With the Chapter House lost, Gideon's man Adams had managed to procure a temporary, if less than satisfactory, haven space. Side by side hotel rooms: hardly the most secure, but they would do in a pinch, and Gideon assured his counterpart that Adams would prevent any untimely incursions during the day. "The Harpy," he asks Headstrong, after they've gone over their plan for getting back the Chapter House. "Did she have an opportunity to speak with you?"

Headstrong shakes her head once. The Harpy had said she wanted to speak with her but that was hardly what Gideon was referring to.

Gideon nods, thinking. "The Prince and his Harpy... they are interested in joining the Order. Strongly interested." He pauses, to see if she has anything to say to that.

Headstrong arcs her brow. She's somewhat surprised, possibly even concerned, but knew Gideon would have probably felt the same. Best wait and hear what his thoughts on the matter were.

"The Prince claims an interest in scholarship of the Blood; whereas the Harpy... I gather she was a friend of one of our previous number, the Rampant Dragon known as Karsh. Harpy Naetesh was previously Sheriff Naetesh; judging by the Prince's comments, and by her approaching you earlier, that she may be interested in Swearing to the Axe."

Headstrong liked to be explicit and shared her worries without subtlety.
"But accepting outsiders suddenly into the upper echelon of Dragon affairs would give them extraordinary access to our secret knowledge. They would also hold considerable sway within the ranks of the Order and outnumber me two-to-one... Without knowing they are beyond deception, their allegiance to the Order may be just as short-lived as that to the Invictus." Gideon was probably considering the merits and drawbacks of having them remain Slaves for a few months, see how they handled it. Together with his ability to read auras they could verify their word to some degree.

Gideon nods. "I understand your concerns, believe me. I share them. The Prince claims that this is not an attempt to steal our secrets; considering most of our secrets seem to have been stolen already," he adds with some bitterness, "it hardly seems to matter. But I made clear to the Prince that we have an established order, a hierarchy that we will adhere to; he seemed to understand it, and was content with it." He smiles, a look that is almost entirely without humor. "Can you imagine? 'Slave Clarke?' But having them join us would be quite a coup for us; and, considering the typical length of time it takes to learn the Coils..." He shrugs. "If they are indeed mere dilettantes, they may well leave before they learn anything of use."

"So we accept them as Slaves, verify their Oaths and keep them from becoming Oathsworn until such a time we both trust them sufficiently?" Headstrong was pretty sure that was Gideons plan -and it was a brilliant plan to be sure, promising so much political advantage- but she needed to hear him say it.

"That is the long and short of it," Gideon says. "We use them as best we can. Perhaps give them a taste here and there, to keep them from believing that they are being stone-walled; but we do not teach them a thing until we are absolutely convinced they intend to be Dragons to their utmost. It shouldn't be hard," he adds with a shrug. "They both ought to be quite busy besides, with their work in the city."

"Have they already agreed to these conditions?"

Their Dragon studies would take precedence over their petty schemes for power in the city. Then again, having such high placed individuals was beneficial
to the Order itself. It was complicated but Gideon surely knew his way around this all too well. Recruiting the Prince and a Harpy was an impressive feat.

Interesting. This was... unlike her. "Go ahead."

"We are the only Oathsworn in Sacramento and while my faction is very much equipped to handle the disappearance and absence of peers I know that among your faction this is somewhat different. Still, you have served our Order for many decades and your wisdom is an inspiration to us all. I would call you Oracle, though it is not my place.”

Gideon nods. "I thank you. It is unfortunate that it has come to this," he says, and--uncharacteristically--sighs​. "I think, perhaps, the most important thing we could possibly recover from those who have raided the House would be any correspondence with other Academies. Our Academy cannot run on two Oath-Sworn, particularly when it seems to be growing so."

Headstrong nods, understanding perfectly. If they recovered correspondence –or if Jackson or Rahyna knew anything– they could re-establish the Sworn of the Dying Light and ask for reinforcement from nearby cities. The Order could sure use a stabilizing impulse or four. "I'll inform Clarke and Naetesh that they may appear on the site of the Dragons convergence tomorrow, if they agree to our conditions." Headstrong picks up her dingy cell phone and makes one of two calls. It was last minute but if they were going to be Slaves they'd better get used to this.