Ameline waits for the flight by the dragon to get to wherever she, Inigo and their host is flying.
OOC: Marko, you want me to get to drakes, we are waiting on you. I am the passenger for this flight.
I was waiting for you to say "As we approach the drakes I say such-and-such" 
I was also dealing with work this weekend and court yesterday and today. I got the trial set back another month, and even if I loose it will take another month or more to evict me (plus I can file for extensions). Tribunals. Meh. Wish I could just Certamen my landlord 
Anyways, you approach the stone cottage on the hill. The roof is (still) collapsed in, and the yard is a horrid mess of debris and bones (griffons, ogres, and whatever else these beasts hunt for food).
As for the drakes, if they are hiding or face you boldly, and what they say, that is up to Ken (who is playing the drakes).
So, you have arrived. Ken, you on stage buddy
Ah. Well, I would say that there is no vis in a magic creature while it is still alive. Just Might. When it dies, Might “crystallizes” into vis at the rate of 1 pawn per point of might. Only the one Verditius mystery allows you to siphon vis from a living creature (at a rate of 1 pawn per point). As for the unicorn horn having power (or dragon stone or other body part with magic significance), I think this is more of a hedge wizard thing, awakening an “Object of Virtue”.
This did happen, or so Antonio theorizes. But we are not exactly sure what happened. Obviously it was something abnormal, and it may have even been trickery on Khyron’s behalf. But you do have a point, and there may be a way to work this in your favor. However, I would suggest that it might work better to move him in his entirety into an object or trap. For example, if you can get hold of that sword, I theorize it would only be Base 15 to force him back into it (putting him back in his bottle as it were).
Okay, I understand better now. But there is still nothing to find. There are no outstanding tokens. You are chasing a red herring.
Hi,
You can! Just, you know, say "Creo." He is not likely to accept your Certamen, which, all things considered, is probably better for you than if he did.
Oh, right. Drakes.
As the dragon descends from the sky, you see the drakes. They obviously see the dragon's approach, and unless you are severely mistaken, they are waiting. As the dragon draws nigh they probably notice you too, but it is difficult to assess their reaction, both because you are still a bit far and because few humans take the time to learn the fine art of reading drake body language and expression.
They are out in the open, and waiting.
Anyway,
Ken
Sigmundo understands the ways of dragonkind though. Are they hesitant, fearful, peturbed, suspicious, angry?
The dragon lands, letting his passengers off before assuming human form again (he is just more comfortable conversing in that shape).
Hello boys 
.
Hi,
Oh, yes. To the magi, they are opaque. To Sigmundo they are almost transparent:
Maurice is respectful, afraid, wary, suspicious--and calculating. Nothing good is likely to come of a visit from Sigmundo, but there may be an opportunity here, especially since there is a magus. He is not trying to conceal any of this, since he is sure the human will be oblivious to the obvious signs and just as sure that Sigmundo would see right through the attempt.
Venkath is angry and afraid, and striving mightily to yield to neither. He likes being top dog and having a territory he can call his own. Sigmundo's arrival challenges all of that, and he resents it. He knows better than to show it, but does not know that Sigmundo can see it anyway.
Both Maurice and Venkath hold postures of deep respect. Both respect Sigmundo for his power, but Maurice has a better sense that Sigmundo and his power are inseparable, therefore his veneration is deeper. Both would also prefer rather Sigmundo not have come. No fools they.
As for Simon....
"Daddy bring yum yum," he says hopefully.
Anyway,
Ken
Sigmundo shakes his head at Simon. No, no, no. These are magi from that keep around the other side of the mountain. You have pledged allegiance to them, remember?
(Thinks to self: Egad, what to do with Simon? He is more than a mere beast, and the third most intelligent of all of his offspring. But still, he has the mind of a child! He is fortunate that his brothers have found a use for him and watch out for him.)
He then nods to Maurice, knowing full well that he is the brains of their outfit. But he looks directly at Venkath when he speaks, knowing he is their leader and makes the decisions for the trio. Sometimes having confidence and a dominant presence is more important that intelligence, especially for dragons.
The magi have found themselves in a predicament, and have need of your superior strength and power in order to resolve it. Some genie has abducted one of their members, and they are planning to storm his stronghold to rescue her. They have agreed to reward you generously*. I myself have great respect for these magi, and have grown somewhat fond of them. Aid them in this mission and return successful, and I shall reward you by elevating your status. I will grant you access to the Terrigen Mists**, which will bestow the gift of transformation upon you, allowing you to grow in power in ways you have never imagined.
- I am well aware no such reward was promised, but Sigmundo realizes he has the upper hand and knows how to squeeze
** I stole the name from Marvel Comics, yes. It is a story device, something to assist magical creatures in "advancement", but is of no benefit to humans or mundane creatures.
Hi,
"Sire," says Maurice, "as You surely know, we offered no such pledge, nor any other form of submission either to the magi or anyone else. We concluded an alliance with the magi, and mutually pledged friendship, support and aid."
A tendril of smoke rises from Maurice's nostrils. "A surprising development, to be sure, but we think it has great potential."
And Maurice's subtext is quite obvious to Sigmundo: We respect you as our superior, a true dragon, but we have become more than playthings and intend to retain our independence. We also notice that you are somehow in league with these magi and intend to involve us somehow; that will probably be fine since we do have an alliance with them, the existence of which speaks well for us, both because it is an immensely clever idea that we have made work (unless it gets us killed) and because powerful wizards have recognized us as equals rather than prey.
For humans too!
Venkath sort of paces, and it is obvious even to the humans that he is perturbed and thinking about something.
Maurice says to Sigmundo, "We are honored by Your presence, yet I find it strange that the magi are having You speak for them about this, when the magi can so easily come to us directly. Generosity among friends is a virtue, certainly," though Sigmundo understands all too clearly that both he and Maurice see it is a human virtue, even though to someone who is not draconic, Maurice means exactly what he said, "but a reward is completely unnecessary, perhaps even insulting." Sigmundo understands Maurice's subtext here too, that rewards can all too easily be construed as wages, which establishes a relationship between master and servant. "If the magi want our assistance, we are honored and determined to share in the risks and rewards of the venture, but most importantly, to see it through, just as if one of us were attacked."
Maurice's subtext here is no longer quite "sub:" The drakes are happy to help the magi, but the magi need to speak for themselves.
Though some subtext remains for Sigmundo's understanding alone: Maurice is also very respectfully (he hopes) making it very easy for the dragon to withdraw his own gift, and almost as easy for the drakes to decline it without insult. Sigmundo realizes that while Maurice might like the "grow in power" part of Sigmundo's offer, he is very wary of the "in ways you have never imagined" part, and will decline the 'reward' if he doesn't know what it is.
Venkath has stopped pacing and once again stands confidently. Maurice's gaze has not left the dragon, yet Venkath now seems focused on the magi.
Simon has also been sidling toward the magi. "Yum yum," he says hopefully, eyeing someone's pouch of vis.
Anyway,
Ken
I always thought a Dragon genre game would be cool, like Vampire or Werewolf, with the dragons often having a human form they can use to blend into society and having various minions and offspring they need to manage 
Sigmundo wasn't exactly sure of the particulars of your arrangement, and is very satisfied with the way Maurice responded. The humans see Sigmundo smile, and figure he must be pleased. But Maurice knows that his human guise is nothing more than a cloak. He knows that it is a dragon who smiles, not because of pride in his offspring (a human emotion), but because he sees the situation as progress in his long term plans (and though Maurice may not know what these plans are, he knows that they somehow involve he and his brothers; which may provide opportunity or danger (or even both!)).
Sigmundo nods in understanding. Humans must be kept in their proper place. Maurice would also understand his desire to be "kept in the loop", expressing his own dominance, but Maurice also understands it is important to his personal ambitions to have direct discussions, using the elder as a middle man weakens their own position of dominance.
And of course Sigmundo wants to make it seem like he is doing the magi a favor by doing what he already agreed to do. In fact, Maurice might realize that this was the motive for Sigmundo making a pact with the magi in the first place, not because of any care or concern for Diablo Rojo (the drake Inigo spared). When humans are dependant upon you for favors, they unwittingly place themselves in a position of submission to your will.
Very well then, I shall allow the humans speak for themselves as to what assistance the are in need of. Allow me to introduce the Priestess Ameline.
Again, by introducing her and designating her as the spokeswoman for the magi, Sigmundo is subtly maintain control of the meeting, expressing his dominance in a very subtle manner that the humans would likely not pick up on. He calls her "priestess" because he doesn't quite understand modern human religion. He knows she is a "holy woman", and back when he cavorted with Romans, such women were referred to as "priestesses".
OOG - Sigmundo is thinking of possibly merging you guys together as a three-headed drake. Venkath could be tricked into it, and Simon isn't even a challenge. But Maurice, well, Sigmundo has hope that he can be talked into it, but if not, he will let Maurice select what the reward shall be (not Venkath though, he is too ruthless and may present a challenge to his dominance some time down the road in a century or so; Maurice would be wise enough to make a choice that offers power and avoids a confrontation that they will surly loose).
Ominous!
Yeah, Simon is not subtle at all, and it is obvious even to humans that he is motivated by little more than his appetite.
Hi,
Dragon: The Hunger?
Hmm. Not quite, since vampires also get hungry. Something to do with their need to possess. Though that's not quite it either, since dragons in the Orient lack the theme of greed for its own sake yet are very much and obviously draconic.
Maurice isn't presuming to exert dominance over Sigmundo, but definitely is asserting independence, which is dangerous enough, and if not played correctly could get them eaten! If Sigmundo had to guess, (and he might, because as smart as he is, I don't think he's reading their minds; please let me know if he is) that's what he and Venkath are afraid of.
Maurice does understand this. (He suspects the humans understand this too, in their own way, and suspects that the humans have their own view of favors, different from but not too much less sophisticated than that of dragons. Indeed, Maurice has been counting on a certain kind of behavior from the wizards even during their first encounter. This insight about Maurice is almost certainly not transparent to Sigmundo, if only because for all his wisdom, a true dragon looks down on humans, even wizards, and is likely to underestimate them, while Maurice, a mere drake, knows that he needs every bit of his wits to survive among both wizards and dragon.)
The drakes say nothing.
Subtext, probably evident to the magi too: They do not necessarily agree with Sigmundo's "allowing" the magi anything, but are not going to argue.
smile I do know how they'd react, but don't know if Sigmundo does. Let me know if he understands the three well enough for me to need to tell you.
Meanwhile, the drakes are waiting.
Anyway,
Ken
Sigmundo cannot read minds, but he does have a "Dragon Ken" score of 5 (Folk Ken for Dragons), and he has "Sight of the Transparent Motive" as one of his minor powers (constantly active, though it is mainly intended for humans and would pierce straight through the Parma of most of these magi without them even realizing it).
So he may or may not know how they would react, but he does know that Maurice would be harder to trick than the others. Sigmundo feels that Simon can be talked into just about anything and be convinced he likes it; Venkath is a prisoner of his own ruthless anger and ambition. Maurice is the one he is most wary of, for his mind works like a true dagon's, not just an intelligent drake.
I do not mind sharing Sigmundo's stats with you, if you are curious. The drakes would not know all of the information, but they would certainly know more about him than the magi (and their information is more accurate, since it is based on actually knowing the guy instead of reading and hearing tales about him).
Ameline sights the three drakes and considers them carefully. She leaps into the air from the great dragon's back and slowly descends. Slow enough to let the dragon land and speak first so that she doesn't accidentally get toasted before it is clear she comes in peace. Spells against fire are not her specialty.
OOC: "Red herring" or not, Vares would have investigated. Upon finding nothing, he's inclined to conclude that either Khyrom had another method of breaking through the Aegis or that whoever was responsible managed to "dilute" the Arcane Connection enough to make it indistinguishable from those already extant.
IC: Vares decides, "We cannot assume that there is a 'traitor'. The Efreet could have tricked a member of the Covenant into inviting him in and then used some other method to bring Lethe to that memory. We should remain on our guard, of course.
"If I can bring gain enough Penetration, I may be able to befuddle the Efreet. My magic is almost undetectable when it is cast, and I know several spells that can impair the powers of perception and concentration, making him less effective and perhaps more...malleable."
Both conclusions are incorrect. It is getting to the point where I simply want to tell you what happened 
. In fact, if you search the ArsMagica forums here on Atlas Forums, you will find a post by me where I talk about mystery style plots and how I inadvertantly started one up, and in that post I reveal everything.
Cool. I am going to presume you guys have gotten some sleep eventually, and that it is now around mid-day. It is time for your other plan to come to fruition
One of the messenger Redcaps that were sent out has returned. Pietro of Flambeau (in the Alps) has sent along one of his agents; Issac of Flambeau, a Warden of the Antares.
Hi,
The drakes wait for her.
Anyway,
Ken
Isaac waits outside the council chamber, examining passers-by to see if any are the magi he has been told to assist. He's a well-kept man with a polite smile, but the scars on his hands say 'violent past' to anyone who cares to look, and none of the covenfolk have time to spare for the Gifted newcomer. An old, but undamaged, shield leans against his leg and his hands are folded behind his back. Idly, he taps out a rythym on the wall behind him and hums snatches of songs he has overheard on his long journey from the Alps to the Pyrenees.
He thinks to himself: Always the same with these old covenants. Hurry! Go here! Now wait! Now hurry! I wonder who they'll send to properly receive me... (his stomach rumbles) ...and whether I'll get fed before I have to leave again.
The journey wasn’t actually that long. It mainly consisted of hiking from your sanctum (in a chapter house of Icy North) over to the main covenant (where your mentor resides), then using the Hermes Portal there to go to Harco (Domus Magnus of Mercere, the central “hub”), and then from there, taking another portal to Andorra. Five hours or so altogether (including waiting an hour at Harco).
But still, it is past noon and it has been 6 or 7 hours since you last ate, so your stomach is indeed rumbling. One of the grogs will notice you and offer to bring you some food and drink. They are used to dealing with the gifted, but are unaccustomed to your gift. Thus, they have the natural suspicion, but you also note that they have a professional demeanor that allows them to overcome their natural apprehension.
Then you see Antonio of Flambeau, the controversial magus who is considered a hero by many and a scoundrel by many others. He is carrying a wooden box, full of odd trinkets, stones, parchments, and other items.
[color=red]Eh? Who might you be? Come with me into the council chamber. Most of the others are just waking up around now. We were up all night plotting and planning. I sent everyone to go get some rest just after the sun rose and they cast their Parma.
He sets his box on one of the tables, and the servant brings you a tray of fruit & cheese and a skin of wine. Antonio grabs a Valencia orange from the tray and starts peeling it. I presume Pietro sent a letter along with you, so he is reading it while eating the orange.
[color=red]Isaac, eh? I knew your parens, Jonathan. He was a good man. His death was tragic, much too young. But he died a hero, an inspiration to us all.
I presume you have been filled in on the details? If you have any questions, I am all ears.
Hi,
Probably not enough to know until he broaches the subject. None of the drakes is thinking even remotely about, nor, I suspect, has ever considered the prospect of being combined into a 3-headed drake, so there's nothing for Sigmundo to see, neither an emotional cue or a thought.
But it's quite clear that both Maurice and Venkath believe that they can decline to accept a favor or command they believe is too disadvantageous. This would have been unthinkable a few years ago, when the obvious alternative to total compliance would be to be eaten, or worse.
It's also clear that they value their independence (well, Venkath senses its rightness, Maurice is proud of it and Simon likes chasing butterflies) and will take risks to preserve and enhance it. The possibility of eventually challenging Sigmundo has not occurred to any of them.
Your call.
Anyway,
Ken
Ameline slowly reaches ground after the great dragon has had a chance to land and speak first. "It is a tradition among my people to allow the eldest to speak first and also last generally. She is defering to let the dragon address the drakes first. This is the first time she is meeting them outside of the tales and the tales were not necessarily explicit about personalities. More about the events that happened. She is allowing the dragon to speak out of respect, she is not allowed or disallowed by him.
She studies the three. "One of our number was taken by a Djinn of fire, the efreet, Khyron. We are going to his realm to claim her. The Palace there is surrounded by a sea of fire that we can not walk in. So we do need to call upon the alliance. I am Sister Ameline, a nun of God but also a mage of the order. I am not a full priest and do not claim such. Aid is needed and as I was not present for the agreement, I do not know the extent of the alliance or I might have come here on my own. Your elder, Sigmundo, suggested you as ones to assist as well as himself. She smiles, It looks like the elder dragon is not earning or providing favors for the mages by having the drakes help. They would help on their own so the elder provides nothing here. Still he will be getting a safe visit to Andorra.
It has been a long night and morning for Vares. Studying the remnant traces of the previous night's events he has assembled a scattering of clues which do not present him with a clear understanding. Unlike some of the other Magi, he does not 'trust' what is before him. There is some pattern to it all that he has yet to discern.
What sleep he gets comes well after dawn, and is not enough for his liking. He considers, briefly, a spell to improve his alertness but does not want to interfere with his mind further at this point. When the summons to another Council meeting comes, he is quick enough to get ready and make his way to the chamber.
Hearing that at least one has answered the request for aid, he mulls over what he has heard of the newcomer.
OOC: Order of Hermes Lore check.
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2420061/
Int (+5) + Order of Hermes Lore (2, specialisation not applicable) +6 = 13. Vares has probably heard of Isaac, but how much?