Setting the scene, no one has been provided tokens, yet.
He seems disappointed, but he does go off, "Perhaps tomorrow, because I'll be busy in the morning."
The next morning there's a note pushed through the threshold of the door.
Opening it, Fiona reads:
Fiona,
Come to my quarters, come alone. ((Directions are provided.))
Ra'am
Probably get them when the Tribunal actually kicks off. Hopefully. Fiona will ask Gerulf if he knows when we get tokens.
He, being Douglas? Fiona looks at him, feeling a little confused. He didn't think I meant I wanted to go to bed alone, did he? she thinks.
That evening, as they get settled in, she looks at Gerulf. [color=blue]"Do you want to share my bed tonight? ((My understanding is that there are two beds in the room. Either one for Fiona and one for Gerulf, with Sheelagh on the floor in a bedroll with the grogs unless she finds someone to share a bed with; or Fiona and Sheelagh, with Gerulf either with Fiona or on the floor.))
Fiona reads the note, then tucks it into her purse and heads to Ra'am's directly, keeping an eye out. It should be safe at Durenmar but you never know.
((I may have misunderstood what you meant. If Fiona was interested in him staying for a bit for a roll in the hay, he would have... So let's just say that it was put off until Douglas can be alone with her, and Sheelagh and Gerulf are otherwise occupied.))
Fiona arrives at Ra'am's quarters, which are noticeably larger than hers, and there are several other magi already there, including a very familiar face, Laetitia.
((That's okay, we can blame it on the drugs 
))
Fiona (who is her normal, giant size) looks around, then grins and goes over to give Laetitia a hug [color=blue]"How have you been, Laetitia? You look as beautiful as ever!" She then greets those she knows, and waits to be introduced to those she doesn't.
Laetitia doesnt say much, but Fiona takes in the scene. There are twelve magi, but no one actually does introductions. A woman's no doesn't bother to identify herself and who Fiona doesn't recognize seems to take charge. "There are twelve of us here, one from each House. Some of you know each other, some of you don't. You are all here because of what you know and because you are a representative of your House. Every Grand Tribunal, the Prima of each House or her designates perform a ritual of sorts. The ritual is believed to protect the Order, somehow. It has been performed every Grand Tribunal except for one, the one before the Schism. This time we are hoping that someone believes it will not have been performed and that they may take it as a sign to take bolder action. Please take this and keep it safe, it is a map to the location of the ritual. and do not discuss this with each other, and if you don't know the others, don't make any effort to introduce yourself at any time for the rest of the Grand Tribunal. We will meet tomorrow at sundown, please arrange your days activities accordingly and be on time.""
Perhaps surprisingly everyone nods their agreement.
"Very well. We will disperse slowly. I'll depart first, and then others of you can leave in twos mat even increments over the next hour.". She leaves and Ra'am turns an hour glass. The people who know each other gather into groups. Fiona only recognizes Ra'am and Laetitia.
Fiona says nothing, doesn't even nod her agreement at the instructions. She moves over by Ra'am (and Laetitia, if she's there), and sits tailor-style on the floor. She simply sits and waits, assuming that Ra'am will not be leaving (it is his room, after all). Her mind is racing with the implications of what the unknown maga said, and what she didn't say. She sets her talisman across her lap as she waits until either she's asked to leave or until she's the last one, her eyes gazing thoughtfully into space. She says nothing to anyone unless they speak to her first, and likewise acknowledges no one's existence unacknowledged.
"Did I notice you've taken an apprentice?" Ra'am asks in way of small talk.
[color=blue]"Yes, Sheelagh. She was sent to me by my mater a few years. Marós opened her arts, but found herself in a position that precluded her from continuing her education, so she asked me to take her in. I must confess, I had my doubts that I was ready, but all in all I think I've done a decent job."
As she speaks, an odd expression crosses Fiona's face. Not fear, not discomfort, but...perhaps that she might be bothered by something?
"It is something, something I wasn't sure I'd experience. Having an apprentice that isn't my own child. It's harder and easier than I expected." Small talk continues for a while, and Laetitia and Fiona are the last in Ra'am's quarters...
[color=blue]"Oh, I knew I'd have an apprentice someday. I was just surprised at the way it came about."
Fiona will inquire about Ulrich, and lightly flirt with Laetitia during the conversation, and ask if the Quaesitor has taken an apprentice yet. When the group is down to the three of them, she looks around.
[color=blue]"Well, it looks like your guest list is down to two, Ra'am. So, I suppose I should be going. Laetitia, will you be staying, or would you like to do some sightseeing with me?"
Ra'am answers all of the questions she has about Ulrich.
Laetitia accepts Fiona's invitation to stroll around, "That would be pleasant, Fiona. How have you been?"
((Oh, and something that occurred to me on the way to work this morning.))
[color=blue]"There is something...interesting I've heard about Ulrich that I'd like to get your take on. From what I hear, and it may have gotten misconstrued by the time it reached my ears, when Ulrich was studying under Apollodorus, he..." Fiona gestures feebly with her hands as she tries to come up with the best way to put it, [color=blue]"did something to the boy that made him a prodigy with Rego, but also...made him dangerous, in a way."
She looks at Ra'am.
[color=blue]"I have been doing very well. We've amended the charter so that, instead of rotating the Princeps-ship, we actually have fixed duties. I'm in charge of dealing with visiting magi. Which can be a most enjoyable burden." She smiles down at Laetitia with a grin and a wink. [color=blue]"In addition to acting as Korvin's deputy princeps."
"There is something there. I'd been warned about it. I've been keeping him extremely busy, the busier he is the less chance there is at causing trouble. I can't tell you more than that, because I don't know more than that."
"IS that all you're doing with Korvin?" Laetitia asks pointedly.
((Does she seem jealous? Per 0 + Folk Ken (Magi) 2 + die roll of 3 = 5. So, Fiona probably can't tell.))
Fiona merely shrugs noncommittally, with a hint of a smile.
No, not jealous. Merely curious. LAetitia motions for Fiona to lean in for her to whisper, "Fiona, a storm's coming. Pieces are being moved into place. Apollodorus's death was the beginning of trouble, not the end. August and Marcu's stunt at the Normandy Tribunal bought time, but it also means that the leaders of my House have less to lose and are more dangerous. Valreian is barely controlled. Do you know if the rumors are true that he went after Tria?"
[color=blue]"That's what I heard, as well. Second-hand, but from one who had spent time under her tutelage. And Tria wasn't alone, she was with Isen Flambonis at the time. I don't know if Valerian was alone, or if he had a gang with him again."
Fiona sighs. [color=blue]"I was hoping that, when he had been assigned to Magvillus, that they would keep him under control. I'm not sure, now that I think back on it, if he has slipped his leash or if he was acting under orders. Neither one bodes well."
"Valerian is far more dangerous than I thought. I have no doubt that what happened at the Normandy Tribunal was done on purpose. Rumors had been swirling for some time about he and Praxiteles. And so, I think he sought to put those rumors to rest. Of course, having his mater close at hand to paint a veneer of legitimacy to his lie didn't hurt him at all."
Fiona's fists clinch tightly as she walks. [color=blue]"Oh, I have no doubt that it was intentional," she says to Laetitia. [color=blue]"I said so at the time. But with him being under the protection of Guernicus, there was nothing we could do."
Actually thinking about his death, much to her surprise, starts her crying again. [color=blue]"I'm sorry, Laetitia, can we go sit down somewhere? I need a moment."
"Certainly. I'm sorry I brought it up, Fiona."
[color=blue]"That's all right," Fiona says after a couple of minutes, once she's regained her composure. [color=blue]"I still cry for Apollodorus sometimes, and I wasn't as fond of him as I was Praxiteles."
She dries her eyes with the sleeve of her robe and sniffles one last time. [color=blue]"So. Was that a random question, or is there something that can actually be done about the...about Valerian?"