Morning at the OfficeIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | MorningAtTheOffice
After his visit to his quarters, Ingrey returned to the administration building of the Embassy complex. He returned to the second floor office that is his own, giving a brief knock on the door before pushing it open and entering in a brisk motion. His eyes immediately ran to where the pale skinned woman with the black hair sat working and awaiting any and all comers to the domain of Ingrey Wererathe. "I'm back, Ren." Ingrey said to his loyal and efficient Vangrast assistant, feeling much better after his visit to his quarters. "We have a lot to do and set up, so you better let me know if there is anything at drop-dead status, now, before I inundate us with the new things that have found their way onto our desk." He gave a nod to her. "Continual libations of Dragon Tea are going to be the order of the day." "Very well, Sir," said the hyper-efficient Ren. "And are there any other orders for the day, Sir? In the light of this morning's events?" Ingrey gave a nod of his head. "You might say that, Ren, in the same sense that you might consider the ocean here to be damp." "Right. We need to get a hold of Nyoma Alspring. I need her to deliver a message to Petra Rossi at the Ramblin Queen. I want a messenger who won't be brushed off and she can handle sensitive work." Ren was scribbling notes. For ink she used, as was her custom, the blood of a small, squealing demon imprisoned in a special clamp on her desk. "We also need to set me up with a couturier who handles Rebman fashions. I don't have any Rebman formal wear and I am going to need some. Within two days time, Duke Uther Helgram and I are going to make a descent into Rebma on business. On that front, we need to front-load anything we have in the pipeline for our Rebman counterparts, I can take it with me to the Embassy when we head down there. Her Excellency Pakou Ysarn will appreciate the courtesy, and keeping in her good graces while we're there is a good idea." "I'll alert Thackeray Dayglone. He's our charge d'affairs for Rebman matters this end of the stairs," said Ren, driving her pen into the demon again. It squealed. Ingrey nodded in agreement, "Good." He ignored the plight of the demon as he always did. "Oh, and perhaps a welcome-gift upon arrival in Moire's court. Something small and tasteful, because nothing is going to make up for the Duke's presence, but we must try, Ren." "Oh, and we need a regular couturier as well for an appointment although I think that can wait until I get back from Rebma. I am going to be spending some more time than usual in Amber's Court. I need a precis, a guide, on the language of flowers. We're going to want to arrange to start sending flowers and other things to Clytemnestra Mandorsdottir on a regular basis. "I think that will do for a start." Ingrey finished. "Any questions?" "Should the presents be of an Amberite or Chaosian nature, Sir? People tend to ignore her Chaosian side ... " "They do, and we do need to remind her, more than a little, of her Chaosian nature. So we'll do both, and start with a Chaosian one. Nothing too oeuvre, she's a model of decorum and taste, of course. For example, if we were to provide her with an inkwell, I don't think one of ours would be quite appreciated. We have to treat her carefully, Ren. Its Important." Ren glanced in some surprise at the inkwell. The demon, held fast in the clamp, glowered back. "Oh, I don't know, Sir," she said slowly. "If we could obtain one that was a simulacrum of Mandor ... that might amuse her, don't you think?" Ingrey couldn't help it. After the stress of dealing with the mysterious and dread Duke Helgram, and the shock of what Paloma had done, his ablutions had relaxed him considerably. And so at Ren's remark, he not only smiled, but he laughed. "Yes, yes it would. Some days I wish we had one, although that would not be politic for us to do so. If you could find a demon that could be bound into his form, then I think she would appreciate such a thing." "I'll look into it, Sir," said the efficient Ren, shutting her notebook with a snap. "Now - was there anything else, Sir?" Ingrey's laugh faded into a thin and brief smile. "I think all of that will quite entertain us for the time being," Ingrey replied dryly. "I'll get that letter written, quickly, that I want Nyoma to deliver for me. You get her sent up here and then we'll tackle everything else, piece by piece." "Certainly, Sir," said Ren, gathering up her papers and the inkwell, and departing, to leave Ingrey to compose his letter. Ingrey headed to his desk, and sat down. Expecting tea imminently, Ingrey set to work, ignoring the neatly arranged piles of work, an artifact of his own work habits and Ren's efficiency in getting things in order for him. Pulling out a sheet of paper, Ingrey pulled out more Amberian writing implements. Petra, he thought amusedly to himself, would not appreciate documents written in demon blood, even if it was traditional and proper. And so he wrote. Petra Rossi,
Recent events, both of which you are aware and of a situation which may not yet have come to your attention, have forced me into a position where I am required to speak to you on the matter of our financial and temporal arrangements regarding my Favorite in your establishment. In addition, there are a few other pressing matters related to this that which I feel you should be appraised.
I would like an interview with you to discuss these matters, at your earliest convenience. While the messenger who bears this message knows naught of any of this, with her Mentat training, she may be relied upon to accurately convey a message to me, if you would prefer to give a response that avoids the perils of the written word.
I await your reply,
Ingrey Wererathe, Minister-Counselor of the Chaosian Embassy
By the time he had completed the first paragraph, a mug of tea had been placed at his side, and Ren had discreetly withdrawn once more. By the time he finished the letter, he looked up to see Nyoma Alspring standing before him, keen-eyed and ready, like a greyhound in the slips. Ingrey looked up and gave a nod to the eager, active Nyoma. "It's good to see you again, Nyoma." He sealed the letter with sealing wax impressed with his seal set on a ring, as Minister-Counselor of the Chaosian Embassy. "You're familiar with the Ramblin' Queen." Ingrey said, a statement rather than a question. "You are to take this and proceed there and ask to be admitted to see the proprietress, Petra Rossi. You are on my business and you are to see only her. "If she prefers not to give a written response, she can dictate one for you to memorize to bring back to me. "Any questions?" "No, Sir!" said Nyoma, taking the note with alacrity. "Unless ... well ... will you be here when I get back?" "It's very likely I will be here. I have a lot of work to get through and prepare." Ingrey replied. Ingrey paused a moment and then continued. He gave a mien of considered reflection of possible contingencies. "However, events may overtake us." he said. "If it should happen that I am not present upon your return, you can deliver the message to Ren to hold in trust, or to write down, if it's a verbal one. "Serpent speed your steps, Nyoma, although given your abilities, I hardly think that would be possible." Ingrey added, with a touch of humor in his voice. She flashed him a grin. "Thank you, Sir! I'll hurry back - I promise." She bowed formally in farewell - and then she was away. "And now," Ingrey said to himself, "To work." He took a long drink of the mug of dragon tea, nodded to himself, and started looking at the other pending documents on his desk, already efficiently prepped by Ren for his attention.
Nyoma's turn was preternaturally swift. Ingrey had just gotten through a convoluted petition to establish a trading mission in Ægypt. He chuckled to himself as he finished processing the application. It had been decades since the fateful mission there where he had met Larissa Rohl, but it was one of those events which one could never forget. "If you want to sell to the crocodiles and scorpions." Ingrey murmured as he signed the final piece of paper. "You are very welcome to try." "Yes, he's still in." Ingrey heard the door and the sound of Ren's voice as a herald to the messenger. Ingrey took another sip of the mug of tea, recently topped off again, and nodded as Nyoma came in and bowed. "I delivered the message, sir." Nyoma says. "Her response was simple." Ingrey gave another grazing nod of the head for her to deliver it. "'Please tell the Ambassador that I am at his disposal. Whenever he has the time, I will be happy to speak with him. If we have already left port, I will leave word with our ferryman that Minister-Counselor Ingrey Wererathe is expected. Security will also be alerted.'" "Very good, Nyoma." Ingrey said. "Would that most duties are so simple." Ingrey mused a moment. She was a good kid and didn't deserve the storm that was coming to rain upon them all. But, then, such events struck the guilty and the innocent with equal vice, or so it seemed. "You've done well. Thank you. You may return to your normal duties." "Yes, Sir!" Nyoma said eagerly, bowed, and departed. "A good kid." Ingrey murmured. "Ren..." he called aloud. "I need..." "...a carriage to the Embassy." she finished for him. "In a quarter hour it will be ready," her voice came filtering back. Ingrey looked at the paperwork before him. No, he decided, he couldn't finish any more pieces in such a time. Instead, he briskly returned to his quarters. He changed, quickly, putting on a fresh set of clothes, of a slightly better cut than his everyday office outfit. Briefly, he looked at the knife. It was now sitting on a table in his personal quarters where he had left it. He shook his head softly. He had gotten it from Damien's backstab, shown it to Paloma and the Duke, and now it was his, improbably. It was a symbol, but of what the Diplomat from House Wererathe was still not sure. Ready at last, Ingrey briskly headed across and down to the Embassy and the waiting carriage that drove him down to the docks. His hands were folded and his thoughts turbulent for the entire journey. EOT Continued in Conversation in Confidence |
