ”I was lucky with the badge whisking away so quickly, but you were there for the entirety of the massacre, right? I can’t fathom what that must have been like.”

”It was brutal. It was all I could do to move back to back with a few of the other former soldiers and sailors and fight for survival while others less capable than ourselves were cut down around us,” Okerra explains, speaking slowly and mournfully as he recalls the memory.

Adelaide hums. "I'm sorry you had to go through that travesty in such depth," she answers after a moment. "I'm sure those who were able to make their escape during your resistance were grateful you opened the opportunity."

"Thank you. That means a lot to hear. I was very concerned that I could not help Princess Eutropia, but it sounds now as though that worry was unwarranted. In truth," he laughs quietly, lightening the mood, "I suspect she could out-duel me now."

Adelaide chuckles at the thought. "I would be delighted to see her duel someday," she adds with a smile. "One always wonders if even half the rumors are true, after all."

"I can promise they are. At least the ones about her skill... and some of the ones about her temperament," Okerra smiles wide back. The two banter about rumors surrounding Princess Eutropia until breakfast ends.

As breakfast wraps up, Bartelby takes the stage and begins to announce what the lots drawn were for hunting locations. Every group is assigned a different stretch of woods or fields a little ways out from the Birdsong Palace, with the Stachys heirs being assigned to the Brashen Deeps, a particularly dense, thorny patch of woodland about an hour northwest of the palace on foot, less on horseback, but the forest is too thick for horses, so those are not an option. After the lots are announced, Titus walks past the group with a smirk. "Mind the fearsome beast," he quips in a snide tone, just as the "quarry" is brought out.

"A round of applause for our four volunteers!" Bartelby calls out. The four include a bedraggled looking middle-aged human man with long, dark, matted hair, a younger half-orc woman with greyish skin and hair cut into a short, scarlet bob, an older halfling woman, and another middle-aged human man, this one heavily scarred with a shaven head. Bartelby draws a dagger and gashes each deep on the cheek in turn, making sure each of four bloodhounds catches their scent, then sends them off in different directions. "Let's give them a head start, shall we? One hour, and then our brave hunters can give chase!" he jokes, earning a smattering of muted laughter among the guests.

Momo sighs and looks around, taking in the cruelty that passed as entertainment. ”This is bullshit,” she mutters vaguely towards her fellow stewards.

"Ain't gonna hear no argument from me," Corey grumbles back.

"Let's not retread old ground and consider our plan instead," Adelaide comments, thinking. "Purple Finch, can you tell us anything about the area we've been assigned? I'm afraid I'm less than familiar, other than knowing about the dense forest and the thorns and brambles."

"Of course. As they said, it's a pretty thick patch of woods, travelling through it will be slow going, but there was one more thing..." she lowers her voice. "There's been rumours of late of some kind of horrible beast in the area, and that some local farmers have had to sacrifice livestock to it because despite their pleas, Count Lotheed has not provided assistance."

Adelaide raises her eyebrow at this. "How much weight would you give to this rumor?" she asks.

"I'd give it some weight. The beast could just be a particularly bold pack of wolves, but I'm sure it's not nothing. Livestock don't just get eaten by nothing," Purple Finch explains, frowning.

Nodding, Adelaide slowly smiles. "And how do you suppose it would reflect on us if we were to bring back a real kill that actually solves a problem instead of some poor 'volunteer'?" she asks, more to the group than to Finch.

”I think it would make Bartleby look like a raging idiot, so... I feel pretty good about it myself,” Momo answers tactlessly.

"Ah'd be inclined ta do somethin' productive anyways," Corey nods, a sly grin growing on his face. "And if it makes us look good and Bartleby look bad, then that's an awful fine bonus."

Adelaide smirks. ”We’ll need to be realistic about our capabilities, of course,” she adds quickly. ”Unless someone has experience they've not mentioned, I don’t believe we have skills as hunters, and coming back injured and empty-handed would run contrary to the point we’d like to make. Still, it’s likely worth a try. Dame Karthis, would your magic allow us to gently capture a non-beast instead?” she asks, switching gears without switching tones. ”As a backup plan.”