Aodhan nods rather seriously. "So we agree that this was not my fault then." he says and manages to maintain the serious face for about three seconds before he bursts into laughter and snorts again.
"Ah...tonight then...so long from now. And the cottage...so small. Well! It's much better than the lab and food I had on the road I suppose!"
"And I'm sure they're quite lovely." he ammends as he adjusts his collar with some embarassment.
"Ah! Excellent! Well I propose we we barter for it then. Being ruled by the sound of the coin fairly traded is far better than the sound of the tyrant's rod. Which is to say certamen."
"Well thank you! So nice to meet you as well, and I think we are on similar ideas regarding labs. But are we missing labs then? If so...as long as supplies are available, I'd be alright with building a lab from the ground up. But if we do have the labs, I suggest we bid for them. That seems equitable, doesn't it?"
"You protest a bit too much. More than likely you didn't exercise proper etiquette and request permission to come aboard. Had you done asked for permission, you would've been invited aboard and he would've explained where the captain, referring to myself, was, and maybe even guided you here. You doubtless missed that he spoke Latin to you, despite his thick tongue, and didn't seem at all put off by your Gift." ((OOC, I actually have Sal developed, Unaffected by Gift, Custos, Warrior, Afflicted Tongue, he's Talia's shield grog (among other things). I'm still working through all my sailors, all of whom have at least +1 Presence.))
Aodhan seems a bit perplexed at the return of the discussion. "Oh to be sure, he was most eloquent between arm punches. Anyway I think we can all agree that the boat is definitely not where this council meeting was to be held!"
"Gloating? How would you propose we establish seniority, then? I'm all for establishing labs, however magi who have lived here much longer than you have are concerned that doing so may disrupt the aura. I'm willing to err on the side of caution and work with an equitable division of lab time on the shared lab. What determines equity, though? That's certainly a reasonable discussion, if we need to amend the charter to come up with something that we can all agree upon."
"And, please, continue telling me what I think, or what I'm going to do next. You'll find that I can be a fierce friend or fierce rival. It's your choice."
"Now I know you're protesting too much. He would not hit you. He might escort you off the ship and point you in the correct direction. Believe me, if he'd wanted to hurt you, he would have, and then you would've restored to using your Arts to defend yourself. And please, it is not 'the boat' it is my ship."
Aodhan is looking rather uncomfortable now. "Ummm...I was just trying to be funny consider how silly I was for getting the meeting place wrong and then arriving so late to it. I hope I did not offend. I'm sure he's a charming fellow. We were talking about labs weren't we? And vis I think?"
"How do you propose we rotate the Common Lab among all the members, equitably?" asks Eilid. "I, for one, would not assume that all members have similar interest in the lab. But, let us take an example: say that Talia and I both wish to enchant items, and you wish to invent a spell. How do we determine who will have the laboratory for their project?
"And by 'expand the facilities,' I assume you mean work on a way to increase the number of laboratories on Eilean Chon?"
((Aodhan would have had time to eat before the meeting if he wanted. And there is a room in the cottage for a standard-size lab...it just needs work.))
Dioneann smiles. "Perhaps you and Talia should get together...it sounds like you may have a similar interest in the Giants."
"The only stocked labs that we have," Drystan says, "are those belonging to Doineann, Eilid, and me...and Faileas, but I would be leery of giving that to anyone not fully aware of the possible risk. And even then he was able to abscond with a good part of the usable equipment. The labs that belonged to Curwen, Scylla, and Sylvanus were abandoned when they were no longer in the Covenant, and the usable equipment was cannibalized to replace equipment in the other labs."
"I think we need to sign the charter to join before we attempt to move a vote. So If I might have a quill and ink, I think I will join my lot to yours and vote on changes. Then I agree that order of seniority will go with tracking the last season each person has used it. This way a person can pass their season and it will go to the next person but they will have preference over others of lower seniority or those of higher seniority that have used it more times since the implimentation of this rule. " Siobhan speaks softly. "I do have some lab equipment for myself but as I am supplying my own lab, I would like additional items to suppliment when they can be procured."
"What I meant by bidding, would be to use the labs in furtherance of the Covenant, for now. The Covenant has been opened to new and young magi and is rather old right? So, logically it could benefit from improvements. So...if one were to say, volunteer to craft an object to improve the Covenant, that person might be given a lab early on. And if all of us, and I'm sure we all have excellent ideas, were to have a proposal to improve the Covenant that would involve a lab, then we could vote on the most pressing and worthy ideas." he is gesturing rather animatedly with his right triangle as he speaks.
"If any are left without labs during this time, their time could be spent on the obvious improvement of providing for new labs, if only for their own use. I know that ultimately I will be most comfortable in a lab I have designed from the bottom to the top. Or is it the other way? One couldn't really build from the top and work down. Well one could with Rego I suppose, but that could lead to a messy end if one loses concentration or the ether is in flux..." his thoughts and words seem to trail off.
"My lab aboard my ship will continue to suit me for some time. If I should need to enchant something, I'll need to seek use of a common lab. So, if we were to setup a rotation of the common lab or labs, I'd be fine with that. I can see myself trading the time away to someone else if my turn occurs at such a time where I don't need to use it."
Trimalchio ponders on the subject of the small island with the intense aura. "Has anyone established if the aura descends beneath the surface of the island? I would be quite happy with a modest cellar to set up a laboratory in. Obviously, the sooner we can establish the reach of the mystical aurae available, the better."
Trimalchio realises how poor he is at the art of Intellego and then asks "Is anyone capable of detecting the exact reach of the aura of each isle, and how far up and down they go? Or how much they extend over the water?"
He then looks expectantly at the Quaesitor.
OOC: Someone who actually has a reasonable InVi (not me) could spontaneously cast a spell to determine the aura strength.
"I'm sure such a lab would be constantly inundated by water, and you'd have to spend some time setting Perdo Aquam enchantments in place to keep the loch at bay. Water seeks its own level. If there is a hole dug in the beach or on an island, you can be usre that it will fill with water before too much time has passed. I don't know your Arts, but such a project is, I'm sure, a long term endeavor. Of course, long term endeavors are the ones most worthwhile." Talia falls into another reverie, one that arouses a different passion within her. She considers what would happen if she encouraged Xavier to become a shipwright and used her Arts to aid his endeavor. ((Xavier is the grog she mentioned to Drystan in The Gathering.))
Halie nods. "I can spontaneously cast such a detection at Sun duration without fatiguing myself, and in my Heartbeast form it is a simple matter to gauge the extent of the regio above water level. Below the island-- it would be difficult to measure the aura underground."
"As far as the fear that building on the island could impede the aura-- there is nothing in Hermetic Theory to suggest or support such a thing. Bonisagus documented every factor he found to affect the magnitude of aurae in his Principia Magica. So long as we do not build a church on Eilean Chon and begin worshipping the Divine there, the aura should not be affected negatively. Indeed, more laboratories on the island could temporarily boost the aura on the island, assuming none would be so reckless as to extract vis excessively."
"As best we've been able to determine," Eilid says, "the enhanced aura on Eilean Chon is contained on the island itself, and ends at the waterline. We've tried to gauge how high the island's aura extends, and it doesn't seem to go any more than 15, 20 paces up, if that.
"As to whether the aura extends underground. We've not really tried to dig any deeper than we had to when leveling the ground before we created the building. Although if we were to extend the building below the level of the loch, I'm sure we would have to take measures to keep the water from seeping in."
Aodhan holds up his hand. "I'm sure I could design a plethora of items to investigate the phenomena as well as help build labs in such conditions. I was thinking about building the lab from the roof down...maybe that's the answer?" he says as he tilts his head in consideration.
"Alright, so people want to build their labs in the higher aura. Is there something more interesting to discuss, or do? Whatever the majority of my sodales wish to do is fine with me. What about vis income and supplies, what kind of shape are they in?"
"Let us first determine the full extent of the higher aura before we start looking into building there. If it is suitable, we could erect a tower there but not if it will harm the aura and island." Siobhan wants her chance to research in a powerful aura and damage to it would not be good.
"As far as supplies go, we're in very good shape," Eilid says. "I've been able to procure everything we should need for everyone to have a decent laboratory. As to the vis income?" She looks at the other elders.
Drystan sighs. "One of the items that Duncan ferreted away was the list of our vis sources. It's been years since anyone but Faileas and his apprentice have harvested the vis. We sent an inquiry to Edinburgh as to what vis sources we have registered, but we've not heard back yet. We're hoping that we should get a reply the next time the Redcap comes to call, which should be within the fortnight. The Niseag's Eggs we're certain of, that is what this covenant was founded with. The others...we think we can remember most of them, but, as I said, it's been many years."