07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

The goings on of courts
misfit
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07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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Nuall wanders off into the city. Along the way he will ask passersby to direct him towards some of the higher end clothiers. Soon enough he finds one to suit his needs and spends some time selecting some new clothing. When he is satisfied with his choices he asks directions to a very good public bathing house, and heads off to clean the dust of the road off.

At the baths he will make arrangements to have the armor delivered to his quarters in the castle. He sighs and thinks, "Hopefully I will never need that again, but somehow I think it would be unwise to wager on that." Not wanting to continue that train of thought, he settles down in a nice hot bath and lets his mind start to drift...
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Joshua
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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This particular bath has individual tubs that are relatively close together. As you recline in your bath, you'll notice one next to you is occupied. A one-eyed man is resting and perks up slightly when he notices you.

"I haven't sensed that much blood on someone in a long time," Odin says. "I have a cousin who goes on such rampages before every formal court, although he doesn't bother cleaning himself off. Says the gore makes a stronger statement than ceremonial armor." He adds, "I think he's actually crazy."
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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Nuall casually glances over at the man speaking to him. After a few seconds recognition sinks in. His surprise shows very briefly before he is able to get it back undercover.

"Greetings...My Lord? Your Highness? Pray forgive me, but I do not know the proper form of address. Also, I think that standing to bow under the circumstances might not be the most respectful thing. I am aware of your name, but as there is no one here to formally introduce us I shall introduce myself. My name is Nuall."

"As for your cousin, it would seem to me that the statement would intimidate others into not opposing him. The thought of killing some people to stop other people from encouraging you to kill them seems a bit...contradictory. I do not know if that would count as madness or merely folly. Personally I prefer to avoid the gore...it plays havoc with the wardrobe."
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Joshua
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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Odin laughs, "I'm in your kingdom, Lord Nuall. I am the one who should be careful to use proper address. In my homeland, I don't have a formal title, as it's in a state of unrest. I suppose emissary is closest, but I don't like that as a title."

"Your language does not have as many words for madness that we have. For example, he has an 'internalized, rational-but-extreme, non-clan-only oddity'. Where I am from, that's one word." He chuckles. "What kinds of things do you have too many ways to describe?"
misfit
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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Nuall ponders that question for a minute.

"Hmmm...I suppose it would depend on how you chose to look at things. If there was a not a need for different words, there would not be different words. We invent the words that we need. But some will see more need for distinctions than others. While a painter might see azure, cerulean, cornflower, navy, royal, midnight, powder, baby, sky and sapphire, a mason would only see blue. For me the word 'madness' is detailed enough. No offense intended, but a place that needs many words for it is not a place I would be in a hurry to visit."

With a grin on his face and a twinkle in is his eye, Nuall says, "I find that I cannot help but wonder how you describe my own flavor of madness. After all, I must be mad to have not run away before now."

"If I might ask an indelicate question, people often say that Dworkin is mad. You would appear to know him far better than I. What do you make of his state of mind? And if it is not too rude to ask, do you know what his plans are?"
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Joshua
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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"This may surprise you, but in the hundreds of words we have for madness, none of them fit Dworkin." He settles into his bath, adding a little scented oil. "Perhaps the real issue is that he isn't mad."

"He has definitely changed from the... warrior-scholar he was. This place, this creation, is very different from my previous experience. Something different. All things different." He takes a breath. "This court is strange. The one I am from has existed for untold time. I can't imagine what it was like when it was this new."
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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"I am told that Dworkin created all of this. Would you know why he would do such a thing? Or how such a thing could be done? Where I was born, our legends tell of many gods coming together to create the world. Here I am told that Dworkin created this world, and somehow by extension a vast number of others. I am told that this world is somehow more 'real' than the others, but I do not know what that truly means. I am told that I am somehow more 'real' than most as well. I am told that makes me somehow a ruler here. Do you know if any of this is true? ...and what it means for me? I begin to feel that my life may depend on knowing those answers, and even worse, that the lives of others may depend on it as well. Perhaps an outsider will see the truth more clearly than the rest of us can."
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Joshua
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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"I must admit such a thing is beyond my experience. I'm not sure I would have chosen the word 'real'. Perhaps instead: chosen by power." Odin shrugs. "Of course, where I am from, such reasoning is very different. I have heard that your power only cares about this level of realness."

"As for where it came from. Dworkin inflicted a damage to my court. One that will not heal, and with the blood form the wound, he seems to have made your place." He looks at your reaction. "Perhaps it was necessary or needed, but I wonder if it was worth it."
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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Nuall sighs, then chuckles to himself. "I should have known better than to expect a simple answer. Perhaps no one has supplied me with a simple answer because one simply does not exist."

"I cannot begin to judge if creating this was necessary for worth the price. I do not yet understand exactly what has been created, or the cost involved in the creation. All I have is the vanity to say that any creation that has me in it cannot be a complete loss." Nuall grins and winks.

"If I might ask, where do you hail from my Lord? And what is the nature of wound that Dworkin has inflicted upon your court? Perhaps knowing that will give me some small insight into the questions of necessity and worth."
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Joshua
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Re: 07.05f: Steam and Intrigue

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"The problem is the answer is too simple. To the point where all trappings fit."

He sighs and thinks a moment. "I hail from the Clans of Chaos. The wound is difficult to describe, suffice to say, it would be on par with taking this pattern of yours and cracking it. Then taking that crack, and making a new pattern."
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