You leave me no choice but to challenge you to Certamen. My terms are that you go home and stay there at least a month.
Or you can back down and stop making a fool of yourself.
I should point out that you have backed Roberto into a corner here. He feels Fredrika's irrational haughty attitude places the mission in jeopardy and poses a real threat to life and safety.
I also want to point out that you completely misunderstand the situation. The above, being Fredrika's PoV, is perfectly acceptable. But you as the player should be made aware. The specifics of a plan is not the issue at all. If she would have said "I think it would be better if I did X", he would have said "fine, do what you think is best". The issue is attitude.
i also painted myself into a corner here :mrgreen:
The attitude is completely the issue, yes! From both of us. You can't just suggest that you can order Frederika around. Everything after that is white noise 
Just big personalities butting heads after a long journey.
Better not to leave some behind, if it can be avoided.
Sigh...
"Hm, the hallmark of a true so-called 'leader'. You believe you cannot get your way, so you attempt to bully yourself back on-top. Setting a condition that weakens the mission should you win in an attempt to force me to 'stand-down'. I would have no problem accepting your terms - and I would force you to renounce your claims at leadership if I won - but attempting this the night before a critical operation? Foolish doesn't begin to describe it.
"Therefore, I put my participation in this certamen up to a vote. All sodales in favour of this duel, vote yay. All who think it madness, vote nay. I will abide by the decision of my colleagues and peers without complaint."
[size=85]No, you can't present Frederika with an ultimatum like this and expect it to go well. There are a great many ways you can get her to do what you want. Roberto's ways are all so very wrong.
But Frederika is also cunning. And while she might believe she has a chance at winning Certamen (her odds aren't bad - Roberto has a small edge, but the dice would decide it), she's going to try and outmanoeuvre him politically: if enough people vote no - the sensible choice - she stands down gracefully, without losing face, and Roberto will be embarrassed by the outcome. If people vote yes, all Hell breaks lose as you'd expect.
I'll roll Intrigue or Charm as necessary to persuade people to vote no (or ya'll can just RP how you think your characters would act, I'm not fussy) - http://orokos.com/roll/339815: 1d10 9 + the appropriate attribute/ability, spending confidence as required.[/size]
"I'm no expert on certamen," Lucas replies. "But as I understand it, the challenge has been made, and our vote would have no bearing on the result. If you decline to duel, even if a majority vote supports it, you'd be conceding the issue to Roberto and would have to abide as if you lost the challenge."
"Are you content with such a possibility?"
[hr][/hr]
FWIW, with a Major Overconfidence, Fredericka should be certain that she'd win the duel. 
"Naturally, the rules of certamen are clear and I would never seek to circumvent them. I would abide by Roberto's terms and stand down, as he has suggested, were you to vote against us taking part in this duel. And you have my word that I would stand and fight if you voted yay."
"I trust my fate to the wisdom of my sodales. Frederika bowed very slightly, and very respectfully, in Lucas' direction; holding her head down just long enough to look at the rest of the gathered magi as well.
[size=85]Frederika is certain she'll win, Trogdor! But 'winning' doesn't necessarily mean she has to win at Certamen, and she's smart enough to recognise that Certamen itself endangers the mission (or forces her to not participate - which she doesn't want either!). That's why she's holding the vote!
Essentially, Roberto is challenging her as a warrior. And Frederika is fighting back as a politician. In that sense, embarrassing Roberto is a win - after all, if no one else thinks Certamen is a good idea, he should feel quite sheepish indeed. And it would call his leadership into question far more subtly than losing any duel would.[/size]
Again, it is not at all about getting her do do what he wants. His issue is not about pride or dominance. It is about order and discipline. Like I said, if she said "I think this is a better idea" or "I would rather do that", he would have been "whatever" and moved on to the next point. It was the prima donna bit about a comfy bed and the whole "I will NOT" bit that caused him to worry about the safety of the group, which sent him spiraling down the path we find ourselves on now. Really, there is no pride involved on his part. The situation is embarrassing as it is. He doesn't even want to save face so much as he wants to restore order. Back in his military days, the CO would have given him ten lashes for insubordination. Certamen is the only viable option he can think of
I understand we are both playing in character, which is fine. As players, we both need to find a solution so we can get the story back on track.
[hr][/hr]
Roberto looks around the room. He notices Lucas and Vibria seem to support him. But looking at Arachne, and elder he respects, her expression of disappointment, speaks volumes to him.
This has already gone to far. You are scared of Certamen and are trying to dodge it. Your pride cannot handle the possibility of loosing a duel in front of others. And I am being foolish because I am risking the safety of the mission on a silly squabble. So I will let you squirm out of it, and you know full well that you were to timid to face me. Challenge rescinded.
Coward.
Instead, I make an appeal to Reason. Something we both have trouble with it seems. Allow me to explain my point of view. I don't care about the particulars of the plan as long as it works. You want to pose as a teacher or nurse or whatever instead of a student? I don't give a crap. But insubordination gets people killed needlessly. I have seen it first hand time and time again. We need order and discipline if we are to stand a chance of success or survival. It is not about me and my pride. I have little of that. It is that, for some reason, you lack enough pride in yourself to be able to demonstrate discipline. Or maybe it is too much pride. Hubris. You would rather put everyone's lives at risk that to submit to any authority.
So I will humble myself.
I am sorry I offended you. Please work with us as a teammate, or leave us to our task without interference.
Please, I beg of you.
Anyone with adequate social perception (Folk Ken) can tell that Roberto is sincere in his plea. They can also tell he does not feel it emotionally. He is doing what he thinks he has to do in order to get the job done.
"Insulting me and then begging for me to accept your apology...a strange tactic." The battlefield was muddy. The air bad. This was a pyrrhic peace, at best, but pushing the issue further would be more unbecoming than it already was. Frederika looked Roberto up and down, still burning with the desire to win – decisively! – but conscious of the atmosphere.
She worked her magic, and regained complete control.
"But Fine. There are things at stake here, after all. Besides, this verve between us is clearly the fault of our long journey, and the stress of what's to come weighing on our minds. Nothing more. And in that, better we did this now than later. "
Licking her teeth, Frederika decided on a satisfactory conclusion: "And better still that we put it behind us. Besides, no doubt our Tytaloi 'friend' would be laughing himself to hysteria if he saw us like this," she held out her hand to Roberto; there was a faint blush on her cheeks, but nothing else to betray how she felt about the ordeal. "And we definitely can't have that, can we?"
[size=85]Equanimity Restoration~! (auto-success) Frederika is fine again. Perhaps later she and Roberto can go get a drink to laugh about this. That was fun though![/size]
Don't hold your breath waiting for that
Roberto continues on as if nothing happened
Anyway, we will have Fredrika infiltrate the school posing as if she belongs there. Richaleux and Bernat will set up a safe house. Perhaps even a back up in case things go sour. Lucas will pose as a merchant and rent a warehouse for our main base of operations. Arachne can station herself at either location. Choose wisely, for instant transport magic between locations may be difficult in the Aura of Paris. Acutus would fit as security for the warehouse. Alex & Alphose should hide out with Rick and Mumbles. Then myself, along with Vibria and Diego, we will form the "fire team" in case it comes down to martial conflict. Not sure if we should set up in the warehouse or rent rooms at an inn for a third location. Open to suggestions.
The idea is that, between Fredrika and Richaleux, we gather as much information as we need. Locate where the papers are and what security measures need to be overcome. Once we have a good understanding of the situation, we formulate a plan to quickly strike. Grab what we came for and high-tail it out of here.
"With respect, I would suggest that one group high tail it out with the documents, but another should stay behind to cover the trail. We only know this location to the degree that we do because someone on their team failed to cover their trail, and before the last person leaves we should make sure that they have no idea, or as little as possible, as to what happened to these papers."
Good point. We need to figure out what works best with our acquisition methods. When we get to that point. But we can brainstorm ideas now and choose a methods that works best with the most optimal trail cover.
"I suggest the fire team stay at the warehouse. We can remain indoors. A third location will only assist if it is between the first two, otherwise it adds complexity," Diego comments. "Perhaps review when we know their relative locations to the target".
"Remember that Roberto, Arachne, or I could always leap back to the safety of Andorra with the documents once we get them," Lucas observes. "That's one way to get them out safely. What happens after that could be need-to-know."
Diego nods, "Teleportation will be of great value Lucas, excellent proposal. As will the carpets if we find Flavia alive and needing to be extracted."
[hr][/hr]OOC question: from the information Diego/we have and knowing Santiago's approach - Is there a need to neutralise Andreas Forratus, or Darius' team? Assume we should extract Flavia as well as her notes? I've assumed that she may well still be alive and with the notes. Also Andreas Forratus may be assisting without understanding the impact of the discovery, so not outright a "villain".
What are the limits on our approach style? I'd like Diego to volunteer this if it is relevant.
OOC Reply
As far as I can tell, young lucas is right. We don't have to vote on this issue, which rests between you two. If one or the other of you thinks such a challenge is foolish, though, he may relinquish it or concede the issue.
(The issue is moot now, just posting this so everyone know what she'd have said.
Frederika.
This has gone long enough. You've won. I suggest you do not press this issue any further.
Not in Paris aura, not unless using an item at least.
"Perhaps a base outside the city should be established. One of the rooms at this inn could be put on retainer, then if we can find a way to enter and depart more readily than the gates allow, otherwise we will need to time our expedition to match the gate schedule, or of course find somewhere in the city where the Divine is not so strong."
"We can guess where the Dominion Aura is more powerful," Lucas offers. "But without some magical checking, it would only be guesswork. We can assume it's greater near the places of worship - Notre Dame, the Abbeys of Ste. Genevieve, St. Victor, St. Germanus, and St. Martin, and the Temple. I also have a sinking suspicion that most of the University will tend to be higher in Divine Aura given the religious nature of its instruction. Unfortunately, we'd probably be better if we were looking for these notes on the Right Bank than the Left Bank. But we can certainly make our best guesses as to lower Aura areas, if that's a primary concern for our bases of operation."
"If nothing else, we should be able to work any magic we please at night, in the districts of ill-repute. Paris is a pious city so we might still encounter some interference, but the dominion's influence will certainly be weak there."