Jaezred and Rae - Spycraft Over A Spot of Tea
May 18, 2023 7:18:35 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, Ian, and 3 more like this
Post by Harry on May 18, 2023 7:18:35 GMT
Late afternoons in the Gossamer Threads Tea Rooms are always busy. Tucked in a corner, away from the loquacious gossips chatting over the clinking of china and silver, Jaezred sits at a lone table, scribbling names and drawing symbols on a piece of parchment. He draws lines from one name to another, almost weaving a half-formed web of sorts.
A flash of purple in the periphery of his vision pulls his attention away from the document he’s working on. He looks up to see Rae speaking to the employee behind the counter, seemingly unaware of his presence. He can just barely make out a bit of what they are saying: “the Serious Business Room” and “one hour”.
Rae leaves a handful of coins on the counter before turning to the staircase and making their way up to the 1st floor. Several minutes later, Jaezred puts his pen and inkwell away, folds the paper, and heads upstairs.
Rae sits in the private room alone, wound tight like a spring. They pour fruit-scented tea into two cups, though when their intended guest doesn’t immediately arrive, they worry that his tea will get cold and occasionally uses prestidigitation to keep it warm.
They didn’t ask the staff for him when they were booking the room. It seems that every time they rent a room here, he would just appear somehow — perhaps it’s some feature of this fanciful teahouse, or perhaps it’s an innate quality of Jaezred Vandree to simply know things.
And sure enough, several minutes later and without warning, Lord Jaezred opens the door, looking straight at Rae.
“Greetings, Rae. Would you like me to fetch Keros?” he says as he shuts the door behind him.
“Oh, hello! That’s okay, I actually just wanted to talk to ask you for some advice, no need for a whole crew.” Rae laughs a little nervously and sips their tea.
Jaezred raises a brow and takes a seat next to them. “Very well. What is it you need help with?”
“You seem like the kind of guy who has written a lot of highly confidential, very important letters.” Rae holds up a piece of folded parchment. “And I have never done anything like this in my life.” They slide it across the table to him.
“This is good,” Jaezred remarks after scanning the letter. “Perhaps it can be a little more concise, and if I were you I would remove ‘working on behalf of the adventurer community’ and your efforts in arresting Antonia — an uncharitable reading might suggest that you are some part of a foreign conspiracy to meddle in the politics of K’ul Goran… You can’t have that gossip circulating around during this time. I’m sure when Marius does some digging into you, he will learn of your working history with the Inspector. The sign-off is especially good.”
Rae nods with focus and scribbles some notes. “That makes so much sense, obviously, I need to stop being so open all of the time.” But their eyes perk up at the comment about the sign-off. “You think so? I want him to know I am genuine in wanting to help and not… as you said, ‘part of a foreign conspiracy’.”
“Yes. It shows that you do care about the people of K’ul Goran and that you’re not doing this for your own gain. The Senator might think he’ll be able to exploit your sincerity, but that would make him want to work with you all the more.”
“Okay… so it might be good that I can be a bit… naïve? I can turn it around to work in my favour? But how will I know if he is exploiting me in a good way or not?”
“That’s always hard to determine. I’m afraid one must simply get better at reading people. But… don’t get discouraged. There is an advantage to being underestimated. That means you can surprise them. I suspect this is a tactic that Marius himself has used.”
Rae’s shoulders sink just a bit at the mention of getting better at reading people, but they nod afterwards. “Right, okay. That makes sense. I can be surprising. Thank you, Jaezred, for this and everything else. I know I got annoyed the other day but that does not mean I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done to help us. I feel lost enough already trying to help make a difference in this place as it is, I can’t imagine how impossible it would’ve been without your guidance.”
“Oh, I lost my temper that time, it was unbecoming of me. And don’t sell yourself short — all I do is sip tea and give advice, you do the actual work.”
Noticing Rae’s sunken shoulders, he adds, “Look, reading people is a matter of simple deduction most of the time. Let’s start with an easy exercise: the Warborns.” He flips the parchment over and casts prestidigitation on it to conjure simple caricatures of two minotaurs: a large, hulking female in red and a relatively small male in blue. “What do you see when you see Marius and Antonia?”
Rae watches the magic form, then furrows their brow in concentration. Then they lift their head to respond to Jaezred. “A diplomat and a fighter?”
“Indeed, and now extrapolate a little further, reaching into the realm of educated guesswork. These two grew up together — one big, war-like sister and a brother who’s small for a minotaur. Raised by an admiral for a father, a military man. Who do you think was the favoured child here? What do you think their dynamic was like?”
Rae nods along, now looking at the images while they speak. “Likely Antonia was favoured, much more promising for a future in the military. And since we know they don’t get on to this day, there was probably some resentment from Marius’s side towards his sister.”
“Correct. And she likely used her superior size to push him around, solidifying that sibling hatred. Whilst Antonia is used to getting her way with her strength, Marius grew up learning that he had to fight in a different way — through manipulation and deception.”
“Ohh, okay, okay. Which, as I have been finding out, are key traits in many powerful politicians.”
Jaezred simply grins at the statement. “Reading people is a useful tool, but don’t ever get too attached to your hypotheses. You can always be wrong, because people can be surprising. A person is equally what they appear on the surface and what they try to hide.” He leans back in his chair and sips from a warm cup of tea. “Going into politics is like wading into shark-infested waters. You don’t have to be a shark in order to survive, but you should at least learn how they behave.”
“Okay, yes that makes sense.” Rae too leans back and picks up their cup. “You can say you only give advice and sip tea, but you can’t say it’s not good advice.” They allow a small smirk and sips their tea, then gives a content sigh. “And definitely good tea as well.”
He chuckles. “Glad to hear it. So, how will you be sending this letter?”
“I was looking into this, I didn’t want to send it with any old messenger. I hear the services of Wendy Eldottir in Daring Heights are very trustworthy?”
“Oh yes, Wendy is very trustworthy. She’ll get the letter to him in a most secure fashion. Good.” He nods approvingly, but then a crease forms in his brow. “And if you do get a reply or a request to meet… perhaps you could use the opportunity to gauge how willing he is to have K’ul Goran lend aid to the Dawnlands if need be. Recent developments have got me… concerned. K’ul Goran is still bound by the Aegis Accords to help the Dawnlands in times of trouble, but I fear that the threat of civil war may stall Marius’s hand.”
“Of course, I will do what I can.” Concern spreads to Rae’s facial features as they look at Jaezred’s. “Do you… Do you suspect real war for us in the near future? Actual large scale conflict? So much of this has been whispers in the dark and powerful individuals. Forgive my lack of understanding, it’s such a delicate situation but right now it’s hard for me to comprehend.”
“It’s hard for anyone to comprehend,” the drow says as he reaches into his frock coat. “I still don’t understand it fully myself, but I think I have a better view of the chessboard now.”
He pulls out a folded piece of parchment of his own and lays it open on the table — a diagram of names, symbols, and lines connecting them to one another, the rough nature of it contrasting with the neat cursive handwriting the words written in.
Rae looks over the diagram, spotting things they recognise and things they don’t. “Okay, I am familiar with each of the people seen wearing the pin… But I know the least about the Feywild part of the equation. I’ve not heard of this ‘Hunter’, nor the Temple of All Seasons.”
“I don’t even know if The Hunter is still around,” Jaezred admits. “He’s a powerful fey I vaguely heard about once… Wasn’t expecting him to be relevant now. But this horn”—he taps a finger on the Horn of the Wild Hunt—“could cause a right bloody massacre. As for the Temple of All Seasons, you could ask Miss Raine Carroway about it, she’s explored the place twice now. Look here though.” His finger moves to the three pin-wearers in the Material Plane. “Do you see the common thread between Antonia and the Vazroques?”
“The grudge against Dawnlanders?”
“Exactly. We still don’t know much about Matthias Prideborn but I’m guessing it’s the same. I believe the entity behind all of this recruited people who had a grudge against Dawnlands adventurers, having two of them start popular anti-Dawnlands movements in an effort to isolate us from our closest allies, and… well, we still don’t know what the Vazroques are planning with the crystal in Enlace, but it can't be good for us.”
“I am set to return to Enlace in the coming weeks as part of the research team hoping to heal the crystal. With any luck, we can cut that off as an option for the enemy, whatever they are planning with it. And you do believe that the true leader of this movement hasn’t shown their face yet?”
“Yes… Drusilia is, as I said, far more powerful than the other three, yet somehow I don’t think she’s the one pulling the strings.” Jaezred grabs a plate of a smoked quipper sandwich and puts it in front of Rae. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful when dealing with the rest. The Vazroques seem formidable in their own right.”
“Right, yes. One step at a time.” Rae nods gratefully for the sandwich and bites into it. As they savour the rich taste of the quipper and the freshness of the dill crème fraîche, noting the subtle hint of caviar in the bread, they take a moment to reflect on what they’d just learned and realise something. Jaezred seems to have a tendency to feed them, and it only ever happens whenever he’s showing concern.
“Did you make this one?” they ask. “Only that you mentioned enjoying cooking very much in your free time. Forgive me, every meeting we’ve had has been very clandestine and with an emphasis on serious matters. I can hardly imagine you simply cooking.”
The corner of Jaezred’s lips curl up into an enigmatic smirk. “Well, the chef of this place certainly made that one. Maybe they took inspiration from somewhere though,” he says with a wink. “Maybe when this is all over we can have one big barbecue.”
“I should like that!” they reply with a smile. “A chance to meet your partner too? You mentioned them in the same breath as your cooking. I hope I am not being too forward, but we have been working together for some weeks now and I feel as though I hardly know you. I am grasping at straws here.”
“Ooh, a double date then? You’re bringing Keros, yes?”
Rae’s cheeks turn a darker shade of pink than they already are and they sip more of their tea. “Keros! Keros and I are not dating! I do not know where you get these ideas.”
“Mmm, sure. You can move fast, Rae, but can you run away from your feelings?”
The earth genasi frowns slightly and takes another bite of a sandwich. “I’m not running from my feelings, I know exactly how I feel, thank you… And besides! I was asking questions about your personal life, not inviting you to speculate about mine!”
“Very well, very well.” Jaezred raises both palms in surrender. “Yes, my Lady Imryll would love to meet you. Just be warned — if you think my teasing is bad, imagine how it would be with twice the intensity.”
“Well then… Lovely. I will look forward to meeting the lady who can most likely put you in your place for once.”
He bursts out laughing. “It’s a date!”
A flash of purple in the periphery of his vision pulls his attention away from the document he’s working on. He looks up to see Rae speaking to the employee behind the counter, seemingly unaware of his presence. He can just barely make out a bit of what they are saying: “the Serious Business Room” and “one hour”.
Rae leaves a handful of coins on the counter before turning to the staircase and making their way up to the 1st floor. Several minutes later, Jaezred puts his pen and inkwell away, folds the paper, and heads upstairs.
Rae sits in the private room alone, wound tight like a spring. They pour fruit-scented tea into two cups, though when their intended guest doesn’t immediately arrive, they worry that his tea will get cold and occasionally uses prestidigitation to keep it warm.
They didn’t ask the staff for him when they were booking the room. It seems that every time they rent a room here, he would just appear somehow — perhaps it’s some feature of this fanciful teahouse, or perhaps it’s an innate quality of Jaezred Vandree to simply know things.
And sure enough, several minutes later and without warning, Lord Jaezred opens the door, looking straight at Rae.
“Greetings, Rae. Would you like me to fetch Keros?” he says as he shuts the door behind him.
“Oh, hello! That’s okay, I actually just wanted to talk to ask you for some advice, no need for a whole crew.” Rae laughs a little nervously and sips their tea.
Jaezred raises a brow and takes a seat next to them. “Very well. What is it you need help with?”
“You seem like the kind of guy who has written a lot of highly confidential, very important letters.” Rae holds up a piece of folded parchment. “And I have never done anything like this in my life.” They slide it across the table to him.
Dear Senator Warborn
My name is Rae. You will likely have heard of a recent uncovering of smuggled navy equipment in Jarvenhol, this smuggling operation was uncovered by myself and my companions. I have recently come into some information regarding this smuggling and thought it prudent that you should be aware of it. I have attached the documents in this letter. I leave these documents and what to do with them in your capable and rightful hands, but would highly appreciate a chance to discuss the situation and work together in the future.
For the future of the people of K’ul Goran
Kind Regards
Rae
“This is good,” Jaezred remarks after scanning the letter. “Perhaps it can be a little more concise, and if I were you I would remove ‘working on behalf of the adventurer community’ and your efforts in arresting Antonia — an uncharitable reading might suggest that you are some part of a foreign conspiracy to meddle in the politics of K’ul Goran… You can’t have that gossip circulating around during this time. I’m sure when Marius does some digging into you, he will learn of your working history with the Inspector. The sign-off is especially good.”
Rae nods with focus and scribbles some notes. “That makes so much sense, obviously, I need to stop being so open all of the time.” But their eyes perk up at the comment about the sign-off. “You think so? I want him to know I am genuine in wanting to help and not… as you said, ‘part of a foreign conspiracy’.”
“Yes. It shows that you do care about the people of K’ul Goran and that you’re not doing this for your own gain. The Senator might think he’ll be able to exploit your sincerity, but that would make him want to work with you all the more.”
“Okay… so it might be good that I can be a bit… naïve? I can turn it around to work in my favour? But how will I know if he is exploiting me in a good way or not?”
“That’s always hard to determine. I’m afraid one must simply get better at reading people. But… don’t get discouraged. There is an advantage to being underestimated. That means you can surprise them. I suspect this is a tactic that Marius himself has used.”
Rae’s shoulders sink just a bit at the mention of getting better at reading people, but they nod afterwards. “Right, okay. That makes sense. I can be surprising. Thank you, Jaezred, for this and everything else. I know I got annoyed the other day but that does not mean I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done to help us. I feel lost enough already trying to help make a difference in this place as it is, I can’t imagine how impossible it would’ve been without your guidance.”
“Oh, I lost my temper that time, it was unbecoming of me. And don’t sell yourself short — all I do is sip tea and give advice, you do the actual work.”
Noticing Rae’s sunken shoulders, he adds, “Look, reading people is a matter of simple deduction most of the time. Let’s start with an easy exercise: the Warborns.” He flips the parchment over and casts prestidigitation on it to conjure simple caricatures of two minotaurs: a large, hulking female in red and a relatively small male in blue. “What do you see when you see Marius and Antonia?”
Rae watches the magic form, then furrows their brow in concentration. Then they lift their head to respond to Jaezred. “A diplomat and a fighter?”
“Indeed, and now extrapolate a little further, reaching into the realm of educated guesswork. These two grew up together — one big, war-like sister and a brother who’s small for a minotaur. Raised by an admiral for a father, a military man. Who do you think was the favoured child here? What do you think their dynamic was like?”
Rae nods along, now looking at the images while they speak. “Likely Antonia was favoured, much more promising for a future in the military. And since we know they don’t get on to this day, there was probably some resentment from Marius’s side towards his sister.”
“Correct. And she likely used her superior size to push him around, solidifying that sibling hatred. Whilst Antonia is used to getting her way with her strength, Marius grew up learning that he had to fight in a different way — through manipulation and deception.”
“Ohh, okay, okay. Which, as I have been finding out, are key traits in many powerful politicians.”
Jaezred simply grins at the statement. “Reading people is a useful tool, but don’t ever get too attached to your hypotheses. You can always be wrong, because people can be surprising. A person is equally what they appear on the surface and what they try to hide.” He leans back in his chair and sips from a warm cup of tea. “Going into politics is like wading into shark-infested waters. You don’t have to be a shark in order to survive, but you should at least learn how they behave.”
“Okay, yes that makes sense.” Rae too leans back and picks up their cup. “You can say you only give advice and sip tea, but you can’t say it’s not good advice.” They allow a small smirk and sips their tea, then gives a content sigh. “And definitely good tea as well.”
He chuckles. “Glad to hear it. So, how will you be sending this letter?”
“I was looking into this, I didn’t want to send it with any old messenger. I hear the services of Wendy Eldottir in Daring Heights are very trustworthy?”
“Oh yes, Wendy is very trustworthy. She’ll get the letter to him in a most secure fashion. Good.” He nods approvingly, but then a crease forms in his brow. “And if you do get a reply or a request to meet… perhaps you could use the opportunity to gauge how willing he is to have K’ul Goran lend aid to the Dawnlands if need be. Recent developments have got me… concerned. K’ul Goran is still bound by the Aegis Accords to help the Dawnlands in times of trouble, but I fear that the threat of civil war may stall Marius’s hand.”
“Of course, I will do what I can.” Concern spreads to Rae’s facial features as they look at Jaezred’s. “Do you… Do you suspect real war for us in the near future? Actual large scale conflict? So much of this has been whispers in the dark and powerful individuals. Forgive my lack of understanding, it’s such a delicate situation but right now it’s hard for me to comprehend.”
“It’s hard for anyone to comprehend,” the drow says as he reaches into his frock coat. “I still don’t understand it fully myself, but I think I have a better view of the chessboard now.”
He pulls out a folded piece of parchment of his own and lays it open on the table — a diagram of names, symbols, and lines connecting them to one another, the rough nature of it contrasting with the neat cursive handwriting the words written in.
Rae looks over the diagram, spotting things they recognise and things they don’t. “Okay, I am familiar with each of the people seen wearing the pin… But I know the least about the Feywild part of the equation. I’ve not heard of this ‘Hunter’, nor the Temple of All Seasons.”
“I don’t even know if The Hunter is still around,” Jaezred admits. “He’s a powerful fey I vaguely heard about once… Wasn’t expecting him to be relevant now. But this horn”—he taps a finger on the Horn of the Wild Hunt—“could cause a right bloody massacre. As for the Temple of All Seasons, you could ask Miss Raine Carroway about it, she’s explored the place twice now. Look here though.” His finger moves to the three pin-wearers in the Material Plane. “Do you see the common thread between Antonia and the Vazroques?”
“The grudge against Dawnlanders?”
“Exactly. We still don’t know much about Matthias Prideborn but I’m guessing it’s the same. I believe the entity behind all of this recruited people who had a grudge against Dawnlands adventurers, having two of them start popular anti-Dawnlands movements in an effort to isolate us from our closest allies, and… well, we still don’t know what the Vazroques are planning with the crystal in Enlace, but it can't be good for us.”
“I am set to return to Enlace in the coming weeks as part of the research team hoping to heal the crystal. With any luck, we can cut that off as an option for the enemy, whatever they are planning with it. And you do believe that the true leader of this movement hasn’t shown their face yet?”
“Yes… Drusilia is, as I said, far more powerful than the other three, yet somehow I don’t think she’s the one pulling the strings.” Jaezred grabs a plate of a smoked quipper sandwich and puts it in front of Rae. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful when dealing with the rest. The Vazroques seem formidable in their own right.”
“Right, yes. One step at a time.” Rae nods gratefully for the sandwich and bites into it. As they savour the rich taste of the quipper and the freshness of the dill crème fraîche, noting the subtle hint of caviar in the bread, they take a moment to reflect on what they’d just learned and realise something. Jaezred seems to have a tendency to feed them, and it only ever happens whenever he’s showing concern.
“Did you make this one?” they ask. “Only that you mentioned enjoying cooking very much in your free time. Forgive me, every meeting we’ve had has been very clandestine and with an emphasis on serious matters. I can hardly imagine you simply cooking.”
The corner of Jaezred’s lips curl up into an enigmatic smirk. “Well, the chef of this place certainly made that one. Maybe they took inspiration from somewhere though,” he says with a wink. “Maybe when this is all over we can have one big barbecue.”
“I should like that!” they reply with a smile. “A chance to meet your partner too? You mentioned them in the same breath as your cooking. I hope I am not being too forward, but we have been working together for some weeks now and I feel as though I hardly know you. I am grasping at straws here.”
“Ooh, a double date then? You’re bringing Keros, yes?”
Rae’s cheeks turn a darker shade of pink than they already are and they sip more of their tea. “Keros! Keros and I are not dating! I do not know where you get these ideas.”
“Mmm, sure. You can move fast, Rae, but can you run away from your feelings?”
The earth genasi frowns slightly and takes another bite of a sandwich. “I’m not running from my feelings, I know exactly how I feel, thank you… And besides! I was asking questions about your personal life, not inviting you to speculate about mine!”
“Very well, very well.” Jaezred raises both palms in surrender. “Yes, my Lady Imryll would love to meet you. Just be warned — if you think my teasing is bad, imagine how it would be with twice the intensity.”
“Well then… Lovely. I will look forward to meeting the lady who can most likely put you in your place for once.”
He bursts out laughing. “It’s a date!”