Dear old friend, how goes the war (closed)

[overharrowed]

WHO: Julius and Herian Amsel
WHAT: Julius drops by to make sure his sneaky letters are sufficiently sneaky
WHEN: Now-ish
WHERE: the Diplomacy office
NOTES: Nothing to see here.

Julius had, in fact, warned Herian that he wanted to stop by on a matter of Inquisition business. (He supposes specifying was unnecessary; he has no problems with Herian, but it isn't as if they've spent time together socially in the past.) But he'd been canny about what, precisely, he wanted to talk to her about, mainly because it was the sort of thing he'd prefer not to be overheard.

When he knocks on her door, he has a small stack of parchment in his other hand. "Knight-Enchanter. Is now still a convenient time?"

Comments

[overharrowed]

Julius resists the urge to take the toy -- they are having a business meeting -- but he does give Franklin a quick ear scritch before he straightens.

"Well. Now that I'm a part of Diplomacy, I've taken the liberty of writing a few letters in order to reach back out to a few friends and acquaintances. Some may be of immediate use, some simply worthwhile correspondents for the time being. However... under the circumstances, it seemed I might as well also include a few well-considered words about the election."

He picks up the letters.

"Since we obviously don't want to put anything potentially compromising in writing, all of them are oblique and none of them are official Inquisition correspondence. However, I thought you might wish to review them, before I sent them out, to be sure I'm not going to far at any point."

[dashing]

Excuse? Franklin stares up at Julius, drops the toy, and starts to gently poke as the guest’s leg with his snoot. Perhaps he didn’t notice the excellent toy at his feet. Humans can be foolish. The poking will continue intermittently, but persistently.

Unaware, apparently, of Franklin’s antics, Herian leans forward and rests her hands on the desk, watching Julius expression as he speaks. “Sensible ideas on all counts, I think. When did you hope to have them delivered? If there are some I should prioritise the reviewing of, I’ll make sure to prioritise them.”

A moment of pause. “What sentiments did you wish to convey regarding the election, precisely?”

(And, an additional note from Franklin: poke poke poke.)

[overharrowed]

Julius considers both questions. The first is simpler: "None more urgent than the others, save that one has farther to go; one is destined for Antiva, and even ravens take longer to fly that far. The others are not so far, mainly for Orlais and Ferelden."

He glances down at Franklin, but only briefly, while he considers. "Obviously, the matter of the election is delicate," he says, looking back up. "But most of the remarks, such as they are, tend toward undercutting Clorentine, as instructed." A pause, then: "It is possible that one or two remarks might be construed as supporting a certain candidate from Neverra which, while technically hurting Clorentine, may be a step farther than I was actually meant to go. If you wish me to revise, well... I'm showing them to you for a reason."

If he'd wanted to just send them, he could have; they're explicitly not Inquisition correspondence.

[dashing]

A few moments of silence. Not necessarily terribly significant, to anyone who has even a passing awareness of Herian; she does so like her silences. She leans back in her chair, contemplating the matter. Pointedly ignores the little whine Franklin makes at the attention he so tragically isn't receiving, hopping about on his front feet as if it's simply a matter of him not being seen. (Well trained enough to not jump up, though.)

"As you say, the letters are personal, and not official missives of the Inquisition. So long as they are clearly so, I have no objection to your articulation of your personal politics." A smile, though only fleeting, perhaps slightly wry. Her wrists rest on the edge of her desk, fingers curled in to the palms in loose fists.

"I am afraid I could make no such claims in my position, so if... the candidate I personally prefer can be recommended by others, I'm all the more willing to indulge it."

[overharrowed]

Julius smiles then, crooked and charming for all he's not actively trying to charm her. "Well. I won't breathe a word of any potential partiality, then. Do you see any other matters for concern in them? I tried to be careful while still actually giving everyone but the bann something they can actually use. Well," he corrects himself after a moment, "I confess that I actually have no idea whether the Duke de Coucy has any opinion on the matter of M. Moreau, but I was careful to specify that I wasn't sure it was true."

If he wasn't sure of the duke's inclinations, he was sure his hint of them would be a useful lever to move his illegitimate son in the opposite direction.

[dashing]

"There may always be matters for concern that we do not foresee." A moment of pause. Her dealings with Enchanter Julius had shown him to be a sensible, careful man, and one well-trusted by others of the Inquisition. Had he not been selected to attend negotiations at Skyhold?

"Do you mind if I take the evening to read them over? I trust your judgment to be sound, but it would be unfortunate if we rush the correspondence and think of something belatedly that might be better amended."

[overharrowed]

"Not at all. None of them are so urgent that a day or so will make a difference, and I'd prefer you to be sure. It's why I brought them to you in the first place." He shakes his head a little, still smiling. "My affairs are not so delicate I am reluctant to have you see the more personal sections. And one or two of these might make good Inquisition contacts in the future for other matters as well. I can vouch for several of them, though as you'll see one is making bold use of a mutual friend."

He pauses, then adds, "Now that I am part of Diplomacy, it seemed to me that reaching out to some contacts was the very least I could do."

[dashing]

"Thank you." Said softly, as she picks up the letters, and safely sets them into a locked drawer to more detailed revision after the meeting. Focusing on one thing at a time might not be impressive, but she found she always did better with that than when she tried to stretch herself in too many directions at once.

"Contacts are certainly favourable, wherever we can find them." Growing up in an Alienage, for example, did not offer much when it came to the sort of contacts that were useful in Diplomacy. It wasn't something she resented, or berated herself for, but it was a reality of the situation.

"Are there any who you'd urge me to reach out to, in particular?"

[overharrowed]

"Of those in front of you... you already have notes on Lady Selwyn, and as you'll see when you read the letter, Giulietta Dioli is rather a gamble, as we've never met. Of the other three, I think Laris is likely to be of most concrete use to the Inquisition, though perhaps more to other divisions. He's a talented merchant with a good ear for information, and he's willing to sell either the goods or the information at a fair price. Not much of an ideologue, but honest. Keeps his word."

He sits back a bit. "Honestly, I wish I had more for you. I know fewer people even than most mages, because I was never transferred between Circles. I had a few correspondences, back then, but I don't know where most of them are these days, for obvious reasons." Assuming they're alive at all. "But I did travel some, before coming to Kirkwall, so I thought it made sense to make the most of the contacts I did put together. The responses to these messages may give us a better sense of how much more to expect from any of them."