RP:Talking Bout Boys

Part of the Rise of Larket Arc

Summary: Hildegarde and Josleen discuss Larket, Kelovath, Eliason, Rogatus. Hildegarde agrees to finance Josleen’s secret investigation into Macon.

Frostmaw Fort

Josleen didn’t wake Hildegarde right away. In truth, the last few days had proven to be stressful, and the bard was content to sit alone in silence, drinking mead, listening to music, and watching over the injured queen. From time to time she requested a song of the bard. Eventually the dragon would stir on her own, perhaps as Josleen began clapping to correct a sloppy rhythm on a difficult time signature. Once the dragon was awake, Josleen turned her attention away from the music and asked Hildegarde, “How’s your back feeling?” She handed the queen a glass of water.

Hildegarde woke of her own accord, carefully shifting her position upon the cushioned bench so as to be sitting upright and accept the glass of water. "Sore," she admitted, "but it'll be fine soon enough. Could have been worse!" she smiled, as if this would sell the fact she felt well and good before taking a sip of her water. "I see our companion has left."

Josleen expected Hildegarde to say she was fine. The nurse knew the queen was sore, but why continue fussing. Their friendship had forged routines, and this was one of them. The bard smiled falsely at the mention of Rogatus, even if not by name. “He’s quite the character,” she murmured. “How long is he in the city for? And under what capacity? He said he wanted to help rebuild...how so.”

Hildegarde would always say she was fine. "I don't rightly know," she said in answer to the first question. "He comes from a rather wealthy family," which wasn't exactly a surprise, "so I suppose he intends to put some gold into it. I'm not entirely sure. He hasn't really... gone into detail. I'm rather surprised, truth be told."

The lack of details in the tale of Rogatus began to unnerve Josleen. His story didn’t seem wrong, just uncomfortably vague. “How do you know him? Has he offered any gold?” She signaled for more water for herself and taps the bread basket for more.

The knight took another sip of her water before her free hand moved to scratch idly at the mottled flesh of her jaw. "Well... We were betrothed," she admitted sheepishly, speedily picking up the next part of the story as if this will totally gloss over what she had just admitted, "and it did not work out because I did not wish it, it's why his finger sticks out. He comes from a line of very noble dragons, very wealthy. He hasn't pledged or offered any gold, but he made hints about it." Cue intense water sipping. The type of sipping that's more of a 'my mouth is occupied, can't answer anything'

Josleen’s eyes widened, in part out of surprise but in part also out of disbelief that Hildegarde was ever betrothed, especially to a male dragon. While the bard may have been wrong about Hildegarde and Leone’s relationship, she was still certain Hildegarde only went to bat for the all-lady team. “Betrothed! Do you think he wishes to… rekindle the old flame? Why did you call off the… uh… marriage.” Today I learned: Dragons get married. It had never occurred to Josleen that dragons (save Svilfon’s infamous scaley wife) marry.

Josleen wasn't entirely wrong, but she wasn't quite right either. But that was a topic for another time (or never, knowing them). "I doubt it. I deeply dishonoured him," she confided to the bard. "I did not call it off so much as forcibly end it. It was an arranged marriage, Jos, not exactly something either one of us wanted." The knight paused for a long moment before placing the near empty glass of water down and letting her hands fall to her lap where they can freely fiddle. "Rogatus comes from a noble family. But he is a mage, not a warrior or paladin like many of his ancestors. His family made the arrangement with mine. A Silver and a Gold, Jos? That is not good for a Gold. That tells the world that he is beneath the rest, that he is no true Gold," she explained. "And especially one as ugly as me," it was true. A man such as Rogatus would have the pick of the litter. But so looked down upon was he that Hildegarde - an ugly, broad and unwomanly woman - was his best offer. "I refused. I told him I'd give my hand to whomsoever could best me in combat and proceeded to beat him bloody. Won my own hand."

Josleen clucked her tongue in disapproval as Hildegarde’s disparaged her own looks. “You are beautiful.” Unless, did the dragon mean she was ugly in dragon form? What were those beauty standards? Josleen doubled down despite her ignorance of saurian beauty, “In both human and dragon form. Also, he may be gold,” she said as if she knew what the difference between gold and silver dragons was, aside from scale color (she does not), “but he’s nothing impressive to look at.” Josleen is only wooed by muscles, Ezekiel and Ansel were outliers who had won her over with their charm and devotion. “But… if you brought him dishonor, and if he isn’t looking to marry you again, then why is he here? I would expect him to be quite cross with you.” Realizing she had already asked this question several time, she added thoughtfully, “I bore you with the same old questions, but never have I met a stranger who came both empty-handed and without agenda. Perhaps he will be the first…” she murmured, not quite convincing herself. “I may be overly suspicious of everyone these days. Things in Larket are not going well, and I am on high alert. I don’t mean between Kelovath and I. He is wonderful. I mean in the city itself… someone is trying to frame Kelovath for heinous crimes.”

Hildegarde's eyebrow perked at Josleen's clucking tongue and subsequent words, "As beautiful as a warrior worth their salt can be," she said in reply, offering Josleen a little smile. It was the closest Jos would ever hear Hilde to agreeing she wasn't totally atrocious. "I'm sure he could charm many a lady if he had the wish to," she had heard much and more about Rogatus after all. Yet Josleen asks very relevant and interesting questions! Ones that Hildeagrde has no real answer for. So, she merely shrugs her shoulder and repeats: "I don't know. I really don't. But I am not in a position to refuse his help, Jos, and that's not a position I like to be in." And there she was, anyway. As the conversation shifts to why Josleen came to Frostmaw, the knight shifts in her seat as if to indicate she was focusing entirely upon the issue at hand. "Hm. I take it you don't know who...?"

Josleen pursed her lips at the idea that Hildegarde cannot afford to refuse Rogatus. Maybe. The thane would refuse him on the crown’s behalf if he proved himself to be a charlatan. But that had not yet come to pass, and Larket’s issues were more immediately felt. “We do, actually, as of yesterday. The very same man who Kelovath witnessed murdering councilwoman Andurla earlier this year: Macon. The bastard is also a former sheriff. Yesterday he presented ‘evidence’,” she spat out the word. She recited the facts as much for her own sake as for Hildegarde’s. “The very same night as your coronation someone disguised as Kelovath attached the Larketian fort and unleashed a mysterious disease. Kelovath was here in Frostmaw, as you saw with your own eyes. Yet there are witnesses in Larket who say they saw Kelovath are convinced of his wrongdoing. Now Macon and a priest of Cyris claim they have seen Kelovath hide the agent of the disease, a potion, in a chest in the chapel of Cyris. Macon and the priest had this chest with them before a crowd yesterday, but the chest was locked. Kelovath wears an enchanted key on a chain that I gave to him, which my father gave to me as a girl. It can unlock any weak magical lock, so of course the necklace opened this chest and inside was the disease!” Her tone, which has been factual, began to despair. The chips are stacked against the paladin. “Everyone in the crowd believed Macon’s story without hesitation! Though the entire story is absurd! And I am just…. I am terrified that things will escalate and this bastard will succeed in framing Kelovath.”

Hildegarde lapsed into silence so that she might be able to listen to all that Josleen had to say with careful scrutiny. After all, she wouldn't be able to help very much if she barely listened to what Josleen had to tell her! The news was concerning, to say the least. "I say it with love, but... perhaps it is time to consider that Macon has perhaps already succeeded - at least to some extent - in framing Kelovath," she said softly. "It is a difficult fight to fight, Jos. You cannot stay there in the hopes of proving your innocence when the mob gathers, sometimes a... a tactical retreat," it sounds better than 'running away', "is the best course of action." The knight pauses for a long moment. Could Kelovath have done such a thing? She hardly knows the man, truth be told, and Josleen did not always have the best choice in men but she hadn't selected a murderer before. Maybe it was time she did... No! Don't be ridiculous, Hildegarde. Josleen had bad taste in men and deserved better, of course, but she never picked the murdering sort. "It hurts to hear it, but, you too are an outsider in Larket. Some strange Thane of Frostmaw who Kelovath met during the war and convinced him to foray into Frostmaw; injuring himself and returning a strange and murderous man. If rumour is to be believed that is," although Hildegarde was holding onto a tiny gram of suspicion. He was too good. Too golden. But then wasn't she? And she had killed. Killed brutally, too.

Josleen frowned at Hildegarde’s words, though she knew them to be true and coming from a place of concern and reason. “The case does look grim… but...I think we can make an argument against Macon yet. His evidence is circumstantial, and what if we hired a private investigator to look into him? Kelovath won’t leave Larket, not without a fight. He cares too much about the city, and his own reputation of course. His honor.” It did not cross the bard’s mind that Hildgarde had suggested Josleen run away from Larket alone.

Hildegarde shook her head at the mention of a private investigator, "And when the people say you paid the investigator off? The people see what they wish to see, not what is the truth," she cautioned Josleen. Yet at the mention of Kelovath refusing to leave Larket as he cared too much about it, regardless of his honour or reputation, Hildegarde grunted. She had fled from Frostmaw. Did that mean she did not care about Frostmaw the way Kelovath cared about Larket? Her grunt was accompanied with a tiny plume of frosty air, though it was only brief. "Well, his honour be damned," the knight finally said and none too happily! "I care not for his honour, I care for your life, Jos! I refuse to see you cornered by some... by some lynch mob! Degraded and hurt. Or killed! I shall not stand for it."

Josleen lifted her palms to calm the dragon and shook her head placatingly. “The circumstances here are different. Andurla was also a friend of Kelovath’s. He fights to avenge her too. As for my own safety…” She sighed long and loud. “After three wars for Frostmaw I am no stranger to risk. Besides, these protestors in Larket are cowards. I fear them a lot less than past foes. But you’re right I should be cautious. I am thinking of getting protection.” Hildegarde may assume a bodyguard, but Josleen meant a dog. The queen would find out later. As for the matter of the private investigator, Josleen, sly cunning bard, had already thought of the money-trail linking the private investigator to herself and was here to ask for a specific favor of the queen in that regard. “As for the private investigator, well.. I was hoping… that perhaps Frostmaw could… See, as he was at your coronation and you know him to be innocent, perhaps it is in Frostmaw’s best interest to privately investigate this Macon character, as he may disrupt the politics of Larket, a strong and promising ally of Frostmaw. The alliance was recently strengthened by Kelovath himself… it makes sense… for Frostmaw to respectfully investigate...” Does it though, Josleen? The heart wants what it wants.

Josleen is lucky that Hildegarde loves her so. Most dragons would not be so easily placated, but Hildegarde could be so easily charmed by the bard. Like a three-headed dog and a musical instrument, the beast is lulled into a peaceful state once more. "Fighting for vengeance will blind his judgement," the knight said, almost sourly. "He should be fighting for justice only. Vengeance will come with justice, but if vengeance is first, then he will only see the anger." She knew from past experience. The Silver sighed as Josleen explained that she had lived through the wars in Frostmaw, she had proven herself to be defiant and strong. "A coward can still kill," the Silver said gently, "and a coward is more likely to kill you as only a coward can: from the shadows and through methods unseen. Do not think lightly of a protestor, Josleen. A protest becomes a riot becomes a butchering. A pitchfork can kill as easily as a sword," she murmured the latter, her hand reaching out as if to gently touch Josleen's as though it'll soften the blunt blow of her words. "Jos. Larket and Frostmaw are not allied. Larket broke its vow to Frostmaw and one man near breaking his back... one man who loves my dearest friend is not enough to make an alliance. Frostmaw does not forget easily. Our grudges can be cold and hard like the ice and many giants see Larket as craven for its betrayal," the Silver warned her. She was already having a hard time maintaining peace in Frostmaw, keeping riots and pro-Balgruuf protests to a minimum. If she did this, she'd give them the advantage, surely. But was Josleen worth that much to her? To risk it all...? "Eugh. Pick an investigator. I will pay for the coin independently. This is an act of Hildegarde, not of Frostmaw."

Josleen laced her fingers with Hildegarde’s when the dragon takes her hand. “I’ll look into getting protection.” Her comment reminded her of Hildegarde’s latest protection, but that subject would have to wait. Josleen nodded eagerly, a smile blossoming as Hildegarde agreed to pay for the investigator to take the heat off of Josleen. Of course, in a monarchy the act of the queen and the government and city are impossible to untangle, but this was a fact Hildegarde was willing to overlook for love of Josleen, and which Josleen was willing to ignore for love of Kelovath. Besides, how often are dragon monarchs questioned for deeds as small and understandable as these? No one was getting hurt, or so the justification went. “Thank you, Hilde!” She threw her arms around the queen and embraced her tightly. As she pulled away she said, “I just know that Macon scum is hiding something! And wen this dust clears, perhaps we can work on the relationship between Larket and Frostmaw. I am sure Kelovath would be amenable to the fair criticisms Frostmaw has of Larket. He’ll set it right, I just know he will.” In her gut Josleen knew that Hildegarde remained skeptical of Kelovath, if for no reason other than Josleen’s record in choosing men has been poor. “He’s a good man. At first I thought he was like Collin, but… he isn’t. He’s… I don’t like to compare, and Collin has his good qualities too, but Kelovath is perhaps just… He embodies Arkhen’s principles more resolutely. Speaking of Collin, he came to see me out of the blue. Told me he is in your queensguard now. I was surprised!” But, by the look of her expression, not upset. The bard was simply curious. She knew Hildegarde was never Eliason’s greatest cheerleader. “A lot of time has passed and he seems to be going through some sort of… growth. Why did you choose him?”

Hildegarde was terribly reluctant to do it, but Josleen held her heart most firmly in her hands. She could do horrible things for Josleen. Hadn't she already? She had cut down men to reach her friend, cut them down like mere dogs. Josleen's hands were always soft, so much softer than her own. She always wondered if Josleen disliked the roughness of her hands, but was too ladylike to ever say anything about it. But as quickly as the thought enters her head it leaves, Josleen is throwing her arms around her and hugging her tightly. A smile graces her face and she gently pats Josleen's back, overlooking the pain in her own back that surges with Josleen's tight embrace. Worth it. "If you say it is right, then it must be so," this wasn't always the case, as Hilde knew and had said before. But for right now it was. She opts to remain relatively silent on the matter of Kelovath restoring the alliance between Frostmaw and Larket, though she suspects Josleen might get her own way on this one. "Hmm," she offers, pausing for a long moment before adding thoughtfully, "and if you were not there to counsel him and to give him an eloquent script that would win my favour, I am not so sure he would succeed," she is partly serious, but mostly joking. On the topic of Eliason, however, she gives a little grunt. It's clear to see from Hildegarde's frosty face that she's none too happy that they've had a chance encounter - or not so chance like, given what Eliason is like - and a little chat. The scenarios that run through her head, oh dear. Scoundrel of a man, no doubt! "How better to keep a man honourable and right when he must obey my word as law and throw his life away for mine?"

Josleen grinned knowingly when Hildegarde suggests she would ghostwrite the treaty that bonds the two cities. Quite right. Isn’t it part of her role as thane? Or her implicit duties as Kelovath’s lover? Some alliances formed by rendering the flesh of common enemies, others formed by the joining of flesh of foreign bodies. Josleen laughs at the queen’s explanation for why she chose Eliason. “I think he means to change his life around. He wants to do better. He was proper with me. He didn’t attempt anything untoward.” Which is technically true, but Collin never had to say or do anything to have an effect on Josleen. His stare communicated that he would do anything to possess her again, that should she or Kelovath slip, he would pounce. Josleen doesn’t want to slip, she doesn’t want Collin anymore, but still, it’s thrilling to be wanted in that way. “I think Frostmaw is a better place for him. Chartsend is too hot. Makes men do crazy thing.”

Hildegarde huffed at that knowing grin, but it was a playful sort of huff. "Even if I were to forbid you from it, you'd likely find a way. I know you, Jos, you'd make me allies with the Underdark again if you were so inclined," such was Josleen's influence. Josleen was like a puppet master: only that she controlled a powerful dragon and woman, if rumour was to be believed. As she claims that Eliason was nothing but proper, she gives a near proud nod of her head. "Of course he was. Such is my influence!" She's joking. Probably.

Josleen honked out a single ‘Ha!’ at the idea of being allied with the Underdark. “If I ever suggest that, put me in an asylum for my own good for surely I must have lost my sense!” She smiled good-naturedly at Hildegarde’s joke that Collin was a changed man thanks to her. May have been too soon to be the truth, but no doubt it would be true soon enough. “The bards grow tired,” she said, her gaze leading Hildegarde’s the exhausted lute player. “I should let you rest, and I must go see Hureig. He’s helping me furnish my new home in Larket with Frostmawian furniture. When the house is ready you should come see it. It’s a little bit Frostmaw, a little bit Xalious, in a very Larketian home. A nice mix, if I do say so myself.”

Hildegarde smiled at the honk, knowing all too well that nobody would be mad enough to suggest such an alliance. It had truly been torn asunder when Hildegarde felt confident enough in her power and leadership to do it. "Of course, of course," she said, waving her hand to dismiss the bard who promptly scurries off. He'd likely receive a generous payment from the Queen once Josleen departed. No need to flaunt the gold in front of company. At the description of her new home, however, the knight scoffs loudly. "A ploy for this alliance, I can tell," she said, tapping the side of her nose. "I've got you sussed out."

Josleen pantomimed a halo above her head, winked, leaned in for an air cheek-to-cheek kiss of high class ladies, and saw herself out. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” she lilted, her voice the last thing to disappear.