Pacing the Streets [5/11, late morning, anyone, OPEN]

[Gaius DeLauncey]

The bulky middle aged man thumped his way through the city, deciding to venture away from his manor and Castle Licorn to get a break from the incessant problems being tossed his way. He couldn't be left alone, everyone wanted some favour. Eventually, the Authority of Welfare would deal with such issues, but he wanted a much-needed break after a few days of stress. The King had his own problems, the Realm had plenty of problems, the province lords and their bannermen had problems, and his own immediate family had problems. Unfortunately, for all, there was only one Gaius DeLauncey available to solve the problems of Forsilvra, one thing at a time.

He nearly snapped at breakfast when a servant dropped more of his porcelain china. It seemed no one in his house cared for the money he worked hard to attain to be able to afford those expensive goods. The other day his daughter had broke some of the dishes over a letter and roses, which were far cheaper than the fine made porcelain. The man was fighting a losing battle at bringing sensibility into the world. Albeit, the breaking of the china was the last of Marcheline's worries, the girl had let her sly cousin Lucius kiss her. All it took was one kiss, a kiss too far, to hurt the family's reputation. Gaius was quick to respond to that and take care of the issue, he would marry his daughter to a respectable man so no more issues arose.

Nevertheless, Gaius was now here in Belleile to get away from the politics of the Castle and the manors. Soon he would get away from this Island, but the city provided a fairly good escape from the chaos. Though politics followed one everywhere on this Island. Already a few lords looking for some welfare favours had besieged him, which he politely declined. In truth the man wanted to tell them to 'fuck off', but that was not prudent for a man of his position. So he just wandered around the city, getting some much needed fresh air.

[Kieran]

"Gaius," a cloaked man called, not loudly, nor quietly, as he stepped in behind the king's councillor, emerging from among an situationally uninteresting crowd of city-goers. He remained on the heels of the nobleman long enough to deal out a sense of unease, but long enough too for the gap to widen on the street, allowing for the freedom of advancement.

He stepped up, forward to the man's side. He was a man of travels, his appearance would betray as much, a common vagabond in the often-looking down eyes of a great lord. "Lord Gaius DeLauncey, Authority of Welfare and Councillor of the King," the man smiled from under the mask of his hood, almost mockingly, not even sparing a glance in the lord's direction. "It appears you have wandered the wrong way, the palace is all the way back there." He made a subtle motion with his arm, though the direction indicated was neither here nor there.

"What makes a man of your position visit the city grounds in this day and age? Is there not a boy king to protect in these uncertain times? With logistics to manage, and a boat-load of personal problems to keep one busy?"

[Gaius DeLauncey]

Gaius had waltzed through the produce markets, he was a man fond of the vegetables and fruits grown all across the Kingdom. Farming was always of interest to him, and he wanted to make sure the farmers who toiled nearly all year long got the help they needed to produce fine quality of food. The man wore lightweight cotton robes of a beige colour, over top his white linen tunic, and around his waist there was a maroon sash wrapped firmly. There was a fine-made rapier at his side, just a light sword to carry for protection, as he was not going to march around in full battle gear with a heavier sword on such a warm day.

For his part, the King's Councillor had purchased some cherry tomatoes, enjoying the vibrant red vegetables with the fresh, juicy flesh within them. If the man had to eat vegetables, it would be enjoying cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. The small tomatoes were fine on their own, while if he consumed the larger ones he would salt them lightly. Nevertheless, Lord Gaius DeLauncey was suddenly called upon by name. The man stopped, almost surprised, as this came from behind. The others he had met on the street earlier presented themselves in visible sight.

The man approached closely, and appeared out of the corner of his blue-grey eyes. Gaius turned to take in a full sigh of the man, quickly deducing he was a commoner by appearance alone. Looks can always be deceiving. The Lord always knew things weren't as they appeared, and perhaps the biggest indicator of that in this scenario was how the man spoke. "Very observant, strange hooded stalker. Though I will make sure to note my directions better next time," he responded, perhaps with some light sarcasm. The DeLauncey looked in the direction the man pointed in towards the Castle. The man was hiding his face, under the shadowy mask cast by the presence of the hood. He clearly seemed to have knowledge of politics, and members of the King's Council. Gaius wondered if most common people would know all the members of the Council by appearance alone, considering he often stayed away from public spectacles unless absolutely necessary.

This stranger was one to question so openly, so boldly. There was more to this mysterious stranger than his presence. "I could ask the same question of you. What makes a man hide under a hood and stalk me in this day and age?" He listened to the other man though, intrigued that he would bring up what the Authority of Welfare should be doing. "I wanted a walk with some fresh air," he decided to admit, honestly. There was nothing to hide. "I am certainly always busy, and need to clear my mind. As for His Majesty, well he has the Horns, Castle Guard, and Duncan Montrose to tend to his protection," he added. The King's safety was not his responsibility, there was more than enough people in the royal bureaucracy to look after that. Gaius had enough on his plate making the economy work, and balancing where things needed to go to help the Kingdom recover.

[Kieran]

Gaius seemed be weighing him up in examination, curiousity is a handy tool. If he was just another face among a crowd, would a member of the King's council have paid as much attention to him as he already had? "A cowl enables intrigue does it not?" Intrigue and mystery, as well as serving the purpose of shrouding his identity, and his face.

"I would not call it stalking, coincidence perhaps? Yes, let's go with that," he smirked coldly. The Authority of Welfare had a loose tongue, that was good, he was quick to conversation. All the better, it would have been no good for this to be one-sided. "Fresh air?" He scoffed. "You'll find fresher air in your own chambers, than among this rabble. If you truly wanted that, you'd go beyond the city walls. A meeting place I'd have prefered."

The noble lord seemed to miss the mockery in his tone, and answered him sincerely. That's cute. "The boy has the Horns does he? And where is the Horn of the Vandermark I wonder? Oh that's right," he said, coming to some sort of sudden feigned realization. "Dead. I specifically remember the assassin's blade dropping him in a ever-growing pool of his life's blood."

"The Castle Guard, Montrose. They didn't do much for the boy at the ball. What good are any of them? I sure hope he's received his royal toilet training by now, he got quite the scare."

"Indulge me, DeLauncey." He set a pace for the councillor. "I don't recall seeing you at the ball. During the chaos." That sweet. Wonderful. Gruesome chaos...

[Gaius DeLauncey]

Gaius popped one of the cherry tomatoes into his mouth, sweet, miniature things they were. A pinch of salt would give them a nice taste, especially of heated lightly over an open fire for no longer than a minute. Gaius nodded, somewhat agreeing to what the man had to say. "Careful now, too much intrigue could get one killed in these parts," he responded, a slight grin on his face. Intrigue; it was a word that described the dark nature of politics here in the capital. There was too much intrigue lately, and if the King's had his way he would outlaw such talk and activities, keeping an eye upon everyone. Fortunately for many of the scheming types, such actions were almost impossible. The King couldn't have everyone monitored, there just wasn't enough resources.

The man was not the most sociable, but when someone else addressed him he was not one to refuse some words. Gaius was not known for attending balls, masquerades, dances, or the sort of ceremonies for prissy nobles. Once in a while he would participate in a tournament, but even that was a rare spectacle. Events of that nature wasted good coin from the treasury, and were distractions from the real issues of the day and times. This man had a quick wit to him, and was clearly more educated than the common man. "Ah, but clearly I found something," the DeLauncey lord said, holding up the small basket of ripe, fresh cherry tomatoes. "I recommend you purchase some, these cherry tomatoes are just delicious," he suggested to the man.

The protection of the King was not the responsibility of the Authority of Welfare, though some would probably push that onto his lap as well if they could. The man of intrigue certainly had a lot of words to say about the recent business in the capital. He could have said something about Dagonet Harrowgate, the man was a close family friend, but indeed the man was dead now. There was nothing to do to bring him back. "You are correct, yet the Horns did their job to protect and save the King," he responded. The man had much to say, and though he was critical of all the protection of the King, the truth was that the King still remained alive. One of the Horns died, another injured, but they protected their liege, apparently with the help of Lord Bradyn Forthwind. The part about the toilet training amused him, almost to the point of him wanting to make a humorous statement tying that to his younger brother Julius. Despite that urge, Gaius refrained.

Indulge me... These were words that always brought something interesting to conversation. Gaius stepped over to the side of the street where the words could be a bit more private. "I never have been one to attend balls, or prissy parties,” he answered simply. ”What brought a man of your nature to such an event?” Gaius wanted to suggest that the man was somehow involved, but once again he refrained.

[Kieran]

"Perhaps I will," Gaius seemed most infatuated with his new found vegetables, either he was slightly delirious being out and about for a change, or he was genuinely ecstatic with his small discovery. He wasn't particulary interested in purchasing some of these tomatoes, but he made a mental note of the recommendation nonetheless.

The lord took him aside instead of walking with him. An error. "Stay in any one place for long, and perhaps you may attract unecessary attention, Lord Gaius," he offered in caution. A high lord spotted talking with a cloaked man could arouse some degree of ruckus if the wrong people saw it. What attracted him to this national event? "Curiosity," he grinned. "It's not often every lord and lady are gathered in one place at the same time. I wanted to be on this side of the fence, waiting. To see what would happen."

The man was confident in his trust placed with the people surrounding the king. Perhaps that could be remedied soon. "That they did," he smiled. "Losing one of their number in the process, one of your own family's men."

"Do you believe it not worth your thought? You are the Authority of Welfare, a servant to the people. What happens when the people lose faith in their King? A scared young boy, fleeing from his own ball. How can such a person so much as dream of holding the kingdoms together?"

"The men you mention, excluding the Horns. The Guards, Montrose. All present at the ball, yet they did nothing," he puased a moment, a sly smirk gacing his cheeks. With studied slowness he continued, "A careful, sufficient number of coins in the pocket of the right man, and anything is possible."

"Fitzwulf. Jon Fitzwulf, you remember him right? Young aspiring lord of all Arbrecht, felled in a single accidentally-fatal swing in the melee." He reached into Lord Gaius' basket and extracted himself a single cherry tomatoe without invitation. "Do you trust Montrose?" He took the small tomatoe to eating, taking the flavour of it's juices into consideration for a moment. "Hmm, not bad at all."

[Gaius DeLauncey]

"A very wise decision," he responded to the man's consideration of these vegetables. Gaius enjoyed the fresh produce of the farmers from around the Kingdom. These were the people he liked visiting, and talking about agriculture with. Honest, hardworking people that did something good for everyone else, unlike some of the backstabbing, devious types here in the Capital.

The man was right that people talked too much, but he could just say this man was a common monk to whom he was discussing religious matters. Yeah, right! Only if religion happens to be court intrigue. Gaius begrudgingly waved to continue walking through the produce market, as others purchased goods to prepare their noon meals for the day. "So you were here to watch the circus of aristocrats," he mused with a nod. It was very true that not the majority of nobles were gathered in one place. Gaius tried to avoid the boring royal events at the castle when he could, usually always getting swarmed by lords looking for favours.

"A great loss for his Majesty, and for the Kingdom," he replied quickly. "Sir Dagonet of the Gaian Spear, a family friend." Gaius had not been at the ball, but when he was alerted to an emergency he rushed down there as quickly as possible. Seeing that the King was safe, he went over to the body of Dagonet and was with it for many hours that night. During those hours he made sure it was cleaned up and preserved for the formal memorials here in the capital and eventual return to his family in The Vandermark.

"I am always present to give advice and my service to the King when necessary," the Lord said somewhat annoyed. It was almost as if he was being accused of disloyalty. Such things were not the best to imply to Gaius DeLauncey. A number of men were on the unfortunate, receiving end of his 'Welfare Disputes'. "Thankfully the King has me to administrate the economy and various industries of the Kingdom," he answered. The work Gaius did was very important to keeping everything together, making sure things ran smoothly. "With each passing the day the King finds the capacity to learn, to take leadership, and grow into the man he will soon become," Gaius added. He was very confident his brother Julius would see to it that the King became a proper man, and a strong ruler. He didn't always see eye-to-eye with his younger sibling, but he had faith in the man's abilities and mentoring of the King.

"Well it is true the guards, though sworn to serve the King, are paid by Montrose, and Wintour," he replied, in light of the man's words about the right amount of coins. Nevertheless, such things would eventually show up in the books. Guy Wintour was not the only skilled man with numbers on the Council, it would only be time for others to find if he had been trying to hide something in the books. There were so many guards, one would come forward to talk for the right pay, and if indeed someone did bribe or pay them off to do nothing. Certainly this was food for thought, and something to look into.

Of course everyone knew of the Fitzwulfs, and the recent passing of their patriarch, Jon Fitzwulf. Some used accidental, while during the council some considered it murder and assassination. "It would seem the Lord of Arbrecht brought some of the problems of his province with him," he said, a plausible theory given the fact the various lords of the Arbrecht League seemed to be a dysfunctional, fighting lot. "It is hard to trust anyone that is not a Fontenot or DeLauncey," he decided to answer, without specifically saying any names. He was not too sure of Duncan, the man certainly seemed to like to whisper into the King's ears when possible. It was just best to trust in the royal rule of House Fontenot, and the family first attitude of his own House DeLauncey - even if some of his nephews sometimes gave him headaches. In the very least, the mysterious man seemed to enjoy the cherry tomatoes.

[Kieran]

"A circus," the hooden man graced the high lord with a chuckle, as they moved off, resuming their walk. "A very fitting word." His words seemed to be begins to scrape their way under the councillor's skin. Good... The more emotionally involved the man got with this conversation, the better. "Dagonet, aye. A pity for him. I hope the king's new Vandermark champion is made of sharper steel." The man was slew without a single play for his defence. Poor bastard, his life cut short with a single sweep of a blade. "You'd think a Horn would be more alert than that," he said with a cold venom in his voice.

"It is good the boy has keen servants as yourself to do his bidding. But he has no more to to prepare himself for ruling. He is ruling now, tasked with keep five kingdoms as one. There is no time for growth." He took a pause as they walked some more. "He has trials incoming and he'll need all the help he can get."

Duncan Montrose and Guy Wintour managing the Castle Guard. Perfect. "With their mouths they would spew advice into the ears of the boy king, while they finger their knives behind him. Are you really fool enough to believe this all mere happenstance?"

"The guards did very little to moniter suspicious activity at the ball; they let the assassin waltz right it. Who pays them you say? Not until two Horns had been disabled and the king coated in the blood of those sworn to his defence did they so much as step forward."

"Montrose is from Arbrecht. Fitzwulf simply entered the lion's den, the most influential lion, and the sparks began to fly. Arbrecht is but a fragile thing, one sudden move of interence and the peace is disturbed by a ripple, succeeded by more ripples, until the peace is no more." Hopefully now, the lord would see what he was getting at; for his time was almost up here, his purpose nearly achieved.

[Gaius DeLauncey]

"Vandermark steel," he added, a hidden reference to the papers Gaius had wrote on the heating processes of steel in The Vandermark that gave their blades a strong, sharp edge. The new Horn would certainly have to prove his worth in days to come, but thus far he had impressed Sir Dagonet as well as the Sir Geoffrey. Gaius could not judge the situation as he was not present, but the horns duty was to always be alert and clearly there was a lapse in that.

"He has my help so long as there is a breath of air within me," he responded. Gaius DeLauncey had proven a helpful and faithful servant over the years, doing his best to serve the few kings during his tenure as Authority of Welfare. His predecessor had been an incompetent failure. The Plague had devastated the Kingdom during his time, and while he could not discover a cure or prevention, he did implement tough measures in response. "The King does take advice when necessary, but he likes to try and make decisions on his own. There is a strong, stubborn side to the young man," he noted. Gaius never was one to talk too much on the Council, unless if his areas of expertise were called upon, but sometimes he did clash with other members.

"There is likely more to this than meets the eye, but one cannot point fingers without strong, damning evidence," he responded. There was the blade, the clothes the assassin wore, and how he managed to enter the castle, but there was no proof connecting it to anyone at this time. He would be assigned to investigate it, but he wasn't sure what he would come to find. "Montrose runs the castle and all the employees, and he does pay them, but the money comes from Wintour," he reaffirmed, looking down and thinking quietly. These were never men to trust, highly ambitious. The real question was what ambitions did they hold?

"Arbrecht is a fragile thing," he echoed. Gaius would be travelling there to investigate on the King's orders. He looked at the hooded man. "Do you know anything I don't know?" It was not common for him to have random conversations with strangers, but this man was definitely interesting and seemed to possess some information. "I am worried about what may be coming in Arbrecht."

[Kieran]

"...so long as there is a breath of air within me." "Let us hope that is for a while yet DeLauncey." I would hate for you to miss the show. He almost felt bad for the guy, so morally upright in such a twisted world. There wasn't much room for upstanding servants in the capital, it was choked with liars and cheats.

He heard the councillor out, let him think those thoughts and speak his part. "Wintour is the worst, he has no one's interest but his own in mind. If conspiring with Montrose is beneficial to him, if they have striked some kind of bargain." Irony never tasted so good. "I cannot give you evidence," he continued as they walked on, a walk that was becoming more and more serious and hasty it seemed. "...Not until it is too late."

He walked on before suddenly taking a firm hold on Gaius' shoulder and hauled him forcefully down into an alleyway, into the shade. He turned him back to the wall. "Words are like arrows. Once loosed, they cannot be called back. The streets are no place for this counciller. You lack caution," he pointed out, his tone dripping with sudden seriousness. "You need to fix that," he said, relaxing his tone once more.

"There's a storm coming DeLauncey. And I'm not talking the weather." The clouds were gathering, a storm was indeed coming to Forsilvra. "Perfect cover."

"The king sails for Arbrecht, I know these things. Some of his own leading, trusted councillers in tow. He is a fool, but an honest one. A sincere one. He cannot stop the incoming storm. No one can." He turned his back to the noble man.

"If you would know more, we will not speak here. Instead; when the moon is high, beyond the eastern walls." He turned again, "There is a small enclosure in the forest, there, I will tell you what you want to know." He turned away again, reaffirming his cloak, before calling over his shoulder. "Perhaps you'll find me before the spring rains arrive."

He turned out of the alleyway, heading left, not the way they had came from, what seemed a shadow of a man was quick to follow his steps.

[Gaius DeLauncey]

"I hope so too," he said, finishing off the small tomatoes and putting the basket down on the ground somewhere. His hands were free once again. Gaius liked to think he was a man of honour, but he had some flaws. He wouldn't consider himself much of a liar, but he had used his position to secure more wealth for his family. Though there was no evidence, because things could disappear quite quickly in a monster bureaucracy like the Royal Office for Welfare. They had accountants of their own, separate from the Treasury, but in matters of welfare sometimes money just got lost in the process of helping others.

The man attempted to grab Gaius, but the DeLauncey was a big man with a lot of power. He merely looked for the direction the man seemed to want to go towards, a dark alley. Oh this was just great. "I am quite capable of defending myself, because I don't have anything to hide," he answered neutrally. Though Gaius was not one to boast of his skills, he had a reputation as one of the best duellists in the Kingdom. There weren’t many people who would volunteer to challenge him to a duel.

Of course the man was not talking about the weather, though convenient timing that there was indeed a weather system moving in upon the island. Talk about situational irony... Nevertheless his eyes did shoot up as the man seemed to know the King was sailing to Albrecht. That journey would not be for some time, Gaius would be leaving to investigate that place before the King makes his voyage there. "If we could nip the weeds before they grow," he suggested, a reference to putting a stop to whomever the instigators may be.

But the man indicated no one could stop the storm, which made him wonder. Was Bradyn correct when he suggested this was all a plot linked to the Linchao Republic? Such a storm brewed over there would not be easily stopped from here, but something could be done. This man clearly had some knowledge, and yet Gaius did nothing. He could have reached for his rapier and stopped the man, bringing him to the dungeons for interrogation, yet he did not. He wanted information, but he wasn't sure if he would get it. The man would wait and see before deciding what to make of this cloaked stranger. The Authority watched the man sneak back into the shadows and go on his way.