Council Meeting: 213/8

Council Meeting: 213/8

Postby Treadwell » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:06 pm

[OOC NOTE: Slight edit to remove the specific day from the thread title, just in case.]

Notes had been sent out with some urgency over the last day and a half, or thereabouts.

Be at the Meetinghouse, they said.

Come vote on something of dire importance, they said.

Fulfill your rightful civic duties to Myrken Wood, they said.

Of course, despite the lingering heat outside, Aloisius Horatio Treadwell would be there tonight, dressed seriously and somberly, in a simple black robe and sash. His accompanying floppy black hat hangs on a rack by the one chair large enough, cushiony enough, and sturdy enough to seat him at the meetinghouse table--a table quickly converted to one part meeting table, with parchment, ink, and quills for notes at each seat, and one part dining table, with every seat having easy access to a seemingly endless array of cut sandwiches, delicate slices of meats and cheeses, and a variety of things green that some might relegate to mere "rabbit food."

Thus does Treadwell putter wheezily about the room, pipe between his lips, hands resting on his monumental gut, his usual limp more pronounced without his cane handy.

"The lights!" the old butterball squeaks, and soon he is toddling about the room, patiently igniting lamps, candles, and lanterns.
"Looks like a table to me. Do you think it could hold up someone as bulbous as Treadwell?" -- Dr. Brennan, Myrken Wood Rememdium Edificium
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby channe » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:11 pm

"Oh, fantastic," says Agnieszka Kaczmarek at the door, "I'm starving."

She's -- different. Her hair is brought up, piled and curled, falling in gorgeous twisted corkscrews over her shoulders. The dress she wears is high-necked and burgundy, with severe, powerful lines perfectly tailored to her slim frame. She wears Aleksei's crystal sword at her waist; the skirts swirl around her ankles but are light enough to not interfere with the sword itself. She looks every inch like she belongs here in this room; why, she's even wearing gloves. "Good evening, Treadwell."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Treadwell » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:14 pm

"Mmph mmph! By Tubbius's great gut! A splendid dress you have there, dearie. Now, have you, ahem, heard about any of the others, whether they're coming or not?"

At this, Aloisius wobbles finally to his chair, there to sink huffily into it and move his cane from where it rests at the seat's right side to its left.
"Looks like a table to me. Do you think it could hold up someone as bulbous as Treadwell?" -- Dr. Brennan, Myrken Wood Rememdium Edificium
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby channe » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:16 pm

Agnieszka pauses by the door, pursing her lips and looking a little disgusted at Treadwell's wobbles. "Stefan Berdini will be here." She pauses, and it looks like this is a bad thing. "No response from Kerrak, ser Romanova or ser Goldenhair, more's the pity. I'm sure Ariane'll be here, too."

She moves to her seat, resting her hand on the back but not sitting down yet. "But those three never come. It's almost like they're not on the Council. Maybe they shouldn't be, if they're not interested."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Carnath-Emory » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:28 pm

What a lovely thing it is. Snugly-laced across the bodice but not immodest in the matter of décolletage; fragile lace a soft flutter across the wrists, a gentle embrace for delicate shoulders. The skirts are a fluid cascade of gradiated colour, a pale and rose-touched gold that echoes the glittering rest - and glittering it surely is, when she turns just so. Gently sparkling, because someone has worked tiny specks of crystal into the fabric, luring candlelight and reflecting it back in tiny bursts of iridescent colour.

She is the sunlight to Agnieszka's sombre lines, the porcelain to Treadwell's gross excess.
She does not arrive wearing a sword.
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Treadwell » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:42 pm

"Well! Ariane!"

That same feeble pipe of elderly voice fills the room well enough in its ear-rippingness. Treadwell, meanwhile, has already started mindlessly munching at the nearest plate of sandwiches within reach of his pudgy arms.

"I still don't think it's right seeing you in a dress, Marshal. It's hardly suiting to your position, mmph mmph. But, hmm hmm, all that aside, well met, and have yourself a seat, eh? There are plenty of spots available, as you can see, and there's quite certainly more than enough food and drink. I, hmm hmm, have quite a bit of experience with these sorts of meetings over meals like this, and, besides, I wasn't about to miss supper."
"Looks like a table to me. Do you think it could hold up someone as bulbous as Treadwell?" -- Dr. Brennan, Myrken Wood Rememdium Edificium
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Dulcie » Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:27 am

"Were you waiting on me?" Councilor Berdini said to the small group as he made his way into the meeting area with a flourish. He was dressed in high fashion as usual, a smile on his face as he bowed to the ladies and nodded to Treadwell.

"I'm horribly sorry if I've caused delay. I understand that we're here to vote on a matter of importance. Let me take my seat and we shall begin? Unless of course we're waiting for any of the others?"

He'd settle in his chair then, his walking stick rested lightly against the side of his chair.
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby channe » Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:34 am

"Oh, that's another matter entirely," Agnieszka says, sitting primly in a chair across from Berdini. She eats -- well -- almost like a lady, like she's been working on her manners. "And it's lovely to see both of you as usual." She nods to Berdini and Ariane alike, and then turns her face to Treadwell.

"I believe Councilor Treadwell has a matter for us to vote on, and if we haven't demolished the dinner yet, there are other things to talk about as well."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Carnath-Emory » Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:44 am

"No doubt, Councilor."

The lady has taken her seat at some opposing point. A tug of the fingertips settles the skirts about her ankles, a gloved palm smooths silk across her knees. Eyes that had lingered in a moment's approval upon the Chairwoman's austere grace have set a glance upon Treadwell: distasteful, if not entirely unkind.

"And that is why your business is taxation, and we leave the question of aesthetics to - "

How timely, his entrance. It receives a gentle incline of her head, a moment's lingering interest in that dapper cane.

" - Councilor Berdini."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Treadwell » Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:58 am

"Councilor," this to Berdini as he settles into place, "I certainly believe we ought to begin without delay. No one here is getting any younger, mmph mmph."

With that said, Treadwell hefts himself to his feet, rumblingly clears his throat, and picks up his cane, tap-tumping it on the edge of the table a couple of times.

He misses his gavel from his time over Westenford's Council.

"So I suppose this calls this meeting of the Myrken Wood Council to order, Aloisius Treadwell, Councilor for Revenue and Finance presiding as senior representative of the Council present, hmm hmm, and taking dictation as necessary." A fluff of smoke rolls from Treadwell's pipe. "Notes will show the presence of the four of us at this meeting and our intentions regarding this matter being discussed."

"We come to a critical junction in Myrken Wood, something that the Councilor for the Arts and I have discussed previously a few weeks ago, hmm hmm, regarding the prolonged absence of our Governor, one Glenn Burnie. This province cannot and shall not continue proper governance without an appropriate authority seated in the position of Governor, and, begging pardon for saying such, mmph mmph, Rhaena Olwak, regardless of her proximity to Governor Burnie, is not the Governor and has no authority over the Council or Myrken Wood as she has not been elected as such by this Council, hmph."

"I thus set forth the motion that there be a much necessary and required vote for the, assumedly temporary, replacement of Governor Burnie until such a time as he reappears healthy in good body and mind. I do not propose that replacement be the madam Rhaena, regardless of her head over Myrken Wood's Foundation, with her minimal experience of working with this Council membership and even more minimal experience, mmph mmph, with politics at all."

"We must, and we will, discover an appropriate replacement. Now, of course, as our by-laws dictate, should we reach the assumption or discovery that the Governor is deceased, then the position of Interim Governor goes to the senior-most Council member for up to a period of six months."

"What say you all?"

Thus does Aloisius wheezily sink back into his cushioned seat, removing his pipe only long enough for the taking a mouthful of tea.
"Looks like a table to me. Do you think it could hold up someone as bulbous as Treadwell?" -- Dr. Brennan, Myrken Wood Rememdium Edificium
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8/7

Postby Carnath-Emory » Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:33 am

Councilor Treadwell really ought to have a gavel; she'd always thought so. Perhaps a powdered wig, as well; a cane, something like Berdini's, but a little sturdier of course. Imagine, this terribly broad figure in his imposing dark robes, punctuating his orator's crescendo's with a little stomp of the cane-foot upon the floor! Terribly melodramatic, of course, but who doesn't love a good pantomime?

All the same, there's a point - well into the man's speech, and just short of one of those very peaks of rhetoric - at which the lady's expression begins to slightly sour.

She is not ill-mannered about it. She does not deign to shout, or even to speak at all.

But the hand hesitates over one of the dainty little sandwiches, and reaches for the quill instead; her eyes, expectant, turn towards the other Councilors.
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8

Postby Dulcie » Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:39 am

He considered for a moment Treadwell's words. Berdini was a careful man, a cautious man and he wanted to make sure all avenues were taken into consideration.

"I'm afraid I have to disagree with you Councilor Treadwell." He began slowly. "You are failing to recognize the many beneficial qualities that Mrs. Burnie carries. You said we must search for the perfect candidate, and I think we would not be doing our due diligence to exclude a perfectly good candidate without a vote."

He paused a moment, glancing to the ladies to guage their reactions. "Mrs. Burnie has been an outstanding member of this community. She is intimately aware of the workings of the Myrkenwood Governorship by virtue of her close involvement with Governor Burnie himself and with her many social and charitable outreaches to the community itself. Never before have I lived in a town such as this one where all of the children are so well educated. This has been Mrs. Burnie's doing. Beyond her charitable heart however Mrs. Burnie is a woman in fine standing in the community. She is undistracted by other work which I think is a point in her favor. You must admit Councilor. You, like I have other businesses that we attend to. Mrs. Burnie has no other purpose in life but to serve her community. She can take on this endeavor whole-heartedly with Governor Burnie's intent and resources behind her."

He took a drink of water.

"I call for a vote to accept Mrs. Burnie as the Interim Governor until Mr. Burnie returns home. While their may be previous rules which exclude women from office, or have old notions on senority being the most effective measure of judgement of ability, I say we move forward with Myrken Wood. We need to show the youth in our community that no matter your age or your gender you can be capable of greatness and prominence in the town. Imagine what a positive example Mrs. Burnie will make for all those young girls."

He'd rest his case then, folding his hands atop one another. "Obviously you know my vote in this matter."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8

Postby channe » Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:39 am

She looks at Berdini.

And then she looks at Treadwell. A knowing glance. Your turn, it says. Don't you dare screw it up. Berdini has basically laid it out for you like a willing teahouse girl. And then she fixes her gaze on Berdini.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," she says, quietly. "While Mrs. Burnie is -- well, while she's really quite good with dresses an' parties an' such, an' feedin' the poor and education' all sorts of kids, I really think that you will agree that we should --" Oh, God, she can't even believe she's saying this! "-- spare Mrs. Burnie's beautiful hands from havin' to make some of the hard decisions that come from being governor. And I am absolutely shocked -- shocked, sir! -- that you, a supporter of the Burnie family, would even think to -think- that our dear governor is dead." A steely, knowing look to Treadwell. Line 'em up, knock 'em down. "After all, didn't she say that he was off on -- pressing Myrken business? And besides, Mrs. Burnie has no Council experience."

She pauses, takes a sip of her tea, just as she's seen her sister do. "I have spent the last two months in Thessilane. If you think for one minute that the threat is gone -- it's not. I think we need someone who can... make the proper tactical decisions, the ones that Rhaena is really not equipped to make."
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8

Postby Treadwell » Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:14 am

A short, inked line down a sheet of parchment at Treadwell's left hand. The hastily scrawled words "Aye" and "Nay" under Rhaena's first name.

One jot of a line under "Aye" with "Berdini" scratched next to it.
One under "Nay" with "A. K. R."

"One for, one opposed."

A tick under "Nay" with Treadwell's own initials below.

"One for, two opposed. Rhaena Olwak is not our new Governor, mmph mmph. I appreciate that she has been quite the inspiration to date for the lasses and lads of Myrken Wood, hmm hmm, but she is not qualified to handle the stresses of Myrken Wood, Council. She hasn't the experience. She hasn't the tactical knowledge, mmph mmph. She hasn't the support of this Council."

A lifting of right hand, fatty finger pointing up for the briefest of moments.

"We need a replacement Governor in the moment, someone experienced in political workings, mmph, someone well-travelled, someone at least reasonably well-liked, someone able to devote the time and strength to address necessary issues, and, perhaps most important, someone with the vigor and fitness to manage the most horrid affairs, hmm hmm, that Myrken Wood and her neighbors throw at her residents. In short, we need someone who is hardly afraid of getting one's hands dreadfully dirty and blood pounding, mmph mmph."

A glance at Berdini, opposite.

"Councilor Berdini, you say rightfully that you and I have our obligations. I my work with the taxes, the toy shop, my family, and Tubbius's church across Amasynia; you your own affairs. We are quite busy men unless we divest ourselves of much of our personal devotions, mmph mmph. The other Councilors have their own issues to settle, else they would be here, mmph mmph, at this gathering."

A puff of his pipe, and then a leveling of that still upraised right hand, in its pudgy and sweaty glory, at Agniezka.

"Ladies and gentleman, in the prolonged absence of our dear Glenn Burnie, our current Chairwoman of the Myrken Defense Committee is our single best hope for the immediate future of Myrken Wood's Governor's seat!"
"Looks like a table to me. Do you think it could hold up someone as bulbous as Treadwell?" -- Dr. Brennan, Myrken Wood Rememdium Edificium
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Re: Council Meeting: 213/8

Postby Carnath-Emory » Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:20 am

A string of statements. The occasional knowing glance. The measured tone of Stefan Berdini; the Chairwoman's unusual caution. The Councilor for Revenue and Finance ought to be equipped with a gavel, but in its absence his pipe serves as a reasonable substitute. Of course it does. What's a showman without his props? In a moment of stunning clarity, she recalls applying the blunt of her weapon to the top of his scalp; remembers distinctly the pitch of his squeals -

He reaches a vigorous crescendo. Rampant before his audience, he waits for the clash of cymbals, waits for the curtains to drop to wild applause.

And that is when her cough delicately interrupts.

"Governor Burnie ... is yet seated." Quietly, now, from the dainty thing with the quill and the little sandwich. The lady is endless patience: she'd waited for their eyes, before she gave them her words. "In his absence, the Council manages Myrken's business as the Council has always done. The school yet thrives. The council yet functions. The streets are repristinated. The harvests have not failed." The words pause; her eyes wander a moment towards the nib of her quill. Darkly pendulous, a fat drop of ink gently quivers -

"My lord Phuri was a corpse; following that," a glance towards Treadwell, "he was an imposter - and for quite some time, before a replacement was sought for. My lord Bromn was believed deceased, discovered alive, lost for months and ultimately compromised by madmen, before his permanent ouster."

- and submits to gravity, blossoming darkly upon the thirsty page.

A distant smile. Her eyes lift back towards theirs.

"Governor Burnie is forty days absent. But he is certainly not dead. If you intended to allege otherwise, you'd have done better to call the Grand Court into session and have the Lady Olwak present herself to account for her claims to the contrary. We respect procedure, within these chambers. We have fought long and hard to achieve it."

A folded slip of parchment from with her purse, flattened out onto the tabletop that it might be readily inspected.

"We are informed that the Governor might be reached immediately with questions and with matters of pressing urgency. This is not the long silence which we endured beneath my lords Bromn or Calomel. We do not stagnate for want of leadership, for leadership is only a communique away. We need not overthrow our elected Governor in order to seat a - mm. What would we call it?" A glance for the Chairwoman. "A warlord? Is that what you suggest? A Myrken dominated by its military?

How hasty."
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