1228.4 The Mistress Always Spanks Twice

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: In the Ruins of Bibracte
181

Loys won't report back unless Cumhachd tells him to... Loys might be spied on occasion getting a page for Cumhachd, she's going to be sending out gifts to each of the magi. I'll do Tranquillina's now, and the gifts for everyone else later.

On the 6th day of fixing the Arcane Connection, a page knocks on the door and indicates that there is a delivery from Loys. It's wrapped, and rather large, in the shape of a book. When Tranquillina opens it, she can make out the title, The Analects of Tytalus. Tranquillina opens the cover, knowing full well who it is really from, and the following is written in Cumhachd's spidery script.

[i]Eskil,
You were unable to complete your copy of this work. It is my hope that you enjoy and use my copy for whatever purposes you may. As I have grown older and wiser, I've come to find that the wisdom of Tytalus is vast. However the wisdom of my brothers and sisters in Tytalus is not. I dislike the almost sycophantic thrall with which many of my House mates regard the Founder. He is a man. He strove. And if we imbue him with some mystical or supernatural power greater than our own, we've failed to understand his teachings. This is the great mystery of our House. How on one hand we admire all human whether Gifted or not striving for the utmost and taking what they can from this cruel world, and on the other we imbue our Founder with this idea that he is the greatest of us. No, he was the First, and it is my hope that his true tradition continue.

Cumhachd Tytali
[/i]

Tranquillina's magic sensitivity detects a bit of magic around the name Eskil.

182

Fiona looks at Tranquillina intently for a minute, wordlessly shrinks down to her Mascarade form[sup]1[/sup], then says a few arcane syllables to shrink her robe to fit her more comfortably[sup]2[/sup] before she reaches an arm around the Bonisagus to help her in. She guides her through the foyer and dining room and into the bedroom, where she puts her into bed. [color=blue]"If you don't mind my saying so, Tranquillina, you look like you feel ferr horrid. Lay down, get some rest," she says (and Tranquillina is struck by how very large the bed is, even for someone Fiona's size...like you could sleep three or four Fionas in there comfortably). Fiona sits on the edge of the bed and proceeds to examine Tranquillina, peering into her eyes, checking her temperature, feeling her skin to see if she's feverish or clammy, and so on. She finally pulls the blankets and comforters up over Tranquillina and gets up.

[color=blue]"You stay here, lass, and I'll go cook something up." She gives Tranquillina a reassuring pat and gets up to go into the next room. She returns about an hour later with a bitter-smelling tea[sup]3[/sup] with some honey stirred in.

[color=blue]"Here you go, Tranquillina. Drink it up, but carefully, it's still hot. Be sure to finish it before it gets cold." She sits on the edge of the bed again and waits a few minutes before she speaks again, giving time for Tranquillina to drink at least some of the medicine.

[color=blue]"I know you usually take ill at least once every winter, but I've not seen you take this ill before. Is everything okay?"
[hr][/hr][sup]1[/sup] CT 36 – No Words 10 + Aura 5 + die roll of 9) = 40
[sup]2[/sup]MuHe base 3 ("Change a plant or item made from plant products"), R: Touch +1, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, final spell level 10. CT is Sta 3 + Mu 17 + He 10 + Aura 5 + (die roll of 1), followed by a die roll of 4, for a total of 8) – No gestures 5 = 38, halved is 19.
[sup]1[/sup] I'm assuming two Medicine rolls, one for the diagnosis and one for the medicine itself. The diagnosis roll is Int 1 + Medicine 3 + die roll of 2 = 6. The roll for the medicine itself is Int 1 + Medicine (Apothecary) 4 + die roll of 3 = 8. Obviously she's a little rusty :laughing:

183

Tranquillina halts the page before he can scurry off. "You have seen Loys, then? Relay the following message to him for me. 'Loys: You pledged to serve me faithfully in my laboratory. Yet you have failed to do so for a full week, despite my direct instruction to join me there, and without any explanation. I do not care if Aphrodite herself appeared naked at your bedside and handed you a pot of gold: you will damn well explain your absence to me, face to face, and before you go to bed tonight.'" Tranquillina has the (by now very nervous) page repeat the sentences several times each, making sure the words are accurate. "Find him today and give him the message; if Cumhachd says he is busy, do not take no for an answer." The page slowly heads off to what he imagines is certain doom; Tranquillina doesn't care.

Tranquillina isn't sure what to make of the note, both its existence and its content. On the one hand, there are certain aspects of it that can be interpreted as antagonistic: the bit about Cumhachd's presumably disappointed hope, for example, or perhaps writing a letter in her own hand as a way of rubbing Tranquillina's nose in her not caring that it's an Arcane Connection to her. But there is enough message in the message that it's a bit too oblique to be effectively passive-aggressive. She leafs idly through the pages of the Analects, seeing if anything jumps out at her. (Is it also written in Cumhachd's hand?)

Leery of the unexpected magic she senses, Tranquillina takes the book up to the ceremonial casting chamber and spontaneously casts an Intellego Vim spell upon the page, trying to see whether there is a Hermetic spell active on the note; the note itself couldn't be enchanted, could it? ((Sta -3 + In 6 + Vi 7 + words/gestures 2 + Artes Liberales 1 + ceremonial chamber 5 + aura 5 + stress die 7 = 30, halved is 15; that's enough to determine the Techinque/Form of a spell of 3rd magnitude or higher, or the presence of a lower-level spell.))

184

Indeed, the entirebook is written in her hand, but is different, reflecting the hand of youth. It is a huge honking Arcane connection to her and it has been heavily glossed and her comments inculcated here and there throughout the text. Tranquillina cannot detect a technique/form associated with the spot.

The page returns later in the day, Cumhachd sends her regards, and prevented me from seeing Loys, I couldn't enter the villa, though I tried, my feet just wouldn't cross the threshold. She said Loys is her property for the next 15 years. She also asked me to inquire as to the knowledge of your Greek, and wanted me to deliver this message to you. She saids 'Molon label' and had me practice it several times. I hope I got it right. She is a very sweet old lady, reminds me of my grandmother in some ways."

185

Tranquillina feels strange lying in another person's bed, especially one the size of her reading nook; but it is such a relief to be off her feet that she accepts Fiona's ministrations, for just a little bit. She has no idea what is in the tea, but it can't hurt; it's piping hot, the way she likes it, and it at least defuses the chill in the air against her sweat-soaked skin.

"Am I that bad? I can't tell," Tranquillina moans (in Gaelic) when she has downed half of the tea. "Everything isn't okay - it's ..." Part of her wants to talk about Loys, but she still can't reveal that she knows about his apprenticeship. "It's Cumhachd being here," she summarizes lamely, before sneezing emphatically. "Just under a lot of stress. And trying to keep working on my Finesse, as I was before this terrible storm, and also have ... lab projects on the go...." She sips the tea again, trying to will her throat to a less painful state.

186

There are enough people in the covenant who know (Ancient) Greek by now that Tranquillina won't find it hard to get a translation. She smiles grimly and humorlessly at the insult, and Loys's betrayal of her stings quite deeply. On the other hand, she got what she wanted: the message from Cumhachd contained enough information for her to deduce that she had taken Loys as an apprentice, and so she no longer had to hide that knowledge.

Still, a little venting was in order, and under the influence of Endurance of the Berserkers she had the energy to see to it despite her lingering illness. ((just need to botch check: I'm ok (but man, that botch die is ready to screw me if the stress die comes up 0 - that's the second time!) )) Thinking about her Terram studies, she puts together a plan that will hopefully be satisfying. While up in the ceremonial casting chamber, she sponts a spell to create a couple dozen clay tablets, each about the size of a headstone, stacked neatly by the doorway. ((Base 1, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +2 Group, for level 10. Sta -3 + Cr 6 + Te 5 + words/gestures 2 + Artes Liberales 1 + ceremonial chamber 5 + aura 5 + stress die 0 (no botch - I take it all back!) = 21, halved is 10; Int 3 + Finesse 2 + stress die 9 = 14.)) "There is going to be a fair amount of noise for the next few minutes," she warns the grogs guarding the regio entrance down the hall, "do not be alarmed. And there is no need to clean up the clay; it will disappear on its own soon enough."

Then, she sponts a second spell to change each clay tablet to a somewhat smaller pane of glass; her first effort only lasts a moment, so she blows her nose, takes a deep breath, and tries again with a firmer jaw. ((Base 3, +1 Touch, +1 Diameter, +2 Group, for level 15. Sta -3 + Mu 12 + Te 5 + same bonuses as above 13 + stress die 0 (no botch) = 27, not good enough. Second try: 27 + stress die 5 = 32, halved is 16.)) She leans the first glass pane against a wall in the hallway and steps back, a fist-sized stone in her hand. It takes her four tries to actually hit the pane with the stone, but each furious throw is quite satisfying, and even more so the crash of breaking glass when she connects.

Still, the manual method is both tiring and inaccurate, and so Tranquillina gets more efficient. She puts a second pane against the wall, picks up the stone; Wizard's Leaps to a distance of fifteen paces; uses her talisman's Invisible Sling of Vilano to hurl the stone at the glass; Wizard's Leaps back, to replace the glass pane if necessary and retrieve the stone; and repeats over and over, getting into the rhythm. She only misses twice, although a couple of glancing blows aren't as satisfying as the rest; but all in all she destroys nine of the panes of glass before they turn back to clay five minutes later. Ignoring the fascinated stares of the covenfolk who bore witness to her demonstration, she walks away humming a raspy tune, leaving the clay shards in the hall. (If not cleaned up, they disappear two days later at sunset.)

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.))