"Do we have any guest quarters yet?", asks Tacitus. "We do not know if they are infected but they may have important information. I would like to hear what they have to say, but we must proceed cautiously."
There is a botch coming soon as I rarely get 1's let a lone two in a day
for 2nd Mystic tower: 1D10+53 = [1]+53 = 54
multiplier: 1D10 = [1] = 1
multiplier 2: 1D10 = [3] = 3
54+1+12= 67 Unless I figured that wrong.
"Our initial plans did not include a guest house," Galan replies. "That's clearly an oversight on our part. We probably want to arrange to have a small cabin built near the gate for just such a purpose. In the meanwhile, I can vacate my tower if necessary and temporarily relocate to the manor house. That's assuming they want to stay longer than it takes for us to talk, which may not be the case. Regardless, we can talk in the tower."
[hr][/hr]
Thanks much. 
Agnarr will come assuming he's heard about the visitors but will remain withdrawn, and frankly this is odd.
He grumbles, "In future find out who they are before giving them tokens. Asking a name is reasonable."
My understanding is that we haven't given them tokens yet. We're discussing whether we want to do so. Angarr suggesting that we ask for more information before we offer them tokens is perfectly reasonable.
If people are agreeable, Galan can approach the visitors at the gate with tokens, and offer them the tokens after they've given us their names.
"I do not like that their spokesman would not show his face. That his companions seem to be affected by our Aegis also alarms me. I would have his purpose and duration, we are ill-equiped to receive visitors. He is not wounded, nor harried. It is clear that he sought us out. The price of hospitality is answers."
"We are outside Hermetic areas, I believe this to be a Hedge Mage, if he will not give his House. Certainly this is a powerful site, that many would covet."
"It's true that we're ill equipped to handle visitors," Galan agrees. "And our visitors have not volunteered any information. But remember, we are the interlopers here. We came in and claimed a powerful site that they might well have used in the past. And they represent an as-yet unknown group of magical power in this area." He nods absently. "I agree, they sound more like a hedge tradition than members of the Order, but we shouldn't make assumptions. It's possible, though admittedly unlikely, that they're members of the Order who, like us, wanted to get away from it all."
"Regardless," Galan adds, "I doubt they're looking for hospitality, as such. They've probably come for just what we want - answers. I suspect they'll want to know who we are and what our intentions are in this area. They'll want assurances that we mean their group no harm. If they knows of the Order, they may know that we haven't always been kind to local hedge traditions. No doubt that's of concern to the three of them. That would explain some of their caution."
"Now I don't say that we should treat them as friends and allies just yet. Bu I do say that we should invite them into the covenant and offer them the courtesy of aegis tokens as a surety that we mean them no harm. Surely the six of us can deal with three hedge wizards if they cause trouble, even if they have aegis tokens. Besides, if they do prove hostile, we can always withdraw the invitation and they'll immediately suffer from the effects of the aegis."
"But I don't think we should keep them waiting," the magus continues. "We want to start our relationship with them on the right foot. And one way to do that it to be attentive to them."
With that, Galan gathers three aegis tokens and heads out to the covenant's front gate, waiting for anyone who wishes to follow. Once there he greets the vistors with a bow of his head. "Hello and welcome," he says in Finnish, repeating the same in Latin. "My name is Galan and I wish to welcome you to our covenant on behalf of us all and bid you enter as our guests. But first, who do we have the pleasure of greeting, and how long do you intend to stay? As you can see, we're new to this area and ill equipped to accommodate guests for any extended period of time. I understand that you pledged that you come in peace. I would also pledge that we mean you no harm during your visit." He holds the aegis tokens in his hand, ready to distribute them once the vistors have replied.
[hr][/hr]
It occurs to me to ask whether you can have multiple Aura spells up at a time. For example, it seems to me that there's no reason you can't appear more regal (Aura of Ennobled Presence) and more trustworthy (Aura of Beguiling Appearance) at the same time. The spells certainly don't prohibit it.
So, if I can have more than one up at a time, I'll also cast the other two.
Aura of Ennobled Presence: 1D10+31 = [1]+31 = 32; success
Aura of Childlike Innocence: 1D10+31 = [5]+31 = 36; success
The trio observe Galan approach, and before he's within earshot, the man lowers his hood, while the other two do not. He has silver hair, and a silver beard. Somehow, he seemed shorter before he lowered the hood, and now he positively towers above the nearby guards. He smiles warmly as Galan finishes his approach. Upon the introduction, the man remarks warmly, "You may call me Brag. For the time being, my companions names are unimportant to you, indeed should I give you their names, or even hint at their names, you might well have power over them. They are mine, and will do only as I say. I have given you my pledge, which is their pledge. If they wrong you, I have wronged you. But, they aren't powerful enough to enter your Aegis For the invitation into your Aegis, I promise to conduct myself as a guest and offer you no ."
He looks at the manor house and towers behind Galan, "I don't intend to stay for more than a day. We need a place to rest for the night, and I wish to trade news. You can tell me of your lands, and I can tell you of mine and the danger you have courted by settling here." Brag holds out his hand, and the two behind him do the same.
"Then be welcome in our covenant," Galan says, offering each of the three visitors an aegis token - though he drops the tokens into their hands to avoid any physical contact. He then takes a moment to introduce each other magus who has come along to witness the greeting.
"Alas," he adds with a slight frown, "I fear that our hospitality must perforce be limited. Some of the news we bring is of a magical plague that has struck Europe. For your benefit and our own, we must isolate you in this close tower." He gestures at the river tower. "I apologize for the necessity. I also apologize for the sparseness of the accomodations we can provide. We've not yet been here two weeks and we're still settling in. But come, let's get you some refreshments and a chance to sit down. No doubt you're tired from your journey."
As he leads the three men - if men they all were - to the tower, Galan keeps up a steady conversation. "You seem very well informed about the Order," he says. "Are you a member? You gave no House identification." It seemed unlikely, but House Ex Miscellanea did accept hedge wizards, and it was best to check.
Bartholomeus is present but keeps his distance, listening and saying nothing. Let others more suitable to it do the talking. Garapadax is notably absent -- hiding somewhere safe.
(OOC: Bit of a crunch at work, so I don't have time to post much.)
Brag follows along, at a distance that Galan might note is intended to put him at ease. "Any hospitality you and yours provide, in these trying times is most welcome. And in exchange for that, I can provide information about what causes the affliction, so you may avoid it, though the ultimate consequences of the affliction are all but unavoidable at this point.
"I'm aware, as you might guess, of a great many things, your Order is but one of them." He takes a deep breath and stops walking, his companions stopping at the precise moment he does. If the magi and grogs accompanying them are ahead of them and continue walking, Brag doesn't make an effort to catch up. He merely stands in the spot, his face a mask of serenity. Presuming any grogs following them stop and wait warily.
"If you can provide any information about the plague, we would be most grateful," Galan replies. "As you can imagine, it's been a matter of great concern to us these past months. It seems we have much to talk about. I only hope that we can be as informative to you as ...," the magus trails off as he looks to his side and sees that the visitor has stopped and is several paces behind him. He looks back and finds the man and his companions standing still.
"Is something amiss?" he asks.
"No, everything is fine. I've just, uh, reached my destination." He looks about. "May I presume that the invitation to your Aegis will be ongoing, in exchange for the information I provide?" He smiles and clucks his tongue, "Of course, that's an unfair bargain. So, I will provide the information, in good faith, in payment for the original invitation. Know that Merinita is the least affected House in the Order. Know that the afflicted are not yet done being involved in events, they will return to the Order and attempt to change it. Know that the Order is the only organized magical society in this world, fear not from an organized response from the alleged Order of Odin, fear instead your own Order. Finally, know that so long as you not dally in the magical realm you, too, shall remain safe from the affliction." He looks upon Galan and the other gathered people of the covenant, with a look inquiring if that information is sufficient for an ongoing invitation.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment to speak with my compatriots," Galan asks politely, taking a step away from the visitor and toward the other magi.
"I don't know if what he says is true," the magus observes to the others in a low tone. "But this is the first hint we've had of the cause of the plague thus far. He also seems to know the area far better than we do, which makes him a potential source of information about local menaces, magical or otherwise. I'm not saying that we make him a member of the covenant, or that we even take his comments as true. But it seems like cultivating him as a source of information might be worthwhile. I don't doubt that there's much he's not telling us - perhaps he has a reason to want a safe haven to retreat to. But we might never know the answers to these questions if we turn him away."
"For my part, I say that we extend a lasting invitation to him and see what we can learn. We can certainly keep an eye on him when he's here to make sure he doesn't cause trouble. And we can always withdraw the invitation if he proves antagonistic to us. But I think the chance for real information about this area and about the plague is worth the risk of having him about, at least for now. We're strangers in a strange land. We'll have to take some risks if we're to learn about our new home."
Bartholomeus seems uncertain. "Is that not a bit too fast in taking what he is saying for truth? He claims to know the source of the plague, but where does that supposed knowledge come from? In this land like any other, there are beings known for their predilection to trickery, isn't there? It could be that this is a faerie 'god' inventing a story so that he can recruit us as followers. Or to keep us out of the magic realm, for reasons of his own. Or simply cause us to chase shadows, if he is a trickster being."
"He provided us with a name, but not with his identity. Who or what is he? I, for one, am not ready to accept his words so easily. Nor extend an ongoing invitation into our Aegis, when we know so little about him."
"How does he come by such information, I wonder. I would know his House, if any. I would tell him my name - Calpurnia ex Verditius filia Votaporix" -- Calpurnia spits out the last name -- "and have him give his Hermetic name. We are magi from all over Europe, surely one of us would know of him or his parens?"
When he talked about the Order, he said to Galan, your Order, which, by implication means he's not in the Order.
"These are all good questions," Galan replies. "I don't for a moment think that he's telling us everything he knows or even necessarily telling us the truth. But I also think that our best chance to learn the truth is to have him near at hand. Yes, we watch him and his associates. Yes, we remain ready to withdraw our invitation if he misbehaves. Yes, we remain ready to defend the covenant if he proves dangerous. But I think we keep him close so that we can observe him and have a chance to test out his assertions."
"He claims to know the source of the plague. That's a big claim to support. And I would never take his word for it. That sort of thing needs to be thoroughly investigated. But against the chance that he does know something about the plague, I'd like to hear what he has to say. It's at least a place to start. If it proves unsubstantiated or fruitless to pursue, then we move on and ask him to leave. But until then I say we keep him here so that we can test his claims."
"Yes, I suppose he might be a faerie god. But I don't think we should cast him out because of what he might be. I think we should investigate him and find out what he actually is. And I think the best way to do that is to have him near. I'm confident in our ability to protect the covenant from him at the present. And consider that we currently have a fairly weak aegis anyway. We don't lose that much by having him inside of it."
"This is our chance to gather information. If he does have information and we send him away, that information may be lost to us forever. But if he doesn't have information and we let him stay, I'm confident that fact will come out sooner rather than later and we can ask him to leave, saying that he violated the terms of his invitation. In the end, I think the risk in sending him away is greater than the risk in keeping him here, which is why I propose we allow him to stay."
"The information is interesting and would be hard for us to test. I would not mind sending the info to others to confirm but it goes against my orders. " Thyra idly scratches Vesper's head while thinking. "Any information now is good enough. I have no problem continuing the invitation."
"How long do you propose to let him remain here? I thought we were inviting him in only to that he could speak to us, not for a prolonged visit!" asks Bartholomeus, looking scared and bewildered. "We moved here, beyond the edge of the Order, to have a safe place to live. We have talked about rules to keep visitors outside of our Aegis to protect ourselves from the plague. Yet the first person who comes to visit, with two obviously supernatural companions, you invite in and propose to let him remain here indefinitively? This is not what we agreed to!" The Verditius' tone has progressively become more plaintive and agitated.