"So is the young girl your apprentice?".Talia will otherwise engage in chit-chat until lunch. Also she will indicate to her hostess that she has lived aboard ship lo these many years and doesn't even have a veneer of social graces at the dinner table.
As far as I know there's only gems on the bodice. She's taking whichever one looks most expensive, off the back so she's less likely to notice it's gone.
At lunch, Eireann shows proper manners. 8+3etiquette+5com=16.
There's a nice-looking pearl on the back of the bodice that Eireann's finger passes through when she goes to lift it. Godiva doesn't seem to notice.
"Oh, no, she's one of the servants," Godiva says. "I'm nowhere near old enough to take an apprentice.
"And as long as you don't swallow the knife, you should be fine."
Idle chit-chat happens until lunch, when you three are joined by Actius, a rather plain-looking bookish man who looks to be in his mid- to late-forties. Thinning dark-brown hair, brown eyes, thin nose and lips, and ears that look a hair too big for his head.
"Ah, these must be our guests from across the lake," he says in a surprisingly sonorous voice. "I do apologize for not meeting you earlier, but I was not at a convenient stopping place. I am Actius scholae Bonisagi." Once he's seated, a teenaged boy brings out a platter of fish and greens, and a younger girl pours chilled wine for everyone.
Before the food is served, Caoimhe appears to take a sip from a glass of wine, and then falls to the ground, convulsing wildly.
(8+7Guile+5Com=20)
Talia introduces herself to Actius, "Talia, House Tytalus." She says it as if her house affiliation doesn't have any particular meaning to her. "So with a Bonisagus and a Jerbiton in my presence, something I've never had the pleasure of, prior to this point, I must add, I must inquire about the differences of apprenticeship. Being told for over a decade that apprenticeships must proceed in a certain way only to find out from others they do not makes me curious about the different methods. In short, I'm trying to determine why I'm Tytalus, and you're Jerbiton and your Bonisagus, rather we're not just of the Order.
Talia rushes to her side to check on her. Being unskilled with Corpus, there's little Talia can do than stuff a piece of leather in her mouth to keep Caoimhe from biting her tongue off, and holding her hand.
((okay, let's say that Actius arrives and is seated, Talia gets her question answered, then Eireann does her electric bugaloo thingie.))
"Different Houses treasure different qualities," Actius says. "For example, Bonisagus look for either great intelligence and an unquenchable thirst for learning or an understanding of their fellow magus and unexcelled political acumen, depending on which branch of the house. Jerbiton (and Godiva, please correct me if I'm wrong) tend to value people who are able to mingle with mortal society unimpeded, who have an appreciation for what the mortals offer. Whether art, literature, politics, religion, what have you, they value these more than your typical magus does.
"Tytalus, I believe, value a challenge more than others might. The house motto, after all, is 'From conflict, growth', I believe? A Tytalus master likely desires an apprentice who thrives under pressure, who is able to overcome any obstacle that they face, from within as well as without."
Then Eireann goes into convulsions.
Godiva glares briefly at the girl who served the wine, but gets out of her chair and steps aside to make room for Talia.
Actius kneels next to her, on the other side from Talia, and casts an Intellego Corpus spell as he touches Eireann.
He frowns, looks down at Eireann, then at Talia, and shakes his head. "There's nothing I can do for the poor girl," he says with a smile as he gets to his feet.
Talia's MT is 3 + Int 3 or Per of 3, can she determine if it's Intellego Corpus spell that Actius casted with a total of 10
"Eireann, are you alright?"
When Godiva kneels beside her, (before Actius comes over) Eireann "flails" an arm at the illusory woman in a fit of convulsion, fully expecting her arm to pass through "her."
Talia will look at Actius, "Why can't you help her!"
((Easily. Basically, if a magus uses words and gestures that you can see and hear, and you have Magic Theory and at least a 1 in the Technique and Form, I'm not even going to make you roll for it.))
((Godiva wasn't kneeling, she had gotten up and gotten out of the way. Actius and Talia are kneeling next to Eireann.))
"Because there's nothing wrong with her. I find no signs of poisoning, no injury, no illness." He shrugs. "She's either possessed, or this is a charade of some kind."
"Perhaps. We have a Pralician among our number. Maybe I should give her over to him." Talia says it in a disgusted tone indicating she's had enough tom-foolery.
Caoimhe stands up, dropping the act. "I was just trying to save you from eating faerie food," she declares hotly. "That?" she points at Godiva, "Is not a maga, or even a person. It's just an illusion of one."
"I don't believe that's the case. You see, we crossed what's called an Aegis boundary when we came into the clearing. That's a very specific form of Hermetic Magic. Now, I am not going to force you to eat, you can perhaps save me if I'm wrong, but I'm going to luncheon with our hosts, if you don't mind." she glances with some mixture of embarrassment and a 'muggles, what can you do?' expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Godiva, Actius, please forgive us for our over abundance of caution."
"I'm not sure how you determined she's an illusion, and I'm not really sure it matters. I know Hermetic illusions can feel real, and I'll bet the fae ones can, too, but I haven't the faintest idea if it is true or not. Imaginem is something I'm ignorant of, except for first principles necessary to understand the fundamental underpinnings of the Art." This kind of language might suggest to the Bonisagus that there is some raw understanding of Hermetic Theory, that while she might be correct, she hasn't investigated it enough. (In other words, her raw talent, puissance shows through, while her fundamental knowledge is on display, with a pitiful score of 1, Talia is saying this in a way that she doesn't know how she's saying it, not trying to show off, it's just how I think she'd be).
Godiva looks at Eireann as though she had lost her mind.
"I am not an illusion! I am just as much flesh and blood as you are! Where on Earth did you get such a ludicrous notion?"
"My arm brushed past you on our way inside. Or would have, anyway, except it passed right through you as though you weren't there."
"Twas not my body that your hand passed through," Godiva says. She stands up with her arms out to the sides. "If you doubt me, touch me."
Talia asks questioningly, "Clothing conjured with Imaginem?"
Godiva nods. "Yes. Makes life a little easier sometimes, if you can make adjustments for things like the weather."
"Fascinating. I wish I'd thought of it when I lived in the Med. How difficult is it, if I may?" Of course, Talia goes off into thinking about how it can enhance her libidinous lifestyle.