Autumn Schemes

[James Turner]

James frowned more so at the effect the speech had an Anatole than any of the words spoken. Fairest had a hard time recognizing when less is more sometimes, he held his hands up in surrender, tea cup still in one.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-11-07 09:25:47	James Turner rolls 5 to Res + Comp (10 Again)	7, 10, 5, 5, 1, 6	1 success

"Listen you're preaching to the choir here. When that decision was made there were less options about and no Wyrdstone. I agree with you. Director should ideally be given to someone who's courtless but in good standing with all the seasons or just someone who's best with new people. At the moment I'd say you or Cassandra would be best off with that position. We're small enough that a vote could solve the problem even if the three Monarchs are in lock-step."


He chewed at the end of her statement though. He'd seen Rhodes' stand tall before a Keeper...but that was in dreams. He'd never shied away from berating James when it came to it but he'd also never seen anyone challenge him so openly like Titania had. Was that cowardice? Was direct confrontation the problem? He'd have to keep an eye on that behavior it would be helpful to know.


Though when she brought up the Sovereigns he wondered if that was the real issue there. Eyes looking over at Titania, black pits of swirling shadows as the tea cup moved from his lips to the table now emptied again.


"Agreement on Freehold positions aside. Is the root of your problem is that you feel he's influencing your Monarch? Are you worried Seraphina's decisions are not her own? Have you spoken with her about this?"


Three Questions posed, simple yes and no affairs but knowing the whims of the Fairest he was likely to get more but those eyes were trained to see the truth of an issue. It would also make the most sense following his training.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-11-07 09:39:56	James Turner rolls 8 to Wits + Empathy + Spec (9 Again)	3, 10, 3, 4, 6, 5, 6, 3, 4	1 success

She was so impassioned though, just letting it all out there he had little reason to believe she'd lie when asked unless it was a deep engrained self deception and those were harder to detect. Having agreed talking to Ram about the project being the next step and then moving on.


"You're right Anatole it can be anything. I just figured two birds with one stone. It's a problem that needs handled one way or the other and I don't see anyone else in the freehold jumping into that particular vacuum."


Though his mind thought about the litany of security issues with that particular location but didn't share them of yet.

"That associate was me and her weakness for familiar faces from the Bay combined with her hate for Anne made her easy to manipulate. Impulsive is one thing, in that I agree she's definitely impulsive. But not listening to good council, harder pill for me to swallow."

[Titania]

"I've tried too", she replies hesitantly, "to no avail"
"And yes, I believe convening the Freehold for a snap election might be the best solution"
She listens passively as her companions list their proposals, "So, let's try to recruit Mr. Ram first, think of a site and money afterwards?", she says. She doesn't agree with their assessment of Circe. However, that she was a peculiar character, well... she couldn't deny.

[Anatole]

Anatole tentatively picked up his drink.

"So. Ram it is. And I take it we're going to amass our resources for now and keep an eye on the motel. Or if an alternative comes our way, we take that opportunity. But for now... eh. Sound out Ram. Maybe look for more allies. Not necessarily extending a motley beyond us right now. Was there anything else?"

[James Turner]

“Such is the pitfalls of love.” He stated sardonically, a half frown given. “Why my court has rules governing it. All you can do is express your concerns and make them heard.” If she was correct it was likely Rhodes’ wouldn’t fight her on it but time will tell he supposed. “A vote seems like the easiest solution to me.” His reaction to the challenge should be telling enough.

“We should get to know Ram, agreed. If we’re going to go about the business of forming a motely we might want to get to know each other better first too. If we’re going to do it we should be thorough.”

[Titania]

"Very well, then", she says springing to her feet, "I'll contact Mr. Ram right away and organize a meeting. If he agrees, we can proceed with the search for a suitable place and resources. Might I ask whether you already have a motley oath in mind?"

[Anatole]

Anatole laid down his drink and steepled his chubby fingers. He leaned back, his chair creaking with his weight.

To Titania :

"Not yet. I mean, I'll probably build off the tried and true - there are plenty of old Oaths and words circulating if you know where to look. But context and content is important - and I can't speak to that until things are much closer to fruition. The Pledge should empower us for what we want to do. So we need to have settled on some aims or objectives first... Unless you were thinking of something a little simpler to try things out. I could do that, too. If you want."

To James Turner :

"Of course. Any suggestions? I know a few drinking establishment's... but that would be rather dull, plus there would be too many mortal ears for us to really be ourselves."

[James Turner]

He looked to Anatole when Titania had asked about the oath, a great question and one he'd wanted to know the answer to. Listening intently as he moved to pour some coffee into his teacup, eating a bit more cake as Anatole spoke. "Yes, deciding our aims is good, knowing what we're good at is also another."


"Yea, we want somewhere private. I wouldn't want to talk about anything that happened hedgeside inadvertently in public after all. The candle is burning at both ends right now and time grows late so now might not be the best time. As far as location? We could use a meeting room and each bring something again. We know its private, not likely to get visitors, and we can always lock the door." That was just one idea at least.

[Titania]

"Not to sound venal, but we should acquire the funds before we can even think of a place and plan ahead. That's why I suggested a rundown building, something we could demolish and renovate", and this is where Mr. Ram and his peculiar talents come in the picture.
"Ideally a place whose mundane side is financially sustainable. I have access to a moderate income, but it might not be enough", she's hard-pressed to think of a solution, her hand instinctively covers her mouth. That's when a light sparks, with their talents it shouldn't be too hard.
"What about trying our hand with Lady Luck in a high stakes poker game at the Casino?"

[Anatole]

"Yeah, that works."

Anatole nodded at the Onyx's beautifully simple answer.

He could only stare open mouth at Titania response. Then he smiled. And his body shook with silent mirth.

"I'd say with what but we can fix that. Hum. Yeah. Thats... Lets park that for when we want to cut loose."

A pause.

"Honestly I like both ideas. Why not do both."

[James Turner]

He sighed but nodded. "Yea, funds is the hard part for me. Your thinking makes sense to me though, why I suggested the burned down motel. Tear it down to base level and build it back up, less of an unknown quantity too. Though there are advantages to using a location and building it from the ground up too." He mulled over her Casino idea, he wasn't good at the math part of poker but the bluffing and the reading bluffs he really didn't know who would be better. It wasn't a bad idea.


"I've never really done Poker but it seems like my skills would be helpful there at least." Quirking a brow at Anatole, both, which part of both? He wasn't sure what the Dwarf meant and part of him was afraid to ask but if they were going to do this he'd need clarification. "Which part of both exactly?"