A visit to the Arbor

Once they had parted ways with Selgrumel, with many more wishes for a safe and speedy resolution and return, Aleyn and Vedran began to make their way uphill. They would be unlikely to find a cab in Undertow, especially at this still-early hour, but hopefully once they were a little ways up the mountain they would luck into one and not have to walk the entire way to Jesseryn's house. Aleyn felt oddly self-conscious carrying the stone in his pocket, but tried not to show his uneasiness. Instead, he made an effort to make normal small talk with Vedran.

"So, did Kier or Marys stay at your father's? Will whichever of them is on duty come back with us when we pick up Macen?"

"Marys stayed - she's a little more comfortable staying over there than Kier. I wasn't going to pick him up until later though, originally, and Kier was going to come down to my place later this morning. I think he stayed over in Sarcliff. So...." Vedran shrugged. He didn't like flaunting his relationship with Aleyn in front of Marys, though he was sure she'd already figured out what was going on. She'd become less hostile since the divorce and was quite professional in their dealings, and always diligent in her care for his son. Her sense of elven propriety meant that she was unlikely to spread rumours, but she was always going to be more loyal to Jacinthe. "I don't know how long we'll be here but I'm alright to stay up for a few more hours when we get home." He smiled in response to Aleyn's look of dubious concern. "Really - I've had coffee and breakfast in me now, I'll be fine. Dealing with a lack of sleep is something every parent learns to do."

"Well, I suppose I need the practice then," Aleyn said with a wry smile. "I can stay up with you too."

"Adult company would help." He sighed. "I still have those meetings this afternoon though... Ahh well, I guess there is always more coffee. Maybe they'll take it as a sign of my commitment if I look overtired and harried."

"Hey... I got a little sleep at least, which was more than you did. If you need, I can watch Macen while you nap for an hour or two," Aleyn told him.

Vedran smiled at that. "We'll see what Macen thinks of the plan... but I'm willing to give it a shot, thanks."

Aleyn nodded. "So... is this also going to be the time to talk to your father about the, um, wedding plans? And if so, do you want me to stay?" The idea of facing down a possibly-upset Jesseryn was alarming, but he was willing to do it if Vedran wanted him there.

"Well, that partly depends on what his wife is doing. But what do you mean, about the plans? About the private ceremony?"

"Yeah... and I guess whatever you feel he needs to know about the contract, since you said that was probably where any issues would come up?"

"Right... I might just wait and send him a draft, but we'll see. I think the sections with Macen are going to be what he cares about the most." Vedran shrugged as a cab pulled up close in response to his wave. "We'll see how things go."

"Okay," Aleyn agreed, settling into the cab as it pulled away, and taking the opportunity of a moment's privacy to squeeze Vedran's hand. "I'll be there if you need me, anyway."

"Thanks."

They kept relatively quiet on the ride up to Clearview, the strong coffee not enough to keep Vedran, at least, to keep from dozing off a little. He tried to shake off the lingering tiredness as the cab alighted at the Arbor, instructing the butler who answered the door to apologize to his lord father, but that he had come on important business. He and Aleyn were shown in and settled down to wait.

Vedran and Aleyn had been waiting in the study almost a half hour before Jesseryn entered brusquely, a servant closing the doors behind him. He motioned for Vedran to keep his seat before Aleyn realized the bard had been rising. Jesseryn quickly took a seat opposite the pair.

"Vedran, Mr. Harrowden, I hadn't expected you this early. I know the event ran late last night; I hope your evening wasn't too exhausting."

Laying his hands in his lap, Jesseryn regarded them both with a neutral curiosity.

"Udovan tells me you have important business to discuss."

Normally Aleyn would have waited for Vedran to break the ice, especially considering it was Jesseryn they were meeting with, but having been kept waiting for half an hour, he was feeling a little impatient. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the stone and set it down on the low table between them, pushing it slightly towards the elven nobleman. "You could say that," he said evenly, sitting back and glancing over at Vedran, hoping he hadn't overstepped his bounds.

Vedran returned Aleyn's glance, and nodded to his father. "Thank you for seeing us, and we apologize for disrupting your morning routine. We had another visit from our contact in House Himrall last night. Based on the information he brought us and what the others have encountered in Hiskaru, We decided it would be better to have the Doomstone we have recovered to be kept somewhere it can be better protected until it is needed, and that until that time the two stones need to be kept apart. Hane Selgrumel brought it to us this morning - we are hoping you will be willing to keep it for us, at least temporarily." He gestured to the unassuming-looking stone amulet Aleyn had placed on the table. "We are also going to have to rethink some of our plans for retaking the city - the Geyr Hextor are already entrenching themselves there, and have been making their own efforts to recover the stones."

"Efforts which, I hope, are meeting with less success than yours," Jesseryn said with studied calm. "I'm sure Ms. Cziernos will have more specific information about the Geyr Hextor's dispensation soon."

His gaze fell to the stone on the table, his mind calculating everything the tangible success in this crusade would mean. After a moment, he returned Vedran's gaze.

"The stone should be as safe as possible here, and I agree that keeping them apart is wise. I assume you have plans for a place to safeguard the other stone?"

"Yes, Father." Vedran nodded. "Assuming it is relatively portable, we'll be sending it out of the city, with the Grobashka."

"It perhaps would have been more prudent not to inform me of that, but we'll take all possible precautions. Do you have any sense of how things are progressing in Hiskaru?"

Aleyn had no intention of being left out of the conversation if he could avoid it. "It sounds like they are drawing near to their goal," he said, trying to sound composed and serious, like Vedran and Jesseryn. "They've also encountered some cult activity there, but they seem confident they should be able to reach the stone first, maybe even within a day or so."

"Well, that may truncate our planning, both general and specific," Jesseryn said, favoring Aleyn with an appraising glance. "Nonetheless, it will be a relief to have both stones secured. We'll need more time here in Highmark to handle the political side of things, but I'm given to understand your preparations for the more adventuresome aspect of this operation are proceeding apace."

Jesseryn took specific care not to refer to their work in Nachtur as a military operation; training himself and his associates to avoid that construction would be necessary to sell it to the Parliament, even in retrospect. Nerath took a dim view of nobles using their private armies for goals not approved by the state.

Vedran sighed a little, listening to Aleyn and Jesseryn and nodding. He should have known better, but now the conversation had moved on. "Yes, but at least having the Thunderbolts and the Pak back ought to help with both of those facets. There is one more thing our contact mentioned though - he says he is not above calling in outside reinforcements if our ...grand adventure of Nachtur isn't proceeding as we hope."

"As you hope, or as he hopes?" Jesseryn asked, his voice remaining calm despite his concern. "Contingency plans have already been in place, but I am uncomfortable with what your contact will deem sufficient motivation to call upon outside forces. Poorly-judged pruning leads to poorer yields."

"That is one of my concerns. He said that he would call in help if things 'aren't going your way', and that he wanted to give us a chance to do it ourselves, but you're right - I don't know what his benchmarks are for our success." He considered. "When I talked to Miss Hane this morning, she said she thought we should just try to bring this potential support i from the beginning. I'm not sure if that is worth the risk though, of losing control from the outset, versus having some other forces sweep in at the end of it and steal our thunder, so to speak. I could contact him again, in either case... I suppose it is possible he is fishing for information about whether we *do* have any contingencies in place. At this point I am willing to trust that he is on our side though."

"It would seem he's on the side of Nerath, which isn't entirely the same thing," Jesseryn commented. "To many, preservation of the status quo is decidedly more desirable than the possibility of reclaiming Nachtur. It is a precarious endeavor in any circumstance."

"If he wanted to interfere, he could have had this operation shut down months ago - even before we had a chance to get organized. We'd never have gotten to Miss Makarta in the first place. We're all on Nerath's side, I hope, but he seems honestly willing to trust us to at least try this. I'm not sure, though, how he thinks he could mobilize troops fast enough to make a distance if it came down to it."