"We were discussing rhetoric today, maga." This is one of the very first things Cumhachd did to Tranquillina before taking her as an apprentice.
"She also asked me what I know about the Order, but I told her you hadn't taught me anything about wizarding ways, yet."
"Hmm, very well, Loys: I trust you to know the difference between general topics and private Mons Electi information," Tranquillina says with a polite nod. "Now, I would like to confirm, for our own peace of mind, that you have not been exposed to any sort of subtle magic while in Cumhachd's presence. I am going to cast a spell; you might feel a little bit nauseous - you know about that side effect of my magic - but it will quickly pass." She then spends a few minutes ceremonially casting an Intellego Vim spell to detect Hermetic magic, and if possible any details thereof, of spells that might be active on Loys. ((Rolling up for Base level; R: Touch +1, D: Mom; T: Touch magical sense +1. Sta -3 + In 6 + Vi 7 + words/gestures 2 + Artes Liberales 1 + ceremonial chamber 5 + aura 5 + stress die 8 = 31, halved is 16. Good enough for a Base level 5 spell: "Detect any active magic."))
((If she discovers anything, let me know; I'll go on assuming that she finds nothing.)) "That is good - I expected nothing, but better safe than sorry." She sits for a minute or two to catch her breath; without an altered visage, her recent insomnia is not hard to spot.
"Now, I need you to give me your full attention," Tranquillina continues, choosing her words slowly and carefully for maximum effect. (Loys is no doubt happy to focus all his senses upon the maga....) "Cumhachd ex Tytalus is many things, and perhaps you find that a pleasant conversational partner is one of those facets; but you must understand that she is extremely dangerous and self-serving." As she pauses for effect, she secretly casts Shroud Magic, so that the next spell she casts (if within two minutes) will not manifest her sigil. Even though Loys was serving her in the lab when she recently invented the spell, she doesn't think he understands exactly what it was, nor does she think he would suspect a spell being cast at any given moment when there are no words or gestures to betray it. ((Sta -3 + Mu 12 + Vi 7 + Mastery 1 - words/gestures 10 (mitigated by Quiet Casting mastery) + aura 5 + stress die 1 / exploder 10 = 32, for the level 15 spell. Must be fresh in her mind!))
"I do not need you in my laboratory at the moment, and it is good to have someone trustworthy keep an eye on our visitor; but do not forget that your loyalty is to me and the other members of your home, even while you strive to put Cumhachd at ease." With the eye contact engendered by this monologue, Tranquillina secretly casts Aura of Rightful Authority upon Loys. ((Sta -3 + Re 9 + Me 10 + Mastery 2 - words/gestures 5 (mitigated by Mastery) + aura 10 + stress die 5 = 28, for the level 20 spell.) She finishes her speech with a hand on Loys's shoulder: "It is very important that you observe and remember all you can, about Cumhachd's home and activities, and about the content of your conversation. And speak as you like on general matters or on the topics she introduces: but definitely do not give her any information about Mons Electi, or about myself. She is both cunning and devious, and one cannot predict how she might use even an innocuous remark to our disadvantage. Do you understand, Loys?" she smiles winsomely. ((Leadership roll: Com 3 + Leadership 1 + Ennobled Presence 3 + Rightful Authority 3? + stress die 5 = 15.))
Nothing was found. Is Tranquillina going to repeat the check on a nightly basis?
I'll skip forward through a couple of days, there is no sign of spells cast upon Loys, and presuming you check Choiniere, she hasn't been tampered with, either.
"Of course, I understand." His response seems oddly forceful, especially in light of the Aura of Rightful Authority. How often has Loys been the subject of Mentem effects, since he's been in Tranquillina's service?
I wasn't even sure she was going to check more than once. Certainly no more than what you've described.
What do you mean by "forceful"? Like, willful? or trying too hard to agree? Tranquillina will try to figure out what he meant by his tone. ((Per 2 + Folk Ken 3 + stress die 9 = 14.))
In general, Loys probably gets Mentemed once every two months over the past year (maybe less frequently before that - unsure). Now that you mention it, Tranquillina should cast Perception of the Conflicting Motives on him now, while she's being paranoid. And I guess Choiniere too. Each time with Shroud Magic first, and each time silently and without gestures. As in my previous post, her Casting Total is 12 + stress die for the level 15 Shroud Magic; it's Sta -3 + In 6 + Me 10 + Mastery 2 - words/gestures 5 (mitigated by Mastery) + aura 5 + stress die = 15 + stress die for the level 15 Perception of the Conflicting Motives. So the only question is whether the Shrouds fatigue her. Here are the rolls; the Loys Shroud did fatigue her.
His response was forceful, as in, of course I'm telling the truth.
Perception of the conflicting motives indicates that he still feels a sense of duty. His sense of devotion to Tranquillina is taking a hit, though. He sees Cumhachd as a source of great wisdom, and he trusts her.
Oh this will definitely not happen, Tranquillina growls to herself. She has Edward le Grand and Jehanne assigned to her person for the following day, and she has one of the kitchen boys fetch some crab apple verjus from the stores, instructing him in great detail about how to serve it and what to do afterwards. She casts the same spells upon her person as she did when receiving Cumhachd the first time. Early that afternoon, after Cumhachd has had time to finish her lunch, Tranquillina takes the two grogs and the servant across the long bridge to the Tribunal plateau and to Cumhachd's villa. (Both grogs are wearing their armor; Jehanne in particular has had his bespelled to look like a dress, as he prefers, to provide maximum distraction.) She looks very carefully for any sign of a sanctum marker. If she sees one, she angrily has Edward pound on the door. If there is no sanctum marker, she tells the grogs to enter ahead of her without knocking.
"Where are your nine men, who were so close to death's door when you stumbled across my covenant?" is the first thing Tranquillina says to Cumhachd. She motions for the servant to pour each maga a goblet of the very sour semi-delicacy, hoping that the unexpected taste startles Cumhachd a little.
The villa door does not have a sanctum marker.
The party barges in, Cumhachd is sitting chatting with Loys. "Loys, be a dear, and run along. This may be unpleasant."
In response to the query about her men, "Oh, I've seen to their needs, now that we're out of the storm. Three are standing guard at the regio entrance, assisting with security. The clime in this regio is so much more pleasant, and so they are no longer in distress." Cumhachd takes a sip of the offered drink, and while she doesn't spit it out, she seems to show a momentary dissatisfaction. "A bit more sour than I expected. But about as weak as expected." A Folk Ken check of 9 will determine that her reaction was a a bit over the top. "I appreciate what hospitality you've been able to provide. It's been good to find out how you've settled in here." She smiles warmly. "This regio, and the Tribunal's reaction to it was quite the talk of the Levant and Theban Tribunals, you know. Even vis rich Thebes thought this place was a marvel."
((Prs 2 + Folk Ken 3 + stress die 1 / exploder 8 = 21. Tell me everything.... 
))
"Ah, you don't like it?" Tranquillina responds, taking another taste herself, which makes her squeeze her eyes shut with a smile. "This liqueur hails from the Provençal Tribunal. Does it not make one salivate, truly? What a vibrant taste, if somewhat acquired - you are not the first to quit after the first sip." She puts her bejewelled cup (Cumhachd's is noticeably plainer) on the table in front of her chair.
"Yes, we know well about your three toll gatherers outside the regio. But where are the other six? News of your party's arrival has spread throughout our covenfolk, of course - one cannot prevent that - and it would be preferable for us to reassure our shepherds that there is no magical danger stalking them in the fields."
"Clearly your reaction is positive as well," Tranquillina points out, "since you seem to be settling down for a long stay. One might conclude that you find a cold stone villa in an abandoned city to be more comfortable than your own sanctum at Lamh nam Monadh." Tranquillina makes a show of wrinkling her brow. "But, speaking of which ... you mention the talk of eastern Tribunals - are you fully traveling these days? Trouble at home, perhaps...?" She clucks sympathetically.
Cumhachd was putting Tranquillina on. "You must have forgotten that I enjoy a sip of vinegar now and again, to help maintain my health and vigor, without relying upon Corpus magics. At first, I thought you had remembered, but then I detected far too much sweetness in this." ((Whether Tranquillina displayed any sense of joy over this triumph is up to you. Depends on how deep you want to play the game with Cumhachd. And will she be able to tell that you can tell, and then starts playing Tranquillina's game.))
"The six are secure. Rest assured. And your shepherds have nothing to worry about. They are flesh, and flesh does what it's told." She smiles warmly at Tranquillina.
Getting down into the meat of the conversation, when Tranquillina begins discussing the regio, "My reaction is. If you wish to characterize it as a positive one, you may. Of course, as soon as we begin lableing things, they begin to be only their label, and nothing more. For example, you've put the label of traveller on me, and then proceed to question me as to whether I have had trouble at home, so one could surmise that you view travellers as people avoiding trouble. But, you discount my label as a maga of Tytalus, and we do not run from trouble, unlike some other Houses. Rest assured, had there been trouble at Lamh nam Monadh, I would have returned in but an instant, and confronted and defeated it utterly. To answer your questions, no, there is no trouble at Lamh nam Monadh, or I don't know that there is, since I am no longer a member there, and yes, I've been on a pilgrimage of sorts." Leaving the specifics of her pilgrimage aside, she goes into other matters, "So tell me, Eskil, have you finally begun your research, or are you merely another Bonisagus truckler?"
((There's a limit to how much joy she could display, thanks to the Mentem spell; but I think probably a satisfied smile at least. I see this as one of these games where each person can maddeningly pretend that the final position was the one they were aiming for all along - Tranquillina is like haha I got you to drink more, Cumhachd is like haha I got you to think you could manipulate me when I wanted it all along, etc. In truth, Tranquillina realized her goal when Cumhachd touched her lips to the goblet, so the more she's focused on the game of how much should I drink, the better it is.))
Tranquillina rubs her chin, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling. She says nothing in direct response, but Cumhachd's words have given her an idea. And she's happy to look like she got an idea, and for Cumhachd not to know what it is.
Tranquillina is genuinely curious about this unexpected information - and it's all the better that asking about it affords her an opportunity to be snarky. Ignoring for the moment the question about her research, she gushes: "Oh but wait, dear mater" (her voice indicating the air quotes quite distinctly) "what is this about you no longer being a member at our former home?! What could have brought about such an unforeseen circumstance? If not trouble of any sort - you have protested much that no such trouble could logically exist, so I must accept the axiom - then what? Like old lovers, have you simply drifted apart? Tired of seeing each other's face across the breakfast table? Have they filled your chambers with a younger, more exciting maga? Do tell, do tell."
Cumhachd states simply, In no particular order: the coming storm, the corruption of Guernicus, and the need to gather and position allies." She looks at Tranquillina a bit crossly, and ignores any shocked look, no matter how slight or exaggerated, she might display. "Begone, child, I'll not speak to you of such matters in your befuddled state." Cumhachd places her hand on Tranquillina's and smiles, but before she can realize what has happened, Tranquillina finds herself out of the villia, in the same sitting position, but without the chair, whereupon she falls to the ground. The door to the villa slams shut before she can get to it, and all of the grogs and covenfolk that came with her arrive at regular intervals, two at a time, until everyone is outside.
As Tranquillina contemplates pounding on the door to confront Cumhachd, she hears her voice and another unrecognized voice appear to be having a rather heated discussion.
((Glad to know a common Minor Magical Focus for NPC magi in this saga is Screw Your Corpus MR Tranquillina 
))
Tranquillina glares around her as the two grogs and the servant boy appear. "Tha thu 'nad fhaighean!" she hisses. The discussion from inside the villa makes her pause; after a moment, she motions the two grogs to return to the covenant. She tiptoes over to the servant boy and touches him on the head at the end of a series of Hermetic gestures, silently putting words into his mind: [sup]"Stay silent, and stay here. When the door opens, clean up the beverage service, and leave the unwashed cups in my receiving room as I instructed you. And keep your eyes low, lad."[/sup] ((CrMe Base level 3, +1 Touch, +1 Conc for a level 5 spell. Sta -3 + Cr 6 + Me 10 - silent 10 + aura 5 + stress die 4 = 12, halved is 6.))
Not waiting to catch her breath, Tranquillina then tiptoes over to the door and, like a lowbrow mundane, sticks her ear right up against the door. (Or, if there's a window nearby, she'll edge right up to it against the wall. Whichever trope makes sense 
)) If the villa door opens outwards, she has the servant boy lean against it to slow its opening.
((Stealth roll to stay quiet: Dex -1 + Stealth (quiet movement) 3 + stress die 1 / exploder 3 = 8. Eavesdropping roll: Per 2 + Awareness 2 + stress die 0 (no botch) = 4.))
Of course she wants to hear the conversation, first and foremost. She will keep ready to use Wizard's Leap to move herself quickly, if she hears people approaching the door from the inside (or if it actually opens). Is the villa's roof flat? - if so, she'll Leap up on top of it - otherwise, just around the corner of the building. She'll even fast-cast the spell if necessary/appropriate.
While listening to the conversation, it occurs to Tranquillina that perhaps her resistance was so easily overcome, because Cumhachd might possess an arcane connection to Tranquillina. She can't hear much, but it sounds heated and full of recrimination. Every oncen in a while she hears names of the magi dropped. Towards the end, she hears a voice say, She's listening.
Cumhachd returns, I should very well hope so! It's not like I sent her to Wales!. The word Wales sounded very clear, in fact Cumhachd was easily heard as if the voice was coming closer! As soon as Tranquilina puts it together the door opens inward and Cumhachd says, Learn anything good, yet? Can you be a dear and send Loy's back to me? I'd like to continue our debate. He is rather good, you know. And can you return tomorrow, but without being bespelled by your own Mentem magics? She gives a disapproving tut-tut and shakes her head as if disappointed as she closes the door.
((And that triumphant result, boys and girls, is why you should roll higher than 4 on Awareness rolls. Korvin, I need your help here! 
JL, which magi's names were mentioned?))
Growling to herself at her complete lack of subtlety - she was breathing so hard from the sponted spell that she couldn't hear a damn thing until it was too late - Tranquillina quickly throws the door wide open, motioning the servant boy in as she gets in a dig at Cumhachd. "I am afraid I did not learn anything of particular utility. Not surprising, really, given that you were the teacher." Of course, the whole delivery is meant to mask the real reason for throwing open the door - trying to see whom Cumhachd was talking to.
She will then (after Cumhachd gets the last word in, presumably) Leap back to her sanctum, without words or gestures, using the splinter of wood in her pouch; it's not much, but it's the most impressive thing she can think to do. ((automatically without fatigue, in this aura)) I didn't want to think about the possibility that the witch had an Arcane Connection to me, Tranquillina stews as she sits on her bed, face in her hands, but now it can't be ignored. Or else she's so powerful that she doesn't need one. Which, really, amounts to the same thing anyway.... She sends for Loys and Choiniere and delivers new instructions, enyjoing the craftiness of her Shroud Magic / Aura of Rightful Authority combination, which she uses on each of them in turn: ((spells will all go off, only possibility is mild fatigue from Shrouds))
"We are no longer providing hospitality for the visitor. She has chosen to stay outside our walls rather than accept our invitation into our home; we have done what we can, but she must accept the consequences of her choice now. Choiniere, go to the kitchens and let them know they need no longer provide food nor drink for her; then tell Sergeant Stockhausen that the warriors guarding the bridge can remain polite but are not to grant her requests without a council member's explicit authorization. Loys, your task today is equally simple: find all the members of the council one by one, and inform them that I have ended the hotel service for Cumhachd; she can fend for herself now." She pauses for breath, thinking about one magus in particular. "Although do not kill yourself looking for them; if you cannot find all of the magi without climbing mountains, but have found most of them, that will suffice. Oh, and you are not to speak with Cumhachd again. I shall require you back in my laboratory beginning tomorrow." ((Leadership roll: Com 3 + Leadership 1 + Ennobled Presence 3 + Rightful Authority 3 + stress die 5 = 15, same as last time.))
After the two have left on their errands, Tranquillina sits in her receiving room for several long minutes, sipping some wine and calming her whirling thoughts. Then, when the servant boy arrives with the drink service from her visit to the villa, she turns her attention to the plain goblet from which Cumhachd took the sour drink. The hope (who knows how likely, but it seems plausible) is that there is enough of Cumhachd's saliva on the rim or in the dregs to serve as an Arcane Connection back to her. Using a fine cloth, Tranquillina carefully and patiently absorbs all of the liquid from the goblet's surface. Then, the moment of truth: she spontaneously casts The Whole from the Part upon the cloth. Hopefully, she will form a mental image of Cumhachd's true nature (ironic, given that almost always she instead wishes to banish such images). ((HoH:TL, page 72; level 20 spell. Sta -3 + In 6 + Co 29 + Talisman attunement (Corpus) 3 + aura 5 + stress die 7 = 47, halved is 24.))
(( There. Edited it for you. No need to thank me. 
))
All the magi and magaes names were mentioned. Let's try a stress die roll on the chances of acquiring an AC. Check for botch with one die, too.
Loys never returns to Tranquillina's quarters and isn't available to her in the lab the next day, but checking on him, he dutifully reported the information to each magus, Stultus last. A quick questioning of covenfolk and grogs reveals he was last seen crossing the bridge and heading to Tribunal city. During the questioning it was also revealedthe three men that had guarded the regio entrance left that post and entered the regio. A grog followed them to Cumhachd's villia. The door to the villa, when Tranquillina arrives now has a prominently displayed sanctum marker.
Here we go: stress die 1 / exploder 8 = 16 
8) 8)
botch check negative (7)
At first, Tranquillina is furious and starts dreaming up all sorts of punishments for Loys. But after a few minutes, she realizes she actually has a bit of plausible deniability now, which she ought to take advantage of. She scurries through the covenant halls towards Marcus's chambers, already mentally rehearsing an alibi for the future: He is usually utterly reliable; so when he did not come to my laboratory, I was deeply worried for his well-being. Of course I thought twice about using the spell, exactly because of my Oath. But my covenant-mates would understand, and the only other maga around was a woman he explicitly agreed not to talk to - how could I have known this was the first instruction of mine he would ever disobey...?
First things first, though: Assuming she finds Marcus, she greets him politely but quickly. "Sodalis, I wish to ask a quick favor of you, if it is possible. I remember that you used the spell Bitter Taste of Betrayal, back when you were the guest of the fire giants in the Magic Realm. Are you able to cast that spell upon me, so that I might know if I am the target of malicious scrying? I fear my Arts are not advanced enough to create such a spell myself."
Yes, Tranquillina sees an image of Cumhachd, so it is an AC. Trouble is, she must begin fixing it within the next 12-24 hours, since the duration is either hours or days. ((Saliva isn't mentioned in the list. It's either closest to shed skin or excrement, and we'll say that Tranquillina doesn't know, either, but she can come up with that conclusion.)) Fixing the connection is a 7 day lab activity, not a full season activity.
Marcus sighs, and then thinks for a long time, he sits in a chair and scratches his knee stump. "What would you hope to achieve by having Bitter Taste of Betrayal cast upon you?"
Tranquillina receives a note from her very FAVORITE covenant mate in fairly short order.
"Sodalis,
You are, of course, correct that the visitor's choice to stay outside our walls makes her ineligible (in the strictest sense of the term) for Hermetic hospitality. Nonetheless, I have instructed the kitchens to continue providing Cumhachd ex Tytalus with food and drink, as well as firewood and other basic necessities, on behalf of myself rather than the covenant. If the honored Diocetes feels that the cost of food and firewood to keep an old woman warm and fed through the winter is beyond Mons Electi's means, the honored Diocetes should feel free to subtract any and all costs incurred from those allocated to me for the upkeep of my laboratory.
P.S. Being mean and petty is my mater cara's trademark. You need not stoop to her level in order to oppose her schemes.
Yours,
--Stultus Maximus."
I agree. In fact, IC the duration of Arcane Connections probably has some ... connection ... with the amount of material and other factors; and there's probably not a lot of saliva there to begin with. So Tranquillina will begin fixing it before sunset for sure, to be on the safe side. And she'll just spend the next week doing that - she'll get back to her Finesse reading afterwards. But that's getting ahead of myself a bit....
"You 'met' Cumhachd, a maga of your House, a few days ago at the gate," Tranquillina explains. "She cast a hostile Rego Corpus spell upon me today - successfully, despite my years of study in how to resist that very Form. I am forced to conclude that she possesses an Arcane Connection to my person. She is ... part of my history," she stumbles, "so it is quite a reasonable possibility. This knowledge makes me wonder whether she does in fact scry upon me from time to time - especially now that she is here in person, moving some scheme forward."