Bram and the Viceroy
A collaboration between myself and
@FamotillA young man walked quickly through the courtyard of the Viceroy's Estate a bottle of wine in hand. His blonde hair danced like wildfire in the winds of summer. He smiled softly to himself as he could ever so faintly smell the scent of the sea masked by the musks of the festivities on the other side of the estate. His outfit was contemporary fashion in the capital. The outfit was deep blue in color with gold trim around it. The long cape in the back gave the image of a young noble out of his depth. This was an image that he wanted to convey to the Viceroy.
Truly out of her depth, an Elven knight followed closely behind, bulkier than even he. Her silver armor reflected the uniquely colored embers of the mage fire decorating the yard, and the dark brown and teal linens that draped the right side of her armor offset the vibrancy of the metal.The knight tucked her short red hair back even further than it already had been. While her Lord was savvy in the realm of politics she detested it. Still, the elven knight helped keep up appearances, something that Bram was good at. His first tutor had taught him the importance of subtlety. He could change his persona like some people changed clothes. To survive in the court of Cambridge, you needed to be able to play both the wolf and the sheep.
Upon their arrival at the office of the Viceroy the sounds of heavy breathing and even heavier laughter could be heard from inside. The woman looked to the boy, her eyes meeting his.
"My Lord", she managed to utter. Her eyes shifted to the door of the office in an awkward and worried manner. Her eyes slowly turned downwards, and she was visibly nervous.
"Evangeline, you need not go in with me. I know politics make you ever so bored. You may stay by the door while I talk to the Viceroy." Bram nodded her off before the door swung open; the pair then greeted by joyful shouting.
"Ah! It's Claudius' Boy!" The older man rose from his chair; his stomach protruding over the table like stuffed turkey. His eyes widened, and his face a deep red from laughter and wine- he looked the boy up and down. The young man was a spitting image of his grandfather before him.
"Viceroy Cadby! How wonderful to see you again," Bram said carefully mimicking the more noble sounding accent. His grandfather had taught him the Vicelles way of being a noble while also mixing in the common way in the area. He needed to be quick in his actions yet always hide what he was doing. Meanwhile, the Viceroy sauntered over to the young man, wrapping a lethargic arm over his shoulder. He gave him a jovial, but rough, shove on the back.
"Too bad your father is too busy braiding his ball hairs, eh lad?"He looked over to the other statesmen who he had previously been chatting with. The balding man wore loose red linen. His glazed light blue eyes studying the men before him. "You can see yourself out now," the Viceroy spoke abruptly to the lesser noble, Cadby’s cheerful demeanor quickly morphing into one of annoyance. The statesman was nearly brave enough to sneer but instead he motioned for the door though not before being stopped by Cadby. The larger man motioned back towards his chalice before looking at the noble. Almost instinctively the statesman retreated to the glass before handing it over to Cadby; all the while never making eye contact. He, of course, closed the door behind him.
"Ah yes, father had so many things that he had to do. He is quite busy these days. I'm just glad to be back in such a beautiful city" Bram decided against dropping his facade, for now, and handed over the bottle of wine he'd been carrying. He had heard the rumors of how much of an alcoholic the Viceroy was. True to form Cadby was a mess, and looked the part. Meanwhile, Bram looked like he had been painted on a canvas. His clothes were still perfect as the other man acted like a beast.
"Cristo's tits, boy! This city is a heaping pile of shite." The man grabbed the brandy that Bram had offered him. He gripped the cork with his browned teeth before tugging aggressively. Like a bear crushing a fish the bottle opened with an wet and echoing 'pop'. He quickly guzzled down the accompanying fizz oblivious to the chalice resting his sweaty palms.
"I know...I know," the man said with a brief sigh as his eyes met Bram's.
"I shouldn't be sayin' that in front of the Earl's son." He took another swig of the wine.
"Oh Viceroy Cadby, even piles of shit produce gold." Bram watched the Viceroy enjoy his gift.
"Ya know," the Viceroy staggered, a look on his face mired in pride and drunken amusement.
"In all honesty, his Grace should be thankin' me. I've fixed Viceroy Komstock's bloody fuck-ups!" The man's breath smelled of fish and spirits, but behind the stench there was truth. He reached behind him, pulling some documents off of his desk.
"You'll see it all, right there m'Lord," he sighed once again. In his old age he had grown lazy, and would rather just let one of his sons do all of this work. If they weren't so bloody stupid he might consider it.
"I am rather impressed by these papers. I’m curious, however," Bram said feigning coyness.
The elder man chuckled to himself, quite proud. He wasn't so naive to the boy's brown-nosing, but he was old and insecure. At his age you took whatever comforts you could get. While the boy was no Earl, he technically still held some rank, and Cadby in his buffoonery was still no stranger to political posturing. The Viceroy had little respect for boys playing dress up without properly earning a title through conquest and war. Even still Claudius' boy wasn't half bad, and he always brought rather delicious wine. He removed his arm from Bram's shoulder before walking out over to the balcony. He motioned for the Earl's son to join him.
"It says here that the Miner's Prison is generating income? How ever did you make that happen?' As he followed Cadby out onto the balcony he tried stroking the man's ego to get him to keep talking.
The vibrant sights and smells of the festival collapsed onto the two noblemen as they overlooked a crowd of what must have been over a thousand.
'Ay, you should be impressed, lad,'" the man took a breath as he looked out to the crowd, half of them in a drunken stupor, the other half laughing among themselves.
"The Academy of Mages..." Cadby motioned to his right as if to imply the institution's location.
"I've convinced that old fool, Maestar Cydan, to supply us with guards. They're squishy little fucks, but nothing scares a criminal like fire and pointed ears." The large man laughed aloud. The mood of the approaching nighttime air made him more jolly, but in his laughter a cough caught him by surprise. The large man cleared his throat.
Bram looked out at the crowds. He wondered if the other Earls had to deal with Viceroys like this one. The rumors of his love of drink seemed to be true and his brandy was helping. He had to import it from the Capital. Honestly the man seemed intent on drinking the entire city’s store of spirits .Still, he was here on business, and as such, continued to suffer the man.
"I've also imported prisoners from Caracas in Valenndale. I'm this close to wrappin' up that trade deal nice and pretty for his majesty," Cadby sneered mockingly at that as he held up two fingers as demonstration. He looked down for a moment, a bit of political fumbling as a look of unease rested on his face like the red on his cheeks. He was usually drunk, but typically fared better in diplomatic maneuvering.
"That shall be our little secret, Cadby. I'm guessing that the new revenue from the prison is due in part to your importing Caracan criminals? Between that and the rumors of your desire to dissolve our military bases in the Union , quite dangerous, wouldn't you think?' The older man grew slightly agitated ready to be done with this petty investigation. Looking back to the boy noble in front of him he smiled.
"There's always a danger in dealing with the worst scum in Ithea. Much easier to lob off their heads. As for this wine...it's damn good, it is." The man let out a boisterous laugh before wrapping his arm around Bram once more, playfully walking him back to the front door of the office.
"But come m'Lord, the night is young, and I assure you we have the best whores in all of Carthus," the man's drunken stupor left his tongue clumsier than normal. Spilling some of his drink on himself while opening the door and motioning the boy out.
"They may not be the prettiest wenches, but I can promise you they're the poorest!" With a final thunder piercing belly laugh the Viceroy slammed his door shut.
Alisdragon911