His hand is slowly withdrawn when no more vis is forthcoming. As he leaves, he says to Alexei with a smirk, "I'll see if I can find her. You might have to wait a while, so make yourself comfortable..."
How long will Alexei wait?
After about 10 minutes Alexei will begin knocking and calling again. He can wait longer if he knows he's being attended, like they give him some tea and ask him to wait in a waiting room or something.
Actually, he was left at the portal between Harco and Mons Electi. And after 10 minutes...crickets. People can be heard above Alexei, sounds like stuff is being moved and people walking about.
((been busy with the holiday sorry for the long wait))
Alexei will fidget for another few minutes before thumping his staff loudly several times on the floor. "Hello! It is Alexei from Mons Electi! I need to use the portals, is Sevrin there please?!"
About an hour later, the Redcap returns. "Sevrin was busy, I can take you to her now."
Alexei gives him a serious stink-eye as the messenger returns. "Such a long time for such a short message..." he grumbles as he lets the Redcap lead the way.
"Look at me crossly all you'd like. Sevrin is a busy woman. She's in charge of all portal activity for all the Mercere Houses in the Order. Those seeking a moment of her time should be better informed about her."
Alexei is taken to a small office in one of the warehouses. Several new ones are in process of being constructed. The redcap takes him inside. "Sevrin, this is Alexeo from Mons Electi, he arrived seeking a magus of Harco." The mirspronunciation of Alexei's name seems purposeful.
"Alexei von Kroitsau, House Flambeau, ex Milites from Mons Electi Sodale." Alexei says after a brief harumph. "Korvin resides with us, perhaps you know him? I would like to make use of the portal to bring some people from far to Mons Electi, a family; a man his wife and their three children. They are quite dear to me and Mons Electi and find themselves quite far from their homes. Can I impose, with the proper fee of course."
((The previous post must have timed out during the posting with an Internal Server Error because I only saw it when I came into the thread to see what was causing the delay. Imagine my surprise when I saw that your post was the last post, and not mine as displayed on the thread.))
"You do know we have met before, Alexei. And of course, I'm aware of where Korvin lives and who he is. What are you asking? I don't have time for flowery words, just out with it, ok?" She seems annoyed and frazzled and overworked, and any favor that Alexei asks is likely to makethings worse...
Alexei nods. "I'm in a similar hurry." he looks over at the Redcap. "I need to bring a family to Mons Electi, right now they're somewhere in the Holy Lands, and I have connections to them all as well as where they are right now...and a connection Mons Electi. How much will it cost to bring them to Mons Electi?"
((I was wondering the same thing, because it said you had made the last post but there was nothing there from you.))
How many? she asks curtly.
"The mother, father and three children."
Without looking up from her tally book "45 pawns of Vim, or equivalent."
Alexei is gobsmacked. "Oh for Christs's sake!" he mutters then pauses and takes a breath while whispering a prayer for forgiveness. "Please...pardon my distemper. 45? What about the equivalent? What would suffice? Books, enchanted items perhaps for the Redcaps? I mean 45..."
((Do we even have 45 pawns right now?))
She puts her quill down and looks at Alexei, "Some forms of vis are more or less valuable than others. Vim is the baseline, other types of vis can be accepted in lieu of Vim. Some being more valuable and some being less valuable. We would consider items, but vis is what we're short of, due to the attack from unknown assailants last year. That and Korvin destroyed one of our Portals, and it has left is short of vim. But these would need to be items that we can accept delivery of upon completion of service."
"Such a huge amount...I-I have to check at the Covenant, I shall return." he then looks crossly at the Redcap. "When I return if it's to do business for 45 pawns worth of service I'd best be let in promptly!" Alexei's patience is about gone and this huge fee is the last thing he expected.
Alexei will return to the Covenant and try to find Korvin and asses what might be done to cover this fee.
"I am a magus of the Order, and in my own covenant, and you make demands of me? It's a rook, or nothing, no bargaining, no nothing. We are done here until you return."
((This was a big mistake. If you want to reconsider and Alexei's statement, I will edit her response. But basically, you're asking for service, and House Mercere is normally prompt, but Alexei's actions are responsible for the speed of his service...and then further insulting them by demanding something they normally provide was...unwise.))
((That was to the Redcap that made Alexei wait, not Sevrin. If that was clear and she's still angry then I'll try to do something to ammend. Seriously, I'm sorry to say it I have found nothing but frustration on top of frustration on this mission, it just seems I can either do nothing right by my decisions or am incapable in the first place. It seems that Alexei is the only one that isn't allowed to take offense and I am seriously thinking of making an example of someone just to show how frustrated I'm becoming.))
((Retcon))
Alexei takes moments to reign in his humours, he was tired, emotionally frazzled, and out of his element. The spirit hurt him more with these games than if he'd simply attacked him, costing him so much time and vis and making him feel like a fool and alienating him from his sodales. Was that it's plan? To frustrate him so much that he was chased from his friends and the Order? No, it wouldn't have that power over him.
"Sodale...the person and his family that I need rescued is a friend to the Order, a friend to your House in fact. Korvin and he are good friends after all. Bringing him back to Mons Electi serves the Order and can serve the Mercere. He is a capable warrior, well traveled and already well familiar with the Order. Perhaps service can be added to this cost? And at 45...the portal already exists to Mons Electi, your famed skills certainly require payment, but at such a price all that happens is we both lose. The cost when you aided me in bringing so may Flambeau to the meeting was not even 30 pawns. These circumstances are different, but the price seems vastly different as well. Can we not come to a lower cost?"
"Alexei, a portal is different, though. We can continue to make use of it with our Redcaps, who have been able to shortcut their times and skip going to Cunfin. This is a one time transport. It requires us to Leap to their location, and use a device to transport them here, and then they go back through the portal to Mons Electi. So there is some element of risk, and the reward is much less. And the 30 pawns, that was for some rather valuable vis with Rego and Terram properties... so we discounted based on the value of that vis, are you willing to trade more of that same vis?"