Vares listens closely to Antonio's description of the Efreet. He has heard (and read) some of this before, but the information regarding the connection to Genius Loci is an utter revelation. One that may have significant ramifications for some of his other studies concerning the transubstantiation of mortal flesh to an immortal state.
"Can this Locus be made dormant? Is it restricted to the physical plane, or does it, too, pass between? If we can find it, we will have a conduit to Khryom's Power. " He blinks, then says, "The Sword--the Sword you won last, from which he was freed. The Ignem used to enchant it must have acted AS his Locus. You took him out of the Arc of Fire in that prison. Twilight did not 'resurrect' him--it FREED him. If he is of magic as well as flesh, sundering portions of him may offer other keys to trapping. I am not a Master of the Spirits. One who is might fare better in that attempt.
"I ask again: can the Efree or the Jinni take others with them when the cross to the Magic Realm, or is there some other magic necessary for passage? If they can, then do WE know of any Jinni who can be bribed or compelled to act as guides and escorts to allow us to enter that Realm? Or can reach any Sahirs who may have that knowledge?" He thinks of Fuego's contacts in Iberia. If only his mentor were here.
Vares recognises the call upon his Honour by Antonio. "If it is required, then of course I shall endeavour to win Carmen's freedom from the bounds of the Arc of Fire. I have visited the Mentem domain of Magic; Ignem will add another illumination."
There is a moment's hestitation, and then he feels he must make a suggestion. "There is a potential escape from the enemy's clutches, especially in the Magic Realm. For any Magus or Maga who is willing to accept the burden, it is possible to deliberately invoke Twilight. The risk is dire, and there is no guarantee that one will exit that place for the Twilight Void, but it is one chance should all else fail."
OOC: Calling Vares a "kid" is a bit amusing. He's in his forties and is, as of this point, twenty-three years or so past his Gauntlet. Admittedly, he looks like he's in his late thirties and has Unaging, but he'd qualify as a Master in the Rhine Tribunal.
Ameline blinks at the clear answer to her prayers. She came here for Kesara but it seems in this case, she will have to trust the girl to her father and the care of God because she must go elsewhere. She heads to her sanctum to make sure her collection of stones are secured. Outside her cross and prayer beads, they are her most precious possession. Stones that are arcane connections to places all over this and provencal tribunal, even a couple for the Iberian tribunal.
She then heads to the council meeting to learn what is going on. As she enters, she listens to see what is said about events.
You should focus your tudies more on turning mortal flesh into an exploded state. Geeze, what kind of Flambeau are you?
[color=green]Antonio: [color=red]Eh? No, it doesn't worke quite like that. A genie's locus is always a part of the mundane realm. Though I use that term loosely, as it may be located in a powerful aura or regio. It would serve as an Arcane Connection I suppose, but it isn't a conduit to his power or a source of it. When a Sahir summons a Jinn, he usually does so at his locus. When they form a bargain, the jinn transfers its locus to the sahir. The sahir usually obtains an arcane connection for future use. Jinni are often eager to bargain and trade connections, as this allows them to roam from their locus.
[color=green]Antonio: [color=red]What? No, you misunderstand me. I didn't go into Twilight, I avoided it. The botched Creo Ignem spell is what did it. I recreated his elemental physical form. My guess is that I temporarily stole it from him, I sort of turned him into vis. And the vis had nothing to do with enchanting the sword. The Phoenix Sword was created centuries ago, during the Schism War. All the enchantments were made by Valdarius himself. One of its many powers is to store vis, like a fons et origio. That is what I was doing. I stored the Khyron-vis in the sword, and when I went to use it the spell went haywire.
But this "sundering off portions" theory of yours, are you suggesting he might be a daimon?
[color=red]If that hapens to be one of their powers. The Jinni have a wide variety of various magical powers. Some are inherited from their tribe, others are developed individually. Some even study magic themselves, enslaving each other with Sihir and crafting magical amulets and other trinkets. (thinks to self) [color=red]If we had time, I could possibly invent a spell or itm to do the trick. I have traveld to the Magic Realm on more than one occasion. Vares, you could possibly do the same.
But Time is something we don't have.
[color=red]We don't need just any point of access. We need to specifically access the Arc of Fire.
Hmmm...
Maybe. Let me check my collection of memorabilla and see if I have an Arcane Connection. I do have one to Sicilly. I can help get you guys most of the way there. If you can somehow make the volcanoes erupt. Or maybe he is waiting in the regio. He knows we're coming.
Hmmm...
This is frustrating...
I would reccomend against that
These guys are more than twice your age . And even I still get called a kid sometimes, and I am ancient!
Oh, and Antonio might not be 100% correct in some of his thinking. Or maybe he is, who knows?
"So we get to Sicily - using Antonio's Arcane Connection. And then?
Accessing the regio can't be that hard - all we have to do is jump into an erupting volcano or something like that
What worries me is the fighing.
Do we have - or have access to - divine vis, or infernal vis? If we can get him to consume it - we will have a very sick flaming giant monster.
We'll need lots of vis. I mean we can probably tell the efreet that the Queen of vis we bring is 1200 pawns, so he will pay us 200 pawns for it. We all know that intelligence is antiproportinal to body size. Or at least, we can make him believe that he has received what he wants.
I still favor using some mind magic on it (so I'm not good at it). Solves our size problem. But I am not sure if Mentem or Ignem is the form to use. Make him forget the whole thing, or make him believe that he has to hide under the ocean. Snatching and running won't work, because he may well come after us. So we must find him sth else to do.
Does this efreet have enemies? Can we find an efreet of water to combat it?
We should probably split up once we are in the regio - one group should go and free our fellow maga, and the other one should keep the beast busy.
An arcane connection to Andorra will of course help us get back.
OOh. Antonio, and since you are staying behind anyway, you could finish opening my apprentice's art, couldn't you
ooc: sorry for the form, I just brainstormed Marie's ideas. I'm in favor of grabbing vis and travelling to Sicily, and silve the problem from there.
I have no idea. I don't plan adventures around what you guys are capable or not capable of doing. I don't even bother referencing character sheets, because, well, the enemy cannot reference your sheet and certainly wouldn't "alter reality" to fit your capabilities.
My best guess is that you hire a ship and make it sail fast using Creo-Auram or something. Either that or you fly. Have one person retrieve an AC so the rest can teleport over. Or something. I am sure you will think of a solution
Not quite. That will get you killed . What you need to do is cause the volcanoes to erupt, one spewing lava in an arc of fire from one volcano into the other. Travelling under this arch should transport you into the magic realm.
Me too. I must say that this collection of player character magi seems quite soft and weak. I told you guys to make Flambeau combat magi, and you all made other stuff instead. Even the one player Flambeau, Vares, he is all distracted with thoughts of transformation and other esoteric matters. Not much of a warrior though. The best you currently have is Dimir Taar, and even he is scattered in his focus.
I kept trying to give you guys power and resources, and you guys constantly rejected me. I gave one player authority to stock us up with powerful enchanted items, and they instead focused on low level weak items. Very foolish. I predict half of you will be killed. I am just rubbing it in. I am disappointed in how weak you guys all are, especially considering the benefits I tried to give you. But I am sure that, with clever thinking, most of you should survive.
But not all.
We have no Divine vis, and we would never keep stock of Infernal vis. And for magic beings, consuming vis is a season long process. I don't think that being Divine or Infernal has any impact on the rules for their consumption, other than extra botch dice.
Kidnappers hardly ever make change on ransom money, so that plan does not seem that feasible. Bluffing about how much vis we have and what Art is a good idea though.
As far as the idea that greater size equals less intelligence, I will let you know that the concept is utterly false. It is neither scientific or mythic. There are many clever magic wielding giants and wise old dragons for example. And almost all jinni are large or gigantic, having a base size of +1 or +1. Some may be even bigger. And they can vary their size as well, growing by up to three more points or shrinking as small as size -10.
He has a mind, so Mentem will affect him as normal. Provided you can penetrate his astronomical might score. Remember, Andorra has a level 60 Aegis, and Khyron has demonstrated that he can walk in and out of it as he wills. Mentem can also affect him as a Spirit if he is not in physical form (remember, the physical form of a Jinn is part of its Essential Nature, unlike normal spirits). However, Ignem can be used in all sorts of ways, even when he is corporeal. You can use it to ward against him (using the specific wards HR, so that you do not have to subtract level from your CT), or to drain him of might. Vim can also be used to drain might or to set up a ward (using the general wards HR, in which you do have to subtract the level).
Many
There is no such thing as a water efreet. You are thinking of a Marid, which could be associated with any element (but is especially known for having a large body of water or a mountain as a locus). To make matters confusing, an Efreet can also be a Marid. The titles used for the names of Jinni tribes can also be used to denote rank.
And Jinni do not fit into the elemental theory you are using. The water barrel you chucked at him long ago, it wasn't the water that affected him, it was being struck upside the head with a massive heavy object which distracted him.
That sounds like a clever plan
You all have one. Just grab an object from your very own room.
[color=red]Nope. Once you start, you have to finish. And I only did that for Inigo because he is a fellow Flambeau and because of the importance that prophecy places upon his daughter.
Brainstorming is good. You guys need ideas. If you are expecting me to be a traditional DM and lay out a clear path for you, then you will be most disappointed.
To reiterate: I have no idea how you guys are going to accomplish anything. I don't plan that part because I figure you can plan that yourselves. Maybe you will find a clever loophole, or maybe you will all die.
This scenario is exactly what I was trying to warn you guys about when this game started back a long time ago. You will eventually accuse me of trying to kill you on purpose.
Exploit the rules and take advantage of the generous gifts I have offered. You will need every thing you can muster to survive and succeed at this. And ignoring the problem is not an option. He grabbed Carmen, who is easily as powerful in combat as any two of you combined. He will come back and abduct & murder each of you one by one until he accomplishes his goal or until he is defeated.
Marie suggests: "I can get to Sicily using "Leap of homecoming". With a casting tablet and some vis, you should all be able to do the same - although it ill cost everyone involved a warping point, and we won't be able to take our grogs with us.
Finding the right place should not be difficult, if we take someone with us who has been there before. Nor is creating this Arc of Fire. I've mastered "The Earth split Asunder". Safe in a warding circle (or using some other protection), we should be able to use a ReIg spell to enter that regio.
We'll have to talk to someone who can get us in touch with one of the Efreet's enemies - as a being of fire,he must have a water nemesis somewhere, but maybe an angel - she looks at Ameline hopefully - or some other nasty creature, will kill him or at least distract him.
He knows where we live, so if we fail to kill him, one of you must either befuddle his mind. Can one of you do that?
There is an alternative: Maybe we can bait him out of his regio. If we get some rocks from the bottom of the ocean, we can use them as arcane connections to "escape" We will be prepared for teleporting into a water environment, but the efreet, who will hopefully use our Arcane Connections to pursue us (since we won't use a terram requisite, incapable bunch that we are), will get extinguished. If he does not use these arcane connections, he will go for Andorra, though, a thought that makes me shudder. - by the way: does anyone know if our fair hostage can cast a "Leap of homecoming"? Otherwise, we will have to take the casting tablet with us. Alternatively, we can hand over part of the vis, and demand that Carmen is set free before we pay the rest - someone who can cast a "leap of Homecoming" will stay in her place.
Ameline says softly. "First off, I will be coming. Two, playing with volcanos is asking for trouble. There has to be a way into that realm that is near here and accessable. Perhaps we should pour over the library for notes on the founders about loci around here that we can use to get there. I doubt whoever took Carmen went all the way to some volcano to leap in to get to beast. Intellego is likely the technique needed to find our way. Perhaps it is time to call in one of those favors with the ancient dragon. He might know what we don't about magical loci around here. I have been meaning to speak with him anyways, a conversation with him would be fascinating."
She looks further over at Antonio "Tell me, what is the nature of the Efreet, his culture, how he interacts with the divine and the infernal and so on. It is said that Solomon was the master of such spirits, perhaps his name will have some power."
In the tumult of suggestion and countersuggestion, Vares addresses a few points quickly.
"You speak of causing a volcano to erupt as if it is as casual as building a bonfire. Do you have any idea of the magnitude involved? It would be Ninth Magnitude at a minimum, and I suspect it would be greater than that as well as a Ritual. Unless we have that in the library, or one of you knows it, or can find someone in a very short period of time who does, direct magic will not likely suffice."
To another critical matter, "Arcane Connections do not function in the Magic Realm. They can neither help us against our enemy nor facilitate our escape. Nor can our enemy use them against us while there. Any attack launched using it would have to be commenced in the material world. Unless there is some additional complication which applies to the Arc of Fire?" he looks to Antonio again.
"If we are to break through the Efreet's defenses, I fear that we will need weapons tailored to the task. Or the aid of an expert. If we ARE journeying to the southern Rome Tribunal, we may be able to purchase it from the Verditius. Verdi is nearby, and they have many puissant instruments which they might be persuaded to sell or lend. The price will be great, but cheaper than the Efreet's ransom! Unless there is something left in the Vault up to the task.
"As for reaching our destination, there is another option. We are a Mercere House. In an extreme emergency, might House Mercere be similarly 'persuaded' that it is in their interest--particularly since a Mercere House is likely to come under attack from a powerful Magical enemy outside the Order--to allow us to use it for our travel? Again, suitable payments can be made, though self-interest might lower the price to be paid. Since the Mercere network is in play, we might also consult with Durenmar. If not, I have Arcane Connections which can reach there from my recent visit. Durenmar's library is vaster than ours, and, of equal importance, Phillipus Niger is there. He knows more about battling these foes than perhaps any alive in the Order today. The line of Flambeau is in jeopardy: HE is Flambeau, and a guardian sworn to protect. He is also old, and may not be able to join us, however, he has resources which might benefit and has many contacts of his own."
OOC: I am basing the Arcane Connections remarks on what was experienced in the Magic Realm and what the SG told us.
The fact that Arcane Connections don't work in the Magic Realm is beyond a serious crimp. It means that Penetration will be exceeding difficult to achieve and can only be boosted using Vis (which in 5th Ed. gives a paltry bonus of +2 unless one is a Chtonic expert or Infernalist with seriously Infernal Vis to get the traditional +5 bonus) and a small measure of Confidence.
Concerning character design, you'll excuse me, but I had to put up with Octavian screaming about me being a Power Gamer because of the diversity of Vares' interests, and now you're saying that it ISN'T ENOUGH? Vares has a fair range of combat spells for different environments and circumstances--at least one or two of them quite potent, especially with his Flexible Magic--but if I'd even considered designing him as a Combat Monster I would have expected a different kind of meltdown. Vares is actually effective in combat, however, his skills and abilities are suited toward stealth strikes and not straight-up flaming slugfests. He's a Flambeau interested in other aspects of Fire than just destruction: Illumination, Creation, and Transformation are all essential to it's nature.
OOC if you have the lore (I leave it for ST to determine that) it is not that arcane connections don't work in magic realm. It is crossing into the realm breaks the connection. If you get the connection in the magic realm, it will work until you leave the realm.
I see I have stirred things up
Right off the bat, I will admit that I am taunting you guys somewhat. You are not weak and ineffectual magi. Not as powerful as I imagined, but I figured if I taunt you a little it will put some fear into you and inspire you to reach within and give it all you got.
In my quoting below, I changed it to name your characters and to give each voice a distinct color.
Antonio: [color=red]I have knowledge and mastery of the spells needed to transport you to anywhere I can see or hold an Arcane Connection to. I will send seven elite soldiers to assist you.
OOC: by the way, this would be a fantastic opportunity to create a grog or companion if you have not already done so. Or you can adopt a pre-existing grog.
Oh, Lady P! Since Rodrigo is leading the expedition, he is certainly going to take Jehan along to accompany him. You are being assigned a pair of Red Boots.
That’s a good point. If you are taking all this vis with you, you might as well use it against the efreet rather than just hand it over to him.
Rodrigo: As for a water enemy, it doesn’t work quite the way you are imagining. Even water based jinni are essentially beings of fire. This efreet can take a fire-based or fire-infused form if he desires, or he can compose himself as normal flesh and blood. Kyhron is aligned with the element of Fire though, this is true. However, some efreet are earth aligned instead, others may be both. Efreet are often immune to fire, and some are immune to mundane weapons as well. But efreet are not harmed by water anymore than anyone else is harmed by water. In fact, as a magical being he is immune to Depravation and cannot drown. Then again, if he is in an underwater environment, this would serve to nullify much of his fiery power.
Not to discount your brainstorming, I merely seek to “challenge” your ideas. I figure you should have a Tytalean appreciation for thesis-antithesis dialogue.
Hmmm…, I just invented an out-of-paradigm concept. Since it reminds me of haggling, I shall name it the “Haggle Dialectic”.
Killing him might be easier
Antonio: [color=red]She can fly. Carmen is overspecialized in Auram magic, trying to compete with me in my own expertise. I had to force her to learn Pilium of Fire. Trust me, you just get Carmen free from whatever shackles or prison she is in, and she will be good on her won. For her Gauntlet, I did it the old fashioned Spartan-style that Flambeau magi of an earlier age used to do. I dropped her off in the Maghreb desert, blindfolded and unaware of where she was, no supplies or equipment. She had to find her way home on her own, and did it in less than a week.
Playing with volcanoes is indeed dangerous, but fun!
And there is another way, I just thought of it myself earlier. But I am keeping it a secret for now.
Awesome idea!
Antonio: [color=red]As a being of magic, both the Divine and Infernal affect him adversely. Some efreet are aligned with the Infernal, but I don’t think this one is. Then again, how can I be certain?
As for Soloman, he was indeed a master of many jinni. The Marid Malik of the Djinni, Ed-Dymrat, was one of his vassals. Then there came a time when Soloman and his jinni went to war against the Efreet Sons of Ilbis, and when he defeated them he imprisoned them in brass bottles sealed with lead.
Rodrigo: Antonio is cocky and overconfident. He thinks he can do anything and others should be able to as well. But there may be ways of making a volcano erupt, don’t rule it out entirely. I personally believe that the whole “one-hundred year cycle” legend is a bit too coincidental. The captive we rescued back in the day, it just so happened to coincide with the year the volcanoes were do? Hardly likely. My theory is this is an event that occurs whenever the highest level of the regio is attained, which is a feat so rarely achieved that it only happens one in a very long while.
Antonio: [color=red]Eh? None that I know of.. But there is one exception to the rule you mention. Vestiges. Vestiges are reflections of objects and concepts from the mundane world, and could possible maintain a connection that transverses the twilight realm.
Now you are thinking. That is a much better way of using your resources than just handing them over. My taunting seems to have been effective.
Rodrigo: Certainly. The Mercere Quarter will assist us freely in any way possible. This is a security concern for them, for they have a vault of their own guarded by these walls. Transportation can easily be provided.
Antonio: [color=red]Phillipus Niger! He can get knotted by a dragon’s horn! Next time I see him, I am going to force him into certamen with the victory condition being that I get to drop him in the far wastelands of the frozen north, unclothed and lacking all Arcane connection tokens home.
Backstory: You may think that Phillipus Niger is utterly grim and stoic, but he actually has a dark and morbid sense of humor. At Symposiums of the Archmagi, he likes to play cruel pranks on other magi who pass out from drunkenness and fail to awake before sunrise to recast their Parma.
Exactly. It isn’t that they don’t work in the Magic Realm. It is that they are “interrupted” by the border between here and there. Also, the provide a bonus to rolls to navigate the Twilight Void from place to place, between Boundaries and through Vestiges.
Vares has a Magic Lore of only 2, but his Magic Theory is at least 5, and he has been to the Magic Realm at least once. He would know this, and if he didn’t, somebody wiser (like you ) would correct him.
I was just taunting you. And I had a moment of doubt about you guys, but this brainstorming session of yours has filled me with hope! Let’s see how itt plays out and if you can prove yourself the warrior you claim to be.
And you got me with Illumination. Creation/Transformation, that’s your thing.
"This is something I want clear, this is not an attack mission. Anyone that can get through the aegis here and still get off powerful effects can perhaps burn any one of us past our guaqrds with magic and very few of us will have parma to negate it. Antonio was lucky. We can't rely on luck and getting the first spells off and defeating him." Ameline is clear in her words.
"I concur", Marie says, supporting Ameline's point, "plus, killing an efreet is so coarse, where is the fun in that? Nothing elegant and subtle about it - let's outsmart him.
How long will it take to seek the dragon's advice?
As for traveling arrangements: Using Mercere Portals may be preferable, particularly if we go shopping at Verdi" (needless to say, her eyes start turning into mythic pound signs at the thought. She's a woman after all). But it all is a question of minimising warping.
ooc: do Mercere Portals cause warping in your saga?
Hearing of a different 'trigger' for the passage into the Arc of Fire, Vares' attitude is mollified somewhat. He is impressed (though not surprised) by the reach of Antonio's travel magic. Utilising the Mercere Portals strikes him as likely preferable. "Then either one of us or one of the Mercere should make the trip to Durenmar to seek help there while others make different preparations. The Dragon--how long will it take to find him? Do you have a link near his lair, Antonio?"
The views expressed by Ameline and Marie are, for their differing reasons, comprehensible. He doesn't entirely agree with the conclusion regarding Khyron. "Do you think that the Efreet would agree to make it an ongoing game to satisfy both his need for revenge and slake what boredom might accrue with his immortality? There are tales of such things happening in the history of the Order. The pawns and other pieces rarely enjoy it. If we are to act against Khyrom, we must either do it with a finesse that will defuse an urge for yet another retaliation, giving deference to Aeschylus' warning of the cycles of vengeance, or else enter with the intent of eliminating the threat he poses permanently. If it is possible to do so to an 'immortal'."
OOC: Mercere Portals will take anyone to Harco, Durenmar, and Magvillus, but I don't think that there's one to Verdi itself. The closest is just outside Magvillus unless Verdi's added one recently. Alternatively, one could take the Mercere Portals to Harco, Harco to Venice, and then approach the Verdi delegation there. As part of the sale they might allow the group to use their own Hermes Portal to Verdi, but that'll only add to the Warping. I think that it was stated as an exotic property of Mercere Portals that they DON'T cause Warping, or else the effective careers of Redcaps would be cut short by the rapid accumulation.
Antonio: [color=red]It wasn’t luck, it was skill! Luck happens to be one of my skills
Rodrigo: See? That’s why I like this kid. A Flambeau that thinks ahead (glares at Antonio). Look, I know you ladies might be squeamish when it comes to violence. Our number one priority is rescuing Carmen, and after that we focus on doing what it takes to insure our safety and security. This isn’t about being “elegant” or having “fun”. We do whatever it takes to get Carmen and get out alive. No matter how coarse and brutal we need to be. If it is possible to do it in a sneaky manner that doesn’t require combat, that would be excellent and indeed a preferred strategy. But if we have to kill score of efreet to get the job done, so be it. No one gets left behind, no one goes unavenged.
As for Khyron, we have to put an end to this once and for all. He will just keep coming and coming, toying with us and dominating over our covenant. Only dogs lie down after a beating, and we are not dogs. Killing him is just one solution. It is my preference, but it is only one option. Other options will be examined, but all options remain on the table until the problem is solved. It also might be possible that we can trap him, trick him, bind or weaken him. But something must be done. This is our opportunity and motivation to do so.
Marie recalls a Tytalean fable, the sort that places Tytalus as the Protagonist and the other founders in iconic roles. The issue at hand was what to do abut the wizard Varstus, an evil necromancer who was forming his own order of magi to oppose Bonisagus. Jerbiton sought a peaceful solution, and claimed that violence never solves anything. Wise Tytalus knew better, and to respond he asked Flambeau what the Carthaginians would have to say about that. Flambeau answered that they could say nothing, since they were killed by the Romans. The next day, Flambeau and Tytalus went to confront Varstus and successfully used violence to solve the problem.
That’s something I never considered before. I would say no. The Target of a Hermes/Mercere Portal is the ground that the two sides of the portal stand upon. Designed specifically for that ground, there is no initial warping. But there would be a slow accumulation of warping for a continuous effect (split between the two sides), and if the portal had existed for a long time but was then destroyed, an Arcane Connection would linger on for at least as long as the portal had stood.
Antonio: [color=red]He won’t respond to me. But Carmen, Dimir Taar, and Inigo were each given a coin as a token to represent the favor owed.
Inigo will volunteer to use his coin to call in a favor, and can go meet with the dragon while the rest of you are on your way (handy use for an NPC left behind by a former player )
OOC: Robert A. Heinlein, paraphrased about seven hundred and thirty-five years early. Or about eight hundred to eight hundred and fifty depending upon the internal chronology of "Starship Troopers".
"If the Dragon owes a favour to Carmen as well, then invoking that may make him even more inclined to offer aid," Vares suggests to Inigo.
"I am willing to make the trip to Durenmar, first. I would send a Mercere--one should accompany me--to examine the Great Library's records on the Efreet and this particular phenomenon as quickly as possible." He looks at Antonio, whose earlier eruption may question part of his other suggestion. "Phillipus Niger may be willing to speak to another Flambeau, and for me it is a matter of my charge and not a 'personal' one."
OOC: I'm not determined to have Vares make the trip to Durenmar, but it would be a good idea to have someone do it, and it is within easy reach via Mercere Portal. The Great Library is bound to have relevant information, though extracting it quickly won't be easy and will doubtless require an additional "gift" to the staff as an incentive. Phillipus Niger really is one of the best experts to consult, and outside of Verdi he's one of those most likely to have a weapon capable of destroying or severely weakening the Efreet. He's a Protector and of another of the major Flambeau lineages who could be moved to aid in the rescue of one who may be the Lumina. Again, there's no expectation that he'd join the expedition, only offer advice and perhaps some magical item backup or maybe a contact.
Andorra has a massive library. Why don't you try looking up our own reconds and notes on Khyron, and the books of Magic Lore we may have in stock.
[i]Catalogue of Magical Beasts and Beings[/i]:
Magic Lore Summa (L 3, Q 9) Author: Ewald of Bonisagus Notes: Andorran Catalogue of Magical Beasts and Beings
Written by a member of Andorra from a former generation, Antonio’s knowledge (and mostly accurate) knowledge of genies came from this book.
[i]Commentary on "Catalogue of Magical Beasts and Beings"[/i]:
Magic Lore Commentary (Q 7) Author: Antonio of Flambeau Notes: In his commentary, Antonio details his actual encounters had with various specific beasts; such as Griffons, Fire Drakes, Ogres, Genies, Efreet, Storm Drakes, Wyverns, and the Dragon of the Balearic Isles.
This book also includes the details of the story he had just recently told you of his previous adventure.
[i]Concerning Auras, Regiones, and the Magic Realm[/i]:
Magic Lore Tractatus (Q 11) Author: Arturius of Bonisagus (a famous Bonisagus author, and if you went to Durenmar to research you will probably find more of his books)
[i]Tales of the Jinni[/i]: Magic/Faerie Lore Tractatus (Q 8 ) Author: Yusf Ex-Miscellanea (Com +1) Notes:
This is the book they received from Estancia-es-Karida to help prepare them for the earlier journey.
Philipius Niger will not help you. Why should he? He doesn't like Antonio, he doesn't like the Knights of Seneca, he doesn't like magi of other Houses, he doesn't like Flambeau magi not of the Apromor lineage, he doesn't like most other Apromor magi (though he respects a few). He likes his familiar, who is pretty indifferent about it. And if you want to study a library other than Andorra's, I suggest Barcelona or Estancia es Karida.
Or maybe the Lost Library of Valencia!
"An old dragon of fire would be an interesting match for an efreet. Still we don't go in planning to kill and destroy. We go to rescue Carmen. Better to show mercy and perhaps end the feud and make peace. Many of the founders were enemies at one point but they were befriended and the order became stronger. There is power in virtue." Ameline just isn't violent or inclined to battle and isn't going to change on that.
. And even I still get called a kid sometimes, and I am ancient!
