((I'm not clear on what you're saying. The question I'm asking is if Tek can do what I intially proposed, decipher his Aegis 30 and transcribe it in readable Latin for someone else to learn in a summer. I get that it is better, in the long run, all else being equal, to focus on learning Lamentus' shorthand in the summer and then transcribing his texts out. If we do it that way, I learn the shorthand in the summer, transcribe 120 levels of spells out in the autumn, and no one has time to learn the Aegis before it expires. Totally agree, if the Aegis weren't an issue, it would be more efficient to do it the way you propose. So again, can we do it the way I originally proposed? Can Tek decipher the lab text for Aegis 30 and then transcribe it within that same season, given the math above? If necessary someone else can be buffing their Rego or Vim to get their LT to 31 to actually learn the spell. Please note, that I'm not even going to entertain asking Shmuel. Wesley Crusher needs to go to Starfleet Acadamy, ASAP, IMO.))
"Anyone trying to learn from you or from a book you have written must halve their Study Total (or Lab Total, if you are a magus and have written Lab Texts on some spells or enchanted items)."
So, yes, it does apply to Lab Texts.
(and I don't know why I have such a hard time remembering that Sam = Schmuel.)
I named him for the song, Sam Hall. 
I am not sure how one can transcribe a lab text without understanding the shorthand, but if there's something in the rule books that say otherwise I'm fine with it. If nothing else you all can afford to pay for one more Aegis... And Lamentus' spell list is a gold mine.
The rules for deciphering another magus's text:
Tektonius has a 45 ReVi LT, and can decipher up to 45 levels in a season. 30 is 2/3 of 45, so if he stops at that lab text when he's finished, he still has a month to write it up. He can write Latin 6 x20 levels of spells, 30/120 is 1/4, less than 1/3 of the season remaining, if you're OK with dividing the season up like that. Then in Autumn someone can learn the Aegis.
Aaah. Yeah, that seems like it works.
Tek needs to get into Lamentus' lab first, though. Will he take any precautions, or walk right in?
He'll ask [strike]Wesley[/strike] Shmuel how to get into Lamentus's lab, or better yet, retrieve the "Shmuel, can you retrieve the 6th magnitude Aegis lab text from Lamentus' sanctum and bring it to mine?
((Note this will now be Tek's summer activity, so I'll take exposure in...Vim, reasonable? Someone better get to a ReVi LT of 31, if they aren't already to learn this bad boy by the winter solstice.))
Shmuel refuses until Liliana boxes him on the ears.
Attravere seems the likely suspect; his Rego is good, and he's Mercurian.
"Thank you, Shmuel." ((I feel like Lieutenant Barclay.))
"If you've translated the text I can study it over the Autumn season." Attravere offers. (Yeah, he can eek out a LT 30+ ReVi)
(I don't think anyone else is looking into Justinius'/Aislynn's disappearance. We should probably pick that up.)
[color=red]"I believe I can learn the spell at this point, once it's been translated, but I would not be able to cast it reliably. I would have to spend quite a bit of time learning more Rego and Vim."
((Depending on when she gets back from SP, she would like to help look for them either over the fall or next summer...or even over the winter if we're willing to risk it.))
Unfortunately, knowledge of Justinius' last assignment is classified by House Guernicus-- a source of rather a lot of frustration on the part of Tremere.
((Would I be correct in assuming that whoever was working on this before spoke with Guernicus about the matter, and that G don't seem the list bit concerned about what happened to him? And how long has he been missing again?))
You would be incorrect. Attravere asked the Redcaps if anyone knew anything; he learned that orders came from Iudicium with the "highly classified" seal (breaking it if you are not the intended recipient is a high crime). Sophia learned from the Tremere grogs that Justinius had been forbidden to bring them with him, that he was permitted his Hoplite wife only.
((Sophia ran around like a chicken with her head cut off while at GF. Crazy B.))
((Okay, the part you answered, it looks like I was right, in that we did ask the Redcaps. I don't see whether they act like they want to know what happened or not – it sounds to me almost like they're saying "Well, it had a "Top Secret" sigil on it, so it's none of our business." Nor do I see how long they've been missing.
Basically, I'm trying to get a handle on what we know, what we've been told, what we've figured out, what we've not been told, what we've been told not to dig into, stuff like that. I don't want to have to start totally from scratch if I don't have to.
What I do know, off the top of my head:
- J&A were given "top secret" orders from Iudicium.
- They were forbidden to use their shield grogs, and that Justinius was only allowed to take Aislinn.
- They haven't been seen since they left
- They left by air, going northwest.
What I don't know:
- Whether Guernicus want this investigated.
- Whether Iudicium wants this investigated. (Yes, I am distinguishing between Guernicus and Iudicium.)
- Whether Tremere want this investigated. (I know Sophronia poked around a little bit, but I don't know if that was her wanting to know what happened to her parens or whether her House wanted her to look into it.)
- How long they've been missing.
- Who, if anyone, we've already spoken to about this, what they've told us, and whether we feel that their information (if any) is reliable.))
(( I think we know how long they've been missing, it just hasn't been explicitly stated IIRC (common knowledge at covenant I'm certain).))
I stated it somewhere and can't find it now, and don't want to contradict myself. I think it's around 5 years now.
Iapetus is interested in finding Justinius and Aislynn. It's one of the main reasons he's here, even though he hasn't told anyone yet.
I was under the impression they were gone for a while before I joined, so I wasn't in a huge hurry to scramble/investigate. Was more concerned with getting myself set up here. Did Audax give him anything to start on?
Speaking of covenant service (Because that's what we were talking about, right?) I believe at one point an item to magically sharpen grog's swords was mentioned. The item level for that effect is 20, according to the main book. Iapetus is at a base MuTe lab of 32 (assuming my new spreadsheet is accurate). With form and material bonuses (scabbard[container +5] and electrum etchings [+4 MuTe]) he could get up to 41, which gives him a charged items at 5 uses. Charged items are difficult to make...
Theoretically he could scrounge bonuses to get an item usable a few times a day but it'd cost Vis.