The guards seem quite relaxed particulary now Mariella has moved off.
[color=red]Good evening Mistress. I am Ilsa one of the servants here , I beleive you are a maga planning to settle at this covenant? Perhaps I could speak to you privatly it may be that you will be able to help with some problems here.
As she speaks to Katja she looks somewhat nervous
[color=blue]"Please speak. The guards will not say anything as they know I will be a mage of the covenant and that could be bad for them. However they have their duty and until we know what did the attack I prefer them at my side." Katja is more than careful. If the man was killed by this woman, she could easily have done it and then stepped back to this door to take on air/position of innocence.
(3rd attempt at this the internet keeps eating my posts)
One of the guards speaks up
[color=red]Ilsa has been here since the beginiing my Lady , the wizards seem to trust her and she saved that Mariella's life a few years back so you should be safe enougth, and we can always stand just out of hearing
Ilsa looks relieved that the guard has spoken up on her behlaf
[color=red]My Ladt , some of what I have to say is confidential and if my suspicions are wrong I would not like to start rumours whcih could cause trouble
Katja nods to the guards to step back then [color=blue]"but keep a close eye out." and then she waits for the woman to speak up and tell her more. There is something wrong and someone knows something. If she as newcomer is the one being trusted, she will indeed listen. She likes people even if she loves a good lab more.
Speaking quietly Ilsa explains
[color=red]My Lady I am concerned that something is wrong with the maga Mariella, she has not been well since the time of the first attack and she has been behaving oddly. Her temper is worse than usual and she has been away from her laboratory whenever one of these killings took place, but she does not seem to acknowledge that I think she may not remember. The first man to die , he had angered her deeply he was beating his wife and daughter apparently his daughter has the 'gift' she had warned him and then the next day he was found dead with his vital essences drained in the forest. Since the other magi left there have only been two other attacks within the covenant and both of the dead where men who had done something to annoy her recently . But it does not seem like her to murder people in secret I would have thought if she had decided to kill someone she would have done it and announced her reasons. Is there someway to determine if it was her magic used to kill? I am afraid I know very little about the powers of the magi
She stops and looks at Katja obviously concerned at how what she has said could be taken,
Katja moves towards the bodies signaling the guards to watch her back careully. As she gets to the body, she kneels down to touch it and then casts. Exerting herself, she casts a spell to detect the traces of magic. She hopes that she can detect a trace but is not hopeful.
OOC: Spont using fatigue: Base 4 (effects/residues of 3rd magniurde or higher) +1 touch = level 5. Casting total is 2+5+8+9=24/2 = 12 vs level 5 spell. I uase up a fatgue level so I will be resting 2 minutes afterwards.
There is a magical signature on the body , it seems to be a ReCo(Pe) effect of about 8th magnitude , there is a strong none hermetic influence but underlying that there is a hermetic sigil.
Katja realizes the there is a hermetic sigl here and that there is truth of the words. She also realizes that without much in way of offensive arts, she can't do much the other mage. A certamen might at least buy time though, especially if she knocks the other maga out. Still she has to be sure.
Maneuverng the sled closer to Mariella, Katja asks softly, [color=blue]"Sodalis, Might I ask about your sigil and the sigils of the other magi in the covenant. I think that might help me research the death."
Clearly angered by being disturbed but keeping her temper in check Mariella turns and replies to Katja in the sort of forces patient tone used by a parent explaining something obvious to an annoying child.
[color=red] I cannot concieve of why you think that but if it will stop you bothering me, my own sigil is that of knife blades , that of Ardeth is .....(She gives a brief description of the sigil of each of the other magi but off hand I can't remember what they are) . Although since the others have been missing for several days after pursuing the wolves into the regio I cannot see how that would help
The underlying hermetic sigil on the body was consistent with that of Mariella although it was somewhat distorted and without actually being able to sense her sigil you cannot be certain.
From what you know of Mariella having asked around about the magi of the covenant you where going to join she is a Flambeau perdo specialist and Milite , but as she is young there was not much to hear about her
Katja considers the issue carefully and thanks Mariella while moving back to her guards to get some distance. She has to decide how to manage this. Anything crippling would impare her magical ability, anything temporary might not work and at flambeau, she doesn't think much of her ability master penetration vs a parma even if it is only slightly better or the same as hers.
She speaks softly to the guards [color=blue]"The killer is Mariella herself, something is affecting her. If what I am about to do fails, be prepared to knock her out or keep people from irritating her.[/blue]
She then speaks up, [color=blue]"Sodalis Mirella, I ask that you leave this investigation totally in my hands and retire to the covenant. So much so that I challenge you to Certamen over it and chose Creo as technique." She is likely at a large disadvantage but it is worth a try. Then again, Mirella could just agree to leave investigation to her and there would be no certamen as she would be conceding the point. Mirella's temper though makes her think that this would not be the case.
Mariella's pale skin flushes red with rage , but with what seems an effort of will she seems to wrestle it under control. She turns a ferocius glare on Katja which casues the gaurds to slink off to one side as it passes over them. [color=red]Very well if you must intefere in matters which are none of your business and not likely ever to be. I shall choose Vim
(You got lucky that she kept her temper under control and didn't go straight to attempting murder. As long as you avoided perdo you actually have at least an even chance)
Mariella Creo 3 Vim 8, Initiative 1, Pre 0, Per +1, Weakening 8, Soak +5
Katja Creo 7 Vim 8, initiative 4, Pre 0, Per -2, Weakening 3, Soak +3
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Stress roll for mariella
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Katja gets 13, Mariella gets 11
Mariella chooses to use Vim defensively and Creo to attack
Katja considers going to something other than Vim but it is likely her best choice. She figured that Creo would be accepted as other is a flambeau even if perdo specialist but she was half hoping to be shifted to her scond choice of Rego since her opponent doesn't seem much for control.
The phantasm forms before her, a blur of created magics seeking to overwhelm the other. This is going to be tricky since she is not good. She generally prefers to be chosing form.
OOC Vim to attack, Creo defend so I am +8 attack, +5 defense to your +3 attack, +9 defense.
My attack was 2 on roll for 10 vs your 9+stress (if you botch tell me otherwise I don't penetrate your defense with weakening totel of 4 even if you roll a 0) and 5 on defense for 10 defense this round.
[color=blue]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2056224/
Mariella defense 12 Katja Attack 10
Mariella attack 5 , Katja defense 10
The swieling Skeins of pearlescent light , surge more strongly towards Mariella but both of the magi hold their own.
Mariella seems frustrated and angered by this and resumes the assault with more power, (Switches Vim to offense and Creo to defense). Katja feels Mariella's concentration waver but hold.
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[color=blue]Katja attack 16 . Mariella defense 9 advantage 7 total weakening 10, soak 5 mariella loses a fatigue level
Mariella attack 13 , dKatja defense 7 , advantage 6 , total weakening 14 , soak 3. Katja loses 3 fatigue levels.
The swieling Skeins of magic seem to overwhelm both magi and they both slump but recover. However as Katja straightens she feels the certeman collapse , Mariella's concentration has been broken.
Looking over at ther opponent she seems momenterali weaker than Katja feels then she straightens and her face seems shadowed by an image her right eye seems to glow with a red light while her left eye vanishes in shadow.
Feeling tired, Katja sees the change and readies a spell, she calls to the guards since she didn't knock Mariella out with the certamen, [color=blue]"be prepared." She looks at Mariella, [color=blue]"I believe that this investigation is now mine to conduct. I am sure that you have many things better to do with your time than bother with an investigation of a mundane death. My gentle gift makes me well suited to this."
The guards are clearly not keen on getting involved in a clash between magi , particualry as they have seen Mariella's handiwork and have been trained in the capabilities of the mages of the covenant and are aware she can maim all of them in a few seconds.
Katja is still waiting for Mariella's response to her statement that her gentle gift is perhaps better, by winning certamen the investigation is hers and that this is waste of Mariella's time when she could be doing something much more worthy of her.
[color=blue]My previous post was half my intended post the PC messed up while I was trying to post last night
Her face still obscured by the strange illusion Mariella begins casting a spell her voice is slurred as if by fatigue and her gestures stiff and lacking in fluency but Katja can recognise a Perdo Corpus spell being cast
Knowing she won't get a formulaic spell off, she hopes the grogs try to interrupt the spell but doesn't count on it so she fast casts quickly going for perdo terram herself. Still she adds a second arrow to the bow of her attack. [color=blue]"LOOK OUT" She shouts before she starts her spell. The purpose is for the sudden noise and meaning to disrupt the other mage's concentration even as she starts her fast cast.
OOC fast cast init: 1 quick + 3 finesse + 9 roll = 13 init
PeTe: based on Pit of gaping earth but touch starting in front of me and going under her since we are close enough for that (base 3, +1 part, +1 touch, +1 size): casting total: sta 2 + 5 pe + 13 te + 3 aura +2 exaggerated voice/gestures -13 (fast cast/fatigue) = 12 + 9 (roll) = 21 / 2 for 10 or diff of the spell. Damage is 4 (+1 per 2 feet or +4 for 9 feet) + die (9) for 13 damage before soak (stamina+stress)
TN 9 concentration for the sudden noise of the look out (I hope)
TN 12 concentration if she soaks all damage, TN 15 if if she is hurt to spoil her spell (and put me ahead of her in init for next round)
Fast casting init roll
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Casting roll
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Damage for fall
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Katja is able to get her spell off before Mariella finishes her. Mariella falls awkwadly into the pit landing badly , however she seems to ignore the pain and shock and her spell goes off , however Katja's parma deflects the powerful spell easily.
The grogs have scatterred in all directions , in fact as far as Katja can see the only people not running are herself , Mariella and Ilsa.
Mariella clambers to her feet at the bottom of the pit , as she starts to come to her feet initially it appears that her leg is bent at an odd angle broken or sprained, however as she reaches her feet the leg seems to have returned to its normal appearence
Now that she has a slight edge, Katja casts the formulaic pit of gaping earth and opens a second hole under the first to cause yet another drop, get it deep enough and wizard leap will not get a person out of the hole for an effectivive capture.
OOC casting: 3 (roll) + 20 (casting total) + 3 (aura) -5 fatigue = 21, spelll goes off. Damage stress +4 = 0 (4 so no botch) + 4 or 4 damage to soak and another concentration roll.
Castng roll (ignore the name, it is late so I mixed up names)
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pit damage
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