2.4 - Amos, Cygna and Viscaria scout out labs

"I figured. I still had to try. And you are?"
Ra'am will take the opportunity to look over the lab. See if anything can be determined about Tyrion's interests. At least other than Imaginem.

For colors: I use light blue for Hiems (#BF8000) and dark red for everyone else (#BF00), since the magus is more important and it fits his tone: it is cold, and I wanted to differentiate it from "normal speech" to convey his ignem monstruosity, or else, I'd have used dark red too.

I am Hiems. Hiems ex Miscellanea.

Hiems is not very comfortable with all this speech, and feels like being left alone. Yet, this is important, and he must establish good relationship with these people.
Tell the truth, I have no idea. I didn't knew Cersei, and people often like to hide their little secrets, sometimes with traps or illusions. I'll keep my eyes open for any deception or cache, but you know as much, or as little, as me. Be wary.

Although he says little, Hiems will keep his second sight open, ready to warn his comrades should anything strange occur.
He just wants to leave and be alone, but he won't leave his comrades in this potentially dangerous place. He'll stay close to viscaria, ready to protect her at any sign of danger.

Assuming the regio doesn't change its layout randomly just to be contrary, Azura will wander back to the others about this time, and try to be unobtrusive since it sounds like a brouhaha.

Cygna looks properly scandalized when Azura speaks so casually of having slept with a Bjornaer.

Cygna returns the squeeze, unsure of what to make of it. [color=red]"Pleasure to meet you, Azura. I think rejoining the others before they get to wondering where we've gotten off to is a splendid idea."

Cygna is somewhat satisfied that the unexpected appearance of Ra'am and Azura is nothing more than a coincidence. Not entirely, but somewhat.

Cygna, close by Azura, rejoins the other, tracking them more by sound than anything else. They're nothing if not quiet...and boy are they not quiet.

She stops at the open door and looks around. She can (if I'm following correctly) hear Viscaria somewhere rummaging (for rope, but Cygna doesn't know that), sees Hiems standing there, and can hear Ra'am beyond the second door talking to someone...or two someones, it seems.

She looks to Hiems. [color=red]"What's going on here?"

Well, Ra'am went down this corridor. He seemed to be pretty disoriented, and warned us not to follow, as it is apparently protected by unknown magics. He's been down there since then. Viscaria is searching for rope in order to take him back if needed


Note: Illusions (CrIm) aren't resisted by parma, since the species generated are natural: If you create an illusion of a horse, everyone will see it, magus or not. Thus, Ra'am was probably subjected to Mentem magics, which fits well with Cersei's specialties :smiley:

Ra'am assumes the warder is gone or ignoring him. After getting an overview of the lab, and attempting to engage the warder in conversation he leaves the porcupine to his grief, and returns to the threshold of the first room.
Ra'am calls out to the others, "Did Viscaria get the rope? I don't want to try and come back without it."

Well spotted. Yet, something did penetrate his Parma, and there are scores of circles drawn all over the first room.

The layout does not change. At present, the magi have only discovered/heard of one entrance/exit to the regio, but there are many which lead back to different parts of Cijara. There are also boundaries which lead to other regios -- some magic, divine, or infernal -- and the magi at the 1st council meeting were told these existed.

Oh, and Ra'am, Hiems and Viscaria actually walked through the little courtyard where Cygna and Azura were talking before, but did so discreetly.

"Myrtle Warder, apprentice to Tyrion Lannister of House Jeribton. Pleased to meet you, I'm sure."

Myrtle is a depressingly pessimistic woman, who will burst out into tears if you ever mention her unnatural state.

Tyrion's lab features no obvious clues as to his mystical preferences. Indeed, Ra'am's first thought is that he perhaps had no preferences. It's a bit hard to see clearly under all of Gerald's discarded wine bottles.

(It's a bit hard to describe labs, when I'm trying to give players some options to give input into the lab design. In Tyrion's case, the MT roll is definitely needed, especially with the porcupine binge-drinker.)

Viscaria has not come back with the rope. (The only stockpile of rope she knows of is in Cijara, so she has to run down to the catacombs, through the boundary, out to the stables, and back. She'll be a while.)

"Indeed, Myrtle, I am pleased to meet you. So Master Tyrion was a member of House Jerbiton. In my experience they are studious, much like a Bonisagus, or they are bon vivant's, but there are rare ones that they are both. My first master was one of the rare ones."
Ra'am scans the room more deeply, attempting to come up with some insight into Tyrion's interests. 10+3+ die roll of 3=16.

Cygna can vaguely hear that Ra'am is in there somewhere, maybe talking to someone, but can't make anything out. (Awareness 2 + Per 0 + die roll of 2 = 4).

[color=red]"Has he been down there long?"

Sensing he's been away for a while and concerned that others might come to aid him he makes his way back to the threshold of the doorway between the first and second rooms. Beckoning Myrtle to come with him to chat a bit, if she's willing.
Seeing Cygna and Azura back he regards them with a wave.
"Don't cross that threshold, I initially thought that the circles were meaningless, however there are some powerful Creo Mentem effects perhaps? I saw heard and felt things. Viscaria never saw what I saw, though. Blew right past my Parma Magica so powerfully I thought it had been knocked down. After getting across, somehow, I came to realize that some of the circles could trap you.
"I asked Viscaria to get a rope, because I have no idea if I walked a straight line or stepped around particular circles because of visions as I crossed the room. If I come back I could get trapped, and may need someone to pull me out.
"Oh, and Tyrions familiar is still alive. He's drinking and trying to kill himself, although I don't think he's really trying that hard," Ra'am mentions off-handedly.

Cygna ponders for a second. [color=red]"How strong is your Mentem?

[color=red]"Oh, that poor thing," she says with a sad shake of her head.

Ra'am regards Cygna carefully before responding. These magi and maga are, after all, strangers, and while he has had some mystical experience that perhaps joins him to them, they may not feel the same way towards him. "It's one of my weakest Arts. I'm a weather magus. The theory of Mentem magics is relatively easy for me to grasp. Practical applications of the Art have eluded me to date.

"Again, I'm Ra'am, Ra'am ex Bonisagus, and I'm pleased to make your acqauintance. I apologize for my sudden appearance discomforting you. My being here is as much a suprise to me as it is to you." He regards Cygna kindly and hopes that she realizes he shared a significant vulnerability with Magi he doesn't really know that well.

Cygna smiles back. [color=red]"And Mentem is by far my strongest. Perhaps if I came in after you, the Creo Mentem attacks that you felt would not bother me and I could guide you out. And if Heims would hold one end of a rope...or bedsheets tied together, or torn into strips and tied together, then even if I am affected he could pull me back out again. What say you?"

Ra'am looks quizzically at Cygna for a moment, "If the idea is to test the power of the Mentem effects, it's certainly a good one, and one I'm all to eager to explore with you. However, at the present time, I'd prefer to be on the other side of the room before we go down that route. Best to have only one person at a time to rescue, don't you think?"

"How's your Intellego and Vim? These had to have been low magnitude effects with a devestating level of penetration. They were certainly less than 6th magnitude. I bet I could get a spell off to detect 3rd magnitude effects. Would take about 45 minutes."

If Cygna assents and since he has no idea how long Viscaria will be gone, he'll begin working on another ceremonial casting to detect magic of third magnitude or higher (Base 4 + 0 (Pers) +1 Conc +2 smell)=15th level or 45 minutes. Te 5 +Fo 5 +Sta 2 +Artes 5 +Philo +4+1+Aura 5 +Die roll of 7=34, 34/2=17, so success.
If Viscaria returns before then, he'll stop, if interrupted.

Azura listens with a pondering look upon her face. "Transportation is something of a specialty of mine. Worst comes to worst, I can come in after you and blow a pawn of Corpus to teleport you out before 'porting out myself. You'd have to repay me the vis, though of course I only charge interest to goyim."

[color=red]"Intellego is actually one of my stronger Techniques. My Vim is..." Cygna shrugs. [color=red]"adequate. But if the spell you're going to try to cast a spell that takes 45 minutes to do, why don't we wait for Viscaria to come back with some rope and I can Rego the ruddy thing to you."

She then snaps her fingers. [color=red]"Bloody hell! Ra'am. When you were going through the room, were you still able to hear what was going on around you?"

"I'm not willing to part with Creo vis so willingly when all I need is a rope and a grog to pull me through the room. I'm not in a hurry to leave, in fact, I can't really leave, yet, anyway."

"No, not always, sometimes I heard sounds related to the visions I was seeing. Sometimes I heard the porcupine singing his drinking song.
"Cygna, at least introduce yourself properly before swearing in my general direction," Ra'am says plaintively.

"No need for impatience! Forty-five minutes is a perfectly acceptable amount of time for a spontaneous third-magnitude spell," Azura chides gently. She turns to Ra'am. "You are also Mercurian?" she inquires.

"Alas, no. Chalk it up to a misspent youth in the University in Salamanca. I have studied Philsophie and Artes Liberales extensively. I was teaching, in an attempt to be accepted into the school of Medicine when my first Master found me. When my Arts were first opened by Aurelius, my first master, I suddenly understood how to apply those disciplines to Hermetic Magical practices. If only I could do the same to some of my formulaic spells, I could boost their power considerably, at least two magnitudes."