"This is becoming problematic." - one of the meeting attendants groused. At the round table, a number of nobles sat, each of them garbed in a robe with a deep cowl. Of course, this was but a token gesture, for everyone at the table knew everyone else... with the few exceptions, which was the main reason for such measures to begin with.

"Problematic? Honestly, I'd go as far as call it ridiculous! A good third of kingdom's nobility unable to put one uppity bint into her proper place." - another interjected shrilly. A woman, if the tone of voice was of any indication.

"Granted, but one does not preclude the other. This girl might be off-kilter, but she's far from stupid." - a third voice piped up - "We are haemorrhaging assets, honorable sirs and ladies. There is a certain dearth of qualified help in such delicate matters, and losing several in quick succession is a big problem."

"Assets are one thing, but we are also losing important people!" - first voice interrupted - "De Braltar made it clear he will not act against Gillespies, upset daughter or no. In fact, he might have had reached some kind of arrangement with Gillespies and his daughter might not even be upset anymore. Sadoux nearly challenged me to a duel! He wants nothing to do with us now. De Brege is hopelessly compromised."

"Considering you looked the other way when Konistan was robbing farmers blind in Sadoux domain, I can hardly expect him to be the fan of our coalition to begin with." - third voice mocked - "And de Breges are simpletons."

"Silence!" - first voice bellowed - "Have a care how you talk about people of noble blood! Unlike yours, their houses served this kingdom for centuries."

"But right now, they are not." - second voice suggested coyly - "Rather, they are for whichever reasons all content to sit by idly and watch the destruction."

"To be fair, they all have personal reasons to." - fourth voice rose, - "De Breges had come up laughably short in every altercation they had, Sadoux had his sister cured of consumption, which is a miracle by itself, and no one even knows what kind of problem maiden de Braltar even had with Gillespies to begin with."

Third voice scoffed - "I believe at this juncture it is obvious that Sadoux will not take our side, come fire or high water. Perhaps we will have better luck on the opposite side of this problem. Lemarchand sent his wife back to Sadoux for a reason, and I for one do not believe this malarkey about disease being the reason in the slightest! Mark my words, this Lemand is a bastard and that's the truth! Why not fan these flames?"

Second voice giggled - "That does sound pretty good to me. Darling Balthazar is undefeatable on the piste, let him humiliate Gillespies. He has a clear reason to intervene, too, his bastard and unfaithful wife being used against him like so."

"That is a possibility." - first voice agreed, - "But let us not get ahead of ourselves. We already thought to possess the perfect solution too, and what a disappointment it turned out to be. What else can be done to hamper upstarts?"

"Would be nice if someone could pressure them financially..." - fifth voice mused dreamily.

"It would. But who? Gillespies are making gold hand over fist, while our own coffers deplete." - first voice retorted - "No trading house holds any promissory notes or liens for Gillespies, they pay with gold and up front."

"Well, don't look at me." - third voice defended - "I have no spare coin."

"Coin, maybe not." - fourth voice suggested coyly - "But you did give Konistan Trading House a number of promissory notes. It would be such a shame if all of them were suddenly voided..."

"What, and give Gillespies a claim to my own domain?" - third voice scoffed bitterly - "I think not. They have royal ear currently, king would rule in their favor."

"For now." - first voice mused - "But things change. I believe there are certain other, ahem... concerned parties who are interested in removal of our problem as well."

"Sultan's dogs?" - second voice simpered - "They can bark, but their bite is weak. Honestly, if their best warrior could allow himself to be killed without even laying a scratch on a damn girl, what hope does the rest of rabble have?"

"Not everything needs to be a duel." - fifth voice suddenly regained seriousness - "Does it really matter how skilled the hand is, if the dagger goes in the back?"

"Unfortunately, yes." - first voice rebutted - "My men at the academy report that attempts were made. And rebuffed with extreme prejudice."

"They're telling you tall tales, then." - fourth voice suggested - "It would be all but impossible to hide the fact hashishins appeared in Academy, not from the rumor mill."

"Oh, it is possible if you kill them where they stand and incinerate the bodies before anyone sees them." - first voice disagreed - "And I know for a fact maiden Gillespie is not shy about doing either."

"Speaking of Academy... Perhaps some of us should invite dean Ambercrombe for a little chat? Remind him who his friends are..." - second voice interjected - "Even royal favor won't quite cover up flunking from the Academy for ineptitude, after all."

"Not an option for many reasons." - third voice cut in - "For one, Ambercrombe is terrified of our problem. And even if we somehow managed to stiffen his spine, maiden Gillespie is a scholastic prodigy, and the whole of Parsee knows that by now. No one would believe she failed in studies, least of all - his majesty. And if the king himself pays attention to our proposed subterfuge with Ambercrombe, heads would roll and I don't mean that metaphorically."

"So to sum it up... We lack the wherewithal to affect Gillespies by the way of wealth because they are wealthier than we are. Spreading rumors about them is an equally lacking proposition, for anything we might have made into a juicy gossip is something they flaunt. Our one good plan is to pit Balthazar Lemarchand against them. Our one lackluster plan is to sit idly and hope hashishins prove themselves to be up to the task, earlier upsets notwithstanding. Does anyone have any political suggestions? Gillespie holdings spread across the north recently, as count bailed out some of our own vassals from their monetary ordeals. Could there be something in this?" - first voice suggested mildly.

"Those milksops? Please, they will support whoever offers more money... and at the moment, it's Gillespies and we can not outbid them. Not without crippling ourselves." - second voice shrilled - "Disloyal curs!"

"What's the matter? Upset your usual boytoys are no longer available to coerce into your own bed with vague promises of debts being forgiven?" - third voice jeered - "Though there is something to be said about this... I am actually thinking of maybe following their example."

A shocked silence spread.

"...Viscount, explain yourself." - the first voice demanded frostily.

A shrug was given in return. "What is there to explain?" - third voice retorted flippantly - "With his recent acquisitions, Gillespie actually shares a border with me now. It stands to reason he would rest his eye upon my lands next. I could make a stand and remain near-destitute, or I can take his offer and abrogate myself of the majority of debt in one fell swoop."

"And you would betray our cause for monetary relief?" - first voice inquired incredulously.

"There is this and there is that." - third voice mused - "For what it's worth, I agree with your points. Too much change, too quick, too soon. Too encompassing. A need in moderation is urgently needed, lest we find ourselves rudderless within the storm. But insofar, the best I can contribute is my name, and even that is not worth much, not in comparison to Gillespie. If I take his offer, however, I will definitely know more about their plans and movements."

"And we're supposed to just blindly trust you?" - second voice quipped acerbically.

"What is there to trust me about, baroness?" - third voice inquired incredulously - "Being concerned about the fates of the kingdom is not a crime."

"Enough!" - first voice thundered - "Viscount, you are treading a dangerous path. Gillespies had blithely ignored all of our attempts at reconciliation, they are neither interested nor willing to engage in dialogue. If you join them, even in name only, they will demand the same out of you, and we will NOT tolerate such a blatant betrayal."

"Yeah, about that." - third voice retorted - "I have this distinct impression that Gillespies had failed to NOTICE your attempts at reconciliation, not chose to ignore them. Furthermore, I have made inquiries. Insofar, the demands count Gillespie impresses on his newly gained vassals are not nearly as numerous or onerous as you seem to believe. He demands a suitable workforce to be dedicated to spreading the tar roads, which even you have to admit are a vital improvement and to give fiscal accounting of domain's resources and productions that could be made available for trade. That is basically it. I've yet to find out even one person who was told to change their political stances. If anything, I might be able to be that voice of moderation you were harping about."

"Because surely the advice of rampant gambler will be taken seriously by a man of mercantile bent." - second voice leered - "Surely, this is the faultless plan we were all clamoring about, no doubt. Go for it, viscount, it would be worth a laugh at the least."

"I do not hear you suggest any better ones." - fifth voice cut into the discussion - "At this junction, we might as well try everything we can think of. Gods willing, one of those disparate attempts will actually find that chink in armor."

"I do not like it... but as baron said, we are not spoiled for choice here." - first voice proffered after a bit of silence - "Do as you will, viscount, but remember what we're striving for. Don't let the haze of gold cloud your good judgment."

"He does not need the gold to cloud his good judgment." - second voice muttered sulfurously as the owner of third withdrew from the table.

"Think he'll betray us?" - fourth voice quipped lackadaisically.

"What is there to betray?" - first voice chuckled - "He was right about that one thing, if nothing else. It's not a crime to be concerned about the fates of the kingdom. Still... some hedging of bets would not go amiss, and de Brege should be eager to avenge his earlier humiliation. Is your illusionist ready?"

"He is confident he would be able to produce a convincing enough image of the bint to fool that fool at least." - second voice agreed - "We're just waiting for a word from you to proceed."

"Excellent."