1205 Spring - Late Arrivals (Story)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Heir of Laimunt Valley
41

Regulus gets pensive at that. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before settling at no answer at all.

"Well... I was told the changes only affect unnused areas of the covenant, but I haven't been here for more than a couple of weeks... Clusius or Julius will know it better than me. But regarding the reasons other magi have for not joining... who knows for sure?"

Regulus gives Celeste an appreciative look after her reply, thanking silently for the opportunity to direct the conversation elsewere... and then paying attention, since the matter turned serious. He glances once more at the ghost behind Celeste, connecting the dots, before saying:

"I can't say I'm experienced in investigating murders, but if you need any help, please ask. I'm sure your mother will be happy when you find the culprit."

"I suppose you have already tried the standard methods? Whispers Through the Black Gate... Or perhaps summoning your mother's ghost and asking?"

A few servants of the covenant seem to overhear the grim conversation, and the noise drops down (even more) on that side of the table.

42

Alba took her silence to mean that she had not explained herself properly.

"I mean, I understood that Argos didn't got any punishment and Simon is being punished. It's that right?" - she insisted.

"Just give her an answer... ANY answer. Or she will never stop asking." - said Stella without even opening her eyes.

"..." - Alba looked at her cat and her cheeks blushed - "Y-you don't need to answer if you don't want..." - she added unsure of what she did wrong but without wanting to be annoying towards the magus.

When the conversation turned to the death of Celeste's mother, Alba fell silent again, since that was a topic very personal for Celeste. So Alba took the opportunity to continue eating while the others were distracted.

43

"I don't know Whispers through the Black Gate, as I haven't had the chance to learn it, but I have studied Mentem magic, and have gained some useful information from it. As you can see, my mother's ghost is close and dear to me, but she's not always the most coherent. " Noting the servants overhearing some of the conversation, she gives a smile "Maybe this is not the proper setting for such a conversation. We can discuss this further at a later time."

She puts a hand on Alba's shoulder "My dear, if Argos is to be Regulus' apprentice, and Simon is his servant, it is well his right to decide what to do. And it is not mistreatment. Not even close. If you think he's treated them wrong, you should make a reasonable argument, and ask it with an open mind, and a less blunt way. We are Sodales, and should behave cordially at the very least. And if we can work together in greater harmony, so much the better." Her tone is calm and nice, not as an admonishment, but as friendly advice.

44

Celeste could feel Alba tense under her hand. She always reacted like that when she was touched without expecting it. From what Alba had told her in the past, it wasn't that she was scared, but that it bothered her.

Alba turned and glanced sideways at her hand. Celeste felt how she slowly relaxed again as the maga focused on her and what she was saying.

"B-but I didn't say that they were being m-mistreated... I-I just wanted to u-understand others' methods... W-what did I say wrong?" - Alba's tone sounded as usual despite the slight stutter, and her expression was as serious as ever, yet her face grew redder and redder. She turned towards Regulus - "I-I'm s-sorry i-if I said something inappropriate."

Stella raised her head, taking in the scene. The large cat looked to Celeste.

"What are you babbling about? He punished the wrong child and Alba pointed it out to him. So what?" - Stella said into a brusque tone, as it was usual in her.

"Stella, p-please..." - Alba tried to stop the cat knowing that her way to talk would make everything even worse.

"Mmph... Whatever, I'm just a cat, ignore me." - she said, lowering her head and curled up again.

"I-I'm s-sorry..." - Alba repeated in a low voice. Her face still didn't change, but she lowered her hands under the table and looked even smaller than before.

45

Cleste quickly removed her hand, and speaks to Stella "She pointed it out, that's true, but she did so in a way that can be construed as accusatory, and that would do nothing but serve to alienate a possible ally. And no, you're not JUST a cat. You are a friend, and your opinions matter, but what I was getting at is that there's many ways to present a question, and some of them are likely to bring better results, and inspire more a conversation."

Lencor picks up a juicy sausage, and drops it close to her.

46

Stella slowly got up and walked to the edge of the table.

"I will go to sleep into a quieter place." - she said before jumping to the ground and walking slowly towards the door.

Alba looked alternately at the cat and the magis.

"S-she is Stella." - she said to fill the silence - "I named her like that because even though she has a mixed-color fur like someone mixed several cats in a cauldron, she has this white spot on her forehead... like, well, like a star." - she explained, using the same expression and tone she had throughout the conversation, even though it was obvious she was uncomfortable.

47

The lull in the conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a well-dressed man in his late twenties or early thirties, with light brown hair coming down to his jawline and bown eyes. He seems a bit winded, hurrying down the hall to join the magi. One of the sleeves of his tunic is dirty and dusty, but he seems not to have noticed. Regulus recognizes him as Clusius.

"Grettings, sodales,' he says with an animated voice, "Regulus, are these the new arrivals? You must be... Celeste and Alba, is that right? Of House Merinita? I'm Clusius. Or more formally, Qunitus Clusius of House Jerbiton, Princeps of the covenant of Tugurium. How was your travels? No trouble on the road?"

48

While the three magi were still talking, shortly after Stella left and Alba apologized:

"Thanks Celeste... But I think Alba and Stella are right." And then, turning to Alba:

"No offense taken. I'll keep your words in my mind in the future." Regulus makes a small appreciative gesture with his head.

"And Argos surely has his gifts, but not The Gift. I... he... I think he just needs some time to adapt. A good friend around his age, even a Gifted one, in case any of you had apprentices, could help... perhaps."

The room gets silent for a moment while before the magi turn the discussion to Celeste's mother, and then the grim subject brings the silence back for a few moments, until Clusius arrival. Regulus nods when asked if these are the new magas, but waits for them to answer the question that follows.

49

Celeste rises from her seat as Clusius begins to speak. "Pleased to meet you Clusius of Jerbiton." She nods at him, a show of respect. "That is correct, I am Celeste, and this" She gestures towards the other Maga seating "Is Alba, of House Merinita. And we're very pleased to meet you, after having gotten your letter about a year ago." She sits back down, and gestures for him to do the same, after all, it would be more comfortable if all four of them sat down. "The journey was very nice. We opted to stay away from roads, for the most part, as Lencor" And she gestures towards her Faerie friend "Isn't very appealing to mundanes. And with a simple spell, both of us could look like males, so as to avoid unwanted attention that might be given two ladies traveling."

50

Actually Alba had not wanted to make any point, she simply wanted to be sure that she had understood correctly and if so, his reasons to act like that. She just wanted to learn... on the other hand, she understood that Celeste was right. She shouldn't bully people with so many questions while being as inexpressive as she was... people used to take it as an aggression, it had happened to her before and she still fall into it.

However, she did not wish to touch the subject further. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, so as soon as Regulus seemed like he hadn't taken it the wrong way, she nodded and simply thanked him.
Then Alba remained silent during the rest of the conversation. She didn't even touch the food anymore, something very unlike her.

When another man arrived and introduced himself as Clusius, Alba almost welcomed the change of tone as she imitated Celeste and rose to her feet to greet him.
She watched him seriously with her intense gaze as Celeste made the introductions, bowing her head when Celeste mentioned her name. She found it cute that he arrived trying to hide that he had come running... surely he had been busy in the laboratory until recently. She was also struck by the quality and the beautiful colors of his tunic, it must be a very expensive clothes without a doubt... although surely something normal due to his position.
While Alba was looking at her clothes, she noticed that one of his sleeves was dusty... perhaps from the work she had been doing before. Alba was about to help him clean the sleeve out of inertia, but she stopped in time... maybe it wouldn't be good to attract more attention... On the other hand, she always followed the rule that someone had to do what they had to, no excuses, and as a maga... wasn't helping a sodales what she should do?

Meanwhile, Celeste explained them about her trick to travel in the shape of a man, though noticing that she didn't really explain a lot, Alba thought of giving more details to be part of the conversation.

"Technically not just look like, but we turned into..." - Alba explained - "But in my case I just used it the first day..." - she confessed.
Then, she took Clusius' hand and started to shake off carefully the dust from his sleeve.
She liked to be helpful and she wouldn't stop now just for fear to do anything wrong. Also, having an excuse to not look at the eyes to other people was a nice plus too.
"Not only did that body make me feel very weird, but also I'm... not very masculine or impressive, even as a male. I'm just too small and young looking." - explained, while she finally let go of Clusius's sleeve and sat down again - "And anyway, my normal look it's weird enough to avoid any interest from other men, so nobody tried to assault us and it was pretty uneventful travel. And one with very beautiful places and views. But nothing like this valley that you have here." - with her immovable face, maybe that sounded like she added it just for flattery, but she really meant it.

51

"So!" Clusius asks somewhat boisterously, unfazed by Alba's brushing off dust from his sleeve, "What do you think of our covenant site so far?"

52

"Too big, too ruined..." - Alba said, just being too honest and direct, as usual - "This building seems well, and I loved the paintings at the entrance, but all the others..." - she gestures with her hand placing it diagonally, implying the inclination of some towers - "With cracks, stones missing and dangerously close to falling... in any moment somebody can die there." - she looks towards Regulus - "I can imagine Argos going to play inside any of those buildings... and that worries me."

Then she took a piece of cheese and a bit of sausage and gave them to Clusius.

"Surely you already know, but if you mix those two into your mouth, the taste is just incredible."

And she continued her explanation.

"From what Julius said, I understand that surely those buildings were occupied and in good condition when Leonardus was well and alive... but now even this room seems too big..." - she looked around her - "It seems like there is a lot of work to do here if we want to recover its splendor... and overcome it. But that's also a great opportunity I think."

53

Clusius shakes his head with a smile, "Actually, it looks worse than it is. Those buildings aren't in ruins, far from it. They've just been neglected for a decade or three, depending on the building. Very few places are actually more dangerous than an average farm or city. And from what I've been able to put together, some of the buildings were never occupied in the first place. The servants all live pretty much in the same place they always did. The population of the valley has never been that large. Maybe two or three score."

"My grandpater seems to have had the idea of making the place a covenant at some point, so he built bigger than what he needed. But a later twilight episode seemes to have scrambled those plans in his mind, and he kept changing his instructions for the last ten years or so before his disappearance. Then, the place was left without instructions for seven years, until he was declared lost to final twilight. Julius did his best, but he lacked a vision of what was supposed to happen next. And the peculiar aura made things even more confused."

54

"Well, at this point I believe what is supposed to happen next will depend on your vision... Or our vision, maybe."

Regulus turns the the magas.

"Talking for myself, the code currently treats apprentices as if they were part of a magus' belongings. I'd like to change this, give apprentices rights of their own, just as magi have. I hope Tugurium can be a place to help me achieve that, and to make it a place enjoyable for magi and apprentices alike."

55

"Might I require, what is the nature of this peculiar aura? If we are to live here, we might as well know in advance what we're getting into. I don't mind the changing of things, but my friend here isn't very fond of the idea."

56

"It seems more attuned to change than is usual. Inanimate things and places which are left uninhabited tend to change or move around, in a somewhat chaotic fashion. Or, if there is a rhyme to them, I haven't figured it out yet."

"Sometimes it is beneficial. For example, I don't remember this hall being quite that large when I first visited. It is almost as if the covenant itself is adapting to the fact that we are more peop-le living here now. Other times it can be a bit confusing, so that the corridor you take to get from here to the library takes a flight of stairs that wasn't there before. Or a door is no longer in the same place. It occasionally means it takes me a bit more time getting from one place to another. I've gotten lost once or twice in the last year, but never for long. The covenfolk don't seem to have any problem with it -- they barely notice it anymore -- and seem to have developped an instinct that allows them to navigate the buildings efficiently."

"And I can already see your concern. What does it mean for our sancta and lab? Well, it seems that the effect is greatly muted when someone actually lives in a part of the covenant. Leonardus' suite of rooms, have barely changed since I moved into them. And the changes have been cosmetic -- the carpet has a slightly different pattern than it had last season, and I think the scene of the stained glass windows have changed."

57

"Interesting. Does this mean that the Aura is more attuned to the Art of Muto? or is it just a quirk of the Aura? Either way, I can live with it, and it would be fascinating to see it happen as time goes by."

"By the way, if there's any troubles with ghosts, I am pretty good at dealing with them."

"Might I inquire about the political situation of this place? It is an open valley, with a village, and I would thing the local lord has knowledge of the village. Unlike Irencillia, which is hidden in a foreboding forest."

58

Alba agreed with her head.

"That's good to know then."

"..." - Alba went very quiet for a moment - "So... Are you telling me that due to a twilight, Leonardus began to lose himself... his dreams, his ideas, everything... and that those buildings are like a monument to the slow vanishing of his mind? Maybe it's just me, but I find that very sad..." - she lowered her gaze to the table - "I mean, I'm sure that there is a lot to say from Leonardus. It must be hard to start a place like this alone, so I'm sure that he did a lot of important things before. But... ate the end, the first thing that I learnt about him is that he lost his mind." - she looked again to Clusius - "Uh... Sorry, I think I talked about things I shouldn't again."

"What do you mean?" - she asked to Regulus, tilting her head - "Oh! You mean that a magus can do whatever he wants to his apprentice following the actual rules? ... Yeah... I was lucky with my parens, but I've listened about an apprentice who was assaulted at night by his parens." - Alba shook her head - "I don't think that the purpose of the whole apprentice, master system was meant to be able to do that. I wish we could act better than that."

"From what you tell, it seems like the aura, or the covenant, has certain personality... like a laboratory with high warping... and if the only concern for our sanctum and lab are cosmetic changes like those... not only would I not find it bad, but I find it quite inspiring. The decorations changing with the passing of the seasons as if it were a natural cycle, following the mood of a covenant artist. I like it." - she said, nodding - "By the way... What's a stained glass?"

Alba listened to the new question from Celeste and she went quiet, listening.

59

"More of a quirk. I haven't noticed any additional benefit from the aura to the casting of Muto spells."

"As for the political situation, I am still in the process of learning the various peculiarities of the area. Technically, the whole valley -- not just this small one but the larger one out there -- is under the rule of a Burggraff. That's some sort of rank for a noble here in Germania, similar to a count. But Leonardus secured rights to this small valley, as well as the tax revenues from the village of Chastellion, just outside of it."

"The noble is from a family called the Telsbergs. I still don't know much about them, or what kind of relationship my grandpater had with the Burggraff. There must have been some sort of understanding between them, but I haven't found anything in the notes Leonardus left about the details."

"I barely knew my grandpater -- I met him maybe half a dozen times during my apprenticeship -- but he seemed nice enough. I never got the impression that he'd lost his mind. He spoke of odd things with my mater when they met -- but then how often did we not understand what full magi were talking about between themselves when we were apprentices?"

Clusius explains the material and what it is used for to some length, particularly as an artist would.

60

"Then, if you'd allow me, I would love to be of service and find out more about this deal, and about the noble family. I have a few spells that could help with that "And she raises her hand before any of them raises an objection "and don't worry, none of them will know that I have cast a spell in their midst.".