Thread for inter-character interaction...
Summer (of 1268) has arrived, and Fiona finally has some time to work on the garden around her sanctum and laboratory, and to try to convince the carpenters that she really does need a wooden structure that large, and no, it really doesn't need any windows. The giant redhead smiles as she gets up from her garden, wiping the dirt and mulch from her hands. A good start, she thinks. Still a lot of work yet before it's anything close to what I had back in Bibracte.
She sighs as she feels, not for the first time and probably not the last, an unfamiliar pang of what was probably homesickness for the Normandy covenant she had called home for almost half her life. Even with the Gift, she hadn't had much problem finding men (or even a woman or two) to join her in bed. Everyone likes to unwind after a hard day's work, after all.
And yet...even though she'd been at the new school for a good while, and had even taken classes with her new sodales (although she didn't feel like she learned as much as she should from Elizabeth's instruction), she didn't feel like she knew them as well as she should...or would like to. Although none of the new teachers had really made her purr, she was fairly certain that at least one or two of them could if she gave them a chance. And muggles were just so...transitory. They were certainly amusing, and pleasurable, while they lasted, but very few non-magi had the time to learn how to make her scream by the count of ten like Korvin could.
She smiles at the memory, and decides that she should pay a call on the teachers' lounge (for lack of a better word) to see what kind of trouble she could get into...and who she can get into trouble with. But not before she ducks into her cottage to get cleaned up, put on something a little less appropriate.
Catrina sits in the teachers lounge, a cup of tea by her side, looking out the window at the beautiful spring day. She's wearing a beautiful blue silk robe that offsets her canary yellow eyes. Today her hair is blonde, rather than her usual brunette, that color going with her eyes and robe better. Atop her head is a small garland of fresh flowers, and the enchanting aroma of flowers surrounds her.
It was time, the maga thinks as she gazes at the school grounds, to get her flowers planted. Soon it would be too late, and come summer, she would miss them. But the thought of the flowers to come makes her think of the beautiful fields of flowers in Arcadia, sending her into a reverie in which she stares sightlessly out the window, seeing visions that only she can perceive. It is in this reverie that anyone entering the teacher's lounge will find her.
Fabrica is red in the face, seemingly from exertion by the sweat he keeps wiping from his brow, but actually from the willful berating he was giving the porters of his luggage and equipment and also the tension as his precious lab's contents were jostled and moved.
"You hamfisted louts! I should fling you from the nearest mountain only I'm sure your clumsy fall would somehow break still more of my things! Dioclement sent you, didn't he?! Didn't he!" he shouts at the foreman in German, uncaring whether he understood him or not. "Oh my vials and philters! Ruined!" one of the crates was making a tinkling sound of broken glass as it was trundled by. He had used up all of the functions on his wand earlier, something he'd never actually needed to do before and now had to watch helplessly as his equipment was moved (he'd be damned if he was going to actually move the boxes by hand). He looked over at a group of men who were sitting next to some boxes.
"Oh! You're resting? Marvelous, my unbroken equipment thanks you for your laziness! Make sure when you start breaking things again to spread the damage evenly to cause me the most problems. What am I saying, you are professionals! I'm sure you already know this!" he snarled and kicked a cloud of dirt towards them. "Lord! Save me from these fools!" he calls out, hands raised to the sky. He sighed and let his hands drop as he walked over to the small tent and furniture that had been put up for his use while he officiated the moving of his things. They had barely moved a third of the crates by his reckoning. "And where are the rest of the magi? Am I here by myself!?" he shouts again as he pours himself some weak ale and quaffs it in a gulp.
Catrina's reverie is broken by the curses coming from outside the room. She rises gracefully and makes her way to the doorway. She can't hide a small smirk as she sees the chaos set before her. It wasn't proper to smile at the misfortune of others, she knows. But sometimes she couldn't help herself.
"No," she says, revealing her presence. "You're not here by yourself. I'm here too." Catrina smiles an impish as if she'd made a joke and continues. "Don't worry so much about your things," she adds. "They can be replaced. Just be happy that they've finally arrived. By the way, I'm Catrina. What's your name?"
[hr][/hr]
I see a little bit of Luna Lovegood about Catrina - as if the rules of her world are slightly different than the rules of yours.
((Just as an aside, I think we're outside, moving things to his quarters, doesn't change anything though))
The man starts at the gentle intrusion and turns with a look of surprise and shock at the newcomer. "I..! Catrina?" he looks about him in some confusion and then down at his disheveled appearance. "Pardon Sodales, you have caught me in a less than dignified moment. I am Fabricus Diabolicus. I'm afraid I have to worry about my things since none of these clods seems the least bit worried!" he shakes a fist at the foreman briefly before returning. "And very few of the things in those crates are easily replaceable, the two most replaceable things are the crates...and the far less valuable brutes that fumble them into my lab! But..." he sighs "I am happy they have arrived, at least I'll be able to give some of my things a proper burial. So Catrina, how are you this day?"
"I'm doing wonderfully," Catrina replies with a surety that leaves no doubt. "Look at the sky; look at the spring flowers. What could go wrong on a day like this?" She smiles at the magus. "And if all you're worried about is moving a few boxes, why I can help with that." She's a wisp of a woman, and not very strong by the look of her. But a maga's strength is not in her muscles.
Catrina waves one hand is a mystical gesture, speaking a few words of magic. Immediately one, then two of the crates slowly and carefully lift up off the ground. "Where did you say you wanted these?"
[hr][/hr]
Cast Unseen Porter. Under non-stressful conditions, the spell automatically works.
Finesse Roll of: 1d10+5=10.
(( 
you just...showed up a Verditius with an inferiority complex...))
The expression on Fabricus's face hardens into virtual stone as the maga begins lifting one of the crates with magic. He takes a moment to get his words and carefully points into the sanctum. "You could just...set those down inside that door...if you please." he pours another ale with a ahaking hand and gulps it down as he struggles with his composure before turning back. "Now then...Catrina. As I was saying, my equipment is not easily replaced and I would not dream of having another magus be responsible for it. So...I'm sure you mean well, but please, allow the men to finish attempting to move my effects in. And we can talk about this school. I saw you at the Grand Tribunal...yes, now I recall." He gestures to a chair next to a table which has some papers and diagrams pinned to it, next to some refreshments.
"As you wish," Catrina says, softly setting the boxes down. "You know what's best for your things." The maga smiles again and takes the offered seat. "Yes, the school seems to be coming into shape. I'm sure it will be ready to start when the first students arrive."
[hr][/hr]
Any offense taken by what she did went totally over her head.
Fabricus tries to relax a bit, taking deep breaths and ignoring as best he can the crates and boxes being jostled along with the unmistakable sound of things breaking. "I knew I should have come forth with the extra money and vis for the Redcaps to deliver this..." he mutters. "Yes, the school seems...adequate. I will need to inspect the ground more once I am situated." he sighs. "So...one of the first things I wish to do, once we are setlled is to produce some devices. A few items to show the wonders of magic and my craft and perhaps help with the teaching. My Contest winning item will be but one of these, do you have a desire for a magic item to help with the school and the students?"
"Oooh," Catrina says with another smile. "I love magic items. Who doesn't? I'm sure I'd love something to help with teaching. Did you have anything in mind, or are you looking for suggestions?"
Fabricus' smile seems genuine now and he eagerly attends to the matters at hand. "I created an item which won the last Verditian Contest, the 'Ring of Perfect Clarity of the Master's Mind'. Ideal for teaching, for it both focuses the teacher's thoughts on instruction and provides visible and audible demonstrations of the concepts he is teaching. These demonstrations can also be manipulated once brought into being, seeming to come to life. For my demonstration at the Contest, I used it to simulate the creation of a 'Constant Wheel'; a simple wheel on an axle that spins at magic with great strength and force, and showed what it might accomplish. But its limit is only that of the wearer." he sits back and smiles. "I can make other items as well. Simple tools that are enhanced to conform with the Platonic ideal of their purpose. A sword that cuts deeper, a shield that blocks better, armor that protects more, a music instrument of perfect tune, tools that practically work on their own. I wish to make these things available to all of the teachers here. The school should be rich in items!"
Clement, dressed in traditional charcoal robes of his House, walks down the hall. He carries a small blanket over one arm. A ghost of a taller man, who appears to have been horribly burned, drifts beside him.
Sodalis He nods to Catrina and Fabricus. Clement of Tremere at your service.
"Indeed it should," Catrina says to Fabricus. The she sees the newcomer and flashes him a smile. "Well hello Clement of Tremere, and hello poor dead ghost guy. I'm Catrina of Merinita, also at your service."
Merinita? You will enjoy the fairies around here I'm sure. This, he says gesturing at the ghost is Nigilius. Formally of House Flambeau.
Formally? I still consider myself of the House.
Of course my friend. Of House Flambeau. Nigilius nods his approval and bows to Catrina and Fabricus.
Fabricus was rather wrapped up in his talk of items that he didn't hear their approach and initially didn't see the ghostly figure until an introduction was made.
"Ah..! Oh, well, interesting. Fabricus Diabolicus, Verditius at your service as well." he can't help but stare a bit overlong at the ghost. "Forgive me...I've never seen ghosts that were...conversant in recent events. Many seemed unaware of goings on about them. Come, join us. Mind the debris, the vandals are almost done packing and destroying my lab it seems."
"Faeries, you say?" Catrina's eyes light up. "I haven't had much of an opportunity to go beyond the grounds so far. Are there faeries nearby the school?"
Clement laughs a good belly laugh. You are in Transylvania. There are faeries everywhere. But more dangerous than most. Giants and their Mothers. Vampires.Werewolves. I am surprised you did not trip over some on the way here.
Clement turns to Fabricus.
Fabricus Diabolicus? Who won the Verditius Contest? Your reputation precedes you. Thank you for your invitation but I am going to bath in the hot spring for a bit. Perhaps another time.
Fabricus's smile broadens and he sits a bit taller. "Well, I thank you. It is good to meet you, and your friend, I'm sure there will be other times. Hot srpings? That sounds wonderful, I'll have to indulge at some future time. It would do my nerves good after this..." he gestures to the men moving still more boxes and crates. "Are the faeries a true menace to those that dwell here?"
Clement thinks for a moment. Yes. They and the dragons are problems. The vampires more so. Something about this land attracts them.