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An adventuring party recruited from Osirion teleports into Azir on the 8th of Desnus. Rahadoum's recruiting contact in Osirion wrote ahead to note they were expected. Couple of guys he's known a long time - a wizard, a ranger - and a new guy, sorcerer, probably to replace the cleric they usually travel with. They spend two days in Azir getting oriented and head out to the front. The ranger wears an unusually high quality amulet of Nondetection; the sorcerer wears a headband for intelligence, which is a bit unusual as sorcerers usually don't need it to cast, but some variants do; they are otherwise unremarkable. Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, no reading, which could mean neutral or 'hiding it'. They work quickly and effectively, manage resources reasonably well, get recommended to higher-ups for a closer look on that account.
"It was lovely. And productive enough that I won't even feel bad about wanting more of them. - once we're less busy."
"It is going to be an incredibly busy fortnight and afterward I may decide I do not wish to leave my library for a week. But after that, yes, I would very much enjoy more dates."
Of course there won't be a honeymoon. They're doing the public-facing parts of this, not the - whatever other parts, or at least not at the same pace - at least he didn't announce his intent not to leave the pharaoh of Osirion's for a week -
"I'll keep that in mind and not worry you have been murdered if you do not emerge from the library," she says, cheerfully enough she thinks. "Did you want us to spend time together now, or go make appointments and retain solicitors and order a dress and so on and then meet up again later?"
"Want to have dinner together and then split up and maybe have some time together afterward if we are efficient?" He squeezes her hand. "- I did not actually mean I will want to avoid seeing you for a week! I think I will probably want to see you a great deal, just - not constantly visit new places where I need to orient and be on alert for threats and handle tasks I am unfamiliar with."
"I am used to dealing with more stressful things and I can cope. I - would just like it if eventually I can have time to relax and actually appreciate being married to you."
"That at least seems like a very sensible tradition. In Velgarth I think some places have a tradition of traveling somewhere for it, but - honestly I think I will be least distracted if I am somewhere familiar and comfortable."
"Maybe we could rent a place in Aktun for a week? That might get the benefit of both sides, it would feel like traveling but also I am very at ease in Abadar's divine realm."
"I think so! I should probably try to arrange that as early as possible, if you think it is a good idea. I probably cannot get the building Abadar owes me that quickly, especially since I would like to take my time deciding on a layout and such."
"That makes sense if He can't just shift it around later, yeah...." She shakes her head. "I never imagined the gods so, uh, involved in things."
"They are more directly involved here than in Velgarth. And - moreso since prophecy was lost, I think, one of the reasons the goddess who betrayed Aroden thought it was worthwhile is that it - nudges the gods to communicate and cooperate, rather than defaulting to manipulation."
"Which one was that, I only looked at the list of which were banned to make sure Iomedae was okay -"
"Milani. He did not ban Her, though, She apologized and explained - and also was backing the underground resistance, which he did not wish to remain underground or resisting."
"Sounds good."
He kisses her and then goes off to inform Aroden and Parmida of his successful marriage proposal and the apparent deadline on their wedding, and also Carissa's idea about the illusion-performances.
She takes some of her money and goes to a tailor and gets measured for a dress and gets told it's too late for it to be ready for Signing Day and spends more money until it is no longer too late for that and goes to a stationery shop and learns, again, they're booked through after the holidays, which is fine because she can do all the copying herself with magic if she can just get someone to do the first announcement card the others will be copied from.
In Corentyn she knows lots of people but here she really doesn't. She hits up some more stationery shops until she finds one who will agree to do a card on the spot for a generous sum of money. - then he refuses once she tells him what to put on it, thinking it's some kind of prank which will probably get him in trouble.
She gives up on that for the night - the shops would mostly be closed by now if it wasn't the leadup to Signing Day - and swings by the library to read imperial wedding contracts.
She's back at his place at the agreed-upon time.
Aroden clearly has a lot on his mind, but he agrees, a bit absently, that while two weeks is definitely rushed they can probably pull it off, albeit at higher monetary cost but it does seem worth getting it in on the traditional day and not being committed to wait an entire year. And that the illusion-performers are a good idea and he can spend a bit of time in the morning working with them on a proposal if Carissa is available.
He's unsure what other logistics are required for a Chelish wedding, aside from making announcements so people know it's happening at all, since he and Parmida were married in Osirion and also on a very low budget. What does Parmida think?
She does not know much about local wedding traditions! She could find out but there's only so much time for finding out. Presumably there is a large category of people who'd be affronted not to receive an invitation and a large category of people who it'd be a good idea to invite and you've got to feed them all but beyond that they should probably track down someone actually in the Chelish nobility.
Leareth promises to ask Carissa if she has any leads on this. Alternately, Taver probably knows who they could ask, at least; Taver knows who just about everyone in Cheliax is, due to his helpful coordination work.
Also they should maybe invite some of the Heralds, given their close relationship with Valdemar during the war?
Yeah, that makes sense, and probably the leadership of other allied countries too, Lastwall will probably send people and Cheliax's neighbors might too, she's not sure if the pharaoh can do public events what with all of the protocols but presumably Leareth would want him there.
That makes sense. They should invite people from the countries that stepped in to help Aroden during the war, for sure, Andoran offered a lot of aid.
...He does of course want the pharaoh there but it seems like it might be more headache than it's worth given all the protocols. (And he's vaguely aware that it'll probably make Carissa sad if he's spending the whole time Mindspeaking with Khemet for reassurance.)
He calls for a late dinner, since he didn't manage to eat during the two hours. Sits down on the sofa, wearily, and holds out his arm, wordlessly offering for Carissa to join him. "And how was your evening of tasks?"
"Paid a tailor a lot of money to put fitting my dress ahead of fitting everyone else's Signing Day dresses. Found someone who could do up a fancy announcement card with beautiful writing, but then I told him what I wanted written on it and he decided it was some kind of prank that he might get executed about and refused to do it. I wrote down what I think the announcement cards should say, and I can copy them myself with magic, but you might have to be the one to go to the shop about it. Went and looked up imperial wedding contracts. I think it's way more complicated if I'm bringing my own titles or property into the marriage and relatively uncomplicated given that I am not. Also there's so much in there that's just really specific, I keep wondering, did they add this after someone had this specific marital disagreement or were they just trying to be comprehensive and why be comprehensive in this direction -
- for example, it seems historically common for a woman to agree to testify to the children's paternity under a truth spell once they're born, which seems sensible enough, it beats the Osirian solution of constantly surveilling me, but one contract specified that if she was uncertain, then her husband could divorce her about that but not disinherit the child, unless he found out before he was born and divorced her then, unless she was uncertain due to violence or magic against her person, in which case he could still divorce her but this did not disinherit the child even if unborn. None of which is exactly unreasonable but it's so specific to have bothered - negotiating at some length in advance -"