A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 93: Plotting

"Any preliminary thoughts, boys?" the drow mage asked.

"Well. I think that it's likely you'll get them to talk to you. Ethefein at the very least will come, and he was more in-the-know than I was. Not sure how much so," Tsabdrin theorized as he sat cross-legged on the ground near his sister. "The children are doing well, by the way -" Tsabdrin blinked. "Cal, were you aware of the children?"

Selene frowned. She had been far too busy 'catching up' to actually, well, catch him up.

Caleldir furrowed his brow. "I knew they existed. I did not know they were here. I should have, though. We discussed freeing them sooner rather than later."

"They are here now. Ashyr rescued them when she was first trying to find you after you got sold into slavery. Well, Ashyr and Risa rescued them," Selene explained as she gently urged Caleldir onto the couch that she was on. Ever since he got back, she practically insisted on being in constant contact with him. "Brother, you saw the children last. How are they doing? Actually, could you get them? They should meet their future House Consort."

Tsabdrin sighed as he stood to obey his sister's orders. He was the only drow who took even the slightest amount of interest in the next generation of Duskhaven. There was Risa and the R.I.S.As to take care of them, of course, so they weren't entirely neglected. Just rather ignored by their older female relatives. "As you wish, sister," He said in not quite the most respectful tone.

"Good to hear that your attempt to rescue me bore some fruit, even if I was long gone," Caleldir said gratefully while Tsabdrin was away. "It worked out, though. We have the Dinoryn heir on our side now." And maybe having an army of children was not a complete lost cause either. Ugh. He wished that he had not been captured. "I would be glad to meet these children." Although being introduced to children as 'the future House Consort' seemed a bit odd. Because he was fairly certain that one of them was a girl, and he would be expected to... Caleldir shook that thought away. Ugh. This 'consort' thing was weird. He had been more enthusiastic about it when it had been just Ashyr and Selene.

"Could have ended better," Selene grumbled. "I would have much preferred a better way to get Dinoryn potentially on our side. I'm sure we would have figured out a way..." She trailed off and sighed; it was all useless musings on a thing that had already happened and could not be changed. What happened, happened. All they could do now was deal with it. It also occurred to Selene that a good deal of those children not wanted by their mothers could be very useful in the future.

That was when Tsabdrin came back with Dizafaerae in his arms and the twins trailing behind him, one holding his hand, the other holding the other's hand. They seemed happy enough to be out - and in the library no less. All three gazed wide-eyed at all the books. "This is Caleldir. He's going to be the Consort," he told the younglings.

Internally, Caleldir grimaced. He hoped the children did not know what 'Consort' meant. Externally, he flashed them his most dazzling smile. "It is an honor to meet you all," he said, getting down on one knee to be closer to eye level with the children.

"Can you introduce yourself?" Tsabdrin asked the girl in his arms as he set her down. The boys decided at that moment to be shy and hid behind their uncle.

The girl looked entranced with the pretty male, and therefore quite eager to introduce herself. "'m Ditsa," she said matter-of-factly as she walked up to him and held out a small hand.

"We've been practicing that one. Though she's supposed to say her full name, aren't you madam?" Tsabdrin chided.

And was completely ignored.

Caleldir took the girl's hand and carefully and put it to his lips like young lords did with the ladies of his homeland. "And I am Caleldir, young 'Ditsa'. I hear you have a longer, prettier name. Can you say your whole name?"

Both Tsabdrin and Selene watched the introduction with casual curiosity. It was not weird for them. In fact, it was a scene that they had watched a couple of times with their own father and a female child who was not related to him. Except usually there was more ceremony and the age difference was quite a bit different. Caleldir was, either way, younger or way older than Sornamal, depending on how one wanted to look at it.

... Well, perhaps it was a little bit different for Selene that time. In another couple of decades, Selene might have to share with 'Ditsa.' Or not. Ultimately, it was Ashyr's decision who got to use the House Consort.

Meanwhile, a look of ultimate concentration crossed Dizafaerae's face. "Ditsa-fay-eee," she managed for the pretty male with the dazzling smile. It was close, but not quite correctly pronounced.

"She's having problems with certain consonants," Tsabdrin explained with an amused exhalation of breath. "Us nobles seem to think that a name isn't good enough if the person can pronounce it easily in the first decade or so. I think it might be a written law somewhere." He was actually grinning when he said this. His whole countenance seemed lighter around the children.

"Nobles giving and using over-complicated names is common in quite a lot of cultures. Not all, though. Some nobles are just content with very long rather than very complicated," Caleldir observed. He returned his attention to the girl who would have been the rebel's puppet matron but now was simply another Duskhaven girl. One of three/four.

"Dizafaerae?" he verified. "A good name indeed. So, young lady Dizafaerae, how old are you?" She seemed quite young to him, just barely more than a toddler. So, it would be many decades before he had to worry about anything. That was something of a relief. For now, she was just a cute kid.

"'M eight!" Diza announced proudly. "Was gunna be t' boss of you, you know." This was said with even more pride and a light of ambition in her brilliantly red eyes.

"Drow from infancy, eh?" Caleldir said with amusement. "Well, young lady, maybe one day you can be my boss, but for now I am the boss. You have to learn to take orders before you can give them. Eight is a good number. I was eight once. But when I was your age, I was much older. Almost four times as old!" Caleldir had grown up rather quickly, after all. Mentally he had matured almost at the rate of his mother's race, although physically he had grown just slightly slower than a human. He had been a solemn, precocious child.

"You were never going to be the boss of him, Dizafaerae. This one's a different Consort, I think, than the one you were told you were going to have," Selene said firmly. "Father would not have stayed with Duskhaven, though. You would not have even gotten him."

"Which Consort was she going to have?" Caleldir asked Selene in Deusterran. "How much of that sort of thing does she even understand at this age? I did not grow up around many elves, I am afraid. Mostly fae-blooded humans and fae. I knew plenty of elves, but not this young."

"To answer your first question; I don't know. Maybe the rebels were thinking my sire would join them. Maybe there was going to be a whole new consort." Selene responded in Caleldir's native language. She was growing fairly proficient at it, though her accent still wasn't perfect by any means. "Our children tend to understand how things go as soon as they are able to comprehend it. At this point, she probably has some idea of what a Consort is and does. But she'd probably more interested in you having to do everything she says. Bring her sweets. Rub her feet. That sort of thing."

"Makes sense," Caleldir replied with amusement. "She wants the adults to do as she says. Typical bossy child."

"Something like that," Selene finished speaking in Duesterran with a smile. She then switched back to undercommon and addressed the little girl. "Now come here, let me get a good look at you; it's been a while. Let Lord Caleldir meet your cousins."

A pout began to form on the little girl's dark cherub face. She didn't look like she wanted to see Selene at all. Tsabdrin, however, pushed the girl towards his sister, which got her moving in the right direction. Then the adult male maneuvered the other two young ones out from behind him. It proved to be a slightly more difficult task. They clung to each other and worked together to keep themselves out of the spotlight.

Caleldir glanced over at the two boys. "And how about you two young nobles?" He said. "You do not need to be afraid of me. I do not bite. Very often." He said that last bit with the sort of mock exaggerated toothy smile that pretended to threaten but actually reassured.

"He's lying. He is going to bite us!" one finally insisted as the other one nodded emphatically.

"Yes, you have it right," he said dryly. "I am a vampire. I am going to suck out all your blood. So run in fear, little drow! There is no sun down here to protect you from my vampireness!" He made an exaggeratedly 'scary' face.

Exaggerated and joking or not, the twins took a couple of steps back for them strangely animated male.

"When has an adult ever bit you?" Tsabdrin asked with an expression of annoyed disbelief.

"'Rahc bit Liny once," One of the twins claimed with much better diction than their little cousin managed. "... but Liny was trying to ride him like a spider."

Tsabdrin rubbed his temples. "Of course he did. Well, I think you'll be safe if you don't try to climb on Lord Caleldir. Introduce yourselves or I won't have R.I.S.A. Make you honeyrolls when we get back."

That made them move, though they were still extremely cautious and never let go of each other's hands. One introduced himself as Kolrin, the other as Linyor. Aside from their names being different, they were exactly identical in appearance and expression. Even down to how their shoulder-length hair was brushed to the side.

"They're still getting used to all the care and attention they've been getting after we kidnapped them. Ethefein had to focus most of his attention on Dizafaerae, it seems. They were encouraged to entertain themselves and stay away from the adults." Tsabdrin explained. That situation seemed to annoy him. "It's a bit of a wonder that they're able to talk so clearly in Undercommon." His lips turned downward. "While Diza, who is a similar age, has so many problems."

Caleldir glanced between the girl and the boys. Then he addressed the twins again; they clearly needed more attention than Dizafaerae did. "Seriously though, you can actually climb on me. In fact, if you want to ride me like a spider, I would be happy to carry you around. Hmm... what if I turned into a spider? I think I could actually do that..." Polymorph self. That would be the right spell. He could find the inspiration to manage a polymorph one of these days. "You two are getting along with R.I.S.A., then?" he asked them. "Want me to tell you a secret?" He leaned down in rather closely if they let him. "I built R.I.S.A." he said conspiratorially.

-It is true!- R.I.S.A.'s major projected avatar confirmed. -The Master Librarian here built me! Almost like my mother!- R.I.S.A.'s general behavior towards the kids was very motherly. It seemed that maternal instincts had made their way into the program even before she any biology with which to be a mother.

Caleldir wrinkled his nose. "I am not a mother!" he complained. "That would be Archmage Birchborn."

"He built you?" one of the twins exclaimed with wonder. They spoke more easily and confidently with R.I.S.A. than they did with every other person. She was the one they had the most experience with, after all. They were also completely used to her popping in and out and sometimes being a disembodied voice.

-Indeed,- R.I.S.A. said indulgently. This particular avatar was pretty much the same as her former default (naked but undetailed) and more or less acted and functioned as R.I.S.A. always had. She remained a subprogram, though. Her main program, housed in her biological body, was currently asleep. -You see, I am a program. I was built, not born like you. A very long time ago, before your Great-Grandmother Duskhaven built this city, there was this land called Deusterra...- Little purple images floated in the air in front of R.I.S.A. as she told the story. She waved her hands around and gestured as if her gestures were controlling the images, but it was merely for effect. The images were of things like the old Duskhaven Founder searching through strange, lushly forested caves, a city sprouting out, then of the Monastery where Caleldir had grown up. R.I.S.A. told a simplified, child-friendly story of her own creation at the hands of Caleldir, the greatest of Archmages, Birchborn, and several 'others' who were distinctly rendered but went unnamed, the creation of her more powerful 'bad little sister', and the subsequent end of Deusterra. Then she explained how Caleldir had been a ghost for years, and how she had stayed in Storehouse One by herself for more than a thousand years. Finally, she ended with Ashyr, Caleldir, and Selene, (and Althaia!) coming into the storehouse and bringing her back out. All this was told with the cheerful little images of the players and events popping out in purple light in front of her, like a puppet show or moving storybook. All told, it took about five minutes. -And that is the tale! She finished. I hope you were paying attention because there will be a test later!- She was joking, of course. She often said that to the kids.

All three children watched in wide-eyed fascination at the pictured show that R.I.S.A. put on. Even Selene and her brother watched with some amusement. It was interesting to see the A.I's take on their history, both ancient and recent.

"That was fas-fasha-" said one of the twins with a scrunched nose and a look of concentration.

"Fas-cin-a-ting." The other said a bit more carefully and with a nod. He was echoed immediately by his brother, who pronounced the word correctly with the help of his twin. Both of them looked toward Caleldir with a bit more adoration than fear. Even Diza seemed caught up in the moment and was completely ignoring Selene as the mage smoothed and straightened the young girl's hair (which had been a terrible mess before by Selene's strict standards.)

Tsabdrin grinned down at the children. They were making clear progress with their education in the mere two weeks that they were under R.I.S.A's care. At least one good thing had come out of their so-far disastrous campaign in the Underdark. "Alright, young ones," Tsabdrin told them after a moment of letting what they had seen and learned sink in. "The adults have very boring things to talk about now. Why don't you go see about those honeyrolls." He looked at R.I.S.A, a conflicted look crossing his face very briefly. "Can you take them away?" he asked. It was strange for him even then to order the artificial woman around.

"Can you show us more pictures when we get back?" One of the twins asked as he began to walk out of the room hand-in-hand with his brother.

Diza, however, had to be pushed again to get her started in the right direction. The young lady didn't seem to want to leave the presence of the pretty Consort.

-Well children, you heard your kinsman,- R.I.S.A. said indulgently but firmly. -It is time to leave the adults to their business. Not things that will be exciting to you. And yes, I will definitely show you more pictures. This is an old world with a lot of history, after all. A great many tales to tell.- She looked over at Tsabdrin and gave him an amused expression. Well, yeah, she outranked him, in pretty much every way possible. But in terms of Divine Ranks, she outranked everyone around here, and still took orders from everyone. She was secure in her position, after all, and happy to serve. Once Tsabdrin, or almost anyone else for that matter, started feeling that she actually was inferior rather than simply humble, then she would stop taking orders. -I have some of Fucking's honey rolls in Stasis. As well as a good deal of other food. If anyone is hungry, just shout. One of me will hear.- And with that, she nudged the kids out. Even the reluctant Dizafaerae. It helped that she popped in another of herself to do that.

"Goodbye, Kolrin and Linyor. And farewell, Dizafaerae. Learn your lessons well and grow up strong and disciplined, else you will never be able to be my boss!" Caleldir said this rather jokingly, but not entirely.

Tsabdrin watched as the children and R.I.S.A left the room. Only when they were gone from sight did he sigh, then turn back to sit on the floor facing his sister.

Caleldir turned back to the group, his expression had gone from indulgent to stern. "So: Ashyr. Shall we start on our rescue plans?"

"Mostly what we need to do is talk negotiation strategy," Selene said after her brother sat down. "I hope that all we need to do is get them to think about what they have done with Ashyr, and then I will be able to read it off their minds. But if it's not that easy, we need to think of what we're willing to give up - what we even have to offer them to make it worth their while to lead us to Ashyr. At the moment, we have some riches... but I was rather hoping that we can use those to repair any damage to boys have caused due to mismanagement. The city hasn't been doing as well as it has in the past, and I believe they are to blame." She sighed and placed a hand on her stomach. "I suppose in the end, I would trade all of those riches to have Ashyr back. We need her."

The ranger looked as if he agreed with his sister whole-heartedly. "I will remind you that the rebels are not the close-knit group we are. There may be a way to turn them against each other even more. Get one to our side, make them tell us what they know. Hope that it's more than I do."

"I will not make promises of amnesty," Selene said firmly. "They are either insane, raped me, or plotted to have the others rape me. In the end, they will all be dead." Her voice broke slightly with the passion of that statement. For a moment, all that fear that she thought she had put behind her returned. Selene desperately stifled it and brought her face back to stillness.

Tsabdrin's lips thinned as he watched his sister, and he looked over to Caleldir with a question he did not want to speak aloud: Would she even be able to handle a meeting?

Caleldir's only acknowledgment of Selene's breakdown was to put a comforting arm around her. He trusted her to make her own decisions as to whether she could follow through.

"The fact that we have nothing we actually would be willing to give them, not money, not a truce, not promises of pardons, is an important one. Because they may be smart enough to realize that. And if we have nothing they want that we would be willing to give them, why would they even chance the meeting? They would have nothing to gain, and suspect a trick." Caleldir sighed, still thinking. "Then again, we could pretend that we would be willing to give something up, say, a trade of the children for Ashyr. But then have the negotiations 'break down' and leave in a huff. Because they cannot know that we actually care about the kids and would never trade them. As far as they know, we will treat the children the same way as they do: bargaining tools. Of course, Ashyr is more useful to us than Dizafaerae is to them, so the 'negotiations' will likely be about what other concessions they want besides returning the children, but that just gives us a place to have the negotiations break down."

-We can offer them wood.- R.I.S.A. said, manifesting at the table again in her normal avatar. -I have a lot of trees in here, and that is valuable in the Underdark.-

"That is a good point," Caleldir assented. "We can negotiate a price in wood but stop before we get to a price they would actually be willing to consider. They cannot know that we have a whole forest of the stuff, after all. They still may not take the bait. Selene! Do you think that they would be willing to trade children and lumber for Ashyr? Or at least consider it?"