((Continued directly from part V.))
Al Saffah
"Do not worry about it," Bundar says quietly to Salamah, with an idle wave of
his hand, as if brushing away the issue. "No offense was taken." That there will
be an election at the end of the year hasn't escaped his notice, either,
although his thinking doesn't extend as far as the Duke's- as far as he's
concerned, it will be beneficial to his house to back the winning party- and
House ser Noche does, in his estimation at least, have a good chance of being
that winning party. He looks out at the rock spires, out to sea, picturing the
size of the crater that must've existed before it was filled in. All in all, it
seems remarkable that there's even a city here at all right now, if that was the
scale of the damage.
Laurent
It was all a balancing act. The lesser Noble houses didn't have people focusing
that much strength on their complete and total destruction, but they had not
even a fraction of the resources even the smallest House could bring to bear.
He had known enough men and women who lost everything during the Triumvirate
and, for a few, after it...the fact that the average House didn't give them more
than a passing thought didn't stop the missiles, did not truly do as
much.
It was a marvel though, what technology could do. He had heard the
ser Noches were advanced, and this just seemed more proof.
The
Triumvirate...he had neither publically come out for or against it during that
time: not that he could have been anything more than a tick on the Triumvirate's
ankle, to be crushed off-hand if he had gone against them, and would have been
of little use if he'd sided with them...but still, there were some courtiers and
lesser noble houses who had picked which side they thought would win.
He
had not approved of the sort of ideas Goman had possessed...but he had stayed
carefully neutral. He smiled at Bundar, his eyes moving towards the third
party. Three really was an elegant number, wasn't it? Salamah knew he
shouldn't plan for things that he wasn't sure would come to pass: an alliance,
working with the ser Noches, becoming rich...all of those were possibilities
alone.
“I am glad to hear it.” As they rode along, Salamah asked, “May
I ask what field you have taken up as your own?” What 'Sphere' in other words,
in the strange lingo that old Houses used.
Al Saffah
"We al Saffahs have been merchants for a long time," Bundar replies amiably.
"Just, until recently, we never traded off-planet. But now... I suppose there
are certain expectations of a noble house, hmm? Along with all the new
opportunities!" He chuckles, looking out across the sea, towards the horizon. "I
only plan on things getting better, from here. More planets... we have a new
trading post here on Algol, now." He cants his head on one side, curiously.
"What about yourself?"
Laurent
"I am nothing more than a humble courtier turned miner," and if someone believed
that, there were many things that could be sold to such a fool, "Though I might
get into trading..."
He frowned thoughtfully. There was a market,
perhaps. It would be something to think about.
"I don't have anything
near here...the costs would be a bit restrictive." Salamah shrugged and looked
back to the head of Sternseher, "May I ask what your interest is?"
Sternseher
Happy to leave the conversations to the others, Selina crossed her arms and
settled a bit more comfortably into her wagon, enjoying the view with a very
slight smile on her face. Her brother-in-law, on the other hand, did his utmost
to 'covertly' flirt with the driver and woman giving the tour whenever she
wasn't occupied with her duties of explaining where they were. Nagi was rather
charismatic though, and despite his shameful display, those around him would
likely find him an affable and pleasant person, if a touch full of
himself.
It also served as a distraction, giving Selina the chance to
listen in on the other conversations, her lips pursing ever so slightly as she
heard the colorful 'truth' that Salamah told about his origins.
Laurent
Jamilla, for her part, noticed Selina's lack of engagement and decided to remedy
that. She likely knew that Selina was keeping aloof for very specific reasons,
but she was quite smart, and far more loyal to her husband than he was to her,
and so she smiled and asked, "May I sit here?" she asked, getting ready to shift
from her seat to the one next to Selina. Her smile was so polite as to be
forbidding. Forbidding of what? Well, saying no, for one.
ser Noche
The hovershuttle started a gradual descent towards the carved stone walls of
Taishijan below, turning in a slow arc to grant the best view possible to its
occupants. The guide smiled serenely and occasionally provided a tidbit if
prompted, but otherwise mostly left the occupants to their conversation. It
would be a little longer before the castle was reached - a minute or two at the
most.
Sternseher
Turning to look at the other woman, the Duchess offered a smile in return and
nodded. It certainly wasn't the gracious, elegantly practiced and faked smile
that Salamah or his cohorts could pull off, but it seemed to have at least a
hint of genuine feeling behind it.
"Certainly... I hope you don't mind
my saying so, but your family has a lovely transport craft. What House produced
the vessel? I noticed their insignia beneath your own."
Laurent
"Artis. They do good work don't they. My husband made a deal with
them...mutually beneficial. He could get you in contact with them," Jamilla
suggested, "Much could be done by my husband to aid you."
Her smile was
quite genuine, but it was clear that, at the same time, she was making her own
plans...plans remarkably similar to those that Salamah held for Bundar...
Sternseher
Her smile faded a little and she folded her hands in her lap, looking at the
woman and addressing her far more directly than most noble-born people would be
accustomed to. Someone who had 'learned' the game might even be a bit thrown off
by it, but it was likely they'd be able to get their footing back quickly
enough.
"You're insinuating that we might be in a position to form an
alliance with one another, yes? That's certainly something I've considered. As
the leader of House Sternseher, it is my duty to push us forward as best I can
in this new age of prosperity and growth we've reached. We're currently one of
the largest agricultural markets in the region, and we're in the process of
building that up even further..."
Allowing the woman a chance to take it
all in for a moment, she then went on. "Obviously the three houses represented
in this wagon are of little importance in the grand scheme of things... but
together that wouldn't be quite so, would it?"
Al Saffah
Humble courtier turned miner? Bundar may not be strictly able to discern what
the actual truth is, but he has been taught to take nothing at face value- and,
bluntly, to leave the guesswork and the details to someone smarter than he.
Although he isn't the only one listening to Selina's words, and Qaribah,
although she says nothing of it, abruptly comes to the conclusion that Salamah
himself had, shortly before. There is indeed an election coming- and, while
their three houses are of little importance by themselves, combined as a voting
block? They might well be worth notice, and a possible factor that could swing
the election.
Laurent
Jamilla smiled, nodded, having gotten her point across.
Salamah, for his
part, glanced out of their transportation. He turned to Bundar and said, "Well,
I believe we are about to arrive."
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