Dinner and DiplomacyIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | PreGameLogs | Dinner and Diplomacy Year +95 The invitation had already been delivered to the embassy when a young blond man sporting a neatly trimmed beard walked out of the Arden woods near Whitecliff with a large crate over one shoulder. Its self-evident mass, and the trailing cloud of white vapors and frost from around the edges, suggested this was no ordinary traveler. A gardener approached him cautiously, pruning hook still in hand. "Sir?" "Ah, hello. I'm Johann," the blond man said with a winning smile he'd stolen while Bleys wasn't looking. "Larissa said I might borrowed the place for a bit... could you go get the butler?" The man nodded, then his eyes widened as he figured out exactly -which- Johann this was. He scurried off, and was joined a short while later by a man in his mid twenties wearing a maroon mock turtleneck, jeans similar to Johann's own, and a navy sports coat. "Good evening. I'm the butler," the man said as he offered his hand for a firm shake. By this time, Johann had placed the crate down on the ground. "Yes," Johann said as he thought to himself how much this uncharacteristically familiar butler was indicative of Larissa's peculiar style. "Larissa says I can make myself at home -- 'I won't turn you away, Johann... If you're going to *bother* Ingrey, you should probably do so someplace neutral' he said, imitating the diction Larissa would have used if she had ever said such a thing to him... which she certainly had not. Johann was able to con the staff, although it almost fell apart when he indicated his suggested menu for the evening. In the end, he had to break out the documentation which had come with the crate and show them how to prepare one sample before they were comfortable with the idea. Fortunately, her literate kitchen staff were able to read the proof as to the contents' origins and evaluate the ethical concerns much as Larissa herself might. *** The invitation itself was a small card of fine parchment, written with a fountain pen in an angular script which at least resembled Larissa's own. This had been enclosed within an envelope which had been mass-produced out in shadow, with 'Whitecliff' machine printed in the appropriate corner for a return address, and Ingrey's office as the designated destination across the center. It was sealed with water-activated glue rather than wax and signet. Ambassador Ingrey Istacasson, I would be most honored if you would be so kind as to join me for dinner on the evening of the 13th at Whitecliff. [Signed with a single, hastily drawn cursive letter which might have been a J, G, or an L, or perhaps a Y.] (Johann's intent was to have it arrive with enough time for Ingrey to attend without rushing, but to not weeks in advance in case Larissa returned unexpectedly. The above was cleared with Carolyn.) Ingrey stared at the invitation for a moment, and then went to the front of his office to find Ren. "Ren, what do you make of this?" He offered her the card. The dark haired secretary examined the card. "Its slightly uncharacteristic of Larissa Rohl to sign it so hastily and sloppily. Do you think its a forgery?" "Not necessarily, but it suggests something out of the ordinary is going on." Ingrey replied. "Knowing there is a trap is the first step in dodging it, Ren. I am going to accept this invitation and attend, but I want you to keep Her Excellency appraised if I do not return at an appropriate hour." "Very good, sir." Ren replied. And so, on the evening of the 13th, one of the Embassy's carriages, drawn by four horses as black as midnight, carried Ingrey from the Embassy to Larissa's duchy and the estate itself. One of Larissa's custodians, perhaps a groundskeeper by day, jogged out to provide the Ambassador with any assistance he required in dismounting from the carriage. He then inquired if the coachman would be waiting, in which case he was welcome to join the card game after they'd seen to the horses etc. in the carriage house. The coachman agreed to the proposal, once he saw to it that Ingrey was safely disembarked from the carriage. With a nod, Ingrey dismissed the coachman to the remainder of his duties and the promised card game. Ingrey was met at the door by Larissa's butler, who first offered to take his hat and coat then inquired if there was anything he could get him. He could smell the distinct aroma of beefsteak cooking in the kitchen, along with notes the unique notes of olive oil. Ingrey furrowed his eyebrows at the smell which was definitely out of place and character in Larissa's home. He tensed slightly even before the voice from the kitchen made his presence known. "How well-done do you take your steak, Ambassador?" a blond, bearded gentleman asked from the threshold of the kitchen. The beard was new, but his bluejeans and emblematic belt-buckle confirmed that this was, indeed, the notorious Johann Payne. Curiously, he was not visibly armed. Ingrey turned toward the voice and the entrance to the kitchen slowly and carefully. Blue eyes regarded the figure at the threshold warily. "Medium rare." he said. "Given the menu, I take it Larissa Rohl is neither the source of my invitation, nor will be joining us." Ingrey said. "Mr. Payne?" "Yes. Just a moment," he said as a grin spread across his face. He leaned back into the kitchen and indicated how long the steaks should be cooked. "I'll not drain Larissa's cellars, but brought some fine Arden Red," Johann offered as he re-entered the room with two dark bottles and led the way to the diningroom, where field green salads were already laid out. Ingrey gave an ascent of his head and followed Johann toward the dining room. He regarded the layout for a moment and then sat down, regarding his unexpected host skeptically. Johann took a seat to his left and continued to grin. "If you have brought me here to kill me as a first blow in an attempt at revolution, Mr. Payne." Ingrey said sardonically. "I would guess that you are beginning at the bottom and working your way up." "And if you didn't lure me here to earn Larissa Rohl's ire by having my bodily fluids stain her carpet, then why did you go through this duplicity to do so?" Ingrey regarded the salad warily. "With enemies, one knows where one stands," Johann said with a chuckle. "I've invited you to discuss politics, not to kill you..." Johann said as he folded his napkin over his lap. "Besides, when revolution comes, I'll need you to witness the surrender," he said with a grin as he took a forkful of salad from Ingrey's plate. Fork still suspended over his own salad, he splashed both the forkful and the leaves below with balsamic vinegar from a silver casting shaped like a large leaf. "I would have thought that you would prefer Her Excellency to witness the surrender." Ingrey said in a deadpan voice. He gestured toward the casting. "Is that real Balsamic vinegar, or the pale colored imitation that is often passed off for it?" "Chaosian witnesses, to return to Chaos," He replied as he crunched on his forkful from Ingrey's plate. "Real vinegar in the Balsamic style. The cloned steaks are from shadow, but everything else-- the olive oil, the herbs, the golden potatoes and asparagus, this salad and dressing is all from Arden," Johann remarked as he poured the red wine into two glasses. He made a point of holding the bottle so that Ingrey could see he hadn't dropped anything into either glass while he poured, then passed one glass over to his place by the base. "And heavier than you'd think, once packed," he added with a grin. "The fruit of the land, mostly." Ingrey said, taking the bottle gingerly, and then liberally applying the balsamic vinegar to his own salad. "While I prefer that creamy dressing made with anchovies, this is just as useful for a salad, I find." "Amberian Food would be one thing I miss in your Surrender-acceptance fantasia." Ingrey admitted. Johann shrugged noncomitally to the statement, and sipped his own wine. "Do you serve the Emperor, or the King?" He asked a few moments later. Ingrey regarded Johann quizzically. "If I didn't know you for being an enemy of the Crown of Empire and Kingdom alike, I would think that is a loyalty question, Mr. Payne." Ingrey commented, taking a bite of the salad. "Or is this some sort of Sokratic question?" he then continued rhetorically. "I am the Minister-Counselor under Her Excellency Paloma Baccaran, Ambassador of the Courts of Chaos to the Kingdom of Amber." Ingrey said. "Therefore, even if I may do services for Merlin, and the Prime Minister Mandor, from time to time, I serve the Courts, that is to say, the Emperor." "Just confirming... Judging from the initial attack and the Chaosian garrison's hawks, I'd say there were Chaosians none too keen on leaving Amber standing. Any idea why that might be?" Johann asked. "Many reasons." Ingrey replied, taking a forkful of endive and chewing it before elaborating. "Painting the Courts and its residents with a broad, single, monochromatic brush would be as foolish as trying to paint Amber and its denizens with the same." "Some would have sought Amber's destruction on the deadly simple principle elucidated as Carthago delenda est." Ingrey explained. "Are there not those in Amber who would have destroyed the Courts if given the chance? Such men and women are to be found in all societies." "Others would seek Amber's ruin for personal reasons. A mother, a father, a child lost to War or to the actions of the enemy. Revenge is a powerful motivation. Powerful enough to destroy a world, if need be." Ingrey continued. He took a forkful of romaine lettuce and chewed it, making a gesture he was not yet done. "And some sought to return to what they perceived as the correct metaphysical order of things, before there was an Amber, when there was Chaos, and all orbited around it, to the edges of nothingness." "And, like many things, there are those whose reasons cannot even be guessed at, and would be foolish to try." Ingrey finished. "Amber is no Hydra... Corwin did not mean to destroy Chaos, nor did Benedict. That is all that mattered, then, when it was about retaining autonomy and retaliating for the Black Road. Then, you took a poorly garrisoned city defended by Larissa, Islain, and Gerard who was quickly ambushed, if not outright murdered," Johann said as calmly as when he'd described the meal's ingredients. Ingrey's face was a mask of neutrality as he listened to Johann continue. "Now... you have set the standard by which you will be judged, by which this new war will be fought," Johann said with just a bit of heat to his tone. "Make no mistake... Caine and Julian -will- retake Amber, and will not stop there. The only question is... how generous they are feeling on that day. "If you serve the Emperor-- if you give a d*mn about the Chaosians here in Amber, you'll pray that someone deals with Mandor soon. Too much longer, and victory will be accompanied by the bloodiest of purges. If the revolution came tomorrow... perhaps you could negotiate on behalf of the Courts. Much longer... and we would no longer be willing to forgive the interest on our pound of flesh," Johann concluded. He had timed matters perfectly, for shortly after that declaration the butler brought out the main course. He eyed Johann warily, as he had overheard some of what had passed between the two men. Steak rubbed with first press olive oil and herbs, mashed potatoes, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. "Thank you." Ingrey said reassuringly to the butler as the foot was laid out before them, and he gave a nod to the butler before he departed. The butler sketched a bow, and maintained his serious expression as he left the room. Ingrey then cut himself a moderate sized piece of the steak, held it up, and took a bite. He chewed thoughtfully and without hurry, and spoke when he finally finished. "If I had was any doubts as to why your sigil has both the quill as well as the gun, Mr. Payne, you have erased them." Ingrey said. "Your tongue is more dangerous than your fists." Johann continued to eat in silence for a time as well. "Very diplomatic." "If you're unfamiliar on the costs of meddling in a foreign civil war, I have books," he added a few moments later. "When things go south for Mandor-- it would be a mistake for Chaos to commit more troops." "I am familiar with the dynamics of putting down an insurrection of an occupied country." Ingrey said after a leisurely few moments to enjoy some of the asparagus and potato on his plate. "I must again ask, however, the obvious question in your well laid out white paper on the future of Amber and Amber-Chaosian relations. Why tell a Chaosian, least of all someone like myself?" "Is this some sort of twist of the knife, in that you tell someone impotent to change your prettily laid out chain of events, but burden him with the knowledge all the same?" Ingrey asked. "Does your revolution against Amber begin with removing any peace of mind I might now have, turning me, as Clytemnestra might say, a male Cassandra?" Johann worked on his own potatoes while he considered his reply. After glancing to the door to insure the kitchen staff weren't peaking, he added a double shake of salt. "You mistake me, Ingrey... I'm the idealist," Johann finally said. "Caine and Julian won't take back the city for... Fifty years," Johann said with a vague gesture of his fork which indicated this was by no means an exact number. "Thirty, if Benedict is alive. Seventy if not and Bleys opposes it. Work out for yourself... how many thousand they'd have to purge, to insure they had a clean house when Chaos came calling. With that much of our own blood on our hands... what do you think we'll do to Chaos, next time?" "I'll bring it off in ten years, tops. I'm 'all in,' as they say. When I do... I'm going to ask for your -overt- support. All I want you to do... is spend this decade thinking about what I've said," Johann concluded. Ingrey seemed slightly disturbed by Johann's offer, and looked at the decreased pool of mashed potatoes on his plate for inspiration. It was a long minute before he spoke. While Ingrey considered what he'd said, Johann made methodical work of his own plate. "I can agree to think about what you have said." Ingrey finally began in a serious tone of voice, nodding slightly. "But in return I want you to seriously consider something yourself over the next decade." "You say you are an Idealist, and I believe that you are, for no one save an Idealist would have the temerity to have arranged this Dinner Diplomacy." Ingrey said in a tone of mild but significant respect. "Since you are an Idealist, I feel confident you have not thought, and should, of the collateral costs in what you propose." Johann snorted and nodded. Others had called his 'temerity' madness before. "Few Revolutions are cheap in the cost of blood. A bloodless Revolution is a contradiction. No Revolution is bloodless, and the cost of freeing Amber from Chaos' orbit would be high, very high." Ingrey looked at him levelly. "And even if it were in my power and inclination to wave a hand and have every Chaosian in Amber disappear and return to Chaos forever in a moment of time, blood, much blood, would be spilled on Amber's streets, and in its Court, afterwards." "You must ask yourself Johann, if you can face the Mothers, Fathers, and Children of those who will die to realize your ambitious dream, however justified and right it might be." "I've considered that. And will," he said as he set his fork and knife on his plate and refilled his wine glass. "If I think of a better way..." he said with a shrug. After a sip of wine, he decided a change of subject was called for. "Well, I've monopolized the conversation long enough... what would you ask me?" Johann said with a smile which was somewhat more workmanlike than his earlier grin. "The host often has the rights in that regard." Ingrey said, taking a bite of the steak once again. "Except of course in those cultures where a tradition of news and storytelling have put the cultural onus on a guest to entertain his host with the flow of conversation and news and gossip of other places..." Ingrey waved his hand. "I will not bore you with questions on what you will see Amber will be like, in the wake of your Revolution. Even if I live to survive to offer Surrender, I probably will not live long thereafter enough to appreciate the results of your success. So I will ask about you, the person, instead." Ingrey offered. "You've written on a lot of subjects. You have a File." Ingrey deliberately capitalized the last word." Ingrey took an asparagus and held it on the tines of his fork before continuing. "Tell me how you feel, though, about your feelings on Religion." Johann studied Ingrey's face for a long moment and considered how he should reply. When he did speak, it was with grave attention. "I'm the great-grandchild of the Unicorn, final initiate to the Ordering principle of the Universe. Even were the Emperor of Chaos your father, you couldn't claim half the shadows of the universe were cast by your direct patrilinear predicesor's creation, or that you had the Blood of the Serpent in your veins. Ingrey got a sudden, strange peculiar look on his face at this turn of phrase from Johann, once that it took a visible effort and moment for Ingrey to squelch as Johann continued speaking. I walk, and other men follow the path I carve through history and shadow. I -am- religion." Ingrey waited a few moments before being willing or able to answer. "Would you say then, that Amber's Revolution to come will be a Crusade, or a Jihad, a Holy War?" he asked Johann. "Is it a war of Religion as well as liberation from Tyranny?" "No. It speaks to Chaos' motivation to attack in the first place, to Dworkin creating the Pattern. If you're on your side of Ygg, pray to whomever you want," Johann replied. Ingrey considered this for a moment. "Your last words are striking, Johann." Ingrey continued. "What role do you see for Chaos and Amber after the Revolution is settled?" Ingrey said. "An infinite wall between them which neither ever crosses?" "I'm focusing on preventing tens of thousands of deaths- Chaosian and allied deaths, mostly. After that, if I survive, I'll lobby for a number of things, some of them detante. Actually, I'll let Larissa do the lobbying, but you get the idea," Johann replied easily. "Larissa would be a wise choice to be given a part in any subsequent administration." Ingrey said seriously. "I did say, however, I would not bore you with over details of what Amber will be like once His Majesty punishes me for the loss of it." "Speaking of Larissa, she chides me for referring her along her Line, as is the way of My House." Ingrey continued. "Have you ever given thought as to where your patrilineal Line might lie, Johann?" Ingrey asked as he cut more pieces of his steak to eat. "Not often... it is no secret to me," he replied with a smile "It is not something, however, you wish to share or publish." Ingrey said with a respectful nod. "That is a point of view difficult for me to understand intellectually, even if it makes some sense from your special circumstance. Bloodline is something to be cherished and respected...at least in my House." "Different Houses see it differently." Ingrey said. "Did you know there are Houses which eschew the link between biological parents and their offspring completely?" "I've heard of cultures like that. Spartans, French Communists. If he is alive and loyal, then it marginalizes me... if he is alive and serving Mandor, we're liabilities to one another... if he is dead, then there is less of a threat of Elder retaliation against my harm. Unnamed, my father is all men and none. Ingrey nodded thoughtfully at this. "Also... about being blamed for losing Amber-- not if you aren't in charge of the embassy... another reason why it was you, and not her," Johann added with a smile. Ingrey found this sufficiently amused, that he actually laughed out loud. "So I would have to owe you and yours my life thereafter." He rose the mostly untouched glass of wine, rose it in salute. "It certainly would make Larissa Ericsdottir's negotiations with Chaos for the building of that Wall easier if I were to survive amongst the tens of thousands that is your state goal to save by your brand of Revolution." "To Survival." Ingrey then drank half of it in one quaff. Johann raised his own glass, and finished it similarly. "On that subject... I'm sure Larissa's staff have gathered by now that I didn't, in fact, have the lady's permission to borrow her home. I'm sorry that I won't be showing you to the door, but I hope you have a pleasant evening," he said as he rose from the table and crossed to the window, which he then opened. Ingrey nodded, and stood up as Johann rose and sidled toward the window. He remained in his place as Johann clearly made ready to leave. "Safe travels, Johann." Ingrey said softly. He remained in place to watch him make his escape. Johann tipped an imaginary cap to Ingrey, threw his leg over the sill, and was off into the night. Ingrey returned to the glass of wine and finished drinking it. Finally, he gathered his mantle and headed back to the entrance where his driver awaited him. The day after, Ingrey sent a small draft of funds to Larissa, care of Fair Winds, with a note. "To Larissa, For services inadvertently rendered, Ingrey, Minister-Counselor for the Embassy to Amber." |
