RP: Concerning the State of House Dragana

Summery : Quintessa and Mahri discuss the sudden change in power within the House Dragana. Mahri warns that Quintessa might have been too hasty making this political move, as now the other vampire houses have their eyes on her. Enemies now lie in every shadow of the Undead City and the young baroness must be shrewd if she wants her rule to be a long one.

House Dragana

Towering over the abyssal forest, the dark mass of House Dragana is no less eerie than the vegetation, or lack thereof, in which it stands. The mansion's outer perimeters are flanked by the twisting trees and there are no gates to prevent the seemingly less desirable denizens of the forest from trespassing upon the property. A sleek, obsidian walkway runs from the house's entry to the path. The only source of light without comes form wrought-iron lanterns that are placed on either side of the walkway, spaced perfectly from one another. Within them, an eldritch glow of a deep, verdant hue flickers. Those brave enough to approach House Dragana's doors will be greeted with iron knockers bearing blackened skulls, their eyes set with emeralds that glow with the same light from the lanterns. Within the house's walls, there is no shortage of decadence. Only the most elegant of furniture is placed throughout its rooms. A grand staircase of blackened wood leads to the upper levels, where rooms for those that reside within the house can be found. Midway up, the stairs split to the left and right, spiraling upward. Here, there is a landing with a set of double doors that leads to a large ballroom. The lower level of the house plays host to a dining area and kitchen, though rarely used, a grandiose library filled with grimoires and tomes, and a small museum of artifacts collected by the house's residents. Though there appear to be no candles to light the way, an ethereal glow floods the innards of the house, providing ample reading light - undoubtedly arcane in origin. Dark magic is weaved into the house's existence as a measure of protection.

Quintessa watches her servants fuss about, pulling kegs of liquor from the basement and preparing food for a lavish meal planned for her guests. Kasyr needed to rest, to recover mentally from the horrific nightmare Quintessa and Lanlan we (un)lucky enough to bare witness to, so the changeling decided to leave him alone for now. Besides, there were many things that she wanted to discuss with Mahri before the wolf left. Quintessa only hoped that the promise of food and drink was enough to keep her around. After a little while, a large, dark-oak wood table has been set in the dinning room, complete with red candles and fancy tablecloths. At the head of the table sits the Lady of the manor, a sevant pouring her a glass of wine as she waits for Mahri to join her. "That's enough," Quintessa says, stopping the servant when her glass was half-filled. The servant looks surprised but he stops all the same, setting the glass down on the table in front of her before moving back to the casks of alcohol. If Mahri requested anything from him, he'd be at her beck and call.

Mahri found her way down the stairs from the room she'd been assigned during her stay. Why she had stayed is really anyone's guess, other than to make sure Kasyr didn't relapse and that Tessa was no worse from drinking freaking belladonna. That girl needed some guidance. As she finally made the bottom of the stairs, it's clear that there's something big going on, servants rushing around and the smell of food were enough to pique the lycan's curiosity so she followed her nose to find Quintessa, or perhaps she should just start calling her Baroness. The thought brought a snort of a laugh out of her. Joining Tessa at the table, Mahri waves away the offer a drink. She's not sure how long she's staying and even though her stomach rumbled at the thought of food she declined that as well. "Well," she began without preamble, niceties or ceremony, "you asked me here to talk to me about something. What do you need Tess?"

Quintessa watches as the servants bring out roasted chickens, eight to be exact, and place them in the center of the table. Served with them are potatoes and onions, all seasoned parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. The smell fills the entire dinning room and drifts slowly to the rest of House Dragana. "Ah, Mahri!" Quintessa is glad to see her, "Please, sit. There is much to discuss." The changeling waits for her friend to join her before getting down to the task at hand. "So... This is all mine now." She gestures around her, at the dinning hall, but she meant the entire demesne she had laid claim to. "I declared myself Larewen's heir, took her house, and ended her plans to throw Vailkrin into a civil war... However, there are still those who find my ambition distasteful. They balk at my claims, make jokes about me behind my back. Some even suggest that they should lead my house instead. But there is something that I still don't know..." Quintessa pauses to take a sip of her red wine. "What do you think about all this? About my decision to take this house?"

Mahri eyes those chickens a moment before her attention is captured again by Quintessa. She nods, having heard a few grumblings herself. Taverns were great places to hear things, gossip and the like. Sometimes those grumblings lead to some interesting adventures. Sometimes they didn't. One could always tell which was which in most cases and after years of experience. Anyway, she's here, listening and blinks at the question. Leaning back in her seat, the wolf smirks. "Maybe I will have a drink. Rum." She trusted Tess to not taint the alcohol so she doesn't ask for an unopened bottle. " What do I think? Maybe you should have asked before you decided to do this. I think you're bloody crazy. I think," the rum arrives and is poured, "Leave the bottle Jeeves. Thanks. I think you rushed into this without setting yourself up as a known element or even a powerful one among the snobs here." Of course, at some point, Mahri's going to have to schmooze those snobs. "I think you were very hasty, but you've already done it and I wish you the best of luck my young friend."

Quintessa allows her glass to linger just in front of her mouth as Mahri speaks, the strange girl's brow furrowing at the wolf's comments. "Ask? Ask who? Larewen is missing, most likely killed by Elioyahazer before he fled back into the desert. Ask Artia? I've heard the rumors about her. I'd rather die than let this House fall into her hands. Daermon? Luwiche? Pilar? Where are they all now?" Quintessa drains her glass before she hands it back to her servant. "I am the only one keeping House Dragana standing. Me alone. The Dark Forest is mine if the nobles acknowledge it or not. They should appreciate my efforts keeping the Drow from invading our lands. Look what they did to the leader of House Azakhaer! Gevurah will come for the rest of us next... And I'll be ready. Question is, will the rest of Vailkrin?"

Mahri snorted, "Ask me my opinion before you decided to claim Dragana as yours." She drained her own glass, poured another and offered some to Tessa. She gave no reaction at the mention of the Drow, and perhaps that's reaction enough. Whether or not Quintessa accepted the offer of stronger drink, the bottle is set down between them. "Look. You and I both know you could wipe them all out." She'd almost done it once, a night they didn't talk about but had to be brought up now. "They don't need to know that. But, you do need to win them over whether you think they're worthy or not. The Houses of Vailkrin are very.. Mmm. I'm not sure of the word. Think of it as, they're old blood, you're new. You better be bloody exceptional for them to accept you and perhaps someday follow you." Speaking of the House Azakhaer, "Kasyr might be a good one to learn from. Let him do the politicing. You do the plotting."

Quintessa takes the offered drink and takes a sip, letting the liquor slide down her throat to burn inside her stomach. She had planned on keeping a clear head for this talk but what the hell, it was just Mahri. If the wolf wanted to destroy Quintessa she could have done so long ago. "You're right," the young hex blade said, "I can deal with the rabble well enough, but the Houses?" she shakes her head, a pale finger reaching out to pull a platter of food closer to her before she picks at the chicken. "Thanks to Larewen the Mad, relations with the Houses were already bad. With me in charge things are less hostile, at least, but..." Quintessa sighs before eating a strip of flesh. "I think I can patch up relations with House Mahara," she claims, motioning for her servant to bring another glass over so she can pour a proper glass. "Bradyn is a respected member of the Necromancer's Guild. I can use my ties there to build up relations at least." With the glass in her gasp she decided to pour it for herself, "But I don't do anything without consulting Kasyr anymore. He wants nothing to do with ruling Vailkrin anymore but he can do little to resist my charm." Quintessa gives Mahri a pointed grin and wink before lifting the rum to her lips.

Mahri rolled her eyes at that grin and wink. She didn't need to know this. It's rare that she and the Kensai can even make it through a conversation without irritating each other. But. Quin cared about him so Mahri would do what she could. "Do what you can where you can. You won't win them all over, Tess. But they also won't openly attack you. They'll be subtle so watch them close." Mahri would too. Perhaps...pre-emptively giving Tess a little protection.

Quintessa knocks back her drink in one gulp before placing the glass on the table. She exhales slowly before she speaks again. "I've been expecting that," she admits, "Ayras has already made it known that they want to usurp my House... Who knows what ends they'll go to and who else is plotting against me?" She reaches out to pluck a baby red potato between her fingers and pop it into her mouth. "It's best if I play it safe for now. Bide my time. Build my defenses. Forge alliances. If I can maintain my position I should be able to achieve great things."

Mahri quirks a brow at the mention of Ayras. " They're all plotting, Tess." She chuckles a bit then. " Don't worry, I'll let you know I I hear anything." Listening to Tess, the lycan tilts her head slightly. " So, what do you need from me?" It's not like she had an in with any of the Houses, but she might be able to bribe servants, delivery people. If she could find ones who were just that unscrupulous, that is. Or blackmail. That usually worked even if it was a bit less reliable.

Quintessa nibbles her bottom lip with her mouthful of sharp teeth. "Yes, they are all plotting," she repeats, her fingers slowly tapping on the table. "I appreciate that, I really do. When I first left the forest you were the only one who noticed me, who gave me a chance, a propose. I embedded my self in this house as your agent... I'll still loyal to you. You're..." she pauses for a moment, fighting the lump in her throat. "You're the closest thing to a mother I ever had. I wish I had met you sooner, I'd have ran away from home long ago." Quintessa gives Mahri a genuine smile. "I don't think I could ask anything more from you. Just keep doing what you do. Kasyr and I will handle the snobs, you can continue to be a presence in Vailkrin's underworld. Blackmarket contacts, assassins, smugglers, you know the like. They come through the Hanging Corpse all the time, don't think I haven't noticed. I used to want to be an assassin when I was a little girl..."

Mahri grunted, the only acknowledgement she made of Tessa's sentimentalness. She shifted, uncomfortable with being held in such high esteem. "Yeah, well. You were noticeable," she mumbled before pushing her chair back. "I'll be headquartering where I'm at currently. I appreciate the support from the future leader of Blood Suckerville." Mahri flashes a grin at the changeling before heading out, back to the Hanging Corpse, but not before snagging a chicken leg in passing.

Quintessa quirks a brow in Mahri's direction as she grumbles at the changeling, her smile shifting into more of a smirk. Making people uncomfortable seems to amuse the strange girl. "Yeah, s'pose I -do- stand out." Quintessa snickers at the thought, surely she was the only unseelie changeling that had survived into adulthood, of course people noticed. When the wolf speaks of the future leaders Quintessa grins her famous toothy grin back at her. "We'll be in touch then," she says, looking at the food still set out in front of her. Hopefully, her other guests would arrive soon or else his food would be wasted.