ISO an Eas-y Transcriptionist

    It is somewhere in the morning hours. The sunrise has passed, morning prayers are done, and the children are all off at their lessons. This has left Elly to her work. Which involves many, many, many messages. There are stacks of forms on her desk. These are all neatly arranged by topic and urgency. Ayame is quite thorough.

    "So let's see... orphan matters first today." Honestly, she always starts with those. They are the most important in her mind and they help energize her. Cause some of these matters are tiring at best.

    She jots a few notes here and there, but mostly it's just signatures or awareness of things that were done. A lot of resources have to be moved, including both the 'stuff' kind of resources and the people kind. But things are moving very, very quickly. There are only four teaching spots left on critical subjects. Which is pretty remarkable, considering it's a pretty darn big world out there. Of course, the additional stuff is really important, too.

    "Still need to get a second carpenter for Breg Epona," she mutters to herself. "I think I know how to deal with that, though. Hmm, and I want to visit Carmina Gadelica again soon. I wonder if the King wants me to visit? I will need to send a letter to avoid an incident."

    She pauses to look around, then. It occurs to her she's talking to herself again. "Well, at least they say talking to one's self is the habit of geniuses." More softly she mutters, "And the insane."

"As if I'd truly leave you on your own" Ayame murmurs with a smile, moving inside. There is a tea tray. There is tea. She takes short, quick steps as she steps in, long-familiarity helping as she pours the Baroness a cup, flavors it as she likes, and sets it beside her paperwork. There is even a little tray of poorly-baked cookies. She tries, but Cooking is not among her talents.

"If you need to send a letter, I can settle and write it for you" She smiles a touch. There is indeed a new pen, tucked into her hair, but it's currently half-assembled, and so she moves for her normal one, sitting across from Elly and looking up with an easy, warm smile

    Elly lets out a calming sigh and smiles. "I do tend to cause trouble when I am left to my own devices."

    She takes the cup of tea and blows slowly over the steaming water. The first drink of it leaves her with eyes closed. The moment captures her attention so completely. The taste of the tea, the feeling of warm, moist air moving over her nose, the scent of it. She savors the entire package of sensations for just a few seconds.

    "I would appreciate that, certainly. I find writing to King Gilgamesh to be challenging. I cannot quite place it, but I suspect he did not care for me much during our last meeting. I suppose my previous ambitions were noted and disapproved of."

    There are no crowns in her future, now, though. At least she hopes not, considering the stigma they bear and the devious purpose to which the enemy puts them.

    Elly turns her attention to the cookies. There's something wonderfully charming about them, really. And, frankly, the variable texture is something she truly enjoys. She has no trouble eating two of them before she gets very far with her tea.

Ayame watches Elly eat with a rather pained smile. She may be aware of her lacking talents in the kitchen, but they are generally made up for by her far more efficient uses as a Scribe. She shuffles papers, taking out a rather simple sheet "If you dictate, I'll take it down" She offers "And then write it more neatly" She considers, and lays out her partially assembled new pen beside her work. Make it watch!

"Yes, left to your own devices, you found towns, build statues, and get married" She notes dryly "Frankly, I don't know if Yamato would manage were you left unsupervised for a longer period"

    "I would like to point out that all of those things involved at least the consent of other people, and most a considerable contribution from them."

    Elly laughs softly. Another of her gentle sighs. They make stress vanish, after all. Outward appearances aside, she has a lot of weight on her shoulders and when confronting all this paperwork, she feels it.

    "Okay, let us begin." She gathers her focus and then starts.

    "Dear King Gilgamesh,

    I am sending this message to let you know that I will be traveling to your fair city soon. I plan to arrive there on Monday, July 20th. My intention is to stay at the orphanage and spend my time there with the children and teachers. I also place myself at your disposal. Should you wish to meet with me and discuss official matters, please reply with the time and place. I would be delighted to join you.

    Your Humble Servant,


    Wake."

    The entire message is delivered in one smooth sequence. If she is struggling to select words, she shows no sigh of it. But she is curious about second opinions on certain choices. "I wonder if I should use an official title. I do not much care for spelling out my little title with a king, though. Nor, frankly, with others who outrank my station so utterly. Besides, the most wonderful titles I have do not come from land, but from people. Being a wife to Tae and a mother to the orphans is a blessing I will never fully earn. But such generousity of the divines is something I happily accept."

Ayame writes, smoothly and fluidly, taking down the words for transfer and for a more formal presentation later. She attends on it, musing, and taps the pen on the arm of her chair before brightening "Isn't this what letterheads and such were for?" She smiles "You'd often see them from doctors and the like. That way, they don't need to write their full details, but can be informal while still providing all needed information. If you standardised this - writing, say, on crested paper - then we can be informal with it while still maintaining your position"

    "I did have those in my past work. Though I don't believe I have seen nobles use them in Yamato yet. I will defer to your judgment. The title no longer has quite the same meaning to me as it used to. I am grateful for my people, and love taking care of them as well as I know how. But the word itself is not the source of those things."

    She eats another cookie. Elly is clearly enjoying them, since she immediately snags another. Fortunately no one is likely to scold her for snacking at this point.

    Her mind shifts gears so very quickly, though. "Now, there is something I wanted to ask you. Which is, of course, how your own endeavors are proceeding. Is there anything additional you need? I am pleased that you are working on a wand. Personal growth and chasing your own dreams is important, regardless of size."

Ayame sets the pen down, picking up her own in-work one, fiddling with it and studying it as she talks. "In truth, Lady Bombast? Little enough. I'm trying to find out some information about the rules and laws we abide by; and the revelations of it, that for example the Law concerns not the law of the land, but the law of the world itself" She gives a small smile, and glances up.

"Perhaps natural law would be a more appropriate title? Either way, I intend to study this, and to see how best I can understand it. I do think, for those who have made a similar study of our various concepts and conceits, that drawing them together would form a useful point, specifically for cross-sectional analysis and overlap" Her voice is crisp, neat, precise, as the pen twirls in her gloved grip "But I'm sure I'm retreading old ground."

    "In this world, the very fabric of what is, what was, and what may yet come to be is far different than the one before. The Goddesses change everything."

    Elly steeples her fingers, allowing herself to muse on it for a moment. She thinks of this quite often, after all. With a smile she notes, "The Goddesses also sometimes bless others with the power to intervene, as well. Though of course in a much more limited fashion."

    Her very peculiar powers which emerged after the creation of the Arcade of Eas are what she is thinking of. Their full meaning she can only hope to one day appreciate.

    "And do not fear if progress comes slow. Perseverance is rewarded. And when it comes to old ground, well, in this world the old ground holds much power. The gates, for instance, which are lost to us. The many secrets of the Alvs, as well. And perhaps what came before them, buried in deeper time still. I look forward to your results!"

"I tend to work on a smaller scale than many here" Ayame allows with a little smile, shaking her head "I'm content to make a few lives easier and support them in their works. I don't have ... larger dreams" She cocks her head, in thought, as she studies Elly a moment or two "But perhaps that's for the best, yes?"

She gives a faint, amused look "Imagine if we were all like Uta, or Fukaziroh. Or as ... as flame-happy as Schneider. Or, heavens forfend, like Morri" She gives a little laugh "I think there's place for diversity and strength there, and to let people do their own thing. You seem to have very much settled into your current role, and I do admire that for you"

She stands, moving around to the tea tray. She tops up the cup, and then drops a hand to Wake's shoulder, rubbing gently a moment, reassuring.

    "Small, large, as long as they are your dreams and you enjoy them, that is what matters most."

    She laughs gently at the list of adventurers that Ayame picks. "It is good that we are so different, the better to appreciate and love what makes each of us special."

    She rather melts into the physical contact. "I think I may have finally found my place, Ayame." She looks at the paperwork, then over to Ayame again. "I do not suppose I could trouble you to help me with my neck a bit? I think I slept wrong and I am feeling a bit of pain and stiffness."

    Even as she asks this, she works through another three messages. "Of all the things I work through, I find the alliance matters to be the most strange. Sometimes, I fear, they can be rather vexing. Why are adults asking me to settle questions about property ownership? I think perhaps I will need to put limits on wagers."

Ayame smiles, bowing her head, and begins a smooth rub. She applies a softly numbing lotion to her gloves, and starts to work over Wake's neck and shoulders, methodical and calm, thumbs and palms working the muscles and her fingers splayed for spreading the pressure as she works.

"Just point out that this is technically a legal question." She suggests with a soft chuckle "And perhaps see about pressing them to find a legal answer. If they're wagering, they should find someone to act in - what's it called - escrow? To hold the wagers and to distribute as appropriate"

    "Hmmm, yes. Escrow. And arbitration comes to mind, now that you put it this way. Let's see.. they are both in Crescent Moon. I can make them Silabus' problem." Of course, they will likely end up on Rylen's radar, but having to deal with their own guild leaders ought to silence their grumbling.

    The massage is much appreciated. Elly does continue her paperwork. Fortunately, she's relatively efficient. Not as swift or agile with a pen as Ayame is, but there is a certain flowing grace to her signatures, and a most expressive emboldening of her strokes when emotions are involved.

    "Mmm, that is... very good."

    It's a double meaning. Truly she means it for the massage, but there is some good news moving across her desk. One of the older orphans of Breg Epona has successfully passed their various trials and become an adult.

    "It appears that I will be traveling to a celebration. After I visit Carmina Gadelica, anyway. I will need time to find just the right gift of recognition. This is, after all, the first of my new children to become an adult."

"Does that make them your heir?" Ayame teases faintly as she works her hands, musing and slow and methodical as she ever is, considering and peering over Wake's shoulders, nodding faintly at each piece dealt with. Quiet, calm, her voice slow and soft.

    What is said in jest causes Elly to stop. She holds a piece of paper in her right hand, about to move it from the completed stack to the done stack. She's unblinking, unmoving at all, and for several seconds, she does not even breath.

    "This is a problem."

    She sets the paper aside. Her attention diverts to a drawer. Her drawer of maps. She pulls out a map of the southeast Fourlands. The lands around Eas. All the land to the south and east of Eas is empty. It is overrun with dangerous, dire beasts of many kinds, as well as the occasional odd additiona monster. But it is land that is rich with potential.

    "What kind of mother leaves nothing to her children?" she murmurs. Her index finger taps on the dangerous wilds in a steady rythm.

    "This problem has a solution."

    She reaches up with her left hand, settling it over Ayame's on the baroness' shoulder. "Thank you. As always, my dear. You are precious to me and vital as I try to make my dreams come true."

"It is, at least, a problem you will not be around for" Ayame murmurs, reassuring, as she continues to rub slowly, working out that tension even as Wake finds yet more for herself, giving a small smile and looking down, listening, considering.

"You are leaving them a lot" She says finally "You're leaving them a community. You're leaving them a place they can truly call their own. Now, something to help them thrive? Absolutely, I agree that would assist" She murmurs, nodding down

    "A gift for their coming of age," muses Elly. "Some soil to call their own. Land for farmers, homesteads for others, shops... All in the name of ensuring that they have a fair shot at living a rewarding life, able to support families of their own. I begin to see another reason why The Beautiful One has set me on this mission. She has provided me with all the resources needed to be successful. Including very good friends."

    She rather loves massages. It is among the worst kept secrets of Eas. Which is saying something, considering how many worst kept secrets are vying for the top spots.

    "I wonder if I might be able to fund things in other lands. I do not wish to make the children move far from their homes and their people. That is a problem for later, though. One matter at a time."

    She makes her way through several more messages. She's well over halfway by this point. She clucks her tongue and pauses on one of them. "How on earth is this on my desk?"

    'Baroness Wake,
    I hope you are well. I am reaching out to address a matter of the gravest nature. I also pray for your discretion as this is a deeply personal matter...'

    The letter goes on, in most flowery form, until it finally gets to the point. "Some adventurer I have never met has just asked me to help her decide between two suitors who have taken to dueling each other for her hand in marriage. This is new. I mean, I have done this sort of thing for Landers, but they were quest-driven matters. Or as I like to say, things where I can appreciate and understand why I need to be involved. This, however, is new territory."

"This is called 'authority'" Ayame sighs a little, shaking her head, giving a final slow knead of those muscles before she steps away, moving back around to the other side of the desk, starting a formal copy of that letter in a slow, methodical hand

She listens to the description and she gives a little sigh "I honestly don't understand. We ... we know this. It's up to her, ultimately. You can't say anything else. I think she just wants reassurance it's okay to do what she thinks is best. After all" A shrug "Who else can she turn to?"

    "I think somewhere along the way, I have become a mother to a lot of people," say Elly, laughing a little. "Well, it seems this girl has gotten herself into a difficult situation and needs help. Help can be offered! This is not a matter for a Baroness to address, though. This is a matter for Priestess of the Beautiful One!" That both titles are her own amuses Elly to no end.

    "I am going to meet this girl. I had best meet the men, as well, to judge their intentions. Like a parent would. I imagine they will not expect this, which will, I hope, throw them off enough to be honest about the entire situation."

    She misses the massage already, but she should not be so greedy and selfish. Elly makes a note for herself. A mental one. Do something wonderful for Ayame. Showing love is at the top of her list of favorite things to do.

    "I bet it will be fun, too. She sounds interesting to me. My initial suggestion to her is that she is not at all prepared to handle this situation in the manner she seems to think necessary. Or she would not be sending this letter to begin with. Perplexingly, in the course of admitting that to herself... she is likely to suddenly be quite capable of making this decision."