((Until this moment, I've vacillated between the two, myself.))
"Indeed I am, child." she says, nodding approvingly. "Only one of us has had a measure of success imparting their knowledge to their filius and filia, and his methods have had some unfortunate results. I, instead, chose the safer path with you. Stultus, his problems with Corpus manifested as a Difficult Longeveity ritual, and he didn't take to my training regimen.. Or I had gented his Gift, which made teaching more to him too difficult, at the time. I can't rightly recall. It was a decision I made at the time, and deemed it unimportant to remember the why's and wherefore's."
"And there is the issue of Loys, although the legal issues surrounding him are murky, at best. Any number of things we do to each other will raise the stakes, and get us noticed. No, I intend for you to force Cavillor's hand while I force Whitburh's hand. Both will appeal to Magvillus, and Bilera will have little choice but to convene the Tribunal herself."
"No, I'm not suggesting a coordinated response and counter-response, as that would look...inauthentic. I will remain on my best behavior for the remainder of my stay here. You should continue to show open hostility towards me with your sodales. I would be cautious about confiding with your sodales on this matter. My reason for staying is simple, opening Loys' Arts is too delicate an operation to be done outside my lab, and I don't dare risk the transport of either him or my lab now. Besides, I will have preserved his Gentle Gift, and he and I will travel mundanely in the spring. It will be useful to widen his horizons before I begin his training in earnest." She says the last, hinting at the Book of Instruction.
Wonderful, so Cumhachd will be better than you at your own specialty, for the rest of your life, no matter how hard you strive; talk about worthless! the voices in Tranquillina's head chime back in. Shut up...! she hisses back at them. "How did you become ... empowerd in this way? And - is Tria an Exemplar too? or is Valerian's interest in having her slain 'merely' political?"
Tranquillina doesn't particularly find the legal issues murky: she doesn't think any Hermetic court (in an ideal Order, where House Guernicus was actually concerned with upholding the Code) would fault Cumhachd for claiming Loys, nor would any stand in her way of reclaiming him by House right ... nevertheless she lets the topic pass.
Tranquillina visibly shudders at the thought of a Tytalus apprenticeship; she glances over at the sleeping Loys with open pity. "I shall not inform them." (she is in no hurry to confess her betrayal of her antipathy for Cumhachd) "Not even Stultus. Unless he already knows...."
"What time scale are you planning for, for this Tribunal, and hence for these escalations?"
Tranquillina suspects that taking Loys is a key part of Cumhachd's plan.
"Jealous of me, are you? Well, you should be and you shouldn't be. This is as much of a gift as a curse. Ask Apollodorus, sometime. Would you like to be Valerian's prey? Tria is not an Exemplar, she is very active and adept in politics."
Cumhachd contemplates, "Perhaps half a dozen years, maybe a bit less?". She then switches to the mater of Stultus, "No, I haven't told him. It would be wise to include him in your plans. As you move against me, he must move against you. His responsibility to our rivalry demands no less, and, he is a key part of this, as it will intensify the scope of activity between us. As for Loys, don't be concerned, you learned well enough from the Book to attempt to cultivate a relationship with Tria, and put yourself Ina position to be claimed, that level of rebellion deserved its own reward. Be that as it may, you gave up on your full potential, and I was either going to have to destroy you, or use your rebellion to my own advantage. I enjoyed goading Tria into taking you, despite how easy it was."
((I'm not sure how to interpret the words 'include [Stultus] in your plans'. Does she mean, inform him of Tranquillina's plans? or, prepare for his inevitable opposition to her plans?))
After the casual reference to destroying her and manipulating her life like she was an unwanted kitten, Tranquillina realizes that it won't be hard to "pretend" to oppose Cumhachd. She glances over at the sleeping Loys, possibilities going through her mind, none of them particularly pleasant for him. "Yes, well, getting to measure myself against your twisted notion of 'potential' is something I have missed ever so much," she responds sarcastically. "Do you have anything else to tell me at this time? - oh," she says as if an afterthought, "what exactly did you do to the letter you included with the Analects? There is something magical thereon, but not Hermetic, I have determined."
(( I read that as "yes to both, but more the first than the second". He's going to have to move against BOTH of them in turn, Cumhachd because she's a Rival and Tranquillina because she's messing about in the rivalry. Letting him know what Tranquillina's after would make him much more likely to choose moves which would eventually attract Bilera's attention -- and in the process thoroughly snarl the sequence of events, so it's not at all clear who did what to whom and why.))
(( How many Tytali does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Seven. One to actually screw it in, and one to confuse the issue. ))
((How Tranquillina works it out is up to Tranquillina, the less advice Cumhachd gives here the better. More plausible deniability.))
"It is my hope, when I am gone, that you will come to understand that you would not be where you are now without my guidance and support. I don't expect you to understand what I've done, but you should really discover more of your origin from Tranquillina or even Maximanius, if he's not in Twilight by now."
Cumhachd shakes her head in response to other things to tell. And when pressed on the "letter" Cumhachd eyebrows arch for a moment. "Why must you be so... indirect? To be precise, I did nothing to the letter. You should well know that I do not entertain imprecise questions. You may try again, if you'd like."
((Let the record show cunningrat claims Tytalus invented the light bulb. ))
If Cumhachd's pedantic response had come from a fellow Bonisagus, Tranquillina would probably have applauded the spirit behind it; in this context, though, she rolls her eyes in true exasperation. "You utterly fail to entertain, I quite agree.... Very well. Intellego Vim spells ascertained that there is a non-Hermetic supernatural effect present in the neighborhood of the name in the salutation. But my question stands on its own: What supernatural effects, passive or active, are you aware of that have been integrated into or overlain upon the letter or some or all of its component parts, including but not limited to the ink, parchment, and shapes of letters? For each such effect, what agent was responsible for its existence on the letter or its component parts?"
"You're so smart, you figure it out." Cumhachd stands, "I think we're done here." She regards Tranquillina, I can assist you, if you'd like." while making a sweeping motion towards the door.
The following gifts are delivered to the indicated person.
Isen receives a block of unmelting ice.
Alexei, Jacques and Roberto both receive swords. Magnificent swords.
Korvin receives two pair of what appear to be travelling boots.
Stultus receives a book in Greek, it appears to be the genealogy of a family in Greece, the last entries appear to indicate a couple of birth in 1150-1155.
(Am I missing anyone?)
(( Stultus is going to study it for a bit, and then go talk to his Mater to thank her, and ask about a few other things. Can you provide some more information, though?
No one is going to write a genealogy just because. Is it, like, a family bible with names and family trees written on the flyleaf? Or does it appear to be a work someone commissioned?
How far back does the genealogy extend? Is there anything noteworthy (to Stultus) about it?
You mentioned "a couple of births in 1150-1155". What are the names/genders of the children? And is there any indication of a place the family was living at the time?
))
Tranquillina flinches at Cumhachd's gesture (even though the Exemplar of Corpus wouldn't really need to touch her to send her flying off anyway, would she). Hoping to catch Cumhachd off guard, she silently sponts a noise cantrip without moving, creating a half-decent facsimile of the sound of a significant amount of breaking glass inside the villa's antechamber. ((Base 1, +1 Touch, for a level 2 spell. Sta -3 + Cr 6 + Im 10 + aura 5 - words/gestures 15 + stress die 8 = 11, halved is 6. Int 3 + Finesse 2 + stress die 2 = 7.)) "We cannot let people think we might be friends," Tranquillina coos in an overly sweet voice.
Then she storms out of the villa, yelling in Latin to vent her many frustrations (and making sure everyone knows they've argued): "Damned know-it-all is the rudest guest this Tribunal has ever seen! Keep your breath from cursing my air from now on, you hag! You can pin your feet to this plateau for all I care; I hope you suck on the rock until your lips are raw - dried-up biddy of children's nightmares!" She walks past the guards on the bridge and a good fifty paces or so further before Leaping back to her sanctum. Without lighting a lamp or candle, she flings herself onto her bed, lying on her back and covering her face with her hands. She doesn't cry or shake, but she stays there a long time, trying to sort out all of the aspects of the conversation she just had.
Cumhachd jumps at the noise, but quickly recovers with a comment, It is so very unfortunate that you can't be comfortable in your own skin. It is a lesson Stultus absorbed quickly and easily.
Now Korvin calls a council meeting. He lets it be known that they will be discussing Cumhachd's request for AoH to be cast on the villa.
Korvin waits in the council chambers with his official robes on. He ordered the servants have taken the wine and beer from the room. Watered wine is still here but not the full strength alcohol. He mentally reviews reports he has heard about the various happenings with their "guest." Ah well. You knew if you allowed the Tytalus in we would get this eventually but we need allies. He thinks. This could be contentious. hehe. The Tytali would love this debate. ... I wonder if that milk maid would be up for a roll. She seems receptive but I must be careful. Can not lose respect of the servants with a favorite... hmmm. I must talk to Fiona about Tranquillina. She is going quite crazy abut all of this. Perhaps i'll send a note to Tria or Petronius to see if they can talk to her...These boots are very fine. I'll need them soon. Must go and thank Cumhachd for the gift....Wonder if I can get a chicken for dinner?
((Goodness. I had no idea Korvin was so crazy! Loved it!))
Marcus shows up, the first to arrive, and he's walking.
"Mind if I watch? he says while grabbing a seat. He has a large loaf of bread with him (think of it as someone who has a bag of snack foods like chips or popcorn) and settles in to watch the action unfold.
Stultus wanders in, looking unusually harried -- shoves a chair away from the table, perches on the edge of said chair, and starts juggling absently, a simple four-ball shower pattern.
))
))