then yes
[Retconned from above.]
"Father, there is no chapel here. We all walk into town for mass. The Lord Above did, in his infinite wisdom, choose to bless us with a hot spring in which you can bath and refresh yourself should you so desire. Would not the Lord hear your prayers from such a place as that as well?" says Alienor.
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"Yes, well." The brother looks over at his companions, who shrug and tilt their heads "Perhaps we will just turn in for the night."
"There is always room at our table for such distinguished guests. Would you care to dine with us? Secluded as we are, news from Rome and places in between would be quite appreciated," and lowering her voice almost conspiratorially, "It would also give the servants time to prepare the rooms for you. We do not get many travelers here in the mountains. Otherwise, please wait here while I send for servants to prepare the rooms."
"We had feared we had arrived too late for dinner, certainly we will dine with you. However, I should let you know now that we may not bless the meal, as Toulouse is under interdiction, as a vassal to the kingdom of Aragon."
"Heavens. That is a shame... we will just have to do without until it is safe for the Pope to lift the interdiction." As she leads them to the dining room the first servant she sees she sends ahead to let the cooks and servants know to add three places to the table and then to have the chamberlain prepare rooms for the three priests. After sending the servant ahead Alienor say, "What, exactly, does that mean for our souls? If one of us were to fall ill, should we leave the county to take last rites?"
"indeed, I would certainly advise you to do so. Has the village priest not been following the interdict then? I can understand if the news has not reached them. Perhaps I should have a word with them in the morning."
As the group enters the dining room Alienor responds, "as I said we generally go to Aix de Bains which is much more than village. It even has walls. But I have sadly not attended mass for a little while, so I am unsure what the Priest knows about the interdiction... oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Alienor."
[Um... is there someone who is or pretends to be the Noble here at Bentalone?]
"It is a pleasure Madame Alienor, and will either of your husband's be joining us?"
Leaf enters the dining room, nodding slightly but distinctly to each of his sodales.
Once he learns of the situation, he becomes more interested.
"Hunters for God? Strange concept" If Alienor is nearby, "Are their hands empty?" If their adherence to that old adage "A bird in hand is worth more than a hundred in the bush" is unbending, then they may be prone to grasping and groping."
Once he learns that the priests will be dining with the Magi, he seems surprised. "perhaps our chef's genius and their hunger will close the circle." "or perhaps we will be like the wind in their estimation, ehh"
[Constansa is the daughter of a minor noble from Aquitaine, if that helps at all.]
"I wish," Constansa replies to the monks, giving a longing sigh. "I'm afraid my father hasn't picked one out for me just yet, he's concerned with plenty of other matters. But regardless we're always sure to have plenty of company at the dinner table."
"My apologies, I am Brother Rainier, and is this then the man of the castle?" The monk is looking with unveiled interest at the three of you.
Jerome stands up when the guests enter the dining hall. «I am Jerome. I am master of the gardens, only. The house I leave for the others to master,» he says, looking around at the other magi.
The monk looks to Constansa"so is your father here then? Does the gardener often dine at the lord's table?"
«Do you imply that the Garden is worth less than the House?» Jerome is clearly taking offence.
Gerard, seated at the far end of the table with his boys on either side, clears his throat. "I am Gerard, these are my sons, Guillhelm and Jaufres. Would it not be better to be seated in courtesy and discuss such things over dinner? You will not find a lord with feudal dominion here, nor is my friend a gardener; despite the appearance of this place as a castle, it is more apt to call us scholars who were granted a writ of crenellation to allow us to protect ourselves from brigands and other threats without requiring us to depend on those with better uses for their resources."
"Oh, no," she replied. "I was entrusted to look after this castle for him, though I leave most of the duties of administering it to the staff," she lied, hoping the others would play along. Perhaps the magi should've foreseen this eventuality before...
[Do I need a guile roll? I presume it'd be under stress. Though do remember Constansa is my companion character not my magi as everyone seems to be assuming right now. EDIT: Darn, just as I posted I got a response contradicting what I said. Do we leave it like that or...?]
"I see." The monk looks back and forth between Gerard and the Contessa, and their conflicting claims before addressing the Contessa, though whether because she has claimed to be of noble birth or simply because he is more comfortable with her (unGifted) presence, and says " then if all those of note are present I suppose it is proper to begin the meal." He sits down and looks intently at Gerard. "So where do his duties take your father, that he leaves you in charge of this domain?"
Gerard shakes his head. "The seat of power is not here. Her father granted us the writ, so that we could protect ourselves and our few servants, he has better uses for his troops and this region is somewhat prone to wars, which we stay out of. We have no authority outside of our home and our vineyards. Constansa is here studying, and to stay safe and apart from the fighting while her father finds her a suitable match."
"Yes indeed," she agreed, giving a slight smile as she felt the stress lifted off her shoulders. "My father is from Aquitaine and has been caught up in the conflict between the kings of England and France not to mention he's made quite a few enemies of his own across both sides." That much was true.