I did not put you forward, she requested you.
Before you go I would be remiss if i did not give you this warning. Once you become a member of Hèviz, be very cautious with your dealings with House Guernicus. Anything more I can not say at this time
Damasus has no problem in any transport through the portals or on the road to Hèviz.
He approaches the fishing village in the middle of the afternoon and stops his Horse to contemplate the lake from the hill then proceed to ride along the shore of the lake up to the inn. He is met with a young man outside the inn that doesn't speak Cuman, but this was expected. He entrusts him with the horse, and gives him a pat on the shoulder while leaving him a small tip.
He dusts his coat and stretches after this long ride. He then walks to the inn and look around for the innkeeper. (awareness 1d10+3=6)
He spots him giving orders to a waitress and goes straight to him. He expects him to, at least, know his name and hopes that he speaks Latin but speaks slowly and articulates each word as if speaking to a young child . "Greetings, I'm Damasus Ex Tremere" He waits for his reaction and if he seems to understand, continues speaking normally " I think I am expected by Laterala, can you be kind enough to show me the way"
Tremere! ah...uhhh...hmmm. Tremere Yes!
He looks to the back of the room where a group of fighting men are sitting. Please. And heads back to them.
The innkeeper speaks to them in Slavic then steps aside.
A slim dark man gets up and bows to Damasus. Greetings Magus. (in Latin). Alas, Pavel does not speak Latin very well. From your robes I see that you appear to be Tremere. Could I get your name please and your business?
Damasus sees that the other men are more tense then they want to appear. All hands are on weapons of some sort or another except for the speaker. His hands are out in front of him.
Damasus smiles and tries to appear inoffensive, he keeps his hands in front of him on his belly and crosses his finger. He's surprise by the reaction of the men in arms, usually his gentle gift protects him from the usual misguided judgement suffered by most magus.
He slightly bows his head and speaks with a calm but proud expression "Greetings. My name is Damasus Ex Tremere filius Angiola. I was invited by Mistress Laterala to join the Oppidium. In my experience politeness requires to introduce yourself before asking your guest..."
The man nods at the name.
It is true but we are charged with sorting guests from enemies.
He does a half bow. Greeting Damasus ex Tremere. I am Ivan.
He pulls a small stone from his belt and presses it to the door which opens. Proceed down the corridor. Aleksandar, our steward is normally there and he will see to your needs.
Damasus gives a quick look at the opening door but before leaving he asks Ivan "What kind of enemies are you expecting ?"
My understanding is that it is the kind that we kind of slow down by dying in a loud manner to give you lot a chance to be ready.
Damasus moves down the hallway to a round tower room with an obvious ring drawn along the floor so as to enter you must cross. In the center of the room is a large desk. Leaning on the desk is an old woman with an eyepatch who is looking at you.
Damasus slows down his pace when he sees the ring. he looks through the entrance of the room and recognizes Laterala from her description so he shrugs his shoulders and crosses the ring. He stops a few pace from the desk and bows with his right fist on his heart "Greetings, Laterala I presume... I am Damasus Ex Tremere, I'm honored to meet you."
Yes. I am pleased that you were available to assist us. Come, we can talk in my office.
She leads Damasus up the stairs that wrap around the inside of the round tower room up to the 2nd floor. Her office is next to a conference room that would be used for Oppidum council meetings.
I'm sure Juturnus is interested in what we are doing. She says giving him a sharp look from her one grey eye. Up close Damasus can see Laterala's eye patch a symbol that looks like an embroidered sprig of myrtle and the Tremere House symbol. Her hair is mostly white with some black still visible and kept in a tight bun.
It will be nice to have one with a gentle Gift at the Oppidum. It can be tricky to deal with the locals when one has the blatant Gift as I do. she says as she sits down. Pour yourself some beer if you wish. She gestures to a pitcher and some large mugs. Brewed in the grounds of the Oppidum. It is quite good.
Your duties to start will be quite simple. Make sure our interests are represented with the locals. You may be asked to investigate or aid in an investigation of troubling areas. Other than that I would ask you to help me keep and eye on our fellow members so no one gets into trouble.
"It's only natural. I'm probably one of the few in the tribunal to consider this a worthy opportunity" He follows her at a respectable distance.
"He probably is indeed, that's part of his job considering how things turned last time..." returning a neutral look. He leaves the subject open in case she wants to clarify a detail without pushing it yet. He recognizes the myrtle symbol but isn't sure yet if that's a good idea to ask her how she earned it considering the place where she chose to wear it she probably hasn't only earned this decoration on the confrontation...
He seems proud as she refers to his gentle gift "This is indeed a blessing, i'm sure you know it already but just in case : Angiola trained me to cast without gesture or speech..." He pours himself a mug and drinks a few sips "This can be quite handy but can also rise suspicion among knowing magi" He finishes the last sentence with smiling eyes.
[b]"I'm not speaking slavic yet but if that's part of my duties, given time and a good teacher I shall do without an interpreter in no time... When you're talking about locals, you mean mainly nobles, common folks, church representatives ? What do they know of our activities and state as wizards ? And more importantly what are they suppose to ignore ?
Of course If I might be of assistance for any investigation you see fit i'll be glad to help. I've met Ivan in the Inn he seems to be expecting trouble... The deadly kind, at least for a mundane. What kind of threats are we facing ?
If I see anything suspicious about about our sodales, I'll make sure i'll report to you but I don't have any legal authorities about it unlike yourself and to be honest they'll probably be suspicious about me only by seeing the symbol on my robes...About them, what should I expect ?
[/b]
We can have a Salvic teacher for you that is not a problem. she makes a note on a wax tablet. For now it will be the Church and the local Count. They do not bother us mainly because we do not bother them. But I think we may stir up some things with just our presence here. The Inn is part of the community and thus must keep operating as an Inn. The Brewery has been making beer before the Order was founded. We like to keep it that way. Your Gift allows you to observe the goings on without causing unrest.
The guardians at the gate should always expect trouble ( in reference to Ivan). But what I do for my House can create some enemies that may not care that they are in a foreign aegis. Or any aegis at all for that matter. So caution is much better than being dead I always say.
It is our duty to keep an eye on our sodales and they on us. We understand that but they do not...yet. I suspect nothing of them and I like to keep it that way. A more open Order benefits us all. and I do not wish to give Guernicus any excuse to come here.
Indeed It's always nice to be part of the community. I don't see any reason why those activities should suffer any change, they seem to be a positive way to interact with the locals. I'll keep an eye on those assets of the oppidium to make sure they are running smoothly but for now" taking another sip" the brewery seems to do a good job."
[b]Well concerning what you're doing for the House...I wasn't informed about your mission. Is it really necessary for me to ignore your plans ? Caution requires awareness and planning but they both require knowledge...
Talking about the aegis, I wasn't given a token yet.
Are you expecting interference from the quaesitor in general of from a guernicus in particular ?[/b]
Ah yes. I invite you into my Aegis Damasus ex Tremere. She hands him an ancient silver roman coin.
She smiles at the question of her job. My job is to kill people and leave no evidence to who and sometimes how it is done. I am not called on often as it is not what we like to do. But sometimes, for the good of the Order, people need to die. Now I mostly work on my talisman.
I do not mind Quaesitors in general. The Order needs Laws so we do not go crazy and kill each other. Guernicus are another matter. They and I have a bit of an antagonistic relationship as they push one way and we push another.
He grabs the coin and place in his sleeve, on a small hidden pocket.
(about the job)
I see... That's unexpected...
He takes a pause to let that sink
[b] "So that's the reason why no one was really willing to share your mission... This isn't something we like to do indeed.
I was told you were a direct person, they didn't lie on this one.
Is there anything I should know about the oppidium ?"[/b]
We have 2 magical aura here. One centered on the hot spring and one centered on the brewery. They are caused by two separate things. What is causing the hot springs aura is a mystery at this point. We will need to find more vis sources in the area. We have some sites cataloged. At this point our expenses do not meet our income for vis.
We have a Zenodochium that we are in charge of as well as the Inn.
Zoltan ex Merinita is tasked with investigating the local fae and studying their value to our House. He bears watching due to his heritage. You will see why when you meet him.
Ophelia ex Flambeau is the senior hoplite for the Oppidum. She specializes in counter magic.
Ankoydes ex Bjornaeris will be another Hoplite assigned to the Oppidum. His heartbeast is a bear.
Arktos ex Miscellanea is a specialized hunter and trapper of magical creatures. He will also be investigating the area.
(ooc: not sure I have anything special to add before the reunion)