Zoltan leans back in his chair, still smiling. Then he brushes the lapels of his jacket and adjusts the collar and stands up. He holds his hand out, extending it to gesture to all at the table. "Come with me, you shall see. All of you."
"Perhaps we should table the demonstration until Laterala arrives. Doubtless she knows of your capabilities, but I think she might be slightly offended if she were to arrive and no one was here."
Zoltan's smile becomes a smirk. "Laterala is not in charge of us, that was not in the agreement. And I'm sure she would appreciate the same tactical appraisal as you. It shan't take long." He curls his finger 'Come with me...'
Laterala comes in followed by a teenaged girl and a young man. She carries several scrolls and a small book and finds an open seat and begins to arrange her items in front of her. The girl is carrying a wax tablet which she puts down near Laterala and then fetches a mug of beer for her master. The young man has a short pile of clean paper which he takes to a small desk in the edge of the room. He sits and pulls out a writing set and begins to sharpen his quill and place his ink in the well.
Once she has her beer, Laterala takes a drink and then looks around the room. Good Evening Sodalis. Most of you have not met Violeta, my apprentice. Violeta nods to all and stands by Laterala's chair.
Tonight we must decide on the size of our Aegis and cast it. We will go over everyone's responsibilities as it pertains to our efforts here. I will also try to answer any questions you might have thought of in your short stay.
"So, in addition to your capabilities, should my threat assessment include your apparent need to show off?" She says with a bemused expression, but hasn't yet risen from her seat. And then Latarela appears. "Pardon me, Laterala, Zoltan was indicating he wanted to demonstrate his ability to summon faeries, or more specifically, how quickly they come when summoned."
Really! I would be interested in that demonstration. I would prefer it to be after the Aegis is cast. She looks at Zoltan. It should be interesting on what you can summon after midnight.
Indeed, lets get this basic stuff hammered out first, and then start with the demonstrations.
"It would appear that there are three of us in favor of waiting to do demonstrations. I suggest, now that Laterala is here, that we formally open the meeting and proceed with whatever agenda she has for us."
Zoltan initially has a look bit like the cat that has been caught in the act, but as the conversation continues in favor of a delayed demonstration he smiles and takes his seat.
"Very well...we shall see who calls upon the witching hour." he says, his voice having just a touch of mirth in it.
Now that is settled. I will go over several stipulations for this oppidum. As you all know we are researching various aspects of the area. The fae She gestures to Zoltan. The Roman ruins, gestures to Diotima and the hot spring that we border. Most of you will be required to give one season per year to this research. Some, gesturing to Ophelia, will have other duties that may require more than a single season per year. As Ophelia is a Hoplite assigned to this Oppidum, she is in charge of security. She can also ask for and expect help if she feels it necessary in regards to thr security of this Oppidum Laterala looks around the table. That is a basic right of her status as defined by the Tribunal. Everyone seated at this table can be called on in times of trouble.
Any questions?
None from me.
Zoltan shrugs. "Well, I perhaps will be working with Ophelia for protocols for the guests I will be studying." he nods to Ophelia and pours himself some refreshment before smiling and waggling a finger in greeting towards Violeta. "Hello little flower."
The second stipulation is hopefully temporary. I will ask that no one extract vis from the aura. The was a small Oppidum here before as you might have heard. It did not last very long and ended badly for at least 1 of the members. We are unsure as to the fate of one of the members so we are being cautious. We know they drew from the aura quite a bit and we are not sure if that was a factor.
"Is there a Vim vis source, then? Vim vis is so useful and versatile, and necessary, not being able to extract it seems overcautious." ((I'm presuming the characters don't know the available vis stocks and sources yet.))
The Oppidum has been stocked with vis. We have three identified sources of vis within minutes walk of this room. One of which produces Vim. We also feel that there are other, untapped, sources in the area that need to be investigated.
And I hope the restriction is temporary but for now, do not extract any vis.
I think it may be a good time to point out that, vim vis naturally collects in my body Eve points to tattoo on her arm and forms these tattoos. I usually transfer them in the lab every so often. I doubt anyone here wants to borrow vis for operational expenses, but I say this so it doesn't look like I'm extracting vis from the aura. Since this vis collects regardless of if I'm in the aura or not, this isn't actually some strange form of extraction.
"It seems I am perhaps the only native to this Tribunal, barring Laterala. Our guests from Thebes and elsewhere" he gestures to Eve "perhaps have only gossip and exaggeration at how the Tremere operate here. It would likely be a good idea to lay out expectations. For example, Laterala, can we expect communiques from your House only through you, or should we acknowledge when someone else from your House arrives and expects cooperation?"
Laterala takes a long drink of her beer and wipes her lips with a napkin before answering. My House would generally only communicate with me. If you mean the Tribunal then anyone could receive a message from the Praeco. Generally it will be a summons. Very rarely will it be a request. Occasionally, we could get a request from a local Redcap about a situation that we would need to handle. The same for a Quaesitor. Since Ophilia is a Hoplite assigned to this Oppidum we must listen to her if she deems there is a problem she cannot deal with alone. Traveling Hoplites may request help but generally should not as Ophelia should handle anything they could want.
((This oppidum has jurisdiction for maters within it's area of responsibility. That being Lake Balaton and the Kal valley.))
Each time it's mentioned that Ophelia is a hoplite, if anyone is paying attention to her, she appears to be a bit unsettled with the title. ((I'd say it's a Per+Folk Ken of 6 to notice this, if anyone wants to roll.))
Stating Laterala's comment another way"As a matter of course, if a visiting hoplite appears and asks for your assistance directly, outside of my presence while I'm actually in the oppidum proper, you can be sure that he did not make any request of me or notify me of his intent. I will always accompany anyone asking for help and, unless it can be demonstrated that my involvement in the task will lead to failure, my squad and I will be part of anything that any member of this oppidum is asked to do by any other hoplite."
Zoltan seems intrigued somewhat by the talk of Hoplites and action. "We have a squad? Is this the turb of grogs? Will they speak a common tongue? Or perhaps there is a sergeant? For my needs, they shall need to be open to strange occurences and follow directions exactly, even if those directions seem out of sorts. Exploring the fae is not for the faint of heart! They feed on fear and emotions as well as whimsy, ignorance and bravado. Cool, temperate heads are what is required. Do we have such men and women?"