Nations on the Brink (storyline)/Peacock Grapevine (vignette)

The Peacock Grapevine -- A Little Help From My Gin: A Nations on the Brink Vignette

Vaelynsa glanced around at the gathering in her library, ensuring each visiting inquisitor had a cup of tea. She nods approvingly to the servant, who takes up her place off to one side and carefully watches for anyone needing a refill. Vaelynsa pauses a bit, draws a deep breath, and begins, "My compatriots, I have a confession to make..."

Several hours later, her servant scurries home, where she recounts the day's happenings to a captive audience. From there, it spreads like wildfire, and before long, it is common gossip across the city, at least amongst the servants and any who had their ear to the ground.

According to the gossip, Lady Vaelynsa Davalion hosted an elite gathering of inquisitors in her home and proceeded to admit to sharing confidential information with a group gathered at the Arboretum the previous day! Even more surprising, or so the accounts went, was that the inquisitors determined this to be a wise course of action. Such activities were not unheard of when attempting to elicit responses, and while standard protocol was bypassed, it was generally felt that the extenuating circumstances warranted forgiveness.

When news reached the Argent Mirror, however, she was apparently less than pleased. However, the peacock grapevine (as the servants' chain of gossip was sometimes nicknamed) claimed that a servant close to the Mirror heard that even she was won over by the inquisitors' arguments for the disclosures, and of course, they had centuries of precedent for near-autonomy (within reason) for actions during delicate investigations.

Indeed, if the peacock grapevine is to believed, an important announcement was coming soon.