Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

[madame_de_fer]

WHO: Select Orlesian and Fereldan Nobility and the Inquisition
WHAT: Josephine and Vivienne have orchestrated a good-will soiree in response to this dastardly rumor.
WHEN: Drakonis 15, Evening
WHERE: Skyhold Great Hall
NOTES:
- A list of nobles in attendance can be found here. The list was provided by the mods but there will be no npc support for them. Play away.
- A secondary outside party is being held in the valley in the tent town for anyone who couldn't/wouldn't attend and/or behave in the fancy pansty party.
- The goal of the evening is to clear up a spurious rumor about Cassandra and Leliana, with secondary goals of establishing the Inquisition as a respectable presence in Thedas (and fish for more money). Any major disruptions that would Game Over the court approval should probably be brought to the advisors and/or mods.



To say that Josphine has far outdone herself with this little soiree would be the understatement of the year. The Lady Ambassador has pulled out all the stops in providing a festive and yet elegant stage for this political intervention. Because sometimes gossip can be more deadly than a sword.

The Great Hall of Skyhold has been converted into a grand receiving hall, glittering with hundreds of lights around the room, in addition to the repairs accomplished to the original chandeliers. Of course, there has been artful placement arranged so there are a few shadowy corners for rendezvous of the more suggestive nature. Just in case. The majority of the floor has been cleared for dancing, and a fine troupe of musicians have been installed for the bulk of the evening's entertainments. Some members of the Inquisition have plans to entice attendees with their own artistic performances in addition to the group of mages performing illusory tricks to oohs and aahs.

For those who feel their energy flagging, there are chairs set against the walls, with a few tables interspersed between. Servers hired for the evening circulate the crowds with wine, fine Orlesian and Nevarran reds as well as crisp whites from Antiva. Refreshments are set out on buffet tables, tasteful and extravagant nibbles, including imported cheeses, spicy saucisson, dried fruits and nuts, and the highly sought after deep mushroom and anise petits fours that are all the rage in Orlais.

Comments

[dragoon_pride]

“Thank you,” he says as he takes the glass in hand. The world has a lot of fine tasting wines, if nothing else it’s got that sort of thing down. Again, it’s one of those things that seems familiar enough, and is common to varying worlds… fortunately. “Well, that would explain it. Let’s hope there’s no one so eccentric in charge of these ones.”

But when he takes a sip, he finds it’s very refreshing, so that’s a relief. The Inquisition really has outdone itself trying to impress all of these nobles.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione may have had wine and champagne at the occasional party before, but she's hardly a connoisseur. All she knows is that the wine here isn't bitter nor is it largely just alcohol with some grapes thrown in, and so it's tolerable. It's amazing how, despite the differing technologies, Thedas still finds a way to make sure their wine isn't any worse off than it would be in a more modern winery.

"I think all of the eccentricity was reserved for those mushroom and anise pastries," Hermione remarks dryly before taking a sip herself.

[dragoon_pride]

Kain sips some more on the wine. It really is quite good, though he probably also really needed it by this point. Any sort of event like this is better with some drink after all. He himself isn’t exactly a connoisseur either, but he at least knows something good from something not-so-good.

“Right… I have to admit, I’m not too sure about trying those.” He might just stick to the drinks, at least for now.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione actually chuckles a little bit under her breath. "Oh, I'm sure they're not all that bad. They couldn't have managed to stay so popular in Orlais if that had been the case. They're probably just an... acquired taste. Like alcohol."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain gives a little smirk to that. Well, anything is possible, right? Surely the food might not even be all that bad. "Then I invite you to try them, if you dare." Well, why not? Though he himself is a bit reluctant to eat any of it, maybe she'll be willing to be more adventurous.

[bookish_lioness]

"Not unless you provide me cover in case I need to spit it out!" Hermione shoots back with a laugh. "The last thing I'd want to do is offend whoever made them."

[dragoon_pride]

"Good point, they may be here watching... and whatever we do might change their whole opinion of the entire Inquisition." To think that it all might hinge on how they take to the food. Well, it's maybe not so far fetched of an idea, considering.

[bookish_lioness]

She'd been joking, mostly, but he does bring up a good point. "Not on the entire Inquisition, perhaps, but certainly on rifters. I'm sure most of them already think we're positively barbaric without us having less than stellar table manners."

[dragoon_pride]

"Right. So we'll just have to... proceed with caution on anything we might sample." He's only semi-serious himself, though he does say it in that typical dry sort of tone. He knows they ought to make sure not to do anything that would give them wrong ideas about rifters, though.

[bookish_lioness]

She recognizes that dry tone for what it is, and she smirks a bit as she glances up at him. "I take it that means you'll be cautious when sampling the mushroom and anise desserts?"

[dragoon_pride]

"Entirely cautious. Definitely more so than usual." It's a funny thing, when out on the road, he doesn't care what he's eating, as long as it's edible enough... it's different at these fancy parties though, where they have to keep their dishes from being nice and simple. Ah, well, he can just try it and say he has.

[bookish_lioness]

"Then you'll be trying it! Splendid! I'll be sure to watch your face when you try it to determine whether or not I'm that brave." All things considered, she doesn't mind trying new cuisine, but she'll just be sure to have a napkin handy, just in case her tongue disagrees with her sense of bravery.

[dragoon_pride]

Well, now, what has he done? Wondering what he's getting himself into, Kain eventually can only nod. "I may as well venture into trying it... hopefully it won't be something I regret."

[bookish_lioness]

"You won't know if you don't try," Hermione replies, smiling as she takes another sip of her wine. "Besides, I'm sure you've done more frightening things than that before."

[dragoon_pride]

"Fighting dragons or powerful mages and warriors determined to destroy everything... seem almost easy in comparison." He's not being fully serious, here, but those are things that Kain is well equipped to deal with. He goes ahead and picks up one of the unusual dishes, eyeing it closely. "Well, here goes nothing..." As he tries a bite. "Hm... not as terrible as I'd feared..."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione chuckles at his comment, registering it as a joke but still surprised when he actually takes a bite of the pastry. Watching his face closely, she tilts his head and waits for him to assess it before asking, "Are you sure, or are you just saying that to get me to try and bite into one?"

[dragoon_pride]

“That would be rather terrible of me, wouldn’t it? A truly cruel trick,” Kain even sounds a bit amused, as he says that. But all in all, he’s still eating, so it can’t be all that bad. He’d be much more reluctant if it were inedible. He certainly hadn’t expected it to be any good at all, really.

[bookish_lioness]

"Oh, and you're beyond cruel tricks, I'm sure," Hermione remarks with a smirk. "All the same, I think I'll pass, at least for now. Or, at least, save one for later in a napkin. Just on the off-chance that I do end up making an undignified face as I spit it out."

[dragoon_pride]

“...just don’t ever ask anyone I knew back home about cruel tricks.” Not that he did so as often now, but especially back when they were younger boys he would make Cecil the target of such tricks. He couldn’t help it, his friend was just so gullible. “You don’t know what you’re missing. But all the same, I can’t blame you. They’re watching our every move, after all.” But hey, at least he tried it and nothing bad happened. That and it’s turned out better than he’d expected as he’d gotten ready to come to this. Some small victories for the night.

[bookish_lioness]

Glancing back at him as she picks up a napkin and moves to wrap one of the small pastries in it, Hermione smirks and asks, "You were a troublemaker? I never would have guessed." Not that that's true, of course. If even someone who looks as comparatively mild as Harry could be the ultimate troublemaker in Hogwarts, then just about anyone has a similar capacity. "I suppose I should be thankful you didn't slip salt in my drink, then, just to laugh at the faces I would have made."

[dragoon_pride]

Nodding, Kain sighs a little bit, knowing that some of his behavior wasn't always the most... upstanding. "I was somewhat of a bully, as a boy, too arrogant for my own good. I realize that now, of course, but back then..." Well he'd pick on Cecil any chance he got, until he finally grew out of it. Or Rosa got him to finally stop, really. "Believe me, my days of playing cruel tricks are far behind me. I'll leave that to the new generation." Palom could out-prank anyone.

[bookish_lioness]

"A bully? I'm surprised," Hermione remarks, turning back to face him after securing the pastry. "But then, we've all changed since we were children. Usually for the better, so perhaps it's best to start off on the lower rungs and work your way up, rather than the other way around.

[dragoon_pride]

"I changed a great deal from those days... but yes, back then I was far too arrogant for my own good..." He'd thought himself better than Cecil, and tried to prove it all too often. Usually by punching the other boy in the face. "I'm glad I grew out of it. My friend Cecil was always a better person because he started with nothing, no living family to speak of... so I think you're right about that."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione falls silent at that for a moment, a small, vague smile at her lips. "He reminds me of my friend Harry," she finally murmurs. "He's an orphan, but so many people envied him because he's the only person to have ever survived a Killing Curse, and he'd done it as a baby. I rarely ever felt as though I was in any sort of competition with him - sometimes, I think our other best friend Ron might have felt that way - but the few times I did compete with him were frustrating. He seems to be so naturally talented, and I had to learn everything on my own."

Shrugging, she remarks, "But as I'd said, we all grow up a bit from when we were children, and we learn to appreciate those traits in our friends. That's how we know they're really friends."

[dragoon_pride]

"It's hard not to compete and compare yourself... even when it's a best friend." Though perhaps it's a male thing? Some sort of competitive spirit? Cecil never seemed as into the idea of being rivals the way Kain always has been though. The jealousy was all on Kain's side.

"At least we do grow out of it. I still envy Cecil in many ways, but I realize it's not right, and I realize now that I must do what I can to move past it."