Le Craint Family/Oiren/An Important Meeting with a Noble

Roleplay from Oiren

The tavern was quiet that day. Oiren sat at a table with a untouched mug of ale. Lily sat opposite him, fidgeting in her seat. Nerves had gotten the best of them. The barman came over, placing a small plate of roasted potatoes on the table. He placed a firm hand on Oiren's shoulder. "Dont worry young man, everything will be okay. Here, enjoy this and take your mind of the coming day." Oiren did not acknowledge him, his eyes locked on the door of the tavern. ".... will she be okay?" He murmured under his breath.

Oiren

Roleplay from Gislin Luitolf

Gislin, holding a crumpled letter in his hand, approached the tavern in Itorunt. "I hope this is the place that the fellow I've been writing to meant. It certainly fits the description," He said as he walked through the door. Looking around, he could tell that this was not the sort of place high nobility normally frequented. Even with his dirty clothes and ruddy cloak, he stuck out among most of the rest. It was obvious that had not even stopped in his new home yet, coming straight here from his travels from the Isles. Still, he had been in worse before. He had once been known as "Lord of the Wastes" after all, and this place was nothing compared to the Wastelands of the Isles. Gislin looked around the place until he located a barmaid that was in between serving customers. "Woman, I am here looking for a man and a young lady. They go by the names Oiren and Lilith. Point me in their direction, if you will," he stated. "Sir, I don't typically ask for names of the customers, and we don't get many of what you would call a 'young lady' here. The man over there did give a plate of potatoes to a man that is with a woman that might could be called that, if we didn't already know better." "Thank you, girl," Gislin said politely as he turned his eyes toward the serving-man and started to approach him.

Gislin Luitolf

Roleplay from Oiren

Oiren took notice of this. He stood up from his seat, guesturing for Lily to join him. As the man approached, Oiren bowed deeply and spoke up. "Thank you for coming your grace, it is an honour to finally meet you." He paused for a breath, "This is Lily." Oiren stood behind the young girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Please take a seat, we wont be disturbed here the owners are good people." Waiting for the man to take a seat first he moved his hand from Lily, whom was still silent at this point, and took a seat opposite Gislin. Oiren gestured for the barmaid to come over. "Would you like a drink m'lord? Its the least I can do for making you come to a place such as this."

Oiren

Roleplay from Gislin Luitolf

"Grace. I have been called many things, Lord of the Wastes, Prince of the Isles, Baron of Venas, and most recently Count of Priotness, but never Grace." he said smirking to himself as the man and woman approached, "What here is worth drinking? Is it like the stuff that, well most nobles, pass around during the freedom celebrations?" Gislin said all of this while looking more at Lilith than Oiren. Blood of the Zatirri line standing before him, after months of searching, inquiring, he had thought it all a myth. He thought that perhaps His Highness might have lied to him, but there was no mistaking. "You, my lady, you are the prize I am here to see. A true princess before my very eyes", he said bowing before the woman. He then turned his fully attention to Oiren, "If this is Lady Lilith, that I presume that would make you Oiren? It seems you have taken care of my lady well, Oiren. Before we get to the business of the deliveries I have for Lady Lilith, tell me, how is it you wish to be rewarded? Despite my past and royal title, I do not have much, but anything I can give I will. The Blood of House Zatirri is that important to me."

Gislin Luitolf

Roleplay from Oiren

Oiren took a hold of his mug, the smell of ale filled his nose and the gentle swirl of the semi clear liquid was hypnotic. "The master here makes his own brew, a bit of a local speciality. Though they do have some of the finer wines that nobles or richer patrons are used to. But this ale, there is something unique to those who have travelled the road can appreciate." He placed the mug back down. "If your grace wishes for it, I would reccomend the house ale. Something most nobles would not dare taste." The matter of discussion had begun. The dreaded words of reward, something Oiren had toiled over recently. "Your grace, I do not wish for a reward. Anything that is given to me, I simply wish for Lily to have. She deserves a better life than what she has experienced so far. For such a young woman, she has seen many hardships. Therefore, my reward is being able to see the young woman grow into a find lady." Oiren smiled softly looking over toward Lily who was beginning to stir. A nervous smile crept across her face. She held her hands in her lap, her thumb tapping gently against a thick strap of leather on her jacket. "A promise of her safety and wellbeing is all I ask for."

Oiren

Roleplay from Gislin Luitolf

"The house ale. Well if it's good enough for the caretaker of a Zatirri, then surely it is good enough for me," Gislin said as he flagged down the barkeep, "Barkeep, bring us a pitcher of the house ale for the table." Gislin placed a book and pouch on the table gently, "It is rare, even among the nobility, for a man to do something without reward. Respectable. Perhaps you are nobler than even the nobles of the north I have met. That would not be a hard feat, though. As the Prince of the Isles, I will see you viewed as a minor noble in any region that I hold control over. If the Jarl, or anyone else take issue with this, I will handle it personally as it would be a personal afront to my own honor." "You, on the other hand, my lady, are a true noble in your own right. One arguably higher than even myself, though I doubt some will see it that way. Therefore, I will see you raised as my equal.", Gislin stated after turning his attention back to Lilith. "The pouch are what few personal effects I could bring with me from the Isles after your father's death. Inside you will find a brass ring on a necklace, a petrified olive, and a pair of monogrammed Perloeni socks. This book here, is a magic item that I found in Venas as it's former Baron. It is a rule that every high noble in Sydgard carries a magic item, this one will be yours. I can skirt that law much easier than you can."

Gislin Luitolf

Roleplay from Oiren

Lily did not know how to react. Cautiously she reached out to take hold of the pouch, carefully pulling the drawstrings. As Gislin had stated, contained within were the described items. She took out the brass ring and admired it. Holding it close to her heart. Her attention turned to the petrified olive and monogrammed socks. A small smile crept across her face. "I never truly met my father. What memories I have of the time before I met Lyra and Oiren are shrouded in mystery. But to hold these items that once would have been held by my father, I cant help but feel a sense of comfort." She turned to Oiren and placed a hand atop his. "We never truly spoke about it. The only conversation of note was after the passing of Lyra when we were left without direction. Even though these trinkets are small, I cannot help but feel connected to my father." She turned her attention to the book. Its old and leathery cover with faded colours and nearly illegible lettering along its spine. She brushed her hand across the yellowing pages, not paying attention to the contents. "If I come with you, will I learn more about my father? I have found myself thinking of the past recently. With all that has happened I cant help but think about how different Oiren's, Lyra's and my lives would have been if we had never met. But then I think about why I was given to the care of Lyra in the first place. Why did my father pass me to another? I find myself struggling for answers." She closed the cover of the book, placed the ring, olive and socks back into the pouch and tied the drawstrings. She turned her attention to Oiren. "Uncle Oiren. I realise that this must be hard for you. It is certainly tough for me. We have spent so long together and I would never trade it for anything. But now, I have the opportunity to find out more about my father. Find the answers that I so desperately seek." A small tear began to form in the corner of her eye, "That is why I wish to go along with this man. I have seen the letters he has sent, I believe that he can be trusted." She gripped Oiren's hand tightly. Oiren did not react, he was overwhelmed with emotion. He knew deep down that this is what she would have wanted but it did not make it any easier for him. "Lily, my dear. I will forever only want what is best for you. You are a growing woman, you are able to make choices for yourself now. If this is what you want to do, I shall respect your decision. While I cannot support you directly like I am able to now, I shall continue to support you from the shadows and watch over you. I will always make sure that I am nearby should you ever call for me." Oiren then turned his attention to Gislin. "You have heard it from her yourself. I will respect her wishes. I would never have turned her down either way, I just wanted to hear it from her. Take good care of her m'lord." Oiren still gripped tightly onto Lily's hand as he spoke.

Oiren

Roleplay from Gislin Luitolf

Gislin watched carefully as Lilith went over the contents of the bag. The young woman appeared both moved and hurt by the gifts. Hurt was understandable, in her eyes she must feel abandoned but moved by a man she had never met, he was truly shocked. "Lilith," he began, "I've told you the significance of the ring and the olive, but those are a bit different. Your father and the former General of Perleone, now Duke, used to argue over those things like they were worth more than gold itself. I never understood it." He continued while pointing the socks, "But, yes. I promise we will do whatever it takes to figure out your father's reasons. I can tell you that there must have been a good one." Needing more time to reflect on the other issues that Lilith was having, Gislin turned his attention back to Orien and what he had said. This man seems to think this is the end, he thought to himself, but it doesn't have to be. "Oiren, you do realize the offer I gave you just a little bit ago, yes? I offered you to become more than just a commoner within my own region. While it isn't much, and you may even still be snubbed by the high nobility, particularly those outside of Sydgard, it is enough that you don't have to leave her side completely. " Gislin paused momentarily as a thought crossed his mind. There was a tournament going to be had soon. A smirk started to slightly spread across his face. He stood up from the table and grabbed the blade he had set next to him. "Lilith, Orien, my friends. With the Jarl announcing the tournament in the city recently, is dawns on me that this might be one of the best times to introduce you, my lady, as a true noble. While things like this are not normally something I would sign up for, I believe I will participate. Lady Lilith, you should accompany me to the grounds as my personal guest. Oiren, you are more than welcome as well, though if you are more uncomfortable with that, I understand. What do you say, my lady?"

Gislin Luitolf

Roleplay from Oiren

Oiren turned to Lily for a moment. She was quiet in contemplation. She could sense the unease within him. "M'lord, your offer is most generous. While I cannot become one of the nobility, I will find myself a residence within your fiefdom. A place so that I can be near to Lily but not to close to hurt her social standing." Oiren's attention turned to the thought of the tournament. The idea sounded nice, it had been a while since they last visited a tournament. Her turned to Lily once more. "Lily, you should go with Lord Gislin to the tournament. You can show off your skill with the sword." Lily looked up, she still clutched tightly to Oiren's hand. "I would like to go. I want to see what a noble man's swordsmanship looks like. Certainly their training may be better but I am sure very few of them have faced off against the monsters that plague this land. They are a much better opponent than a training dummy." A small smile crept across her face. Oiren smiled back. "Well there you have it m'lord. We would be honoured to come to the tournament. Certainly I may be looked down upon while I am there but that is nothing that I am not used to already. If you are okay with me coming along, if only for a short time, before I go off and see a house within your fiefdom." Oiren stood up from the table, took one last swig from his mug of ale. He stroked the wispy unshaven facial hair on his chin and smiled softly.

Oiren

Roleplay from Gislin Luitolf

The tournament grounds were a short walk from the tavern, but it was long enough for Gislin's personal scrivener to be almost out of breath when he found them. "Prince Gislin, thank the heavens I found you!" the young man said, still not accustomed to his lord no longer being a ruler, "Urgent news has come through from the Jarl, you should see it for yourself before you hear it second hand!" It was apparent that Gislin had already registered for the tournament, as the scribe had run from its direction implying he already had a room set up in the vicinity. He took the paper from the scribe and began to read. He stood there for a while, stricken with disbelief. "I can't believe this, there must be some mistake," Gislin whispered to himself, then looked over to his companions. "Lilith let it be your first lesson into the ways of nobility, trust no one. I was Prince of the Isles, and we merged with Sydgard thinking that part of our identity could be preserved. Yet as you can plainly see here our duchy, the last vestige of who we are, has been renamed and given to a stranger, without even some much of a word, much less discussion, with those of us that came from the isles. We sided with Sydgard the good Jarl claimed to want to preserve a part of us, and yet, it's all gone now. If we wanted this, we would have merged with Perdan, at least they were open and honest about their intent." He then quickly took the scrivener aside, told hem something in private, with only the ending being audible. "Send that to the Jarl." Upon rejoining his companions, he simply said, "I usually don't care about titles much, but this was below honorable. We should have been at least spoken to about this. I will never recognize this man as duke. I will be Prince of the Isles until this is resolved, or I die."

Gislin Luitolf