Nomius, an errant bloodhound, Siri, an attentive apprentice, 1 Novice Keaton Huntsmen arrive, following Apollo.


Acantha has been trying to get the Clearlake fur trade in order since she got to the city, which was a bit ago. The new Baroness has a few things settled out over the table. She was hoping that a few people would show up. There's a pile of soft furs that were white and the others were a silvery black in color. They were extremely soft to the touch though if people wanted to pick them up and look at them. There are drinks that are ready to be handed out by a few servers and dinner is a family style affair, "Thank you all for coming this evening. I hope that this won't take up much of your time." the Baroness states with a smile.


Astyr arrives, following Olin.

Apollo comes in and looks about; the polite thing, the proper thing, would be to go greet the hostess, but he is drawn, as if by magnetism, to the furs. He must touch. It is known. But when Acantha says that, he looks up, smiles broadly, shakes his head. "If it does, it will be time well-spent, my lady," he says, and gives her a bow.

Having arrived arm-in-arm with her lady's maid Lille, Elgana gives the Clearlake Great Hall a good looking over. "This is my first time here," the Redrain princess says warmly to Acantha, "but I love the look of it. Very nice." Along the way, a drink had been snagged up, dangled between those fingers now as she pays more attention to the furs laid out than she does her beverage. Spotting Apollo, she flashes that warm smile his way. "Master Apollo I should've known I'd see you here. It's been too long, so I hope you've been well."

Acantha has joined the Map Table of House Clearlake.


"Master Apollo, it's so good to finally put a name to a face." Acantha states with a dip of her head to the man. "I can hope that it will be a good talk." she tells him. Then there's a curtsey to Elgana, "Your highness, it is good to see you." she tells her with a soft smile. "I figured a dinner would be nice to go along with talks. So please make yourselves comfortable." she tells them. "And Benny has been told to be on his best behavior this evening." she muses.


Newly arrived to the city, Astyr and Olin arrive as a matched set garbed in the peeled-back layers of Northerners not quite used to the swiftly advent of spring and summer warmth. There's a touch of new to them yet, from the uncertainty in Astyr's gaze as she glances to Olin and then the drink, tipping her head. Are they supposed to--? No, too uncertain. Rather than take a drink, she moves for the piles of furs, on steadier ground there. She murmurs quiet greetings to others present, her smile wide despite the lack of recognition. To every woman, a, "My lady," and to ever man, a, "My lord."

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I weren't here," Apollo says to Elgana, with a grin, followed by a bow. "Your highness. You look as lovely as you did last time I saw you." He turns back to Acantha, and nods. "I feel the same," he says. "I'm very excited to see what your house has on offer, my lady."

"I'm sure it's fine! We are interested in trade and that appears to be the purpose, yes?" Olin's voice dips a bit as he enters the lodge with Astyr, a quick look around followed by a bright smile, "Good day!" Tousled hair and a shadowing of his jaw don't take too much from his northern attire, his eyes lighting as he discovers the furs. He is only a short step behind Astyr when he hears 'highness', a sharp pivot on his feet allowing him to offer a respectful bow in Elgana's direction, quickly followed by more for the other well-dressed attendees.

"You are far too kind, Master Apollo!" A hint of rosy blush to Elgana's cheeks as she gives the craftsman a quick wink. Elgana returns the curtsy in kind to Acantha, that smile of hers shifting up just a notch in warmth as she unthreads her arm from Lille's and then murmurs something to the other dark-haired woman. The conversation is brief, but Lille excuses herself and ventures forth into the unknown. "Thank you so much for inviting me to this. I'm always happy to assist the northlands in any way I can." The arrival of Astyr and Olin gets her attention easy enough, and she turns to offer a polite, but a friendly nod to the pair and a greeting of, "Hello. I don't think I've seen either of you before. I'm Princess Elgana Redrain, a pleasure to meet you both."


Acantha gives a smile to Olin and Astyr, "Welcome to Clearlake Lodge. I'm Baroness Acantha Clearlake. Please join us." she greets them warmly. Then there's a bit of a moment taken as dinner is served to people. It's not a heavy fare given the weather. There's fresh vegetables and things like that. Fresh baked bread and butter.

She then takes a seat as there's a smile to everyone, "Ever since I came to the city I've wanted to make sure that my house had a way to build strong ties with the rest of the compact and the House therein." she admits. "And I wanted to make sure that we had things to offer." she states. "One of those things that we do have to offer are furs. We have some rare furs that are only known in Clearlake Lands and up near the Everwinter." she smiles. "So I wanted to talk on those this evening, but also just to have people in and liven up the place." she smiles.


Apollo wanders to take a seat, and listen in quiet; he easily adopts the commoner observer role amongst this much high-born company. He does look /quite/ attentive when the talk of the rare furs from Clearlake starts, though.

"Thank you, Baroness. You are very kind." It takes some clear effort for Astyr to pull her attention away from the furrs. She is interested in the manner of one who knows value when she sees it. She mirrors Olin's deeper bow toward Elgana, one that sinks just a trifle lower at her address. She doesn't curtsey. She hasn't the skirts for it. "Your highness, thank you. I am Astyr, and we're quite newly arrived. Honored." She seems sincere in it, if still a touch off balance. She rises, entirely attentive to Acantha's words as she adds an explanation -- to Elgana, to Acantha, "We're traders. I think I've /sold/ some of those furs before."

"Newly arrived in the city? Well, welcome then! I'm certain you shall find it feels like home or at least home-away-from-home in no time," Elgana says to Astyr, her smile still warm and for both her and Olin. She makes a gesture toward some empty seats, a clear offer of invitation from the Redrain royal before she prepares to take her own and sink into that offered dinner as she listens raptly to Acantha's words. There are some nods here and there where appropriate, her gaze shifting toward those piles of furs once more.

"Your Highness." A respectful, though merry, smile springs to Olin's lips, "I am Olin Vanha." His own name bookcases Astyr's in their introduction, perhaps slightly more at ease than the woman by his side, there are nevertheless hints of prodigal bearing. "Lady Clearlake, thank you so much for hosting this event. We are always looking for opportunities, though perhaps not quite on the scale of nobility." He brushes his fingers along the furs available to him, "They are certainly lovely. The quality is exceptional."

Apollo studies the furs, head tipping. "Lady Acantha," he says, "will these goods be available at Aviaron's Peak, or imported directly to Arx? Or should I plan to send for furs?" He reaches for some water, finding a glass easily - ah, nobility and its banquets. All inclusive. "I would very much like to start soon on a line for next winter, so that I can properly promote it ahead of time - my work, and your house, of course."


"We're known for the beaver and bear fur that comes from the region, but I've not been able to set up the trade for our rarer furs. And that is something I would love to be able to get linked from Clearlake Hold to here in the Compact. And with my becoming Baroness it seemed like that initiative was a good time to try to procure some lines of trade before the seasons start changing again." she admits. There's a smile given to Olin and Astyr, "I've only been a noble a handful of years myself, so I understand the trading aspect of furs." she nods to that.

"So our two lovely furs that come from Clearlake that are special are the Clearlake Frost Marmot and the Clearlake Charcoal Marmot. One is a very beautiful white fur, pretty hard to find in the snow given the coloring. And our Charcoal is a very lovely sooty black fur. With the tinges of silver at the tips sometimes. I think it's a nice mix of black and silver." she smiles to that. "And I'm going to be giving you all some exotic pelts from them to take home so you can do what you like with them." she states.

To Apollo's question there's a smile, "I need to meet with Lady Umbroise to see if we can set up a time to talk on having them at Aviaron's Peak in the markets." she admits. "So for now I can take that information down and then get back when that bit is settled." she admits.


"If I may ask, how do you plan to keep a steady interest in furs during the summer months? It is much warmer here than I am used to and the weather seems unlikely to inspire thoughts of thick cloaks." Olin moves to join the table at Elgana's prompting, moving to seat himself next to Astyr even as he addressed the Baroness. "Will you move less exotic pelts for leather armors and other such goods? Or will you look to establish a more exclusive presence?"

"It nearly does already." Astyr bows her head to Elgana, and when she lifts it, her smile is wide in answer. She takes a seat, giving Apollo a momentarily startled glance as he talks of starting a line. She visibly calculates. She absolutely called him 'my lord' earlier. Acantha catches her attention, smile returned -- then paired with widened eyes as Acantha says she will be sending pelts out. "My lady, very generous," she says in a low murmur. "I'm sure they must be challenging to procure. That white in particularly. It's lovely!"

"I concur with the others, these furs are exquisite. I knew about the beaver and bear furs, but I hadn't heard a whisper about the marmot. Are they terribly rare that you can only procure so many during a season?" Elgana wonders as she glances from that pile back to Acantha. Apollo's own question gets a pause, looking to Acantha for that answer. When it comes, she grins. "Speaking of Aviaron's Peak. Anyone who ventures that far should take a look at the Whisper Palace that was newly built. It is a true shining jewel of the northlands. I am terribly proud of all of the courtiers, both Whisper and non-Whisper, and the artisans who lent their talents." There's evident pride in Elgana there, practically beaming with the stuff. "But I don't mean to derail the topic." An apologetic smile there. "If you truly want to show them off, a line of fashions and having them modeled about to present them to the public is a wonderful idea. Just to ride on Master Apollo's own idea, of course." She quiets down at Olin's question, looking from the tradesman back to Acantha.

Apollo glances down the table at Olin. "In my experience, there is no need to sustain interest. I craft through the warm seasons for the cold seasons. People invest in their clothes - if they are wise - and so excesses can even be made up seasons ahead for the fashion vanguard. And all that aside, there is always minor amounts of trim and such, which - marmot fur seems very well-suited to. When used for trims and not linings, or to ornament bags and such - they can be used in any season."


Acantha gives a nod to Olin, "We will still be trading our more common furs during the summer months for armor and things like that. We're just wanting to move some of our more exotic furs that have not been seen here in the compact yet." she tells them. "Beaver and our other fur will always be available to be bought for procuring. The Marmots in Clearlake we'd like to keep from going extinct or harming the population. So there would be limited runs of them until we can get a breeding routine going so that we can sustain our animals and the interest that they get for furs." she tells the group with a smile. "Take Seliki and their pearls as an example. They have a very good way of cycling in their pearls and not hurting the system which gives them." she states. "And yes, the Whisper Palace has been being talked on a lot, I am hoping to see if when I venture to Clearlake Hold this summer." she smiles to Elgana.


"There is much talk of the Whisper Palace from traders I've spoken to from the north, your Highness. I am not well-versed in their craft, but I do hope to see it at some point, if the opportunity presents itself." Olin takes a some of each of the foods on offer, his plate a small mirror of the table itself. At Apollo's response, he nods thoughtfully, "I did not mean to imply that there would be no demand at all, only to ask what Lady Clearlake's plans were for her furs. It seemed the Lady was looking for a more -- select clientelle. I could not say how nobility plans for their clothing, particularly whether they do so as an advanced investment." Acantha's response gets a dip of his head, "Thank you, Baroness."

"No offense taken or anything," Apollo says, offering a smile to Olin. "I've done a very good business serving primarily high-born clients - I only wanted to answer your question. I don't think House Clearlake will have to worry about it too much at all - the artisans throughout Arvum will signal our needs, because we've been at our trades for a very long time, as the lot of us."


Acantha gives a bit of a head shake and takes a moment to interject, "I don't have a particular clientelle in mind. I'm of the mind that if Nobles or Commoners want to buy them, then it is all going well. I don't want to pander to Nobility only. I'm not really one of those people. I like to think that there are commoners who deserve the furs just as much." she tells them. "No offense to my Noble Peers." she adds.


"If they have the silver for it," Astyr says, some doubt in her voice as to the possibility while she looks over the fur samples. Her eyes just keep going back to that white fur. It's striking! "I do wish you luck, Baroness, and would be happy to help move some of the items in the city. I'm pleased to think that the south will see more of the North's riches such as these."

"It sounds like you have given quite a deal of thought to this, which doesn't surprise me at all," Elgana says to Acantha, nodding in her approval. She smiles to Olin, nose crinkling just slightly as she says to him, "The nobility fly by whims of fashion that are hard to read sometimes. One day lace trim is all the rage and then a week later? No one wishes to be caught dead with a whiff of lace on their attire! It is almost a sport." Then to Olin and Astyr both, she prompts, "Do you both specialize in furs and leather or handle a little of everything?"

"I am certainly more of a generalist in my trade, moving goods to craftspersons such as yourself or writs directly. Your perspective has much value in this regard," Olin says in response to Apollo. At Acantha's words, he studies the baroness a moment before smiling, "As a commoner myself, I am pleased to hear it, Lady Clearlake. If not for such opinions, it would be much more difficult for Astyr and I to trade." A flicker of his gaze touches upon Astyr at her words, eyes warming in some personal amusement before he is back to a wide grin for Elgana, a light laugh playing about his lips, "Your Highness, I do not even attempt to understand such things. But I will certainly find as much lace is needed or sell it the next week if I must. We each have our own interests, but no, we trade in all matter of goods."

"I /do/ serve common folk," Apollo says, laughing a moment. "I just wind up rather busy with some rather difficult materials that tend to demand noble /coin/. I think marmot should be well within reach for some. Upper-folk, anyway."

"I specialize more in knowing who specializes," Astyr says, bowing her head to Elgana with a flashing grin that invites her into the joke. "Being new to the city, of course that will take me some work. Like Olin, I won't pretend to know what it is in fashion, but I will pay very close attention, and listen very closely, to what is said on the subject, so that I can follow the trends."


"I've definitely tried to think it through before the meetings and things. And if there's any niggling questions or anything else that people want to ask I'm fine in going ahead and answering them for you all." Acantha states with a smile. "I think that business is better discussed over food." she adds with a chuckle. "I'm attempting to make small strides for the Barony, and this project has been near and dear to my heart since I was newly arrived. So I thank you all for coming to look and to listen to me." she states.


Acantha is overheard praising Elgana.

Acantha is overheard praising Apollo.

Acantha is overheard praising Olin.

Acantha is overheard praising Astyr.

A moment's worth of thought is all Elgana needs to digest Astyr and Olin's words before she's grinning herself. "I think you both shall do quite well in Arx," she says matter-of-factly. "While the peculiarities of the nobility may be otherworldly, I have no doubt you shall find your way through them and into plenty of profits." She picks at her dinner lightly, eating more like a bird than a bear, but she seems to be enjoying the fare laid out. "I agree with Master Apollo, though. I believe marmot would be well within reach of noble and commoner alike and could be used in a variety of ways no matter the season. The rarity may edge the price somewhat higher, but I imagine talented market-minded individuals will be able to work out deals to ensure it reaches more hands than not."

"Thank you again for your hospitality," Astyr says to Acantha, her hands pressing down on the furs they've been given. "I'm exhausted from travel, but I promise I'll be speaking widely of the value of your furs once I've had a chance to settle in." She brightens visibly at Elgana's words, dipping her head in a low bow to the Redrain princess. "Thank you very much for saying so. I look forward to finding my feet, your highness."

"It is wonderful to see such hands-on efforts made on behalf of your barony, Lady Clearlake and I am glad we were able to attend. I think there is opportunity here." Olin shifts his gaze to Elgana, the corners of his lips tugging up once more, "It has been quite the road travelled, your Highness, but your words are both kind and greatly appreciated. Master Apollo, I believe you will be able to get your goods directly from the source in this case, but if you find yourself in need of contacts for other forms of trade, please call on us."

Apollo grins at Olin, there. "I can always use another friend at market," he says. "But I'm sure you know that. Come around sometime - have a drink at Trader's Tavern with me and Alexio, we're always interested in talking shop and trade."


"I'm always happy to have visitors and to host new arrivals." Acantha dips her head to them. "And now that talking is done, lets have a bit of dessert and drinks with new friends." the Baroness states as she rises. She holds up her glass, "To new friends and new connections. Thank you all for coming to visit and to talk this evening." she tells them with a smile.


Astyr says, "Thank you!"