((Thank goodness for +3 Stamina! 
))
Sometime that night, during a lull in the action, as Fiona lays there stroking Praxiteles, she murmurs [color=blue]"I hear that you know Valerian of Guernicus."
Are you now? Korvin reaches out a hand to move a stand of hair that had fallen over her face. He moves it genitally back in place then allows his fingertips to trace around her ear down her neck and stop between her breasts. When might we be able to ... talk ... about staying her at Mons Electi for a longer contract?
Praxiteles was dozing lightly and takes a moment to process the question."Yes, we are amici. He's been a patron of mine, of my Art, and I've attempted to show him how to sculpt Hermetically, so to speak."
Alips sneers from Fiona's others side. "He's a pig, Praxiteles. And you and I both know I can detect a pig."
Fiona senses she's started an old argument, "Now Alips, he's a patron of my Art. He's acquired very many pieces, and he's paid us handsomely for the knowledge. You should know, you negotiated the deal with him."
Alips counters, "He fancies you, Praxiteles, and you are always a pushover for the ones who fancy you."
With a sharp bite to it, "You would know, my love, you married me." Praxiteles yawns and disentangles himself from Fiona and dons some night clothes. "I require some decent rest before beginning work in the morning. I'll leave your questions about Valerian to Alips, and she can poison your mind against him, too. He's a very fine fellow in my experience, and I won't stay in the same room while Alips goes on about him." Praxiteles leaves the room and returns to his own.
"He's a little bit in love with Valerian. Were he not married to me..." Alips shrugs. "My husband is normally a most perceptive person, but he refuses to see what I see in Valerian. It is perhaps fate returning the favor and giving me a taste of the bitter medicine I fed to Praxiteles early in our marriage." She sighs, wistfully, as if this is somehow her fault, "Praxiteles probably won't discuss him with you any further, and then whatever he does say will be shaded by his love for Valerian, so will largely be useless. But I have no compunction, he is someone who uses people, and then casts them off when finished. I expect that will be soon for Praxiteles, i can only hope it is, so I can put my poor husband back together again."
((Genitally? OMG. ROFL))
"We can talk here. My husband is in deep thought." And indeed, Korvin can see that it is the case as he stares at the sculpture taking place. Every once in a while a few words in Greek can be heard, and more details of the wings appear, and rubble appears below. "I can perform many services for you here and now, if you'd like. Sometimes my performances energize Praxiteles." Her hand slips below the waste of Korvin's trousers and firmly grasps his member. "Come over here, where we can negotiate out of view of your sodales and covenfolk, my lord magus." She leads him behind the slab and out of view by his member. Praxiteles barely acknowledges his presence. Alips then falls in some clean hay and hikes up the front of her dress. "I'm ready for a vigorous intercourse, Korvin. Can you negotiate that hurdle?"
Fiona quickly extends her Parma over Alips and snuggles up close to her. [color=blue]"I'm sorry," she says as she kisses the top of her paramour's head. [color=blue]"I didn't mean to start an argument between you and Praxiteles. I just wanted to see what he thought of Valerian...he's not very popular around here, Valerian."
She takes a deep breath. [color=blue]"He was here when Apollodorus was killed."
Alips immediately stops whatever she was staring to do to pleasure Fiona, Alips has her by the short and curlies right now. Literally. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" And then as if to emphasize the point, she strikes a jolt of pleasure into Fiona, "Do tell me more." Awareness check...
Alips brow furrows and she breaks eye contact with Fiona, as if she's trying to figure out something. A moment later she's back at it, waiting for Fiona to continue, "Come on, Fiona, tell me," as Alips sends another jolt of pleasure through Fiona's body with her nimble fingers.
Fiona gasps and moans loudly at Alips's ministrations.
[color=blue]"I wasn't there when it happened, but apparently Valerian and a couple of other magi snuck in wearing masks and killed Apollodorus, then destroyed part of one of the walls for some reason."
She reaches down to try to echo what Alips is doing as she feels her own body craving release. [color=blue]"Some of the other magi who were here at the time have a better understanding of what happened than I do," she pants.
"And who are these magi, my comely giant?" This time the vibrations come from her facile tongue. And now for an int+concentration roll of very hard. Failure indicates that Fiona agrees to what comes next without thinking through the full implications of her actions. Success means will have me color the description of what is to come...
"Would you grant me a token?" Alips times it to coincide with the orgasmic yes that Fiona shrieks out. "Oh thank you, Fiona!" Alips cries and kisses her passionately. "It's always such a powerful symbol of being welcomed into a covenant. Praxiteles never really understands what it means to me." Now we have dueling rolls... Alips Guile total is 19... Fiona needs an intrigue total in excess of that to see clearly through the fog of passion that she's being manipulated a bit.
Fiona returns the kiss, murmuring [color=blue]"Of course, dearie...it just never occurred to me that a muggle would want a token."
((Com? 2 + Intrigue 3 + die roll of 4 = 9, at best. 8 if it uses Int, or 7 if it uses Per.
[color=blue]"Walk me back to my cottage in the morning, and I'll give you one." She smiles wickedly. [color=blue]"Right now, I'd like to give you something else," and proceeds to work her way slowly down Alips's body.
Tomorrow morning, the pair walk down to Fiona's cottage. When Alips gets the token, she says, "Fiona, I have a confession to make." Alips grabs Fiona's hand. "I asked for the token so I can effectively question some of your covenfolk about Valerian. While I could seduce all the men, I might have trouble with the women, and it would take me too long to seduce the men, and might cause difficulty with their wives. But I have alternate means of getting the truth from people. More than likely you're resistant to my small powers, doubly so if you withdraw the invitation." She sighs, "I have a bad habit of manipulating people. For a long time it was Praxiteles and the covenfolk of Laurus Argenti, but eventually, I was able to turn that around and started using my skills to protect Praxiteles and Laurus Argenti. I need to get the truth, and I need to get the people who have seen what you have seen start dropping comments to Praxiteles. And I need you to keep the fact that I have a token quiet from Praxiteles, so he doesn't suspect what is happening." She seems genuinely concerned for her husband.
Before Fiona and Alips leave the manor, Fiona asks if Alips speaks French. (I'm assuming she does.)
[color=blue]"I don't understand it," Fiona says to Alips in French (making sure that there are people within earshot.) [color=blue]"You've been here all of a day, and you're already more popular than the finest of wines. I've been here five years, and I have yet to have anyone give me a second look."
She sighs somewhat dramatically. [color=blue]"It's not that I'm unattractive, or that I don't have a nice body. Maybe it's because I'm too big? Doesn't anybody realize that, even if I am half giant, I still have a woman's wants and needs? That all too often, I just want someone to love me, even if just for one night? That's not too much to ask, is it?" ((Yes, she's taking Alips's "advice" to heart. Let's see if it bears fruit.))
Fiona can't help but smirk a little at that.
[color=blue]"I won't say a word to him...not about that, anyway." She winks, then gazes off into the distance.
[color=blue]"From what I hear, Valerian killed Apollodorus. If that's true, and what you find out can help bring him to justice..." Fiona lets the thought go unfinished.
[color=blue]"I know you may think you're just doing this to help open your husband's eyes...but you're doing so much more than that. I hope you appreciate the magnitude of what you're doing. And I will do what I can to help. Especially if it means distracting your husband for a few hours." Fiona grins.
Once inside her cottage, Fiona invites Alips back into her bedroom (with the giant-size bed) and asks her to wait there for a couple of minutes. She then goes to the lab, retrieves a casting token, returns to the bedroom, and formally invites Alips into the Aegis.
((Forgot a detail earlier... Praxiteles made himself larger with some variant of Preternatural Growth and Shrinking for his session with Fiona and his wife.
"Maybe tonight, while Praxiteles is otherwise occupied, I bring five or six of the grogs with me for us to enjoy?" She waves Fiona to lean in for her to whisper, "Can you make them umm, bigger, like my husband can do for himself?"
((I figured he did, since he mentioned it to Petronius.))
[color=blue]"Of course...but I didn't know you were interested in giant-size...oh, wait. You're interested in me. Never mind."
Fiona thinks for a moment, a playful smile crossing her face. [color=blue]"Would you be interested in all of us being bigger, or just the grogs and you just...fend for yourself?"
A slow moan escapes Alips lips. "Fending for myself sounds divine, and is the perfect contrast to what I expect will be going on with Praxiteles and Korvin's pert apprentice very soon. But really, I'm not looking for anything larger than Praxiteles was last night, so much depends on the grogs... sword." She chuckles lasciviously.
"I'm off, I need to spend a few hours with Praxiteles at your sculpture to help him find inspiration. And then I can begin questioning your people. And, of course, I will be discreet."
While the offer is...tantalizing...I would prefer to negotiate in a more private setting. Can you be spared to come to my chambers?
"I am...most disappointed. We have a rather good degree of privacy here. After Praxiteles outburst with Alexei yesterday, most of the covenfolk are avoiding him, despite his gentle Gift. Fiona is...indisposed and won't be coming by to observe Praxiteles for quite a while. And none of the other magi will be by for some time, I'm sure. What's going on here is not of interest to them. Petronius is probably off with one of your sodales investigating the regio, so you needn't worry about him. So there is time to negotiate. And Praxiteles won't disturb us. But as far as an invitation to your sanctum, I must decline. I will not dally with a magus in his sanctum. A quick visit, perhaps, but no more. I'm sure you can see the inherent risks of the wife of a magus being in another magus's sanctum for... extended intercourse."