To Sen: "I believe that Lord Musker was introduced to him during the annual pilgrimage to Kalholt, on the northern coast. He makes a point of meeting the scions of obscure houses on these things. I don't know what other candidates he considered; I'm a junior member of the family, and not privy to the Eldest's decisions. At the moment, Lord Musker is the most vocal of four advisors, the other three of which are older than my grandfather, and rarely speak. Thus far..." He clears his throat again, looking uncomfortable.
"Thus far Musker's primary suggestion, disguised in various forms, has been to break ties with the God-king, 'for the good of all Suul'. He insists that Suul can stand on its own, and perhaps even annex areas of Numenland, what he calls the Ancestral Lowlands. Isolationism and expansionism, very unusual for my grandfather's advisors. The Eldest seems amused by his suggestions, but I am afraid that given enough time he will begin to take Lord Musker seriously, if he does not already. My grandfather grows old, and loses some of his... perspective, given the likelihood that far-reaching consequences will evolve beyond his lifetime."
To Henk: "I'm not senior enough to be present when the House of Whispers makes its report, so I do not know if there is anything strange that hasn't begun to leak rumors. There is a drought in the northwest, that I know, and the people are suffering hardships at the moment, which always makes the northern houses restless. They are generally poor, and rely on food exports to the more mountainous south (here, for example) to maintain their standard of living."
