The letter would be an arcane connection, the ashes are not. And then there's the problem of penetration. Laetitia doesn't have enough penetration to get through to Fiona with the Aegis up. Note, I'm not going to do anything about a story along the way, travelwise, but it is travel and counts as off stage activity for adventure xp. It just takes time. Fiona ends up waiting over two weeks before Laetitia arrives.
Okay. She would ask Glaukopis to scout, and ride out as fast as she can. I picture Glaukopis as a small hawk owl, and they're not really fast fliers, so on horseback she should be able to pace him pretty well, and wouldn't gain any extra time by sending him ahead for an arcane connection.
Great thing about the Phantom Bridle (and why I went for multiple charges a day)- you can run them hard and not have to worry about exhausting or killing your mounts. Once one summoned mount is exhausted, you just abandon it and summon a fresh one.
Okay. Well, not knowing how soon our Advocate will arrive, Fiona will try her darnedest to keep busy. She will get busy on brewing a Healing Potion for Angus with her Mythic Herbalism. Int 1 + Mythic Herbalism (Creating Potions) 4 + die roll of 6 = 11, vs an Ease Factor of 9 to add +6 to his Healing Rolls for the next month. The potion takes three days to brew.
Once that's set in motion, Fiona will inquire about the Aegis of the Hearth. [color=blue]"I assume that, with Duncan having taken part in the one you have now, that we'll be wanting to cast a new one. Do we have the Vis to do so?"
Ordinarily, she's be chomping at the bit to go scout out where the attacks happened, but she also wants to be available when Laetitia arrives.
How are they fixed on Vis? Have they been able to harvest any of their Vis sources, or would they like her help in doing so if possible?
Laetitia arrives without incident.
Over the last couple of weeks a quick catalogue of missing items is uncovered, most of Faileas lab, and a few lab texts on arts, one especially good one on Rego. The one on Parma (assuming such a tome exists here) was not taken. Although, Faileas, or Duncan as Faileas had checked out for about 6 months.
The new Aegis was recast almost immediately after securing the books, once the books were secured with a ward and an Aegis, Doinean and Ion discuss a longer term alternative.
[color=blue]"When treating with Faileas," Fiona says, her fingers making air quotes at the name, [color=blue]"he said that 'our canaries have died,' and I agreed to get us new canaries. I'm assuming that meant that I was to try to bring new blood into the covenant. Now, I know that I wasn't actually dealing with Faileas. But, looking at your situation...with Duncan and Faileas gone, with only the three of you left, and him taking a good part of the library with him..." Fiona sighs.
[color=blue]"Despite how I left, Insula Canaria will always be a part of me, even if Mons Electi is my home now. Do you think there's any hope for the covenant? I'm willing to uphold my end of the bargain I thought I had made with Faileas if so. But, ultimately, it's not my decision to make."
Fiona is trying very hard to keep her voice and face neutral, to keep from influencing their decision. Com 2 + Guile (Hiding true feelings) 3 + die roll of 2 = 7. So it's likely that they will be able to tell that she will be heartbroken if Insula Canaria were to become a thing of the past. But she does wait quietly for their answer.
"Given what little I know of the circumstances, I should like to have an Aegis token prior to entering the covenant grounds," Laetitia requests of whomever greets her upon arrival.
(How Laetitia acts next will depend on how the Peripheral Code handles advocates and confidentiality.)
"Faileas held us in winter, keeping us from being reborn in spring. If we are to have a spring, we will have to learn to govern ourselves, something we've always deferred to Faileas. I'm unsure as to what Duncan could've meant by the canaries analogy. There is a potential apprentice I might take," Ion says. "I think we are all capable of finding new blood, we just acceded to Faileas desires not to take one."
I'm inclined to handle Hermetic jurisprudence like US jurisprudence. She's an officer of the court, she must zealously represent her clients. She cannot knowingly take part in illegal activities as part of any defense or advocacy. She can know that her clients have broken the code, and represent them, but cannot present a false defense. So, may take two approaches, don't ask what was done in specifics, and defend on legalities and technicalities or know everything and create a defense or recommend a plea of guilty and a request for leniency.
[color=blue]"Thank you for coming to our aid, Laetitia," Fiona says as she hands her an Aegis token. [color=blue]"Please, join us in the council chambers as we explain what happened, as best as we can tell."
As they walk, Fiona will speak, and continue speaking until after they settle in the chambers (where Fiona will settle into her accustomed seat at the foot of the table).
[color=blue]"I received an urgent message from my sodalis, here," she motions to Drystan, [color=blue]"telling me that my cousin had been gravely wounded, and that Angus had asked for me. I got here as quickly as I could, and found my clan encamped outside the covenant, and was told that Insula Canaria had refused to answer their pleas for help.
"Once here, we found reason to believe that I had become...well, during the Certamen tournament, something happened that we felt had caused me to become at least partially infected by my opponent's lycanthropy. This was only three or four days before the full moon. We (Drystan and I) felt that it would be best if I were warded during the time of the change, for my protection as well as everyone else's. Such warding would have required the efforts of all the magi of the Covenant. Drystan, Ion, Faileas, and Doineann. Drystan and Ion willingly offered their aid, Faileas only after some bargaining, and Doineann once Faileas had acquiesced.
"The night of the full moon, the other magi warded me against Corpus, Animal, and Vim. They left. Faileas stayed behind, and started another circle, magically carving it into the floor. He was almost finished by the time I realized what he was doing.
"Once he had completed the circle, he began chanting...it wasn't Latin, or Scots Gaelic. It sounded Infernal, somehow, and I realized that I was smelling brimstone. The circle reflected, twisted any sound I made back toward me, I think keeping it from leaving the circle. When I touched the circle he had made with my Talisman, he screamed and stood revealed as his apprentice, Duncan.
"I reinstated my Parma, to hopefully protect me against whatever it was he was summoning. When I had done so, I felt a spell repelled by it. Duncan thanked me, and said that he would call me 'Mater' because I had completed his necessary education."
Fiona pauses for a minute to let that sink in before she finishes.
[color=blue]"I was able to destroy the circles and went to the others for help. We don't know what happened to Faileas, but we're reasonable certain that, if he didn't go into Final Twilight, that he met with foul play at Duncan's hands. His lab notes show nothing in the time since he took Duncan.
"Within a few minutes, books started to disappear from the library. We were able to quickly ward the books that we had left, then erected a new Aegis of the Hearth, which seems to have been powerful enough to stop Duncan from continuing to pilfer our library at a distance."
There are times during her narration that Fiona seems momentarily torn as to say what she does, but continues on (struggle between Secretive and self-preservation).
[color=blue]"We don't believe that what we've done is, in fact, a violation of the Code...but we can see where someone could easily accuse us of it."
[color=blue]"Oh...and Loch Leglean has its Tribunal later in the season than Normandy does. They have it at the end of Summer. So, we only have a month or so before Tribunal." (I think the time-frame's right)
Fiona then leans back and looks at Laetitia expectantly.
(ooc - I don't believe that Fiona's misleading or mis-stating the facts. She's trying to be as forthright and honest with the Advocate as she can)
By the way, in the two weeks or so waiting for Laetitia to arrive, the boys have made a trip back to the house, the cattle are fine, and nothing seems disturbed...
Sorry to disturb the timeline-- Laetitia would accept the casting token, but before entering, she would say, "Pardon me-- but due to the possibility of danger, I think it would be prudent to call upon a Hoplite. I trust in Elain implicitly, but he has no way to protect me against the infernal. Nunquam non paratus."
(Order of Hermes Lore 2 + Int 2 + die roll 8 = 12. Do I know any trustworthy Hoplites I could call upon at Magvillus, Coeris, or Durenmar, who know Leap of the Homecoming? Someone "quiet and unassuming" which is to say, they can stay conveniently in the background much like a shield grog would, until someone shows up and tries to kill me, at which point they'd step up and stab the bad guys.
Correct me if I'm wrong: it seems from the timing that this all happens before L showed up at Mons Electi, so she hasn't met Alexei yet.)
It is reasonable for Laetitia to know who Alexei is, and that he's a member of Mons Electi, but you are correct that she hasn't met Alexei. She also doesn't have the connection to an area outside Autun, yet. It's also reasonable to suspect that he is unlikely to make an attack,if he hasn't done so within the last two weeks. During that time, they've been vigilant and there is no indication anything untoward has happened. Laetitia also was able to make it to Insula Canaria unmolested. Items stopped disappearing once the books were warded with a ceremonially cast ward, and a recast Aegis. His penetration is minimal.
In any event, she can find someone, although it takes a day or so at Coeris... Please be precise about the actions undertaken, and whether she requests a Hoplite from Coeris.
She hasn't heard the story yet, so she doesn't know the circumstances. She's of the "better safe than sorry" camp. Especially when "sorry" means "dead." And since it already took her two weeks to get here, one more day isn't going to make a difference.
She will root around until she picks up two appropriate rocks, outside of the Aegis boundary, and places them carefully into a green silk pouch. "Now that I have a means to get here, I am going to go try and conscript a Hoplite. If it looks like it will take much longer than two hours, I will return alone and take the risk. Glaukopis has agreed to stay here; if you could brief him while I am at Coeris, it will expedite matters. And as time may be of the essence where magical traces are concerned, please collect temporary arcane connections to any locales of interest. Glaukopis will inform you when I am on my way back."
She Leaps to her sanctum at Magvillus, and from there Leaps to Coeris. She will introduce herself as Laetitia scholae Guernici, Quaesitor cum auctoritate, and explain that she is seeking the aid of a Hoplite, on short notice. "Please inform adiutor leges Ariston Guernici that I am here, as if no magus Tremeris is available, perhaps the Hoplitus Guernicus will make time for an old... friend."
Glaukopis will listen to Fiona's whole story, and then remain silent for a while as he relays the information to Laetitia, who is likely standing around waiting for bureaucracy to move.
It takes a day, after an initial hour of waiting, she's asked to return in a day, at which point a hoplite can put other matters in order and respond to her request. She's invited to check back later in the day, or wait...
She'll leave the second rock and ask that if a hoplite can assist her, to please join her. She says she'll come back to cancel the request if she resolves issues conclusively before any Tremere have managed to get around to assisting her on a formal request to hunt down a renegade Hermetic apprentice turned diabolist, and trusts that they will pass along her request that Ariston Guernici investigate her death in the event that she does not return.
She will then let Glaukopis know she is heading back, and ask him to have Fiona et alibi meet her at the gates, where she picked up the rock. She then casts Ear of Truth (10 for a Penetration total of 17 + Coeris' aura) and The Discerning Eye (6, she casts it but loses a Fatigue level, Penetration total is exactly 0). (Reminder-- Both those spells have the Mastery Ability of Acute Sense, twice; if they would otherwise pick up anything that's faded/hidden/destroyed, she'll detect an anomaly with a roll of 9 + Stress die for Ear of Truth, or 12 + Stress die for Discerning Eye, vs EF of 6 + magnitude.)
She'll wait two minutes to recover her breath, then Leap back to Insula Canaria and immediately begin asking questions.
First thing, Laetitia wants to see whether anything quirks against her Discerning Eye; she should see any image alterations of level 25 or lower. Anything protected by MR will look like a dead zone to the spell, and Acute Sense has a chance to pick up any illusion the spell otherwise missed. She's also paying special attention to her faerie eyes (3 Second Sight, specialty in illusions, +3 Perception, +3 Keen Vision).
"Fiona. Apologies for the delay. First off, you have not committed a crime; you didn't teach Parma Magica to anyone, you simply performed it, and should anyone try that the latter is equivalent to the former, it would be an incredibly weak case. I could get any such charges overturned drunk and half asleep, so please don't worry on that account. Now-- who is it, specifically, that warded your circle against Vim? Are you trained in Infernal Lore, or did the chanting merely sound the way you expected infernal magic must sound? What is your talisman made of? Explain while you lead me to this circle, please."
No illusions, nothing looks out of place. Howeve the penetration on the Ear of Truth is insufficient to penetrate. She doesn't get the sense that magic has been used to mask statements, just that the penetration of the spell is insufficient.
It's an enhanced sense spell; it doesn't need to penetrate anything to be cast because the target is Self. "If a speaker's Magic Resistance blocks the enhanced sense, the caster is aware of it as an absence." The spell description also states "Many Quaesitores develop a high level of mastery with this spell and use it with the Acute Sense ability to great effect," but now that I think about it, based on the description of how Acute Sense works, that doesn't really make any sense, because there's no magnitude or might associated with untrue statements.
If it doesn't penetrate, then Magic Resistance has blocked the enhanced sense. You cast it on yourself, you designated a penetration level. I merely responded that it doesn't penetrate. Consider that you cast it and your ct is sufficient to overcome the MR, meaning your spell has penetrated, giving you the full benefit of the spell. Acute Sense tells you whether or not magic has been used to obfuscate or evade. In this case acute sense is telling you that everything seems normal and not altered.
The MR blocks the enhanced sense, but not the spell. The spell remains active, and when a speaker with MR blocks the enhanced sense, the caster detects the absence of feedback from the spell. Thus the spell still remains active upon the caster, such that when a new speaker speaks, the caster either detects the untruth, or again, senses that MR has blocked it in that particular instance.
Point is, as long as the spell stays up, she's got an audible indicator whether anyone speaking to her has MR > 17. And with The Discerning Eye at 0 Penetration, she's got a visual indicator whether anyone she looks at has any MR at all.
Laetitia doesn't suspect Fiona of lying to her, if that's what you were thinking. Laetitia wouldn't have expected to penetrate Fiona's MR. The spell still will be in effect the next time anyone else speaks to her, until she drops the spell. I'm confused, because it seems like you're saying that anyone else in the vicinity with a 17+ MR will make the spell automatically fail. In which case the spell would never work when Glaukopis is around.