As the door opens, Santiago looks up from where he's currently reviewing a pile of letters. He's not a handsome man by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, to be perfectly honest, he's downright homely. But he has a certain charisma that goes beyond his looks, an aura of command. He wears a a doublet of dark red in a military cut, soft dark woolen trousers, and black boots. His tunic is similar to those worn by the soldiers at Campo de Marte, but not identical. And, as with the soldiers outside, the symbol of House Flambeau is subtly woven into the fabric of the tunic.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Roberto, son of my heart." He stands and goes over to grasp Roberto in a manly hug. "It's been too long since we've seen each other. Far too long. But I forget my manners." He offers a nod of his head first to Arachné, then to Lucas, and finally to Cidito. "Thank you all for coming," he says to the others. "It is good to see that Roberto has found loyal sodales. But please, have a seat. Diego, ask someone to send up some wine." The other magus nods and departs, closing the door behind him.
"I called you here because of a threat to the Order," Santiago begins dramatically. "Or at least it could become a threat to the Order in time." His piercing eyes scan each of the visitors. "Do you know of Darius of Tytalus?[sup]1[/sup]" he asks after a moment. All of the magi have heard different rumors of the man. But they all amount to the same thing. He likes to skate along the edge of the rules of the Order, but hasn't managed to cross the line too far. The word 'yet' hangs silently off the end of the sentence.
"I see that you do," he replies, clearly a good judge of expressions. "Well, he and I have had our run ins over the years. I've nearly killed him three times, and he's done the same to me twice. He's canny and ruthless, and has his fingers in a number of plots. He has resources both magical and mundane and is extremely dangerous to the wrong people." He smiles and adds. "He considers me 'the wrong people.'"
"Unfortunately, he's managed to outmaneuver me this time - at least temporarily - and I would like your help to put things right. But no, I should start at the beginning." He pauses as there is a knock at the door. A soldier enters with a simple wooden tray that has a pitcher of wine and four glasses. He sets it down on the table and quickly departs. Santiago pours the wine for everyone and resumes his story.
"Things began two years ago in the Roman Tribunal. A sodales of mine - a brilliant Bonisagus maga named Flavia - discovered some lost information about the Cult of Mercury. Knowing I was a Knight of Seneca, and that we knights are both extremely capable and willing to investigate mysteries, she asked for my help. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I was able to recover some cult artifacts for her. She's been examining them for most of the last year, and just a few weeks ago, Flavia finally sent word that she'd made an important breakthrough regarding the Cult of Mercury and needed my help to investigate it. She didn't say what it was, but she implied that it could be big. Unfortunately, she disappeared shortly thereafter. I'm not even certain whether she's dead or alive. Knowing Darius, I fear the worst. But just in case, I have some other people working in the Italian States looking for her."
"Thankfully, Darius was sloppy. He made a mistake and I jumped on it. I've been able to learn where he's taken her research. Apparently it wasn't as straightforward as he'd hoped, and he's had to have some experts work to decipher it. I don't know how far they've come with that, but they could finish any day now. It's vital that we retrieve her notes before they finish deciphering them. And once we have those notes, I'll need help investigating whatever they reveal. I owe Flavia that much."
"The main trouble is that Darius' experts are at the University of Paris, right in the heart of the Paris Dominion. Magic will be hard, and they will certainly have mundane defenses. It's not a task for just any magus, which is why I sent for you, Roberto. I'd go myself, of course, but I have to deal with Darius. I need to slow him down, delay his plans to exploit Flavia's discovery however I can. I might just declare Wizard's War against him. It wouldn't be the first time. But that's my problem. What I need from you is to go to Paris and get that research back. Do you think you can do it?"
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[sup]1[/sup] - Darius has a Reputation +5 for being a troublemaker in the Order.
Roberto: Reputation check: 1D10+7 = [4]+7 = 11
Lucas: Reputation check: 1D10+8 = [5]+8 = 13
Arachné: Reputation check: 1D10+7 = [6]+7 = 13
. Allen just retired with his wife Wen to raise kids on a farm.
