:People seem to find him excessively intimidating! I'm trying to fix that:

:He was briefly less intimidating! When he looked like a tiny child. Then you fast-aged him. I suppose he's still less intimidating when he looks nineteen then the way he looked before: 

:Well, then I suppose if I am ever Queen I will have to try very hard to lend him inconsequence because he will be older then:

:I suppose so: The amusement in his mindvoice doesn’t show at all on his face. 

He manages to extract himself from his conversation and eats in silence. :Anyway, what did you think of all that?:

:It was interesting, sort of puzzly, I'll like it more when I have a better notetaking format:

:Huh!: The overtones in Vanyel's mindvoice are genuinely intrigued. :I've always found them irretrievably boring. How do you manage to look at it like an interesting puzzle?: 

:They're presumably more complex than this in reality but they've each got an agenda and will tell you about it and that puts them in predictable sorts of complicated conflicts, like one of those strategy board games where all the pieces have different moves! So I can try to guess which agendas will be pro- or anti- whatever, and imagine compromising on various things they care about more and I care about less to get enough votes if I were currently trying to acquire votes. I don't know if I'm actually good at this, I'm not especially gifted at the board games, but it's still interesting:

:Hmm. I - should at least try that. I can usually predict who's going to vote what and what compromises will work, but I still tend to spend the actual meetings mostly thinking about how much I'd rather be doing magic: 

:No activity is for everybody. Though I suppose on the whole it's convenient that you like magic:

:True! I wonder how much I just don't like this because it's - closer to what I grew up expecting I'd have to do, and being really miserable about. And of course it was nervewracking at the start, but I feel like I know what I'm doing at this point, so it shouldn't have to be awful: 

:It would be neat if you learned to have fun with it:

:I guess it would be!: 

And then Randi reconvenes the afternoon session. After a quick intro the group splits up to discuss some different issues relevant to Valdemar currently in more depth. 

Belrun refines her notation system and assigns all the participants shorthand labels.

People have a surprising number of questions for Leareth about agricultural policy. He answers smoothly enough off the top of his head, but is very grateful for Belrun's note-taking keeping track of what's going on. 

And what are Leareth's opinions on agricultural policy?

Leareth doesn't feel like he knows enough about conditions within Valdemar to have really informed opinions, here, and it's not clear the lords asking him do either. He asks some questions, though, and ventures opinions on the best kind of crop rotation for various climates and on choosing strains of various crops based on local soil type. If they want a reference book he has on it, he can send that to Haven at some point. 

What a reasonable set of opinions. Though it kind of sounds like it is not even best understood on a policy level.

(Leareth thinks it was kind of a dumb question. There are lots of those.) 

They have a closing session before dinner. It goes rather more smoothly because apparently Lord Lathan isn't feeling well. Randi seems relieved about this. 

Presumably they brought some Healers even if they aren't as convenient as back in Haven, so she won't worry about it.

Dinner is quieter than lunch; a lot of the older lords seem to be early-to-bed sort of people and have already turned in to the guest rooms provided for them. Vanyel and Savil join Leareth and Belrun at a table they have just to themselves.

"I found that significantly more enjoyable," Vanyel tells Belrun. "I don't know if I'd go all the way for 'fun', but - it was fine. Although I think smaller meetings are just a better idea than doing the whole Council and Senior Circle at once." 

"Do they get unruly if there's too many people or something?"

"It mostly just seems inefficient? It's hard to stay on topic, I swear all the lords like hearing themselves talk so they're constantly fighting over it..." 

"At the university people kept trying things for keeping meetings on topic and none of them worked very well, I guess it's not limited to academics."