[ CLOSED ] WAR TABLE: INVESTIGATE COMTESSE DE VELONEY

[comtessedevelony]

WHO: Herian, Anders, Issana, Velanna, Pam, Malcolm
WHAT: A series of disappearances in the Orlesian countryside has culminated in the vanishment of some of the Inquisition's own scouts. A team has been sent to investigate the estate of one Comtesse Eléonore Vaillant de Veloney.
WHEN: Over the span of 4 days in the 2nd week of Harvestmere.
WHERE: Estate of Comtesse Eléonore Vaillant de Veloney
NOTES: Trauma, gore, dark themes, homicide, pretentious wine usage, other things not labeled as to avoid spoilers.

Welcome to the Estate

It is a terrible misfortune, all these disappearances- but with a civil war on and all this strange Venatori and Red Templar activity- with the rifts in the countryside? People simply not appearing where they ought is a sad reality. Nothing to be done for it. That such an esteemed noblewoman has found herself unjustly accused simply due to her wealth and prosperity? Cannot stand. Comtesse de Veloney invited the Inquisition herself to investigate her manor and put the matter to rest- they are to be afforded all the cooperation and respect imaginable.

Even the mages. Even the elves.

They are met at the gate by a veritable delegation of footmen led by the Gardener and Tanner to see them inside and out of the stormy, dreary weather. Packs are secreted off to rooms (a lovely set of suites in the east wing if the Steward does say so herself), baths drawn (The Comtesse insists, it's been just dreadful and they've come all this way), and a lavish banquet prepared.

Comments

[circleprodigy]

Mindful of books which triggered the opening of passages during her time in Tevinter, Inessa will discretely attempt to see if that is so this time. But if not, at least the banned books will receive some idle attention before moving on.

Inessa passes on the pipe to whoever else wants it, not interested but remembering her manners. She nods with a slight smile at the comment as she settles down. "I suppose it is, but I often have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings. No slight meant against this fine estate, however. The generosity is appreciated."

[comtessedevelony]

There is, in fact, a click. Something releases, a latch somewhere- but no passage opens at this time. Perhaps a second book? Or a door in an adjacent room?

"Bad dreams." Ignatia states rather than asks, motioning for the elven girl to head to the pantry. "I've seen your kind. Never sleep well. Always hungry. We'll heat something for you and your hound."

[circleprodigy]

Inessa will glance around, but upon seeing no passage will attempt to find the source of the click. If elven hearing is truly better than a human's, hopefully it will bear fruit now. Otherwise, she will return to try a second book.

---

At that accurate assessment, Inessa nods sheepishly. "...that is also a factor, I'll admit. Thank you for your assistance, particularly given the hour. You must work hard; I would not take away from your downtime more than need be."

[comtessedevelony]

To the left, just against the wall- where one of the Dalish weapon stands has now gone somewhat crooked from where it juts out of the wall.

---

"Smoked sausage, some bread- was there anything from dinner you liked most?" There's always extra for the serving staff, the Comtesse sees to that. Everyone eats well here. One of the Girls takes her pull on the pipe, blowing sweet smelling smoke discreetly away from Inessa.

[circleprodigy]

A furtive glance around, and Inessa gently touches said Dalish weapon, less wanting to hold it for herself and just seeing what nudging it might do, if anything. That Tevinter mansion didn't have any switches in the form of weapons, that she remembers, but it's still worth a try, isn't it?

---

"Oh--ah, that pudding was marvelous, if there is any left." For someone who is so slight and slender, Inessa certainly has the typical Grey Warden appetite. "Is there always such abundance available? The civil war hasn't interfered with that? I've heard such stories elsewhere, it's rather disheartening."

[comtessedevelony]

It wiggles- one side of the stand had released- that'd been the click. Pressing down further prompts another click- and now the bookcase creaks open like a door.

---

"We've got a few bowls of that left, bring them all." The cook takes her turn at the pipe, tipping her head back to blow a ring of smoke. "We trade and pay well, the guards, the farmers, the merchants. What we don't need, which isn't much, we produce for ourselves. The Comtesse provides for those that provide for her. We've taken on a few refugees running from the war and freemen- Anne, here, most recently. Her sister's one of the house maids, brother's taken to working the Garden with Roland."

"She gave us a home and gave us a job. Not everyone wanted to keep on- some of the others kept going south, I think. I haven't seen them in a few months." One of the girls sips from the bottle and offers it to Inessa. "Spiced rum with honey. It'll help you sleep."

[circleprodigy]

Ahh, now there's something new. Inessa smiles as she steps over to the bookcase, then peers inside. If there's no light, she'll take her staff and use its light instead. Her elven eyes can manage in dim light, but she'd rather have more than that in total darkness.

---

"Thank you." Inessa takes a sip, not normally one to drink anything strong but she could use something to take the edge off. Just probably not much more than that, though; she hasn't tested her limits but is fairly certain she would qualify as a lightweight. "It's good to hear that there are at least some places relatively untouched. Do none try to take advantage, though? Bandits, thieves, whatnot? All this abundance must seem a tempting target when there is so much devastation elsewhere."

[comtessedevelony]

There's a draft- a slight one. A musty smelling waft of air with an undercurrent of iron and lye. The hall is a narrow one, squeezed between two rooms. Possibly some of the servants passages that had been reworked- but to what purpose? It is dark, the flooring marked with scrapes, as though something heavy had been dragged.

---

"You're welcome." The other girl returns with the sausage, bread, and puddings, another dips away for a moment to prepare a pot of tea. Not everyone drinks and that? Is fine by them. The Cook takes another round with the pipe, tilting her head. Permission for the girls to speak freely. "Sometimes. They ride up- and we call the guards. Freemen the Comtesse pays to offer patrols now and then when the weather is bad or the nights are dark. Usually when the moon's waning and the only light is by torch. They skirmish or something probably, but they never make it into the Estate."

"We had a girl, once. Four, five months back? Came in from the east, needed somewhere to work. Caught her trying to steal some silver- turned her into the Comtesse. I figure she got the boot, I haven't seen her since." Offers up another. "Worst of it innit from thieves or bandits- it's from the Nobles. They snoop around sometimes, trying to figure out where the sausage is made. Trying to poach us back from her, but we know we're valued here. Ain't leaving for anything."

"Didn't a baron or something try knocking about the wine cellar that one time? Haven't seen him back. Loupe probably scared him off. People think he's a werewolf. Cuz he's all growly and shaggy." Says another, taking her turn at the pipe.

[circleprodigy]

The narrowness doesn't bother Inessa, who recalls that various nooks and secret places of her Circle tower. She glances back, then steps inside and closes the bookcase after her. Not entirely, though; she leaves it a crack open before making her way down the hall, noting the scrapes and following them to see where they end.

---

The scent of that food is enough to bring back Inessa's appetite full force and while she listens intently to all that's said, her manners also prevent her from talking with a full mouth. That tea will be perfect for washing it down but while she waits, the Grey Warden clears her throat. "I certainly can't blame you for not wishing to leave. From what I've heard, the treatment of staff here is something to be commended, a stark contrast to elsewhere. If that stirs resentment in other nobles, such as this baron, it doesn't seem too surprising."

[comtessedevelony]

It turns to the left abruptly, the floor banking, tilting downward to an equally narrow staircase. The scent of lye and iron is stronger here.

---

"They don't know how to treat their staff well. Take care of the people that take care of you, as our Ladyship says." One of the girls takes the pipe from Ignatia, puffing away happily.

"And we take care of one another- well. Except the Butcher. Always trying to make a fuss, always trying to raise her station as though the work she does isn't something remarkable already." Ignatia shakes her head, clucking her tongue. "That woman is not satisfied."

[circleprodigy]

Checking the wall carefully to be sure she doesn't touch anything she shouldn't, Inessa then braces a hand against it should she need more balance. The stronger scent gets her nose to wrinkle, but she continues down the staircase, her tread relatively quiet. She's almost wishing Garahel wasn't taking a nap, but her sending crystal rests inside her armor should she need to use it.

---

That gets her attention, and Inessa raises an eyebrow. "A strange exception, for a tight-knight staff. Has it always been so?" She'll have to remember to talk a walk near that area sometime, or ask the others if they've done so. Friendly or not, the woman might have something to say.

[comtessedevelony]

Down, down, down the stairs go till they hit a sudden stop. A door with a thick, wrought iron lock. Solid and well set into the narrow passage- and not about to budge.

---

"Always. It didn't used to get so bad but she's been fussing mighty loud these past six months. Been at it's worst this week with you lot coming in. Comtesse wants you all impressed, it's more work for her." Says one of the girls, taking a deep swig of the rum.

Ignatia takes the pipe, blowing another series of rings. "She thinks she isn't appreciated for her work. She does good work, make no mistake- but she doesn't like that I won't tell her what spices I use in the sausage. I do not like that she won't tell me if it's pork or beef I am grinding. Or lamb, sometimes there is goat or lamb in the mix and it changes everything. I need to know these things."

[circleprodigy]

That lock gets an exasperated sigh from Inessa, who's kicking herself for not having considered the possibility earlier. She's no rogue; if that lock an be picked, it won't be through her. And breaking it through magic could backfire on her in more ways than one. She considers her options, and comes to the conclusion that the others will be needed. Perhaps one of them can open the lock without causing undue damage.

Time to turn around and find the others, then.

...well, in just a moment. She lingers long enough to press an ear against the door and try to hear what's on the other side.

---

"I apologize, for inadvertently causing more friction. Hopefully, our stay will be brief and not cause more." Hopefully. Inessa can't promise anything, not when the Inquisition sent them here, but she knows how tension and issues can trickle down to staff and doesn't want to see that happen any more than it already has.

"And that is quite understandable. What has happened these past six months, to aggravate conditions?"

[comtessedevelony]

For the moment? Silence. Not so much as a whisper or a thud or rattle of chain. Nothing to be heard.

---

"You come, you look for answers, you will find whatever you find." Ingatia shrugs, a fluid, almost feline gesture at odds with the birdlike sharpness of her frame. "You leave. We shall go on one way or the other. Everyone needs to eat."

She'll find work no matter what happens. "Larger orders for our sausage. We only sold a portion of it for so long but demand has become high and wanting to take on more of those displaced by the fighting has put us in need of more coin to pay, house, and feed them. So we make more- it is the same work for me if we do ten links or ten dozen- but the Butcher? Is lazy. Ambitious, but lazy."

[circleprodigy]

Withdrawing from the door, Inessa decides it's time to find the others and compare notes.

---

Having some food in her definitely helps Inessa's state of mind, not that she was exactly starving before but Grey Warden appetites can surface before one realizes it. She nods, not wanting to put anyone out of work and hoping it doesn't come to that. But she hasn't seen anything to warrant that, not yet.

"I see, and it makes sense that demand would be higher. When food is lacking in general, people cling to a quality source as much as possible. Perhaps assistance would calm such moods, if the right temperament could be found. Do you think she would speak with me?"

[comtessedevelony]

"Perhaps. She's too fond of her hogs. Treats them like her children." It isn't quite scorn in Ignatia's tone but- some manner of chastisement. "She knows what they're here for. To be brought in, fed well, fattened up, and slaughtered. They live well while they're here and are happy till they get the axe."

Her eyes flick to one of the girls, who shrugs. "She's from the Anderfels, they respect wardens like we respect chantry folk. It might help. Settle everything down, get it nice and quiet again."

[circleprodigy]

"I'll see what I can do to smooth tensions, or at least not raise any more. If she favors mabari, Garahel can accompany me." He tends to anyway, though depending on things, he can either be distracting and cute or discrete. Or maybe later he will just zero in on the bone pit and ruin her ideas. That happens, too.

[comtessedevelony]

"She is more of a cat person, honestly. Mabari are noble but-" Speaking of, another girl arrives with some dried snippets of sausage and trimmings- a few soup bones for the aforementioned Mabari. "Cats. Small, furred things with big eyes. Those she likes."

[circleprodigy]

"I quite understand. They aren't for everyone." As incredible as that seems; Inessa is Fereldan to the core, at least when it comes to mabari. At mention of cats, she smiles. "That's fortunate, as Anders' cat is with us, and I am certain she will enjoy the attention."

Glancing over to all those treats for Garahel, Inessa smiles. "My thanks. He is going to be so spoiled and mournful when we finally depart. No doubt our fare will seem lacking afterward." At least until they reach Skyhold again.

[comtessedevelony]

"We can send some of our sausage with you when you leave." Ignatia offers. "A gift. A show of our support for the Inquisition. It is a more public declaration than any of the other estates are willing to give but- she is not afraid of speaking her mind, our Lady."

A murmur of agreement runs through the circle of girls. "Nor you, yours. Would you like me to read the bones for you, Warden?"

[circleprodigy]

"Oh! Well, thank you. It will be most appreciated." As to the offer...well, why not. This ought to be interesting, and if nothing else it's an excuse to linger before she ought to take Garahel's snack up to him. "And yes, please do. I would be interested to see what they hold for me." Beyond the usual fate of a Grey Warden, that is. She doesn't need bones to tell her that.

[comtessedevelony]

Ignatia takes another slow drag of the pipe, exhaling through her nose like a snorting dragon while she sweeps the runes and knucklebones into a cup, rattling them back and forth with a calculated, rolling twist of her wrist. They clatter and clack, stone and bone and glass as she shakes, eyes half lidded.

"What is or what will be?"

[circleprodigy]

Inessa considers those options, but it doesn't take her long to decide. "What is, if you please." Her current job relies on discovering information about the here and now, after all.

[comtessedevelony]

A nod, another roll of her wrist. A rattling of bone that she shakes out onto the small table in the center of their circle. She peers down, murmuring words under her breath.

Reading.

"You're being deceived by someone with power- a terrible lie. Something that'll make you ill when you find the truth." She points to the way the bones have fallen, scattered and twisted about.

[circleprodigy]

She can only imagine what her Circle mentors would say if they caught her observing all this; most likely, that it just old wives' nonsense, or that if they were apostates, that they were not to be trusted. But Inessa come to speak and to listen, and this is part of that.

The news provokes a grim expression as she looks over the layout of the bones. "Whatever the truth is, no matter how ugly, I would still rather know of it. Is there more?"