((To summarize: Tranquillina is relieved that she can just leave her pawns in storage; naively she doesn't really believe that Mons Electi could ever have a shortage of a particular type of vis. She's nervous enough about the subject of vis that she doesn't even follow up on Korvin's comment about limiting the Vim (which I the player understand of course - need to cast those Aegises). If later she wants to withdraw a huge chunk of Vim, to boost her talisman's capacity, and there isn't enough lying around ... well, then she made her own bed, and we get an interesting story scene out of it.))
((And just to [strike]make this thread as confusing as possible[/strike] have as many fun conversations as we can:))
As the first course is served by the carefully instructed servants, Tranquillina turns politely to her right, addressing Gerulf. "I am very pleased that you could join us, sodalis. I know your mater a little bit: I have always found her easy to speak to, and her research is of course well respected within our House. Where do your magical interests lie? Both Isen -" she indicates the magus on the other side of Gerulf, who seems to be morosely regarding his cold salad, "- and I are curious to hear about you."
((What does Gerulf look like this evening?))
Korvin nods at Tranquillina and begins moving around the table to Fiona. You look ravishing as usual Fiona. His eye moving up and down and lingering for a long moment. If you have time, please have a look at the ledger and pick out your vis. Korvin hands her the wax tablet. I'm going to meet the new Tytalis, Stultus. His hand caresses her shoulder and neck. Would you care to join me?
Alexei stands as Fiona enters the room, leaning heavily on his staff for support and accepts her hug gratefully. "Thank you ever so my dear." Helmut rushes to get her chair for her for which Alexei is a bit thankful and he sinks to his chair again. "As always it is wonderful to see you Fiona."
He turns his gaze around the room. "And you as well Tranquillina, you are a most welcome addition to this dinner." He nods at Gerulf...he's not sure if he's seen Gerulf before.
((How obvious is it what Rumpelstiltskin's purpose is? Fiona, if you need a roll, has Int 1 + Magic Theory 6 + die roll of 8 = 15, or Int 1 + Weaving 2 + die roll of 8 = 11.))
Fiona simply smiles her Mona Lisa smile. [color=blue]"Thank you."
[color=blue]"Pleasing oneself is all well and good," Fiona muses as she looks at Stultus, [color=blue]"but I've found that there is more...satisfaction in pleasing each other."
[color=blue]"You have?" Fiona says with a grin and a twinkle in her eye.
[color=blue]"Thank you," Fiona says as she takes the tablet and looks it over quickly. [color=blue]"I doubt I'll be doing any work on my projects until I return from Grand Tribunal...but when I do, I'll be needing..." She purses her lips as she does some figuring in her head. [color=blue]"Twelve pawns of Vim, and three of either Rego or Terram. The rest, if you don't mind, I would like to keep in the stores on account until I have need of them."
[color=blue]"Certainly," she says, then gets to her feet, giving Sheelagh a quick look that says that she will return soon and that the apprentice should wait there.
There seems to be a rush on Vim. We do not have enough Vim in stock currently. We will be getting more from the prize pawns but it will depend on who is claiming them. I'm hesitant to give many now before I talk to Isen to figure out what we will need for the Aegis. You may have to take another type and exchange it for Vim with the Redcaps when the time comes. We have plenty of Rego and some Terram. I will mark you down for Rego and hold the rest, 37 pawns, in storage.
Korvin will move over to Stultus with Fiona. He will wait for a break in the conversation between Roberto and Stultus to approach. Roberto. I hope you are well this evening. And you must be Stultus ex Tytalis. I am Korvin ex Mercere. This lovely woman is Fiona ex Miscellanea.
[color=blue]"That's all right, it's going to be a year or two before I have any use for it anyway. Perhaps by then we will have a better supply."
Fiona curtsies deeply. [color=blue]"A pleasure," she says with a smile. She towers over Stultus, in much the same way an oak towers over a rose bush...he comes up to her thigh (about as high as a thigh boot), and in fact he could probably rest his chin on the top of her kneecap.
Alexei winks. "Some have the subtle Gift, I have the subtle humour. That's my very secret weapon." He taps his nose twice. "Only those with a truly refined sense of humour can sense my jokes..." he heaves a dramatic sigh. "I am so often unappreciated." and takes a sip of wine.
(( Not very obvious, but that's a VERY good roll. So... you have an item that incorporates a comb (huge bonus to working with hair), is designed to have large amounts of material fed through it, and is being presented to a covenant famous for its sheep flocks. Fiona might not be able to tell precisely what it does, but she could be fairly confident it's intended for some sort of wool processing.))
"Don't worry about it, I can pass it on."
Stultus was just about to reply to Alexei, when Korvin and Fiona walked up. He cranes his neck up and around. "It's a true pleasure to meet you, Korvin ex Mercere, and you as well... oh, blast it. I am used to getting a crick in my neck, but this is ridiculous." The tiny jester-mage kicks off his shoes, pushes his trencher aside and scrambles up onto the table, sitting tailor-fashion on the tabletop. He turns so he could keep all three magi (Alexei, Fiona and Korvin) in his field of view. "Much better. As I was saying -- it's a true pleasure to meet you, Fiona ex Miscellanea." He winks roguishly at the very tall woman. "Beauty like yours, sodalis, is much better appreciated from a proper vantage point."
"Now, Alexei had asked a question I'm sure you all want to hear the answer to..." Stultus considers the Flambeau for a moment.
(( Must... resist ... the urge...
Must... resist...
Nope. Player failed his willpower roll. ))
"Troubles? Oh, yes, you got troubles! Right here in Mons Electi! Troubles with a capital 'T', that rhymes with 'G', that stands for... well, I think you all know what that stands for. I wasn't even here for a week and I picked up on that. I'm surprised you'd have to ask that question..." Small pause. "Oh, I see. You were asking what troubles I bring WITH me, aside from the ones you've already got. My apologies for the misunderstanding."
He considers briefly. "Honestly, aside from my mater cara, I'm not aware of anything dogging my heels. My mater cara is a concern, but she's both a long way away and mostly..." (his eyes flicker to the other side of the table very briefly) "... only interested in messing with me. Not saying her plots won't slop over onto Mons Electi, but if they do, it would be collateral damage at best."
"Now, what I bring with me is an interesting question." Stultus draws himself up straighter, and presses both hands to his chest, shamelessly mugging for the audience. "Personally, I feel my wit is a more than sufficient contribution to any covenant. Perhaps even too much of a contribution. But people will insist on material things, so I did bring a couple of gifts -- a book, and an invested device."
((Oh dear. I trailed off during the break in the action and missed this.))
Gerulf walks in casually. He is dressed in black robes with silver threaded accents. He seems to favor his silver cane a bit, and his eyes are just a little dark. He smiles congenially, however, and eyes the seats which so obviously bear the crest of his house. Seeing that Tranquillina has already selected hers, he seats himself at the other next to her.
"Oh, I'm quite pleased to work with Rego. I find it most natural. I do, however, enjoy a bit of Muto," he says conspiratorially, "when the mood takes me." He nods as food is served and lifts his hand, remotely raising his goblet and tilting his head to invite the pouring of wine. He smiles in appreciation as the deep purple liquid sloshes softly into the container and takes a sip before setting it back on the table. "I have my suspicions regarding the two arts, but," he hesitates. "Mm. Perhaps that is a discussion for another time. You say you are familiar with Ingrid," he asks, taking a casual glance at Isen. "How do you find my mater?" He is only momentarily distracted by the boisterous voice of Stultus before returning his focus to Tranquillina.
Korvin gets a smile that others have not seen in a long time.
I learned there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind...
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me![1]
I think I could find some use for a mage with wit such as yours. Tell me does your wit carry well for others. Say an acting troupe?
Stultus' grin threatens to split his head in two. "I've done that. Quite a few times, in fact. Acting and jongleur troupes have so many uses -- and besides, they're just plain fun. Yeah, we can definitely talk about whatever you've got in mind."
Alexei smiles at the duelling rhyme and refrains from chuckling as laughing still hurt. Once that was through he thumped his staff twice on the ground.
"Bravo, bravo. Wit is always something appreciated by me. However, we do have some business to attend to. Once the vis allotments are handled I feel we should look into the new applications for membership. Korvin, regarding vis, I have stipulated I shall forfeit picks so that others may get their first shares, if that helps at all.
"Now, regarding new members...we have a few do we not? I believe I have vouched for Tranquilina thus far. Who else are we considering? Those that wish to join, have you made yourselves familiar with the process for membership?"
Then we shall talk about an idea I have and I hope you can improve upon it. Please enjoy the dinner. I must go and greet our other guests.
Korvin holds out a hand to tell Alexei to stop.
No Alexei. I told you that I will not accept noble gestures in this. Someone must be first and you were it. Sometimes people will have to accept the vis we have and exchange it for what they want. Had I time I would perhaps have done a round-robin pick of the vis with each person electing 5 at a time but not with the amounts we are dealing with at this time.
Alexei frowns and pauses for several seconds before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Very well Korvin, let my picks stand. We can always trade vis amongst ourselves later so as not to interrupt our meeting together." Alexei gulps his wine and Helmut pours another cup for him. "Do not let my sodales in the Milites hear of this...we fight with each other over who can climb highest upon the cross." he adds with a sardonic smile.
[color=blue]"Horizontally?" Fiona says with an arched brow and just a hint of a smile. Probably not sure if she's offended, intrigued, or just meh about what he said. ((Com 2 + Guile (hiding true feelings 3 + die roll of 9 = 14.))
[color=blue]"I noticed your device," Fiona says. [color=blue]"It looks interesting. What does it do, precisely?"
((Now see, I was being good and trying not to go there, and you did. ))
Stultus looks briefly startled, and then thoughtful. (It's an exaggerated thoughtfulness, but all of his mannerisms are exaggerated. Today, anyway.) "I was talking about elevation, but you know, you're right. Horizontally might actually work better..." He grins up at Fiona impudently. "If I ever get the chance to make the experiment, I'll be sure and let you know how the aesthetics compare."
"It's a shortcut for cloth-making. Uses Rego to replace the beating and carding steps. You feed raw wool to it, it separates out the debris that the washing missed, breaks up the clumps and straightens the fibers." He looks wry. "As a side note, you get to keep it even if you make the dreadful, dreadful mistake of showing me the door. I'm tired of lugging the damned thing around."
((Note: I'm making all this up about Ingrid. Feel free to differ with anything I say - we can retcon it.))
Tranquillina purses her lips, gathering her memories. "Ingrid Trianomae, of the lineage of Irmele if I'm not mistaken," she begins. "A couple of decades older than me. Skilled at manipulation, Auram, Rego - but Mentem prowess as well. She is very outgoing, very sociable and well-connected within the Rhine Tribunal. Generally considered a dispassionate mediator, although I know she can stay a step ahead of others when she puts her mind to it - Tria told me a story once...." She smiles and shakes her head. "Generally very well respected. I met her once, when I was visiting Durenmar a while before the Stonehenge Tribunal of 1208. I remember, she was mentioning that her friend ... Dora? ... had just acquired an apprentice, and we chatted about the possibility of Ingrid fostering the young woman later on."
Tranquillina's focus is broken slightly by a conversation on the other side of the table; she doesn't quite figure out what words poked at her attention, though she thinks she sees the dwarf quickly avert his gaze when she looks over. ((Per 2 + Awareness 2 + stress die 7 = 11 (12 for "being watched" specialty).)) "And you, sodalis," she continues to Gerulf, "you must be proud to carry on Trianoma's tradition as well."
Fiona regards him appraisingly, with the same hint of a smile, for an almost awkwardly long moment. [color=blue]"I would say that the aesthetics are incomparable, but I wouldn't want to seem vain. I am quite the fan of experimentation, however."
[color=blue]"I'll have to give it a try. It's been too long since I've worked with raw wool."
Gerulf raises his eyebrows. “You are quite familiar, then.” He takes another sip.
((Might have to retcon this a tad. I originally cast her as Trianoma, but after discussing it with Jonathan, recast her as a sociable Bonisagus. Since you were kind enough to read my background early on, you no doubt remembered that she was Trianoma. ))
“Ingrid is an accomplished maga, and I am proud to have apprenticed to her. Her steady hand has taught me much, and I owe her a debt of scholarly gratitude which I may never be able to repay. Nevertheless, it is my belief that her social appetites occasionally impact her research. Of course, we all have our… vices,” he says. “Some just get in the way more than others, wouldn’t you agree?” He has, over the course of the conversation, shifted to face her a bit more, thus blocking Isen from the conversation, perhaps inadvertently. He folds his hands in his lap, steepling his thumbs.
))
))