[Liem watches her turn about in the centre of the space, trying to imagine the room with its floor clear for dancing. It’s not, he thinks, large enough to safely accommodate a dancing jinba, but for two-legged guests it would probably be fine.]
I know some dances. I can’t claim any level of real mastery, but I know enough to not disgrace myself at parties. Would you like to see?
[Again he reaches for the memirror, holding it invitingly in one hand as he glances next to him.]
[She sits with one leg straight and the other folded beneath her, leaving room for her tail to rest neatly across her lap. She tries to picture Liem dancing, and she can almost see it— but then he points out that doesn't have to just imagine it, and Jester nods eagerly, leaning over to get a better look at the mirror.]
Ooh, yes, please show me. How does this thing work?
All you have to do is hold it, and think of a memory.
[Liem opens the little mirror so its reflective surface is clearly visible, and tilts it so that it’s pointing at Jester. As he holds the mirror, the view in the glass changes from a reflection of their faces to a large, ostentatious ballroom filled with extravagantly-costumed people. As they watch, the silent partygoers all heed some unheard call and pair off in order to flock onto the dance floor in an orderly waltz.
Although Liem himself isn’t visible in his memory, his dance partner clearly is: a very tall, severe-looking older woman, wearing a small mask that leaves the old scar on her face prominently visible. By the scowl on her face, she has no particular love for her dance partner.]
It lacks a little without sound, but it’s still quite the useful little item.
Ah, that’s Baroness Voinum. That was the second night of the jubilee, so she’d actually warmed some to me by then. You should have seen her when we first met; when I introduced myself, she looked at me like I was something stuck to her boot.
[He says this with what seems to be pleasant nostalgia, regarding the view in the mirror as the dancers step and twirl around the ballroom floor. As the waltz progresses, the pairs of dancers circle each other and maneuver in what appears to be an elaborate, well-ordered effort to maneuver each other to the edge of the dance floor and off of it altogether.]
Why the heck—?! But you're so nice, Liem, how could anyone look at you like that?
[She genuinely can't fathom it, but as she watches the mirror a moment she remembers all the times people sneered at her for her demonic ancestry and wonders, not for the first time, what Liem's lineage is. Maybe she ought to ask him, once she figures out a non-rude way to do it.]
Must have been a pretty crazy party to last two days...
Ah, well. I don’t think it was personal. She seemed to feel that way about at least half the people there.
[Jester is right to think that some people don’t take well to Liem’s ancestry, but he’d disguised it fairly religiously during their time at the party. He’d wanted to make a good first impression.]
It was quite a crazy party. There was jousting, dancing, hunting, all manner of prepared entertainments and delicacies… And that doesn’t even cover the exciting parts.
[That seems to appease her, at least. She scoots up so she's sitting on her knees, leaning slightly over Liem with her arm draped behind him across the back of the sofa. She doesn't at all seem bothered by the close proximity; it's comfortable and natural for her. After all, the last time they'd hung out he had quite literally kept her up all night with his rather vigorous efforts. Sitting in his personal space is no big deal!]
Oh...? You can't say exciting parts to me and not elaborate, Liem!
[Liem slightly adjusts his hold on the mirror, shooting a small smile Jester’s way.]
The first exciting thing that happened is that on the first evening that we were there, someone tried to assassinate the host.
[As he speaks, the view in the mirror changes from a grand ballroom to an early-evening view of a sweeping marble porch decorated with a variety of songbirds in golden cages. The mirror’s view looks at the porch from below, amidst a lush, well-manicured garden of trimmed bushes and grass. A colourful assortment of well-dressed nobles stand about the garden, looking up at the porch as a tall, handsome man strides from the crowd and moves to ascend the steps.
The view—Liem’s view—focuses abruptly on the top of the porch steps, where a glinting tripwire stretches to a small crossbow hidden in a nearby bush.The man begins to climb the porch steps. In an instant the mirror’s view surges forward; Liem leaps after him and tackles the man out of the way, sending both of them staggering across the pale stone.]
It lacks a little without sound. Imagine the snap of a poisoned crossbow bolt piercing the air just behind us, and then quite a great deal of shouting and exclaiming.
[Jester's eyes go very wide at what Liem says next, and from there on he has her rapt attention, her eyes fixated on the mirror. Liem moves so quickly, it reminds her of the feeling of Polymorphing into a cat, darting this way and that.]
Oh my gosh, Liem! He was super lucky you were there. Did you catch the person who did it?
Not during the party, no. We did come face to face with the culprit much later, but she’s been quite slippery and is still at large.
[The image of the count fades and disappears as he talks, returning to simple polished glass, and Liem looks back up at Jester.]
Nevertheless, it did certainly allow us to make a good impression. In a way, the assassin ended up helping us—though after we’d been in the area long enough, she began troubling us as well as the count. In fact, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if we learned that she’d looted our estate while we’ve been away.
Whew! This sounds like the kind of stuff that happened to me and my friends all the time. We kept, like, accidentally getting caught up in all this political intrigue.
[Jester rolls her eyes.] Personally, not my favorite thing in the world. It's always such a huge headache! And then people think you've got ulterior motives and shit.
[Slowly, as he regards Jester, Liem’s steady expression transforms into a broad and slightly mischievous smile.]
I can assure you we most definitely did have ulterior motives, and there was nothing accidental about our involvement in that season’s political intrigues.
[Sorry, Jester! That sounds like a drag to wander into by accident, but Liem and his companions were never innocent partygoers even from the beginning.]
[He says this matter-of-factly, as though dispensing a weighty truth, but he doesn’t shift from his comfortable posture against the couch’s cushions.]
The reason we visited the county of Meratt was actually to erode the count’s support and “convince” [read: force] him to relinquish his stewardship of the Imperial Summer Palace, but that’s not the sort of thing one can accomplish over the course of a single party.
Or three, [she agrees, equally matter-of-fact. Big fan of shenanigans in this house. Jester has to admit that the mission Liem is describing sounds exciting, though. Any job that involves going to a fancy party and dressing up is okay in her book.]
Sounds like a really complicated job. Did you get it done, though...?
[She's realizing for the umpteenth time how little she actually knows about Liem, and the world he comes from. It sounds pretty dangerous, especially given the whole crossbow-trap situation...]
[He can’t deny that. Although he completed this particular mission before he’d been sent home for his most recent occasion, the time back in Taldor makes it seem realer to him, and more recent. There are details coming to mind now that he hasn’t thought of in months.]
It took about three months, all told. But in the end we cleared out the palace of the count and all those loyal to him, and the princess was able to move in not long after.
[His reminiscing takes on a slightly sober quality as he recalls that the assault on the palace did invariably mean slaying most of those inside who were still committed to resisting. The count had been their immediate superior’s half-brother, so his death had put a little bit of a pall over their news of victory.]
Three months, whew. Were they...you know, bad? This count and his people?
[She knows Liem well enough by now that she can only assume these people must have sucked pretty hard for him to 'clear out' a palace. She's cleared out enough places that she knows precisely what that implies.]
So this princess, she's all in charge and stuff now, I assume.
[Liem frowns slightly, letting the hand holding the mirror settle onto his lap.]
The princess needed access to the palace and its wealth. Regardless of whether or not they were bad people, we would have needed to displace them, as long as they refused to recognize her authority.
[After a grave moment, though, he adds,] But had they been less stubborn, perhaps they would have yielded to words instead of force. We made every effort to persuade those in Meratt County toward accepting the princess’s governance, which is what we spent most of those three months doing. The count was simply too set on opposing her to be convinced.
Sounds like you guys were pretty determined, then. [It all sounds very serious, and very very important. She's not sure what exactly she imagined Liem's job being back home, but somehow it didn't involve political dealings in her head.]
I'm learning a lot about you today, Liem. I kind of feel silly, that I've never asked you much about your life before!
[Liem shifts to lean a little more against the arm of the couch, shrugging faintly in casual dismissal.]
I know I don't tend to volunteer much about my life back home. It's simpler not to get into it.
[He's never been much for talking about himself, which is at least in part because most people simply aren't interested to know, at least in his experience. But he's trying not to assume that quite so much when it comes to his friends.]
But you can ask me anything you like. Or, if you'd like to try out the mirror…
I understand, Liem. My friend Caleb was like that, too, for a long time. Sometime stuff is too complicated to go into all the time.
[She smiles reassuringly up at him, and a thousand questions rise to her lips— but later. Those can be for later, now that he's extended the invitation. So she takes the Memirror into hand instead, turning it this way and that as she studies it.]
Well...there's a zillion things I could show you. Something from one of my stories...I'd show you my Mama, but you'd have to swear you won't fall in love with her.
[Liem returns Jester's smile, gratefully ceding the memirror to her when she reaches for it. It's nice to be understood, especially about something he doesn't speak much about.]
I swear. I won't fall in love with her, no matter how charming she looks.
[His expression sobers as he makes the promise, but his eyes twinkle with the suggestion of amusement.]
Is this a common problem you experience? Friends you show your mother to falling head over heels for her?
[Jester laughs, glancing over at Liem and catching that twinkle in his eye.] More so when they meet her, yeah. Drawings don't quite do her justice, you know. Even mine don't really capture her, and she was my only subject for, like, my whole childhood! Anyway.
[She quickly turns her attention to the Memirror, letting her eyes fall shut for a moment as she pictures her mama. Not standing onstage, because there's no sound and it wouldn't do her performances any justice. No, when she opens her eyes, the image that shimmers to life is that of her mother, a beautiful red Tiefling woman with long, deep red hair and four horns that spiral and twist in ways Jester's two little cinnamon buns could hardly aspire to. She stands on a palatial balcony, wrapped in a deep blue silk gown, an egg-sized sapphire shining at her throat. She appears in profile, first, looking out across a beautiful oceanside city populated by as many elegant white stone manors as there are clay-roofed apartment buildings, a charming sprawl set against white sand beaches and pristine blue waters.
After a moment, Jester appears to say something, because Marion turns to look at her, and she real Jester gasps slightly, because it's been months since she last saw or even spoke to her mother, and the sight of her angelic face with its luminescent yellow eyes is as comforting as it is melancholy.]
[Liem leans in slightly to get a view of the mirror as Jester summons her memory. The woman he sees is indeed reminiscent of the rendition that Jester showed him in her sketchbook, but life and motion add an extra dimension of beauty to her visage. He can easily see how such a woman came to be a famed and coveted companion, even with her obvious fiendish heritage.]
Ah… She is quite a beauty.
[It must be a strange feeling to leave your family behind, knowing they're still waiting somewhere for your return. Like missing home and knowing that your home misses you back.]
Was she already so well known by the time you entered her life?
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[Liem watches her turn about in the centre of the space, trying to imagine the room with its floor clear for dancing. It’s not, he thinks, large enough to safely accommodate a dancing jinba, but for two-legged guests it would probably be fine.]
I know some dances. I can’t claim any level of real mastery, but I know enough to not disgrace myself at parties. Would you like to see?
[Again he reaches for the memirror, holding it invitingly in one hand as he glances next to him.]
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[She sits with one leg straight and the other folded beneath her, leaving room for her tail to rest neatly across her lap. She tries to picture Liem dancing, and she can almost see it— but then he points out that doesn't have to just imagine it, and Jester nods eagerly, leaning over to get a better look at the mirror.]
Ooh, yes, please show me. How does this thing work?
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[Liem opens the little mirror so its reflective surface is clearly visible, and tilts it so that it’s pointing at Jester. As he holds the mirror, the view in the glass changes from a reflection of their faces to a large, ostentatious ballroom filled with extravagantly-costumed people. As they watch, the silent partygoers all heed some unheard call and pair off in order to flock onto the dance floor in an orderly waltz.
Although Liem himself isn’t visible in his memory, his dance partner clearly is: a very tall, severe-looking older woman, wearing a small mask that leaves the old scar on her face prominently visible. By the scowl on her face, she has no particular love for her dance partner.]
It lacks a little without sound, but it’s still quite the useful little item.
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Wow! This is like Scrying but on a memory! And you don't have to burn a spell slot. Amazing!
[She sees Liem's dance partner, though, and blinks.] This lady doesn't seem like she's super excited about this, to be honest with you.
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Ah, that’s Baroness Voinum. That was the second night of the jubilee, so she’d actually warmed some to me by then. You should have seen her when we first met; when I introduced myself, she looked at me like I was something stuck to her boot.
[He says this with what seems to be pleasant nostalgia, regarding the view in the mirror as the dancers step and twirl around the ballroom floor. As the waltz progresses, the pairs of dancers circle each other and maneuver in what appears to be an elaborate, well-ordered effort to maneuver each other to the edge of the dance floor and off of it altogether.]
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[She genuinely can't fathom it, but as she watches the mirror a moment she remembers all the times people sneered at her for her demonic ancestry and wonders, not for the first time, what Liem's lineage is. Maybe she ought to ask him, once she figures out a non-rude way to do it.]
Must have been a pretty crazy party to last two days...
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[Jester is right to think that some people don’t take well to Liem’s ancestry, but he’d disguised it fairly religiously during their time at the party. He’d wanted to make a good first impression.]
It was quite a crazy party. There was jousting, dancing, hunting, all manner of prepared entertainments and delicacies… And that doesn’t even cover the exciting parts.
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[That seems to appease her, at least. She scoots up so she's sitting on her knees, leaning slightly over Liem with her arm draped behind him across the back of the sofa. She doesn't at all seem bothered by the close proximity; it's comfortable and natural for her. After all, the last time they'd hung out he had quite literally kept her up all night with his rather vigorous efforts. Sitting in his personal space is no big deal!]
Oh...? You can't say exciting parts to me and not elaborate, Liem!
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[Liem slightly adjusts his hold on the mirror, shooting a small smile Jester’s way.]
The first exciting thing that happened is that on the first evening that we were there, someone tried to assassinate the host.
[As he speaks, the view in the mirror changes from a grand ballroom to an early-evening view of a sweeping marble porch decorated with a variety of songbirds in golden cages. The mirror’s view looks at the porch from below, amidst a lush, well-manicured garden of trimmed bushes and grass. A colourful assortment of well-dressed nobles stand about the garden, looking up at the porch as a tall, handsome man strides from the crowd and moves to ascend the steps.
The view—Liem’s view—focuses abruptly on the top of the porch steps, where a glinting tripwire stretches to a small crossbow hidden in a nearby bush.The man begins to climb the porch steps. In an instant the mirror’s view surges forward; Liem leaps after him and tackles the man out of the way, sending both of them staggering across the pale stone.]
It lacks a little without sound. Imagine the snap of a poisoned crossbow bolt piercing the air just behind us, and then quite a great deal of shouting and exclaiming.
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[Jester's eyes go very wide at what Liem says next, and from there on he has her rapt attention, her eyes fixated on the mirror. Liem moves so quickly, it reminds her of the feeling of Polymorphing into a cat, darting this way and that.]
Oh my gosh, Liem! He was super lucky you were there. Did you catch the person who did it?
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[The image of the count fades and disappears as he talks, returning to simple polished glass, and Liem looks back up at Jester.]
Nevertheless, it did certainly allow us to make a good impression. In a way, the assassin ended up helping us—though after we’d been in the area long enough, she began troubling us as well as the count. In fact, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if we learned that she’d looted our estate while we’ve been away.
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[Jester rolls her eyes.] Personally, not my favorite thing in the world. It's always such a huge headache! And then people think you've got ulterior motives and shit.
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I can assure you we most definitely did have ulterior motives, and there was nothing accidental about our involvement in that season’s political intrigues.
[Sorry, Jester! That sounds like a drag to wander into by accident, but Liem and his companions were never innocent partygoers even from the beginning.]
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Liem! You little sneaky sneak! I didn't know you got into such shenanigans!
[She's got a newfound appreciation for him now, that's for sure. She's kind of proud??]
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[He says this matter-of-factly, as though dispensing a weighty truth, but he doesn’t shift from his comfortable posture against the couch’s cushions.]
The reason we visited the county of Meratt was actually to erode the count’s support and “convince” [read: force] him to relinquish his stewardship of the Imperial Summer Palace, but that’s not the sort of thing one can accomplish over the course of a single party.
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Sounds like a really complicated job. Did you get it done, though...?
[She's realizing for the umpteenth time how little she actually knows about Liem, and the world he comes from. It sounds pretty dangerous, especially given the whole crossbow-trap situation...]
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[He can’t deny that. Although he completed this particular mission before he’d been sent home for his most recent occasion, the time back in Taldor makes it seem realer to him, and more recent. There are details coming to mind now that he hasn’t thought of in months.]
It took about three months, all told. But in the end we cleared out the palace of the count and all those loyal to him, and the princess was able to move in not long after.
[His reminiscing takes on a slightly sober quality as he recalls that the assault on the palace did invariably mean slaying most of those inside who were still committed to resisting. The count had been their immediate superior’s half-brother, so his death had put a little bit of a pall over their news of victory.]
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[She knows Liem well enough by now that she can only assume these people must have sucked pretty hard for him to 'clear out' a palace. She's cleared out enough places that she knows precisely what that implies.]
So this princess, she's all in charge and stuff now, I assume.
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[Liem frowns slightly, letting the hand holding the mirror settle onto his lap.]
The princess needed access to the palace and its wealth. Regardless of whether or not they were bad people, we would have needed to displace them, as long as they refused to recognize her authority.
[After a grave moment, though, he adds,] But had they been less stubborn, perhaps they would have yielded to words instead of force. We made every effort to persuade those in Meratt County toward accepting the princess’s governance, which is what we spent most of those three months doing. The count was simply too set on opposing her to be convinced.
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I'm learning a lot about you today, Liem. I kind of feel silly, that I've never asked you much about your life before!
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I know I don't tend to volunteer much about my life back home. It's simpler not to get into it.
[He's never been much for talking about himself, which is at least in part because most people simply aren't interested to know, at least in his experience. But he's trying not to assume that quite so much when it comes to his friends.]
But you can ask me anything you like. Or, if you'd like to try out the mirror…
[He gestures slightly with the memirror.]
You can certainly be my guest.
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[She smiles reassuringly up at him, and a thousand questions rise to her lips— but later. Those can be for later, now that he's extended the invitation. So she takes the Memirror into hand instead, turning it this way and that as she studies it.]
Well...there's a zillion things I could show you. Something from one of my stories...I'd show you my Mama, but you'd have to swear you won't fall in love with her.
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I swear. I won't fall in love with her, no matter how charming she looks.
[His expression sobers as he makes the promise, but his eyes twinkle with the suggestion of amusement.]
Is this a common problem you experience? Friends you show your mother to falling head over heels for her?
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[She quickly turns her attention to the Memirror, letting her eyes fall shut for a moment as she pictures her mama. Not standing onstage, because there's no sound and it wouldn't do her performances any justice. No, when she opens her eyes, the image that shimmers to life is that of her mother, a beautiful red Tiefling woman with long, deep red hair and four horns that spiral and twist in ways Jester's two little cinnamon buns could hardly aspire to. She stands on a palatial balcony, wrapped in a deep blue silk gown, an egg-sized sapphire shining at her throat. She appears in profile, first, looking out across a beautiful oceanside city populated by as many elegant white stone manors as there are clay-roofed apartment buildings, a charming sprawl set against white sand beaches and pristine blue waters.
After a moment, Jester appears to say something, because Marion turns to look at her, and she real Jester gasps slightly, because it's been months since she last saw or even spoke to her mother, and the sight of her angelic face with its luminescent yellow eyes is as comforting as it is melancholy.]
That's her. Marion Lavorre...The Ruby of the Sea.
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Ah… She is quite a beauty.
[It must be a strange feeling to leave your family behind, knowing they're still waiting somewhere for your return. Like missing home and knowing that your home misses you back.]
Was she already so well known by the time you entered her life?
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