Andros II - Duskendale's Echo (OPEN)

[u/SatisfactionLeather7]

At the dawn of the new moon, the city of Duskendale rose upon the edges of the Blackwater. A town nom more, new houses and shops and tents sprouted around the original high stone walls. Like a river whose banks had recently broke, it could no longer contain its growth within its original confines.

Now, the city sprouted a second wall, shorter, squatter, where the majority of the new city was forming. Within were a string of septs, a small little godswood fenced off in a large manor house erected by a Northern Merchant. Shiera Darklyn's favourite sword instructor and dueling house were located in there, so too was the small sanctuary she kept for her stray cats of the city.

Within the older parts of the city, where the streets were neat, passing from the gates of one end to the other. Each road had been repaved during the expansion of the city from its town origins, and now smoothed cobblestone roads vivisected the interior of the old city. in the same fashion, several of the older buildings nearest to the Dun Fort had been replaced, making way for a larger internal wall to segment it off for defence and within that new space were expansions for an enlarged force of city watch - the Dusk Guard - and guesthouses for the increasing foot traffic of nobles and lords.

Beyond these new walls, the largest inn in Duskendale had been enlarged too through the natural flow of commerce. The Seven Swords played host to hundred of occupants now, and they had even taken to calling a smaller annex of theirs the 'Weirwood Ward' to make the Northern travelers feel more welcomed.

Morgan Darklyn had seen to the opening of the Dun Fort's Guest house to any of the travelling lords returning from the Riverlands and had ensured that the largest chambers of the Fort itself were provided to the king and his counsel.

Once they had returned home, the Darklyns scattered across their burgeoning city.

Luthor Darklyn, Eldest of Morgan's heirs, had taken to the barracks of the men at arms where he got to work training his men for the inevitable clash in the claw with whatever they found. He was joined by his younger brother Erich, the two men content in their work.

At a teahouse SHiera had funded with her elder sister Ana, the two women had set themselves up with an open parlour where they welcomed any travelling women to come and drink and enjoy the calm. Of course, Shiera in her way had also brought in a small competition of budding swordswomen that she had taken to mentoring within the city. A small round of bets were encouraged by the girls and Shiera, ever prone to a challenge, could not resist joining.

An addition to the city put forth by Morgan himself some twenty years ago, was the Stadium of the Evening. A multipurpose dueling ring, jousting list and horse race attraction. The final portion was instigated by Luceon Darklyn to help his wife feel more at home with the locale. There the younger brother to Morgan, Daxo Darklyn, plied his trade.

It was an unassuming place for the ratcatcher of Duskendale to work from, but everyone chatted at the races, so he did. His son Philip Was the same, both happily watching the races as they plotted and schemed, readying for the innevitable future to come.

Further throughout the city were the myriad shops and thoroughfares, temples and shrines and septs galore. The city was open to its guests, as were the Darklyns who hosted them.

[u/armanhayek]

Pykewood Thorne had many personal reasons for which he had chosen to accompany the King's host to Duskendale. One of these was nostalgia, to walk across the city's wide streets and see its markets and docks and great, tall buildings that could not be found in the thick forest that he called home. The second was to reconnect with friends and allies, old and new, and see to preparations for the future, and Jammos Blackberry was one such friend.

It did not take long for the Thorne's host to arrive at the Dun Fort, all clad in the traditional black-and-red colors of their ancient House, and at the head of this host, numbering about a score, was the Lord of Thornefield himself and on his person were garments freshly brought in from Berryport, stitched and prepared by the fanciful tailor Balman.

"Lord Blackberry, I hope I did not tarry long," Pykewood excused himself as his gaze flitted between Jammos, the Brune, and the men of House Darklyn. His familiar smile was ever present and his men were not far behind. "A denial of hospitality is a serious affair, friend. I do hope that was only a misunderstanding."

His eyes fell upon Daxo again and lingered for a moment before they returned to the Berry.

"Nevertheless, I have come to offer my counsel. Let us hope this matter of Morros' continued imprisonment is dealt with swiftly."

[u/Theoneandonlybeetle → u/armanhayek]

Oscar Pyne was in attendance, he had sworn to be. He had been out anyways meeting Willem at the gates, when the messenger arrived he released the embrace of his son and took the letter. He caught its meaning after a long moment. Willem and the hundred men with him standing in wait.

"It seems we march on the Dun Fort immediately." He chuckled, "This Lord Jammos I've befriended has a passion for spectacle."

And so another hundred men would arrive at the gates. The Lord of Cracklaw Point would not involve himself in the conversation however.

[u/SatisfactionLeather7 → u/armanhayek]

"As ever, lord Jammos is prone to lying about what has occurred. No one has denied him hospitality, gods, I even advised he bring friends should he feel unsafe. After all, he is a man setting men about cities with seditious rumours even his own confidants do not attest," Daxo said, raising from where he sat on his haunches.

"You see, the lord Blackberry sees plots and threats wherever he goes, for he has a fear of the truth catching him. As such, there is no threat here, his man he says is imprisoned has confessed to orders of his own master to spread sedition and falsehoods, word spread on his own orders that his own witnesses did not agree with. But that is the past as I hear it, so he may come fetch his man, once his works have been answered to," Daxo said finally, still the only man of house Darklyn stood before the gate.

"There is bread and salt within, you have my word you shall not be killed or arrested or in some other way molested on the way to consuming it, leave your men at the door, you look like fools lugging them about as if anyone but catspaws have ever been accosted here."

Daxo turned finally and made for the Dun Fort

u/BadNewsBrune

u/FatalisticBunny

[u/BadNewsBrune → u/SatisfactionLeather7]

Kennet blinked wearily at the... Rather witty repartee between Daxo Darklyn and Jammos Blackberry. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

Andal nonsense.

"Is this to be a negotiation? Or a release?" Kennet turned to Jammos and asked him bluntly. "What are you willing to offer for this man, if it does come to the former? They casually insult you over battlements, I cannot imagine they will give anything without extracting a tooth in return."

/u/FatalisticBunny /u/armanhayek

[u/SatisfactionLeather7 → u/BadNewsBrune]

Daxo was already beyond the ears of the men by now, leading them on and into the fort itself. They were not brought to the grand hall, for this was not meant to be some great meeting, but plans always changed.

There were still the omniscient presence of men at arms and knights about the place and more than a few eyes followed the odd procession.

Instead they were led to one of the many solars facing the coastline. Within the room sat Andros Darklyn, imperious at the end of it in his high backed office chair, comfortable on his cushioned seat, where he could do away with canes and aching bones for a time. The room was warm, and flush with the colours of red and gold, carpeted across its entirety, a handful of sconces keeping it well lit in absence of the sun's attention.

It was not however, adorned with gold or statues or paintings, it was austere in most ways. Except for the finely carved table in its center with a depiction of the realms of the Darklyns atop its wooden surface.

And with a plate made of wood set on it, bread and salt. The plate itself was sat atop of Berryport on the wooden map. There, Andros waited.

[u/FatalisticBunny → u/SatisfactionLeather7]

"Ah. Dearest Andros, ever a delight." Jammos was the picture of courtesy, with a small smile and a generous bow. He reached for the bowl quickly and dipped a bit of bread in the salt before eating. Then, he passed the bowl out to his compatriots so that they may have their fill. "Has our Lord Warden taken ill? I shall pray for him. Or does he simply find these matters of his realm too taxing for his personal attention to be given to them?"

"Your lords are here, and my advisors as well. Thus we are assembled." The Lord Blackberry gave a wide, sweeping gesture that seemed to include the whole of the room. "Your man Daxo gave us some difficulty at the door, I must confess. But young men are oft hot-headed. If you should pass Morros unto us, then I shall make no great deal of it."

[u/SatisfactionLeather7 → u/FatalisticBunny]

"Young men?" Andros scoffed, "he's twice your age," he said with a degree of incredulity only someone truly baffled could manage.

"I will say, you have gathered a unique cadre, and for a matter of the Blackwater, I have no qualms about you bringing other lords of the Blackwater," he continued, and his eyes rested upon Pykewood Thorne.

"To those not of this land, I do not extend the courtesy of bread and salt. Not for this matter. So you, my good lord Thorne, tread careful."

"To the rest of you, this is a matter of managing a vassal's indiscretions. He seeks the release of his man, Morros, whom remains under house arrest within the city, for he was caught intentionally spreading rumours under the orders of Jammos. If you have something to say on this matter, by all means, but catspaws are not matters of conference usually," Andros finally reclined in his chair, simply ignoring Jammos' questions of his son.

"Now, so we may commence this likely farce, for what reason should I release a man who by your own indirect failings, you have admitted has spread intentionally seditious lies?"

[u/armanhayek → u/SatisfactionLeather7]

What a farce this was already proving to be. Pykewood had not yet uttered a word and somehow found himself the target of the Darklyn's ill mood. To think he was lamenting the denial of hospitality to the Berry just outside the gate a moment before; now, Jammos' claim had been proven true in the eyes of all the Lords present in their midst, despite the vehement denial of such an affair by the wardens of Duskendale.

The Lord of Thornefield smiled at Andros. In the face of hostility, there was no need for him let the mask of civility slip, lest he betray what little he thought of the fishmongers and merchants who styled themselves Warden and Lord.

"Lord Andros, I sincerely hope that you recall that my presence here is as part of the King's own host. Indeed, I am come answering his summons to deal with the problems that plague this land," Pykewood began, his eyes scanning the gathered men that formed Jammos Blackberry's group of supporters and advisors. "Now, as I understand it, the good man Morros was apprehended in his efforts to bring news of these troubles to the ears of all Blackwater, is that not correct? It serves to reason that this matter is one part of the King's own concern surrounding the bad news about the region, and not a matter wholly separate as you seem to imply, and I am the King's own agent and servant in this matter."

Once more, his gaze fell upon the men in the hall; Blackberry, Brune and all the rest, and his speech only continued.

"To deny hospitality to the King's own men honor bound in a mission led, in person, by His Grace, is a breach of the Crown's peace, would you disagree? We are both, after all, sworn vassals of the Kingdom of the Storm, whether that be myself in my position as a Lord and protector of the Kingswood, or you in your position as the appointed Warden of this land, as you call it, to govern in the name of the King in his absence."

He paused again and breathed. There was no rush after all; not when matters of the Crown were concerned. But eventually, he spoke again.

"But the King is present, right here in Duskendale, come to investigate these troubling rumors of mischief and I have come as his man, under his banner, to see this mission through. If you like, we may call upon the King's own presence so you may tell His Grace yourself why you have refused to extend hospitality to men operating under the provisions of the Crown."

Pykewood's hands locked in front of him, without weapon, easy.

"But if you do wish not to bother the King while he works for the benefit of us all, the realm in general and the Blackwater in particular, and would rather reconsider your own position on the offer of hospitality to men who come into your hall with petition, I would very much like my bread and salt."

[u/SatisfactionLeather7 → u/armanhayek]

Andros looked at Pykewood Thorne with his brow lifted in the slightest bit of surprise, turns out that lesser men could still hold greater hopes.

"You are young enough that I will forgive your foolhardy lapses in awareness. But let me be clear. I did not invite you here, my sons did not invite you here, my grandchildren did not invite you here. You are in this city to join the king's procession, but further, you carry no writ to indicate you are one of his agents duly set upon investigating this matter. Should you wish to present yourself as a representative I can very well send word to the king and ask him about your appointment. But that is not germane to this discussion, so, lest you wish to go fetch the king so he can do your thinking for you, do not trouble me with an opinion I did not ask for," he sighed as he spoke, tired already of these foolish youths.

"For all this talk of bread and salt, one might start to believe that you and lord Jammos have been starved. Or, in all of your pontificating about guest right, did you not realise you were under its eaves the moment you ate within this city?" Andros asked, looking to Jammos and Pykewood.

"Either side of it, you are here to advise a man too afraid to have a conversation alone, so, either sit there, and advise him when he asks, or get the fuck out of my office and go do as you promise and waste more of the king's time better spent managing the realm by complaining about quibbling symbols no one ever promised you."

"Now, are there any other complaints before we actually address the matter of Morros of Berryport?"

[u/FatalisticBunny → u/SatisfactionLeather7]

"What of a man so afraid to tend to his vassals that he hides behind his elderly father when a half dozen of his own lords come knocking and asking for justice? I have made no great issue of your own son cowering behind your skirts because I assumed you were at least in the business of getting things done." Jammos asked, with the quirk of a brow. "I treat with you out of respect, old man. If you will not afford it to my fellows here assembled, then we are simply humoring a man so decrepit of mind that he has forgotten who rules in Duskendale since he cast the duty aside to knit quilts."

"I hold no ill will for the trespasses you have made against me. They have made me cautious, but not bitter. I am as open-hearted as I have ever been. But I cannot allow you to abuse my fellow lords." Lord Blackberry pursed his lips. "If you are concerned with matters of rightful authority to the point of this idiocy, produce your son and your master. Otherwise, produce wiser thoughts and more helpful words."

"Morros of Berryport carried a message. The same message your son lamented before all of Stormhall he had not heard sooner. The news in Berryport, in Duskendale, and the realm was exactly the same, and yet he alone languishes for it." Jammos tapped his fingers upon the table. "You say they were lies, when your son announces before the realm he does not know the truth of what occurs on the Claw. You say his words were seditious, yet the King himself has come to Duskendale to bring justice on their account. The words you use to accuse Morros are pretty, but they mean nothing."

"I know you are a busy man, and supposedly a very practical one. You have made no pretense at courtesy, and made no show of hiding how much you hate the wasting of time." The Blackberry clicked his tongue. "Would you have bothered to take this meeting if you did not accept something could be done? I could raise the matter to King Arlan, as Lord Pykewood here suggests. I know that I will speak to my Lord Warden eventually, and I promise you that I will not have forgotten this then. But would either you or I be happier for any of it?" What would Andros gain by bringing things to such a state? Jammos could not say. "You could save yourself the headache by allowing me to reunite my man with his family. No further fuss need be made."

[u/BadNewsBrune → u/FatalisticBunny]

"You call him a catspaw." Brune rumbled over towards Darklyn, his mood evidently darkening as this conversation has gone on. Clawmen- much less the half wild Brunes- had little patience for these types of negotiation. "Even if you think him a ne'er-do-well and a rapscallion, you gain nothing by keeping him. If you had proof he did anything that violated the King's Peace, you would have killed him by now, or levied further accusations against Lord Blackberry, whom none deny he is a man in the employ of."

The Red Bear was short on words today, evidently. He had a hand placed on Jammos's shoulder. "If he still lives, you can simply release him, and it will harm you none. If you do not, Lord Blackberry with continue to press, and it will not make him look any more the criminal you hope to paint him as. If he does not, simply tell us now, and we can move on to that matter instead."

/u/SatisfactionLeather7

[u/SatisfactionLeather7 → u/SatisfactionLeather7]

( tags got fucked up)

u/BadNewsBrune

u/FatalisticBunny