1228.4 The Mistress Always Spanks Twice

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: In the Ruins of Bibracte
187

Tranquillina rolls her eyes at all the trouble she went through to get an Arcane Connection to Cumhachd, when the elder maga was just going to literally gift-wrap one for her in due time. She ponders the spot on the page from which she senses magic, thinking of tests she can apply. Since she has already cast a spell on the letter, she can rule out the spot containing vis, since she would have sensed it specifically after the spell. She runs her thumb over the written word slowly; "Eskil," she says aloud, feeling a little foolish. She tries casting her Unraveling the Form of Imaginem spell upon the page, in case there is an illusion in force. ((Casting success is automatic. It will unravel any Imagimen spell of level up to spell level 10 + 10 + Unraveling Mastery 3 + stress die 3 = 26.))

(Assuming nothing has happened yet:) As a last chance, she will spend four minutes creating a ceremonial spell to unravel any Aquam spell that might be affecting the ink directly. ((Sta -3 + Pe 14 + Vi 7 + words/gestures 2 + Artes Liberales 1 + ceremonial chamber 5 + aura 5 + stress die 0 (geez! no botch) = 31, halved is 16. It will unravel any Aquam spell of level up to spell level 16 + 10 + stress die 0 (doublegeez!! no botch chance according to spell description) = 26.))

Finally, Tranquillina acknowledges the exertion she is putting her weakened body through; she could feel her magic trying to get away from her while up in the chamber. She Leaps back to her bedroom and enters her laboratory through her reading nook, placing the letter from Cumhachd and the Analects on the shelf there. A thought occurs to her, and she removes the kerchief with Loys's lock of blond hair from her pouch, tossing it on a side table. Then she continues weaving the Vim vis into the cloth with Cumhachd's saliva until she is forced to collapse into bed.

188

[color=blue]"Aye, I'm afraid you do look like you're in rough shape," Fiona says, speaking in Gaelic as well. She gets up long enough to get a washcloth, soak it in water and wring it out, then sponts a quick CrIg to warm it up[sup][size=85]1[/size][/sup] and places it on Tranquillina's forehead, brushing her patient's hair aside as she does so.

[color=blue]"I gather you and Cumhachd don't exactly the most cordial of relationships. Which is too bad, in a way. My mater and I are cordial enough, and she did send me Sheelagh, but we've only seen each other once since I came here. Do you know why she came to visit yet, in this kind of weather?"

She hands Tranquillina a handkerchief after she sneezes, and watches her some more, then shifts to sit tailor-style on the bed (tucking the hem of her skirt under her so she doesn't flash Tranquillina any longer than she needs to).

[color=blue]"You should have sent for me, I would have been happy to come see you. But I think what you need more than anything else now is a good night's sleep. As late as it is, your lab work can keep until morning."

[sup][size=85]1[/size][/sup] CrIg base 2 to heat an item to be warm to the touch, R: Touch +1, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, for a final spell level of 5. CT is Cr 6 + Ig 5 + Sta 3 + Aura 5 + die roll of 4 = 23, halved is 12.

189

"No, I ... I mean, it's time-sensitive - I have to keep pushing on," Tranquillina demurs, her eyes flicking from side to side. "I will sleep, I will, but just ... I need to work a bit more tonight. I'm feeling a little better already...." And indeed she is, as much from the unspoken signals of kindness and concern from Fiona as from the brief rest and medicinal tea.

"To ruin my life, near as I can tell," she bemoans instantly. "I mean - look, I have no idea why she's here. If she just wanted to fling her bilious barbs at me for a couple of days and then move on, I could understand that. But her, her setting up a damned laboratory in our regio...." Tranquillina throws her arms up in the air, which has the unfortunate side effect of flinging the dregs of the tea into a nearby district of the bed. "Caochan," she mutters, using her knowledge of Perdo to dry out the sheets. ((Base 4, +1 Touch, for level 5 spell. Sta -3 + Pe 14 is already enough, as long as I don't botch.))

"Fiona ... I would kill to have any kind of 'cordial' relationship with that evil woman - who is not my mater, in any way, I assure you. Or no relationship at all, preferably. But her only modes of communication were silence or contempt, her only methods of teaching torture or abandonment. You don't know, you can't imagine what...." Tranquillina trails off, staring into the bottom of her empty teacup. It seems there is a specific memory playing in her mind, one she has trouble bringing herself to address.

190

Fiona looks at Tranquillina for a long moment, then sighs. [color=blue]"I'm not going to tie you up and keep you in bed all night as appealing as the idea might be. But let me bring some more of the medicinal tea, and I'll come keep you company, make sure you don't overwork yourself."

Fiona scooches a little closer to Tranquillina. [color=blue]"She was your first domina, if I remember right. And a Tytalus, and Stultus's mater. And yet, from what I understand, she has all but ignored Stultus and focused her attentions on you. There's a lot of conflict, and it's tearing you apart. But she is a Tytalus. And what are Tytalus's words? "From conflict, growth"? Is it possible that she's not here to bring you misery for misery's sake?"

191

((By this point Fiona has received her gift, as well. In the morning, when she came outside of her cottage in the morning there was a huge stack of peat, and a barrel full of barley. And a small vial of water with letters in Gaelic Kilbride.))
The note with it said:
[i]Fiona,

I hope you enjoy this. I can help you transport water here, with that Arcane Connection, but I didn't have a place to story it. Feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Cumhachd Tytali[/i]

192

((Responded over in Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da so as not to disrupt the narrative flow any more than necessary.))

193

"Stultus is a pea in her pod, she's perfectly pleased with him, because he became exactly what she hoped for, that's not what she thinks of me...." Tranquillina is basically grasping at straws here.

The thought of Fiona coming into her laboratory makes Tranquillina think about Loys, setting her brooding a bit (as a result, she completely fails to hear Fiona's lascivious undercomment). But the offer is an extremely kind one, coming from a true desire for friendship and support, and suddenly Tranquillina realizes that she desperately needs both. "Well ... I'm not really in good enough shape to be a gracious host ... but if you could tolerate that, I'd appreciate the company for a little while."

If Fiona agrees, Tranquillina will suggest that she herself can teleport back to her own sanctum to save strength, and alert the servant at the door that Fiona will be not far behind on foot.

194

((Jonathan, I have my idea for how to reinitiate contact between Tranquillina and Cumhachd, after the Arcane Connectioning is done. Do you want me to start that sub-thread now, or wait about until the timey-wimey clears up a little bit?

I like how Cumhachd is everyone's grandma to all non-Tranquillina people. :smiley: (well, non-Stultus too - he's a special case) In my mind, Cumhachd is objectively a perfectly average human - most people would get along with her, she's good at some social things and mediocre at others - but can certainly play roles with the best of them, and has chosen to be super-sweet to make sure Tranquillina won't find any support for her complaints that Cumhachd = evil. In other words, I see her demeanor to the others not as a misrepresentation, but as a conscious exaggeration.))

195

((You're not far off the mark regarding her kindly grandmother bit. I suppose it depends on what you want Fiona to spill to Tranquillina, because Fiona's could have more to add. I don't really have a problem with the timey-wimey layers this story has, if you don't. But when this happens, when Tranquillina decides to reopen communicatins with Cumhachd, she will have heard that all the magi of Mons Electi have received highly personalized and thoughtful gifts (but may not know exactly what they are). And that may shade her perceptions on why Cumhachd gave Tranquillina her own copy of The Analects of Tytalus. That's what Cumhachd was hoping for, anyway. :smiley:))

196

Fiona nods. [color=blue]"Leap carefully, Tranquillina, I will be over in a few minutes."

She watches carefully as Tranquillina Leaps back to her own [strike]cottage[/strike] chambers, and sits on the bed, thinking for a couple of minutes. She then goes to her laboratory where she gathers some herbs to treat her ague, as well as something to help her sleep when the time comes. She then grabs one of her heavy woolen, winter cloaks, casts a spontaneous Muto Animal spell to shrink down to her Petite size[sup]1[/sup], puts on a pair of smaller boots, wraps the cloak around herself, grabs her herbal medicine bag, and heads to Tranquillina's [strike]cottage[/strike] chambers.
She knocks firmly on the door, hoping to be heard over the swirling wind.
[hr][/hr][sup]1[/sup] Muto Animal, I'm going to go with Base 2 ("Make a major change to something made of animal products that preserves the substance," mainly because it seems more than Base 1, "Make a superficial change to something made of animal products (like changing its color)." R: Touch +1, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, for a final Spell Level of 5. Her CT is Sta 3 + Mu 17 + Animal 7 + Aura 5 = 32 ÷ 5 = 6, spontable without Fatiguing herself.

197

((Tranquillina's sanctum is solidly within the mansion on the regio side - no cottage - so I'll assume that's what you meant.))

"Aye, milady, she is expecting you," the servant at the door to Tranquillina's chambers says to Fiona when she arrives. "You are warmly invited into Lady Tranquillina's sanctum - she is within her laboratory, straight ahead." The door leads to a well-decorated and comfortable receiving room; it has a single door in the far corner, adorned with a standard Hermetic sanctum marker, that has been left open. A circle has been inscribed on the floor around that doorway; assuming Fiona crosses it, she feels a ping from her Parma Magica.

Behind the door is a short hallway, only a few paces long and barely wide enough for Fiona were she at full size. Two closed doors interrupt the right-hand wall; the other door, at the opposite end of the hall, has also been left open. "Yes, do please come in Fiona," Tranquillina's voice rings out (still in Gaelic), "and be welcome." If you proceed through the door, you find yourself in her laboratory. ((This is the first time Fiona has seen it in person? Either way, make a Per + Magic Theory roll to see what you notice.))

198

{{Here goes, a bit further into the future:))

After a week of tedious work in her laboratory, Tranquillina holds up the cloth with Cumhachd's saliva, testing it both by eye and through her innate magic sensitivity. She decides she is convinced that the sympathetic connection to the older maga will hold indefinitely, thanks to the weaving in of the accursed vis. She places the cloth in her pouch to know where it is at all times.

The task finished, Tranquillina suddenly feels her exhaustion - she has pushed her tired body farther than was wise, and her spells only masked the symptoms but didn't help her recover. She straightens up the table upon which she was working as quickly as she can and moves into her bedroom, her eyes already drooping. Asleep almost before she hits the bed, she proceeds to stay unconscious for nearly thirty straight hours. She stirs briefly at midday, her body relaxed under the warm covers and begging her not to move so that it can fight off the malady; rather than even step out of bed, she simply casts a spell upon herself to make the urine in her bladder vanish and quickly falls back asleep. ((Base 3, +1 Part - easy non-fatiguing PeCo spont)) The next time she wakes up, it is past midnight a full day after she finished fixing the Arcane Connection. She is famished (she hadn't felt real hunger in over a week), but it would be too much trouble to get a meal made at this hour. She casts Call to Slumber upon herself and finishes out the night in bed. ((Base 4, non-fatiguing ReMe spont))

The next morning ((9 days after Loys's Arts were opened)), Tranquillina stretches her stiff limbs and sore body; she sniffles tentatively, verifying that her head is clearer than it has been in days. A phrase lingers from a dream: "I have made war on my mother...." Not yet fully awake, Tranquillina goes to the door and orders a large, hot meal to be brought to her. As she turns back into the receiving room, she spots the clockwise spiral on the cover of the book sitting on the central table. Though her first reaction is to shudder as she remembers the Analects of Tytalus, the spiral brings her fading dream back to her attention. She sits on the long couch and idly leafs through the book's pages, not knowing what she is looking for until she finds it. Her hand that turned the pages blocks part of the sentence, but what is visible is quite telling: "I have made war on my mother ... yet my worst rival wears my face in the mirror."

She frowns in thought for several minutes, until the kitchen boy knocks on the door. With a start, Tranquillina realizes that she has not cast her Parma Magica in well over a day. She flinches away from Cumhachd's book and runs into her bedroom while the meal is set for her, invoking her magical protection as hastily as she can. Shivering with adrenaline, she returns to the receiving room and flips through the book's pages as she wolfs down her breakfast wholeheartedly. At last her hunger is sated, and she wipes her mouth with the napkin, glancing down at the visible page. Her eyes alight on one corner where it is written in spidery script: "Victory without Battle is like training a wolf; a pointless waste of effort for all concerned."

The sentence pokes at her mind as she tries to go about her day. She speaks with two of the grogs and three other covenfolk one by one, as part of her nourmal Diocetes routine to keep current on the covenant's workings; hopefully these interviews are more comfortable for the covenfolk now, as she can preface her Aura of Rightful Authority and Perception of the Conflicting Motives with castings of Shroud Magic, doing away with her sigil's discomfiting effect on mundanes. But after the last one leaves her chambers, she realizes that she cannot go on ignoring Cumhachd's presence - today, at least, she wants to confront the matter head on.

199

Tranquillina's magical preparations are somewhat different this time. She does cast Disguise of the New Visage upon herself to restore the more mature appearance she presented to Cumhachd upon the latter's arrival, but she leaves her talisman cloak's appearance unchanged. She does thump herself twice in the chest, invoking the talisman's Gift of the Bear’s Fortitude effect; she also casts Eyes of the Eagle upon herself. Satisfied that she is ready to venture outdoors, she walks quickly out of the mansion and across the long stone bridge, approaching the Tribunal plateau before she has a chance to change her mind.

When she arrives at the occupied villa, she almost loses her nerve; but she forces herself to pound on the door (a little more energetically than is completely necessary). "This is Transkil - " she stops, growling at herself under her breath. "Tranquillina, is who it is." When the door opens, she lets out a deep breath and drops her shoulders towards a relaxed pose (doing both actions obviously, in view of whomever answered the door) and simply says "Hello."

200

Fiona stops to remove her boots and cloak so as to not drip snow on the floor, then proceeds barefoot back to Tranquillina's laboratory, taking in everything she can without snooping. She is surprised that Loys didn't open the door (afaik, the fact that he's been taken by Cumhachd is still something of a secret), but says nothing.

She does cross the doorway (and raises a brow at the ping), and enters the laboratory. ((Per 0 + Magic Theory 6 + (die roll of 1, followed by a die roll of 9, for an 18) = 24.))

201

"Hello. Loys says simply. He looks ill. Dark circles under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept well, or is ill. Tranquillina has heard stories that opening the Arts can be painful for older apprentices, especially if the magus is working at preserving something, some supernatural quality or capability. "She said you'd be around today or the next day." He calls out to Cumhachd, "She's here. Are you receiving visitors?"
"Yes, Loys, send her in, and then go rest. We're finished for today."
After Loys escorts her in, he goes into a room and lies on a sleeping pallet and almost as soon as he's down he begins snoring gently.
"It's been difficult for him. It's so much worse to do when they are older. Aurelius told me Ra'am almost died." She says simply, as if that's all she's going to explain about Loys. "What can I do for you, dear? Are you ready to test your fixed connection?"

202

((To be clear, I believe Cumhachd's front room is outside her sanctum mark - Tranquillina certainly is not entering her sanctum proper.))

"It can be difficult to answer questions that contain assumptions," Tranquillina offers by way of (non-)response. She looks conspicuously around the room instead of at Cumhachd; but instead of trying to convey a sense of contempt, she is actually nervous about making herself more vulnerable. "No, I came to speak with you. About what, I am not really sure, but it seems clear that you have something to communicate to me, and do not plan on leaving instead."

Tranquillina takes another deep breath (this one not an act at all) and faces her tormentor. "I thought a change of scenery might do us some good. So I have instructed our staff not to provide you with any midday meal today." She pauses just long enough to see if she got a rise out of Cumhachd, before continuing. "You remember, I suppose, that one of the first spells I ever saw you cast was Woodland Prowler. For a girl new to magic, it made quite an impression. Eventually, once I ... began enchanting, I recreated the spell for myself." She fingers her wolfskin cloak overtly. "I thought we would go on a hunt for lunch today. As a, hmmm," she almost says 'truce' but changes her mind, "as a distraction." All the muscles in her arms and abdomen are tensed, as if she is expecting a physical blow.

203

((ooooh, wowzers))

Indeed, Loys is nowhere to be seen inside the laboratory; still, the large room is spotless, making her comfortable walking around in bare feet. Perhaps it is Fiona's familiarity with Tranquillina, or perhaps simply her long experience with Hermetic magic, but the giantess comprehends at a glance the organization of the lab: across the room, all of the Corpus specimens; two furnaces (that one there, not built into the wall, obviously enchanted); supreme organization all around, showing that its patient owner has spent countless weeks (even more than Fiona herself has) arranging its contents for both accessibility and astrological resonance. Here in the near corner, a full human corpse stands up on a pedestal - macabre, to be sure, but with the relevant tools and workspace all available nearby, it is obviously a pivotal location for Tranquillina's work, much like her own still. And, come to think of it, Fiona sees no still at all herein, no way to squeeze vis from the aura.

Tranquillina is standing at a workbench, a cloth laid open upon it and two crumbling pieces of pointed rock placed barely within arm's reach. "Welcome, sister," she says with a brief smile, keeping her eyes on her work. "It's nice of you to come." Holding her breath, she rubs one of the rock pieces over the cloth in parallel rows, as if painting a tiny fence; assuming that she has repeated this action many times already, it's clear that she is fixing an Arcane Connection of some sort. Her arms and their pallor lean heavily on the workbench, and she is sweating noticeably.

204

Cumhachd ponders for a moment, and then smiles. And says simply, "No." She lets it sink in for a bit. "You indicate you wished to speak, and then your first action after that is to have us change forms and go on a hunt as wolves. We cannot talk when we are wolves, so you must hope for a bonding experience. I question your commitment, since you never had any desire to bond with me before. No, instead, I think it's time to end the game you started over 40 years ago. It is the game you have played for too long. I have demonstrated to you I can play it better. You should realize by now, you've started a game you cannot win and stop playing."

205

"Oh, Cumhachd," Tranquillina reproaches, shaking her head with an unpleasant chuckle as she looks away. "You certainly are not used to giving me any credit, are you." She steps back to give herself some room, then drops to the floor and rolls three times to her left, her talisman changing her into a wolf. She then casts Stories of the Beast upon herself to restore her ability to speak. ((Sta -3 + Mu 12 + An 8 + no penalties for words/gestures, due to Mastery = automatic.)) "I always assumed that you had this ability yourself," wolf-Tranquillina says. "but fear not - my spell can affect others as well as myself."

206

"If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both." She smiles and continues, "You cannot hunt and talk at the same time. If one hunts, one must concentrate on the hunt. If one talks, one must focus on the conversation. So, again, I return to my position, I question your commitment, to either endeavor. I'm done playing your games, because you are no good at them. You assume that I am unable to make speech while I am in the form of an animal, but you confuse a lack of ability with a lack of desire."

Cumhachd sighs and seems genuinely weary, "It is always your manner to mistake my words for the meaning they convey. Eskil, you did this when you were my apprentice. You did this when you were Tria's apprentice, and you did this with Maximanius's apprentice. You always thought you knew best. But you constantly question the lesson. Your ability to grasp the underlying concepts of magic is unquestioned. Your ability to understand the world as it goes on around you is suspect. You've no doubt heard of the gifts I've given your sodales here at Mons Electi. Carefully selected gifts, highly personalized. And you presume I'm here only because of you. The the gifts I've given are to demonstrate how nice I can be, and drive a wedge between you and your sodales. But consider carefully, that you are here," Cumhachd's voice grows loud and it shakes the villa, "BECAUSE OF ME."

"Careful, Cumhachd." A disembodied voice sounds.
Cumhcahd responds, in the general direction of the voice. "Shut up, you old fool." Her anger is readily apparent, and the silence hangs in the room punctuated only by Loys' snoring. "I know you know about Loys, and I know you have an arcane connection, fixed to me of mine own spittle. Use it against me and strike me down. But you won't. You don't have the guts. And what's more, and despite your knowledge, you don't have the skill, and I know.