Betrayal! is Isen's first thought. I never should have trusted a tytalus.
He quickly sorts through his options. Fight is probably a bad idea. He could flee, too, but that's leave the grogs to die. And the speaker doesn't seem hostile so.
So gravious an invitation, how could we refuse?Turning towards Tranquillina and Jacques
Let us see what this man has to say.
Isen gives her a quick glance, to ascertain if she's ok, but otherwise, his attention stays on the strangers.
And while they walk, he'll be alert for any trap, also with Second Sight*, leaving the discussion to his sodales.
*SS 3 + Per 1 + 1d10=4 = 8 (9 for invisible things)
The man walks down the corridor with Isen, Jacques, Tranquillina and their grogs following behind. "We've put Marcus in a more comfortable spot, although he doesn't seem to be affected by the overwhelming heat." The tunnel appears to go up, and every once in a while a tunnel branches off or a gallery opens up and fire giants can be seen within doing general household tasks. "Marcus gave the giants a merry run, and they wisely dispatched word to us about him. We then observed to see who would come for him. We are pleased to see that he wasn't disappointed." The corridor appears to go on for some time, and it seems to be cooling off. "By our best reckoning it is the year 1219. Is that correct? What Houses are you in? We were surprised to see a Tytalus, having thought the Tremere would have wiped them out and dominated the Order after they unleashed the power of their Curse upon us."
Jacques looks a Tranquillina and give a little shrug.
You are not far off. it is 1223 in the year of our Lord. I'm assuming by your information that you are members of House Diedne who have fled the moral world?
"Indeed. We will be conducting interviews with each of you to ascertain certain things. Do you require any refreshments while you wait? We will be observing you, and will do you the courtesy of not separating you. Our elders have each of you under careful observation. We found it interesting that Marcus didn't mention this to you, as he surely knew we were observing him..."
"Oh, no, the structures were completely moved. They invented the ritual and passed onto others, but there was a side effect, some were less succesful in casting it than others..."
((Canonically, yes... The thing about the Diedne issue is that no one really knows much, since it's also canonical that House Guernicus destroyed most of the records, so what is known is mostly anecdotal, subject to change, or personal diaries of magi that haven't fallen into House Guernicus hands...))
This only confirms Isen's suspicions about Marcus betrayal. Although, of course, one can't neglect the possibility of a deliberate lie to sow distrust.
When the man confirms his house, Isen almost teleports out at once. It feels more and more like they're walking into a trap, and the fact that the guernici engineered Diedne's fall doesn't mean the Diedne were innocent. Yet this is exactly what fiona sought, and he can't abandon the others like this, not when it seems there's still a chance.
Yet he likes this less and less, and frowns quite a lot.
Isen is shocked and surprised.
That's quite a news to drop. Do you have any proof of this? This is dire news.
It is certainly possible, since the documents they have are ultimately from Xenophon (JL: I'm assuming this, correct me is I'm wrong), who could have set up a conspiracy to defeat House Tremere's ennemies. It could also explain why his body was never recovered. Yet it seldom clings with the guernici's actions and power.
This also looks like they got who did what confused: It's the Ex Misc representative that didn't make it to the peace talks. What is happening here? Yet, Jacques is handling this well, better than Isen would, so he'll let him do the talking, mostly.
(Oh please, don't do me you're doing the ages old tremere villains bit! I love 5th Ed Tremere! And found cool that you had made them a-little-the-good-guys :-/)
((Sorry about the change in text color. I'm not sure how that happened.))
"It was in a letter from the Primus of the time to our Primus. The Diedne and Guernicus representatives were ritually murdered to facilitate a powerful ritual weakening both our Houses." He pauses, sensing some confusion or missing information, "Or so I'm told."
((You may have to help me out on how much we know. If we do not know it then ignore it. Does Jacques know about the Rituals that Guernicus did to curse Diedne? ))
Jacques appears thoughtful. Hmmm. If that were true than Guernicus would have been destroyed along with Diedne. They are very strong. Perhaps stronger by weakening the other Houses. Jacques thinks a bit more. Have you ever heard of the Duresca Scrolls?
))
I love 5th Ed Tremere! And found cool that you had made them a-little-the-good-guys :-/)