Stultus chews on his lip. "I think ... I think I know why she's here now." He seems oddly subdued. "The only problem is that if she's here for the reasons I think she is, not only do we need to render her every assistance possible, but we also need to not change the way we act towards her. Not even a little bit. Bury that knowledge so deep it does not affect our actions in the slightest, because to do otherwise will destroy her and us along with her."
"Do I have your word, sodales, that what I say here will not leave this room and will not influence your actions towards her?"
A better question is why does she not accept a token to be within our superior Aegis? No. I think she is seeking protection of an Aegis but does not want to entangle Mons Electi. To Marcus' point, why do a lot of people with power come to us? I think it is because of Apollodorus and what he represented. He has obviously let selected people know about his research into House Guernicus so we have become a beacon of resistance and conflict in this matter. Does this mean Cumhachd is our ally in this? I do not know. I do not even know if this is the reason she is here. Perhaps it as simple, as Stultus has put it, seeing two of her old apprentices. But Marcus seems to differ on that matter.
The page goes out of the council chamber, and then reappears just as quickly at the door, "Begging your pardon, Princeps, Loys was most insistent that I interrupt. He said that the request is no longer necessary, and he and Cumhachd will be departing momentarily. He just wished to say goodbye to all the magi here, and Tranquillina specifically."
Now, here's where it gets tricky (said like Matt Smith as Doctor Who). As players, think about what reasonable precautions your characters have undertaken to secure Apollodorus's book of Control. I think a couple of guards are reasonable, Ward Against the Curious Scullion is also reasonable. What else? I'd say that Apollodorus's sanctum marker remains, but that's a convenient fiction...
Take one part "With all the drama and confusion, Tranquillina never got around to mentioning about Loys and Cumhachd" ...
... mix it with one part "Because she was mightily embarrassed about never having checked whether Loys was Gifted, Tranquillina didn't want to mention about Loys and Cumhachd."
That's what happened.
But eventually, Tranquillina forces herself to speak the words. "Cumhachd discovered that Loys was Gifted, Gently so. She has begun opening his Arts and has claimed him as her apprentice." She does so without making eye contact with anybody.
Fiona looks at Tranquillina in stunned silence for a minute, then goes over and gives her a long sisterly hug. [color=blue]"We can talk later," she whispers in Gaelic.
Stultus blinks, eyes growing wide, then narrowing in thought. "Tranquillina...." he says gently, and then switches to Gaelic as well. "Why don't you go say goodbye to the boy. He probably needs that from you right now -- not to mention that it probably wouldn't hurt a year or two down the line when you claim him back."
"Of course it was to keep us busy and distracted." Marcus growls, not at Alexei, but at the situation, "But, she'll also have planned for this, if she sent Loys. By this time, I'm sure whatever deed she planned is done, and we've already been had. Cumhachd is probably gone by now."
Loys enters the room, and appears a bit nervous, "Begging your pardon at interrupting the meeting, Cumhachd asked that I come here while she began packing up. She said we would be leaving in a few hours, now that the most difficult part of Opening of my Arts has been done, and I'm well enough to travel. She wanted to thank you for your hospitality." He pulls 10 golden nuggets each about the size of an almond out of his travel pack, placing them on the table. "She said this would be enough for the difficulty she has caused."
Just then, there's a commotion in the foyer, what sounds like a rhythmic wooden clumping noise.
"You can't go in there," the page says in French, "the Magi are in a meeting!"
"Stand aside, Jacques, the magi have to hear what I say!" cries a woman's voice.
Mere seconds later, the door flies open and Alexandria, the librarian, hobbles in. She is leaning heavily on her cane, her face flushed, and out of breath.
"I beg your forgiveness, magi," she says in excellent Latin, "but one of your books has been stolen! I tried to stop her, but she ensorcelled me so that I couldn't move until after she left."
Marcus after Loys, "Five."
Marcus after Alexandria, "Four."
Marcus turns to Korvin, and asks, "Why are you sending Alexei to Apollodorus's quarters, Korvin? What do you know?"
Fiona looks at the nuggets, then at Tranquillina before she casts a quick, spontaneous spell[sup]1[/sup] (Sense the Nature of Vis) and picks one up at random, which flashes white momentarily. (If it matters which one, she picks up Nugget #6). [color=blue]"Are these all the same, Loys?"
[hr][/hr][sup]1[/sup] Spell level is 5 (I was thinking about trying to spont a Group version, but that jacks it to a 15, which probably ain't happening.) CT is Sta 3 + In 5 + Vi 5 + Aura 5 + die roll of 7 = 25, halved is 12. Penetration, if it matters, would be 10.
))