Three days pass after Helmut and Fiona's conversation, and Fiona has finished brewing her first healing potion for Alexei. ((Int 1 + Mythic Herbalism (Potions) 4 + die roll of 8 = 13, vs. an Ease Factor of 9.))
She sidles over to the training yard after lunch to admire the view and to check on Alexei.
[color=blue]"I have something for ye," she says as she hands him the stoppered flask. [color=blue]"This should help speed your healing for about a month, and I'll have another flask for you when the time comes."
She scans the yard to see if Brionne is anywhere around. [color=blue]"How are you feeling?" she asks.
Alexei seemed to be doing some calisthenics between reading from some sheaves of paper when Fiona arrives. The men drilling in the field next to him.
"Ah, good to see you Fiona. Thanks for coming." he looks at the potion offered. "I'm feeling a bit better, but the pain is persistent. I doubt it will heal out of place though. Do I need to lower my parma before I drink this?" he takes a sniff and wrinkles his nose. "This might go good with some strong brandy maybe?" he says with a laugh.
Brionne is near the training field running an exercise with Grogs that seem to be trying to attack a scarecrow that another grog is protecting.
Fiona stops a little ways behind him, watching him for a few minutes with a ghost of a smile on her face before she approaches him.
[color=blue]"Or some of my home-brew whiskey?" she says as she pulls out her hip flask and holds it out for him if he wants. [color=blue]"But, no, lowering your Parma won't be necessary. The potion doesn't have any active magics, I'm simply able to draw out the inherent magical properties of many plants and herbs."
Fiona makes a thoughtful sound as she watches the exercise. [color=blue]"It seems to me that things would be more...interesting if the scarecrow were able to come to his own defence. May I?"
Alexei's eyes brighten as the flask is produced. "Aye that it would." he says and takes the offered flask. From there he downs the potion and then grimaces before chasing it with a gulp of whiskey and makes a deeper grimace before taking another swig.
"Ah!" he grunts. "That'll get a fire going!" he says thumping his chest with a fist. At Fiona's question he looks towards the men training, squinting hard to see what was going on. Seeing what she meant a mischievous smile spreads on his face. "Aye...good practice too, plus I'm sure it will be a good laugh! At your leave Maga." he says making a bow and handing back the flask.
[color=blue]"Have you considered speaking with one of the craftsmen about making some lenses to help with your vision?" Fiona says worriedly before she saunters off toward the melee. She stops a good twenty or thirty paces off, then casts a quick spell.
((Rego Herbam, Base 3 ("Control an amount of wood"), R: Voice (+2), D: Sun (+2), T: Individual, for a final Target Level of 15. Her Casting Total is Re 10 + He 10 + Sta 3 + Aura (Rego) 10 + die roll of 9 = 42, halved is 21. This should allow her to move the scarecrow as she wills until sundown, with possibly a Finesse roll to hit someone if she attacks with it.))
Behind the lone defender, the scarecrow works himself off of the post and moves to stand side-by-side with his protector, looking over at the grog with a nod.
Alexei's smile fades at the mention of his eyesight. He shrugs after a moment. "I use a prism to help me read, if it gets bad though I've been looking into some of the sensory magics, they should be ideal for me and the short range of my Gift."
As the scarecrow comes to life the grog that was defending it gasps in shock and steps away from it. Brionne is looking about, sniffing, and sees Fiona and Alexei observing. His deformed face breaks into what is likely a smile before he returns to the drill. The attacking grogs had also lowered their weapons and paused at the spectacle and Brionne starts to berate all of them. "What are you doing?! You! When you protect the Magus he will not stand as still as a statue! Remember the two step! Two steps in front and one step to your shield arm so he can aim! And you fools!" he directs his ire at the attacking grogs. "What are you doing? Your target has just given up his position! This is a man that can burn you to ash with mere words! Kill him!" he raises a baton over his head and whirls it in a circle before bringing it down. "Lay on!"
Fiona sighs. [color=blue]"I'm sorry. I know that's a sore spot for you. I'll not bring it up again. I just worry about you."
The scarecrow tries to keep its protector between itself and the attackers, but it occasionally steps to one side, waves its arms in dramatic fashion, and points at one of the grogs.
((Sorry to interrupt the flow of this scene ... but I should mention this. After Alexei was named Chief Hoplite, Tranquillina scheduled a meeting with him to describe some ways she might be able to help him in certain situations. She has spells that can be very useful for locating people to whom she has an Arcane Connection: The Inexorable Search (locate them on a map), The Eye of the Sage (see them and their immediate surroundings), and The Ear for Distant Voices (hear their surroundings). Of course it's all scrying as hell, but if Alexei is charged with finding someone who has been Marched, for example, Tranquillina might really be useful. So she wants him to know she's willing to help in this sort of way, should Alexei ever find a need; in this way she can serve the Order's security directly, a little bit.))
Alexei smiles at Fiona. "Thank you my dear, and I very much appreciate that...and your concern." he sighs and it is obvious he does, perhaps now starting to realize how much he depends on others. Ironically his magic is so often about supporting and enhancing, yet now that his age is mounting he needs support himself.
At the training field Brionne watches with a critical eye. "Jean-Claude! You are dead! The wizard has killed you! Surround him, he shall kill all of you if you do not spread about! Remember, take him alive, bind the hands and shove a gag in his mouth!" One of the attacking grogs reverses the poleaxe he was wielding and rushes up at an angle clearly trying to swing at the scarecrows legs, where the back of the knees would be.
Alexei is nodding appreciatively at the tactics. "Won't work so well on me of course. I've allowed myself to be taken prisoner many times and been bound and gagged just so I could be brought to the leader of the enemy. It's smart planning to master a spell so that it frees your hands and voice."
((I think it's a great idea about those magics. With Alexei's range limitation, scrying even when legal is difficult for him. One of my initial plan was maybe to rely on certain networks of information. Of course I also figured that our enemies would plan to frame people we care about and force Alexei to perform his duty.))
Fiona smiles. [color=blue]"Just remember...if there's ever anything I can do for you, you have but to ask."
Fiona gazes intently at the action as she controls the scarecrow, willing it to jump over the sweeping polearm. ((Int 1 + Finesse 3 + die roll of 6 = 10)) If successful, the scarecrow takes a couple more steps backward and "casts a spell" at the attacking grog.
[color=blue]"That might be well and good when you're dealing with muggles," Fiona says. [color=blue]"Not so much with what we're facing now, I fear."
Alexei might not have heard her statement as he's so engrossed in the exercise. The scarecrow does manage to evade the swing of the poleaxe and then he ducks reflexively when the scarecrow begins to gesture allowing the shield grog to land a hard whack on his shoulder with the wooden swords they use to practice .
"Guillaume! You are dead! And...see the cutter about your shoulder." he says after he sees Guillaume wincing and staggering after that hit. "Good work! Protect the magus! Any that strike at him must pay!" The attacking force is now reduced by two, they lock their shields and advance as one. Alexei and Brionne exchange glances. This was where the metal hit the meat. A sturdy shield wall and determined attackers made for difficult opposition.
Alexei turns to Fiona. "Muggles are the greatest concern that the Order faces Fiona. Watch the determined advance, see the concerted tactics. The Roman Empire was built by this. See how the shield grogs buys the magus time to either escape or possibly kill his attackers. A magus without loyal muggles is not in a good situation. And muggles with a mind to kill a magus may succeed. That is one thing I've learned in my years, present company excluded, far too many of our Order do not see this type of action...more's the pity. When the muggles rise up, they will be the first to underestimate them. And the first to die."
Fiona concentrates to have her scarecrow retreat a few steps and begin another "spell" before she answers. [color=blue]"I've never actually thought about the strategy of the shield grog before. I've always been content to have him between me and the foe."
She nods thoughtfully. [color=blue]"This is something I should do more often, I think. Perhaps have a mannequin made up that I can control and do these exercises with them. An incredibly large and comely mannequin, methinks." she adds playfully.
[color=blue]"Do you feel that muggles are the greatest threat we face? Greater than the rot we discovered?"
Alexei is keeping an eye on the action as he continues the conversation. "Aye...your own defense is what you need to be most aware of. A well trained shield grog can certainly take care of your defense needs, but...I feel it's a wise choice to work with the Grogs for a season or two. You need to coordinate effectively, to protect what is most precious to you."
He takes a seat with a strained sigh and rubs his ribs. "As for the threat...the corruption we have experienced is something we have to deal with every several decades. In my opinion it can only change the Order, not destroy it. But when men turn upon us...they will leave nothing. They outnumber us by thousands to one. More than that they have faith that can be turned into a weapon. They are inventive and determined, they'll learn our weaknesses and exploit them to the fullest, they'll come when we're tired and weak, in waves that we can't account for. Some of the members of my House think they have powerful enough Arts and spells to kill them...armies won't attack them, assasins will, and they'll never recognize the threat until it's too late. Those that think they can stand and fight will see how little their strength is when the Dominion marches with the armies. Those that think they can hide...perhaps they'll survive...but they will forever be in the Rome that was." He reaches for the bowl of fruit on the table and takes an apple. "And it is the magi that abuse, ignore, and provoke them that shall start this."
Tranquillina will attend. Also, Probationary Members are definitely welcome at council meetings, although according to our covenent charter their votes count only as half votes. ((Note to players - scan through a few relevant posts in the Table Talk thread if you haven't already.))
((Staging suggestion: could we have this meeting happen in 1227.4, after Tranquillina's conversation with Tria and Maris? She should report on that to council anyway, at some point; maybe it's worth combining into one scene. - Also, when searching for that post to get that last link, I searched for "Korvin blow up", because I remember really liking your well-timed comic exit line ))
Fiona sits down next to Alexei, her knee resting against his, and watches the melee quietly, continuing to move her scarecrow about and have it "cast spells" until the battle is won or lost.
[color=blue]"When I can spare the time, I'll come with Jehanne to practice working together."
It's several minutes before she speaks again. [color=blue]"If the muggles do rise up against us, for whatever reason, you'll have a much easier go of it than I will. Most magi will, I fear."
Alexei grimly points at the final results of the melee. The determined shield wall positions itself and then charges. The shield grog bravely makes a last stand, but in the end is down; Brionne doesn't need to call him out. The scarecrow despite it's flailing and evasion gets hacked down with the weapons the grogs use. In the end Brionne decrees that two of the attacking grogs were taken out, but that still left one standing over a defeated scarecrow-magus.
"Now...imagine a shield wall with dozens, maybe hundreds of men, set in front of catapults and ballistae, rows of archers and crossbowmen, led by a fiery faithed knight. That is why we'd lose. Oh certainly we can make a great stand, or no stand at all and avoid it. But wizards can't really hold land, that's done with men and weapons. And I doubt I'd have an easier go of it...I'd be expected to help out, and be honour bound to do so. In the end, falling back into Regios might likely be the best course...but who can say what would become of us then? We are connected to the magical realm, but not of it." he sighs and sits back.
"It should be mandatory that apprentices or even magi serve in some capacity to see such things as this. It brings a whole new perspective on mundane society and the wisdom of the Founders. The boasting and bragging and boorishness that many magi have fades after being hit by a crossbow bolt, I can assure you of that." he says as he shows a puckered scar in his right bicep.
[color=blue]"True, but you can blend in far easier than I can ever hope to. And, if worse comes to worse, we can always join our Diedne brethren." Fiona gazes off absently, thinking that there are worse fates than to spend the next hundred years in the bed of the Blacksmith.
Fiona looks at his scar with a sympathetic "Awwww..."
))