"That's a fantastic idea!"
Actually, I missed the part where Viscaria had already headed toward the door, so I guess that would make the "marching order" is Viscaria, Amos, Terrence, and then Cygna....although Terrence might want to be between Cygna and whatever's behind us?
So, through the door we go, I guess...to whatever horrors lie beyond. ("Why does she have a...what is that, a cat'o'nine-tails? Why does she have one hanging from the headboard? Wait...never mind.")
Probably not, although he'd glance back occasionally. He had a supreme feeling of rightness, even in the presence of a demon, after all.
Actually, the lab in the next room seems pretty commonplace, after the studio. It's all business in here. It is a Highly Organized, formerly spotless lab, clearly specializing in Mentem and Herbam. A large collection of Specimens have withered due to lack of watering. Grapevine has crept in from the open window.
As you enter, a desk made of thick tendrils of grapevine wakes up, stretches luxuriously, and then saunters over to the party. It seems to sniff excitedly at each of you in turn, then wuffles dejectedly, and slumps over to the corner where it was before, only now it is facing the wall.
There is a large bound volume on the desk.
Viscaria comments brightly, "I was going to make one of those!"
When she reaches out to touch the desk, it growls threateningly at her.
An antechamber off to the side houses a bed and a wardrobe, and nothing else.
Azura grins genially at the eccentric Verditius (and it must be a Verditius, because who else wears SO MUCH jewelry?). "Salvete sodales! I am Azura Merceris--" she introduces herself with a tip of her red hat, "--And I'm here on official House business. But-- umm, you seem to be busy... Pardon me just a moment." She bends down and scoops up a handful of dirt, and stuffs it into a little leather pouch at her belt. She grabs a second pouch and mutters "Rego Corpus" under her breath, then vanishes in a puff of blue smoke. A few seconds later, she reappears in the exact same spot, then looks up and smiles. "Sorry about that! Had to let my friends know to follow me the rest of the way here. Anyway, do you need a hand with anything? I'm not exactly good at-- uhh, housekeeping? But I'm nosy enough to offer my assistance so I can see what you're doing. And charming enough to say so outright and get away with it," she adds with a quirky grin.
(Dice rolls: invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3160024/ 0 and a 1. It's mastered and she's relaxed so the first roll has no botch dice, and since the casting total for the second roll doesn't matter I'm not going to roll again and double to find out the casting roll :p)
(Apparently, no one mentioned that taking you to see Hiems involved crossing a regio boundary. This gives me the perfect opportunity to show the magi something that their grogs already figured out.)
Though Azura could not understand why, her spell fails, though she had cast it masterfully.
"I didn't know you could teleport out of a regio! Or, rather....I guess you still haven't, but good try, all the same! If you climb in through the window, you can help us scout out these sanctums. We haven't found any traps yet, but Cygna is sure we will. Afterwards, I will take you back to the caverns that lead out to The Right Side. Or is this the Right? I can't remember."
Caverns? Azura didn't go into any caverns. She didn't even notice crossing a regio border. The only odd bit to their trip at all was when he took you through the back of that old, abandoned....oh, right.
Ra'am climbs the stairs using his Staff of Sorms to help his old body up the stairs. As he climbs he calls out, "Hello? Claudia? Anyone here?"
See earlier in this thread for room description. There are others in a room off to one side, one of them seems to be leaning out a window and talking to someone.
"Ah, excuse me. I seem to be lost. I was following Claudia through the regio, but she was too quick for me. Then a cherub guided me here. At least that's what I'm guessing it was.". Pausing as if trying to remember the exact phrase "The cherub said 'meet those who will fight the thirty with you. They can have their chess piece if they solve The riddle of my being.'. By the way, I'm Ra'am, Ra'am ex Bonisagus."
"Ra'am? Your hair, your nose-- pardon, you are Sephardi?" Azura asks in halting Hebrew.
"Yes, child, I'm Jewish. And you are?" His tone is inquisitive in a fatherly way.
OOC: Sephardi distinctions don't develop until after th 15th century. Ra'am would call her a child as she doesnt appear fae and you describe her as looking 15, which is only a few years older than his oldest daughter. He would also have his Phyrgian cap on. He'd be dressed unostentatiously in grey. I'm also playing him as a bit overwhelmed. He didn't put it together that you understood Latin.
Okay, this makes Hiems angry, although he doesn't show it, and is waaaay too cool tempered to act on it. He just takes a breath, which is enough to let Azura introduce herself.
Like it! 
Well, since you helped me, and will some more, it is natural for me to help you back. How many possible sanctums have you found already? Have you settled on some?
Oh, well, why does he bother asking all of this? 
There are too many people here anyway. It was to be expected, since Jaime's offer is so generous, but still???
O_o
What the hell was that?
In a cool voice, as usual:
Fight the thirty? What's that?
"I couldn't honestly tell you. There was the cherub. There was another figure, some sinister looking man with a black beard dressed all in black, too. A fallen angel of some sort, perhaps? Am I still at Cijara? This is all a blur, and I'm so weary from travelling. Last I knew it was approaching sunset, and now it appears that it is midmorning. What's the date, have I dreamt and slept?" Ra'am continues to ramble on examinging the academic nature of the experience he's just come through. Bits and pieces come through to others, they pick up chess piece, His Grace, them knowing about a threat and the diabolic figure appearing to actually melt into the ground.
"In any event," Ra'am says coming out of his reviere. "I believe introductions are in order. Again, I am Ra'am ex Bonisagus, filius of Aurelius ex Jerbiton, Trianomae ex Bonisagus Trianomae and Prospero ex Bonisagus Bonsagi. By all appearances I'm looking about the Magi and Maga of Phoenix?"
After introductions are made, then:
"I come seeking membership of the covenant. Rumors of covenants in Iberia seeking magi to join councils as full members had been making their way through the Normandy Tribunal. As Salamanca is my, and my wife's childhood home, coming back close was strongly desired by both of us." And then veering back to the previous topc, "What does The Thirty mean to anyone here?"
(The word is out of period, but the national identity of Iberian Jews is already established, and I thought the term "Sephardi" would be a lot more polite than "guy with a Jewfro." 
)
Azura falls happily into the father/daughter dynamic with Ra'am. "My name is T'chelet, uncle," she replies. "My Hebrew not is good. I am knowing enough for shabbat, not am knowing enough for conversation well. Maybe can practice more, I am moving here hopes?"
Ra'am suddenly realizes that Azura understood the Latin he was speaking earlier says in Latin. "We can continue in Latin. Are you a Maga, my apologies, you appear so young. Jewish no less, how amazing! If we stay, we can see to your learning Hebrew."
Viscaria watches the exchange between the two Jews in uncomprehending fascination. When they switch to Latin, she blurts out, "I'm starting a language school!"
It is almost as if she is jealous of the quickly-established paternal relationship between Ra'am and Azura.
Ra'am grins devilishly and cycles through a response in each language he knows (Castilian 5, Norman French 2, Arabic 4, Latin 5 Hebrew 5), "Education is the foundation of scholarship, I'm with you! Let's just not limit it to languages! And you are?"
Ra'am begins to wonder if anyone else will introduce themselves. He'd really like to have some names to go with all these new faces.
Azura laughs delightedly. "As long as I don't have to listen to any Jerbitons blather on about how a proper magus will create opportunities to use locative and vocative in any conversation because representation of all seven cases is indicative of an artist's soul-- then I support you in this!"
She bows her head and fans out the bottom of her toga-like dress in a curtsey. "Viscaria Lynchis Veditii, filia Norbert Gunter Verditii, daughter of Orbhammer Founderson, First Hammer of Clan Founderson. I'm sorry, did you say cherub?"
Cygna brightens visibly as she realizes that the lab is geared toward Mentem (she's kinda meh about the Herbam part, though). She looks around at the various Mentem-based accoutrements. [color=red]"This is nice...very nice," she says as she reaches for a thingamajig, stopping herself just short of touching it.
[color=red]" Stop that!" Cygna snaps at the desk. (I'm pretty sure the desk is a plant and not an animal, so Animal Ken wouldn't be appropriate here, as much as I would like to try it.)
Cygna will still check it out, just to satisfy her curiosity (and ensure there's actually nothing else).