((I told them to hide, but looking back at the post I didn't outline it in red, so it would have been easy to miss))
"Alright, sorry, I'm a bit paranoid. Let me see if I can find Mufarrj." he hands them the sack of fresh food. "Eat up." Alexei is going to try to do a spontaneous 'Inexorable Search' or variation of it. Unfortunately not only can I not roll, but I can't access Alexei's stats, this filter is just getting wonky. I'll come up with the spell, his total and the casting roll for it when I get home tonight.
((I can tell you, that with Alexei's Art scores, that's jut not going to happen unless you roll a 1 followed by a 9, or some combination to get the CT before division above 4. Your cs now is 5+16+2=23. Then there's the problem of having a map.))
((Well he does have vis...but it's still a tough spell. What about your ruling with casting a teleport spell to someone using their AC? I think we allowed it the one time for Harco, but then said no more?))
Speaking to the specifics of the vis issue...
If you wanted to assure the spell success you have to assume a minimum non botching roll result, which in this case would be two[1], which brings your CS to 25, before dividing. That leaves 15 points, which means 8 pawns of vis. That means if you roll a 0, you have 9 botch dice.
[1] If you assume that you roll a zero as the minimum roll, you make a very slight tradeoff, of adding another botch die, for a total of 10 botch dice if a zero comes up, but the spell will be cast successfully if you don't botch. Either way, it's a pretty big risk.
Alexei spends some time deciding as the men eat and he helps himself as well. It'd been long since he was on the road and he could feel it in his bones from the sleep on the forest ground. Following the trail was going to take far more time than he wanted, and presumably he'd have to travel back as well, assuming he had Mufarrj with him. He had a connection to the man and he had done it before, the risks though were to transport himself directly into a trap. Plus, perhaps he was in a Regio? And he'd have to leave his grogs behind; Alexei was not nearly as powerful as Apollodorous who had managed to teleport several magi and even more grogs to the Mediteranean. Perhaps he should get a better vantage point first? He grips his staff tightly and starts to float in the air. The one advantage was the whirlwind's path was so easy to follow, he wanted to get a better idea of where it led first.
((A Spontaneous version of Rise of the Feathery Body with a Personal range he has a 37 ReCo total, so he should be able to do this without fatigue or rolling. He wants to get above the treeline and see how far the path goes))
Alexei rises up and sees the path go on to the horizon. Let's say he gets a look at the path of just over a day's travel. Alexei considers he could benefit from speaking with an Auram expert.
Alexei slowly lowers himself to the ground with a sigh. "Ten years ago I believe I would have just transported to him and spring whatever trap they had planned. Maybe Tristan was right, age is the enemy of both courage and stupidity. Follow the trail back to Mons Electi boys. I'll be there when you arrive with a jingle to put in your purses for your good work."
((Alexei will transport back to Mons Electi and sees which magi are best at Auram))
After some interviewing and questions, Alexei will go to Fiona. He approaches a little more humbly than usual, their last words together hadn't been pleasant, and Alexei knew he deserved them.
"Fiona? I was wondering if I might ask for some help from you. Do you remember Mufrarrj? He has apparently been kidnapped by an airy spirit. When I first encountered this creature we assumed it was a kind of spirit that the Sahirs are known to summon. I tried following the trail but it just keeps going. I thought perhaps someone who knew more about Auram might be able to more effectively track it, or perhaps lend their expertise in this search. I have an arcane connection to Mufarrj, but I hesitate to use it to try and go to him as it's obviously a trap, and I have no spells to track him with it, though his trail is easy to see. I would be grateful for any help, Mufarrj is...valuable to this Covenant, and a friend."
Fiona turns to Sheelagh, whom she had been teaching, and addresses her in Gaelic. [color=blue]"Lass, why don't you go work in the garden for a few minutes while I speak with Alexei." When the apprentice leaves, Fiona motions for Alexei to continue.
[color=blue]"Yes, he is. I'm somewhat fond of him myself, although I don't know him as well as I probably should." She does seem somewhat surprised that Alexei would come to her, however.
[color=blue]"None of the others are as 'skilled' in Auram as I am? I'm afraid I don't know any Auram-based spells. And, although I am better at casting spontaneous spells than I once was, I would be surprised if I could cast a spell of more than the second magnitude... third if the Technique is Muto or if I'm quite lucky. If you're looking for an Intellego Auram..." She thinks for a minute. [color=blue]"I will gladly go with you to try to rescue Mufarjj, but I make no promises as to how effective I will be. When do you want to leave?"
"Who was that? Have I seen her before? I'd be happy to provide assistance in certain lessons if you should care to, or perhaps she could learn a bit from Gunnar. He's trained more than one apprentice in his day the finer points of swordplay as well as movement in combat so as not to trip up over your shield grog. A good lesson I should say."
At Fiona's answer Alexei smiles and seems relieved.
"Thank you most kindly. We could go whenever you are ready. My grogs and I followed on horseback for three days and found no sign of him and when I rose above the tree line the trail just continued to the horizon it seemed. I could split the arcane connection I took from where I left off, but if you're not able to transport yourself that way, the trail begins but a short distance from the covenant."
[color=blue]"I should hope so. As big as she is, she's rather hard to miss," Fiona says with a smile. [color=blue]"That's my apprentice, Sheelagh. She came here just after the troubles of last year. We might take Gunnar up on your offer, I think that's something we could both use. And I've still not made the time to learn how to treat wounds from the doctor, either." She sighs. [color=blue]"There's never enough time to learn all that we want to know, is there?"
[color=blue]"Alas, transporting me magically is not as easy as I would like."
((Would it be reasonable to say that, since it's been two years since Tribunal when Fiona wanted to ride in the joust, that they've had time to select a horse for her and to have proper-sized tack and harness for the horse when she embiggens it, even if she can't ride for squat?))
Alexei nods in agreement. "Aye, never enough time. Would you believe one of the things I came here for was to take up painting from Apollodorus? Once I've reached a certain level of expertise in my current field I'd like to put up my spear and make a more utilitarian Talisman and pursue gentler arts. But...that could be a long time.
"Anyway, we can get a horse large enough for you I believe, or we could always take a cart. Be sure to attend Gunnar, he is a masterful teaccher in many fields away from the laboratory. When you are ready i'll simply take you to where the trail picks up."
((Yeah, sure. That being said, this process differs very little from Alexei setting off with grogs, and I was hinting that following conventionally wasn't the best idea...))
Alexei leads the way to the original battlefield on a fresh horse with new supplies as well as the largest horse in the stable, called Svardalfari, for Fiona.
Off to the Eastern end lies the devastation of the whirlwind that broked through it, now almost a week old. "The men say they were met by men dressed in black, similarly described as the ones that accosted me years ago when I first arrived. They were forced unconscious or asleep and were soon to be bound when Mufarrj came and started killing the attackers. It was then that he was carried off by the whirlwind. The creature that hunts for me also has intentions for Mufrarrj, for he told me that he was compelled into service, though had little objection to capturing a frankish wizard."
Svardalfari is too big to be increased by Fiona's Beast of Outlandish Size (since, if he's the largest horse in the covenant, he's probably already a Size +3, and I forgot to include modifiers for size in the spell), and Fiona's Rego and Animal aren't up to the task of spontaneously casting a spell that will cause the horse to overcome the effects of her gift. She will, however, give her best effort in riding Svardalfari.
[color=blue]"And...you want me to find out where the whirlwind went?" Fiona asks as she looks around her.
((Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little fuzzy on just what Alexei wants Fiona to do, here.))
