Bethany arrives, barely in time before the proceedings start. She feeds a bit of dried meat to the incredibly morose wolfhound that wants to come into the Court with her. She tsks, and shoos him away. Small matter tended to, she turns a glance around and finds a place to sit.

Malachi have been dismissed.

Bethany has joined the Gallery Benches.

Silas steps into the Commoners Court, still clad in his full plate and likely sporting more bling than anyone else here. He peers at his fellow commoners who have arrived here curiously - recognizing a few and acknowledging them with a nod - before moving to find himself his own spot in the benches. Likely somewhere near his sister.

Verity finds a place to sit. She came armed with an apple in one hand and a little finger-sized knife in the other. Once in her place, formal posture is dropped and she sinks back into the bench with one heel propped against the back of the bench ahead of her. She looks interested but interested isn't enough to keep her from applying knife to apple. She can listen and try to succeed at an unbroken peeled peel at the same time. Multitasking.

Aureth checked luck + all against difficulty -51, resulting in 27, 78 higher than the difficulty.

Jeremiah simply steps away from his place with Julea, moving off to the side. He remains standing, and indeed goes back to writing.

Larissa leans over and smiles to Donella with a nod "Of course, Highness. Messere Benjamin is a barber turned physician in the boroughs. Very well respected among his peers. The Maestro Branan, a poet of no small reknown and the protoge of the Archduchess eserea. Sir Silas, the new Commander of the Iron guard. Messere Aureth, I have heard of and seen but never spoken to. and I fear I do not know the others. I beg your pardon." she ays to Zahla and Verity. "I am Larissa Whisper."

2 Culler Lackeys arrives, following Torian.

Larissa has left the Gallery Benches.

Charlemagne the Unicorn leaves, following Larissa.

Charlemagne the Unicorn arrives, following Larissa.

Larissa has joined the Gallery Benches.

Audric saunters into the Court, his usual expression of vague amusement firmly on his face. The sellsword takes a look around, spotting a few familiar faces and giving nods of greeting, before ambling over to the Defense table and taking a seat.

Audric has joined the Defense Table.

Costas slips unobtrusively into the hall, pushing back the deep hood of his cloak and eyeing the crowd. On spotting Audric he hefts a pair of books under his arm and makes his way to join the sell-sword.

Costas has joined the Defense Table.

Alarie has joined the Gallery Benches.

Felix has joined the Gallery Benches.

Aureth booms resoundingly, one hand lifted in a dramatic gesture, in a voice too loud to remain confined to the gallery: "Politics." He's helping.

Silas passively eavesdrops on the conversation at the benches and arches an inquisituve brow when Audric locates himself elsewhere. Then he gets a companion! He shrugs.

Alarie arrives to the commoner court, pausing just inside the door to look for a free seat. She scoots over to the gallery benches, smoothing out her silk dress as she settles.

    Julea stands at the Judges Bench and she tosses a wooden gavel up, snatching it from the air on its downward flight. She brings it in against the bench, rapping it a few times, and then adding with a grin, "Sorry- always wanted to do that. Firstly, thank you all for coming. I'm Julea. And I run a forge on the north side of Arx. I'm relatively new to Arx, compared to many who have lived here their whole lives, but like most of you, I give a fuck about what's going on at the moment. So, I called this.. meeting, so we can.. go over some information, discuss and come up with ideas. I think a few of you were in attendance at the Assembly of Peers, but for those that were not there.. I'll summerise the shit they said." The young smith pauses then, eyes scanning the crowd and picking up a couple of familiar faces, she nods to those in question.

2 Culler Lackeys arrives, following Torian.

    Julea drwas in a deep breath, eyes briefly scanning the page in front of her, clearly refreshing from the notes there before she continues in her northern accented voice that is in conflict with her appearance. "

    "So, to begin... At the Assembly we were told about some fucking idiots killed a bunch of important people and unleashed some fucked up lessor demon called a hoardling, which some brave Arx people killed. So they sliced and diced this dead hoardling, and brought bits of it back to experiment on and they figured out that diamondplate, alaricite, blessed Mangata water and blessed fire from Lagoma's shrine is effective against them. And from my own experiments, Rubicund as well is effective against unliving flesh. And when I say experiments, I mean I just fucking hacked at living skeletons with Rubicund and it seemed more effective than standard steel."

Aureth asks, "Isn't rubicund generally more effective than standard steel on like ... flesh? And, you know, whatever?"

Aleksei lifts his voice to say: "Rubicund's always more effective than regular steel; that's why it's expensive as fuck! I don't think the things under the city are demons, anyways."

Jeremiah simply fidgets with his vest and keeps silent for the moment, remaining standing as he observes Julea, looking consideringly to Aleksei and Aureth--anyone who raises their voice, really--before returning his attention to Julea.

"Holds an edge better," Audric says. "And can be sharpened a bit more." The sellsword flashes a grin, looking towards Aleksei. "What do you think they are, in that case?"

Costas eyes the raised voices, glances aside at Audric, then pitches his own in. "Rubic serves just fine against the things crawl out o' the mirror." Whatever it is he might be talking about.

Larissa fixes her gaze ahead as Julea prepares to speak. She smiles faintly at the brazen voice she uses and nods as the recap of the other Assembly was given. She may keep an ear out at the benches but remains more or less silent unless spoken to directly. It may be apparent she feels quite strongly about the entire proceeding.

Silas reclines in his seat and raises his brows at what they begin to speak about. "Rubicund works, too? That's a relief. I can't really afford anything else." He pauses and tilts his head in thought. "Smiling Shadows," he adds after Costas.

"They're -- you know, restless dead," Aleksei replies to Audric. Reasonably. "They belong to one of the lost gods."

Torian drifts in, late of course, but then again skulking is a slow way to travel. He eases up to the back of the place and settles in place, a couple of his lads with him. He doesn't seem inclined to engage, listening and watching what's going on without comment.

    "It is more effective, as are most of the more expensive weapons. But it seemed in particular, yes-- this is something I have some interest in, and I'm currently looking into further though, so I hope to have more information on that soon." Julea says, rising her voice enough to carry across the room, nodding in acknowledgement of Aleksei's words.

    "So, next thing... The fucking elves. The Nox'Alfar elves perform a 'Teind' which may sound like a bloody good drink down at the Murder of Crows, but actually is a fucked up blood ritual requiring the murder of thirteen 'willing'" This is, of course, said with air quotes, "... people. And this Teind has been done for 500 years and is used to keep the Rex'Alfar from bringing bad shit called the Bringers away and it also stops magic from being emptied from Arvum. But unfortunately our King Alaric was tricked into interrupting said Teind, these fucking nox elves have got a bit pissy and killed a bunch of our people and sent our King to sleep. And apparently they're 'incapable' of undoing this." More air quotes.

Branan comments... "Its never 'a sharp stick' that these things are vunerable to. It's always something that costs 10 generations of wealth. Supernatural war is a rich mans game, it seems."

Costas asides to Audric in a barely-audible voice. "Guess the former Regent wasn't 'willing' enough."

Branan leans over to murmur to Costas.

"The Nox were very impressed, I feel it's important to add," Audric pipes in again, cheerfully. "Our King and his entourage managed to kill five of the Nox soldiers, which is apparently more than we've killed since the Elven War."

Aureth punctuates Audric's announcement with a mild, "Huzzah."

Verity pops another slip of apple peel into her mouth and crunches away while her eyes track to each speaker as they voice fact or opinion.

    "So the Peers did a majority vote for this Teind to go ahead, because Elves are completely trustworthy, and wouldn't possibly ever double cross us, again. And our Regent decided that she'd sacrifice herself as one of the thirteen. " A pause and Julea takes a breath, giving time for this information to sink in and for any talking to die down enough for her to continue. "Finally, the fucking Nox elves will be here in a few days, and with them they bring fancy alaricite weapons along with one half of an arranged marriage. With presumably one of our nobles intending to make up the other half. "

Aleksei lifts his hand, brow furrowed. "Didn't, like -- the /King/ doublecross /them/? With the -- treaty thing?"

"You can willingly die, believe it or not. Sometimes it's suicide, occasionally it's called fighting for your country and liege," Silas retorts with a light click of his tongue. "The truth is we know precious little of how the world works, and we don't really have the luxury of all the time in the world to figure it out. I mean, just a few months ago I was skeptical elves even -existed-." A beat. "And they'll be here in less than a few days. A day, maybe."

Costas suggests to Aleksei, "Triple-cross? He was tricked into interrupting the ritual by some git working for completely different elves."

    "So in theory, the Teind is now paid, Princess Dawn still lives, and all is right with the world. Because we did our bit right? But I don't think that's going to be the case. I have seen villages get obliterated in the name of blood. I have seen what crawls beneath Arx. I have seen the destruction.... It is far from over. And unless everyone .. and this is going to sound pretty touchy-feely, so please forgive me for this. But all of us need to work together to fight this, figure it out, provide blades, provide protection. Provide food, and fuck. Because fucking is important too. So is Whiskey. We'll be probably needing lots of Whiskey to cope." Julea brings her hand down on some scrolls and pages that have been set before her on the bench, offering to the crowd at large. "If anyone wishes to take notes from my own copies, please feel free. But for now, I'll step down, let Jeremiah speak a little, then we can discuss, rant, throw ideas around, whatever."

Bethany flips to a clean page in the ledger and keeps writing, starting to frown.

Aureth has a minor coughing fit in the gallery. No reason, probably.

"Oh, are we just -- lumping them all in the same group, then?" Aleksei's brow furrows further as he replies to Costas. "All the elves? Don't they hate each other?"

Felix coughs from the gallery as well before taking a deep breath inward through his teeth.

"They all hate each other quite a lot, the Rex'alfar are mostly obliterated, the Sylv'alfar went insane a few hundred years ago and attempted to eat all of us, and the Nox just kind of hang out in darkness and do their own thing, disliking both the other groups," Audric offers, cheerful as ever.

"I won't take much of your time," Jeremiah smoothly projects as he steps forward, on cue at the mention of his name--ready and aware that he might be called upon, it seems. His words are warm and loudly-produced--easy and well-practiced in speech, though the formal manner he bears is in rather stark constrast to his fellow speaker. "If you do not know me--I am not surprised," he begins, half joke and half honest statement-of-fact. "I am Jeremiah Arvani--a Prodigal, once of Whitehold."

"I have a small announcement to begin with--something to add some gravity and worth to the proceedings. Julea Sanguine is the one who came up with this idea--and obviously, it has drawn your interest, whatever your origin or position. Whoever is in attendance...understand that this interest is respected and -has- -been- -heard-. The Regency Council's dissolution of the Low Council and creation of the Common Council is evidence of this--and it was no empty boast, it seems. I introduce Goodwoman Julea Sanguine and myself as the first appointees to the Common Council--others, I am sure, will follow.

You have arrived so that you may have a voice--or to hear others' voices. Or else you arrived, hoping to see a show--I would not be surprised in that, either. But know that your concerns have already been heard, and that Goodwoman Julea and I will do everything in our power to listen--and everything in our power to -act-. Thank you for your time--and if you have any need, ever? Do not hesitate to contact us. Julea, I believe, will now begin calling on those who wish to speak. Nothing more from me until the end, I'm afraid."

Jeremiah bows himself out then, stepping off towards the gallery benches after a searching look. He's said his piece and is done, except in the unlikely event he's stopped.

Aleksei snorts out loud.

Larissa raises her hand

Branan just looks sidelong at Jerimiah...

Takruid has joined the Gallery Benches.

    Julea gives Jeremiah a clearly grateful look as he speaks, one of her hands coming up to touch at her hair, pulling down her fringe and over one half of her face. Catching Larissa's raised hand, she encourages her. "Please, speak."

Costas claps his hands politely as Jeremiah steps down. "Well done sir. Glad the gentles could afford us common folk some chaperones. Your speech was so fine and noble I've already begun to develop a healthy mistrust."

Zhayla pops out of her seat and heads off after giving Jeremiah a SUPPORTIVE THUMBS UP. Never mind her skeptical look.

Zhayla has left the Gallery Benches.

Silas glances from Jeremiah, to Julea, then back. He doesn't seem surprised at this announcement.

"I mentioned you," Jeremiah easily points out to Aleksei, good-natured and amused. "Those here hoping for a show." And then he settles down at the gallery benches after a bit of searching: near Bethany and Silas(though mostly the former). Merciers, it seems, were what he was looking for. He fishes out paper to begin taking notes himself.

"As long as it's only healthy, Goodman Costas? I will never object," he easily returns as he starts to write.

Jeremiah has joined the Gallery Benches.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Bethany before departing.

Larissa looks over to Silas and inclines her head "That is true, Sir Silas, anyone can choose to die. However when it affects other people of the compact, it is no longer a personal matter nor is it a personal choice. I have very few answers, but I have many questions. Notably why the Lady Dawn lived and the others did not, as well as skepticism as to the nature of the death. I read the late Lady Neckarris' journals this afternoon when they were published, she knew exactly what she was going into and was happy to do so, to the point that it makes me question what really happened in that glade and more importantly, how it will effect us. That the sacrifice went through without the Lady Dawn's involvement of it is further proof that she knew full and well she would not be giving her life for her compact, as the required numbers were still met. In my mind she lied to the Compact, she lied to the counsel and her actions are no less than an act of Treason."
     She then pauses and regards Jeremiah with a nod "That was another question of mind. Who is willing to hear us? What is willing to be done for our voices? I would like see the commoners court become an acknowledged voice among the peers with a place at the Assembly. It isn't very difficult for them to allow us to gather and gossip like henwives. But if that's all we are allowed to do, then we are being neither heard or respected. Considering what is coming.. the many things that are coming.. the shadows that move around us, the evils we face and the sacrifices we will be making in the name of their decisions... I demand to be taken seriously by the Assembly and I demand that our voice have meaning."

Aleksei peers over at Larissa as she speaks, looking supremely skeptical. "Sounds a lot like you have literally no fucking idea what went on and you're using that as a basis for accusing folks of treason," he says with a snort. "And didn't Jeremiah, like -- /just/ announce some fancy Commoner Court thing they're doing now?"

Aureth is overheard condemning Larissa for: Please, girl. Making up a lot of shit about shit about Dawn and the elf crap like she has some secret clue none of the rest of us do. Gimme a break.

    "I have not yet heard what happened at the Night Grove, but it is something I have some interest in myself.. and will look forward to hearing more about. If anyone has any information and would like to speak on it, please do." Julea begins with a nod towards Larissa at her words, the gravel she had been toying with set down and she moves to stand in front of the bench rather than at it. "I figure it has become my job to make sure that we are heard. And if we are not, to nag them until we are. And if we are still not, then, well, we'll need to figure that out."

"I might recommend finding the one survivor and talking to him, if he can be found at this time.." Says Branan, gesturing with his chalk. "But if I were to be commiting treason, I might not bring witnesses home."

Aureth stretches out his legs toward the back of the bench ahead of him, propping his feet on it, and folds his arms over his chest. "So what are we going to be heard about? What do you plan to say on behalf of everybody without a Lord Shithead signature?"

"Or, you would only bring back the only witness that couldn't be trusted, somehow --" Bethany questions Branan back, shrugging a shoulder high.

Benjamin has left the Gallery Benches.

Silas sighs and shifts in his seat when Larissa addresses. "How you live isn't necessarily your own choice - many people will contend otherwise but it's very rarely the case - but I'd like to think if you're given a choice of how to die that the world would respect it, especially if it's done for their own well-being." He folds his arms over his chest and looks somewhat displeased at Aleksei's outburst, but continues. "Truthfully we don't have the answers about what happened, so I'm not sure where's the merit in speculating about it. But I do believe Lady Dawn was genuine in her desire to make the same sacrifice she demands of others. Clearly things did not go as planned..."

Benjamin has joined the Gallery Benches.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Bethany before departing.

"He's a sellsword, of course you can't trust their story at face value," Audric says. "It's what I keep telling people, and no one ever actually -believes- me."

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Bethany before departing.

Jeremiah rises with a slight sigh, looking between Aureth and Larissa: he addresses them, mostly, it seems. "As regards this meeting--I publish my works, often. It might assauge concerns if I publish what I pass on to the Regent Council regarding this meeting--but of all else Julea and I might do, words will not much matter. Our past and future works will be what we are judged by, I suspect--I say I will act. I will act, in good faith."

"As to the Lady Dawn--in that, we are not actionable. But I would be shortsighted to say that these concerns regarding her originate solely here: again, I must speak of the future. Concerns will be passed onwards and upwards, yes," he smoothly assures Larissa. "We shall see what is uncovered and what is done," he offers, moving to settle down again.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Jeremiah before departing.

"You jusst have one of those faces," Felix offers to Audric with an amused grin before he goes back to his note-taking once again.

    "As to what we will bring forward, that depends largely on you, and well all of you and what you choose to discuss and what you want me to." Julea says, coming into a lazy slouch against the bench. She nods once at Silas' words, and tucks one of her hands into the front pocket of her pants. Audric's words get a quick grin and then she nods to Jeremiah, his words reiterated with her own.

Aureth looks baffled and slouches back on his bench without immediately offering further commentary.

    "Perhaps a starting question to pose, there's some rather nice weapon supposedly being donated to Arx by those coming Elves. Who do you think should get them? Are they solely for the Nobility, or should they be shared among the most skilled of our fighters, regardless of birth? Or something else?" Julea asks, her hand untucking to draw out a journal and pencil.

Aleksei raises a hand instantly at that. "I should /definitely/ get one," he says, just a little starry-eyed. Alaricite.

"I'm not entirely certain we - as in, we the Compact - will have much of a say in that," Audric says. "The Nox have a very strange sense of humor, and I wouldn't put it past them to hand the blades out to people who are sufficiently entertaining. Could be a pile gets handed to the Regency Council, though."

Verity raises the half-eaten apple in her hand. "I'll take one. I'm a dab hand with a knife if they come bearing daggers." Maybe she's misunderstanding the purpose of this round of conversation.

Larissa also ignores Aleksei, as she was prone to doing. To Aureth she lifts a brow "The only secrets I have, are the ones as readily available to me as they are to you or anyone else. Perhaps it is just that I read them, and you did not?" she suggests with a light shrug. She turns to Silas afterwards and shrugs lightly "I certainly respect where you are coming from, in an ideal world you would be absolutely correct. But our world is not ideal, it is far from it. I do not /feel/ as though this was done for our well-being. I /feel/ as though that is simply what we are meant to think. What I am putting forth to the assembly is to look into this. Find answers! If I am wrong then let me be wrong, but if I am not... are we here to be sheep? Are were here to follow along and nod and agree with everything that is happening in our midst? Or have we come for the freedom to ask questions and the freedom to find answers?" She pauses again and nods to Jeremiah, far from satisfied but she agreed that it was a start, and that satisfied her at least a little.

Silas chortles at Aleksei. "I suspect they will default to the noble princes and princesses who know how to fight - even if they may not be the best fighters among us. That's how it went before, yes?"

Aureth states, "Host a melee in honor of Gloria, winner take all to serve as Swords of the compact or something." He folds his arms behind his head. "I read Nekarris's nonsense. She said she was a Nox. That doesn't make Dawn a liar. It might make you an ass, Whisper. Is a whisper coming out of an ass properly called a fart?"

Fortunato has joined the Gallery Benches.

"Does that mean that some of the commoners that accept those very nice weapons also need to be ready to volunteer into some arranged marriages - why is it only being concentrated with the nobility?" Bethany asks, "What do they get out of us beyond a tithe and - " she considers, "- a new generation of children that will inheirt titles and land and status?"

Costas snorts. "I'm sure the handful of shiny blades the elves are bringing us to fight the, what was it, literal thousands of Bringers prattled endlessly about?" He withdraws a hip flask and uncorks it. "I'm sure they will go into the best hands, and not cynically bestowed on the Regent's cabal, so they can look pretty and dashing when the hordes come to eat us."

Fortunato sidles in, sidles into a bench. He's got pen and parchment. He is probably not here to talk.

Aureth should follow Fortunato's example but clearly isn't.

Audric raises a hand, rubbing briefly at the bridge of his nose. "Julea, may I have the floor? There seem to be some misconceptions regarding the treaty, and I can likely clear those up," he says.

2 Culler Lackeys have been dismissed.

Silas rubs at his face. "-Please-," he murmurs in Audric's direction.

    "The hosting of a melee to honor Gloria, I like the sound of that. As well, it would be good to get an idea who some of our stronger fighters are, and who might be able to put such things to good use..." Julea starts to say after Aureth's words, and briefly her eyes settle on Larissa's. "It is important to ask questions, but facts are important too. We have much to learn." And then, Audric's request comes and she gives him a single nod.

Up again goes Jeremiah. "I suspect that who -receives- such gifts may well be the province of the Nox'Alfar," Jeremiah subduedly warns, mostly to Julea. "They may indeed be going to the family that is married to the Elves--and if the Regency Council -has- any say in it, then you may stand assured that Julea and I will express our concerns as well--both on the topic of marriage and on the topic of where the weapons go."

To Aureth specifically: "If there is any say on -either- matter, Iwill contact the Archlector Cassandra as regards that very idea--it is excellent, and well-fitting." Then he quiets, sits, and defers to Audric.

Benjamin has left the Gallery Benches.

"You're the one jumping to all sorts of extreme conclusions like treason, Miss Anti-Sheep," Aleksei points out with an arched brow to Larissa. "Maybe you should ask more questions first?" He glances over at Aureth and points at him. "Yeah! Tournament!"

Aureth gives Julea, Jeremiah, and then Aleksei each in turn a thumbs-up and then goes back to lounging with his arms pillowed behind his head.

Senza Luce arrives, delivering a message to Donella before departing.

Sunrise, lilac breasted roller arrives, delivering a message to Donella before departing.

Audric stands, stretching his arms up above his head and letting his shoulders pop. "Now," he says, voice rising in a commander's clarion. "We do not know if the Nox are even going to give them to us to decide. The treaty that Queen Alarice signed was one of -mutual- protection, however. The Bringers are a threat to us, but that's not why they give us alaricite weapons. Those are to fight the forces of the Abyss. Bringers die plenty well to normal weaponry." He flashes a grin at the crowd. "I've killed one of the fuckers, after all, and even I'm not rich enough to afford alaricite. Here's how it works: Normally, they have their own people who'd pay the Teind. We had to do it because, well, we kind of killed the hell out of the people who do it willingly. And because of that, now there's a whole pile of Bringers gathering to kill everything. The Nox can't fight them because the touch of a Bringer is literally death to them. So, they give us alaricite to fight demonic forces if they show up, and we send our best knights to fight Bringers if -they- show up. The other bits, the marriage, the exchange of people into either culture, all that, is so that our kingdoms remain close and, ideally, we don't wind up fucking it up on either end. But, alas, we did."

Bethany listens, settling.

Aureth is overheard praising Audric for: Explaining shit so that it makes some kind of sense.

Felix looks over towards Aureth and nods his head in agreement. "That would be a Whisper from the windward passage," he sneaks in there while snickering at Aureth's joke. He's quiet again as he settles his attention on Audric, nodding slowly.

Looking between Branan and Donella as Senza Luce passes a message along, Jeremiah produces a small smile. He nods subduedly to Audric, consideringly. "A brief addition--clarification. I'm told we were -manipulated- into destroying the Shav'Arvani tribes that were responsible for the Teind...by the Rex'Alfar, if I'm not wrong?" he inquires of the man.

Aureth laughs at this riff on his theme and gives Felix an answering nod, smile lingering on his mouth as he bites the curve of his lower lip. The smile fades when Jeremiah clarifies with respect to the Rex'Alfar. Nobody look at the Grayhope when you mention the Rex'Alfar. :(

"That almost makes sense," says Verity around her latest mouthful of apple. "Someone gives that man a medal."

Silas seems amiable to what Audric explains, as well. "We're more or less the hapless fools who get caught between the warring elf people factions. It's annoying, really."

Faye arrives quietly, sliding in with the steady stream of people entering and leaving the Commoner's Court. She moves around the audience hall toward a vantage point at one of the back corners, forgoing the gallery benches to instead stand and watch the assembly. She likely doesn't catch all of Audric's explanation, but it pulls her attention that way, then to the others who pipe up afterward.

Costas checks this helpful, sensical Audric out in his mirrored necklace, just to be sure.

"Aye," Audric says. "I was just trying to keep it relatively simple. The reason the Nox were gearing up to go to war with us afterwards was that they had been misled into thinking that we were attempting to welcome Silence in, and wanted them all dead. For our end, aye, we were manipulated. We know who did it now, as well, though I've forgotten the name of the man." He raises his flask, taking a drink. "Addison, maybe? I'm bad with names. Is there anything else I can help clarify, while I'm here?"

Silas nods. "Addison Ashford, at the behest of Everard Telmar, I believe."

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Larissa before departing.

    "If the Teind is supposed to help, why might it not? How far does the Teind help us, if it stops.. and what doesn't it cover?" Julea speaks up, her body straightening against the judges bench as she poses this question to Audric.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Costas before departing.

Branan offers up... "Magic, if you want to call it that, is a set of rules, causes and effect, like anything else in our lives. The Teind is clearly some kind of ritual, in which the act of sacrifice is used as fuel for a barrier or defense of some kind. Yes. It's very disturbing to kill 13 people every few generations. I might suggest, I might posit, that everyone dying is more onerous."

Avary Ashford, Archlector of the Sentinel, steps into the commoners court even as her brother is so named. Her cool gaze lifts to slide over the galleries, settled on Silas as he speaks, but then she moves, her leather, white longcoat sweeping in tails behind her as she looks towards the bottles of liquors with a frown. Her steps take her to the accusers table, empty as it is, before taking a seat at it quietly.

Avary has joined the Accusers Table.

Audric says, "I don't know the specifics of it, largely because I'm not a Nox'alfar blood mage." He pauses. "At least, as far as I'm aware. I'm fairly certain it'd be hard to wear hats with pointy ears. In any case," the sellsword inclines his head towards Branan. "He's largely correct. The Teind was a ritual to prevent the Bringers from being created. As you might have guessed, not long after the King's Rest, well, they started showing up, and if you think that's a coincidence I'm going to laugh very very loudly at you."

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Larissa before departing.

Alarie has left the Gallery Benches.

"That would imply that restoring the Teind will do nothing for the existing Bringers, only prevent new ones from manifesting?" Costas wonders, mostly to Audric.

    "I understand the intended effects of the Teind, but.. we're still facing a threat. In the sacrifices made, have we prevented more being created? Or have we reduced the threat a little? A lot? What is not effected by it, the hoardlings? Demons, something else?" Julea poses more questions, her gaze quickly tracking back and forth between Audric and Branan.

Aureth watches as the Archlector makes her appearance and claims the seat at the accusers' table. Like many Boroughs residents, he is uncomfortable around prosecutors, so his gaze moves on quickly, back to Audric.

Garza steps into the area, his thumbs hooked on his belt. Impossibly blue eyes regard the gathering, as the man finds himself a spot to lean against a wall. From there he watches, and listens, and remains silent rather than speaking up just yet.

A middle-aged man, Takruid calls out from from the benches with a question to Audric, "If the Nox fight the demons and we fight the bringers, why one way or the other? Is there a reason they fear the bringers more than the demons?"

Larissa nods pointedly to Julea "My sentiments. Or have we enabled something else to slip in among us, unawares? How can we find these answers?"

And there was an Ashford! He inclines his head towards Avary and offers a respectful nod in greeting, but his attention is still focused on the debate at hand, even if he wasn't contributing to it at the moment. Sometimes listening is better!

"The Nox elves can't fight the Bringers," Aleksei calls back to Takruid. "Cause -- magic reasons?"

Jeremiah, too, finds his attention drawn from Audric to Avary...it lingers there consideringly for a while before he returns to examining Audric. "There touch is -death-, says Audric, to the Nox'Alfar. Like holy water or alaricite to a demon--so we're told." He quiets again.

"They're still there, so I imagine that it just stops the production of new ones," Audric says. "I know of some forces who are training in how to kill Bringers, that'll probably be going off to start thinning those numbers." He looks back to Julea, then. "Far as I'm aware, it's solely for Bringers. And also as far as I'm aware, the Nox help us against the forces of darkness with weapons instead of troops, largely because they don't give a shit. I really cannot overstate how irreverent they are. Amusing, sure, but I don't know if you'd be able to make one care about much."

Branan shrugs at Aleksei. "Magic reasons. You don't use fire to fight water. It takes too much fire to fight water. To much energy. The Nox are like that. A given type of power, strong to other powers, but weak to some."

Bethany adds in some finishing comments into the margins of her notes before she sets them away.

Avary meets Aureth's gaze with a long, hooded look, unwavering until he breaks away. She meets Jeremiah's in a similar manner, next, as her expression remains inscrutable. The only person she responds to is Silas, tipping her chin back in turn, but otherwise, the Archlector does not seem ready to throw herself into the conversation yet.

    "That clears some stuff up. It was one of the things I was curious about.. And it is the Treaty that ensures that the Nox Elves do care, or at least aid us in some respects, and us them. Because they can't tackle the Bringers themselves." Julea muses, and then she glances across the room, picking another face in the crowd to glance at before her focus returns back to those speaking. "Anyone else has questions, theories, ideas or just want to bitch about something?"

Aleksei catches sight of Faye in the back of the room and stills for a moment in recognition before looking swiftly back ahead.

She slips up - out of the benches, and meanders toward the exit of the Commoner's Court. Bethany shakes her head, turns a glance over her shoulder, and leaves.

Bethany has left the Gallery Benches.

Audric says, "Good, I can sit back down and stop being serious. You all have no idea, it is literally starting to cause me physical pain." The sellsword flashes another grin, retaking his seat.

Costas raises his hand.

Larissa quirks a smile to Audric "But you make it look so good."

Aureth looks slightly less loungey and relaxed now, sitting up with his hands dropped to his lap rather than sprawled with irreverent indolence in his seat on the bench.

Felix snorts a small laugh at Audric and shakes his head at the sell-sword. For the most part, Felix remains quiet while jotting down notes.

    Julea indicates Costas with a pointy finger, "Alright, your turn." She encourages, daring to grab the edge of the judges bench, she pulls herself up to sit on it, legs dangling.

Alarie furrows her brows and asks aloud. "My apologies. Someone said that the other elves manipulated us to interrupt the Teind. Now, we have a name that Audric said, Addison?" She gestures with her writing coal mildly as she talks. "Did we ever find out his motives? Was he working with the other elves? If so, why? How do we find these other elves who started all this unnecesary nonsense?" She pauses.

Audric puts his head in his hands.

Costas flicks his eyes to Alarie, deferring to the topical question.

"I imagine," Fortunato says toward Alarie, from his spot on the benches, doodling, "he thought he was doing the right thing. Isn't it easy to become confused as to what that is?"

Jeremiah follows Bethany's departure with his gaze, considering her until she's out the door. He casts a look to silas, but stays silent.

"It's good for your back, or something," Garza calls out to Audric, as he finds a cigarillo in one of his pockets. He puts that in his mouth, and in his pouch finds a piece of flint and a striker. He brings those up and after a couple of tries, forces a spark that catches on the cigarillo. The flint and striker are put away, and the sellsword takes a long drag from his smoke..

Faye's gaze remains attentive as it shifts from speaker to speaker, thought for the most part that means she's looking between Audric and Julea. Despite that, she seems to catch the shift in Aleksei's disposition, her eyes flicking over to settle on him briefly, the leaving Mercier woman steals her focus shortly afterward. The woman shifts enough to cross her arms in front of herself, attention returning from the entrance to settle on Alarie as she voices the question.

Silas watches his sister leave and turns to Jeremiah when he looks at him. "Think it's something I did?" He inquires in mild confusion.

    "Obviously Audric has great interest in answering the questions posed... " Julea says, sporting a grin as she looks from Alarie to the now head-in-hands Audric. "I believe the theory goes that Everard gave the order to Addison to disrupt the meeting at the Night Grove. And Everard was one of the agents for the Re'Alafar? Along with Addison and Tolomar Brand."

Leta decides to peek in, however late, squinting at the scenery and at the gathered people. It's a dubious look, but she stands there in the back to watch the proceedings with a curious smile, bruise on her face notwithstanding.

With his head still in his hands, which causes his voice to be muffled, Audric says, "I don't care if it's good for my back, it hurts. And yes, Julea's correct in that being the most common and most fitting theory."

Avary stands, tipping her chin towads Julea, before she turns to address the benches. "You may not know me. My name is Avary Ashford," she introduces herself. "But I am a commoner, sworn to the gods and the Sentinel, and newly-appointed Archlector of the Sentinel." Her eyes are cool as they slide over the benches and lingers on Alarie. "In the name of the Sentinel, the Teind was lawfully allowed and lawfully paid. Those who manipulated the law outside of it will be found, those who continue to still manipulate the minds of good men and women into the wrong beliefs will be stopped. We know of ways they have done this and continue to do so. They appear as Seraphs, and work through our people. This will be rooted out."

Alarie nods. She jots down some notes. She seems rather grateful to actually be learning something of what may be coming their way.

Larissa glances over when Avary speaks and inclines her head in greeting. "What beliefs are considered wrong beliefs, specifically?"

"That Mango goes on a proschutto bread." SAys Branan.

Branan mutters then.. "Savages. Just gross."

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Larissa before departing.

Silas emits a soft grunt at where the conversation was headed. "In my limited exposure to the agents of the Rex'alfar, they have a cult-like mentality. They believe we're all corrupt and must be purified. There may be a few who are doing it for more practical reasons, but given the nature of the destruction involved... I think they must be far and few in between." He then leans in, towards Jeremiah, presumably to speak to him his hushed tones.

Alarie furrows her brow. "So.. if one of the Rex can appear as a seraph, how do we tell them apart? How do we keep this from happening again?"

Audric raises his voice a bit, but doesn't take his head out of his hands, so his words are still a touch muffled. "I think I forgot to mention that the Bringers want to kill literally everything living," he says.

    "It is as he says," Julea agrees, nodding once towards Silas. "They truly believe, whole heartedly that they are doing what is right. That they alone have that truth." She contemplates Avery's words for a time, and then asks a question of her. "Do you have a way to tell, whether a Seraph or something else is real, or a false representation? Is there.. some thing we can do to reassure ourselves of that?"

Fortunato makes a few scratches on his parchment. To Alarie, "Maybe if someone appears to be a seraph, ask them first if they despise all life? I'm thinking about making a checklist."

"Ugh. A cult. That's so gross." Aureth shifts like he's trying to get some kind of associative cult ick off of his sleeves.

    Julea makes a show of writing something on her journal, saying aloud with eyes on Fortunato. "Fortunato to write a checklist."

Garza quirks a brow at Fortunato's suggestion, looking very dubious about it. He takes a drag from his cigarillo, listening still, absorbing all the information, really. He exhales the smoke through his nose, his eye lingering on Julea as she writes things down.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Larissa before departing.

Alarie shakes her head. "I don't think the Rex despise all life. They are alive themselves..." She pauses. "Are they?"

"The Faith is working to identify this foul magic; we ask that you help us," Avary answer simply to Julea, shaking her head only slightly. Her gaze slides over the benches, shifting to Audric only as he speaks and lingering in a stare there. But she answers: "Those beliefs that would poison you against one another. Those beliefs that do not allow for you to repeatedly question them. We should all be constantly questioning what we hold as truths, to evaluate and offer introspection on them in the light of what we know and the world we live in. You are always welcome to seek answers with those of the Faith, and we welcome your continued questions."

Fortunato lifts his hand mildly, "Without eye-witnesses as to who these false seraphs are and what they say, my best guess is only a guess. But the Archlector's point is sound. Be skeptical."

"I don't know much about the Rex themselves, but the Bringers were literally killing things down to the level of bugs," Audric says. Yep, head still in his hands. This does not look likely to change soon.

    "Do you still wish to speak?" Julea asks of Costas, indicating him with a nod of her head.

"Right." Costas rubs his chin, sniffs before looking round the assembled. "Is anyone else already tired of these Knights of Solace tromping round the Lower? Iron Guards one thing; at least they was generally folk, you know? These sods got pikes right up they arses, all 'Move Along Citizen' when a body stops to enjoy a harmless lean or pull down a smoke. Ain't got no appreciation for nuance."

Alarie nods to Avary. "When this information is discovered, It could be very well valuable to stop someone who might be well-meaning from doing something terribly horrible. Before all these events happened, I myself would have held true to any image that seemed to be a Seraph. Who am I to question a divine being? So, this seems to be something everyone would want to solve."

Fortunato mumbles, only half to himself. "Can a false seraph shake your hand? Would a Bringer feel like cold and ash?" This is clearly not relevant.

"I'm sure no one means to impugn the Faith in any way," Aureth says mildly with a glance in Avary's direction and then a glance back at Costas. "Except people foolish enough to impugn the Faith." He scratches lightly at his beard. "But no one here. Clearly. Would be that stupid."

Larissa listens to Avary and seems to find some sort of reassurance that she was looking for. She did not mind being wrong, or being sorry, she just wanted the availability to ask questions and seek answers... even questions others could not bring themselves to ask.

Silas clears his throat at Costas. "I can answer why that is: the Iron Guard lost a third of it's men to Lord Everard's treachery. We're undermanned and the peace is unstable at the moment. I have requested the Knights Solace continue to patrol alongside us so there is full coverage of the streets, until we have recovered our strength."

Avary's cool, shifting gaze falls to Costas, marking him and studying him. She says nothing as she moves to take a seat back at the accusers' table.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Larissa before departing.

    Julea indicates Silas with a nod of her head, her words directed to him as she asks. "I understand you are doing some recruiting to solve that problem, did you wish to speak here to encourage people to sign up? Are you offering a signing bonus to those that do so?"

Costas flicks his eyes to Julea and then back to Silas, countenance grown thoughtful at this news. "That must be what all that grafiti I can seeing is about. Bit confusing."

Silas raises his brow at Julea, but considers. "You get a living wage, a bed in the barracks, armor and weaponry, and a nice cloak. Unlike the previous Lord Commander, however, I will not be paying people extra on the side to simply look the other way." He surveys the crowd gathered. "We need more men, but it can be an exacting job. I believe the best way you can help us, outside of joining the Guard, is keeping out of trouble and staying alert for anything suspicious." He chews on the inside of his cheek. "Well, suspicious even by Borough standards."

"Anything of suspicion can be reported to myself as Archlector of the Sentinel as well, especially in cases where such suspicions should be examined in the eyes of the Faith," Avary adds, tipping her chin in only a respectul gesture towards Silas.

    "Before we wrap things up, is there anything else anyone wants to discuss? Any ideas on things they want to do to aid in the fight against this threat?" Julea speaks up, straightening against the stand and pushing her hair back from her face, she asks of Jeremiah. "Anything else you want to say?"

Audric raises his voice again, briefly chiming in. "Should anyone want to know the tactics involved in killing Bringers, I am willing to happily lend my services as an instructor," he says.

"I'd like a word with the Archlector--beyond that?"

Jeremiah does rise, speaking a few short words: "Ah; as to the rest--feel free to contact Julea and I regarding your concerns, again." he insists subduedly. "I imagine there are more than two positions on the Common Council, if it interests you, as well."

    "Should anyone have need for a blade, I still have a a few high quality steel weapons available for free at the forge, just get in touch." Julea gives Audric a grateful nod, before adding in her own offer.

Looking up towards Audric, Felix raises a dark brow his way. "That so? And how much would this cost, Master Audric?" He looks amused, but no less interested. "Or perhaps we can trade stories."

"You probably have to be more polite than I am to be on the Common Council." Aureth grins toothily and then smears his hand over his face. He does not volunteer to try to learn anything about fighting Bringers. Because he is a wuss and would die in five seconds.

"I ain't gonna say no to being taught how to kill something," Garza smirks at Audric, upnodding in his direction. He takes a couple of quick puffs from his cigarillo and uses the sole of his boot to put it off.

Verity has heard what's been said. She's finished her apple. All that's left now is to stand and amble on towards the exit before things get crowded in that area. The gnawed on core is tossed aside once she's through the door. Have to keep the street sweepers employed.

Verity has left the Gallery Benches.

"I am not remotely responsible enough for the Common Council," Fortunato disvolunteers. "But please let me know if I can be of more help than a checklist. Which I will still write."

"You are welcome to seek me out at anytime," Avary replies to Jeremiah simply, evenly. She isn't moving to rise, just yet, so if that is right now-- well.

Alarie scribles a few things down. Finished with her notes and sensing that the meeting is wrapping up, she rises from her seat to depart.

Audric finally straightens up, scrubbing at his face. "Unless I'm actively training a group of soldiers, I'll share it over drinks," he says, then flashes a grin at Garza. "You get the training for free though, congratulations."