The Kraken and the Drake [closed]

Baelon had received a letter from a Greyjoy, asking to meet and talk. After his previous encounters with the ironborn of House Longshore, he wasn't entirely thrilled with the prospect... but he hadn't had any problems at the Redwain wedding, and hadn't heard any new complaints about the Longshores from his friends closer to their lands, so perhaps things were settling down a bit. All well and good, so long as it wasn't the calm before the storm.

Besides, this wasn't a Longshore, so there weren't likely to be any personal animosities directed at him. He and Yoren had had their conflicts, but the Red Priest didn't seem the sort to send an assassin after him, much less one with his liege lord's name. with all that in mind, and hearing that this Greyjoy would be coming to Castle Grenward for the tourney anyway, it seemed like an opportune time to meet. If it went well, perhaps it could serve to ease any remaining tensions between the two houses.

He was dressed in casual finery, not as good as what he would be wearing to the Ball, but much better than what he would wear in the training yard. in a gesture of friendliness, he is almost completely unarmed and unarmored, bearing only the Valyrian steel dagger he had been gifted for saving Ser Eoric Tully's life. It would serve well enough if he had to defend himself, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

He waited in a small chamber in the castle, sparsely furnished with a table and chairs. He stood at the window watching workers constructing the lists for the joust.

Approaching the room that he was told to Darron checks over the contents of his satchel one more time confirming all of his writing tools were there. He is wearing some padded clothing & has a hand axe on his waist, not expecting a fight but better having something than nothing if the worst happens.

Once he arrives at the door he enters into the room. "Good evening, Ser Baelon I presume?"

'Ser'? Not a good start. As likely an accidental insult as intentional; the heraldry books in the Iron Islands probably haven't been updated, yet. Still, he's lucky I'm not as touchy about it as some. At least he has the sense not to come fully armed and armored as some have done.

"Lord Baelon, yes. You must be Master Darron? I hope you are enjoying yourself here at Castle Grenward. Master Daveth has been working hard to ensure that everything is as perfect as it can be for his and his brother's weddings."

He glances out the window once more, putting his mind in order before speaking.

"May I ask what you wished to speak to me about?"

As if I don't already know. What else would an Ironborn be seeking me out about?

"Ah yes, lord my mistake." A smile appears on Darrons face when he finishes this sentence.

"Yes I am indeed Darron and it has been a most pleasant experience so far thank you for asking."

"I have a few questions and would like a account from you of the events that ultimately led to the death of Athelstan."

If I had my way I'd never hear that name again, nor speak it. Someday, eventually, maybe.

"Of course, of course. Please, have a seat." He gestures to the table and chairs.

He makes no move to the table himself, but rather sits in the window casing, enjoying the contrast of the coolness of the solid stone under him and the warm sun beating on is back.

"Before I begin, how much do you know of the death of Roddric Longshore? I believe the two deaths are intimately connected."

"Yes, thank you." Darron takes a seat and opens his satchel getting out parchment to take notes.

With quill in hand Darron responds. "Roddric Longshore heir to the house, killed during a sparing match by the bastard Athelstan, supposedly for using undue force. A reprehensible crime for both the drowned god and the seven, but that's beside the point do you have anything else to add on him?"

Darron noticeably loses his calm demeanour that he has had so far when talking about how Roddric was killed before regaining his composure.

[OOC Apologies, I somehow missed your post ]

"To be honest, I really know nothing about what really happened. I was not there, and heard different rumors about what happened - some saying that Roddric used excessive force and Athelstan retaliated, others saying that Athelstan struck to kill without provocation. Some say that Athelstan did it on behalf of Yoren, other sthat he planned to kill Yoren as well to force Lord Longshore to recognize him and name him heir."

He shakes his head.

"How it relates to Athelstan's death is not the murder itself, but rather the trial. While Yoren was unable to successfully argue Athelstan's case before Lord Gorman, Lord Gorman saw fit to grant him a trial by combat. That's where I came in. I volunteered to serve as champion against Athelstan. However, I did not do so because I felt he was guilty or because I wished him harm. As I said, I have no idea what had happened, and had not known either man prior."

He thinks back, and shakes his head ruefully.

"Try to understand that this was a complicated time for me. I was not yet a lord, just a minor knight in service to House Marsten. In fact, I was sworn shield to Lady Gwyneth, whom I have since married. At the time though, we both had intentions toward others. I was wooing Lady Corrine at the behest of her mother, a desperate gamble to preserve House Marsten against suitors that sought only to gain the Marsten lands. Lady Gwyneth was wooing a friend of mine, Lord Dunstan Tullison... for complicated reasons that are not particularly relevant."

He shakes his head, almost disbelievingly.
Somehow out of that mess we got 2 or 3 happy and successful marriages. If I hadn't lived through it, I might not believe it.

"What is relevant is that Dunstan had volunteered, and I feared that he would be grievously wounded or even killed. I did not want to see that happen to a friend, and even moreso, did not want Gwyn to go through that... so I did the only thing I could think of to save them. I volunteered, knowing that Lord Gorman could not pass up the opportunity. You see, if Dunstan died at Athelstan's hands, Lord Gorman would lose a bannerman. If I were to die... well, I'm sure you've heard the rumors about whom my father is. Needless to say, my politics and Lord Gormans are quite contrary to one another. Of course, if Athelstan lost, then the Mallisters and Kytleys and other river houses that have suffered attacks by Ironborn reavers would be pleased. So you see, selecting me was a win/win for Lord Gorman. For my part, I was confident I could win, and I did. Athelstan was judged to be a murderer and a kinslayer in the eyes of gods and men, and cut out his eye - the punishment Lord Gorman demanded.

For his part, Athelstan blamed me or Lady Corrine in turns for it, and that, I believe, is what led to the Iron Mines incident."

He pauses to give Darron some time to finish writing.

"Do you have any questions so far? I'm sure you can see how our history may have... complicated matters when we met again to investigate the occurrences at the King's behest."

[OOC No problemo]

"So you say at the time you had no knowledge of Athelstan prior to volunteering yourself and you were also pursuing the hand of Lady Corrine. Now I am under the impression that Athelstan was also pursuing Lady Corrine. Using this information do you think the argument could be made that you somehow found this out and seen a chance to remove him as a opponent for her hand thus that was the true reason you volunteered for the duel? I don't mean this to offend Lord Baelon, just getting a idea of your thoughts on how some could have interrupted the situation with the full knowledge."

"Do you have any specific examples of times it was apparent to you that Athelstan blamed you and Lady Corrine before the mines incident?"

"That's all the questions for now, yes combat does seem to have that effect never mind losing your eye over it. But yes please continue."

Baelon waves his hand in annoyance - though the annoyance seems to be more directed at himself then at Darron.

"Yes of course. My apologies I wasn't clear - yes, I knew of the.... interest... between Athelstan and Lady Corrine. I had meant that I did not know them prior to the murder, not prior to the trial."

He sighs.

"He was exotic, foreign to her. Believe me," his fingers toy with a lock of his silver hair. "The exotic can garner a lot of attention. However, my objective was Lady Corrine's hand, not her heart. In that, he was never truly competition - to be blunt, he would not have been a socially acceptable option for a husband - even before the charge of kinslaying - and she knew that. I was scarcely a better option at the time, but between being a knight and the acclaim I was receiving at the tourney, I would have been minimally acceptable, and at least I could be trusted to have House Marsten's best interests in mind".

He thinks back, searching for answers to Darron's second question.

"He said something about his loss being Corrine's fault right at the trial, just before he removed his eye. I believe there was more, but Lady Corrine would be the best to ask for details. Ask carefully, if you do, and with her husband present - he is less likely to misinterpret your request for information as a threat if he sees it first-hand.

"For my own part, I don't know if he ever actually said he blamed me, but it was evident from his attitude and actions toward me at Battle Valley. I'm given to understand that he had a rather unpleasant time in Lord Longshore's dungeons because of it... it changed him, and not for the better."

"I see, she also wouldn't exactly be a socially acceptable person for him either, do you know any of the customs of Ironborn Lord Baelon?"

"Yes it does sound like I will need to approach her about this and thank you for the warning, I imagine it best to approach both at the same time in that case."

Darron checks his ink to make sure he has enough to take down the next part possibly the most important.

"Could you expand on what exact actions he took against you at the valley and if you would expand on the events that happened their i'm ready to write them down now."

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"I see, she also wouldn't exactly be a socially acceptable person for him either, do you know any of the customs of Ironborn Lord Baelon?"

"I don't, no. My only contact with Ironborn prior to that tourney was fighting off reavers in Mallister lands as a hedge knight. There wasn't exactly time for a cultural exchange."

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"Could you expand on what exact actions he took against you at the valley and if you would expand on the events that happened their i'm ready to write them down now."

"Of course. His actions against me personally were small, petty. Insulting words, and the like. I think he was trying to bait me into starting a fight. I had no interest, and did not oblige. My tongue may occasionally take action against my better judgement, but my hotheadedness does not extend to drawing steel. No, the incident at the Iron Mines was likely exacerbated to a great degree by those tensions, but it was not about them.

"On that day, myself and a contingent of others from Houses Coldbrook and Drakeson went to investigate what had caused the fire in the mines. I was, I will admit, out of my depth with that particular investigation, but as the closing of the mines had a rather drastic impact on the first war in the Stepstones, I had a personal reason for getting to the bottom of it. As we approached the mines, I happened to see Athelstan and Lady Corrine, along a small escort of Ironborn and Marsten soldiers heading to another mine entrance. At the time I thought little of it except that given their history Lady Corrine ought to be more careful who she chose to spend time with. It made more sense, later.

"We found evidence that there had been wildfire stored in the mines, but that it had not been responsible for the fires that shut them down. The wildfire had come later. more worrying was that there was no actual wildfire there, just broken jars and residue. Moreover, some of the evidence of the wildfire had been moved from one mine to another, apparently to obfuscate which house had possession of it... but the person who had tampered with the evidence did so ineptly, and left behind evidence of their treasonous act. Some cloth, torn from a sleeve or pantleg, I suppose. Daveth identified it as being Ironborn - something to do with the weave, or some such. I grew concerned that Athelstan had some treachery in store for Corrine, so I took my soldiers - expert marksmen - to the mine where I had seen them. To my relief, they were already exiting the mine, with no sign of harm to Lady Corrine. I asked to speak with her privately, as a way to separate her from Athelstan. He may not have harmed her, but there was still the issues of missing wildfire and evidence tampering, and I didn't want Corrine to be taken as a hostage or get caught in the middle of a fight, should he resist."

He shakes his head.

"That's where it all started to go wrong. My troops drew arrows on him, and I demanded that he disarm and surrender himself, to be brought before a full assembly of the royal investigators for questioning. He refused, saying he had taken some wildfire and hidden it, and began to walk towards his horse. I think he had decided it was better to die by my order than to face trial and either execution or a return to imprisonment. I could not afford for him to be killed, however, as I feared that there could be a plot to use that wildfire on my wife - then pregnant with our son - in some kind of act of retribution. Even if Athelstan were dead, I could not be sure that other conspirators might follow through without him. So I had my troops kill his horse, and had them aim next at his legs - maimed he could not flee, but could still answer questions."

He shakes his head again, clearly displeased by what had occurred.

"What happened next surprised everyone. Athelstan drew his axe, but did not charge at me, as I expected. He ran at Lady Corrine. Perhaps he blamed her for that situation, too. Perhaps he thought my men would break disciple and kill him to save her, even though I had ordered them not to. I moved to intercept, but before I could, Corrine had shot him. It was not immediately fatal, but probably would have been if the arrow were removed. He confessed to tampering with the evidence, and - in a last act of decency - threw himself down the mine rather than let Corrine bear the guild of having killed him."

He shakes his head again.

"We never did find the wildfire he claimed to have taken, but he may have been lying about that, hoping he would have a chance to escape."

"I see well let me explain. Athelstan to my knowledge tried to stay true to the Ironborn ways, at least before the kinslaying, now with that in mind its odd that he would seek to marry and presumably take Corrine as his rock wife his one true wife. Most Ironborn would happily take her as a salt wife which would be a secondary wife, as a sign of status which I can't imagine she would be too thrilled with if Athelstan had planned that. Either way its irrelevant now just a observation I have made."

"Did you and Corrine talk after she had separated from Athelstan and if so what was it about?"

"Did Corrine say anything to Athelstan while he was cornered by your men?"

"Ok and with that do you have anything else to add, if not I think I have all I need if you would read through and confirm everything is correct then we can both sign."

[Darron has wrote a in depth document on everything that was discussed nothing added on that wasnt said and the only thing being omitted is his observation about Corrine not being a fit Rock wife.]

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"I see well let me explain. Athelstan to my knowledge tried to stay true to the Ironborn ways, at least before the kinslaying, now with that in mind its odd that he would seek to marry and presumably take Corrine as his rock wife his one true wife. Most Ironborn would happily take her as a salt wife which would be a secondary wife, as a sign of status which I can't imagine she would be too thrilled with if Athelstan had planned that. Either way its irrelevant now just a observation I have made."

"To be honest, I do not think he was seeking to make Corinne a wife of any sort. I can't say I ever really talked with him about it though.

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"Did you and Corrine talk after she had separated from Athelstan and if so what was it about?"

"Not to any significance. She might have asked what I wanted to speak about or some such, but as I said, I only intended to get her out of harm's way before arresting Athelstan."

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"Did Corrine say anything to Athelstan while he was cornered by your men?"

"Initially she was angry at me, not understanding why I was doing it. After I stated what we found, she asked him if it was true. I'm sorry, I can't remember precisely what was said - it was over a year ago, and it's been a busy year."

Darron Greyjoy wrote:"Ok and with that do you have anything else to add, if not I think I have all I need if you would read through and confirm everything is correct then we can both sign."

Baelon reads it over, nodding. He takes the quill, signing "The above account is true and accurate, as recalled by myself, Lord Baelon Drakeson on this, the ninth day of the first month of the year 127 After the Landing."

"If you want additional information about the evidence we found in the mines, Daveth Coldbrook is the man to speak to. Though, he's a little busy with his wedding and managing all of this" he waves his hand around, presumably indicating the tourney "...so I'm not sure he'd be able to meet with you. Lord Gorman's people may have records of both trials, as well. Let me tell you, that man does not like me, and I do not think he was pleased that he could not find anything to punish me for. I'm kind of surprised he didn't levy another fine on House Longshore for wasting his time... he fined them quite a bit at the first trial, that's for sure."

Once Baelon Finishes signing Darron signs as well finishing up packing his things.

"Yes I wouldn't want to intrude at such a time about something like this, but yes I will talk to him at some point and I will look into getting a transcript of the trial's, I don't know much of Lord Gorman but anything I learn from the transcript ill make sure to check it's valid."

"Lord Baelon, thank you very much for your time, I wish we could have met under better circumstances. If you remember anything else that you think could be relevant I will be staying at the Longshores pavilion."

"I don't particularly like retelling that story over and over again, it was not a particularly enjoyable set of circumstances. However, if doing so can help ease these senseless tensions between Drakeson and Longshore, it is well worth it. I have no desire to make trouble for House Longshore, and while I will not claim to be immune to any assaults - military or otherwise - that House ngshore could send at us, it would be very costly - as indeed, it already has been. I am willing to let the past be the past and move forward, with neutrality if not amicability."

He looks out the window at the workers constructing the lists, taking his time to form his next statement with care. Turning back to Darron, he continues.

"In order for that to happen, though, I need to be able to work with a Longshore representative that I know has enough influence in the house to help direct the actions they take, and that I can trust. Yoren is... volatile... and he may harbor personal feelings of ill-will. I can live with that, but does not make him a particularly well suited ambassador."

He looks the young Greyjoy over, trying to get a measure of him.

"I am hoping that can be you. I wasn't sure what to expect of this meeting, but you have been courteous, and seem more interested in the truth of what happened than in making accusations. Those are good signs."

"It is of benefit to me that House Longshore prospers, to that end I am am interested in seeing a end to tensions."

"I am willing to be mediator between House Drakeson and House Longshore if you truly want to make amends."

"I wish for peace and prosperity for all, but that is unfortunately impossible. We go to war in a couple of months, and there is likely to be another one sometime after - I would hope that the Queen and her followers would come to their senses before then, but it seems improbable. With unavoidable conflicts on the horizon, avoidable ones are even more foolish. If we exhaust ourselves fighting each other, we will be ill prepared when another foe arrives."

He pauses, thinking.

"Perhaps as a gesture of mutual good will, an arrangement can be made that is beneficial to both houses. We will be facing Triarchy pirates in the Stepstones, and sea power will no doubt be crucial to our victory. House Drakeson has assembled a small navy, but having some Longshore warships join us would no doubt be helpful. Of course, we would hire them as mercenaries, and pay a fair wage for their services. You look like a sturdy warrior - If you are joining the war effort, your presence as their leader would be quite welcome as well - and your services paid for, of course."

[OOC - we can negotiate details by PM, if there is interest in the offer]

"Well said Lord Baelon and yes the Ironborn's expertise when it comes to naval warfare and landings will be of benefit in this coming war. I believe we could come to some sort of arrangement the details of such we can discuss at another time."

With that Darron offers to shake Baelon's hand.

[OOC - Yep sounds good.]

"I look forward to it." He says with a smile, reaching out and shaking Darron's hand.

[/scene? A PM will be coming with an offer - but I'll need to discuss the particulars with Gwyn first - Baelon has the authority to unilaterally make decisions, but that's IC not OOC lol]

[/Scene. Yep sounds good.]