<strong><em>Nadira</em></strong>, it is childs' play to get the young acolyte somewhere more private to hold your quiet discussion. Your first impression is that this mere slip of a girl ought not have been let out without a minder! She barely recognizes the gestures you use, pretends not to understand any of the coded terms you slip into your queries. And frankly, her lack of control is embarrassing! It's almost as if she is not...<br/><br/><strong>"Can House Dorcha guarantee my safety?"</strong><br/><br/>Wait. What?<br/><br/><strong>"No...is House Dorcha willing to offer a guarantee of safety?"</strong><br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Eliza</em></strong>, Gull and his entourage, minus the peculiar acolyte, eagerly follow you to the designated banquet room and partake of the entertainment and refreshments you have laid out, some of them showing a curious disregard for the possibility that the food might be drugged or poisoned. Do they trust you that much? Or is something else going on?<br/><br/>For his part, Paeter devotes most of his time and attention to Consort Oksana, pausing occasionally to address you as Heir. If he notices when some of your servants start discarding bits of clothing to offer a more erotic spectacle, he takes pains to disguise any hint of it. Certainly he is more polite than you expected.