Interlude - In Chastity's warehouse

 Mal: "I think our first step here is simple"

Talking to the whole room, "what do we have on our side at the minute? What pieces other than the 6 of us do we have in play and who are our suspected enemies out there?"

GM:  Chastity speaks up "I have the whiny bitch of a Van Gelder, he might still be of use. I have access to agents in Ost but, as I am actively sought by the Inquisition there is a limit to what they can do for me and how long I will be able to operate here before I will need to move on.

I also have a ship. Its hidden in a clearing in the woods to the west of the city, about a day's walk from here."

Hemlock:  "We have a gate key, should we need it, and if Chastity's agents can recover things from the ship, a blur suit."

"We have the probability that my mother wants to control rather than kill me.  I can imagine ways to use that."

"In terms of objectives, overturning these ridiculous allegations of antimony solves most of our problems.  I've seen that reason rarely enters into a courtroom, much less a church one, but we might yet have some chance.  Chastity, is it all purely based on the Van Gelder's psychic associations?  Or have they manufactured 'evidence'?"

GM – (Chastity): "There is evidence, planted in our belongings and I believe the source is the Al Malik associate of Sir Mercucio's."

Hemlock: "What sort of evidence does one plant to implicate someone in antimony?"

Anton De Havilland:  Once we have an answer above, "I am keen to understand more about the risks and threat of Emereldas Justinian here.  I am willing to accept that a woman of power might choose a husband from a minor noble house if she has reasons to do so but I would like to see what reasons those were.  I don’t yet see what her motivations are.  I would like to understand that more, so it is clearer to me what her aims are concerning Hemlock and you and your father."

"I also need to understand what information we have about the groups or individuals working against you at the moment.  What do we know about them and where they are looking for you at this moment in time?"

The Church is rumoured to have a number of groups who are interested in Antimony.  If we know which group we are facing that might give us more of an idea as to what we might expect to encounter, if they have already identified you are on Criticorum"

"In terms of equipment, then yes, it would be good to have some of our equipment back but I think we can ONLY do that if we are certain the ship is not being watched; and that depends on how quickly the authorities find out we are missing"

"If there is any risk then we must be willing to abandon them for now, in the hope that we may regain them at some point."

"I know little about this country and its authorities.  It would be good to understand how long we can use this place as an escape before we have to find a replacement"

"The way I see it at the moment, there is a shared aim here to clear our names; which from what I hear leads us to the same lady.  We should be under no misapprehensions here, by supporting Lady Chastity we run the risk that we associate ourselves with the same allegations.  Hemlock is clear that he is willing to help."

"Each of us must be willing to make the same commitment if we are stay together.  If anyone is not then they should make it clear now.  I , for one, will support this move.  I also do not believe these allegations."

Mal: "well, we have one advantage in this; my identity and involvement would appear to still be unknown so the authorities shouldn't be looking for me for any new crimes.

I'm not sure how this might help us though..."

Anton De Havilland: "Maybe not the authorities.  I expect The Emerald Lady and her people knows you left Ravenna with us"

"It's possible to get records from planets on who and when we even left Byzantium"

But the authorities don’t have a record of you until they are told to look for you

"It's hard to have a sense of the reach of this individual.  But if Chastity and The Count are impacted then I expect it is more than I expected."

GM – (Chastity): Chastity replies to Hemlock’s question about evidence "It would appear that Mercucio's Al Malik associate has a personal collection of certain occult "esoterica", some of which was planted and ascribed to our ownership. Along with fabricated evidence implicating our involvement in various debased ritual practices. Unfortunately, in my own case, the modification of the pict-images wasn't difficult..."

"In terms of equipment, then yes, it would be good to have some of our equipment back but I think we can ONLY do that if we are certain the ship is not being watched; and that depends on how quickly the authorities find out we are missing"

“Anton, I have paid informants and agents amongst the guilders and Freemen at the port. They could have amble reason to get aboard your ship and remove things, but I dare only use them once in such a way. To do more so would be to invite discovery."

Hemlock: "Someone sufficiently technically skilled might be able to recognize that the pict image was edited.  (And if pict images can be edited without trace, then they're wholly worthless as evidence.) Is Mercucio's associate also being hunted?  Do we have any means to persuade him to admit that the esoterica were his?

"I wonder if I'm coming at this too logically, that truth and reason have no place in a trial, and the best we can do is bring our own influence to bear in whatever means we can to alter its course?"

(Hemlock's past experience might've made him a bit bitter about such things...)

GM – (Chastity): "Dear Hemlock, this would be at best a Courtly trial but most likely a church one - in such "truth" is determined my what can be seen not reasoned. If a thing looks like a thing it is a thing... And they will have much personal testimony to confirm my sinful ways. They will seek to prove that I have a tarnished soul mirror and am beyond their salvation. Appearing before such a court will be a death sentence, the only variable will be the form and speed of the execution."

Anton De Havilland: "Agreed. Truth and Reason do have a place but there needs to be a will to listen to them. This is also the principle challenge we have. Even if we can find evidence to save ourselves, we will need to find an audience willing to listen to and support it. Without that, all our efforts will be for nothing"

"If Hemlock's mother has that much influence on Criticorum, how do we find someone willing to listen to us, to want to oppose her."

"I think the answer could rest with Hemlock."

GM: Chastity looks at Anton with curiosity "What are you saying De Havilland? Are you intending to throw Hemlock to the wolves in some way? Typical behaviour from a Lion, exploit the trust of your "friends". He is only from a minor house after all... At least people expect deceit and betrayal from my House.. You Lions love to appear to be honourable and then you suggest something like this!"

Hemlock: "I trust Anton: he recovered me when I was lost, and we have travelled through dark places together.  But he has a point: all of my mother's recent schemes seem to be about me.  Whether she cares about me, or simply wishes her heir installed when my father dies, she seems to want to control rather than kill me.  Confronting her is a valid move, but I would want to understand more before any such decision."

Mal: "Also, excuse you lady chastity, appearing to be honourable and then being deceitful is the best part of being a lion.

At least for me it is... "

Anton De Havilland: "Throwing Hemlock to the Wolves is not going to achieve anything,  so no, that is not my suggestion.  Besides, I don't have the expertise in this sort of work. I don’t have the spy network, paid informants, authorities in my pocket. We should be asking our expert on what we should be doing here."

"I have a few ideas, nothing concrete yet. Certainly, my first thought is to meet with the man you identified as setting you up Chastity. I would like some certainly about Emereldas culpability here since we actually don’t have any evidence of that yet."

GM – (Chastity): "You want to meet with Mercucio or his Al Malik friend, or both?"

Anton De Havilland: “Well logically if we wanted information then hitting Mercucio would be the best option as he isn’t necessary expecting it at the moment. If we meet the Al-Malik contact then we might be tipping off Mercucio or it might be better for us if we can get access to information that means getting to Mercucio easier. What does everyone think here, we all have a valid opinion "

Hemlock: "I think I would like to meet this Mercucio. We need information, and he might have some insight."

Anton De Havilland: "He seems to be the person in the know, for sure and more likely to have an understanding of the wider aim"

"I still would like to understand more about your mother and what her aims actually are. Mercucio might know that."

GM: Chastity glides across the warehouse floor with the grace and poise of a predatory serpent. She reaches a bank of steel lockers, takes out a key and undoes the padlock that secures it. The door opens with a screech that reverberates around the mostly empty warehouse space.

"Come out you piece of Vorox shit, these nice people want to speak to you."

A dishevelled and nervous looking man with greasy hair, a pencil thin moustache and the chin stubble of a few days growth, stumbles cautiously out of the cupboard.

Anton De Havilland: De Havilland pulls up 2 chairs and beckons Mercucio to sit at one. He straightened out his jacket and trousers and sits himself upright at the other....

"I'm going to be honest with you Mr.Mercucio, I don’t have much experience extracting information from people. Back in the service we had people who specialise at this kind of work. I happen to think my own methods are rather clumsy and brutal by Decados standards and I understand that some may see a lack of skill and interpret that as outright cruelty. Now I want to assure you, that even though I may lack the clinical precision of a Decados torturers I more than make up for it in zeal.  Mr Max here is from the Muster guild. He is an expert in keeping patients alive.

It's his responsibility to make sure that any mistakes I make are patched up enough to keep you conscious.

Which is what we all want at the end if the day.

We are all friends here”

Anton De Havilland: "Now let me tell you what is going to happen here and why. Now the why is simple. A few years ago I had a friend who was picked up by this Ladies father. Now this friend had in his eyes, caused harm to someone he cared about. So they wanted some intel from this friend of mine and they went to work in him. He was a tough son of a gun from what I read of the notes. Took them a few days to crack him but he died possibly earlier than they anticipated. They overcooked things you might say

However, I think they got most of what they wanted from him before his heart gave out or despair took him.

Whichever went first.

I think they were experts. I have already apologised that I am not an expert. I lack the training if I am honest. What I did learn though is not to ask any questions for the first few days of ordeal

Let the victim just endure and despair at the fact that it isn’t ending. This makes it more likely that when you do want to ask them something later you get to that part cleaner

Now if you wanted to talk to us now well I can talk to these people and ask them what we do. After all Mr. Max has been hired for a specific job after all

There is his professional pride at stake here..."

GM: The greasy weasel that sits before Anton looks furtively at Lady Chastity, then meets the Hawkwood's gaze. He chuckles. He speaks with the nasal tones one might associate with a bookkeeper or upper-middle class social climber.

"First of all, we have not been properly introduced so I will forgive you the disparaging insult to myself, my House and my station. Duels have been fought for less. You will please address me as "Sir" Mercucio or an appropriate form of deference depending on your rank."

He pulls himself up straight in the chair, seemingly in an attempt to convey his bearing and station. He sinks almost immediately. It would appear that "slightly hunched" is his natural pose.

"Secondly my House has been associated with House Decados since the fall of Vladimir. As such do you really believe that I have endured and inflicted greater punishments and tortures than you or your pet ogre here could devise? You flatter yourself and further underestimate and insult me."

He shifts in the chair again. The cadre notice that his hands are bound behind his back and the ligatures seem to be irritating him.

"Thirdly, do you really not believe that my honoured Lady here," He nods to Chastity. "Has not already used only a mere modicum of the exquisite skill she possesses in this area to make me tell her absolutely every damn thing she wanted to know!" As he speaks so his temper rises with every syllable until that last word  it literally spat at De Havilland. Suddenly the Van Gelder is composed again. The venom concealed as his sinks back to the weaselly, hunched and decrepit little figure he first appeared to be. Hemlock is reminded of the dried husk of a dead spider.

"And so, finally, can we please just have a civil conversation where I will attempt to answer your questions and then, perhaps, we can all assist each other in resolving our present predicament?"

Anton De Havilland: Looks to Chastity. "He’s been in there for 2 days? Still pretty sparky and fairly confident still that his lord and master will save him. Mal, you got any tools in your unique skill set that apply here"?

GM – (Mercucio): "My Lord and master? My employer is m'lady's father! Why do you think I would be waiting for any other aid? She is right there, and I have been "rescued" in exactly the way I would anticipate help to come! The fact that I am still alive is both a blessing and a curse and speaks to me that I either still serve a useful purpose or that m'lady and his Lordship have something far more horrific in store."

He breathes a deep sigh.

"I would very much prefer it to be the former rather than the later and therefore I shall continue to seek to be as compliant and helpful as possible. Now, how abouts you give up the veiled threats and actually ask some questions?"

"And if anyone has any smokes of any sort, I'd be much obliged if I could bum one off you?"

Anton De Havilland: "Then why does she keep you in a locker and refer to you in such terms? Seems a strange thing to do to an employee, especially where that employee has apparently arranged for objects a dubious nature concerning Demon worship to be associated to their master’s daughter."

"Also odd that you haven't taken this brief opportunity to ask why you were seized"

Hemlock: Hemlock whispers to Chastity, "I understood that both he and you had been similarly framed, with objects from his Al Malik associate."

GM – (Mercucio): "I have not arranged for anything to be associated with m'lady!" Sir Mercucio's tone is initially exasperated but swiftly shifts to the slow and frequently pausing manner that of one trying to explain something to a child or an adult of limited awareness...

"I am as much a victim here, you fool, but how Lady Chastity chooses to deal with a subordinate who she has believed has failed her father is up to her not you. I will not have YOU judging HER disciplinary measures. I can understand her belief that I have made mistakes and failed her father and she has a right to deal with that failure as she sees fit, whoever you are you are obviously not a part of her or my House and so neither she nor I need answer to you."

Anton De Havilland: Turns to Chastity. "Now I am satisfied. You picked wisely M'Lady. With your permission I will ask the straight'forward questions we have?"

GM – (Chastity): "Whatever." Chastity moves away to busy herself with a table of gear and various items set off to one side. She remains within earshot but it appears that this exchange is either boring her or she has heard it all before

Anton De Havilland:  "What is the name of the Al-Malik associate that we are told planted the antimonist material?"

"What was the nature of your business with them and for how long?"

GM – (Mercucio): "Now we're getting somewhere, perhaps there is hope for a mutually beneficial relationship after all...The "associate" you refer to is Sir Ali Em Sabu Criticorumiyy al-Malik. He and I have a shared interest in the powers of the mind and the broadening of the human experience into a psychic plane of existence. We have corresponded at length over such matters and have played host to each other as guests."

He waives nonchalantly as he tells the tale. Anton can imagine that Mercucio sees himself as a raconteur and the life and soul of a party.

"We are both collectors of knowledge and artefacts which relate to our shared passion and we would often boast of our most recent acquisitions. After some years our strengthening relationship had obviously reached the point where he felt he could trust me enough to show me some of his more "private" collection.

Now, I would clarify this by saying that even my collection and the collection that Ali had shared with me up to that point would be considered abhorrent and heretical by certain members of the church, those who consider all psychic abilities to be the work of Darkness, for example. However even I balked at some of the esoterica Ali showed me. His collection encompassed much that was macabre or at least borderline antimonistic, if not fully of qlippothic origin. In hindsight I should have summoned the retribution of the church upon him at that point but, to my regret, I did not. My reasons were base ones; I feared that if discovered I would be implicated and tarred with the same brush, I thought that the knowledge gave me leverage over him should I need it in future and finally there was a part of me that was curious, albeit also revolted, to learn more of such items and how they might relate to "pure" psychic ability."

"When such items were found on my property, and that of Lady Chastity, I recognised them from Sir Ali's collection. How they were placed there I do not know, whether it was by direct action of Ali, an agent on his behalf or a third party who has taken objects from him, I do not know. To be frank I was more concerned to avoid the flame guns of the Avestite inquisitors that arrived at my door than to stop to ponder the detail of how the items had been inserted into my domicile."

"Do none of you have a smoke of any sort then?"

Hemlock: "I'm afraid I never acquired the habit, sir.

"Was it the framing that caused you to break off contact with Constance san Tandere, or did something happen beforehand?

"Further, what more can you tell us about Sir Ali Em Sabu Criticorumiyy al-Malik?  Is he part of a broader coven?  Is he related to anyone significant?  Is he also hunted?  What are his capabilities?  When he presented the worst esoterica to you, did he show any fondness or affinity, or was it more fascination with the macabre?  Did he make your acquaintance before or after you started passing funds through Constance?"

GM: Mercucio turns his head to meet Hemlock with a sideways glance.

"I was warned off dealing with the San Tandere woman before the artefacts were planted in my possession. As for being a member of a coven, some might consider the trading of ideas that we shared would connect Ali and I as a" coven".... However I believe that he did mention a "Club" of like minded individuals that he frequented in Hawkwood space, Ravenna I think it was.

To my knowledge he holds no high station, nor are his relations particularly notable. I believe he has an aunt on Ravenna, hence the connection."

"As far as I know the church does not hunt him and there is no obvious connection between the evidence implicating Lady Chastity and I and himself.

He was certainly fascinated by the items that he showed me and seemed to hold a desire to know more, whether his studies took him far down those dark paths I really could not say, nor would I truly wish to know. "

".. And I have known him for a good dozen or so years, far longer than Count Innocence's investment in Captain Corteaz' affairs."

Mal: Mal whispers to De Havilland

"we may have to deal with the club and the twins sooner than anticipated... "

Anton De Havilland: "How safe is it for us to determine the identity of this aunt?

"Are there records kept of such things that we could find access to?

"Did he ever mention a connection to the Justinian family at all?

GM – (Mercucio): "I don't recall a mention of House Justinian, but our conversation tended to dwell on more complex and occult matters than mundane politics and family trees."

Anton De Havilland: "How fortunate for you. Do you know of any means on Criticorum that we could identify this Aunt?"

"If not then I expect we will just need to determine how to find this man, Sir Ali."

GM – (Mercucio): "There will be peerage documents which a Reeve or local al-Malik household could access."

Anton De Havilland: To Mal, quietly "If our friend here is psychic could you identify his talent for us please?"

De Havilland asks, "Aside from an interest in psychic phenomena can I assume that you and Sir Ali both demonstrate psychic abilities in some capacity?"

Mal: Mal whispers back "Step ahead of you, his aptitude is in psyche, the same as Hasimir (from what I recall), and sympathy. Due to the nature of both I've been keeping a close eye on him just in case.

Try not to think about something you wouldn't want him to know... "

Anton De Havilland: "Good work, this is your area so let me know if anything untoward is going on"

Hemlock: "Sir Mercucio, how were you persuaded to break contact with Constance?"

GM – (Mercucio): "Force. I am, as you might assuage, not inclined, or designed, for martial pursuits. Pugilism and weaponry hold no allure. When a group of personages with violent intent come knocking on one's door with a simple offer vis-a-vis they will not spread your entrails over the wall if you stop sending funds to a Reeve, I am therefore inclined to take their very kind offer."

"Over the following weeks I was considering my future options, knowing that Count Innocence would eventually discover my disobedience in some way when the Avestites came looking for me too."

"In hindsight I suppose it is perfectly plausible that the ruffians who assailed me in my own home could have been the same party as placed the incriminating evidence. They certainly had the access."

Anton De Havilland: "Are you psychic and if so what power do you possess?"

GM – (Mercucio): "I thought that was clear from my relationship with Ali... I am gifted with certain psychic abilities, yes. In the common vernacular of the magic lantern shows or salacious articles in the Town Cryer I would be called a telepath. By the more accurate classification of the Flavian Institute I would be said to have a level of mastery in the paths of Psyche and Sympathy. "

Mal: murmuring under his breath "I told you so..."

Anton De Havilland: "Psyche I know a little of. Tell me about Sympathy"

Mal: "I'd be interested to know your answer as well, it's a path I'm less knowledgeable on"

GM: Mercurio squints at Mal for a moment as if trying to size up whether he is a peer or a threat, then sighs and turns once more to De Havilland.

"Sympathy is a supplementary path... It is a gift of limited use on its own, but it can be of great use when combined with other powers.

Fundamentally, and in a way that your minds may have a chance to grasp it, Sympathy allows a psychic to build more permanent connections or links. These in turn make other gifts easier to use, and over longer ranges. "

Anton De Havilland: De Havilland smiles at Mercucio. "My idiot brain tells me you have a connection with this Ali. I am wondering whether it works the same for him.  How much have you already shared with Ali using your precious permanent connection"

"Are you possibly sharing something with him this very moment?"

GM – (Mercucio): "Yes, I have a Bond to Ali but it is a one way street. I Bonded him but he doesn't have the capability to Bond me, to my knowledge he has not walked that Path of study. You cannot establish a Bond with a subject who is unwilling so I would know if he had even attempted to create such a link with me. I have never had much interest in covens and groups so I have not pushed my mastery of Sympathy beyond the ability to Bond an individual or a location.

While a Bond makes the usage of my gifts easier I am not so talented that you would not see the effort on my visage. But I appreciate the flattery."

"Look, if none of you straight arrows have a smoke on you, have you at least got some liquor? I'm frightfully parched."

Anton De Havilland: "We have a ship full of Selchakah if you fancied a smoke but then that particular sting is why we are now sat here trying to work out what we are going to do about it. I do have a few Ravenna ci-gars if you want one."

GM – (Mercucio): "Ah...a roll of Ravenna leaf would be much appreciated."

Anton De Havilland: "To Sir Ali, what was his particular psychic talent? Might be good to know what that is. With regards to Antinonmist powers we have some experience in confronting those but not much. At least knowing his psychic threat is a start"

Hemlock: "Agreed.  I think Sir Ali is someone we will need to confront."

Hemlock looks dubiously at the ci-gar, too used to being aboard ship where smoke sets off the air scrubber alarms.

GM – (Mercucio):"Heheheh..." He takes a long slow drag of tobacco while clenching the slim cigarillo in his teeth while his hands remain bound.

"Ahhhhh...." Pungent smoke drifts out from between his clenched teeth.

"If you were to believe Ali all psychic powers are his to command...I'm pretty sure that in reality he has command of the Sixth Sense. Although one of the reasons I was first interested in correspondence with him was that he has some command of the rare and complex gift known as "Omen". He appears to be able to see glimpses of the past and future."

Anton De Havilland: De Havilland takes one of his cigarillos and lights it. He gets up and paces about for a bit. "He'll be expecting someone to look for him. Probably using that power of his to gain insight. Not sure how we contend with that."

"Any other situation and we could have laid a trail for others to follow to his door. On this occasion we need him ourselves and so can’t do that." Turns to Mercucio "Is there any way the bond you have to him could be utilised in some way, a name or a place or an image? We need accurate current Intel on his location but maybe you might have a means to gain some insight here. If not, then we are forced to look to more traditional methods. But, from what I see all roads lead to us finding this man and questioning him. I do feel we are walking into completely unknown territory here"

"I feel outgunned as usual but the Antinonomy aspect is concerning "

Turns to Chastity,  "Do you have any idea whether the Inquisition are looking for you on Criticorum yet? Are they already here or do we think they are still searching?"

" Be just our luck to find Sir Ali and have an Avestite Apostle turn up at the same time"

Mal: "Depending on how skilled he is, I might be able to level the playing field, but we would need to be able to find him first and get closer to him..."

GM: Sir Mercucio attempts to raise a bound hand but fails

"Urm, whilst as yet they may not be seeking M'lady the Inquisition are certainly active in their hunt for me, hence my current unshaven state and lack of in-season attire.  Oh, and If he's close enough I could read Ali's surface thoughts but nothing deeper and can send mental messages to him. I cannot sense his presence though."

Anton De Havilland: "Aside for looking for Sir Ali is there any specific items we need to consider to bring with us? Personally I have no idea how we could deal with an Antinmonist and I expect we would need a priest perhaps to have any Hope's there. If anyone has any ideas now is the time to raise them"

Hemlock: "To my mind, things Chastity's agents can recover from the ship will give us advantages in stealth.   I can use the camouflage cloak, and lend the blur suit to you or Mal.  Actually, you might be a bit broad across the shoulders, Anton.

"Sir Ali must know his items have been used.  So either he's party to the scheme, or he is likely concerned that the trail could lead the inquisition to him.  In either case, we can assume he's prepared for unwelcome guests, possibly by fleeing himself.

"Sir Mercucio, do you have any insight as to where he might be?"

GM: Mercucio is sat back in the chair, taking a long, ponderous, inhale on his smoke. He leans forward to let the collected ash fall to the floor between his legs. It is done in such a practiced way that it occurs to Hemlock that this may not have been the first time the Van Gelder has had to smoke without the use of his hands.

"He has a place in the capital, Archeon but, like I said, he's known to visit family and his club on Ravenna. Likewise he often travels the Jumpweb to secure artefacts or object d'arte for his collection.

He doesn't have a fief to speak of, his income must come from business investments and other revenues."

Anton De Havilland: "I still don’t get what is supposedly motivating our Emerald Lady here. Hemlock has been coming and going from Ravenna for years. Why suddenly now is his mother supposedly making plans to thwart his business ventures?  Even Hemlock is lost on this point.  I don’t understand what has changed to warrant this overreaction. Something has changed, or someone has changed. .."

GM: Chastity looks up from her equipment checks

"Hemlock is the afterthought." She pauses suddenly and looks across at Hemlock, there is a glimmer of regret or perhaps embarrassment and then it is gone.

"It would be more accurate to say that he is the cream on the cake, the surprise bonus. This is about revenge, pure and simple. She is striking out at those she blames for taking her son away or disrupting her plans. Remember that this began before it was known on Ravenna that you had returned from the lost worlds. The last we all knew you had disappeared into Barbarian territory. I think that it only took as long as it did for her to put her plan into motion because my father kept his connections and business dealings secret. If she had had a way to reliably strike back sooner I have little doubt that she would have."

"This way she gets at my father's business investments, Corteaz and me and through us, hurts my father."

Hemlock: "How does our engagement fit into this?  It seems odd that my mother would agree to her son being engaged to someone she was acting against.  I suppose she might have thought me lost for good, or believed her schemes would negate the engagement."

GM – (Chastity): "If you'll recall the original marriage petition from my father was to yours. As I understand it the majority of House Justinian are traditionalist fuddy-duddies....must be why they get on so well with the Big Boring Blue Lions..." She winks at Anton

"And we all know by now that your daddy-dearest is in that old school camp. Any betrothal would be agreed by him, as head of his household, not his darling and demure wife. Pancreator only knows what happened behind closed doors once she found out - or whether she was in agreement as it served her wider purposes...I'm not a mind reader like our friend here." She waves the vicious looking blade she had taken from the table in Mercucio's general direction.

"It does occur to me that there are a few players engaged in this drama and while some actions might suit another's purposes, they aren't all acting as a single faction with one goal. If there was one singular threat or machinator above all then I would place good money on your mother." She fixes Hemlock with a gaze that somehow seems both severe and sympathetic at the same time, as if trying to drive home the point while knowing that it may be a bitter pill to swallow.

Mal: "I would definitely take that bet. I think another party may have a larger roll than we have so far given them credit..."

"Several roads have led back to the noble's club on Ravenna. Even when looking back at past events, they have still been floating around. You say your Al Malik friend has a connection, they are responsible for recent events on the Ravenna. For all we know Hasimir was, for who knows how long, or still is being puppeteered by them.

I know we have nothing concrete to connect any of this to them, but there is still a link. I don't think we should ignore such a connection. After all, we have no way of knowing if one party may be controlling the other."

"Perhaps Sir Ali can help provide some information on what the connection is, if we can get close enough to ask."