Reforge

>Well it is part of the vizier's job to advise you so waiting a minute to listen to what they have to say should not undermine your authority, as long as, and make it clear, it's just that, advice.

Oh... right. Of course! Their entire purpose is to advise you! You just have to make it clear who's really in charge.

Donnella: Very well. I will hear out your suggestions.
Vizier: Thank you, Firstbor-
Vizier: Is that an officer’s coat with the pins stripped off?
Vizier: -er- regardless! While I appreciate you permitting me to do my job, I still have no idea what you want advice on.

Oh, right.

Donnella: Four Corners. Earlier today there were materials in my room- a crate and a locked metal box- that I couldn’t remember and had no clear way to be there, along with a paper marked with the Four Corners logo taped behind my bed. I know they had something to do with this and I am here to apprehend them immediately.
Vizier: What!? And you couldn’t have mentioned…
Vizier: Alright. I… have to agree that they are clearly up to something.
Vizier: But charging into all this is, with all due respect, foolhardy.


Vizier: We don’t have enough concrete evidence about this situation.
Vizier: We do not want the most expansive mages' guild in the known world against us if we can help it. While your line has clear reason to… mmm… disapprove of them under any circumstances due to the competition they represent, the best outcomes for this crisis likely include their involvement. The resources they have, the raw talent pool, and the connections to various sovereign states could make a massive difference in the effectiveness of our response to this Beast.
Donnella: But-
Vizier: We can’t trust them, obviously. Not that I’d recommend trusting them even without this blatant sign of some scheme. It’s safe to assume that Four Corners is always up to something. But if we play along for now, we may be able to make use of them while working to defuse whatever plot they’re bringing to bear.

Vizier: I see three major ways forward. That would be the first- to meet with them in a secure location of our choosing. We play along, we accept their aid, and we work to uncover them while they think us unaware. It’s a risk, but it allows us to keep an eye on them and glean whatever we can from their, I must reiterate, vast expertise.

Vizier: We could turn them away. We lose this opportunity for early help from them but reduce the level of risk from allowing them access to us or our city. We may suffer for their absence in these early stages of whatever this situation will become, but this route at least leaves open the possibility of reopening communications with them later- although it would likely be on worse footing.

Vizier: Finally, we could arrest them. I admit that it’s our best bet for keeping them contained, and would allow us to ply them for answers, but could limit our options in the future… and potentially force us to begin dealing with Four Corners as an enemy simultaneous with this spirit’s first moves.

Vizier: The choice is, of course, yours to make, Firstborn.