Mouth Embassy [Chyril, 22nd, early MT just after dawn]

[Rosalie Marcada]

Rosalie couldn't sleep, or rather, she was afraid to sleep. Her dreams had been troublesome, memories from the past coming to haunt her in the night time, memories she preferred to repress. Every since she was in the Citadel she had increasingly distrusted her dreams too, as if they were capable of more than merely processing her day time experiences, a constant threat to her calm. Espresso had been her savior. She had consumed a lot of it. Especially in the early morningtides just after dawn it helped to keep her sanity.

Rosalie sat on the small terrace, staring into the small dark cup before her. These were the last marks of her days as a maiden. Tomorrow would be her wedding. Everything was planned, into the small details, together with the household staff of Marcada's Mansion. The flower arrangements, the dress from Audrey's, the modest guestlist that include only family and a small scattering of dignitaries and friends. Today would be a busy day. Today Rosalie would make the last arrangements so that tomorrow she could take the larger parts of the day off. It was good to stay busy.

Rosalie rose and went to her office, picking up the last messages, softly inquiring from staff who had been hired lately, and who else people were working on. She needed the last word on what the Kings Court.. she corrected herself mentally.. what the Western Kingdom faction was doing. What was the Kislovani Embassy up to? Was there word on the latest of the Coffee market? Where there any appointments that representatives had made?

[Grey Wolf]

No matter how early she rose, there was one person who was up before Rosalie and it was he who greeted her the moment she entered the hallway leading to her office. Marco Smataggio, her personal secretary was already seated at his modest desk and was at work rearranging some papers. A thin man in his early forties, signore Smataggio had been sent as part of the new World's Mouth Embassy staff and has shown remarkable skill in dealing with delicate matters with the necessary subtlety and at times even showed initiative not demanded of him. He smoothed his goatee as he was fond of doing before speaking up and offered a bundle of papers to Madam Consul. "Good morning, Madam Consul. I hope you had a restful night. Here are the reports you requested."

His voice trailed over as he waited to see if there were any other requests, smiling politely, but without much emotion behind it. He did not have to like her to work for her. Once she left he sat back down and went back to the rest of the reports compiling all the data that came to him into, and extracting the important data for Madam Consul's perusal.

Within the documents he had given here, there was a small invitation for an opening night for an establishment called Red Banner, with an attached note by the secretary, informing her that the place had been a brothel at one time, reputedly run by one Michael Crane of the Crane family.

The Western Kingdom faction has been very quiet as of late, with Ambassador Hagen barely leaving the compound at all. Former Corporal Ciccone had been seen in several taverns, and refused any contact with his former comrades from the Condotierre. Kislovani faction had been bolstered lately by two new arrivals from Cerleann, a brother and sister Ashtalion and Alustriel Urdil Alrul, both of them mages. There was a small note attached to this report about the sister Urdil being rumored to have been responsible for the escalation of hostilities between the adhiel and human population of Kislovan. Something about her injuring a bystander by reckless usage of magick in a tavern.

With the virtual monopoly on coffee trade the Mouth has been making enormous profit through trade, and despite the lure of racking even more profit by increasing the prices, they have actually gone down lately, and the sales have gone up by quite a bit. Attached to it was the report about the sales of the Simple Pleasures establishment and amount that went to the mouth by a way of percentage. Finally, there was a letter from Audrey Harden, informing Madam Consul that her dress was ready and that it will be delivered around mid-day that day.

[Rosalie Marcada]

Rosalie pondered the information after having given Smataggio a vague smile that showed she was not really paying attention to the man. He was efficient and that was what counted.

The facts about the fat corporal sat ill with her. I wonder how much he knows. Kaspar had always trusted him without hesitation. Every man has a weakness. She gave written orders to request a full background check from the Turcotto building back home, on the pretense that the man was a potential security risk.

The Ambassador considered the invitation to the Red Banner. It was not really appropriate to visit a former brothel on the eve of her wedding. It was horribly tempting though, to move out and meet some people, expand her network even with less savory types. Yet she discarded it for now. She didn't want to upset Illish just before their wedding.

Writing another background request, this time for the Urdil siblings, Rose finished up and decided to stretch her limbs a little, taking a little walk through the Citadel, by open carriage of course. No sense in getting sweaty. She told her secretary to keep the customary escort of Condotierre ready for a trip to town.

[Grey Wolf]

Smataggio did not show any concern over Madam Ambassador's lack of attention, simply doing his job and only pointing out things when they were truly important. The rest could be handled as his superior saw fit, or if she did not do anything about it, when Smataggio thought it as the time, with the proper report being sent to her for review later. He took the papers from Rosalie when she was done, and nodded leaving to get the coach and the four-man escort ready for her departure, not asking where it was she wished to go. Were it important she would have said it. He had other concerns now, planning out the acquisition of information she had requested and calling out his own assistant to request a search of the archives for what little they already had.

[Rosalie Marcada]

With a final nod Rosalie left her secretary to it and after touching up the way she looked in her own apartment she then went out with the carriage. Life had become so very efficient now that she was the Ambassador. A trifle empty perhaps but that she would not admit to anyone, not even in the darkness of gravetide.

-Fin!

[Vanadius]

Archived.