[RPG] [FEI] Return of the Osaido - Galliard

[Samuel Knowlton]

Duke Galiard had a migraine.

It wasn't that he wasn't listening to the Baron Dengat. It was that Backlog 
Day had turned into Entirely New Adventure day, and Galiard's progress of 
two whole cases into the backlog would not go over well with the High 
Courts, and he could not envision 'but I was busy founding a new order' as 
an acceptable excuse when the magistrates came a-knocking.

"You know," Galiard replied after Dengat's explanation had ceased, "Lord 
Mallory just used to send by return of post the occasional Swamp Yak I would 
try to force upon him. I must say this is rather a departure for the Barons 
of Abilotiel."

Galiard thought for a moment of Sabrina Tsunetomo.

"However," he declared, "The whole thing sounds like a marvelous idea to me. 
Old temples restored, history, culture, and even some values! Yes, yes, I 
think all of that will do nicely."

For the first time, Galiard stopped to ponder, for a moment, whether or not 
he actually accepted or lived by any of those values.

"And perhaps," the Duke added, "I will accompany you. Most of the funds here 
are going towards repairing the walls from the siege, but I believe I can 
spare a fiew out of my own pocket to complement your family's extremely 
generous donation. And of course you must take a leading role in this 
business, this Osaido. I shall be content to observe, for now, perhaps offer 
a bit of counsel here and there; for as much as I should like to think 
myself chivalrous, it would hardly do to have the most visible figure in all 
of this not even be aware of that which he is supposed to be personifying. 
Perhaps I will make myself worthy of the Osaido, with your able assistance, 
Baron."

Galiard rose to depart, but something else occured to him.

"Oh," he mentioned, "You are mistaken on one count. I've had someone look 
into it. Sabrina Tsunetomo is an indirect descendant of the first Duke of 
Ossaet, though I'm not sure she was even aware of it. So whatever her 
appearance--" which the Duke privately thought was just fine -- "she is a 
well-born lady, ahem. Though I might not call her that to her face."

"...and I'll thank you not to be mentioning to any interested parties your 
own tie to the original Duke of this place," Galiard amended. "I assure you, 
Baron, that the number of people who would have to keel over dead to give 
you anything like a claim on my title is sufficiently large enough that I 
think you would be busy for several months if you set about attempting to 
remove them all. Not that the thought would even occur to you, of course. 
But perhaps you shouldn't mention that part of the business to anyone else."

"Ever."