CH. 13 - Climbing the Ladder

[Daos]

Ladonna
"Not yet," Jonas says distractedly while watching Redna walk away.  His eyes then snap back to Ladonna and he clears his throat.  "They say she's never been tamed, you know.  A woman like that, still unmarried.  Unthinkable!  But, she is a knight.  I'm just a commoner.  The odds are not in my favor.  But in any case, it's not my marital prospects that need to be focused on.  What did you think of Ser Relken?"

Lillian
"Getting an actual noble on our side would be a boon, but how would you even pull that off?" Finbul asks.  "He's spent his entire life living in a mansion, having everything handed to him."

[HorizonsDream]

"Untamed?" Ladonna asks with raised eyebrows. "That sounds...uncouth," she points out before continuing on to his question. "He seemed nice enough," Ladonna says in an less than enthusiastically tone. "He would actually be a better match for a friend of mine than for me."

[GravityEmblem]

"That doesn't have to be an obstacle," Lillian says. "Suppose you were in that situation, and you suddenly found out how poorly many of your people were treated. If you were callous and cruel, you could simply laugh, grateful of your status. But if you were kind-hearted you would be shocked, appalled. Perhaps even motivated to fight for their rights."

[Daos]

Ladonna
"Ah, but if he would make a good friend, he'd make a great husband!" Jonas argues.  "I mean, certainly that's better than someone you can't stand, right?  Hmm, speaking of Relken, have you seen him since the tournament?  He was supposed to meet me here, but he's running rather late.  I wouldn't have expected that from someone as punctual as him."

Lillian
"I mean, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask," Finbul says.  "But I'd be pretty surprised if you could get him on our side."

[GravityEmblem]

"Perhaps. But it's as they say: there's no bad ideas when you're brainstorming."

[Daos]

Lillian
Finbul shrugs.  "Well, regardless, what's our first step then?" he asks.

[HorizonsDream]

"I didn't say he would make a good friend," Ladonna says. "I said, he would make a better match for my friend." Ladonna shakes her head with a sigh, as it was clear her father was hearing whatever he wanted to hear. "But, no, I haven't seen him. I found you to ask that same question."

[Daos]

Ladonna
"That's worrying," Jonas remarks.  "You don't think anything could have happened to him, do you?  Perhaps he got held up somewhere?"

[GravityEmblem]

Jan 14, 2021 13:28:36 GMT -8 Daos said:

Lillian
Finbul shrugs.  "Well, regardless, what's our first step then?" he asks.

"As I said before, the first step is a preparatory one," Lillian explains. "We do research on the discrimination in Hart and Tardiff as a whole. Is it 'merely' systemic and social, or are there laws to back it up? What are the roots of oppression by humans? This will allow us to form our initial goal. Equality is an excellent virtue, but a murky and ill-defined goal. It is best that we seek to change one specific thing, then another specific thing, and so on. Equality may be our ultimate goal, but it should not be our only one.

"We should also spend some time to gather allies--a team, if you will, of people sympathetic to our goals. And, though this is mostly for me, we should build up our reputation a bit. Keep up appearances, 'play the game,' so to speak. The people will be more willing to listen to a well-respected member of the community than some heretic elf."

[Daos]

Lillian
"Okay...but what kind of research?  How do we research that sort of thing?" Finbul asks.  "And who did you have in mind for this team?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm not sure," Ladonna says. "But I can look around for him."

[GravityEmblem]

Jan 15, 2021 14:14:21 GMT -8 Daos said:

Lillian
"Okay...but what kind of research?  How do we research that sort of thing?" Finbul asks.  "And who did you have in mind for this team?"

"Mostly law and history books, I suppose, though in the latter case, unbiased works may be difficult to find," Lillian answers. "I wasn't thinking of anyone in particular--closer to finding out who would be sympathetic to our cause, and recruiting them."

[Daos]

Ladonna
"Good idea," Jonas says, getting to his feet.  "You take the north side of the square, I'll take the south.  We'll meet back here in half an hour, whether we find him or not."

Lillian
"Alright," Finbul says.  "What do you need me to do then?"

[GravityEmblem]

"I daresay you have more connections amongst the non-human population of the city than I do," Lillian says. "So I would recommend searching for allies amongst them. Meanwhile, I'll search through what books I can find for helpful information."

[Daos]

Lillian
"I can put the word out, sure," Finbul says.  "There's a demi-human slum in the city where I can start.  I just don't know if anyone will listen," the druid laments.