[I think we're waiting on confirmation from Scott on the timing of Patrick's entry]
When Viola arrives back, she had her guide from the village with her. Are you telling him anything? [Sorry, forgot to include him earlier. She also had a covenant grog.]
Gregorius returns back from some more exploration shortly after Viola does, Alcimus at his side. Over the last couple of days he's been travelling short distances in different directions from the covenant, familiarising himself with the local terrain and checking back in at the covenant regularly. His lips thin when he sees the horse, but he makes no other comment. He'll ask Tasia if she has any news.
[Scott, do you want to take it from here? Once everyone's around, or obviously not going to be around, Gregorius will suggest a meeting of the magi occurs.]
Tasia will update everyone about the caves, where the various rooms are and where there seems to be water waiting to rush in. She will also let them know the state of the boy and that our end of that bargain had been fulfilled.
If Patrick is going to arrive before the council meeting ,that's fine with me, though obviously he'd be an observer. Once I know about that, we can get started.
After a day of investigating the ruins, the magi gather in the early afternoon for what will be the first council meeting of the new covenant. Given the scarcity of intact buildings, the large one that Theodoric was inhabiting is chosen for the occasion.
For the Council meeting, Gregorius has changed from the practical everyday clothes he normally wears into formal blue-black robes. He takes a seat slightly down from the head of the table, and waits for the other magi to arrive. He's brought Alcimus with him, and the great wolf settles by his side.
Portia arrives exactly on time, and settles herself firmly at the head of the table. She nods to Tasia, Aetos and Gregorius, where present, glances at the wolf and looks pointedly at any empty seats.
Tasia arrived slightly ahead of time so she could be sure everything is in order and catch up any gossip she could with those who arrived early. Instead of her traveling garb she is wearing an exquisite robe you have not seen her wear before. (It's really the same thing, her talisman shapeshifted with a great Finesse roll.) The robe definitely gives the impression of a Quaesitor formality while still showing her off well.
Viola arrives shortly thereafter--she's been delayed by a conversation with a grog, who relayed a message from Aetos to the effect that there were not enough cliffs around here for a "true eagle". He's apparently headed back to the village, and will travel to Constantinople with the ship.
Portia looks surprised at Viola's announcement (I assume she used her quill to get the meaning across clearly?), and then sighs.
"Well, given the state of this place, I can't say I entirely blame him. In the interests of finally getting this meeting going, we'll modify the charter to exclude him, and then sign it now. If he changes his mind, he can stay as a guest for the requisite three years - he knew when the meeting was. Tasia, if you could do the honours with the charter?"
Gregorius greets Tasia with a smile, and ready conversation, although he doesn't have much to say that's new. At Viola's news his look passes rapidly through surprise, unhappiness and annoyance, although he says nothing. He remains silent through Portia's speech, but glances at Tasia.
Tasia confirms the removal of the name and witnesses the signing of the charter. "And now we can get on to more important matters. We have a lot of things to discuss. Half the caves are filled with water, threatening to flood even more of them. Still, there are some usable labs down there." Tasia goes into a little more detail but keeps it short because she wants to hear what everyone else has found.
Portia signs the charter, frowning slightly as she sets down her hermetic name.
She nods to Tasia's description of the caves. "There's one lab on the lower floor that's still intact, and another on the upper floor with several enchanted items. I'm claiming the lab with the items as my own. There's also one very large lab, but I understand you've put Petrus in there, Tasia?"
"I've been testing the aura around the covenant repeatedly. It looks to be strongest on the first level of the caves, then the same strength at ground level and the second floor of the caves. No clear indication of why the strength varies.It then gets progressively weaker the further you go from the covenant, although as reported, there's at least some aura for quite a distance."
Gregorius waits for the other magi to sign the charter, then adds his name to the bottom. He listens to Tasia and Portia's descriptions, then adds his own.
"I've spent quite a bit of time talking to Theodoric about the previous covenant and the local village. His report on the destruction of the covenant gives reasons for concern. It was carried out a couple of hours after midnight, and whilst the riders themselves were armed with standard Kipchak weapons, Theodoric overheard the magi say during the assault that they had some form of magical support which was unfamiliar to them and they weren't able to counter. No details beyond that, unfortunately. He also believes that the raiders were specifically targetting the magi. The magi made a last stand in the caves; thence the rubble."
"No conclusive evidence who was responsible, and Theodoric's not aware of any specific threats being made. He suspects the raiders had inside help, although that's supposition rather than being based on specific evidence. However, the covenant did apparently have uneasy relations with some local Kipchak hedge wizards, as well as some of the local villages. I intend to track down these hedge wizards and investigate them further. The problems with the villages apparently stemmed from disputes over hunting territory.
"In summary, someone with magic at their disposal deliberately targetted the previous magi for reasons that are unclear. I think it's highly possible that they'll try to do the same to us, and we're not currently set-up to defend against it. We probably do have some time before any assault does materialise, as it'll take time for news of our presence to spread and an attack to be organised, but I don't know how much."
"In other, lighter, news, Theodoric's been able to tell me of a couple of vis sources in addition to the Rego source we found in the water in the temple. Speaking of which, is anyone able to collect it? My arts are not strong enough, unfortunately."
Viola signs the charter. then raises some concerns, transforming the image of her quill into a tablet whose images and speech help to clarify her statements.
"I've discovered two serious challenges that face the covenant. First, we have a locked faerie regio in the ruined temple that lies near the center of the covenant. Given the nature of the temple, I suspect that the principle occupant claims to be the god Poseidon. Aside from the issue of our accessing the regio, which may be an important resource, we can't afford to have a hostile force at the center of the covenant, and so I'm sacrificing a horse so that I can, I hope, gain access, and talk to the faerie.
"Second, there's a herd of magical horses that roams the plains north of here. Given their numbers and apparent power, if we were to anger them, we would face difficulty in traveling those plains. However, it's very likely that some of our guests will wish to hunt them."
Portia frowns at Gregorius' speech, but waits until Viola has spoken saying anything.
"I'm glad to finally have some explanation for why you disappeared, delaying this Council meeting for two days, in order to get a horse. Please explain, however, why it was so urgent that it could not wait until after the meeting, and why it was necessary for my familiar to weaken itself expending its might upon healing some sick peasant!"
Tasia, too, signs the charter. "Yes, these wizards and the faerie are our priorities at the moment. As both may be potentially dangerous, it might be best for all of us to attend to them together. I suggest we deal with Poseidon first."
))