((The timing of events suggests that Alexei could very well have been present when Tranquillina cast the spell on Loys, because Loys was still there when Alexandria reported the theft. If, and only if Alexei had disappeared before that time, he would have gone to Apollodorus' sanctum as Korvin had originally asked. So, I'm leaning towards Alexei was there when Tranquillina cast the spell, unless you can be persuasive otherwise, it makes the timing of things too wonky.))
"Oh, I have been civil, Alexei. It is your sodalis who has not been civil. Your grogs were subdued, nothing more. I could have crossed the ward Tranquillina had placed against mundanes, leaving them just as unable to act against me. I'm leaving now, Alexei, but I will return. Were I in your shoes, I wouldn't try coming after me. Your authority begins and ends with enemies of the Order, renounced magi and magae. I am neither. The last thing you want to do is make me your enemy."
She turns into the house and says, "We are leaving, Loys." And then looking up the sky, somewhere around Alexei, but not at Alexei, "My friend, I could use your assistance one more time, if you can see to Loys and my lab, I will see to myself." Nearly as soon as she says that Alexei feels the air rushing into the villa, as if a lot of material has been suddenly displaced from within it. Cumhachd is still standing there, just inside the doorway, "Goodbye, Alexei. Follow me at your own risk."
Alexei can try to stop her from leaving, but it's not likely.
[color=blue]"If she's not at the villa, then she would have returned to wherever she calls home now," Fiona says.
After Alexei leaves, Fiona stands there for a moment or two. [color=blue]"I'll be back," she says before she leaves.
She then casts a spontaneous Muto Corpus [sup]1[/sup] spell to give herself the tracking ability of a bloodhound and goes to find Tranquillina, softly singing [color=blue]"You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals."
[hr][/hr][sup]1[/sup]Base 2, "change someone to give them a minor ability", R: Personal, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, for a target level of 4. CT is Sta 3 + Mu 17 + Co 15 + Aura 5 + Talisman 3 = 40 ÷ 5 = 8, easily castable without fatigue.
((Probably one should ask for a Hunt roll or something like that, particularly as she was traveling on constructions rather than in the wild. But it's more interesting if Fiona finds the trail, so....))
Regardless of whether Fiona goes back to the main library or to the council chamber, she quickly catches Tranquillina's scent, probably only about 10 minutes old (not surprisingly). She follows her nose up the stairs to the highest level of the regio castle, emerging at the top of the structure's highest watchtower. From here, one can keep an eye on the path leading to the mansion itself (there's Fiona's cottage, not too far away) and even make out the Tribunal village across the long stone bridge; one can also see nearly to the top of the mountain, or crane one's neck and spot a little bit of the valley river far below.
When Fiona walks onto the floor of the watchtower, her quarry's scent is still as strong as ever. But she does not see Tranquillina there - only one of the grogs, looking at Fiona.
((Fiona's cottage is easy to spot, even without the garden surrounding it on all sides. It's got a vibrant, bright yellow roof so Moire can find it – she has No Direction Sense.))
Awareness: Per 0 + Awareness 3 + die roll of 9 = 12.
((The post where Alexei leaves the council room and heads for the library came after Loys was in, it's the last post on page 25 of this thread, the spell cast on Loys was page 26, so it was a matter of moments, or perhaps simultaneous, plus he could have heard about it. That's all I can say about it, that was smack in the midst of the problems with the website so my posting was quite wonky. It's not necessary for Alexei to argue it...he's also rather oblivious))
"Cumhachd. Cumhachd! Don't leave! Not like this, I don't want to be your enemy! Do not leave, let us settle affairs peaceably, it will not end just by leaving."
((Not going to interpose or physically try to stop her, just want to try and settle this before she leaves. Alexei knows there's more to this than he's aware of and she's right, he can't just attack her))
Well, it's as plan as the nose on the grog's face that he's trying to hide some knowledge from Fiona. Even without that clue, though, Fiona probably would have noticed a shadow lying along the base of one of the walls. While elongated by the late sun, it is definitely not the shadow of a pillar or any part of the building - too unevenly shaped, almost organic; strangely, the spot from which the shadow emanates does not contain anything visible that might be casting the shadow.
Fiona stands by the grog for a moment, looking out toward the tribunal village, then whispers [color=blue]"Perhaps you should keep watch over the valley for a few minutes."
Assuming he has the sense God gave a goose and leaves, Fiona goes and sits on the ground near where the shadow's feet seem to be, not acknowledging that she's seen anything.
Once she's gotten herself comfortable, she watches the sunset. [color=blue]"Let's talk about it," she says in a conversational tone.
Fortunately the sunset isn't so imminent that anyone is in danger of having their Parma Magica lapse. The grog honks himself away to the far side of the platform, and Fiona and the shadow share a moment of silence before her invitation to talk.
"What's there to talk about?" Tranquillina's voice manifests, speaking Gaelic. She sounds upset, to be sure, but sort of a latent and broadly-based distress, rather than upset specifically at Fiona. "I warned everyone that that scheming shrew was here to cause us harm, and it didn't take her long to prove me right. I wouldn't be surprised if she found a way for that golden vis to comprise a trap of some sort...." Two shadowy arms separate from the main umbra, gesturing momentarily on the floor in a manner impossible to interpret. "What was found in Apollodorus's sanctum?"
[color=blue]"Yes...that could have been handled better, by all concerned. For my part, I apologize for not taking your concerns more seriously. I mistook your...lack of a cogent argument for a groundless one. Perhaps that was what she intended, that she knew that her presence here would throw you into a tizzy. On the other hand...she is a Tytalus, and I can only hope that this conflict will make you, and us, stronger. It seems to me that she has pointed out some weaknesses that need to be addressed before the storm hits. And you are right, although I'm not sure what you expect to find when we examine the vis for...a trap of some kind."
Fiona shifts to look at where she thinks Tranquillina's face is. [color=blue]"But that still doesn't explain, or excuse, what happened with Loys. Did she somehow know that Loys was Gifted before she came? I don't remember you ever mentioning it to any of us. And it must have been one hell of a row for him to leave your bed for her lab. But after what you did to him in the Council Chambers...it's going to be very awkward, for both of you, if and when you decide to claim him back. What were you thinking?" The last isn't said in an accusatory tone, but merely curious.
[color=blue]"The better question is what wasn't found: Apollodorus's Control."
Even though it's not very impressive for a shadow to be grimly silent - that's pretty much their default mode - it is nevertheless appropriate here: Tranquillina's shadow takes the news with grim silence.
The shadow rotates along its axis, and Tranquillina's voice seems to be aimed more directly at Fiona. "You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaims with unexpected force. "Have you been supernaturally transformed into a Tytalus golem-servant of some sort? Or did you fail to shield your mind from the cloying lies she tells people eager for a good story? 'Oh yes, Merchant Captain, I killed your crew and plundered your cargo hold, but it was friendly, see, I just was pointing out weaknesses. Wouldn't want you to get pirated!'" A final snort acts as punctuation.
"Why in the name of the Founders would I claim that boy back?" the voice continues, as the shadow puts a hand to its head. "Even before he betrayed this covenant, he decided to abandon the duties in my laboratory completely, without notice, on his own whim. A tool that doesn't serve its purpose is of no use to me. Not even the vilest creature truly deserves a lifetime with Cumhachd the hag, but he comes close." The profile of a face appears on the side of the shadow's head, as it looks over its shoulder. "And his duties were all in my laboratory, not my private chambers. Although your assumption surprises me not in the least."
Fiona sighs. [color=blue]"Maybe I'm naïve. I'm just trying to figure out what happened, and why. I'm wondering why she would come all the way here, drive you to distraction, gift the rest of us with bribes or well-thought-out gifts, however you want to describe them, and make enemies of an entire covenant – including the Tribunal's chief hoplite – just for a book. I can't believe that Control is the finest book on Rego in the whole Order. It doesn't add up...not to me, anyway. And I don't think she came for the book and Loys. The only one who would have known he was Gifted was you, and I think it's safe to say you didn't tell her."
Fiona looks surprised. [color=blue]"That does clear up a couple of things. Although I'm surprised, given the way he obviously felt about you. It's not how I would have handled working with a Gifted individual who was in love with me, but..." Fiona shrugs. [color=blue]"Oh, and that wasn't merely my assumption. That was also the assumption of about half the covenant, from what I hear."
The gradually lengthening shadow stays still and silent for a while. Invisibly, Tranquillina tries to collect herself a little bit: she sent a pretty good volley of wounded anger at Fiona, and the giantess absorbed it all without firing back. Of course she can't say anything about the agreement she and Cumhachd struck, the escalating cycle of hostility with Bilera's death as its goal. And she's definitely not going to admit that she didn't know Loys was Gifted. (Fiona's assertion that Loys was in love with Tranquillina actually doesn't sink in until much later in the evening.) So it's hard to find something relevant to talk about.
Finally, she offers a weary comment. "Fiona ... you might have to just trust my judgment a little bit. I'm not completely ..." She leaves the sentence dangling unfinished.
Fiona smiles, and in spite of everything that's gone on the past couple of days, it still seems warm and friendly, the crow's feet wrinkling at the corners of her eyes.
[color=blue]"I know. I was just surprised at everything that's happened. It's been...an interesting couple of days. And none of us, I think are exactly what we seem. We just have to believe in each other, or else none of this," she waves a hand to encompass the entire covenant, [color=blue]"means a thing."
Fiona will sit silently and watch the sunset. [color=blue]"This is very beautiful, up here," she ventures at one point. [color=blue]"I'll have to remember this spot."
She waits until after the sun sets to perform her Parma ritual, then gets to her feet.[color=blue]"I'm going down to get something warm inside me," she says. [color=blue]"Are you going to stay up here, or are you headed home?"
She smiles at the guard and gives him a wink as she heads toward the stairs and goes back to her cottage.
Alexei heaves a sigh as he looks about him, the mess of her departure and picks through the debris and scattered materials, seeing if there's anything left. After about a minute the spell wears off and he shrinks back to normal. Not finding anything in particular he waits at the site so as not to leave it unguarded for clues.
((Most likely he'll be here for a bit, I just don't want to leave the scene unguarded. He'll poke around until he's relieved and/or others arrive.))
((Oh ok, for some reason I had pictured a kind of blast off or something))
Once the villa was determined to be clean at least to his eyes, Alexei returns to the covenant, the meeting hall and from there heads to Apollodorus's chambers.
"Hmm," Tranquillina's voice murmurs. It's possible that her shadow's head nods up and down slightly. Then it inclines upward, as if it is trying to see up over the low tower wall to the landscape beyond.
"It's pretty, aye; also, truly a good spot for watching the surroundings." The shadow, its head still inclined, leans forward a little. "Speaking of believing in one another: I have something I need to do. Fare ye well, friend. We can decide tomorrow what to do about the stolen books." The unanticipated feeling of a hand patting Fiona's shoulder startles her greatly. A few seconds later, the shadow disappears, a light breeze passing Fiona towards the corner where its feet were.
((Sorry to negate your version: Tranquillina stayed up there about 15 minutes total, but needed to leave before sunset. You can make an Awareness roll to see if Fiona spots the reason Tranquillina left at that particular moment; but it's going to be a pretty high EF - Tranquillina has the advantage of Eyes of the Eagle at the moment.))
((Probably not going to happen, but it's worth a shot. Per 0 + Awareness 3 + die roll of 8 = 11.))
Fiona doesn't quite start at Tranquillina's touch, but she does frown after her leaving, thinking that her farewell sounded somewhat final, in a way. She continues to watch the sun set, wondering idly who she should share this vista with; her mind keeps coming back to Korvin, for some reason, and she determines to drag him up here at the next opportunity.
(Grrr, been able to read posts, somewhat, but this is the first time the replier page has loaded in a while....))
((cunningrat is still busy and we have a scene to play out the night of Cumhachd's theft/departure. But to keep something moving, I'll timey-wime....))
The next morning, after raising her Parma and breaking her fast, Tranquillina retrieves Loys's lock of hair from her laboratory and goes to the Princeps's office, hopefully not disturbing anyone working therein. She finds a small map of Europe, hopefully no larger than a large folio page, and places it on a desk in front of her. She then casts The Inexorable Search in dramatic fashion, slowly moving her fingers back and forth across the face of the map. She's hoping to learn which Tribunal Loys is in, at least, perhaps even a quarter-area of a Tribunal or so.
((Hopefully Cumhachd won't be covering Loys with her Parma - it's not necessary for social reasons, at least, since they're both Gently Gifted. I'm not expecting them to be within an Aegis either. Still, here's the penetration calculation.
Sta -3 + In 6 + Co 29 + Mastery 1 + Talisman attunement (Corpus) 3 + words/gestures 2 + aura 5 + stress die 9 = 52.
Penetration is 52 - spell level 20 + bonus (Penetration 2 + Mastery 1) * (1 + lock of hair 3 + name 1) = 47.))
))