The casts scatter to the four winds when Kalliste turns into a lioness. She can meet with the Caput at the inn or ship depending on where they can find each other. I assume that arrangements have been made ease finding one and other.
The inn if it's before midnight or so. My ship later than that. I don't have a good sense of how long her scouting took, but that's what I would have arranged (I don't have a room at the inn, I was just using its common area for food/drink/socialization)
There are some lines I could follow up, focusing on trying to get to know the guards, but as she's found what looks like a covenant of magi and wants to check with Quaesitores, maybe I should wait on that (since if we get permission to just go in to offer "join or die", or if they turn out to be a legit covenant but perhaps pushing the limits of the peripheral code, our approach is going to be radically different from if they remain an enigma).
My instinct is to pull back and find out if they're known in the tribunal before doing more. We want to be on the right side of this with respect to the Order. It's enough that we've learned they really do magic and really are associated with this prince.
Kalliste returns to the inn probably about an hour or two after dusk. It took her a while to find the right building flying in the dark. She descends to meet with her fellow magus and really needs to get herself a familiar so that they can be a liason with the other mages.
"Let us go where we are assured of privacy, I have discovered some things of interest. One such that we might need to seek out queasitors."
My ship is surely private, but if she believes her inn room is safer, we can get our business done before I leave for my ship
(chasing off Caput's old enemies can happen before or after Kalliste's meeting)
Caput will share with Kalliste what his men learned about the servants, and the fact that the guards are most likely the way into the palace if infiltration is the goal. They are growing in numbers, with more new faces than any of the serving staff, and are more often out of the palace, either on their own or bodyguarding servants.
ooc- part of my problem with the prior post is continuing confusion of timing in the stories. So I'm going to just assume that this conversation takes place after I've heard from most of my teams but before my anchor watch is done in the tavern getting food/drink after their shift. So I can pass along what I learned, but the altercation with the rival gang won't happen till after we leave the Inn.
As Kalliste returns, Caput will separate himself from his men, who are busily engaged in eating whatever the Inn is serving in the late dinner hour. He tells his men "Wait for me here until my business with this lady is done."
When Caput's back is turned, his henchmen grin and whisper at each other. They seem to approve of their Captain spending time with an attractive woman privately. Caput seems unaware of their reaction as he focuses back on Kalliste.
"I am afraid my own quarters are on my ship, rather far from here. Should we adjourn to your room or that of your colleague? It seemed private enough earlier today. I have some information to share as well, but it is not of such moment as to interest those who follow Guernicus."
He seems inclined to let Kalliste take the lead on the venue, and will refrain from further comment until she decides whether to just go upstairs, or venture out to his ship.
"Perhaps our ship might be better. I know what ears will be listening there. Sure it is up on the docks for repairs but we can still meet inside it with our crew to watch over. What I have encountered is somewhat disturbing and is a matter for Judges provided that I don't just deal with it on my own." Kalliste says softly. She is Tytalus, she relishes the idea of conflict but the fact that all the palace cats are intelligent and pussiant fighters, disturbs her. "Inn walls are known to have ears at times."
She will wait for agreement before leading the way to the covenant ship.
ooc - I am a little at a loss with respect to the combat resolved earlier in the thread. the setup could have happened before Kalliste got back, but as the confrontation happened on the way back should we assume that Kalliste was present but chose to just observe? I'd kind of like to know if the fight happened or not before we discuss things at my ship.
Caput did not want to insult her hotel room, but he seems a little happier since Kalliste chose the ship.
"I need to escort my men back to the ship, to ensure they don't get into trouble. We've been under observation from, shall we say, rivals, and I don't wish to leave them vulnerable this late at night. Do you wish to accompany us overtly, or follow incognito? Or would you prefer we make our ways separately to your ship - I will join you as soon as I get my men safely home."
Caput figures that if she wants secrecy, she won't want his sailors snooping about at her ship.
"You can meet me at my ship. You wouldn't be able to keep up with me anyways and I prefer to avoid troubles that might bother me on the ground." She will softly speak as to which dock, the ship is at. She then slips up to her inn room and then in the form of an eagle, she flies out into the night to where her ship is docked. Once she is at the ship, she shifts back down and then conjures clothing and comes back up to tell the men to expect a visitor of the order. "The name is Caput and he will ask for me by name. Call me to come up to meet him in case it is someone trying to impersonate him."
Once safely back to his ship Caput considers his options. If the Dominion was not so oppressive here, he would be tempted to approach Kalliste's ship from the sea, avoiding the intervening docks and streets. That might disturb her followers and risk fatigue in what has already been a long day, and the thought of disguising himself with magic also is not appealing for similar reasons.
That is no reason not to be better prepared. He will adjust his parma to only protect himself. He'll equip his buckler and chain hauberk, he will wear a long hooded cloak to somewhat conceal his identity and to cover his distinctive appearance. He will carry whatever lantern or torch is typical for a night traveler in this city (if that is "none" then he'll not carry any). His buckler will be in Jewelry mode, and his shield arm is what will carry the light source. He will attempt to walk confidently, like a predator, not like someone afraid.
intimidate = -3pre +5 leadership +? gift
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3019058/
He gets a 10, plus whatever effect the Gift has.
Assuming he makes it safely to the ship, he will address whomever is on watch. He will use his sword hand to pull back his hood, keeping his hand away from his weapon when he is done and hold up the light so that his features are easily seen. His left arm has an ornate elaborate bracelet covering most of his forearm.
"I am Caput, here to see Kalliste, your mistress. She should be expecting me."
"We were told to expect you." The crew will say and allow you to board. The ship is in drydock for repairs but the crew is still staying around it in shifts to watch it and it is a safe place to meet. They do not follow you onboard so it is only the two mages on board.
Kalliste sits waiting in the captain's cabin. One of the only cabins on the ship.
Caput is comfortable on the ship, automatically adjusting to its motions. He stands easy in the cabin with Kalliste. His concentration when speaking seems mostly to be on getting the details right - he isn't really interacting with Kalliste, not making any real effort to gauge her reactions. It is more like he is reciting a lesson to a master in tone, rather than a normal conversation.
"If you don't mind, I think I should report first, as what I found seems less important, but might perhaps add some details to what you learned."
"Briefly, the palace servants seem to be long service professionals, often hereditary. They leave the palace only accompanied by guards. This
seems partly to ensure their security against, say, kidnappers and partly to encourage them to remain silent about palace secrets."
"The guards, however, represent a weak point. Their number has rapidly increased lately, which means not only short term service which
is easier to subvert, but also they won't know each other well yet, which means impersonation is a far more likely possibility than with the
servants. It might even be possible to have one of our people actually join them legitimately, if they continue to expand. Having one of
ours join their pirate-hunters also seems like a promising avenue. It does not seem like they interact much if at all with the court wizards,
which is all to the good if we wish to infiltrate. My guess would be that the wizards have their own security, much as we do, people used
to uncanny events and who have long enough exposure to account for the effects of the Gift when reacting to their masters."
"Nothing I learned touches on the court magi yet, however. Magical infiltration might risk the Code if they be hermetic, but hiring one of our
people on would be mundane spying and thus legal. Were I working alone, that would have been my next step. It sounds as if you have
something much more specific to report though, which may change my preferred course of action.
"I am all attention."
"There are court wizards from the talk. There is a whole walls section of the ducal palace dedicated to the wizards and the aura there is magical. They either have familiars or cat shapeshifters that patrol the wall of that section. Ones smart enough to know what a duke is, what is forbidden by human sense of the word and stronger than your average cat. Normally cats care only about milk, rats, toys, scratches, romance and sleep. These were almost human. I have an in with the Steward's daughter but she is being bullied by three of the older boys and none of the adults seem to care about it." Kalliste's report is shorter and to the point. She is going to have to get a certain spell to boost her animal form before she heads in there again.
Caput looks thoughtful.
"While this does indeed look like a court wizard situation, it also has the look of a covenant. Magical protections, specialized guards, a magic aura - can we be certain they are not a real covenant that just made some arrangement with the local lord, while not actually being subject to him?
"I think your first instinct was correct. We must check with the tribunal Quaesitores to see if this gathering of mystics is a Hermetic covenant. If it is, we can open negotiations with them directly to mitigate the harmful effects of the Prince's policies. If it is not, we can then perhaps assemble the other magi of your covenant to force a 'join or die' conversation within the walls of their restricted area, hopefully avoiding any direct conflict with the mundane prince.
"Perhaps the two of us would be sufficient for such a conversation, but if we are to travel away to inquire on their Hermetic status anyway, it seems like there is no reason not to give the other members of your covenant the opportunity to participate. That would also make it convenient for me to petition for a place in your covenant, as I really do need a laboratory to finish some work that I have spent a decade pursuing."
"We have another day or two before our ship here is ready to sail. It took damage from a sea serpent and only my magic enabled it to keep from leaking. We still don't know why the duke suddenly increased his anti-piracy measures since that is not easy. We do need to get message to queasitors though so that investigations can go one and I need a few seasons in the lab to better prepare for conflict with these court wizards." Kalliste says.
At this point Caput is pretty much thinking out loud.
"Well...I could speed the process of informing the Quaesitores by sailing toward them while you are getting repairs done, but it seems to me that your word, as a representative of a covenant in good standing, would have more weight. Also you are the primary witness.
"Alternately I could wrap up my own business dealings here and wait to sail with you, working to ensure favorable winds for both of us. If we are going to take that approach, I would like to introduce my sailors to your sailors and discuss with them signal flag codes and similar details to ensure we don't have an unfortunate navigation accident that causes one of us to steal the wind of the other, or worse, collide."
"I could leave a man behind to try to get recruited to the guard. That would be a fairly risky prospect if we are to abandon him to his own devices. I'd rather not take such a step without being nearby to monitor. I'd rather hire a relative of one of my men who lives in this town to keep up on court gossip. It would be fairly easy to arrange for arcane links, if somebody at your covenant is good enough at scrying, remote communication or instantaneous travel to check in with him on a regular basis. My own talents in that area, are, I am afraid, primitive at best.
How do you want to handle this? Do you wish me to travel ahead, or with you? Do you wish to establish a spy of our own here?
The answer is slow to come, Kalliste needs to think of the options and choices. "We need to establish agents in the city and in the guard and palace. The guard is a start, suppliers to the castle would be good as well since those making deliveries get to talk a little with the staff. Perhaps someone to keep an eye on the children as well to protect from bullies. We also need to contact the quaesitors but that letter can be written anywhere and needs to go to the local archon that it can be assigned to the proper board of magistrates. I am in good standing so my word will mean something."
The question is should she stay here and the answer is no, she can easily get back to the covenant far faster than any ship and the ship will take time to repair and Nestor will need a way home. "If you have writing materials, I ask you write your report. I will then add mine and deliver it to archon and queasitors before returning to the covenant. this ship will remain for my covenmate and his daughter to return on. You can sail your own to our covenant. I will fly ahead as eagle after dawn and a full breakfast."
It is time to spend a seaon or two in the lab to better prepare for the next time. This is a conflict she isn't ready for but she will be next time. It will make her stronger.
Caput agrees and provides a written version of his report for her to carry. Aside from identification, it is close to word for word what he told her.
"I will see what I can do to leave an agent behind in the time it takes your ship to make repairs, and will then accompany the ship to your covenant - that lets Nestor guide me in, and allows me to generate favorable winds."
assuming that ends the interview - here is what Caput will try to accomplish before sailing to the covenant.
While waiting for the ship to be repaired, Caput's men will see if the Prince is still hiring, if so, one of my "social" grogs will attempt to join the guards.
Regardless of his success or failure, Caput will also arrange for a relative of one of his grogs to serve as a local agent, just paying attention to local gossip and being available to unusual methods of communication. (exactly how we'll communicate will depend on whether anyone at the covenant is good at either teleportation or long distance scrying - I will tell the person to expect written instructions on how to report information to arrive in future, and how to be sure the instructions are actaully from me but for now, they are just encouraged to just pay attention. Worst case I'll just have my ship stop there often enough to get reports, but I'd like something faster. That's something I'll bring up once at the covenant. I'll collect some arcane links before I leave to both the individual and places near where the person lives, and also to the grog who is hired as a grog, should he succeed.)
Kalliste writes her own report and then seeks to gain rest. Hopefully the night will pass peacefully and after a very hearty breakfast, Kalliste will assume the form of an eagle. Clenching a talon around the scrolls, she takes off to fly to the home of the archon for this region. She is glad though that it was not her turn to serve and she was not nominated for once the scrolls are delivered, she will be returning to the covenant to begin her researches.
From the quesiatoris you will just learn that there are some minor hedge magi at the service of the duke if it is even to that power level. They suspect that there are just some astrologers that attempt to pose as magi.
We call this story to an end and 5xp and a confidence point to everyone. You may now return to the other story.
Nestor remains sitting at the table, his shoulders stiff, feeling old. He starts wondering if bringing his daughter with him to open her arts was such a good idea after all.
There had been plenty of interruptions already, and his opponents were watching his eaching efforts closely. He'd be a laughingstock, if his daughter developed a deficiency in an Art because of his other activities.
The day before, his talk with the scribe had not really resulted in any important intelligence - no wonder if he had to keep an eye on his apprentice around the books.
He had returned to the inn and resumed teaching, konowing that his Gentle Gift and his social skills would be needed again when it came to facing the prince and his advisors, but he was secretly glad that they'd be going home now.