Let me be clear. I hinted that following the path of destruction left by the whirlwind would be unwise, it's reasonable for Alexei to surmise that the whirlwind outpaced Alexei's maximum speed. The only magus Alexei spoke to was Fiona. Did he speak to others? This may or may not be important. This is a bit of a connect the dots puzzle I've laid out for the player, it's up to him to position the character in a spot that will open the door to unlocking this puzzle. Here's my hint, a magus or maga of Mons Electi will not have the answer you seek, but a magus is the gatekeeper to that answer. It's also possible that the magus or maga (or their respective player) is unaware of that.
Going to Fiona, asking her to join you on an overland journey is doubling down on a bet that I strongly hinted had a low payoff probability.
((Sorry, I'm just not sure what to do. I was advised to find an Auram specialist and it seems we don't have have one. From here, if the Auram specialist is still the key to finding the gate, I might have to consult with Magi outside of Mons Electi. Let me read through the thread again. Sorry, I'm just not seeing the dots to connect, though I was hit by a cluex4 once already. I'll post what Alexei does in a bit, once I go through this all again.))
((Well, you can start by asking each of the magi if they know an Auram specialist. Yes, I want you to go through the motions here. If necessary pm the players that you're asking them and to respond in the thread.))
At the site Alexei starts to look frustrated. "Goddammit!" he curses, then sighs and says a quick prayer in German to ask for forgiveness. "Do you know how my parens taught me to use magic without gestures? Without words? He tied and gagged me and set his grogs on me. He said it was for my own good and he also wanted to see if it worked. On the one hand it was a success, on the other my magic rarely exceeds my grasp. He also said that when the only tool one has is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. I have not the slightest idea how I might find Mufarrj and all I want to do is lash out, but there's no one bloody here!" He takes a moment or two to calm down. "Fiona, if you please. I'm going to head back to the Covenant and see if anyone else has experience with Auram as well. Anything you might find out though would be greatly appreciated."
With that Alexei disappears and sets out to find the other Flambeau Isen and Jacques.
((Wow, that's kinda rude, dragging Fiona out there and then disappearing. I'm getting a spoiled/only child vibe from him. Please note, I said each of the magi of Mons Electi...))
In the interests of moving things forward: Jacques and Isen are unable to help, except suggesting Ariel, the new Prima. Unfortunately, asking her for assistance at this time is ill-advised due to her extremely busy schedule...
((Yeah, Fiona's a little annoyed about coming out on what looks like a fool's errand, and then Alexei, presumably, Leap of the Homecoming-ing back to the covenant leaving her to come back with the mortals. I'm going to keep this thread for the search for Muffarj, and handle other stuff to the appropriate thread.))
Once Alexei is back at the covenant he sends word straight away for Jacques and Isen, from there he starts checking correspondences of Magi that he or others might know that have a specialty in Auram.
((I want to make an Order of Hermes lore roll, but it is pretty low, so first he'll try to get some anecdotal material to help out. This also goes nicely with the other thread where Fiona returns.))
The first one to knock on the door turns out to be neither Jacques nor Isen, but Viscaria. She's wearing an expression on her face that Alexei is very familiar with, the one that says he has yet again somehow insulted a woman inadvertently.
"I realize that I'm pretty new to this whole Princeps thing, but I thought the whole point was that I'm the one you bother before you go bugging any of the others. I mean, isn't that the whole reason I revoked my membership in Phoenix Covenant for you Normandy wimps? Oh, and speaking of Phoenix Covenant..."
Viscaria drags Abigail out from around the corner. "Could you please explain to this apprentice where the monsters in our regio are? She seems to think that I'm kidding when I say there aren't any."
"Oh, Aunt Viscaria, you're so funny. This place is tame compared to Phoenix. Why'd you drag me here? ((I'll assume this happens to be a day off from Korvin's tutelage, which happens to be the season he's imparting Inventive Genius to her.))
"I don't want to spend my only free day in this musty castle, can I go now?"
"I have this problem," Viscaria confides in Alexei. "That I play cruel jokes on the children that I like, and I play cruel jokes on the children that I don't like and the only ones who can tell the difference are the ones that I actually like."
Alexei is looking rather frazzled and confused when he opens the door to see Viscaria. Truthfully, he barely knew her, except for the rather large talking spider that claimed her for a master.
"Uh...pardon? Wait, you're the Princeps now? I'm sorry, I've been so...caught up in recent events." when Abigail is brought forward he appears even more confused, who are all of these children and where the Hell were they coming from? "Uh...yes these are definitely dangerous things out and about here. That's in fact what I'm working on right now. Mufarrj has been kidnapped by what I think is a powerful airy spirit that is sometimes called a genii or genius loci. I can't pick up his trail, I need to consult a magus who is well versed in Auram. If you are proficient in Auram or know someone who is I'd be grateful."
Abigail says, "An airy spirit? Father might be able to do it, but grampa Prospero could easily do it." Abigail looks a bit flustered, "Are you sure it's really important? I shouldn't be discussing this today. It is Shabbat." She doesn't appear to be too concerned, more of a formality, which is behavior Viscaria should recognize as an influence from a particular Jewish maga...
"Wait, what? Child, please who are you talking about? Do you know someone that can help with this? Shabbat? Oh yes...uh...I could really use his assistance, I assure you it's important..."
'And ironic.' Thinks Alexei. 'A Christian wizard entreating a Jewish magi to help save a Muslem swordsman, from what is likely a pagan spirit.'
"Don't be silly! Shabbat is the holy day of the week! Today! Thank goodness Prospero isn't Jewish, I think you'd offend him without even trying." Speaking slowly to make sure that Alexei understands, "Grampa Prospero, princeps of Le Maison d'Levrier, you know the one who was going to make an Archmagus challenge which was put off when the Praeco suddenly passed away?" When Alexei doesn't look like he's following, "Did you get your skull bashed in in the joust and can't remember what happened at the Tribunal?"
Viscaria shakes her head in frustration. "Mortals and their religions. I'll never understand them. Mufarjj, you say? A good man. I would offer to help you myself, but that is not an element I am well suited to dealing with."
Alexei frowns at the child's impertinence, then again he often was a bit scatter-brained when it came to names, and it was starting to become an embarassment. Pausing for patience he calmly responded.
"No child, I'm fine, just have had a lot on my mind...winning the joust and the celebration after it might have contributed. Do you think I could consult with him quickly or would he require more of an invitation? I could travel to him as long as there was a connection. Or perhaps I could use the facilities with the Redcaps."
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