Troublesome.
Taking someone alive was always a troublesome thing. The only time a powerful mage was truly vulnerable, after all, was when they were pinned down with their mouth sealed. And while Evelyn herself had not done much to garner true loyalty, she nevertheless had those close to her, or at least connections enough to rouse a force loyal to coin.
That did not even account for the innumerable amount of times that hubris, a desire for humiliating and degrading one’s enemy, ended up in tragedy for the captor. Even Sev had been able to accomplish much with nothing more than a shard of glass. If fair Nyx’s retelling of Evelyn’s past ‘achievements’ were to be believed, the Wizard-Queen could accomplish far more, even by her lonesome.
And then there was Melisande, so eager to push for it. It was funny; did she hate him so much?
The Duke of Odonfield stroked his moustache in contemplation, his eyes narrowing upon something that only he could see. The Glasic Fields, and now Althius. The mermaid princess, who came to shore. Ravenfell, and the shadow-binding of an entire province’s populace. An artifact of immense power, far-outstripping what even the Church of the All-Father possessed, presented as both tool and prize. And everything in action, thrusting himself towards the spotlight, accelerating the destabilizing of Arrowfell, pushing for all-out war once more.
“Allow me to be pedantic for a moment, Melisande. A ‘behemoth’ specifically points towards a monster of the land. It would not do to misuse it as a mere synonym for a ‘very large creature’.” He winked at her in that moment, a spot of levity, before turning his attention back to the King of Ravenfell.
“Your Majesty, this is certainly an artifact without compare, but if you possessed such power, I must ask: why have you not simply claimed the Wizard-Queen for yourself, before this critical juncture was reached? The Clandestine have moved across Hathforth without duress, and the duchies are, at best, neutral towards our sovereign. There would have been no great demand to have her returned, if you had spirited her away.”Laurent did not lift a hand towards that ghostly blade. Instead, he raised his head to meet the void-gaze of the one who ruled the crypt. Behind him, he could hear familiar footsteps.
“Duchess Agustria. You, certainly, possess a gift for the logistics of distance. Would it be possible for you to redirect the Wizard-Queen to His Majesty’s throne without her even nearing Althius?”
It wasn’t all too difficult to position someone as an inside man for the job. Some background research and a forged letter was enough for one of the maids to go on leave, opening up a position for a Concord face to come on in. The pay was surprisingly good, for the labor that was done, and though there were plenty of keys that the head butler possessed, it appeared that most of the rooms of the grand estate were locked up and not in use. Setting aside the Skybound twins’s absurd luck, it appeared to Safina through the reports that trickled in, that security around the Rhinecliff Estate was simply…lacking to begin with. There were plenty of library rooms present, meticulously managed by a sharp-eyed woman, and social groups from higher-end universities came in even during the Duke’s absence to speak of all sorts of high-brow topics, often with plenty of libations.
It was strange though, that despite House Rhinecliff possessing two wedded men older than the current Duke himself, neither of their families seemed to be living within the family estate, or even within Odonfield itself.
And, on the other end of things, despite the relative freedom that their inside maid had, there remained no clue as to where the treasury was. A new maid in the household could hardly be expected to simply
ask for its location, after all, leaving only deduction and investigation at hand. Yet, with a Seed in play, those of the Orphan’s Matron had been sent in to search for the Rhinecliff treasury, but Mene’s journey had been cut short before he had reached it. On the other hand, if it worked as intended, with luck and probability aligning themselves in his favor, would he have not evaded the Duchess of the Grand Bank ? Strange matters, certainly, but to search the entirety of Odonfield for the treasury of a Duke was a taller order to ask than to simply search an estate.
It was best not to entertain such thoughts, no?
It was best to focus on what was most probable, that a city-state with such wealth on display as Odonfield would no doubt possess great reserves somewhere within the cliff upon which their House resides.
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