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carissa, somewhere else
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Okay at this point Carissa is just confused, or at least the confusion is the thing she's leaning into to avoid anything dangerous. :Sorry, if she's loyal to him and you're loyal to him why are we trying to come up with something to tell her? Or is it just that some secrets are safer if fewer people know them, because that's true but for that exact reason I shouldn't even tell you.

I did magic to Altarrin that does what my headband does, makes a person smarter and more thoughtful. It's temporary and it doesn't let me change anything about his mind, it just makes it work a little more cleanly. I also loaned him the headband, so he could think things through better. None of the magic I did is active now. Both of those are plainly technical truths but she's shying away from specifying what they're technical truths of. I don't think Altarrin benefits from you digging around for details. I wouldn't hurt him, I'm not an idiot. I'm still subject to whatever compulsions he put in my head and I'm pretty sure they prohibit that anyway. I wasn't trying to protect myself except via making him more able to think, and I don't - it's not like - he's obviously entitled to do as he pleases - he's been more than generous, really - She means that very sincerely and it'd probably be more reassuring if she didn't feel the same way about Abrogail Thrune II.

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The servants have mostly skulked off, not expecting to hear much more than they have already (and no one wants to be around one of Altarrin's Mindspeakers if they're making questionable decisions about Altarrin's personal information.) Hakkon is watching the interplay between Merda and Ketar. Merda seems irritated, he thinks, but then again she always has a stick up her ass. Ketar seems...like he has a crush, that's Hakkon's opinion, and it's not a well-chosen crush. 

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It's not that Merda isn't loyal to Altarrin and it's not that he isn't loyal to Altarrin it's just that– 

 

 

At this point Ketar does manage to run into his compulsions, which he had been steering around via something like thinking about how staying on good terms with Carissa served the Empire and the Emperor, and kind of mostly not thinking about Altarrin directly. None of his loyalty compulsions are aimed at Altarrin. 

- he is now, abruptly, finding himself having to dive around and navigate them from the other side. Carissa clearly is up to something, but - it's all right, surely, because she's doing it with Altarrin - or at least for Altarrin - and no one can deny that Altarrin serves the Emperor and the Empire, and that sometimes he has secret projects and needs to be able to operate without interference...

(Ketar can do this. The pressure on his compulsions subsides. It's taking a lot of careful stepping but this is really much easier for Thoughtsensers to pull off.) 

 

:She used magic on him that - makes someone cleverer and more thoughtful: he sends to Merda. :Reading between the lines I think she may have done it without asking his permission first, I am not sure why but it seems like he really wouldn't object after the fact, for that. ...She's under compulsions he put on her. I can't check the details myself but I'm very sure she isn't lying about it. They're working on something sensitive and Altarrin doesn't want it spread around: 

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:Tell her to get upset and storm off.:

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(Quick check: the servants are still mostly not watching - Hakkon is watching but mostly not having thoughts about any of the interesting important things - Mindspeech is fast he has time to clarify -) 

 

:Er, why? And - storm off to where, if that's important...?: His top guess is that Merda wants an excuse to follow Carissa back to the shielded bedroom suite, but he isn't sure. 

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:To Altarrin's suite. I want to talk to her plainly. I will say things that she can easily pretend to find upsetting, but she should know what response I'm aiming at. You can come too.:

 

 

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All right. That makes sense. 

:Merda wants you to get upset and storm off to Altarrin's suite: Ketar sends to Carissa. :So we can follow you and she can speak to you plainly there. She'll say things in a moment you can get upset about but it's– that's what the plan is:

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She understands. - and is slightly nervous but that's just because palace intrigue is always stressful even if you know your lines. 

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"All right, that's enough," Merda says irritably to Ketar. "I know you're new here but 'don't make puppy dog eyes at Altarrin's pretty things' seems like it ought to be common sense."

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"My name is Carissa."

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"I literally don't care. Next question was, how much work does it take before you feel fatigued from using your Gift, you said you can go all day -"

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"I think maybe you had better care what my name is if you want me to answer any more of your questions."

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"Carissa. It's so lovely to be introduced, Carissa. Fate saw fit to give you a bit of special magic, Carissa, which is the only reason you're not a whore on the docks of Aksell, Carissa, and I don't think it'll do you any favors to forget that, Carissa. Altarrin puts up with having me around the girls because he doesn't like it when they delude themselves, Carissa. How long can you concentrate on your magic, Carissa?"

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"What is your problem??"

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"My immediate problem, Carissa, was that I was hoping you might be interesting and you're really, really not."

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Carissa doesn't really have a good model of the kind of person who tearfully storms off about this. They don't last long, in Cheliax. Is that enough to tearfully storm off at? Probably?

"You don't know anything. You're just jealous that - I'm more useful to Altarrin than you'll ever be." And she stands up and staggers for the door and slams it behind her. 

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"Don't really buy that Altarrin wants you to do that, actually," Hakkon says, mildly. 

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"I was curious if she was interesting if you pushed her," Merda says. "I should've waited until we'd finished the questions, though. Do you suppose you need more, Ketar -"

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"Yes! You asked a question and then didn't even give her a chance to answer it!" 

Ketar heads for the door to Altarrin's bedroom suite, but in the meantime he's reading all the minds he can. Especially Hakkon's. 

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Hakkon thinks that Merda being an enormous jerk is a terrible interrogation strategy, not that he doesn't share her impression that Ketar is a little distracted by the girl. Probably Merda is jealous; wasn't she one of Altarrin's girls herself?

 

"You can go," Merda tells him. "She's clearly not dangerous."

It does occur to Hakkon that Merda may also want him to go so that she can sell the story of what happens from here herself. He doesn't argue, though. "As you like. Are you going after her?"

Merda glances at Ketar. "Don't actually want him to chase her off alone."

"Yeah."

And so she follows Ketar. 

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It's a predictable thought for Hakkon to be having and probably Merda can guess it herself. And it's not like– all right, it does probably give him more information, but it doesn't give him more information that points toward the secrets they're trying to hide. Ketar relays that particular thought to Merda anyway. 

 

If Carissa left the bedroom door unlocked (which he assumes she would have, since she knew the real plan), he'll knock and wait about a second and then head in. 

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Still pretending to cry, until she gets an explanation of what the game is from here.

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"You can cut it out," Merda says, coming in behind Ketar. "Ketar says you are trying to avoid sharing details of what happened between you and Altarrin, in his interests, is that right?"

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"Yes. I am not stupid. I haven't acted against Altarrin. There's nothing I've done he doesn't know of. I'm not using magic to influence him, and haven't outside of casting the enhancement spells at his request and loaning him my headband also at his request. I haven't noticed any avenues of escape and haven't looked, and if I did see one I wouldn't chance it, I strongly doubt I'd be better off outside this palace or in the hands of another faction in it."

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"Right," says Merda, with some satisfaction. "You can put your token on. He sent me here to teach you how to navigate this place."

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