faderift | [ OPEN ] Now I need to grease a palm

Entry tags:

[ OPEN ] Now I need to grease a palm

WHO: Adelaide LeBlanc & You
WHAT: Letters & a Loot Crate
WHEN: Current
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Political Pandering

[ Courtyard ]

The letters she'd expected more or less. Those from her family she certainly expected. The note from Baron Jean Bonnot less so- but she might as well see if there was anything particularly terrible that was worth mocking in the latest note. When she was asked to sign for something Adelaide grew concerned, but did so. And found herself in the possession of an unwieldy crate stamped with her family crest- at least the courier was kind enough to leave her a crow bar before shuffling off for a hot meal and a quick rest. Stacks of letters in her hands she hasn't even gotten around to reading but this? Needs investigation. She can be found attempting to pry the lid off the crate and failing due to a lack of proper leverage. Assistance would be lovely.

Once open the contents of the Crate are as follows:

A small case of horn balm
Assorted carvings of Halla
Assorted carvings of griffons
An hourglass with heavy templar/chantry iconography
A set of ornate pens
A bagged pipe in Plaidwave
An assortment of small bottles of Orlesian Wine
Contracts for litters of Mabari from the Lowell family
Assorted small fine cheeses

~~A box of assorted chocolates~~

Assorted stationary & inks
Assorted oils for leathers & Polish for armor
A tome on Magical Theory
A few small bags of coffee beans
Maps for the Inquisition & Trade Agreements with the branches of the LeBlanc family
Rifter Care Packages containing:
- Tins of biscuits
- Packets of bagged tea
- A written pamphlet 'Welcome to Thedas- a primer' a basic rundown of races, countries, the chantry, some loose and very simplified notations on mages & templars; all biased heavily by Orlesian sentiment.
- Salve for the aching hand
- Woolen knit socks
A smaller package wrapped separately for Adelaide alone.

Adelaide will spend the remainder of the afternoon distributing the tokens of support from the branches of her family to their intended recipients, Dalish, Vashoth, Qunari, Templar, Mage, Scholar, Rifter, etc. Afterward she will take the case for herself and get a much needed drink to read her letters.

[ Tavern. ]

Once everything is distributed to her satisfaction or at least to the best of her ability, Adelaide spends a well earned evening in the tavern, glass of wine at her elbow, looking over a series of letters from her family and from the Baron, catching up on news of the world beyond Skyhold, why she received a crate of what was effectively sanctioned bribery, and trying to decide if opening that last little case is worth the trouble.

[ ooc: Loot for the loot god- swing by and grab swag. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It is an agreement for the latest litter, should the Inquisition have need of them. Considering what Juliette has written me about the bloodline that is not an inconsiderable show of support." Juliett is terribly proud of those dogs- almost as much as she is of her children. "Don't eat all of those at once, Christine. You will get terribly sick."

"I suppose since they are war dogs, they can be of use. But I'm imagining them jumping on people, wanting food, like that one that belongs to the man in the brown coat."

She rolls the contract back up and sets it aside, taking out a carving of a griffon and examining it.

"I will pace myself. I might even be inclined to share them, if people are nice to me."

"Apparently when they are properly trained? That is not so great a concern. So clearly this man in the grey coat is a fool that cannot mind his own hound." Which is a particularly damning failing on the part of a Fereldan. Adelaide peers at the set of pens- thinks back to who she wrote about and snorts a soft laugh. "Remind me to find Varric. I am certain these are for him."

She sets them aside. "Perhaps if Sam asks sweetly you might share with him? I do not know if he's ever had chocolate."

Christine makes a mild humming sound to acknowledge that she hears Adelaide and will remind her later. Then she continues to sort through the crate, stopping suddenly and looking up with alarm.

"You cannot be serious! Everyone should have chocolate at least once. What a terrible crime to not have indulged." She pulls out the book on magic theory and looks through the table of contents. "Perhaps I can spare one for him."

"I do not know if they had it in his Circle- nor wherever it was he studied beforehand. I know at least one contract was made with my sister's family in Fereldan for a steady supply of Orlesian chocolates. Apparently it is not all that common." Adelaide peers at the second box, setting it aside with the book and a bottle of the wine. "...Why did they send me cheese? I suppose one cannot have wine without cheese."

"Wine, chocolates, and cheese. How decadent," Christine says with a soft sigh. "You should let Sam try the cheese too. Doubtless he is used to Ferelden farmer's cheese and hardly anything aged well." She clicks her tongue at the very idea, but honestly, she's fond of Sam. And Ferelden... is not terrible. It was the country that offered them refuge from the Templars, after all. But she has to poke fun at it a little bit. That's just part of being Orlesian.

"Did you keep in touch with your family while you were in the Circle?"

"Mother does intend to win favor by spoiling us." And by having it come from her, to increase her standing most like. "When Henri wrote me last month to 'brace myself' I did not expect this is what he meant"

The one sibling of hers she's never truly met, that, but he tried. It was worth quite a bit to hear from him, and for him to attempt to warn her.

"We were allowed letters, likely due to my family's standing. I haven't seen them in decades but Mother would send little portraits." All of them left in the Spire when they fled.

"Could he not have been more forthcoming with your mother's intent?" Christine looks up with a smirk. Perhaps he wanted to keep Adelaide in suspense.

"I hope you don't mind me saying how unfair it was that the nobles were given special treatment because they would donate money." She picks up a tin of horn balm and frowns, eyeing it curiously. "Perhaps if my merchant father had made a donation, I would have been allowed to stay in contact. My mother was always in poor health. I worried that she would die and I would never know." Christine sets the tin aside, letting out a sigh.

"With time, I figured it was better to have lost contact with them. It made it hurt less, knowing I would never see them again."

"Oh I suppose he could, but what would the fun in that be?" Dry and wry; she's never met him but- he's always seemed playful in their letters. Perhaps one day she'll return to the family manor and actually get to see him face to face.

"Coin buys great privilege." It is a fact of life as much as the sky being blue and elves being on the bottom of the social totem pole. "I suspect she wondered if she could not find a way to find a match for me even with the magic. Mother has a particularly pointed ambition."

She sets aside another bottle of wine, turning to look at Christine. It cannot be easy, giving up one's famliy. She never truly had to. "Has it helped?"

"That would be quite the accomplishment outside of Tevinter," Christine answers, sitting back on her heels. Adelaide's question is one that requires some thought, and she gazes down at her lap before answering.

"It has. For all the awful scenarios I can come up with, I can think of just as many good ones. Maybe my mother's health improved. Maybe she and my father were able to have another child after all. One without magic. Maybe my father became rich and successful." She looks up and smiles. "They were good parents. I wish them well."

"You are far more optimistic than I, Titine. Hold fast to that." They will need it in the time to come; and Adeliade can always do with the reminder that all the world is not in an everdownward spiral beyond recovery.

"I will endeavor to try," Christine promises. Perhaps it is better for a healer to be a realist as opposed to an optimist, but she is what she is.

"One of us ought to be." Maker knows it isn't about to be Adelaide. "Ah- coffee. Have you ever had a cup? If he did not send a grinding mill with it we are going to have to be creative..."

"I haven't! That has more popularity in the north east, does it not? Antiva and Rivain? I think I read that somewhere." Because Christine has read such a plethora of subjects over the years, that the strangest bits of knowledge stick in her mind.

"When I find some sort of grinder for the beans I will brew you a cup. Most often it is quite bitter but if we can beg some sugar and cream? I think you will enjoy it." Sweet and light and rich enough to substitute for a meal.

"I would be pleased to try it." She's never had the opportunity before, but she's finding so many new and different things here. "Though I doubt it could replace the tea in our tea times. That is a sacred thing, is it not?"

"Coffee is for when you need a few hours more in the library and must have your work done swiftly. Tea is for putting the weight of the day from your mind." Which she needs far, far more than the coffee; for all that the lack of informative texts in the library frustrate her.

"Then coffee would only help me with my spirit healer studies. Some nights I nearly fall asleep in the library." Christine can't help but cram as much studying into her day as possible. If there's an award for being over-prepared, she would win it year after year.

"There is another spirit healer here in Skyhold, no? I should probably meet him."

"Detlef? Yes." Adelaide's lips curl into something small and fond for a moment before she resumes her work with unpacking the crate. "He wants to sit in on our lessons at dawn, perhaps offer his own perspective. I see no reason why he should not."

Oh, what's this? Adelaide sparing a smile for the man? How interesting. Christine really wants to meet him now.

"I think that could only benefit us. And I look forward to meeting him."

She isn't even thinking of it; outside of instances wherein she must be Councilor LeBlanc or Lady LeBlanc it is easy to read her feelings on her face; most often it is irritation or frustrated boredom with a particularly troublesome individual. A small, pleased grin when thinking of a peer? Nothing to cause a fuss over.

Not at all.

"He is partnered with a Justice Spirit- which I mean to ask after. None of the other healers I worked with could hold the attention of one long enough to heal. They did not seem to have the patience or temperament for it."

"Justice?" Christine asks, utterly surprised. "That seems a strange one to come forward to assist with healing. One would think it would push for the healer to rush out and avenge the patient by cutting down whoever had caused the injury, be it man or tree root."

"Asking a healer to do violence rather than mend the wound is not justice, Titine, that would be vengeance. Justice is...too stark, too large for the smaller world of healing- which is why it does not happen often. But perhaps...it is an unjust world we live in, struck by plague and war and disquiet. Perhaps he was caught somewhere that it became too much to bear and mending as many as he could as best he could was the only just thing left to him." She does not care for such speculation- but it is a rare thing. "It is not something one simply asks another Spirit-Healer, however. Relationships with partnered spirits can be intensely personal affairs."

"Is it?" Christine gives Adelaide a skeptical look. "Funny then, that Templars are called the champions of the just; that is to say: justice. There is a fine line between avenging and vengeance, I should think." And she still thinks it an odd choice for a spirit of Justice to seek out a healer. It seems far more likely they'd notice a battlemage than one healing wounds.

But as Adelaide says, it is a personal thing, so she can hardly ask him to explain the relationship.

"I know I shouldn't be contemplating which kind of spirit might be drawn to me, but I find myself doing so at times anyway." She looks down into the crate, but everything is now sorted through and organized. "I can't come so far and turn my whole life to this only to be duped by a demon. I want to understand spirits inside and out so I survive."

"What men say and think of as just- what the law says is just- and what a Spirit of Justice knows with every shred of their being to be just are very different things. As much as spirits are tempered and altered by perception the core of them remains true." At least that has been her experience in practice and in research.

But it might be interesting to ask after. Especially if he had gone from compassion to justice.

"Compassion is the most common. Hope, Faith, Fortitude, and Duty are other spirits I have known Spirit-Healers to call to them. For you? Hope or Faith. They are not songs I know well as I do not hear them often but they are in harmony with your magic." Adelaide reaches out to rest a hand on Christine's shoulder. "Which is why the Fade Meditations will be a great help in learning more of them, safely. You've come far Christine. I'm very proud."

(no subject)

aceso - 2016-01-08 19:43 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only