They get to the room.  It is comfortably sized, and shows evidence of having once been richly furnished such as a few threads of silk left on a wall hanging that could have held a nice tapestry.  It is well lit by two continual flames in wall sconces, one shows scratch marks in the stone were it looks like someone tried to pry the continual flame itself out of the wall.  A formerly nice painting of a serpent with dark feathered wings and a raven clutching a Longbow has been scratched almost completely out, and a crude image of an open palm has been shallowly engraved over the center of it.

"We can bring over another bed" The room has more than enough space for it.

"And yes I have some concerns about the convention too... I've heard several interpretations of the Queen's intent for the convention.  I've heard the claim it is intended to openly set the highest laws and precedents like Andoran's Common Rule or Rahadoum's First Law* or Galt's constitution in whatever way the vote may fall.  From Galt's example, the Queen will need all of her skill and strength to manage the process if that is what she intends for the convention.  I've also heard that the convention is intended not so much for any arbitrary vote, but rather to feel out the common custom from many peoples and faiths and enshrine it in formal law.  This seems more manageable to me.  And of course, the obvious simple understanding is that she means to accept oaths of fealty (perhaps with a few arrangements and accommodations made) and the convention is merely a foreign way of describing such a practice."

This is forward, but the Hellknights are lawful and disciplined and might have some important insights.

*Thea does not realize the First Law is part of a title and the actual name of the highest laws are the Laws of Morality.

Anna looks thoughtfully at the scratched painting for a moment before she looks around the rest of the room and nods.

"I think it is unlikely to be the last; we swore loyalty to her already, and including the Hellknights does not seem necessary. Would anyone have remarked if we were left out, between the nobles and the priests? I would guess it is the second, and Her Majesty hopes it can also be the first. Certainly she has experience with the matter, as doomed as it seemed when I read the announcement."

Shit.  If the Hellknights actually think it might be the first, it might be straightforwardly true then.  She was starting to hope the lawyer's interpretation was true, it would be just enough to give her influence and not chaotic enough to risk a civil war.  Still, best to press forward either way.

"I believe her Majesty has the strength to carry out her will...  I have put some preliminary thought into what terms I think would be favorable to myself, Irori, Irori's church, and Cheliax as a whole.  And I'm sure, if your order considers this a request for input from the Queen, they have some terms they would like?"

"When Her Majesty won the Four-Day War, she made significant changes to the leadership and remit of most of the orders of Hellknights, including disbanding the Order of the Rack entirely. The Order of the Pike was left almost entirely intact, and in fact elevated from a minor order to a major one. And the Queen has given us no reason for doubt since. I am not prohibited from expressing opinions, should I develop some, nor from voting as I see fit, but my Lictor is content with the status quo and Her Majesty's wise leadership, and I do not disagree."

"Sensible and pragmatic.  For myself, I would like to secure some financial support for taking on new students and continuing to train students.  As to the actual language of what a constitutional term for that might be, to give a loose guess, perhaps something as broad as 'The Queen shall provide support to lawful churches and institutions and good churches and institutions for the benefit of the nation as her wisdom guides her' and trust the interpretation and implementation to the Queen.  But I suppose your Order has already gotten that, so this would just be putting words to the status quo for them."

There, imply she already basically agrees.

"Something like that. I suppose if we're asked to vote on something like that, I'd support it, but unless they go trying to outlaw us, I don't see much need to speak up."

"Sensible, should I show you around the rest of the monastery?"

She checks with Paula, who shrugs and slumps slightly.

"That seems amenable. May Paula wait here while we do? She is not as used to long rides as I am."

"That's fine.  You've already seen the main chamber.  Let's see... we have a very sparse library, mess hall, cistern with water distribution, several storage areas- but I don't think you need access to them... what else... I didn't ask if either of you are casters, we have a few rooms deeper and off to the side designed to be relatively more durable for moderate spell testing (no higher than 2nd circle I think, I have no documentation for them)"

"Paula is a first-circle wizard, but she is not a combatant. I am not a spellcaster. I would look in on the library."

She lead on, back through the main chamber, down another hall, and into a the library.

The library is a moderately sized room, with around a two dozen or so bookshelves, with only 6 separate shelves at least partly filled (all on different bookshelves).  A top shelf in the back of the room is filled, another closer shelf mostly filled at a middle height, a close bottom shelf completely filled.  Spread across three separate partly filled shelves are novels.  There are two tables with chairs, enough to seat a dozen people or so.  A child is sitting reading a novel, with the a new, cheaply made copy of Acts of Iomedae on the table next to her.

"The fully initiated sisters took everything of any value when they fled, including almost all the books.  I've since rebuilt the library book by book... it is still a work in progress."

"No order is complete without its store of knowledge, religious or otherwise. Rebuilding it is commendable. The collateral, would that cover myself and Paula, or separately?"

She thinks a moment.  "Together is fine, I expect it very unlikely to come up."

"As would I, but I would not presume. Likely I will take you up on that, more for her than myself." If you leave wizards with nothing to do but magic, they get strange. She's never seen this happen to first-circle wizards but she's pretty sure it's why all the powerful ones turn out crazy. A silver or two at most to keep the scribe sane is a bargain.

"Of course.  And as I said earlier, you can pay by the day.  If I get a lot more tenants and the library proves exceptionally popular with the tenants such as to crowd the library, I might raise the rate, but as I said before, I'll announce that at least 5 days in advance."

She looks across the room, as if waiting for a question. She's not as quite eager to explain all the books she has as she was with Nuria, but she likes her little collection and is still happy to explain it!

Anna... observes this. But she really isn't a big reader; she'll probably consult some of the divine texts, later, but she reads for practical purposes. What's the polite thing to say?

"I wish you luck in filling the other shelves."

Thea actually catches the hint!

"I should show you the mess hall then?"

"Please. Best to see that before we formally agree."

"I think our stew is a selling point but it's still two hours or so until dinner."

She leads them back across the main chamber, down another hallway.

They reach a large room with long tables, it could probably seat a hundred if they sat closely, fifty comfortably.  This room also has a permanent illusion on the ceiling, but it is a more ominous reddish glow instead of a pleasant sky.  The walls are painted with a tesseract of stylized ravens and serpents.  There is some painting over them in progress, only about a tenth of the way done, turning the serpents into snails and changing the wing shape and color of the ravens.  Towards the side of the mess hall there is a smell of slow cooking stew coming from a side room or hall (perhaps the kitchen?).

"It smells flavorful enough," she says politely, "I think that's everything I ought to check. We'll stay here for the duration, for the price you specified."

"I'm glad to hear that."

She thinks a moment.

"Would you like to get a light spar in before dinner?  I have a pair of cure light wounds prepared - " And she realizes how this may sound " - for emergencies or accidents, I don't expect we'll need them."

"Hmm. Tempting, but while I'm not as easily tired as my scribe, I confess I'd rather rest. Another day, though, certainly."

"Of course, I'll see you at dinner then?  We have a bell a half hour before dinner and another bell just prior to serving dinner.  It won't matter if you arrive a bit later, we have plenty of stew and won't put it away until an hour after the dinner bell.  Can you make your way back to your room okay, I don't find the halls confusing but I've lived here almost all my life?  And I'll have another bed moved to your room within a quarter hour."

She counts out twelve silver for the first week and hands them over.

"It's simple enough to trace, but it is polite of you to ask. I will see you at dinner."