Wilhelm looks at her with a slightly confused look on his face. [color=green]"Er...a little queasy for a second?" Then he wonders if she turned him into something and looks at his hands and arms, then feels his face.
Wilhelm doesn't see anything different about him, and the queasiness has definitely passed.
At his report, Tranquillina looks disappointed. "Caochan," she grumbles. "I thought I had it this time ... back to the lab." She turns around and is about to return to the mansion.
As she starts to turn, Wilhelm speaks up. [color=green]"Excuse me, Frau Maga? May I speak with you briefly?"
"Hmm? Well, certainly, I suppose. What can I do for you?"
Wilhelm looks more than a little nervous, possibly more nervous than Tranquillina's ever seen him. [color=green]"Ja, well, it's my family, maga. They have found me, all the way from Rötenbach, in the Black Forest. They tell me that my mother is dying, and want me to go back with them."
He moves a step closer, wringing his hat in his hands, and lowers his voice. [color=green]"I did not leave home under good terms. And it seems that the dark fae are involved, that one lured my father into their realm and replaced him into our lives. Father found his way out only after his doppelgänger was killed.
[color=green]"My brother says that I can bring a magus if you want. I would never ask that," he adds hurriedly, [color=green]"I know how important your time is. I plan to go back to say my goodbyes, and come right back, and take my apprentice with me. But, to tell the truth, I don't quite trust them, and it all...seems funny. Do you have any advice for me, or any magics that can help?"
((I didn't think I went for the cliche of a sick/dying parent. I reviewed the post, skimming, and didn't see it. Of course, i'm kinda winging the getting Ulrich to home part... 
))
Edit: I said she got sick last winter, as in had an Aging Crisis, but she did survive. And as of now, she's fine.
((I probably got it from here:
Rereading it, I can see where I got the "ma is dying, come home" thing from, even though that isn't quite what he said. But close enough that he might have gotten that impression.
Tranquillina looks at Wilhelm thoughtfully. "I know little about the details of your past, Wilhelm, and if that is how you prefer it I have no quarrel with your choice. But it is possible that you are getting involved with dangerous powers here. Be careful ... especially where it comes to inviting ruin upon Mons Electi."
"I think I could provide certain assistances, perhaps. I could grant you the ability to see through disguises - although a powerful faerie's magic could still thwart my spell. I could also allow you to tell whether a being is fae or not by touching him, for example. Would abilities of this sort help you?"
((The first idea is just Sight of the True Form with increased Range and Duration. As for the second, would an Intellego Corpus spell do the trick for granting a magical (touch) sense that detects the fae? Or would it need to be Intellego Vim...?))
((It's InVi to detect fae, although, since fae take human forms, you can affect them with Corpus spells, but that still doesn't determine whether they are fae with might. If that makes any sense. Wilhelm's brother, for instance could be a Fae lord in excess of 35 might, although he was technically brought into the Aegis unconscious. I'm also assuming that the Level 50 Aegis is in effect, although it might not be... There are a lot of unanswered questions here as to what's true... Which is fine, eventually they'll get settled as the story progresses. ))
[color=green]"My past...my life has not always been a happy one, Frau Tranquillina. Often hard, even after I came here. But I am content here, now that I no longer have to worry all the time about whether I will eat tonight, and I would live the rest of my days here. For that, I am grateful."
He quickly thinks over the magics that Tranquillina is offering, then nods. [color=green]"Ja. It will at least tell me if I am truly dealing with my family or not. Vielen dank.
[color=green]"We plan on leaving tomorrow. When do you want to enchant me?"
"Meet me on the top floor of the mansion, ten minutes after sunrise tomorrow," Tranquillina instructs. "I shall perform the ceremonies then; they should not take longer than twenty minutes or so."
((Wilhelm might well want to do things between now and then, but let me do Tranquillina's part now while I've got the time 
))
Tranquillina is up a little before sunrise, as usual. After she invokes her Parma Magica and selects an appropriately ceremonial Hermetic outfit, she meets Wilhelm in the mansion and takes him across into the regio side. A quick walk down the hall brings them to the ceremonial casting room, which she surveys for a minute, forming a plan. She begins with a ceremonial version of Touch of the Faerie Presence, then follows up with a version of Sight of the True Form, making a big production of both spells with strongly voiced intonations.
((Touch of the Faerie Presence: grant a magical sense of touch to detect faeries. I don't know what the base level should be, so we'll roll up for that. Range: Touch, Duration: Sun, Target: Touch (sense). Sta -3 + In 6 + Vi 7 + aura 5 + Artes Liberales 1 + ceremonial room 5 + words/gestures 2 + stress die 4 = 27, halved is 14. That's enough for a Base Level 2 spell, which means ... I don't know. Hmm, if a Base Level 3 spell would be significantly better, she'll spend a Confidence Point to increase the Casting Total to 15. Let me know though.))
((Sight of the True Form: rolling up for level of effect, Range: Touch, Duration: Sun, Target still Vision. Sta -3 + In 6 + Co 28 + aura 5 + Talisman attunement (eyes) 6 + AL 1 + room 5 + words/gestures 2 + stress die 2 = 52, halved is 26, which is like a level 11 SotTF after the increased Range/Duration are taken into account. That's good enough to see through mundane disguises and spells/effects of level 11 or less.))
After ten minutes or so, Tranquillina ceases her gesticulations and regards Wilhelm, who had to choke back a bit of bile in his throat a couple of times. "Remember, neither spell is infallible, against a powerful enough adversary. But I hope these provide you with some measure of confidence. Your enhanced senses will last at least until sunset, but probably a couple of days." ((In fact, Touch of the Faerie Presence will last two days and one night, while Sight of the True Form will last five days and four nights.))
((I think all he has planned is packing and getting his apprentice ready to go.))
[color=green]"Thank you again, Frau Maga," Wilhelm says. Before he leaves, he cocks his head and looks at her.
[color=green]"If I may ask...that spell you tried to use on me yesterday. What was it?"
((I have no idea whether these ceremonial spells will actually help Wilhelm in practice! but it's fun to act important 
))
Tranquillina looks a bit puzzled, and Wilhelm has to remind her what happened, and what she said, before she remembers. "Ah ... well, I am researching a way to suppress my sigil when I use Hermetic - um, let me start again." She chooses her words to suit a non-Hermetic audience. "When I cast a spell, people around me tend to feel sick for a moment. I do too, myself, sometimes. And I am trying to find away to prevent that, when it is important. Unfortunately, I think I still have some work do to."
Wilhelm wishes Tranquillina luck with her work, waits to be dismissed,and spends the rest of the day getting himself and Patience ready to go.
The next morning (barring anything happening), he will meet his family where they're supposed to meet. He will be taking his bow and a fully loaded quiver, just in case.
And when he meets his family again, he will study them closely to see if Tranquillina's spells tell him anything.
((Unless the spells cast have a long duration, like Moon, these spells won't do Ulrich any good once he gets home. This allows him to detect a creater, of 30 Might or better.))
((If nothing else, should be able to tell him if the family that came to fetch him are Fae or not. Better than nothing.))
When Wilhelm and Hiltprant get back to camp, Karl-Martin and a few others are there, but most of them have gone on. Wilhelm's skin doesn't tingle or anything, so no one appears to be fae. "I sent the others ahead. We'll stop in Autun for some supplies. We'll catch up to them sometime tomorrow. I'm glad that the Wizard's you live with decided to heal your brother."
Wilhelm introduces Patience to everyone (and vice versa), explaining that she is his apprentice. (Yes, he is going to continue his...well, at this point it's not really a "masquerade" anymore, but his charade of being a man, simply because it is his self-image now, after more than two-thirds of his life.)
He is ready to go when they are, and as they walk, he will continue talking to Patience, pointing out anything and everything, asking questions, and letting her help hunt and gather when the times come.
He will also ask questions about home, his family, etc, almost hoping to catch them in a lie.
Everyone is polite, and no one comments on Wilhelm's gender identity. Is Patience also adopting a different gender identity, or is she just more tom-boy?
As far as the nature of the home/family, etc questions, I need to know some more about that... or you need to tell me what you want the lie to be, as I'd already mentioned...
Patience is more tomboyish than having "gender issues" like Wilhelm does.
Basically, Wilhelm is asking about people that he knew when he was a kid, family, people of note at Rötenbach, asking if that big oak tree by the church is still there, stuff like that. What's he's half-expecting is for them to either not know the name of the vogt that investigated Hilprant's death, call his cousin Erich when it's actually Frederich, stuff like that.