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[Taricus]

The queen sat at the head of the table, genrally taking in the atmosphere of the party, and generally making sure that no-one did anything too stupid.

[6] Rectyl gets treated decently by the guards, they offer no complaints and seem to generally not mind him. HOWEVER, this has caught the attention of something far more sinister...

[Dwarmin]

"This party is ever so grand, my Lady...Grander perhaps than your last. Course I cannot compare, I wasn't there. Where the Queen finds all this money I will never know..."

'Tala' tipped her hat to Rectyl, to be polite, but her guise remained icy.

"Where there's a will, there's a way-as you well know Ambassador...maybe Ligoria is more prosperous than you may have estimated? In any case, do not allow my work to go to waste-enjoy yourself while you ar here. You know the old soldiers saying-we must drink and feast and love tonight, for tomorrow we die?"

She smiled politely.

" Ah, Tala, its nice to see you here. I assume this is your work? A man like me rarely gets to see something like that, and I've seen receptions and triumphs of many various nobles and princes."

She greeted Nikephoros warmly. The man was clearly enjoying himself-a good sign.

"Likewise do I enjoy your company-we could perhaps make a commitment to see more of each other in the future, Nikephoros. Our duties permitting, naturally.

As for the party, I can call this my own, with due respect given to our dear Hugo, who has proven himself Talamas grandest artist. Granted, I was only given a week by the Queen to make all this, but-keep this between us-I was planning all of it months in advance, in anticipation of the Queens wishes. Tell you the truth, I'm personally relieved it's all come together so nicely."

[CyberGenesis]

Send priests out to preach the word of Fakarralism. Also have some hold masses and rituals inside the embassy. Send some priests to give alms to the poor. Send some men to care for the poor.

[6] Fakarralism seems to take with a fair numbr of the less-than-devote Taloists. Given the nature of those being attracted to the religion to begin with - people have become somewhat wary of the actions of 'priests'. [2] The masses and rituals go well aside from the awkwardness of the fact it's all being held in an embassy, not in a temple. Some of those attracted seems less than excited about this, [3] however, with the explanation of the amount of time in Talama and the short notice of the efforts of the priests - they seem content to wait for proper accomodations. [2] The poor that seem mostly targeted for the alms seem to be in a lot of the shadier parts of town. [4] You have the general suspicion that the 'employees' of your associates may have been on a recruiting drive.

[micelus]

"Perhaps. and I'll think I'll take your advice...Unless your planning to kill us all after we're all drunk and bloated." Rectyl said jokingly. At least, for the most part.

He went off and looked at the fire-jugglers. They reminded him of his neigbours as a child; entertainers of the royal court. Ahh...life was so simple then...He was always perplexed with how they did it. But enough of this; he should be at the table.

Retcyl seated himself down and waited, for now.

After the Party

Send a message to the gang for a meeting at the Embassy.

[Elfeater]

Max Yeskly sighs and waits for judgement.

[Ardas]

"Well, why not? If there is anything you want to discuss, you are free to see me at my quarters when I'm in the capital." Nikephoros replied friendly.
He still was quietly supicious of everything and everyone in the court, but for the moment he seemed more pre-occupied with the atmosphere and the party. He felt disarmed by the setup and he simply went with it.

"The food looks great. A nice change from hard biscuits and salty beef we usually have on the campaign trail." Nikephoros sat in his spot nearby queen's and started putting food on his plate. He restrained himself though and tried to stick to the proper etiquette, but it looked more funny than serious to see an old soldier trying to politely eat in presence of nobles.

[Shootandrun]

Kathos arrived at the party a few minutes after Nikephoros. He stood before the statue of the queen for quite some time, looking at the words 'LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! MAY HER REIGN LAST A THOUSAND YEARS! '. He was lost in his thoughts. After a few minutes, he looked around and spotted Tala. He greeted her.

"Lady Tala, you have my congratulations. This party is even more spectacular than the last."

((I have a few things to do... I might be less active during the following days.))

[filiusenox]

    William arrived in the city just in time to hear that the queen was having a birthday party tomorrow, he faintly remembered one of his lackeys handing him an envelope and telling him it was from the queen, so since he couldn't get into the palace anyway, he stood and read it.
     A small flicker of annoyance broke through his poker face before he stuffed the envelope back into his saddlebag and headed towards the nearest Tailor. Who worked through the night under threats of repossession on Will’s new clothing.
Will left in the morning, headed to Harold’s tenement house, got a quick bath, and stored all of his weapons.
    He pulled on the pure white pants and tunic. Slid on the white leather and slightly pointed boots. Wrapped the - what a surprise - white sash with gold trimming on the end around his waist. Slipped on the white gloves on and finally had Harold fasten the blood red brooch on his chest. Then he dragged a bone comb through his hair quite a few times and sped out the door.
He arrived at the party fifteen minutes late and headed through the gate.

   William stood smiling at the statue. He was laughing ever so much on the inside, but the only thing that made it through the mangled thing he called self control was the smile. It was creepy, to say the least.

[leone313]

Avitus finally decided to go to the party. Most important people were already here when he showed up in his grandest outfit: a black and purple jacket made of silk and velvet, with silver button embossed with his coat of arms - a quill and a dagger crossing over a crowned eagle - with the assorted velvet trousers. Over it all was a dark gray wolf fur cloak with silver lining attached to his neck by a purple lace.
He took a while before sitting, admiring the setup and the art that had been produced for this gathering, and bowing with a gentle smile towards lady Alanis when she greeted him. He then went to the table, bowed before the Queen and got a package enveloped in purple silk from under his cape. He offered it to Laythe: "Here is a modest birthday present for your highness." He then tried to find his seat and sat.

[NUKE9.13]

Hugo wandered about the party, explaining the intricacies of a mural here, pointing out a hidden detail on the ceiling there, complementing or deriding people for their choice of clothing in between. Whilst talking, however, his eyes scanned the room, looking for people on his list of suspects. He did not expect to actually find the crow- though it was quite possible he would show up in disguise, steal a few of the Queen's gifts, and make a flashy exit- but it would all help in tracking him down. And if he did find him, well, so much the better.

Hugo searches for the Lord of Crows.

But wait? Who's this, standing by the Queen's statue. I could have sworn he was out of town.

"Hello, poppet. Oh, wait, that's your line. I thought you were out hunting?"

[Taricus]

Hugo searches for the Lord of Crows.

[2] You don't find any trace of the crow. Seems he's buggered off...

The queen seems a bit bored at the moment, seemingly ignoring Avitus' gift before a guard takes it to put it away for safekeeping...

[micelus]

The one next to Retcyl was discussing something about puppies, the one on the other side something about squids and children. What was strange, was that both of these conversations started with the statue of Queen Laythe...Which reminded him, he had not given his gift yet. The gift he had was a sword made from the master-smith Olotyl Gerc. It was a unique sword; bronze with kyrite carefully layered into the blade. This gave it a strange appearance, the blade was see-through and appeared as if they were glass. The hilt depicted the battle between the 13 Outcasts Princes and the forces of the Federated Houses. Retcyl still didn't know how it all fitted in...

"Scribe, bring this to the Queen. Say it's a gift."
"Yes, ambassador."

He scurried off and Retcyl decided to join in his neighbour's conversation, which was now about Udanese culture.

[filiusenox]

William grins and then shrugs in a bored way.

"Yes, that is my line, poppet...But yeah I went out "hunting" managed to get a few prizes...to say the least."
He took a small sip of white wine and looked Hugo up and down in a unnoticeable but noticeable way.
"You've really out did yourself here Hugo, if only the whole city looked as good as these buildings... But how have you been, by the way? I haven't spoke with you for a while. Which is quite a shame in my opinion."

[NUKE9.13]

"Ah, fear not. I have plans, you know. My dream is to see this entire city be a thing of beauty. And I shall not rest until it is so."

Hugo stares into the distance, his eyes blazing with ambition.

"...anyway. Yes, it is good to see you again. The locals are entertaining in their own way, but you are just so much more interesting. Myself, I've mostly been fixing up the Hacturi embassy. I've had my share of drunken escapades, but nothing interesting, really. Although there is one project that has caught my eye, a certain figure whom I believe you are acquainted with?"

Hugo whistles and Kraai swoops down from the trees, and perches on the statue's sword, looking at William curiously. Hugo looks around, and lowers his voice slightly.

"I believe you spoke with him at the Lady Alanis's party? I was wondering if you could provide me with a description."

[Dwarmin]

'Tala' makes her way over the park, helpfully catching the eye of a young actor she had hired, as cover. She tunes out his somewhat blatant attempts to hit on her, and instead listens in on Hugo and William talking by the other end of the statue...

-----
Meanwhile...

The play has begun. The one Lady Alanis chose could be considered...controversial.

Just the first act, the Crimson Queen throws her essentially innocent Husband, the Black King, off a balcony and declares herself the new Ruler, bakes her cousin into a pie (which she then eats) and beheads her sister with a mace. Despite this, she's not depicted as the villian of her piece-all her actions, unorthadox as they seem, could in theory be justified, considering the subtext of corruption presented in her Kingdom. An interesting ideal!

The second act introduces the crowd to the main cast at the Queens inaugural party. Most of them are very well written, almost as if the playwright based them upon real people instead of fictional ones...there's the Green Lady, who is shown in a sympathetic light to have a young son, and the White Rider, who doesn't speak yet portrays an aura of menace all the same...The Orange Courtier and the Grey Merchant...The Blue Knight and the Purple Assassin...and of course, the Yellow Jester who serves valued comedic timing-sometimes even breaking the fourth wall, making puppeteer gestures overhead the other characters as they speak.

The third act is a masterful and frankly confusing build up of dramatic tension, as all the characters plot to annihilate each other. Thankfully, it's also mercifully short.

The finale! Lets sum it up quickly-The White Rider stabs the grey merchant, who is in turn stabbed by the Orange Courtier, who is shot with an arrow from the Blue Knight who is then himself stabbed by the Purple assassin, whom the Crimson Queen then beheads with a mace-the Green Lady strikes at the Queen next, but misses and seems to be next to lose her head, but Lo and behold, the Orange Courtier is not dead! He stabs the Queen from behind!

As the Orange Courtier lies dying, he reveals he always loved the Green Lady-and that he poisoned the dates at the party, which every character, major and minor, over the course of the entire play has been seen eating-even the son of the Green Lady... Most of the crowd cannot help but gasp at the revelation.

The play ends in full silence, as all the collected bodies lie in heaps in the floor and lights are slowly dimmed over a minute.