RP:The Cost of Faith

Summary: Whilst the Spring Ball is underway, the King and Queen of Larket play host to a pair of Necromancers in regard to the ongoing curse brought by the God of Death, Vakmatharas. Bradyn and Nasada meets with King Macon and Queen Josleen in secret. The monarchs wish to learn what exactly ‘worshipping Vakmathars’ entails, for the purposes of lifting the curse of Larket’s children. Bradyn confirms Josleen’s worst fears, at minimum they must sacrifice human life to the God of Death. The Crown hires Nasada as a political advisor.

The Red Tower, Larket

Tonight The Red Tower hosts its annual debutante spring ball. Wealthy teenage girls spend the greater part of winter planning for this event, hoping to catch the eye of a handsome, kind, and, not negotiably, wealthy bachelor. The tradition to hold the debutante ball at The Red Tower began shortly after the city took over Duke Roldan’s abandoned estate. Though the ball primarily serves as a mixer for privileged teens, the Larketian nobility has latched onto the event for more adult matters of the purse and pride. It is under the pretense of business that the King and Queen attend. Without revealing her hand, Josleen also managed to get the name ‘Adrian Black + companion’ on the guest list. A vampire guest at the fort would raise a brow, but at an event like this, a wealthy vampire lord would only stir racist thoughts, but no foul rumors against the crown. Not to be out done by the debutantes, the Queen is dressed in a gown whose embroidery alone required 4 seamstresses to stitch for three days straight. She caps the dress with an ostrich feather mini cape which invaded Macon’s mouth when they were seated together in the carriage. As for the King, the Queen had picked out a similarly ostentatious outfit, within the limits of Larketian male fashion (aka no ostrich feathers, but there may be a patterned peacock feather hem along the bottom of the full cape, soooooo). With any luck, he’ll wear that instead of his armor. Somewhere in this sea of sequins, rhinestones, feathers and lace, the King and Queen must find a quiet room to discuss unsavory matters.

Macon doesn’t wear capes when he can avoid it. Being the King of Larket, he can avoid it at any time he chooses, so he avoids it tonight. If Josleen made any complaint that he was sans cape that she picked out during or before their ride to the Red Tower, he would have, playfully, told her that it had been misplaced by someone on the Fort staff, and that they will have him to reckon with soon enough. For now they should enjoy the ball and see to their business which, for the sake of Larket, cannot wait. No armor or Rage Axe though tonight for the king, so whatever else Josleen saw fit for him to wear has made it past his screening process. The pair make a point to be seen at the event for some time (Macon talks with a father of one of the aforementioned teenage girls about the upcoming rugby season), before they are sequestered in preparation for their meeting with the Death Worshipers from Vailkrin.

Bradyn would have thought twice about bringing Raevyn as a companion had he known what were walking into. She had talent and potential but in the vampire's eyes, she was young and he did not want her getting the wrong idea because of the setting. Bradyn is more than a little dismayed that he has been forced into this sea of glitz and glam, full of dancing and drinking, but he does not let these sentiments transfer to his face. There is no open disdain, just the usual aloofness. His outfit for this event leaves something to be desired. As usual, it is lacking in color, and is definitely blasé when compared to the effort some here have put into their attire. He definitely looks like a mortician, but at least his outfit is clean and pressed. Even if Bradyn had been forewarned that they would be in attendance of a party, he probably would not have put significant thought into choosing something more 'in style'. Bradyn is not here to mingle, nor will he be trying his hand at a dance, he would make his rounds through the room while indicating to Raevyn that they were looking for someone in particular. The King and Queen would not be hard to spot, but Bradyn had sense enough to not approach either of them in front of unfamiliar eyes.

Raevyn had been awfully reserved as she made her way through town with Bradyn. For some time she had been out of the public eye to research that strange infernal tome, and in that time something had deeply disturbed the poor girl so much that she sort of fell back into her previous habits. Awkwardly silent. Withdrawn. Skittish. The fact that she had to even venture back into Larket had put the girl on edge more than she would have liked to admit. 'Witch'. That word never left her; Not once did she go a day without thinking about how the townsfolk tried to murder her. Without remembering the awful things that had been done in the name of ignorance. Why had she even agreed to accompany Bradyn in the first place? This was a mistake. Still, she had made an obligation and she intended to keep it. Without her trusty scythe, Raevyn was in her usual shades of black and... black. Boots, leather trousers, and a long black coat in which she kept her hands tucked into the pockets. She wasn't exactly gussied up compared to those that would attend this lavish soiree. Sticking close to her Mentor, the neophyte necromancer browsed over all the lovely dressed youth with some sort of admiration, soon to spot the ones that Bradyn had come to meet. A gentle nudge of her elbow, a nod in their direction, and for now she follows the vampire's lead.

Josleen has no idea what Bradyn looks like, and thus lets Macon handle the rendezvous while she plays the part of partygoer. She drinks politely and chats. Though in truth she is on edge given the importance of tonight’s meeting, the actress-by-training looks relaxed and distracted by the festivities. However, when she spots a man and woman in severe black clothing with grim expressions, she guesses immediately that these must be the vampires (she assumes Bradyn brought a vampire, she’s a woman of assumptions). She holds Macons gaze longer than necessary to alert him to their arrival. Her gaze flickers towards them.

Macon has smartly assigned the same set of Royal Guards that he took with him to Vailkrin when he first met with Bradyn to be on duty tonight. This allows them to recognize the vampire while also minimizing the number of those in the Kingsguard who are aware of these somewhat shady dealings. When Josleen looks his way to indicate that she thinks their guests have arrived, Macon nods and soon enough the four of them; King, Queen, Raevyn, and Bradyn, are approached individually by members of the royal guard and ushered inconspicuously away from the ball and into a more private room in the Red Tower. The meeting will take place in one of the smaller dining rooms (the estate has three), with large windows overlooking the Vibrance River and the rest of Larket beyond it. There is a large table at the center of the room carved out of solid Larketian Stone that can sit 15 comfortably. The four of them alone in the room, guards posted at the entrances to insure no eavesdropping can occur.

Bradyn 's gray eyes narrow hard when Raevyn's elbow connects with his person, she might have been gentle but it seems he still has no appreciation for it. The Maharan straightens his jacket out in a slighty huffy display. Bradyn recognizes the guard that approaches himself and Raevyn, motioning for her to continue to follow as they are lead to one of the smaller dining rooms of the estate. Even as they are lead away from the party, Bradyn does not bother explaining the full purpose of this meeting to Raevyn. He has been pretty hush-hush about this entire encounter from the start, the less she knew the better the Maharan reasoned. He wanted to see how she reacted to this discussion, feel out exactly where her alignment fell, thus far Raevyn has been an enigma to Bradyn. Once they are in the smaller dining room, with shut and guarded doors, and once seats are claimed, Bradyn speaks, "The woman I have brought with me today is one of my students. Raevyn is her name." A glance to Raevyn, but his gaze is quick to return to the monarchy. "What can we do for you?"

Raevyn followed along quietly, a nagging voice picking at the back of her mind as she looked over the guards. Would they remember her? Would she be taken to some sort of decrepit dungeon and left to rot for her actions in the past? No, she told herself. That would be silly. There is no way Bradyn would let that happen, would he? The young woman glances up at the vampire in curious thought. When they entered into the dining room, Raevyn waited for a cue to be seated, keeping close to the stern mortician the entire time. Although she would be polite and well mannered, Raevyn was still a bit sore with the pair, the King and Queen, for their own hand in the atrocities that befell this quaint little town. "Pleasure to meet you, sir", she first addressed Macon. "And you, madame." she then addressed Josleen. Both hands folded in the young woman's lap as she then took to listening intently to try and figure out what this meeting were to entail.

Josleen smiles cordially to both Bradyn and Raevyn, but there is a falseness to her smile. Though she is beyond grateful for Lord Mahara’s role in helping lift the curse from Guillem, she cannot help but feel like a hostage of the God of Death. At least these two death worshippers are mild mannered and polite enough (the Queen assumes ‘sir’ and ‘madame’ are uttered with genuine reverence and not a slight against the lofty station of the crown). “Thank you again for helping us lift the curse from Larket’s children and Prince. As you understand, worship of Vakmatharas is unheard in Larket. We need to find a compromise between what the people will tolerate and what the God of Death demands. I confess, when the King first told me of the conditions of this deal with the God of Death, I was worried we’d be decorating the castle with human skulls and skin!” She laughs at her own joke. “He assures me it isn’t quite that. So, what must a follower of Vakmatharas do to prove their faith?”

Macon is the hero that saved Larket from the atrocities of the Fermin plague and invasion. He is the one who saw to the rebuilding of his city after the atrocity of the earthquake on his wedding day. Now he seeks to become the spark that cures his people of an atrocious curse placed upon them by The Red Witch and others like her. As a guest of Larket Raevyn is in no danger so long as she does nothing evil as the other witches have. Macon is in the business of executing criminals, not innocents. He nods to the vampire and his student and allows Josleen to begin her line of questioning. This meeting is meant for her to get a better grasp on what it means to follow Vakmatharas and to form an idea to sell The God of Death to the city of Larket after all.

Bradyn has no awareness of Raevyn's discomfort, he has no knowledge that she had troubles here in the past. Would he let something happen to her on his watch? Not willingly, not at this point. She is still a member of the Necromancer's Guild (and her name is not Larewen). The Queen laughs at her own joke but Bradyn does not join her, the expression on his face remains a grim one. "No, you do not have to redecorate your home. That seems to be a trivial and frivolous way to repay the God of Death for curing your town's precious children of their aging curse." Bradyn states rather flatly. It was painfully obvious that Bradyn had no sympathy for the situation he has created for the King and Queen. "The bargain struck was that belief would bring the cure. As you convince your people to believe, then their children will age at a normal rate once again. Parents will no longer have to fear that their child will age so fast that they have to bury their own." A false and fleeting belief would not be enough, Vakmatharas would not be so easily duped. A hint of emotion finally springs across Bradyn's façade, he knows what he is about to suggest will not sit well with the King and the Queen. He was going to take pleasure in watching their reactions to, "Sacrifice is the best way to pay homage to Vakmatharas. Animal sacrifice is all well and good, the best way to show your dedication to Vakmatharas is of course going to be human sacrifice." Silence for only a moment, before Bradyn so kindly and thoughtfully adds on, "Annually."

Raevyn had been a little off this evening. She had been polite, and tried her best to be attentive, but every now and again she could be seen looking over her shoulders or out toward the windows as if she had been expecting someone, or something rather, to have been there. It wasn't until the God of Death became the focal conversation point that Raevyn turned back toward the trio with some sort of renewed interest. The joke was met with a forced smile that bore no teeth, a bit of huffed laughter to at least make the queen feel that her humor did not fall on deaf ears. Vakmatharas. This was a name she had begun to grow familiar with in her studies. Even moreso as of late due to her most recent endeavor of translating that unearthed book of damnation. Skulls. Skin. Sacrifice. The words echoed with flashes of tainted imagery of both things she had read and dreamt. This God of Death was fascinating, and it was with genuine surprise that she looked upon Bradyn as he spoke of the matter that they had all gathered for.

Josleen glances at Raevyn coyly when she laughs, appreciating the camaraderie. Bradyn’s chastising is met with pursed lips. Vampires, am I right? Live a few decades/centuries/millennia, and suddenly they think they know it all. Her peeved expression doesn’t last long as soon her jaw goes slack. Human sacrifice? Really? Is he pulling her leg? She looks to Macon for confirmation that this is how Vakmatharas must be worshipped. To Bradyn, “Is that just a preference? If we find another way to prove Larketians faith, would that suffice to save the children?” She glances to Raveyn for a little more support, in jokes and in religion.

Macon is familiar with the Death God’s need for human sacrifice. He himself, when honing his Death Knight skills in the Underdark, was given a Drow slave to usher onto death. While likely not the same thing that Bradyn is talking about now, this experience is enough for The Rage Knight to know that killing another as a means of worship is not beyond his expectations. When Josleen questions this and looks his way he can only give a slight nod that, yes, this is how he knows it to be done. His stone gaze moves onto Bradyn when The Queen tries to find some workaround for this, some other way. The stern look in his eyes is one that orders the vampire to let the sweet, innocent Josleen down easily with his answer.

How does one break that sort of news gently? This is what Bradyn wonders as he analyzes the stern look given to him by the King. He might be a few decades old and has definitely lost his sense of humor, but he has not become arrogant to the point of recklessness. Yet. He does his best to let Josleen down as gently as possible, and he decides the best way to do this is with a meager shake of his head to indicate 'no'. In Bradyn's mind, he did well! (Only because he decided to not open his mouth and speak). A look is shared with Raevyn, one that is transferred toward the exit of the dining room, but for now he remained seated out of respect of the monarchy. There were some etiquette that the vampire still believed in practicing, so he would remain seated until King Macon and Queen Josleen have expressed that they want no further information.

Raevyn was usually the nice one. She didn't really have much of a mean bone in her body. Sure, she's snapped once or twice. And maybe there's a possibility of some sort of dormant entity of olde hiding deep down. But she was still nice- And this is exactly how she started her sentence when those pale blue eyes left her mentor and found Josleen looking for some sort of hope. "I really wish there were another way. I too would find comfort in this idea." Truth. "However, I am afraid mister Mahara is correct, Madame. Vakmatharas is a very demanding God and it is only through death and sacrifice that he will truly be sated. This is for the good and prosperity of your people." That part might have been pulled out of her rear end. While she had studied up on Vakmatharas, truthfully, it was not to the extent that she just spoke. Bradyn had seemed to revel, if only slightly, in giving the dire news, and Raevyn wanted mostly to side with, or perhaps impress him- Even if she were against the idea of sacrificing anyone that were potentially innocent in the eyes of the overreactive Larketians. "i'm sorry." the girl adds, now falling silent and bowing her head.

Josleen leans her elbow on the table and covers her mouth in horror as she lets the news sink in. She had expected this, and yet that preparation did nothing to sting the enormity of it all. It isn’t that she’s exactly squeamish when it comes to death--there are plenty of criminals worthy of such a fate. She’s no pacifist. It’s simply the intention behind the death, sacrifice to an evil god, that’s a hard sell no matter the victim. As Raevyn speaks, the Queen focuses on her through the corner of her eyes. Although she is listening, she seems to also be appraising the woman. “I hope this is not an indelicate question, but… you are alive, aren’t you? I mean, not undead. Your complexion…” If/when Raevyn confirms that she is not a vampire, Josleen continues, “I like your demeanor, and I think the people will too.” Looking to Macon now, she asks, “Perhaps we could use some outside help in shaping this new religion in Larket. What do you think, my love?” Now looking back to Raevyn, “Perhaps we should consider hiring a new advisor of religion?”

Macon nods thoughtfully, eyeing Raevyn as his wife speaks. He caught the glance towards the exit and knows Bradyn is ready to leave after giving his bad news, but learning that literal sacrifices were necessary to properly serve Vakmatharas is not the goal the Royals have for today’s meeting. Instead they want a roadmap on how to make this conversion of Larket palatable for the people of The Hard City. They’ve learned of the bare minimum that they must adhere to, but now they must move forward with this information. “We mean t’save Larketians, not kill them. You say you wish there were another way, and Our people will feel the same way. Someone in your position could be very ‘elpful in makin’ sure as many are saved as possible.” Clearly he agrees with Josleen’s idea of bringing Raevyn on board in convincing Larket (and Josleen) that The Death God is not evil as they have all been told...

Bradyn does not feel the need to speak, this was a moment for Raevyn herself to shine, if she were interested in taking the position. She has already demonstrated that she was eloquent enough when speaking, which is more than can be said for Bradyn. The Maharan does not feel the need to come to her aid, as much as he wants to see the name of Vakmatharas spread. His attention was no longer on the King and Queen, but on Raevyn, waiting for her answer.

Raevyn looked up when Josleen posed her initial question, a soft smile to accompany the nod that were ushered in confirmation. "Yes, madame. My heart still beats. My blood flows. I think this is why mister Mahara is so often curt with me. I'm sure he wishes I were as dead as he." This of course was only said to add a little levity to the grim discussion they had been having, although she knew full well that Bradyn would probably give her one of those lovely scowls. Still, she would face him with a teasing smile anyway. Teasing turned to confusion, or perhaps even shock, when the King and Queen brought to light their secondary motives. Were they serious? An advisor to religion? What could some of her age even bring to the table? Did Bradyn know about this? The mentor was given a lengthy glance as if it ask him for guidance, but she was not sure he would even speak. This could be a good thing, she thought. A way in. Perhaps it would help her bring actual resolve to Larket. Perhaps, she would even find news of what might have happened to Baelok! Sitting up straight and bringing her hands to rest over one another upon the table, the girl issues a stern nod. "I... would be honored, your Majesties. If it means to save the people of your city, then I am willing to do what I can. That is, if mister Mahara thinks it is a good idea."

Josleen smiles victoriously. “I am glad to hear it. We’ll work out the details soon, when there’s more time.” She glances towards the door, concerned that some partygoers may start to notice that the two most conspicuous duos are missing: the King and Queen, and the foreign goths. She glances towards Macon to see if he has anything to add.

Macon looks to Mahara, not to see if he will object, because he doesn’t think the vampire will, but to see if there is any reaction at all on his face. Were they poaching someone from him that he rather they not, or is he truly indifferent about Raevyn taking this position in Larket? “Yes. Tha’ will be all for now,” the king says loudly enough to be heard outside the room, signaling for the guards to enter. Bradyn and Raevyn will be shown out first, leaving The King and Queen a few moments alone so that all four of them are not re-emerging into the ball at the same time.

Bradyn does not scowl at Raevyn in light of remarks, his being curt and wanting her dead. He is about as amused with her humor as he was with Josleen's. Vampires, those decades. In truth, if he wanted to see Raevyn dead like him, he would have done something about it by now. He does not voice that grim thought. There is no reaction to be assessed, it does not seem Bradyn minds if Raevyn takes this position, but it is not fair to say he is indifferent. He is pleased (for Bradyn) with how Raevyn has conducted herself. The guards arrive and show Raevyn and Bradyn out to the party first, but the vampire has no intention of staying and mingling. Raevyn was more than welcome to stay and partake in the festivities, Bradyn would explain to her, he was not going to make her leave but he himself would be returning to Vailkrin immediately. He does not imagine that she has an interest in mingling with these socialites, but the choice was hers.

Raevyn rises to her feet and offers a polite nod and a bit of a bow to the King and Queen out of respect, before they are ushered out and back into the festivities as if nothing had ever transpired. While she would have enjoyed searching out the snack tables, the young woman felt it probably best that she too parted and headed back to Vailkrin. Like some sort of drug, she was not too keen on being separated from her study project- Which she neglected to bring for obvious reasons. And so, along with her mentor, Raevyn too headed back toward Vailkrin to fully process the meeting that had just taken place.