contact part deux

[bouchonne]

if this were modern times byerly would probably make you listen to total eclipse of the heart before you were able to leave a message

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[bouchonne]

I -

[ He becomes immediately distracted. ]

He doesn't know who I am?

[heirring]

He does now.

Or at the very least, he knows someone named Byerly Rutyer is Riftwatch's Ambassador. I've no idea if he would identify you as that person.

[bouchonne]

That's -

[ Byerly actually sounds kind of mad about it. ]

Fine.

[ It's not fine. ]

No Riftwatch member will hear of this.

[heirring]

Not even Monsieur Bastien?

[bouchonne]

[ A heavy sigh. This is painful, but: ]

I'll lie, but I won't break promises. You'll notice I didn't even insult your lord husband after what you just told me, eh?

[ let's gloss over the fact that calling him your lord husband comes dangerously close to an insult. ]

[heirring]

[If she notices, it hardly tells in how she sounds. Though the semantics do spur her next question:]

What of people outside of Riftwatch?

[bouchonne]

[ Ah. Yes. ]

Who would I tell?

[ Great answer. ]

[heirring]

I don't know. That's precisely why I ask.

[bouchonne]

[ It seems Byerly has been - well - trapped by someone who does not even know she's done it. So. ]

May I have your oath of silence for something I am about to tell you?

[heirring]

[Look at them—full of concessions and agreements and truth today. This too without seeming to bat an eyelash.]

All right, you have it.

[bouchonne]

[ A puff of breath, audible between his lips. This is going to sound...bad. Maker, this could be absolutely disastrous. ]

I've sworn an oath of service to Ferelden, such that I must give to them certain pieces of information I've discovered. This is one of those pieces of information I'm honor-bound to tell them. [ Making excuses: ] But it will not be of any great interest to them; they have no great love for the Chantry, nor any mistrust of Rifters. It will be as nothing.

[heirring]

[Not all that long ago, this particular information may have been met with little more than disbelief. What does she care who does or doesn't know her association with the arcane arts? Far more ridiculous that Byerly Rutyer could be an informant.

But working in close association with certain suspicious parties eventually inspires caution in even the most incautious people. And she has been spending a great deal of time with Richard Dickerson, and much as she might pretend otherwise Wysteria knows a thing or two about the man she's speaking with at present.

So, cue the aural equivalent of squinting and the bristling of hackles. Like how a small terrier might show its teeth—]

You're lying to me. No one asks to be told things they don't think are important.

[bouchonne]

I have sworn to be honest with you.

[ His voice is even. He doesn't sound like he's lying - though with a confessed spy, who can tell? ]

And if I thought this information would put you in true danger, then - [ Well. ] I suppose I would be compelled to dishonor myself.

[heirring]

Wouldn't it? Put me in danger.

[bouchonne]

No.

[ A small shake of his head. ]

The Queen intends no malice towards magic-users. Truthfully, she intends nothing at all towards magic-users - there are far greater issues at stake than meddling with one person.

[heirring]

But isn't that precisely why it would put me in danger? Because I would just be thought of as any mage and treated so, despite the fact that I'm most certainly not one. Not in the sense that you would think of it, in any case. Everyone is always clanging on about how dreadful that would be.

[Technically, no one can even prove she's a Rifter anymore—]

[bouchonne]

Hardly. I'm not going to describe you as a mage. I'm merely going to mention that you're more...talented than was previously known.

[heirring]

[Squint.]

How exactly do you mean to describe me?

[bouchonne]

[ He hesitates, then asks: ]

Is there any sort of description you’d be comfortable with?

[heirring]

That's not the point. I want to know what you're imagining you'll tell— whoever it is you tell exactly. You don't speak with Queen Anora directly, do you?

[How do spies work. Surely there's some sort of complicated string of contacts like in the clever little books she sometimes reads.]

[bouchonne]

[ That's absurd enough that he gives a huff of something approaching laughter. Without amusement - this is a grim discussion - but. ]

Certainly not. I'd hardly be able to play a convincing scoundrel if the Queen herself were seen to keep my company.

But it is rather the point. I am asking if there is a version of this tale, which is true, which you would not mind finding its way to others' ears.

[ Has Wysteria worked with enough lawyers, in her real estate matters, to be able to imitate their twisty minds? Perhaps not. Especially not in a matter as weighty as this. ]

[heirring]

No, that's not the point. Not of what I'm asking. [Semantics, quite insistent.]

I'm asking how you would describe me to whoever it is you would be required to describe me to. I want to know.

[Lawyers, schmoyers. He isn't answering the question.]

[bouchonne]

[ It occurs to him to wonder suddenly if the issue isn't that she's worried about her safety, but rather that she wants to know how she would be talked about. ]

Well. I have already described you in the past, as I've already sent reports. I could read my notes, if you would like.

[heirring]

You've already— [is the sound of bristling surprise, the way a stubborn little creature might balk at finding itself in a headstall.]

Very well. Read your notes to me.

[bouchonne]

[ Is this a terrible idea? - Maybe. Well. ]

Of course. Give me a moment.

[ There's the sound of rustling - and some odder sounds alongside the rustling, of mechanical clicking and wooden scraping. One's mind might go into thinking of false bottoms being removed, traps being disarmed. Then a flutter of pages, and he speaks again - ]

Wysteria Poppell. This was submitted when I first arrived at Riftwatch, hence the use of your maiden name. Recently arrived. Of tender years and a kindly disposition. Shows no evidence of abilities that might be of political significance.

[ He pauses just a moment, then decides to move ahead: ]

Then, a later addendum, after you had shown me a recent project you were working on. Wysteria Poppell has shown an aptitude for the development of weaponry enhanced by magic. Her alignment remains firmly against Corypheus. Nevertheless, there is a reckless enthusiasm that may well warrant caution. Her ambition is considerable enough that it, combined with her talents, may prove dangerous or destabilizing.