Tehr couldn't help but chuckle at the Queen's words.  "I'm not sure if I should be scared or honored by that, so I'll go with honored."  Suddenly Tehr paused, It was only a short while ago, not even an hour ago that he had been speaking with the apprentice to the arch magus about something similar.  He had mentioned the Caroline era of the land, some two hundred years ago and how the church had greatly expanded it's influence under the rule of the pious king Charles.  Likewise the expansion of the church had dampened the druidic religions of the land and pushed the local races like the halflings, gnomes, and orcs who were not as religious, into an almost second class status.  While they had recovered from that status, they had never truly regained the former glory their races had.  The carolinian era, under king Charles, had cemented the rule of Humans in this land.<br/><br/>Now the church was making another push for supremecy?  With a powerful enough house behind it, like Dale, and enough support from all of the other nobles, as well as the infrastructure that Dale might be able to bring to bear.... well... The past showed that a King or Queen could find themselves bending their neck to the axeman, and a new 'king' appointed.  Suddenly ir'Dale's interest in his home and his servant seemed much more ominous.  Likewise d'Dale's offer to allow Tehr to court her became apparent.  Wynt wasn't a powerful house, but having house Wynt to heel would lend Dale a certain amount of credibility.  In addition there were the mithril deposits... if one were going to arm a private army, mithril weapons would be expensive, but would give a huge advantage.  But even controlling the deposits, and not using them, would be a powerful bargining chip with many guilds and other houses.<br/><br/>That brought him back around to house Saari, who he was meeting with tommorow.  If they got the contracts for the ports, it would hurt Dale severly.  It was on this point that Tehr decided to finally speak.<br/><br/>"Ma'am," he said, using a much more casual appelate until she told him to use something else, "I know that at the ball in a few days ir'Dale will make a bid for another ten year contract to control the ports.  I have a meeting with House Saari tommorow, and feel that it might be in the kingdom's best interests to see control pass to a new, weaker, house."<br/><br/>In addition, I've recently made a diplomatic gesture towards the halfling house of Ravos.  I find them to be honorable and underappreciated.  In addition their failure to cling to the church in anything but the most vauge lipservice might help.  If perhalps they were to aceheive some sort of recognized honor... the halflings would rise in popularity again, and their subtle, alternitive ways of life, might become to be viewed in a more favorable light."<br/><br/>Tehr held his hand up, "I'm just thinking out loud, I have nothing planned yet, but you understand."<br/><br/>He smiled somewhat wickedly, "In addition, I need to know how far down you want to knock house Dale."<br/><br/>He then told the queen about ir'Dale's desire to have relations with women at ir'Wynt compound.  That ir'Wynt had tenatively agreed to play host, but perhalps if a knight of the realm, someone of honest virtue, were to somehow... witness ir'Dale's indiscretions, his adultury, that maybe the Cardinal would be forced to remove support of House Dale?