((Wasn't sure what mechanic to use for how well she remembers her words; it was over a year prior. Decided on a random Int roll: Int 3 + stress die 7 = 10. Now what the hell does that mean.... ))
Tranquillina blinks for a moment, not getting the context; then she remembers the huge kiss that Fiona planted on her at the beginning of their "race" down the mountain from Stultus's sanctum. "Well," she answers, "I think I made a 'fast' quip at Fiona's expense. Then I let Gerulf know how our vis tour would continue ... I believe the last thing I said was, 'Wish me luck.'" She finds that she has a hard time remembering how that vis tour actually turned out, after her race against Fiona. ((Yes, this is an OOC-driven in-joke ))
Stultus starts to lean against the wall of the crack, realizes just in time that that would break the circle, and straightens up again. "In that case, your friend carried off the deception in the council chamber with panache, elan, sangfroid, a certain amount of je ne sais quoi and several other French words. I was not deceived, of course," he says with an airy wave (lying through his teeth, 'cause he totally bought it) "but I would be willing to bet everyone else was."
((I'm going to make a roll-vs-roll out of your little lie there Per 2 + Folk Ken 3 + stress die 0 (no botch) = 5. Well then.))
"Primarily," she responds, "because you and Cumhachd have that inscrutible Tytalus love triangle going, with chaos as your mutual paramour. You need to know what we are trying to do here, so that the responses you choose are largely helpful to our eventual goal: to cause so much inter-Tribunal trouble that a special Tribunal meeting must be called, with Bilera presiding." Tranquillina faces the blank rock as she speaks the Prima's name, her expression invisible. "And also because otherwise you would repeatedly tell me to butt out of the conflict which will escalate between her and me, which would annoy me, even without the 'repeatedly'. And," she inhales deeply before finishing, "because the actions I select need to be well tailored, both in appearance and in effectiveness to our private goal - I trust that my dealing with Loys was calibrated appropriately - and, hmm, perhaps your experiences would make your counsel useful." Tranquillina peers out of the narrow crack to the reddening sky beyond, as if keeping watch in case someone flies past.
(( Not rolling against you. You can have a success, I think it'll advance the story. ))
Stultus hmms. "Well, the othermenage-a-trois we have going is the one between Cumhachd, myself, and you, as disturbing as that mental image is. That one is insanely complex from a Tytalus standpoint -- enough so that I can slant it in a number of different ways and not lose plausible deniability. Here's the fascinating part, though. You are cooperating with Cumhachd towards a larger goal... I would assume because the goal is acceptable to you. However, assassination is not your modus operandi, so it was her idea. What did she tell you? What was her reasoning for why Bilera needs to die?"
((Cumhachd never stated why Bilera must die, just that she intended to kill Bilera. Tranquillina was much more interested in the particulars of the plan. Some of this can be sussed out by the players/characters, since I've established that Valerian is Bilera's filius. No, Bilera is not an exemplar, don't go down that road. But what's so interesting here, if you guys want to play it out a bit, is, to paraphrase Sara Bareilles, that Tranquillina jumped on board with Cumhachd and rode off into her delusional sunset.))
(( Stultus isn't sure it's delusional -- there may be perfectly good reasons why Bilera delenda est, and he knows some of them. But a statement like 'come help us assassinate the Guernicus Prima' requires a leettle bit more explanation before he blithely commits to it. ))
"Well, one thing she told me...." Tranquillina pauses, for quite a long moment, rubbing her chin as she looks deep into the darkness. "Yes, this is probably good for me to tell you, as the rest of Mons Electi ought to know this, but they will not be so receptive to me for a time." She places her hands behind her back and adopts a lecturing style, making frequent eye contact with Stultus to ensure that he is with her. "Apparently there are individuals, who have come to be called 'Exemplars', corresponding to the various Hermetic Arts, or at least to a majority of Arts. Apollodorus was the Exemplar of Rego, for example. An Exemplar has unprecedented facility with his or her associated Art - enough to write the world's most powerful summa, for example; enough to spontaneously cast most spells that you or I could barely learn through seasons of study; enough to overcome the magic resistance of even a specialist. Cumhachd, for example, moved me instantaneously out of her villa with but a touch on the arm, despite my years of study of Corpus; she is that Form's Exemplar." Something about this last statement seems to make Tranquillina very sad.
"And unfortunately, as you are already piecing together as I speak: Valerian is the Exemplar of Terram. I could not get Cumhachd to tell me how these Exemplars come to be, but that they do exist is what concerns us here. And Apollodorus is not the first Exemplar whom Valerian has slain: Cumhachd tells me there were two before him. So much potential for the Order, lost forever...." Her face is an angry mask. "Valerian is also tracking down the Exemplar of Vim, whose identity Cumhachd also withheld from me - probably wise. And, he has caught Cumhachd's scent as well."
"Which leads us to the whys of the matter." Tranquillina crosses her arms across her chest, blocking the view of her Bonisagus insignia, as she continues. "In my opinion, Valerian's quest to eliminate the other Exemplars is not a fully sanctioned part of House Guernicus's global plan of domination. The House tolerates his personal power plays because he eliminates possible threats against them; but his hamhandedness makes it harder for them to sow the seeds of their schemes in secret. So we are fighting two related wars here: first, the war against Guernicus, who fears the knowledge we possess of their corruption past and present; second, the war against Valerian, who holds a grudge against Mons Electi on account of Apollodorus, and who also now targets your mater - as well, apparently, as Tria Trianomae, who remains important to me."
"You know well that in intrigue - like in battle, as they say - she who reacts is already losing. These wars are in progress whether we wish it or no. And if we want to defend ourselves ... if we want to survive ... then we should take the battle to them, on our own terms. I admit to being the very last maga to expect Cumhachd as an ally on this matter, but she wishes to strike a blow for our side. And Valerian will be present as well, if all goes according to plan, which should allow Mons Electi a chance to deal with him also. Let them defend multiple fronts for a change, instead of us." She stops speaking, temporarily out of steam, and quite out of breath as well.
Stultus' eyebrows climb up as Tranquillina describes the Exemplars. "Corpus? Yeah, that fits." He holds up a hand, silently asking for a bit of time, and thinks for a minute or two, lips moving soundlessly.
"All right. This thing about Exemplars will need to be discussed with the other members of Mons Electi, and investigated further. How do they emerge? Do new ones emerge when an Exemplar of an Art is killed? How do they sense each other? What is the advantage to Valerian in eliminating others? However, the whole issue of Exemplars does not really answer my question.
What I'm hearing you say is as follows. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
The Quaesitori are an enemy of ours. Valerian is an enemy of Cumhachd's. So what Cumhachd is offering to do is to lay a trap for Bilera, dangling you as bait. Once Bilera bites, Cumhachd will show up and kill our enemy for us. Her enemy, Valerian, might show up as well, in which case we'd be expected to deal with him appropriately... but he doesn't have to show up. So Cumhachd essentially wants your help in a plan that -- while twisting the Code into a pretzel -- might not benefit her personal plans any.
That's not the Cumhachd we know and love -- or detest, as the case may be. There's got to be more to the story."
Instinctively Tranquillina wants to start having a theoretical discussion about the possible genesis of Exemplars, but Stultus strong-arms the conversation back around to intrigue before she can make any headway in that direction. "No, I mean, I did not mean to imply that Cumhachd's desire to slay Bilera was presented as a, er, a present to Mons Electi. It definitely seemed like her personal goal. Why does she want Bilera dead? Personally, I do not care."
"I mean - of course I care," she interrupts Stultus's quick rejoinder, "in that I understand that her motivations can also lead to other actions which might behoove us to predict. So it is a question worth asking, although I have no insight into it. But as for Bilera's death in and of itself ... I need not know Cumhachd's motivation to acknowledge the benefits of the act itself."
Tranquillina stretches her arms and back a little bit, trying to use what space is available to her inside the ring with another magus. She grows a little pensive at Stultus's description of her as the bait of the trap. The whole situation is the bait, isn't it? she rationalizes. She finds herself reviewing tactics available to her for escaping from deadly situations that could arise. Or ... might well the Quaesitors sentence me maliciously...? she gulps inwardly.
"What benefits would that be?" asks Stultus quietly. "I don't know that they are as great as you'd think."
He murmurs something, casting a spontaneous spell. A quiet tinkling of bells -- his wizard's sigil -- fills the small space, shortly followed by a pile of straw that flumps into being at the dwarf's feet. He sits down, patting the straw next to him to invite Tranquillina to do likewise.
(( CrHe, base 1, +1 touch, +2 Sun, +2 Group -- level 10. Cr 7, He 6, Sta 0, Aura 5, roll of 1 then 6 = 30. Spell cast. I really like the Unseen Servant, it seems to throw lots of ones at me.))
"First man I ever killed was a guard captain, a truly reprehensible individual at the court of... eh, the details don't matter. Dark night, tall tower, narrow stair, simple Creo Aquam spell, all adding up to a conveniently broken neck. I thought my troubles were over -- and they were, for a short while, until a replacement for him was promoted. The new guy was, if anything, worse than the old one. Worse yet, the people I was trying to protect in the first place got blamed for it."
"Bilera is a problem, yes. But the consequences of her death -- no, the consequences of her assassination -- may be worse than the status quo, instead of better. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. I'm not saying we should do it. I'm saying we should consider both choices carefully before we act."
Tranquillina regards the pile of straw, or perhaps simply sitting in close proximity to Stultus, with a bit of suspicion. But after a moment (hopefully not too long a moment) of reflection, she remembers that the magus willingly walked into her spell circle a few minutes ago - maybe she should show a little appreciation and trust in return. She crosses her legs as she sits down opposite him, checking carefully to make sure her cloak is covering her lap and knees.
"Of course this deserves careful consideration. But we have plenty of time. Cumhachd is thinking on a scale of years, not weeks. For the time being, it is enough to concentrate on this fact: she believes that Bilera should be killed. And consequently, she will be acting against me - and potentially you as well, thanks to this triangle." Somehow Tranquillina's two hands manage to motion to herself, Stultus, and a protrusion on the rock face to one side that presumably is standing in for Cumhachd. "We must be ready, not just to guess what she might do, but also, ideally, with a small menu of possible responses already considered."
"And I agree that the consequences of participating in an assassination within the Order can be dire," she adds to address his other point, "and not to be taken lightly. I submit, however, that the consequences of Bilera's death ... well, while it is a theoretical possibility that it would worsen matters, I find the chances of that to be so small as to be worth neglecting." The last few words are said through gritted teeth.
Stultus' eyes narrow. "I would disagree. I would further submit that your personal animosity towards Bilera may be clouding your judgment in this instance. But, as you've said, we should have a bit of time to work that out."
He picks up a small handful of straw, absently working them one by one into the back of his hair. "Cumhachd's next move, since she's trying to lure Bilera here, would be to act through the Quaesitori. Probably bring a case against you: anything from denying her food and firewood to damaging her apprentice. I wish you'd chosen a different venue to give her that opening, but it's certainly an opening large enough for her purposes. So our response would probably need to be a counter-case. Maybe several: one from the covenant as a whole for the stealing of the book, one from you personally for intentional infliction of emotional distress, thereby denying you the presence of mind needed for magical work." He shrugs. "I didn't say they had to be good cases, or winnable ones. Cases that would be laughed out of court might actually serve our purposes better: Bilera is a vindictive bitch, and ludicrous cases that waste the Quaesitori's time might be just the thing that lures her out to personally administer a spanking."
((For clarity which book is Stultus referring to when he says "the book?" Cumhachd stole two. And 10 pawns of terram might be deemed a reasonable compesation for a Magic Theory text, especially when a better quality text is still in the covenant's possession. Acknowledging the other book is problematic. Stultus may realize he's also being carefully manipulated by Cumhachd's actions here.))
Tranquillina shrugs, but says nothing, when the act of hurting Loys comes up in passing. "This incident is just the beginning. Cumhachd said, flat out, that she wants to escalate things over the course of the next few years. So while it is appropriate to consider the ramifications of recent actions to Tribunal cases, we cannot ignore the fact that more indicents are on the horizon." She frowns. "Why would she take the Magic Theory tome, anyway? I mean, it is a good summa, but many of us know almost everything therein anyway. It is not a crucial resource to us - nor, particularly, to her, I imagine, even though she is no Bonisagus."
(( The magic theory one, of course. Ten pawns of Terram might be deemed a reasonable compensation, yes, but (a) she didn't ask and (b) the point of this exercise isn't really to get the book back. At least not THAT one.))
(( I repeat -- this isn't about returning the book. I don't know how we're going to get the Rego book back. I have an idea, but it's unlikely to work, so I hope someone comes up with a better one.))
Stultus considers. "I think she's trying to, as usual, kill several birds with one stone. It's a pretext for us to escalate actions against her. It's pointing out three separate flaws in our security procedures: she was able to take the book, she knew a better book was available to us, and she knew the types of vis we were short on. It's a good resource for Loys to study from... and there may be something I'm missing."
))
))
Per 2 + Folk Ken 3 + 
But a statement like 'come help us assassinate the Guernicus Prima' requires a leettle bit more explanation before he blithely commits to it. ))
))