Lord Grey II and the Smith Discuss

Characters in this scene: Lord Grey II, The Smith

**fads68 (DM to lordgreyii):** If you have some time, I was hoping we could have a discussion.

**lordgreyii (DM):** What is it?

**fads68 (DM):** I heard about the situation Silver is currently in.

**fads68 (DM):** As you might know, I often communicate with the major city Lords. I've had to explain my involvement in OMO to them more than once. It seems to me that your anger came from an interaction that was had on this site.

**fads68 (DM):** With that in mind, I would like bargain for the safety of Silver and Glory.

**lordgreyii (DM):** Not to be impolite, but I am doubtful of your ability to bargain for such a thing. I am, of course, willing to hear your proposal, but I warn you now that it is not an easy thing you ask for. My status at Court and the respect of my peers is at stake.

**fads68 (DM):** You know who I am. You know what I make. While I cannot offer one of my peerless blades, I would create for you one of quality befitting a Lord. My blades are a symbol of status in and of themselves, and as you should know from what I spoke of my methods, I could create a blade that raises your status, earns you respect, is even tailor made to fill a story for you.

**lordgreyii (DM):** You do impress with your skills, it is true. I respect your ability and wisdom in incorporating even Fae artifacts into your works.

**lordgreyii (DM):** However, you even say that you cannot offer a peerless blade. Your skills are fine and great, but your lesser works can be matched. For even your greater works, I believe I could set Fae working for a century and a day to produce a legendary blade.

**lordgreyii (DM):** Regardless, if I were to accept, this would mark me as a Fae that accepts bribery to assuage my honor.

**fads68 (DM):** One of your Fae might produce a legendary blade, but it would not be one of mine, and that carries weight.

**fads68 (DM):** I had put thought into that matter as well. You know how expensive my material needs to make a blade are; if every last artifact was procured by Silver and Glory, by their own efforts and resources, I say it would not be bribery. It would be their punishment, in such a way that your honor would rise back greater than ever.

**lordgreyii (DM):** Respectfully, I would advise against sullying your good name and works with the two. I see merit in your suggestion; do not think that I am inconsiderate of your words. However, this would be a cost paid by you to save them. This does not teach them of their folly. This does not warn others of their folly. I cannot abide by this.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I do not consider myself a cruel Fae. If all I sought was retribution, the Practitioner and her Familiar would already be dead.

**fads68 (DM):** Do you think I would make this easy for them? Before I awakened I spent years scouring Europe, scrounging around castles long picked clean in hopes of finding anything I might use. They would need maybe half the materials, but they would have weeks. I suspect they would have to pull on every connection, beg for help from everyone they knew, take on debts to a great many. That would be their warning to others, their lesson.

**fads68 (DM):** Do you think I am doing this for them? I am not. I am doing this so that I might shield OMO from the scrutiny of the likes of London and Moscow, and not have to explain why a practitioner met such a fate as you might impose on them due to OMO's existence.

**fads68 (DM):** Do I think you cruel? Not for a Fae, but I think Fae are, to heavily generalize, cruel. More importantly, that is how the Great Lords of our time think, and they would judge this forum for your actions. You may exist for long after this forum's end and thus not care if it were to be wiped from existence, but I would care. That is why I stoop to bargaining for the lives of fools.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I do not believe it hard to explain; OMO is a means of communication, and they elected to use that means to give insult. One could use postage to do the same, but few argue that we should rid ourselves of the postage system.

**lordgreyii (DM):** If you wish, I can speak to these Great Lords myself. I would lay no blame on OMO for this, nor do I believe should others.

**lordgreyii (DM):** While I do not agree with a decision to judge the forum by this measure, and would regret the loss of this forum, I do not take this as reason enough to retract my actions. The route you propose does not bring me the honor and respect I would otherwise lose by not dealing with these fools by my own actions.

**fads68 (DM):** I believe you do not know the Great Lords as I do. You are a Lord among Fae, and they would consider you an honored guest, but I am included in the highest of circles. Frankly, I do not know if they would listen to you, for they are too stuck in their ways to understand OMO. At the very least, I might be forced to take a stance against your presence on the forum, which a situation that I wholeheartedly hope never comes to pass.

**fads68 (DM):** I fail to see how this route does not restore your honor and respect twice over. It is an easy sell, one might say 'Look how I captured these fools who insulted me, and set them to slave away so that I can have a blade from the Legendary Smith of Appalachia'.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I do not merely call myself lord, Practitioner, I am truly Fae Nobility. I am amongst the Peerage of the Spring Court and have had many audiences with the Fae King and Queen themselves. Do not insult me by implying that I am lesser than my station.

**lordgreyii (DM):** However, I do respect your position, so I shall explain: I have already set a fate for them, a fate that satisfies both my and my Court's sensibilities. You propose a fate that is better than that fate. I can accept that fate and look weak for easing their lot in life and accepting what would be viewed as correction from outside the Court. That is no longer an issue of the Practitioner and her Familiar.

**lordgreyii (DM):** Acceeding to your request is itself a political act that I cannot accept. I apologize for the necessity.

**fads68 (DM):** I did not insult your position. I merely compared it to mine, which I do not find to be an enviable one. I am included in these highest circles for my expertise, but my position is precarious. If I were to declare the fate of a practitioner over a petty insult I would be cut down for my actions.

**fads68 (DM):** May I be informed as to the specifics of this fate? Nimue speaks kindly of no Court, so I do not know much of how the sensibilities of yours compare.

**lordgreyii (DM):** Your Nimue ought to be very aware of the literal deadliness of Fae politics. Matters of honor and respect at this height are questions of life and death. Fae have been assassinated over tiny slips in showing respect. I do not expect you to be familiar with it, hence my educational stance. Were I to show weakness in this, I could expect my holdings to diminish, my support vanish, and my life threatened. That is why such insult must be repaid harshly and immediately.

**lordgreyii (DM):** We could quibble over the use of the word 'petty', but I shall forgive you this.

**lordgreyii (DM):** The Practitioner and her Familiar are to be denied comfort and connections, their works and plans sabotaged, their items and bearings misplaced. Among other things; your sympathies towards them make me wary, perhaps unduly, of sharing full details. I'm confident you understand.

**fads68 (DM):** Nimue has told me as much, but also expressed the belief that my offer was worth more.

**fads68 (DM):** You are well aware of my circumstances. Once you take action, I cannot impede you by deed. I could swear not to let the information reach them from me or mine, if that is the concern. Regardless, I would like to maintain my current relationship with you and yours, and I sincerely hope that you feel the same. If you tell me the entirety of this fate you have planned, I would be willing to make a sword on your commission.

**lordgreyii (DM):** You and your Nimue believe that a sword that you would make for me is worth more than my life and holdings? I remind you that this is not only of the Practitioner and her Familiar, but of the political ramifications of accepting this deal at all. Especially with the consideration that this decision was made so recently; I would seem flighty and prone to indecision.

**fads68 (DM):** The consideration was that owning one of my swords is a privileged and honor so far afforded to nobody. Not London, not Moscow, not even me.

**fads68 (DM):** Will you respond to the second half of my message, or will you ignore it?

**lordgreyii (DM):** Owning one of your swords would indeed be an honor. One must be alive and well to claim such honor.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I do not ignore your messages. I would like to continue our current relationship as it stands. I am uncertain if this is a bargain I would make at this time.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I've an idea. I could send no further instructions to those I have sent, so that you could be assured that things remain unchanged from my original orders, and give you the means to ascertain their fates for yourself. It is a harsh but just fate, considering the attack that was attempted on my person.

**fads68 (DM):** I did not expect to need to elaborate more: owning one of my swords, according to Nimue, is enough of an honor that even the news that you would own the blade would stabilize your reputation.

**fads68 (DM):** Your idea assuages me of little. What concerns me is more your intentions as to the duration and ultimate end of this punishment, as what you have described so far may be far less or far more than what I would expect. To plainly state my intentions, I would like to be assured that you do not intend for Silver and Glory to be excessively harmed in body, mind, or practice. It is a subjective thing, which is why I ask for information.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I begin to tire of this. Your Nimue is wrong. I explain this as a courtesy; you are not owed explanation. Their attack would have robbed me of my holdings, therefore I deny them theirs. Their attack would have robbed me of my social standing, therefore I diminish theirs. Their attack would have threatened my life, therefore (and quite magnanimously, I would think) I deny them the comforts and pleasures of life.

**lordgreyii (DM):** I do not dictate the forms this will take, I instructed Fae of my will and trust that it will be done. I did not order them to be physically harmed, though that may occur. I did not order their Practice or abilities hampered, though that may occur. I did not order their minds broken beyond repair, though they shall experience much hardship.

**lordgreyii (DM):** All of this, and given the threat to my existence, they should count themselves lucky that I do not order their death. I would be within my rights to do so. I do not consider any of this excessive, Practitioner.

**fads68 (DM):** It seems your position was more precarious than it appeared from the outside. I apologize that I misjudged you. Goodbye.