Near the end of the Tribunal and Tourney[1], Reynault suddenly arrives and gives Fiona a piece of scrolled parchment. Reynault had been staying at Mons Electi overseeing operations while all the participating magi were at the Tribunal, so such a delivery is important, given the cost of rapid transport from Mons Electi. It bears the mark of Drystan, and was sent by a Redcap. Reynault said that the Redcap indicated it was urgent and was well paid to deliver it quickly.
It is dated June 18, 1221, which is 11 days ago
[i]Fiona,
A giant called Angus has been badly injured a few days ago. It appears that there was a battle with a rival clan of giants. I could use your assistance, and he has requested your presence.
Drystan of Merinita[/i]
[1]Competing in the Certamen challenge or other challenges will still be possible. Ivor happens to be with Fiona, as well.
[color=blue]"Thank you, Reynault," she says when he delivers the letter. She waits until he leaves before she opens and reads it.
She then looks at Ivor. [color=blue]"Angus has been injured," she says in Scots as she tucks the letter deep inside her luggage. [color=blue]"I assume you will be coming with me?"
She then seeks out Korvin. [color=blue]"Pardon me, sodalis, but may I trouble you for a few moments of your time?"
Fiona finds Korvin in discussion in several Redcaps near the stables. Once Korvin see her waiting he clasps on of the Redcaps on the shoulder and ends the conversation with a laugh and smile. Stepping away from the group he approaches her.
Korvin looks off into space for a moment in thought.
"There is a Portal from here to Astolat." He says slowly as he gathers his thought. "You would of course need permission from Le Maison d'Levrier to use it. Otherwise you could go back to Harco and ask to use a portal that would get you to one of the Scottish Covenants. Sorry that I'm not familiar with them. That would be more expensive but get you to Loch Leglean rather than Stonehenge . You would also have to negotiate with the Portal Master in Harco. Her name is Sevrin. "
Korvin is thoughtful for another moment.
"If you go to Harco come and find me before you leave. I may be able to help a bit."
Korvin motions for Fiona to follow him and sets off to the stalls where various magi and companions from the Tribunal ( and beyond) are displaying various wares and services. He finds a rather large tent with many members of House Mercere working, among other things, exchanging vis, cataloging and trading books and for Korvin's propose, trading in more mundane items. He goes to a corner where a bookish looking man is writing in a very large ledger. He is helping a young mage and several other are waiting for his attention but as soon as he sees Korvin waiting for him he goes out to bring him up to the counter.
(in french)
"Master Korvin. I did not expect to see you here."
"Hugues! I was hoping to find you here. You are looking well."
"Thanks to you Master Korvin." Hugues gets up and bows low. "What can I help you with?"
"I'm looking for a jug of sweet wine."
"For your friend" Hugues says looking at Fiona.
"In a way. It is a bribe for the Portal Master."
"Sevrin? I mighty have just the thing."
Hugues goes back into the stack of goods and emerges a short while later with a sealed jug of wine.
"This is from a Benedictine monastery in Champagne. Light and sweet. She will love it."
"Thank you my friend. What do I owe you for this?"
"Nothing. Nothing. It is a gift. Sevrin would have gotten it anyway."
He shoos Korvin away and goes to talk to the next customer.
Korvin goes to another table and borrows paper and pen and writes out a note. He seals it with his own seals produced from his traveling sack. Then he hands the jug of wine and letter to Fiona as they walk back to where the Portal to Harcco is located.
"When you come through you need to fine Sevrin, the Portal Master. She organizes all travel through the Portals in Harrco. She can be gruff when you break up her schedule but give her that message and the wine. She has a sweet tooth and likes the lighter wines. She will direct you to the correct Portal. You may still have to pay a token bit of vis even though I've asked her to put it under my name."
Fiona follows, with Ulrich in tow. The apprentice looks around, trying to see everything and everyone at once, a look of sheer awe on his face. He had never imagined that there were so many people in all the world, let alone in one place. He finds himself looking at the women longer than the men...looking at them makes him feel good for some reason.
Fiona follows along as best she can with her awesome score of 2 in French...she thinks she got the gist of it.
Fiona takes the jug and note. [color=blue]"And she will get me to Loch Leglean, then? Thank you, lad."
She turns to Ulrich. [color=blue]"You'll be traveling and studying with Korvin, here, for the rest of the summer. Behave yerself, and do as you're told." She then heads toward (and hopefully through) the portal, as Ulrich watches her leave.
The Hermes Portal from Le Maison d'Levrier to Harco is free to all Tribunal members. Once back at Harco (I'm assuming Ivor is coming with Fiona, I'm putting this out mainly as a reminder/request for anyone who wants to play him. Hint, Hint!). Fiona and Ivor observe Redcaps and others moving to and fro through the bustling covenant. The warehouses of Harco are before the pair and the Manor house where the administration of the House is conducted is off to the left. There is a page standing nearby looking at Fiona expectantly.
"Are you sure?" The page's face goes bleak when Fiona mentions her name. Fiona doesn't back down (assuming) and he relents, and leads you to her office in one of the warehouses. He knocks on the door and is greeted with a "What is it?" that sounds exapserated. He enters by himself and an animated conversation ensues, but it is muffled. The pops out and he waves Fiona in. Fiona finds herself in a very cramped office, and has to stoop or squat because the ceiling is quite low, as the space above her office is devoted to storage.
"Yes, Maga, what can I do for you? I have a schedule to keep and these interruptions put me behind. I have a delegations from the Normandy Tribunal arriving throughout the day, as well as two delegations from the Levant, and all that plus our regular schedule."
She stoops to keep from pressing her head against the ceiling. [color=blue]"Aye, I'm sure that dealing with people traipsing through your portals day and night can be a bit taxing on the nerves. Perhaps this might help." Fiona places the jug on Severn's desk, then hands her the letter from Korvin.
Her mood brightens a bit, but not much. "You come well prepared. I like that. Makes my life easier." She pours a glass from the jug, not offering you any, and then looks at the note with Korvin's seal on it. "So a friend of Korvin, huh. Where do you need to go, is it a one-way trip or do you need return service? Will you need any additional services from us? Do you perhaps need a loan of vis?" Her nose begins twitching, and you get the sense that the reason she's the Portal Master is that she could sell ice to Scandinavians.
[color=blue]"I would like to return via the portal, but I'm not certain how long I will be there. And I don't believe I'll be needing any additional vis."
[color=blue]"I'm headed to the Highlands. And, unless I am mistaken, I would be wanting a portal to get me there. Unless there is direct transport available? What are my options, Portal Master?"
"I'm not sure of your ultimate destination. I can get you to our Mercere House in Edinburgh. If you have an arcane connection to your destination we have some devices that we can use to transport you à la Leap of Homecoming. That would cost a smidgen more, of course..." Her nose starts twitching in earnest, and she drains her glass.
[color=blue]"Now that ye mention it, lass, I just happen to have an arcane connection to a place near my destination here." She reaches into her pouch and pulls out the rock she had pulled from Insula Canaria and lays it on the table.
"Tell you what... I like you, for 6 pawns of Vim we can get you to your destination with that arcane connection, and then we'd throw in a return trip through Edinburgh's portal back to here, and a portal back to wherever you need to go from there."
Fiona looks thoughtful. [color=blue]"I don't have six pawns of Vim. I do have...let's see...I have two pawns of Muto and a couple of sachets of magical plants and herbs that can effectively replace two pawns of vis in healing rituals, if they're used by the autumn equinox."
"Muto, huh? Not too keen on that stuff. Not a lot of call for it. We can extend credit, like I mentioned. Very favorable terms..." Fiona knows that Vim vis is the basic currency of vis, and that values for other forms and techniques of vis are based on their relative value to vim vis.