"Now there's some gossip worth hearing," Ferrari replies. "No doubt that's why the Inquisition just marched through town. I'd imagined it would have to be something at the castle that drew them here. But a Cathar in the village itself...that's intriguing - and a bit unsettling. We don't want the Inquisition setting up shop in Arans. But I can't think who in the village might be a heretic. We're a fairly heterodoxical group here. If there is one, they've hid it well."
There's Father Gonzoles, but he was 58 the last time his page was updated, in 1220, so he would be 75 at this time. I suspect he may no longer be with us. In which case, we probably do have an unnamed village priest who may be created at some later time.
"That news will be out soon enough, I suspect. The Inquisition is not known for subtlety once they begin searching for something. And honestly our Cathar is not even what they are looking for, but it is on their trail. Personally I think it would be best if we could find what they are looking for and hand it over with a nice little bow before they start turning over too many rocks. Like I said, people have secrets, even people we know and like have little secrets, maybe not as problematic as a twin who commits usury, but ones that could devastate their own world if it comes down to it, in some way. You seem very well informed, as well as interested in the welfare of your neighbors. If there is anything you could think of to help keep the inquisition out of our collective lives, I would appreciate it."
impressing Ferrari as a potential agent
This is 5(presence)+9(leadership)+3(die roll) vs 6+3(wealth)+1(underlings) and I'm guessing at least +1 for gossip, possibly other resources...
Ferrari finally puts down his fork and goblet and gives Rilcheaux his full attention. Whether he wants to impress the Inquisition or get them out of town quickly is unclear. His eyes get a faraway look as he devotes his full attention to the matter. Then his eyes brighten and he relays what he's recalled.
"Tomas the Weaver got a letter from Provençal about a month or two ago. Made quite the stir in the village. I hear Father Gonzoles had to read it to him. It was from a cousin of some sort. Apparently he'd left the area twenty years ago to make his fortune in Barcelona. He must have done well enough to if he learned to read. The letter asked if he could come for a visit. But we haven't seen any sign of him since then."
Intrigue Check: 1D10+8 = [5]+8 = 13
Ferrari remembers some gossip from a month or two ago.
As for recruiting Ferrari, You can tell that he very much wants an "in" at the castle. He's clearly willing to give you information in exchange for information about/access to the castle. I'm not talking deep, dark secrets. But a little of the everyday gossip, and perhaps a chance to be seen visiting someone at the castle. He's rich, so he doesn't want to be paid in coin; he wants to be paid in information and access. For him it's all about status. And being able to attach himself even tangentially to the castle will increase his status in town.
Essentially, he would become an agent, even though he'd reject that characterization. He'd never see it as him working for Rilcheux. He'd see it as two equals sharing information among themselves.
Rilcheaux continues with some pleasantries, inviting Ferrari to a dinner at the castle, and then makes his way to find the abode of Tomas the weaver.
"Of course sir," Alexandrus says as he motions towards the door, "Please let me introduce you to Father Gonzoles, he ministers to our spiritual needs here."
[hr][/hr]
Once they leave, Solomon calls in one of the servants, "Please let Maga Carmen and Magus Lucas know that I request their presence at their earliest convenience. I'll wait here."
Alexandrus Father Vilanis and his two companions back down to Arans, where they head to the Church of Santa Coloma, where Father Gonzoles serves. There they find the old man sitting in the church, fast asleep on a bench, his back leaning against the wall. He starts awake when the crowd enters the church, making a little noise as they do so. "Hello," he says defensively. "I was just cleaning up the church and sat down for a moment. I must have become lost in thought." The snores that the visitors heard as they arrived seem to belie this comment. But then who can blame a 75 year old man for dozing off?
"Oh, it's you Alexandrus," he adds, finally recognizing the grog. "I trust Solomon is okay. And you've brought some respected visitors. Franciscans if I'm not mistaken." Their robes are unmistakable. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"
I'm assuming since Alexandrus has the Pious flaw, he's a regular at church and Father Gonzoles would know him.
Also, I'm not ignoring Rilcheaux, but I do want to let the actions of Father Vilanis's crew to catch up.
Lucas is in his solar studying a text from the library, so he's easy to find. And there are no experiments that need careful handling, so he can depart immediately. Likely before Alexandrus has even arrived at Arans, the magus appears before Solomon.
"Good afternoon, Solomon," he says upon entering the room. "I was told you needed to speak with me. I hope it's nothing serious."
Alexandrus nods in deference to Father Gonzoles, "Father, I would like to introduce you to Father Vilanis, Brother Hugo, and Sir Michael de Sancto. They have come to Arans chasing the rumor of an infernalist that has taken root here. As you can imagine, Master Solomon was quick to provide his support in their efforts, and asked that I bring them to you first."
(Oh, I also failed to mention that Solomon has sent Sophia along to keep an eye on the group, circling overhead, high enough to not be too obvious)
[hr][/hr]
Solomon motions to one of the chairs opposite of him and sighs deeply, "I must confess to not truly understanding the structure of the Mercere House here, nor your relationship to it. But as our resident Mercere, I was hoping you could assist me. Since his arrival, I have been concerned with the residence the Redcap named Rilcheau here at Andorra. His unabashed reputation as a usurer concerns me greatly on a spiritual level, and I am concerned that his residence here negatively impacts the covenant's reputation as a whole.
However, events of today are even more concerning to me. As you may have heard, I was in a closed door meeting with members of the Inquisition here to track down a possible infernalist who may be in Arans. Whilst I was in private discussion with the Father and his entourage, Rilcheau, without invitation or summons, interrupted our meeting and volunteered to aid the Inquisition in locating this infernalist. My concern is that he was never informed of their purpose here, so he either engaged in gossip with the guards, or as likely was eavesdropping on these private discussions that he was not privy to. Moreso, as a known usurer, the last thing he should have done was show his face to the inquisition and volunteer to show them around.
So my concern is that a magus who is NOT a part of this covenant, and whose very reputation presents a negative view of our covenant is skulking about attempting to learn information of which he has no need to know. As I said, I know little of how the Mercere House operates, but I would be most grateful if you could look into this situation, and whether Andorra is the best place for this Rilcheau to be stationed."
Lucas takes the offered seat and listens to what Solomon has to say.
"In some ways things are complicated," he replies. "In others they're simple. Andorra has allowed the Mercere chapter house inside the covenant. In doing so, it has essentially granted Protected Guest status to any Redcap resident in the chapter house. In particular, each resident Redcap receives a token for the Aegis and have the right to set up a sanctum inside the covenant's wall. The provisions of our Resolutions of Charter allow Carmen or the Council to withdraw that status should they wish, though I'm not privy to the details of the agreement between Andorra and House Mercere. There may be relevant provisions in that agreement of which I am unaware."
"House leaders at Harco determine who will be officially stationed here as their home covenant. It's a little more complicated than that. But for purposes of discussion we can assume that's essentially true. Furthermore, any Redcap can claim hospitality at the chapter house, much like they could claim hospitality at the covenant itself, though the terms are a bit more generous. The difference is that only those officially stationed here are automatically granted Protected Guest status."
"I'm here because the House likes to have a Mercere magus stationed near any Mercere Portal. They don't care if I'm a member of the covenant or of the chapter house. They just want me living near the portal. That's one of the reasons I'm relocating to Arans. I had initially thought that being close by portal was enough. However, Harco felt otherwise." Lucas shrugs, clearly leaving things unsaid. "So my relationship with the chapter house is much like any magus to his House, only a little more so. I'm expected to protect the resident Redcaps if they're in trouble, defend the portal at need, and provide general magic assistance where I can. But I'm also allowed to have my own life outside of the House. My actual obligations are few. In practice, being married to one of the resident Redcaps, I tend to be fairly close socially to the others. However I'm not an official member of the chapter house."
"As for Rilcheaux, he is a resident member of the chapter house, newly transferred here. That means he's also a Protected Guest of the covenant, due all the rights and privileges of a Protected Guest - which aren't a whole lot beyond granting them the normal rights of Hermetic Hospitality." He wrinkles his lip. "I've heard of his reputation as well, and although I don't like to speak ill of a fellow Mercere, I'll admit I'm not at all comfortable with his lending practices either."
"My hope is that other magi will recognize that he's a part of the chapter house and not the covenant and so not paint us both with the same brush. Of course that means that he's blackening the eye of House Mercere, which I'm not happy about either. But one problem at a time. The trouble is that outside of the hermetic world, people are not going to understand the distinction between the covenant and the chapter house. To them, we're all simply residents of the castle. So for mundane contacts, your fear might well be well founded."
"I'm particularly disturbed to hear that he interrupted your meeting, especially one with important members of the Church. But I'm not entirely surprised. He fancies himself an information broker, and to be fair, he's pretty good at it. He's been poking his nose everywhere, asking questions, and he's learned a fair bit about the covenant in a very short amount of time. Most Redcaps are good at settling into a place quickly. But he's a master at it. Unfortunately, I'm not his superior, so I can't take him to task for what he did. I can speak to him about it, one magus to another, but that's as far as my authority goes."
"In the end, I can see several options for how to handle this, at least in the short term. As I said, I could speak to him and ask that he control himself around the covenant. That might curb his behavior some. You could also deny him access to the main keep. As a Protected Guest, he's guaranteed a sanctum within the covenant, which he has in the Mercere guild house. There's no requirement to give him the run of the whole covenant. Then, if you like, I can pass along an informal request to Harco that he be reassigned to a new location. To be honest, though, I couldn't say how that will go over. I'm not certain why he was assigned here, nor am I sure how well-connected he with the House hierarchy. Finally, if an informal request gets nowhere, we could have Carmen send a formal request to Harco. That will elevate the matter to a higher level, though it risks getting Harco's back up. They might want to make a stand and show that no covenant has the right to order House Mercere around."
This is all based on my understanding of how things work with the chapter house. If I'm wrong, someone should please correct me.
Also, does the castle have a name?
silveroak: is it known among the Redcaps that Rilcheaux is a lycanthrope? That seems something that's hard to hide from everyone.
Rilcheux is a master of secrets, but I am sure there are some who know, and many who suspect. I mean what other reason could a redcap have for having his servant lock him in a room with no furnishings every full moon?
(What does he do when he's out doing his Redcap seasonal travels?)
Solomon nods sagely, "Alright. Well, let's start with you talking to him. Hopefully he's smart enough to realize that by you bringing it up, he's starting to wear out his welcome and he'll modify his behavior. The last thing we need is for him to be getting caught up in the middle of this inquisitor business."
Carmen arrives a bit latter.
Are those church guys gone yet? What did they want?
Rilcheaux arrives at the house of Tomas the Weaver. It's a relatively normal house for Arans with an outbuilding behind the house, no doubt used by Tomas for his weaving.
Having been introduced, Father Vilanis describes the situation to Father Gonzoles. He explains that he suspects a heretic from Toulouse has come to Arans, and asks if the local priest can provide any information that might help. Father Gonzoles thinks long and hard, and finally recalls that a month or two ago, Tomas the Weaver received an actual letter from Tolouse. The priest remembers it because he had to read it to Tomas. Apparently his cousin was asking after Tomas and said that he might come to visit. The merchant who brought the letter had been paid to bring a return message, so Tomas had Father Gonzoles write out a response saying that the cousin was welcome to come. But the cousin hasn't shown up yet, the priest adds. He's probably waiting for the weather to warm up a bit. After all, there's still some snow in parts of the Pyrenees.
Rilcheaux walks up and knocks on the door.
A man answers the door. He seems a bit surprised to see someone so obviously from the castle. "Hello," he says. "How can I help you."
"Tomas? My name is Rilcheaux, I am sorry to bother you, but I received a letter from an individual indicating he would be coming to Arans and might be in need of some short term funds which he indicated you would be able to guarantee. You are Tomas are you not?"
Alexandrus turns to the inquisitors, "Perhaps we should speak with Tomas then?"
"You're that moneylender from up at the castle," Tomas replies, a dark look coming over his face. "No, I don't know what you're talking about. Good day." With that he slams the door shut.
As Rilcheux stands there facing a shut door, he sees Father Vilanis and his crew rounding the corner and heading toward the weaver's house. One of the castle guard accompanies them.
As they round the corner to the weaver's house, Alexandrus can see Rilcheaux standing in front of the door.
Solomon, Celeste reports over their mental link. That moneylender is here in town. Father Vilanis is about to run into him.
Reputation Check: 1D10+4 = [7]+4 = 11; Tomas recognizes Rilcheaux by reputation.