Stultus quirks an eyebrow. "Which one?"
Loys looks pained at the news of the book being taken, and also a bit confused. "Cumhachd said she was securing a few books for my educational needs, that where we were going there wouldn't be very many books available."
Stultus shrugs. "Woman could've asked for a loan, but nooo, she's gotta do things the hard way..."
He quirks his head to one side, and waddles up to Loys, sticking out his hand. "In any event, it's been a pleasure to know you, boy. Good luck." Those who are very perceptive may note that the bells on his hat take a while to stop ringing from the sudden movement -- recall that his wizard's sigil is the faint sound of tinkling bells -- and wonder what the hell the Tytalus is up to now.
(( Casting "Perception of the Conflicting Motives". Casting total is +22, -10 for no words or gestures -- Quiet Magic applies, +3 for talisman attunement: +15. Roll of 9. Forceless casting. ))
It's as plain as the look on his face. He's not sure why Cumachd wouldn't just ask to borrow the books, instead of stealing them. And now wonders what he's gotten himself into.
This is all on your head, payaso. I told you, but you went on whining about the "Tytalus" way. Well, I am not Tytalus, and neither are the rest of us. Why is it that we have to have Tytalus theivery foisted upon us?
"Bugger me sideways if I know!" explodes Stultus. "That was before she went after the entire covenant. SHE exceeded HER brief, and thus made a liar out of me. I'm not best pleased with her just at the moment."
He looks up at Loys. "Welcome to being used as a pawn. Get accustomed to it: you've got a minimum of fifteen more years of being shoved this way and that willy-nilly. Probably closer to twenty. So, after you delivered your message and got used as a convenient punching bag for our wrath, where were you supposed to meet her?"
((want to give gerg a chance to catch-up and post, if the site lets him.))
"It was Unifying Principles of Our Magic "Alexandria says, still leaning heavily on her cane and gradually catching her breath.
Alexandria's knuckles tighten on the head of her cane, and she looks like she's trying to cast a spontaneous Creo Mortem on Loys.
((fucking forums. 
))
As the events surrounding Cumhachd's recent actions unfold, Tranquillina backs away from the table as far as possible, which isn't far given that the table dominates the room. She spontaneously casts Unraveling the Fabric of Corpus quietly to restore her face back to her normal teenage appearance; as she does so, the metaphorical stench from the vis in the gold nuggets assaults her senses, causing bile to rise up from her throat into her mouth. Steadying herself as best she can, she then quietly casts her formulaic Unraveling the Fabric of Imaginem to remove the battered-body illusion from her wolfskin cloak.
((UtFoCorpus: Sta -3 + Pe 14 + Vi 7 + talisman attunement (alter self) 5 + aura 5 - quiet words 5 + stress die 3 = 26, halved is 13. Enough to unravel a level 23+ spell.))
((UtFoImagimen: Sta -3 + Pe 14 + Vi 7 + Mastery 1 + aura 5 - quiet words 5 - vis allergy 3 + stress die 0 = 16, successful. If there's vis around, maybe that's enough for a "second" botch die that her mastery doesn't do away with: safe.))
She then moves swiftly (though she is out of breath) to stand directly in front of Loys, and silently and motionlessly casts Aura of Rightful Authority on him when he meets her grim gaze. ((automatic in this aura, even with the vis allergy penalty)) She doesn't bother prefacing it with Shroud Magic, so both Loys and Alexandra should feel some nausea. "If you have something to say to me, say it now," she commands Loys forcefully.
((So far, they seem to have been behaving themselves since I got home about 40 minutes ago...although I probably shouldn't have said that.))
((Why Alexandria?))
"You want the truth? You are a small, sad woman. Cumhachd opened my eyes to you. And if what master Stultus says is true, it will be much better to be her pawn, than yours. At least she was willing to actually teach me." Loys has a look like, well, she asked for it! He shows the signs of someone who had been pushed too far and for too long.
Fiona looks at Loys, mouth open in shock. She looks like she's about to say something, but her eyes flick quickly at Tranquillina, and she keeps quiet. It's a long moment before she remembers to close her mouth again.
(( DAMMIT, Marcus! Quit hogging the popcorn!! 
))
((I really wanted to...I made 5 attempts on this thread. Now let me catch up first))
Alexei seemed to have a strange look on his face for most of the time when the thievery was reported. His head quirked to one side and a confused cast to his expression, almost like a puppy seeing something new for the first time. ((Yeah we'll go with that 
))
Suddenly he snaps out of it and stands up fast enough to tip the chair behind him and he actually snarls before disappearing.
((Casting a spell to go to the library:
Leap of Homecoming
1d10+41 → [5,41] = (46)
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4050834/
Per+Finesse roll:
1d10+1 → [7,1] = (8)
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4050835/))
but she would know that Fiona and I have the library lists. We have arcane connections to all the books. We do not have them with any of Apollodorus' books.
"That's all well and good, but do we have any way of recalling these books, and doing so before she destroys the connection between the list and the book? Marcus looks at both Stultus and Tranquillina, "Is she very capable with Vim magics or metamagics?"
((Tranquillina's sigil affects everyone nearby, is how I play it. The magi have Parma though, so they resist it.))
Tranquillina raises her eyebrow, no more agitated than a lady might be if a merchant informed her of the provenance of a particular vase. She strolls idly in a circuit around the table, hands folded together inside her cloak, eventually to end up near Loys again but from the other direction. "You are welcome to your opinion, of course. However, you made a promise to me, when I agreed to allow you to assist me in my laboratory. A week and a half ago, you broke that promise, by refusing to report as you were told. Neither my size nor your evaluation of my emotional state is relevant to that failure." Halfway around the table, she peers over her shoulder at the young man. "Not only did you fail to heed your duty, you did not communicate any reason for this absence. Not that day, not the next day - in fact, not even to this very moment. Never mind that abject apology is the appropriate response: you have not even deigned to offer an explanation of any sort."
Tranquillina spreads her arms wide in a "what is one to do" gesture. "Your actions are neither defensible nor, at this point, forgivable. You are no longer an inhabitant of this covenant." She shrugs her shoulders. "You have a new infatuation now, so I am sure you will not care overmuch about your eviction. Allow me to give you a gift to convey to Cumhachd to celebrate the occasion." Tranquillina is very close to Loys now; her hands emerge from her cloak to take up positions in the air before her. "I shall give her a glimpse of her future with you, you and your disobedient silence."
With no further preamble, Tranquillina casts Twist of the Tongue upon Loys. While her words are no louder than normal for a spell, their biting tone betrays her true feelings. ((automatically cast successfully))
Loys looks horrified at first, and he screams out a mangled cry, and then spits blood out of his mouth. And then strangely, he seems calm, and actually smiles as he pulls out something from his pack: a piece of folded parchment. He stands there before the assembled magi, with his eyes closed, a slight smile on his face waiting patiently, broken occasionally by the need to spit some blood out onto the floor of the council chamber, which he continues to do, in fact making an exaggerated motion of it, while looking at Tranquillina. After a few minutes, he nods his head, and and raises his arm, and then disappears.
"And One. What One is, I don't know now."
Marcus looks directly at Tranquillina, "Well, I suppose he was right, you are a small woman, Tranquillina. " When Marcus says small, it's clear that he means petty.
"You still haven't figured it out. Cumhachd wants you to come at her, directly. But you play games, and sidestep. Try and bargain with her, instead of telling her what you want. She plays your games, Tranquillina, and then she beats you at them fairly. And so you take it out on someone else, because your incapable of handling the truth. I'm excusing myself before I'm kicked out." He looks at Stultus, "I'd appreciate knowing what's in that letter, when you have a moment, unless this council decides to make it secret, of course. I'm done here for now." Marcus storms out of the council chamber. The way he says done suggests that it's more than just this council meeting that he's done with.
The letter reads:
Future sodalis,
It is with heavy heart that I leave Mons Electi, what has been my home since birth. I love this place, and hope to return, but that may not be possible, for no one knows what the future holds. I only ask that you forgive Tranquillina. She knows not what she does. Cumhachd warned me that she would act childishly should I tell her exactly what I thought, but I believed differently. So, I came prepared with this letter. A plan for the worst, with a hope for the best. That you're reading this means that I am either dead, or she acted against me in some less forceful way. Heal her and teach her.
Loys, disciplus Cumhachd
((anything in the library? I wasn't there to see what happened to Loys))