Elena speaks fluent Welsh (4), so one end of the conversation goes all right
"She wants me to send all her things to Aristarchus at Confluensis. Really! The man is a rake. No, honey, rake-- the sort of man your mother wouldn't want you dating. I'm supposed to ask him to hold her things safe for her, as she can't go back to Magvillus to request reassignment out of Normandy. The little master, he hasn't left yet though, I heard him tell her it would take him a few weeks to reach her, wherever she went, but he said he was going to stay with Moebius in the meantime and try to convince him to join her. Moebius is really a sweet old man, other than him and Giorgio no one else speaks my native tongue around here. Not that there's anything wrong with Welsh, mind you, but honestly what do you people have against vowels?!?"
She's probably received his response to her letter, and she'll have Glaukopis drop off a note for Aristarchus that says "Please come soon. ~L" along with a packaged arcane connection to outside Coeris (she'll have to pop there, grab a second one, and pop back with it) just before she leaves ME.
Wen translates as best she can (don't want to make the magi upset - especially one that squash your head like a grape with one hand), sometimes pausing to make sure she understands Elena correctly.
Fiona stops her at "little master." [color=blue]"You mean the owl? Glaukopis? Is he still here?"
[color=blue]"So, she's staying at Confluensis for a while, eh?"
((And vowels are the tool of the devil! You know what word has vowels in it? "Satan." Don't trust vowels. Never have, never will.))
Laetitia waits at their agreed upon rendezvous point for two nights and he doesn't show. On the third night he does appear.
"I'm here my love, where are you?"
"Yes, the owl! Who else would I mean? He's down with Moebius, where the gnomes are. I don't think she went to Confluensis, though. If she did, why must I go there to stow her belongings?"
She doesn't wait for him. She sends a grog out to wait for him, make sure he's alone, and then show him back to the little cottage she's staying in at Coeris... and she enacts Bitter Taste of Betrayal when she hears the knock at the door.
She rises when she sees Aristarchus at the door, having rehearsed what she wants to say endlessly... and instead throws herself into his arms. "I'm so glad you came," she says, burying her face in his chest. "I'm so confused, I don't know what to do," she confesses.
She pulls back and says, "So much has happened, and I don't want to waste time trying to convince you I'm telling the truth. I will suppress my Parma for you to cast a truthtelling spell upon me... and... I beg your forgiveness for asking, but with everything that's happened in the last few days... it would put my heart at ease if you would be willing to return the favour. There is just so much that I am sure will be difficult for each other to believe, it would be simpler if we can know each others' honesty," she explains, abashed.
((can't believe I had to search the forum to find out/remember who both Moebius and Aristarchus are . Note to self: work on Dramatis Personae page when I'm summarizing the threads.))
Fiona thanks Elena for her time, and leaves (dragging Wen if she has to). She then heads down to the Gnomish Caverns to find Glaukopis.
Assuming that she finds him down there: [color=blue]"Glaukopis. Please, I need to speak with Laetitia immediately, it's important. Can you...will you help me?"
The owl ruffles his feathers. "I may be able to, but she is... quite upset. You know that we share a mental link, and when she isn't thinking of finding somewhere to hide for the rest of our lives, she is, ahem... graphically visualising Alexei's messy end. I don't think you really want to speak with her right now."
"Of course, ask me anything, my love." He concentrates for a few moments and he casts a spell on Laetitia and she gets a bitter taste in her mouth. Aristarchus concentrates for a few moments more, "My resistance is surpressed."
Fiona grumphs. [color=blue]"She's not the only one."
She sighs. [color=blue]"Please let her know that her friend Fiona would very much like to speak with her as soon as she's able. And ask if she would care to join me in some Alexei-bone-meal bread."
She looks around for Moebius, and walks over to him when she spots him. [color=blue]"Moebius? I don't think we've met. I'm Fiona. Mind if I join you?"
"My name is Seren verch Ioan, known as Laetitia filia Iudicium scholae Guernicus." (True) "I am the prima of House Bonisagus, and I love pease porridge." (Both false)
She casts Ear of Truth. And the first thing that she asks is, "Has Valerian tried to influence you regarding me?"
Regardless of how he answers, she will tell him everything that happened at Magvillus, how Glaukopis overheard the Inner Council's deliberations and decisions to have Apollodorus assassinated and to sacrifice her for the Curse of Thoth after her baby was born ("the delay courtesy of my father," she adds)... and the idiotic behaviours of Korvin and Alexei. "I don't know what to believe anymore, or what I should do. Do I fight them because their methods are evil, or do I try to work with them because their goals may well be what the Order needs?"
((Posting on phone not hassling with color.))
Everything that he says is true.
"Valerian hasn't spoken to me in some time. Proctor has been silent as well." when you detail everything he is crestfallen as his world has been obliterated. "you should go back and teach them. Some men can be taught. Their words are words of men ignorant and afraid. You can teach them and make them strong. I know this." He gives Laetitia a knowing smile.
Laetitia is overcome with joy and relief that Aristarchus is still a Good Guy.
"Mons Electi can rot in hell," she declares, furiously. "But what do we do, then? About our House? How can we stay true to justice and still keep the Order from falling apart? Valerian murdered Apollodorus, because he looked into the Duresca Scrolls. Sure, we never found the body, it must have fallen through the r--" She stops. "I... oh. So what do we do, my darling?"
(Did Fiona ever mention her conversation with Reynault? Or is it Renaud? I can never remember which is which. Anyway I think I have an idea.)
((Maybe not. She is secretive. It is Reynault. Renaud is someone else.))
"Perhaps it will, but your the best one to work through the catalogue of his works and research, aren't you?"
This is typical male behavior, solving a problem and not listening.
"But you can send grogs in. It's tedious, but possible." The two spend some quiet time together enjoying each other's company. After a while Laetitia can sense he has something to say, "I'm going to leave Confluensis. After what you've told me, I think I need to step out of Proctor's shadow, certainly Valerian's."
Laetitia nods. "It would be a weight off my mind to know you were not someplace they could easily harm you. I fear that by telling you the secrets of the Inner Council, I may have put you in danger. Do you have an idea where you'll go?"
. Note to self: work on Dramatis Personae page when I'm summarizing the threads.))