Well in that case Viola is eventually going to get bored and start sponting shadow puppets on the walls--all she knows is that a lab blew up, and while, yes, there is a Fire duration in Faerie Magic, she has no clue how that's going to be useful for addressing the problem at hand (unless, of course, this fire is an arcane connection to the fire that destroyed the tower--something that would be revealed by a InVi or InIg spell, I think--but that seems unlikely).
Scott
Rodrigo looks at you and is annoyed by you inappropriate levity.
[color=red]Come, let us make haste to the emergency council meeting.
Antonio will arrive at the meeting in the very last minute. He is currently visiting with Father Clemente.
But feel free to share your discoveries with your sodales 
Vares waits as the other Magi and consorti assemble in the council chambers. If Lelja can give him a quick translation of the inscription on the Dagger, he will make use of it as best he can. With the tumult and confusion, he does not interject additional news; that will only fuel speculation and likely not a constructive response. If one of the others ASKS, it might be another matter.
When Antonio arrives and the meeting begins, Vares waits for acknowledgement to announce his findings. "Carmen's sancta has been severely damaged but not completely destroyed. Based on the evidence at the scene, it appears that the Efreet currently known as Kheron manifested by means unknown within the boundaries of her sancta and unleashed a fire magic which destroyed much of the surrounding tower. Through subsequent events or perhaps Carmen's response, Carmen either entered into Twilight or some other way accessed the Magic Realm. Arcane Connections linking to her have been suspended in a way consistent with that explanation. A Dagger of North African origin," he produces it and displays it, prepared to present it to Antonio, "was present in the wreckage. I do not recognise it. Also present at the scene were a pair of large, burning footprints that I believe were left by the Efreet. They, and the fiery Arcane Connections which should lead to him, showed a similar suspension, suggesting that he has also left this world for the Magic Realm. Or another. Whether he or Carmen share a location outside of this world or not I cannot currently ascertain."
Having delivered her message, Marie tries not to gape at the riches and returns to the council chamber. She sends a grog for her apprentice who spends her free time working in the kitchen because marie's lab hasn#T accepted the poor girl yet.
She expects her to attend the meeting.
Lejla is of course willing to translate the dagger if she can.
I forgot about Marie's funky strange lab of animated tools
Anyway, as I said, Antonio will arrive at the very last minute, so everyone else is gathered together before he arrives.
As for Lejla...
Her career has been advancing. Decimus of Mercere left to join Harco in Rome after Rodrigo returned and took control of the Mercere quarter. However, Rodrigo has little interest in micromanaging Redcap activities, so he he promoted you to chief Redcap. As for the covenant, Lejla is not yet a member, but she is a privileged guest and holds the honorary title of Associate Member.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lejla or do not remember her: She is a Redcap, a charming young lass, and she is an Iberian Moslem. I don't recal if her ethnic background is Arabic or Hispanic, probably mixed. Either way, she hails from Valencia, which has kept itself somewhat separate from the reign of the Almohades and is currently allied with Castile (the Reconquista is a complicated affair, Christians & Moslems often ally together against other Christians & Moslems).
Looking at the dagger, she can clearly read the words inscribed there upon...
Lejla says: "Yes I can. It's Arabic. It says: "Speak these words to hear my message".
She looks at the thing uncomfortably and says. "Be ready. Here it goes in Arabic..."
She reads the inscription in the devilish language of the Muslims.
OOC: Note that I am merely reflecting prejudices. I did write Muslim with a capital and do repect their faith.
Why would Lejla want to reflect prejudice against Moslems? I had thought she was herself Islamic.
But anyways...
Once you read the inscription using the Arabic tongue, you activate the spell. With a dramatic puff of flame, there is a great volume of smoke that coalesces into the form of Khyrom al-Efreet. Anyone with Second Sight will recognize it is an illusion, not the real thing.
The efreet appears massive and oninous. Twelve feet tall, red skinned, devilish appearance (reference cover of the the old first printing of the 1st edition AD&D "Dungeon Master's Guide" upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... 4Cover.jpg )
He speaks in heavilly accented Hermetic Latin...
Hahahaha! Greetings Antonio. By now it is no secret that it is I who have abducted your daughter. Andorra is powerless against me, you have no hope of challenging me at this point. My demand is a ransom. One-thousand pieces of gold, each infused with elemental magical fire. What you magi call Ignem vis. The money is inconsiquential. You can conjure it as easilly as I. It is the vis that is my price. I am not sure how you measure it, but my demand is one-thousand of your units of measure.
Bring it to my palace at the Arc of Fire, where I have reclaimed the throne you had once toppled me from.
You have three days, or I shall throw her into the flames of the Arc of Fire to be destroyed.
The image fades back into smoke, the smoke dissipates, all all that remains is the dagger.
[color=red]AAAAAAHHHRRRR! THAT B@$+@RD SON OF A WHORE!!!
From the back corner of the room, you hear a shout of rage. Andtonio had arrived with father Clemente just in time to witness the phantasmal message.
1,000 pawns of vis. That's a heafty ransom folks. Andorra may be vis rich, but this sum is way far beyond that.
Marie's eyes start shining with exitement: "1000 pawns of vis. We could..." She pauses and looks around. Then she levitates a bowl upside down on the dagger and asks her apprentive to cover it with a piece of cloth.
"Now, we have to make sure that Carmen's family cannot be used as an arcane connection before anything else. Or we must go on without that valuable help. I do not want this fiery spirit to use any arcane connection. No fire, no light, no witnesses."
ooc: Is destroying/suppressing an arcane connection PeVi? I just don''t want the thing to roast us (fireball of abysmal flame), centered on daddy, and we are ashes!
Ameline was late to the council. Proper prayers take time and she had to get Kesara to Inigo in his lab before praying. Prayers properly take several hours to do right and she always prays with all her spirit. This means she will be very late to the covenant meeting.
Marie's eye-popping reaction is amusing 
OOC - Though Marie would be unaware of it since she does not possess second sight, but the image was just an illusion, equivalent to an Imaginem spell.
But her theory of using PeVi to suppress or sever an Arcane Connection is accurate. However, since she has not yet heard Vares' report, she is unaware that the dagger presents no current Arcane connections. His theory is that, whatever the dagger is connected to is no longer within the boundaries of the Terrestrial Realm.
Antonio can confirm this.
[color=red]The Arc of Fire exists in the Magic Realm. It is actually within a Terram Boundary. The Arc itself is a powerful Ignem Vestige, standing over a palace made of bronze. It can be accessed from the mundane realm by means of a high level regio off the coast of southern Italy. Twin volcanoes. Every century, one of them erupts and spews an arc of fiery lava into the other, each in turn. When this happens, a ship sailing between them passes through the highest layer of the regio, into a lake of lava that surrounds the bronze palace.
But the last time an eruption occurred was less than a quarter century ago. That’s how I got in the last time. And the bastard is doing the same thing all over again, only this time to me!
Dramatic pause before I continue with my soliloquy 
[color=red]Some of you may know that the Knights of Seneca have an ancient alliance with the Sahirs of Estancia-es-Karida, dating back to the years in Valencia under the patronage of El-Cid, when we were allies against the Almoravid sorcerers. Though we long ago took our separate paths, the oaths of alliance and friendship are still upheld to this day.
It was just over twenty years ago when Yusef al-Sahir came to me for help, invoking the ancient treaty. Like I myself latter became, he was the father of a lovely young daughter who was also his filia. Alishara was her name, and she was more beautiful than the moonlight in spring.
Sihir is wild and chaotic magic, unlike stable and predictable ( :mrgreen: ) regular Hermetic magic. One day, whilst summoning and communing with her spirits, her magic went horrible awry (she botched severely)[color=red], and the jinn she had conjured revolted against her control and took her captive. The jinn gave his prisoner as a gift to Malik Khyron al-Efreet. The Malik tried to make her his bride, but she violently resisted. So he imprisoned her in a magical glass cage, and demanded of her father a similar ransom of vis. Only that time it was only a tenth of what he demands of us, and he was not so specific to name an Art. Still, the poor covenant of Estancia-es-Karida could not afford it.
I tell you friends, it was quite an adventure! I took my best soldiers and my sidekick Rodrigo, and we boldly took up the quest! (Rodrigo gives Antonio a dirty look, but the old Flambeau continues on as if he forgot his old chum was in the same room)[color=red].
We sailed a ship into the regio, and waited three weeks for the eruption that was then predicted due. I have no idea how we will get in this time. Perhaps use magic to force an eruption, or perhaps try to transverse the regio the hard way, layer by layer with Intéllego magic and Second Sight. But at least this time we know about the Lake of Lava. Last time we didn’t. Our ship sunk in flames. Our hired sailors all perished as well as all but three soldiers that Rodrigo and I managed to save. One of those men is standing with us today. Mozes Mendez, our senior sergeant.
Recovering from that disaster, we devised a plan to sneak into the Bronze Palace disguising ourselves as entertainers at one of the Malik’s many banquets. While the others distracted him, I searched the palace to find Alishara. I found her in the highest tower, imprisoned in the Cage of Glass, magically crafted to be inescapable unless the prisoner yields their heart to the one looking at them through the glass.
Needless to say, my charms are what set her free
(another dirty look from Rodrigo, as he recalls how Antonio spend over an hour “freeing the prisoner”, while he had to deal with distracting Khyron).
[color=red]Soon thereafter we were found out, and we had to hastily make our retreat. That’s when I stole that flying carpet we still use today (see “The ever-loving Flying Carpet” andorra.wikidot.com/vault-of-valdarius#toc4 )[color=red]. It used to fly a lot faster and had deft maneuvering, but I think transporting us home from the Magic Realm permanently drained some of its power. Now it is just a slow and awkward luggage carrier. And it won’t fly when wet.
But anyways, it was carrying the six of us, and we were flying fast! I held the front edge of the carpet with a firm grasp, flying with death defying skill, and held Alishara safely in my other arm. Rodrigo, he wore different shoes back then and he could just stand there unmoving and unshaken. But Moe and the other two soldiers, they were hanging on the tassels for dear life! Ho-ho!
I protected everyone from flame with spells, and we drove hard towards the vestige flames of the Arc of Fire. But suddenly, the Malik appeared in our path, standing on the fiery lake of lava, grown gigantically to a height of a giant (size +5)[color=red].
I had the Phoenix sword with me, and within it I had stored a reserve of vis, a rook and four pawns of Ignem and a half-dozen pawns of Perdo. I threw together the best Perdo Ignem spell I could spontaneously muster, and let fly with all I could muster from myself.
Divine fortune smiled upon me, and Khyron dissolved into a cloud of fire and acidic smoke. We flew right through it, shielded by Parma Magica, and dove straight into the Vestige. Emerging on the other side, there was a storm upon the seas in the mundane realm. The carpet got wet and we crashed into the raging waves. We survived, but that is another tale. Still, the Phoenix sword was fully recharged of all of the vis I had spent from it, and much more! All of it Ignem. A portion of it was drawn from the efreet, as I used a Rego Vim spell to do so as we flew through the cloud. Still, that accounts for only a fraction of what I found.
And many of you know the rest of the tale. I latter used this Ignem vis in a battle against the storm giant Humberto the Horrid, cousin of our neighbor Alberto the Terrible. It was a Mastered spell, I was trying to increase my Penetration on my Ball of Abysmal Flame. Despite my Mastery, the excessive use of vis caused the spell to go wildly wrong. I resisted the twilight, knowing that I risked disappearing for days or weeks at a time, and I could not abandon my comrades. But the spell still went horribly wrong, conjuring the fiery form of Khyron anew. In the time it took me to recover from near-Twilight, Khyron killed Humberto and his ogres, and swore “one-thousand revenges” before disappearing.
That took place many years ago. The next time we say him was the most recent time before this, when he attacked Rodrigo as he rode towards the gates of home after returning from his long Twilight of seven years. That’s when Marie smacked him upside the head with giant barrels of water
My soliloquy was over long, I apologize. There were a lot of clues I wanted to give you, but I needed to disguise them with story.
OOC: Far from being "devilish", Arabic is recognised as a language of poets, scholars, and merchants as well as the sacred tongue (written and spoken) of Islam. Only the most reactionary, bigoted, and probably ignorant of people in Iberia would deem Arabic thus, whatever they may think of Islam itself.
Vares is about to stop Lelja from speaking the words on the Dagger when she blurts them out--and the message appears. To his alert gaze, the form of the Efreet is revealed as an (impressive) illusion. He listens attentively to the declaration and the impossible demand. There may not be 10 Queens of Ignem Vis present in all of Europe at any one time. Whether it is a taunt or another example of outrageous greed (such as the demand that the Turks gave the Caliphate long ago for riches that were greater than in all the Caliphate itself) he cannot be sure.
Then comes Antonio's lengthy reminiscence. His affected air of happy nostalgia likely masks the turmoil and rage within the older Magus; Vares does nothing to break that facade, letting him speak, turning over and over their options.
At last Antonio falls silent, and Vares chooses to speak. "The ransom is unpayable. Such a sum of Ignem Vis may not exist within all of the Order. The Efreet likly knows this; he will be anticipating a revanche. He has penetrated the Aegis once; there may be other reserves that he intends to employ during any expedition to free Carmen, both against those making the attempt and those remaining.
"Time doesn't pass the same way in the Magic Realm. His demand was for the ransom to be delivered in three days. Presumably, three days here, but if he is there...
"Antonio, in your dealings with the Efreet, has there been any indication that he can pass freely between the Arc of Fire and this world? Somehow, he opened a passage capable of transporting Carmen as well as himself. If, indeed, she is with him and not caught in Twilight."
ooc:Sorry I wrote Lejla's last post unconvincingly. Strictly speaking, though, it is the narrator, not the focacalizer who said it was a devilish language, so it makes me look - deservedly - stupid, not her.
OOC: I didn't say that there weren't those who felt that way, just that most of them (IC) would be fanatically anti-Islamic and probably ignorant. There was much bemoaning in earlier centuries by the Church about the younger generations choosing to learn and express themselves in Arabic even if they remained Christian because it was considered the language of culture as well as a route to social advancement. In its own way Arabic was more than the equal of Latin--it was its superior, because whereas Latin was used primarily for utilitarian purposes in the earlier period of the Roman Empire while Greek was the preferred language of the elite (not unlike French was for centuries the language of the aristocracy and the cultivated classes in Britain, long after the Norman invasion), Arabic was used by everyone, lowest to highest, who wanted a part in the Caliphate (some of the tribal languages survived, and the scholars still knew Greek because of ancient texts and constant contact with Byzantium, but Arabic was "their" language). The Sassanid inheritors stuck with Persian aka Farsi, but Arabic was still in use there and was the prevailing language from Babylon/Iraq to Geb al-tir (Gibraltar) and Iberia.
Marie nods at Vares comments on time. "I agree". She adds. "Timing is important how do we get there on time? We don't have 3 weeks, do we?
I'd also like to know if there are useful weapons against him. The Honorable Antonio was talking about Vis. Is there any connection to our fiery abductor that we can use to push a hole in his defenses."
Looking around, she says: "We will need people to defend Andorra in our absence. Of course there are those who have failed to be roused by this alarm, but we should at least tell them that they have to respond to the next one.
I myself would like to go, but I am in the middle of opening the arts of my apprentice, so I can only be gone for a few days."
"Oh, and one more thing. Do we do this Flambeau syle - decapitation and defloration (she pointedly looks at the male magi) - or could we fool the Efreet into believing that he succeeded - if that being can be made to believe it killed Carmen, it may just leave us alone. A mentem or imaginem spell might do the trick?"
That may be key to understanding his plans and motives. It could be that he is simply trying to start a fight by making ridiculous and impossible demands. That would be quite typical of him and his ilk. On the other hand, it seems as if he doesn’t have a clear idea of how we measure and use vis, which means that he could be greedily demanding a sum that he thinks is feasible. Though magical beings do have use for vis, they do not quantify and analyze it as in depth as magi do (unless they themselves are wizards of some sort). This might give you the opportunity to try and trick him 
Arawn, you a very astute judge of character, and you are accurate in your assumption. However, Vares has a Folk Ken of only 1, and would perhaps not normally be as insightful. But he obviously was this time
[color=green]Antonio: I don’t know about that. If we kill a dozen drakes and a dragon or two, add to that everything we have in stock, and we would have a good start. I can sell the Fire-Clock and my sword and some other items. Hmmm… The Mercere Quarter doesn’t charge us their normal premium for small exchanges of vis, since we are their hosts. But they will charge for a large exchange. Perhaps we can negotiate a lower premium. I can trade in my own reserves, but I would not demand this of any of you. And we can dilute it with some Vim maybe. And he doesn’t know how to properly measure vis. If we spread it out, put the vis into some gems mixed in with the coins to sweeten the appearance, we can shortchange him.
Then…
Then Rodrigo walks over to Antonio, and smacks him upside the head.
[color=green]Rodrigo: You are being stupid! That kid over there, Vares, he is right! That sum is way beyond our reach, and the Malik has probably laid a trap. Remember how catastrophic our losses were the last time? When we surprised him? We lost a score of hired seamen, a half dozen veteran soldiers, and a fellow magus. You forgot to mention Phillip the Elementalist Ex-Miscellanea from Granada. A young magus, only a few years out of gauntlet, turned to sand when his magic went awry and scattered to the seven winds.
And like the kid said, if he can walk right through our Aegis, he might even be planning to strike here while we are distracted at the Arc of Fire. We should split our numbers. I will lead the expedition to the Arc of Fire to rescue Carmen. Igigo will wait here with Kesara, and you too. I’m sorry, you are too close to this my friend, and Marie has a good point in her mentioning that the efreet might hold an Arcane Connection to you through Carmen and things he may have taken from her sanctum. And if Khyron’s plan is to make a surprise attack here, he won’t be expecting your presence and his plan will be undone.
[color=green]Rodrigo: :The land dominated by the Arc of Fire knows neither day or night. It is a land of jagged rocks and burning lakes. The place would be cloaked in eternal darkness if not for the blazing arc standing over the palace, reflecting a Light of Burning Bronze that illuminates the land. The only mark of time that exists there is the season. The arc itself truly is made of a flow of fire. It is no metaphor! It waxes and wanes in size and brilliance with the turning of the year. Every century, this flow reverses, in sympathy to the corresponding event of the mundane realm when the volcanoes erupt. Lore has it that this event also heralds changes in fate and fortune for those who experience it.
So if he said three days, and the message was left for us, then I am certain he meant it as we measure time.
(though having three seasons to prepare would be nice )
[color=green]Antonio: (holding the side of his head and looking angrily at his old Mercere friend, but also solemnly nodding to acknowledge he is right)
Malik Khyron al-Efreet is a Jinni, a Magic Spirit and a Genus Locus. Thus must have a Locus somewhere. Perhaps it is the terrestrial arc of fire or some other location. Sorcery and Sihir can be used to transfer a Locus or even to bind them to objects. Some jinni study magic, and can use sorcery upon others or themselves to transfer a locus. But he must still have one.
It is the will of God that all Jinni are somehow bound to the physical realm, for in addition to being spirits they are also made of flesh. As God made man from earth with no impurity, Islam claims that God made the jinni from smokeless flame. Like man, jinni have a dual physical and spiritual essential nature. It is said that they have souls and can be saved, and are thus also immortal. Man’s gift to reincarnate as flesh is suspended until the time of the Resurrection, excepting for the Saints. Hence, mankind’s place in the kingdom of heaven shall be higher than the jinni or the angels. Many jinni resent humanity because of this, and even those who revere the Divine hold some jealousy. There are many heathen jinni, and some have even turned to the Infernal. However, there are also many jinni who do practice some form of faith or piety, even if at a bare minimum or in name only. They all tend to be Moslems, though I did meet a Zoroastrian jinn once.
The jinni, having a second dual nature in that they are also beings of magic, can reconstitute or dissolve themselves as they wish. When manifesting, they first take the form of flame or vapor, smoke being the taint of those with an impure soul. This ephemeral essence then coalesces into their physical form, and when they transform back into spirit the process is reversed.
Thus they can transverse the boundaries between the physical/terrestrial realm and the spiritual/magic realm, pretty much at will I presume. In spirit form, they can travel instantly anywhere within their locus or instantly return to it if away.
The hard part is for a jinn to leave its Locus. Normally this can only be done through the assistance of a Sahir that he has made a bargain with, or from the force of some kind of sorcery or magic. Even if he had the power to transfer his locus, he would still have to move from his original locus to his new location in order to use his magic upon it and make it a locus.
The only other possibility is that he has been bound to a physical object that is mobile, like a ring or a lamp. I have heard of jinni being trapped in bottles too. If this is so, whomever is in possession of this object commands the jinn. Again, this points to the actions and assistance of someone else.
…
…
We have an unknown enemy amongst us
OOC – I am experimenting with using different colors for different NPC’s, instead of just typing “red” for everyone. Also, I know that I am one of those eccentric storyguides/GMs that is prone to long soliloquies and conversations between NPC’s. But this habbit often works out to the advantage of the players
darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0361.html
[color=green]Rodrigo: Antonio will stay behind, as will Inigo and anyone else who chooses to do. There will possibly be an assault here while the rest of us are away. I will guide the expedition, and I accept and appreciate Marie's volunteering. I will also accept whomever else among you who would volunteer. Vares and Dimir Taar, I need not remind you that Carmen is a daughter of a brother Knight of Seneca (nods to Antonio). I, holding the rank of Commander of our brotherhood (displays his forarm, the seal of Andorra branded by an iron from the Eternal Flame), am taking responsibility for this expedition, and shall fund it's needs at my own expense. Dimir-Taar, by my aurity as Pontifex, I order you to open the Vault of Valdarius ( 
), and allow magi & custodes alike to equip themselves as needed. Of the Andorran Guard, I shall ask for only seven volunteers.
Captain Aleandro steps forward with bold affirmation. Carmen is his little sister after all.
Old Moses Mendes also steps forward. In fact, there are many volunteers, you will have to select the best seven.
Ameline continues her prayers and while she is praying for god to keep and protect the souls of Carmen and Antonio, she is also praying for guidance. Is her place here with Kesara and the common folk of the covenant or going after Carmen to assist and save her. She knows she has little fighting ability and even less ability to pierce the magic resistance of a powerful Jinn.
A little voice whispers in your ear, you recognize it to be your guardian angel.
Let your faith in God be your sword and shield. There will be fighters on your right and left. What is needed is a heart of faith as their center. Go rescue your sister, no harm shall befall you.
