"Oh, I would love to," Scarlet replies, blushing slightly. "I had... no idea, you accepted ladies as well, master Usuul. I would love to... although I fear I am not, well, naturally gifted for it," she adds demurely. The truth is, beyond the fact she is only there because of Xavin, she had never considered the possibility of taking fencing lessons... the kind of thing Mother would disparage as unbecomingly tomboyish. But what the hell, maybe she can? It could be fun? And an excuse to hang out with Xavin...

I'm going to make this into a temporary dead end on this secondary plot, because you need to make some progress on the main one.  Something will come up to bring it into play, again.

He smiles warmly, "Everyone can learn, everyone can improve.  We have a beginners' lesson every day after lunch except for Ares's Day, so none today.  It is limited to 12 students though, and it sometimes fills up.  Also, unless you are fifteen, I'll need your parent's or your supervisor's permission.  And there is a matter of payment?  It is one gold piece per month of lessons, or you can pay just a silver per lesson."

The three students return and get into line, they all look at Scarlet, but she is unsure whether they are just curious or somehow more interested.  She thinks that Xavin's eyes linger on her a bit longer than the others, but maybe that's just her imagination.  Scarlet indicates that she'll be back and the lesson is already back underway before she has made it out the door.

Well, damn. The two things Scarlet has never had in her life: money, and Mother's permission.

She smiles and curtsies, more for the benefit of Xavin than the swordmaster's, and leaves elegantly. She tells herself it wasn't a waste: she has learned his name, caught his eye, and perhaps, only perhaps, discovered a way of getting closer to him. Fencing lessons? Scarlet doesn't see Alyssa taking any. So that's a time, a space, where she can have his eyes on her, instead of the bitch.

Right, back to Idalaiz's quest... first thing is to locate Fischbacher's corner and asess the Savannah cat's den, its accesses, how to get inside and befriend the mother. And second... perhaps pay a visit to the kitchens, and secure a bowl of milk or some fish for the cat? She is going to play it by ear.

We're in somewhat of an awkward situation in that Scarlet would know the castle considerably better than I do.  I still owe you a map, but it isn't going to happen tonight.  Also, I may change this layout a bit if mapping it makes it clear that it doesn't work. but this is how I see it.

Floor numbering is European style, which means that the first floor is one flight up from the ground floor.


Scarlet knows that the cats are kept in the west of the castle, on the ground floor, though she isn't sure what is right above them.  Maybe the kennel is two floors high.  Second floor west is the servants' quarters, and above that is the Family wing where Scarlet visited Idalaiz only the day before.

On the northwest ground floor is the kitchen, and one of the entrances to it is the same hall that leads to the kennels.  Stairs from the kitchen lead straight into the Great Hall, which occupies much of the first floor.  From the Great Hall, east is a large foyer, with portcullises on both ends, and then the large main doors lead outside, where there is a flight of stairs down to the road and the stables.  The sword training room, she realizes, must have been directly under the foyer, backing up to right under the outside flight of stairs.

Scarlet knows that she will be deferred to in the kitchen, as long as her requests are not unreasonable.  Asking for some milk or some fish would instantly be granted if any is available.  Milk certainly would be always.  By asking for something that will take a little time to prepare she can casually wait and keep an eye on any traffic to of from the kennel.  After ten minutes, she is rewarded by seeing a boy, only about her own age, leaving the kennel, walking straight into the kitchen.

Scarlet makes a point of asking for Mother's favorite milk pudding, which has three benefits: it takes a long time to prepare, it is perfectly reasonable as an excuse that has nothing to do with the Savannah cats, and she's guessing the cats would probably love it anyway.

She raises her eyes to the arriving boy, deploying a move she has seen Mother do more than once.

"Well, lads don't say hi to ladies any more?" she teases him, arms akimbo, not unfriendlily, but making it clear she's the one taking the initiative only because he has failed to do so.

14:13, Today: Zag, on behalf of Scarlet d'Ardelle, rolled 14 using 1d20+8.  Diplomacy

Scarlet has seen him before, in the kitchen or around the castle, but he is not of the noble class, so she doesn't know his name.  The boy glances up, then stares pretty fervently at his sandals.  "Oh.  Ummm.  Hello, miss."  He stands with the attitude of a servant, waiting for instructions, and Scarlet realizes that she may have miscalculated.  Mother's teasing is to other nobles, at least knights, with whom a certain amount of banter is expected.  This approach could work on one of the pages, who are generally lesser sons and daughters of minor nobility, but possibly not servants.  On the other hand, he has stopped, and he does seem to be smiling, perhaps blushing a bit.  He clearly isn't sure what to do.

Scarlet has overshoot the mark by a fair margin, but she might still use the situation to her advantage. She has been thinking of trading some banter with a minor nobleman, but she can use a slightly cowed servant too.

"That is better," she says, walking slowly around the boy like she has seen some ladies do when they mess with pages. "You work at the kennels, do you not? That must be fun, all those cute kittens. What do you feed them?" she says conversationally, as if she isn't really interested in the answer.

He seems to perk up, now that he is on familiar ground, but he still doesn't look Scarlet in the eye.  His tone sounds a little as if he is reading the answer.  "The adult females eat 1.8 to 2.0 pounds of meat once per day, or more if they are gestating or lactating.  The males eat 2.1 to 2.4 pounds.  They prefer coneys, especially live, or at least still warm, but they will eat birds, squirrels, or whatever meat we get for them.  The kits we sometimes feed milk with an egg in it, but only if there is an issue with the mother.  They need to eat three to four times per day."

Scarlet is initially surprised by the sudden inflow of information, trying to retain the gist of it. It might come in handy if she is to befriend the mother before the kittens are born, which was a nebulous plan until a second ago, and a more defined course of action now.

"Fascinating," she says encouragingly, smiling at the boy. "Show me. Let's go."

It is not said so much as a command but as a naturally reasonable thing, not to be denied.

"Go?" the boy asks, in complete disbelief.  "You, umm, want ... I don't ... It isn't ... I was just ... I'm not supposed to ..."  The look of shock and fear in his eyes is almost comical.  Finally he just gives up and turns to continue he walk to the kitchen.

In about a minute he returns carrying a hunk of bread and a piece of fresh cheese, the usual midday meal for the servants.  When he sees Scarlet still standing there, he freezes, then walks around where she waits, hugging the wall as far from her he can get.  It's silly, because she's waiting in what is intended as a small staging area for the kitchen, just a widening of the hallway with a table in it.  It's not as if he could sneak by unnoticed.  Also, she is looking right at him.

I don't know if I conveyed this well enough, but in today's terms we would say that this lad is on the autism spectrum.  I'll pause here so you can try to speak to him or follow him if you like.  He's going to ignore you, though.  Literally.  You broke his brain.

I'm also going to try to remember to write the time of day at the end of all my notes, because I keep forgetting for the different threads and I have to read back to remember.

Tuesday (Ares' Day):  early afternoon.

The boy is... strange, but Scarlet is more or less used to diverse strangenesses, and this one is not as bad as Mother's seasonal bouts of depression, to name one. At least the boy is discreet and polite, so she just follows him with the easy manner of a noblewoman who knows she is allowed to make a servant as uncomfortable as she pleases without a second thought.

Scarlet has no doubt she is going to be stopped and challenged, but it might be a good idea to test what the security is like before she tries to find another way in.

Scarlet follows the boy, who literally is acting as if she is not there.  He arrives at the door which she already knew led to the kennels, and knocks three times.  She can see that the door has a lock, and for the second time that day she wonders how hard it is to learn how to pick the things.  After a few minutes, the door swings open, a young woman behind it.  Like the boy, the young woman is a servant that Scarlet thinks she has seen before, here or there, but doesn't know her name.

Behind the girl, Scarlet can see a row of cages on a table, many containing cats that are sleeping, stretching, or pacing in the cage.  The room she can see is only about 10 or 12 feet deep, which clearly is not deep enough to reach the wall of the castle; there must be more to it behind that wall.  The room extends both left and right, but she can't tell how far without at least poking her head in.

I'll pause here so you can decide your next action.  You could still just continue past, as if you just happened to be walking by.  If you want to enter, roll bluff, diplomacy, or intimidation, as appropriate to your action.  You're looking for a DC 15.

Tuesday (Ares' Day):  early afternoon.

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:50, Wed 23 Mar 2022.

Scarlet keeps chatting to the boy in a completely one-sided conversation, if only so as to not look like she's blatantly following him, but telling him some long-winded story by the time they reach the door.

"...thus the lady wants to keep an eye on the mothers, naturally, and particularly the way they are nourished, for she wants to ascertain if there is any truth to the rumor that a steady diet of birds instead of rabbits might cause the cats to develop small, feather-like clumps of fur, which naturally would be a unique development that would set that breed apart from all others, bringing repute and prestige to our House and..."

She keeps talking, waving away the girl as she enters, acting as if she was completely entitled to be there.

Scarlet d'Ardelle rolled 18 using 1d20+8.  Bluff.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:50, Thu 24 Mar 2022.

Not only was that quite entertaining, but it is also an approach I hadn't considered, which always gets you points.  I had expected you to turn and face the girl and deal somehow with a confrontation, but that was way better.

As Scarlet walks past the young woman, who is perhaps in her early 20's.  The woman holds up a finger and asks, "Just a min...  Who?  What?  Diet of birds?  Feathers?  That's just ..."  She cuts off her inquiry, since it is having no effect, she follows the two.  "Erikus, is she with you?" she asks, but neither Erikus nor Scarlet responds.

Meanwhile, Scarlet continues to follow the boy.  He turned left into the room, and she can see that the room, or maybe it's just a wide hallway, turns to the right again.  This leads to another 10-foot wide hall, about 40 feet long.  This new one has on the left a long counter with deep cabinets below and and shallow cabinets above.  On the right is a blank wall with a door in the center.  At the end of this new hall is a spiral stairway up and the hallway turns right again at the end, and she realizes that this is actually a very large room, but with an enclosed area in the middle.

http://zag.net/Pathfinder/Ellada/Castle%20Kennel.png  (This is a little roomier than I was intending, but I'm too lazy to redo it.  The area in the middle should be larger relative to the room, so that the spaces are it are narrower.  The cat cages are about 6 ft x 4 ft, and take up about half the space.  The larger cat cages are 8 ft x 6 ft.)

As Scarlet turns the corner to head north, the girl trails back, unsure what to do.  Erikus stops and turns to the counter, opening the cabinet above and grabbing several brushes and combs.  He turns towards Scarlet and shakes a bit as if mildly startled.  Since she has kept up her patter on the different diet options and their possible side effects, it seems amazing that he might be surprised she is there.  Finally, Erikus speaks, using the same odd tone as before, as if he is reading the information.  "You should not feed birds to the cats more than three days in a row, unless there is no other option.  Eating too many feathers can cause gastro-intestinal problems.  If they do have problems, feed them ten leaves of Lobelia Inflata, for an eight-pound cat, adjusted for weight, as an emetic.  If the cat will not eat the Lobelia, mix it with an equal part cat mint, also known as cat nip.  This should entice the cat to eat all of it.  The Lobelia will induce vomiting immediately, and it should end within 10 minutes.  If the vomiting goes on, spray a squirt of lemon on the cat's face to distract it, which will usually be enough."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:03, Fri 25 Mar 2022.

Scarlet suppresses a smile as the woman servant gets thoroughly ignored and finally gives up, and follows Erikus all the way into the kennels. It is surprisingly easy to reach, this place, or perhaps she had overstated the difficulty of the mission, given lady Idalaiz's instructions.

Her eyes quickly map the room, eyeing with special interest the staircase and the central door. She steps in front of Erikus, blocking his way, and takes advantage of the interruption to take one of the brushes from his hand, smiling brightly as she does so.

"Interesting information. Where do those stairs lead to? And that door?"

When Scarlet reaches for the brush, Erikus's posture becomes hostile and possessive as he clutches all the brushes tightly.  It is clear to her that touching the boy's 'things' is a big source of stress for him, so she backs off.

Scarlet asks, "Where do those stairs lead to? And that door?"

Erikus responds, "More kennels, and the viewing area.  Door goes to the cats' practice room.

"When raising hunting cats, it is important that they practice their hunting skills every day, or nearly so.  If it is inconvenient to take the cats outside, then you can put obstacles and some of the appropriate form of prey into a large room and release the cat.  Kittens will play-hunt, but usually will not kill the prey.  However, if the behavior is encouraged (See chapter 4), then they will grow to be fine hunters."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:39, Fri 25 Mar 2022.

Just as Scarlet has been suspecting, Erikus is quoting from a book. It is somewhat surprising that a little serf can read, but that only makes that book more interesting: if Scarlet is to successfully steal a Savannah kitten, she might find those instructions valuable.

"That is fascinating, Erikus! Where can I find that marvelous book? I'd like to know what chapter 4 says!" she enthuses.

As long as Scarlet makes no attempt to touch his things, Erikus seems more than happy to ramble on.  It is challenging, though, to get him to answer a direct question.  She follows him as he takes his brushes to the southern end of the counter space.  Then he walks over to the cat in the cage next to the counter and studies it for a good 15 seconds before opening the cage door.  With the door barely open, he slips a collar over the cat, then leads it out of the cage, offers it a treat to jump up on the counter, then starts to brush the cat all over.

Meanwhile, he is rattling along with the contents of Chapter 4.  "Chapter 4, Encouraging Behaviors.  When training your cat, you will want to encourage certain behaviors and discourage others.  A cat can not be trained purely with treat-based positive reinforcement like a dog can.  Instead, you need to sense the mood of the individual, to know whether treats, or affection, and discipline will be most effective at any time.  ..."  He goes on to describe ear and tail positions and body postures of cats and their interpretations, and to discuss the best training techniques for a cat to make them controllable without dampening the wild energy that a hunter needs.

Erikus finishes brushing the first cat, puts it back into its cage, and goes on to another.  When he spends 15 seconds studying the cat before opening the cage door, Scarlet realizes that he is studying the ear and tail positions and the body posture to interpret the mood of the cat.  With this second cat, he opens the door wide and spends a good minute rubbing and scratching the cat before putting a collar on her.

Scarlet hears a door close, somewhere up the stairs, and then a voice calls out, "Lavaleen?  Have the cats all been groomed?"

The girl immediately heads over to the spiral stairs and says upwards, "Nearly done, Sir Fischbacher.  There is a girl here, I'm not sure who she is, maybe a friend of Erikus'?"

No word about the book, and Scarlet starts to suspect Erikus hasn't actually read it, maybe he's been lectured about it only verbally. He seems the kind of strange savant to remember every single word and repeat it verbatim. Besides, something about the way cats are trained ressonates with her, she almost feels... identified with them.

The voices wake her up. The damn girl is about to give her away to that Sir Fischbacher. Scarlet would probably just get a mild scolding for intruding in the kennels, but she'd rather not burn that option this early. So time to leave.

She turns without saying goodbye to Erikus, and with a sudden impulse, she opens a couple of cages on her way out, those of the cats that look more nervous or feral, hoping she won't be noticed heading out in the ensuing confusion...

Heh heh heh.  You don't mess around.  I'm going to make a single d20 roll for the amount of chaos you cause, where a 1 means that the cats just stay sleeping in their cages and a 20 implies that the two cats you released start fighting.  Going to roll now...
16:52, Today: Zag rolled 4 using 1d20.  Chaos roll in the cat kennel.
Hmm. That's less fun than a 15-17 would have been, but a lot safer.  If the result had been 18+ I was going to have to work out whether Erikus or Lavaleen got seriously hurt.

As Scarlet leaves the kennel, she glances back to see that the cats she released are not doing much.  One has gently jumped down out of his cage, and is executing a leisurely stretch.  The other is sniffing the air just beyond the open gate, as if that gate had somehow prevented the free flow of air before.  She figures that the action hasn't bought her much time, so she hurries to nearest corner, traveling away from the kitchen, and then travels up a flight of stairs, along a hall, and down a flight, just to make sure that no one could follow her.

She considers what she has learned.  She knows the basic layout of the kennel, and has already learned a fair bit about training the animals.  She was hoping to work out which cat is Zenobia, but that will have to wait for the next attempt.

Surprised by the utter lack of chaos, Scarlet catches her breath. Now she regrets not having stolen one of the cats, considering how passive they turned out to be. Well nevermind: she knows the layout of the kennels now, and a few valuable snippets about cat training, something she didn't think feasible just hours ago.

And she has time, to find Zenobia and earn her trust. That probably means earning Erikus' and Lavaleen's trust first, which rubs her the wrong way: she has discovered a visceral antipathy to both, the weird boy and the snitching girl.

Scarlet feels like one of those kittens: play-hunting, rarely kills her prey, but if the behaviour is encouraged...

And isn't that what Idalaiz is doing to her?

And what of Alyssa and her attempts at marrying that lad... Given half a chance, Scarlet will do anything to prevent it. She has to pay.

Lost in those thoughts, she goes back to Mother and tries to casually drop the name of Sir Fischbacher in conversation, to see what surfaces...

Wow.  Stealing one of the cats would have been a terrible idea.  I hope you weren't really considering it.

I'm a little torn how to handle you using your mother's Contacting Network.  I don't want to give you a free skill at her level, which is going to be significantly higher than Scarlet's.  (It is her best skill, I imagine.)  What I've decided to do is to a Gather Information roll (Diplomacy skill) but she will 'aid another' so you have +2 on it.  I haven't actually decided, yet, what you'll learn from it, if you roll high, but there will be something useful.  Going to roll now ...

09:06, Today: Zag, on behalf of Scarlet d'Ardelle, rolled 26 using 1d20+10.  Gather info
Well dang.  Now I have to come up with something.

Scarlet has to sit through her mother's long list of what everyone was wearing the previous night, along with her judgements on what is trending, what is clearly on the way out, etc.  Finally Scarlet has a chance to work the name Fischbacher into the conversation, and Anne immediately laughs, "Oh, that old fool!  He has only two nice suits, and they're always covered with cat hair.  And all he ever talks about, besides his precious cats, is Petteia, that silly game.  Imagine, grown men spending three nights a week playing a ridiculous board game.  None of the important men at court are in their little group, only men like Count Ranteson and Baron Zamien, so I don't see the point."  She returns to the much more important topic of what everyone wears at different events, and Scarlet's mind drifts off to consider the men Anne mentioned.  They both sound familiar.

Eventually I want a kitty! Probably one of the newborn kittens, would be easier to smuggle out I guess. You can't put cats in a game and not expect me to want one! :P

Scarlet nods along as per usual. Petteia, a game of maneuvering, attrition and entrapment. Sounds strangely apt.

She tries to recap all she knows. The Count of Gemlia wants to wed his son Xavin to Alyssa Ranteson. Alyssa's father, the Count of Travis, plays petteia with Fischbacher and Zamien. Fischbacher is the keeper of the kennels, Zamien is a nobody with a young wife. Xavin is... cute, and trains with swordmaster Usuul, and Pattersuma and Ellenda. The piratical Stedes from Leucas are visiting.

The names swirl in Scarlet's head, a cat's cradle of known or guessed-at relations between them. Athena only knows what sense does it all make, and if it does, what use it is to her.

For lack of a better plan, or any plan at all, she wanders off, seeking lady Zamien, with the vague hope that, being young, might sympathize with Scarlet and drop some useful morsel of information.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:30, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Scarlet wanders about, wondering how she might locate Lady Zamien, who, she learns, still goes by her maiden name, Lady Maranno de Bartoniva.  She considers, A little unusual, but not terribly uncommon when the woman is from a higher ranking family than her husband.  I haven't heard of either family, though.  I'm sure Mother would know, but I don't want to get her too curious about what I'm doing.  She asks one of the cleaning staff, a kind looking girl with long, straight, jet-black hair, where she might find them.

"Oh, sure, Miss.  Baron Zamien is a resident; he is doing something verra important for the Duke, he is.  His apartment is being the last one on the right in the resident's wing, close being to the servants' quarters, it is."  Scarlet smiles and gives the woman a copper for her trouble.  (This is the same wing you live in, though nearly on the farthest end of it.)

She knocks politely on the apartment door and it opens almost immediately.  Scarlet recognizes the young woman from seeing her occasionally at large gatherings, but she does not recall ever having been introduced.  The woman opens the door and smiles, but cocks her head slightly to her left.  "Hello, Miss.  What can I do for you?"  She is dressed in a nice quality day dress, the same sort Mother wears, but this one is newer than any of Mother's.

19:52, Today: Zag, for the NPC Lady Maranno, rolled 5 using 1d20+2 recognition
She was rolling against DC 16 to recognize you from the performance.
Tuesday (Ares' Day):  late afternoon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:51, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

That is a good question. What can she do for Scarlet? She has asked herself that same question on that way here, coming up with a blank. Scarlet is used to court intrigue, but not to design elaborate plans. Mostly she just goes with the flow, the path of least resistance, which usually means humoring Mother. She is so new to doing her own thing, or at least doing the thing of someone - the lady Idalaiz - who is not her mother, and who requires such a... nebulous service from her.

So she smiles and says the first thing that comes to mind.

"Lady Maranno! I apologise, my lady, for I am long overdue in presenting my respects to you," she says, curtsying neatly. "Mother says I should introduce myself great ladies of the court and learn from them, and very specially from Your Ladyship, a luminary of elegance and savoir faire. If I may be so bold as to ask for your mentorship?"