[color=blue]"I haven't the foggiest where he is, and Intellego is not my forte. I suspect, though, that the boy did away with Faileas - otherwise, he likely would not have been able to perpetrate his charade for as long as he had." She purses her lips thoughtfully.
[color=blue]"I would not be surprised if he replaced Faileas about the time of that 'lab accident' last year. It was about then, I believe you said, that he started acting irrationally. Which still doesn't answer the question of why or how he got involved in diabolism, or if there are others in the Tribunal involved as well. We should probably notify Whitburh Firthowebba so she can begin her investigation, if she chooses."
Drystan responds, "Intellego isn't a strong Art for any of us. Yes, but that must be it. Let's try and find his lab notes, both of their lab notes, look over things."
While you two begin your search, someone arrives with mutton, it is cooked, but eating it does satisfy the craving for now. A bit later Ion comes along in human form, "Fiona, Drystan, what's going on?" After apprising her of what has transpired she looks horrified."Fiona, start from the beginning tell us everything that happened, after you do so someone will make their way to Horsingas. Do you know of an advocate to call upon, this is going to be horribly ugly, I'm sure."
Fiona will, reluctantly, tell them everything she can think of. From the Certamen contest with Luna, to her dealings with Faileas to secure his aid in the warding,his comment about the canaries dying and her agreement to bring in more canaries (which she took to mean that the covenant was dying and that she to bring in fresh blood to rejuvenate it), to what Duncan did after Drystan and Ion left. She will try not to leave any details out in her retelling. She hates to expose herself like that, but they know Faileas better than she did, and there might be something that she would attach no importance to that would be the "Eureka!" moment.
((ooc: her scores for searching are Per 0 + Awareness (Searching) 4), in case there's a roll to be made.))
When she's done, she will look at the both of them. [color=blue]"With Faileas and Duncan gone, it looks like it's just you two and Doineann left here. What do you think will happen to Insula Canaria?"
Ion answers, "That's a good question. I'm not sure we can survive an investigation." As she starts talking, items from Faileas begin disappearing. Lab equipment at first, and then a book. She screams out, horrified, "Drystan, get to the library, ward it! He lead the Aegis ritual, remember? He has access to our covenant!" Drystan runs off toward the library. Ion grabs a book while saying, "Fiona, grab Faileas' notes over there, and let's get to the library, fast!
Fiona grabs the notes, any books she can reach, and anything else that at a glance looks like it might be worth holding on to, then lopes as fast as she can to the library while she tries to figure out what Duncan's doing. (Int 1 + Magic Theory 6). I'm assuming that he's got some kind of arcane connection-range rego blah spell that summons stuff to him.
That's a very reasonable guess that doesn't even require a roll.
By the time Fiona and Ion have made it to the library, half the books are on the floor, and Drystan begins scribing a circle around the books while the librarian and another grog are grabbing books and from the other side of the library.
"I have no idea what to do here, anyone have an ideas? He summoned the catalogue just as I was arriving, the entire library is now at risk."
Ivor runs in after Fiona and begins to help as he understands what is happening.
"Could you not take a piece of a book left outside your little spell here and find him with it when he takes it? Ya called it an achaineium convection or some such thing? At least I would know where to bash the little sneak thief"
"He's not just a thief, he's in league with Lucifer! I'm not about to make my way into whatever lair he has created outside the covenant. I think we need to break the connection, but I don't know how..."
[color=blue]"Arcane connections are in the domain of Vim, are they not? Would it be possible to cast a spell that would sever or confound the Arcane Connection between the books and the catalogue or whatever it is he's using to summon the books?"
((ooc - the effect I'm thinking of is actually a 4th edition spell, Confound the Connection (4e, p. 127), which is (much to my surprise) a PeCo 25. Would an analagous spell be a PeAn or possible PeHe, since we're dealing with an AC to an Animal product, parchment/vellum?))
Okay, so PeVi (I was right the first time) has a base Level 5 to reduce the duration of an Arcane Connection by 1 step on the table (inset, p. 84), increasing by 1 magnitude per additional step. But you have to know what the Arcane Connection is. Now, if we have this pile of books, that would be the Arcane Connection, so that counts, right?
However, Covenants (p. 98. bottom of the middle column), while it says that only the most recently scribed copy may act as an AC,and only if it's accurate, doesn't say what the duration of the catalogue-as-arcane-connection is.
So, I think I see three options.:
1.Someone casts a Spontaneous PeVi on the pile of books, said spell having a Touch Range (+1), Momentary Duration, and probably a Group Target (+2). Whoever has the best shot of hitting a high Spont PeVi can try casting it, going for the highest level of effect, since the minimum level we would need is a 20 (5 for the base to reduce an AC's duration by 1 step, and 15 for the increased Range & Target). (Fiona's got Pe 5 + Vi 6 + Sta 3 + Aura 3 = 17 ÷ 5 = 3, which ain't gonna cut it.)
2.We hastily scribe a new catalogue. However, the ritual that binds the library to the catalogue takes a season and costs a pawn of Vim vis, so that might not work.
3.We....shudder...and I can't believe I'm even saying this...we destroy a book so that the catalogue is no longer accurate.
Neither Ion or Drystan seem capable of making a decision, even considering a decision. Fiona feels it is not her place to make it, but they can't even come up with options. Doineann arrives in the library, "What tom-foolery is this? Why are the books in disarray?" Ion brings her up to speed, and a book disappears from the pile.
Quick, put the books flat on the floor, as long as Fiona is. Fiona, lie on the books! Your parma will extend to them since you're touching them, and it will give us time to think of something!
Fiona slaps herself in the forehead. [color=blue]"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" She does as Doineann requests, and lies on top of the books. As she wriggles into the pile, she puts out her ideas to see if Doineann thinks they have merit.
((ooc - lying on a bed of books? I've died and gone to heaven! ))
"Those aren't bad ideas. If only we had a Perdo specialist. And Faileas was always our Vim specialist. I might be able to destroy one level of the connection, but I couldn't do 5 in any sort of reasonable time frame. In any event, I think we should ward the books under Fiona. Fiona, give up your talisman, so we don't inadvertantly damage it."
Fiona momentarily looks at Doineann with a "You've got to be kidding!" look on her face, but quickly realizes that it's not that unreasonable a request - and that, if anything, the last few days have shown her that she seems to have badly misjudged her former sodales. She nods and places the talisman to one side of the pile of books.
Doineann quickly scribes a circle around the books pushing the talisman outside the circle, making it big enough to allow Fiona room to get up once the casting has been completed. She then begins a rego vim ceremonial casting to prevent the books from being transported away. While she is working the casting, Fiona feels several pings against her Parma. After an hour, it is done and Doineann says, "Alright Fiona, get up, step outside the circle carefully"
Once outside the circle, and they observe no books are taken for about 15 minutes, "Given the circumstances, I don't care if Faileas entire lab is lost, but I think we need to recast the Aegis, immediately. Fiona, can you commune with us for the ritual?"
Do the pings feel like it was something Doineann was doing during the warding, or more like someone trying to summon something that Fiona was lying on? If the latter, she will inform the others of the attempts.
[color=blue]"I would be honoured. I have learned Wizard's Communion at the sixth magnitude of effect, I hope that will be useful to us."
The pings were most decidedly not what Doineann was doing, as when she brought the ward down, Fiona felt it hit her parma.
Fiona assists with the Aegis, an 8th magnitude Aegis, which takes two hours to complete. After which, everyone searches Faileas' sanctum, but most of it has been removed, piecemeal. A quick review of Faileas' accumulated lab notes shows the last entry was just before he took Duncan as his apprentice.
Fiona frowns as she goes over the notes. [color=blue]"You don't suppose he kept more notes somewhere, do you? I find it hard to believe that he would stop making notes when he took Duncan."
She thinks for a long moment. [color=blue]" I think I've seen them together over the last (fill in the blank) years. Is it possible that Duncan killed him...or got rid of him somehow...early on, and that the man we thought was Faileas all this time was actually Duncan?"
"Unless he focused on training Duncan to the exclusion of anything else, and there wouldn't be any lab notes, then. Doineann postulates. "He was intent on seeing him gauntleted before he passed into Final Twilight."
))