Hopefully this committee is nice and calm after that stressful morning.

If Raimon asks "are we going to come up with a way to keep roads and villages safe from people who heard from someone who heard from someone who made it up that some guy is evil" people are really gonna take that the wrong way, unfortunately.

Present.

She's going to corner Cansellarion later about under what circumstances she's comfortable participating in trying to burn her country to the ground (only if Asmodeus is still in charge but in secret and this helps change that, more or less) and in the meantime they will try to solve the convention's problems.

Though possibly the discussion of citizen militias will be more fraught now that the merits of armed rebellion against all evil nobles are being discussed. 

Rosa sits down as far from the duchess as reasonable.

Presumably he has been told not to interfere with the committee and Hellknights are reportedly at least good at following orders. She doesn't smile at him but only because it'd probably come across as rubbing it in.

Present. Tense, but present.

Were she a tiefling noble she'd really spend the whole convention under a good disguise spell but it's none of her business. "We left off discussing citizen militias. For my part I'd like my people better able to defend themselves against monsters."

"You'd need quite a lot of work to get them to be much of an improvement over the laundry wizard and the - local clerics can't even Inflict any more, I suppose - laundry wizard and a retired soldier or two plinking away with cantrips and crossbow bolts."

"Twenty people with a crossbow are much much more dangerous than four."

"If they can hit a stationary bulette, which is not a given, then they are not a waste of the bolts, but if they can't..."

Part of him certainly considered a magical disguise. That part is weak and contemptible. 

"I think there is obvious use in training men to defend themselves, although I am not at all sure that crossbows are the most effective weapon to provide them with. The numbers matter, and some of them will have a talent for it, and eventually be worth more than the soldier. But are we discussing allowing peasants to organize their own defense, or requiring their organization? These are very different policies."

"Sefora's proposal before the committee is as I understand it just to formally acknowledge in law that such organizing is permitted, and may not be punished. Mine is to oblige lords, if they want to conscript for such militias, not to use them for labor, so it doesn't just become another levy."

"So I'd conscript them and then only call them up for trainings and monsters, and none of them are allowed to show up for a day's work if a bridge is out or a wall's going up?"

"You can pay them to show up for that, but you'd have to. Under my proposal."

"Well, the Abadarans back home will like that sure as anything."