Morticia gazes at Eberhard intently, almost studying him curiously. The crooked teeeth are no surprise, many lowborn have bad teeth. But the eyes...the eyes intrigue her, and she wonders if they might be an indicator of something.
((Are all the texts listed in the wiki as "Saga start" in the "Availability" column in the wiki in the library, and theoretically borrowable for study?))
She spends her time, as much time as Petronius allows her, wandering the stacks, examining the tomes available, perusing the spell and lab texts, and mentally listing what she would like to study after her current project is done, and what she can contribute.
The black-haired librarian seems ill-at-ease under Morticia's scutiny, avoiding her gaze as much as possible by focusing his attention on Petronius. As soon as the magus thanks him, he scurries off back into the scriptorium adjacent to the library.
((Yes, the availability column indicates the point at which each book can be studied. For example, I just updated the availability for the Vim summa The Manipulation of Mystical Forces to indicate that starting in Autumn 1184 the book is available for study.))
While browsing the content of the library, Petronius mentions "Of course, copying books is not allowed, and you will have to remain in the library when studying." He smiles, "It is of course different for lab texts, since you will have to work in the lab to reinvent the spell. But in this case, make sure to notify Eberhard that you wish to use the text, so that he knows where it is currently should anyone else ask for it."
After perhaps half an hour of perusing the armarii, Petronius suggest that they move on.
Coming out of the library, he indicates the door on the other side of the corridor, which has a sanctum marker on it with Petronius' name. "This is the shared laboratory, which is off-limits to you as a guest. That restriction applies even if one of the members is not using it." He points towards the ceeling, "There is a second door leading to the lab upstairs."
Petronius leads Morticia back to the main hall, "You have seen the guests quarters here there," there are four doors on their left side as they come out of the corridor, "I am currently occupying the one nearest the library, as my own sanctum in the basement is not ready for habitation."
Morticia watches Eberhard take off, and makes a mental note to extend her parma over him whenever they have to interact from now on.
[color=blue]"Of course. As a guest, and someday as a resident, I would have no need to copy books unless it's needed for trade. Would I be permitted to gloss any books, or is that forbidden guests as well? And I may be able to contribute to the library. Will I be granted covenant for such a project?"
"That would be up to the council to decide," answers Petronius. "And I'm not completely familiar with all of our library -- some of the books may have been glossed already."
((In fact, I would tend to assume that most, if not all, of our higher-quality or high-level summae have already been glossed. These are not new books; they been copied from existing libraries.))
"Let's head upstairs," answers Petronius, leading the way to the circular staircase in the northern corner of the main hall. "As you already know," he continues as they come out unto the mezzanine above the hall, "this is where most of our sancta are located, including the visitor laboratory that you are occupying. Aedituus of Criamon occupies the one in the east corner," he points to the corresponding door, "while our cognatus Titus makes his home in the south corner. We have two more sancta that are currently unoccupied, although Praxiteles of Jerbiton has mentioned he might use one of them eventually, should he require a lab here." Petronius stops and turns to Morticia. "Did I mention that Praxiteles spends most of his time in Koblenz? He has a town house there, where he lives with his wife."
Petronius resumes the quick tour of the top floor, walking with Morticia towards Aedituus' sanctum. "Between Aedituus' and Titus' sancta, we have an area set for our more educated mundanes. For example, Eberhard lives there, as well as Sophie and Antonio, our illuminator and binder, respectively."
Coming before the door of Aedituus' lab reveals another set of stairs, which Petronius indicates. "These lead down to the mundane quarters of the first floor, giving quicker access to our servants when they bring us food or other supplies to our sancta. They also lead down to the cellars, although I must admit I seldom go there." He turns back the way they came, nodding his head towards the first set of stairs, to come back to the ground level. He stops there, although the stairs go down towards an underground level. "Down there will be my sanctum. It is not ready yet, as our stonemason and carpenter have been busy finishing the work on the other buildings and facilities. But with winter coming soon, they should be available to configure my own space." He smiles wistfully, before shaking his head, "Shall we head outside?"
[color=blue]"If you did, I missed it," Morticia replies. [color=blue]"It's surprising, though...unless his town house has a Magic Aura. I would think he would want to live where his studies would be the most effective, unless he has sentimental reasons for staying there."
[color=blue]"Is that where Alessandra and Cristofano would live, or would they live with the cook-staff?"
Petronius smiles, "Well, he's a Jerbiton and an artist, so he has different priorities than we do. Apparently he likes it better in the city -- he finds it more stimulating for his arts." He shrugs, "I don't fully understand it myself."
"We could check with Laurent, but I would assume it is. Unless your cook preferred living closer to the main kitchen. Petronius' right hand flutters around to express that such details are a bit beyond him. "I'm sure they've been assigned quarters that are appropriate for them."
((Just waiting to see if discussions about the inside of the main building are concluded before moving forward. Just let me know and I'll move forward.))
The tour continues as Petronius leads Morticia through the hall, now busy with grogs and servant, and out of the main door into the front yard. "The kitchen staff and servants keep gardens to supply as much fresh food as they can in the warm season. I must admit that it makes for a much nicer environment than a bare courtyard would. And, although I'm not much of a gardener myself, I appreciate the herbs and vegetables that they grow."
Turning right along the covered gallery, her fellow Bonisagus leads Morticia to a wide building. He gestures around with his left arm, turning her attention to the raised walls. "Our meager fortifications are mainly there to keep wild animals at bay and provide us with a boundary for the Aegis. The wall also gives us warning about any visitor, though the forest keeps those to a minimum. We secured exclusive rights to the forest from the local authorities -- that would be the archbishopship -- and the forest has a reputation for being haunted by ghosts." The inside of the log wall has a raised buttress of compacted earth and gravel, which allows the grogs to keep watch over the wall. It looks quite rudimentary to Morticia, used as she is to the stone walls of Italian cities.
Her fellow Bonisagus frowns a little, "I'm not an expert on ghosts and other Mentem manifestations, but there is something about those woods that spook mundanes. At night, particularly, they become skittish and nervous if left unprotected." He makes a little circling motion with his right index finger, "Extending our Parma seem to block the effects on them, so it is definitively something supernatural."
He shrugs, "On the other hand, from what I understood about what Aedituus said about the phenomenom, these are more remnants of spiritual presence than actual ghosts. Or something like that." His hands flutters up to show that he has limited understanding of the nuances.
Moving towards the wide building to the northwest of the main hall, Petronius changes the subject, "These are the living quarters for our grogs. Our captain is named Hans, while his two sergeants are Marcus and Emelric."
[color=blue]"I will have to speak with Aedituus about these phenomena. I have a little knowledge of ghosts, and I have the Second Sight. So if they are out there, I may be able to see them more easily than others. Are there any other dangers in our woods at night, that you are aware of?"
[color=blue]"I take it Lizetta is in good hands, then."
Petronius smiles, "I think she is. At least, my own shield grog seem to respect them all. She tells me that it is normal for the grogs to... How did she but it? He stops to try and remember the exact word. "Ah, yes, 'bitch and moan' about the training regimen and discipline." His eyes twinkle as relates the quote. "Anyway, your Lizetta she be treated well, as these things go. The fact that she is a woman should not be derided by the others, as we already have several female grogs serving in fighting positions. We treat all our people as equals, with the same rights, no matter what their gender is. It has helped us attract some fairly competent craftswomen."
By the time he finishes saying this, the two magi have reached the end of the main hall and turned right between it and the barracks, heading northeast while still under the protection of the covered walkway. The door into the barracks face one into the side of the main hall. "This is the door close to the library. Usually, the grogs were told not to use it, to prevent the comings and goings from disturbing us when we study. But it may come handy in case of an emergency."
As they keep walking, an archery butt can be seen at one end of an irregular cleared space inside the walls. More become visible as they reach the northern corner of the main hall: a second (smaller) entrance into the wall, small stables with a paddock. The covered gallery also comes at an end, leaving them to walk directly on the packed earth ground. "This leads out to a secondary site farther into the forest," explains Petronius as he gestures towards the small open gate and the path into the forest. "It takes about an hour to get there, so we can leave this part of the visit for another time if you'd prefer."
Morticia has been taking in everything, looking at everything with rapt attention.
She considers the choice Petronius gave her for a moment, then shrugs. [color=blue]"In for a baiocco, in for a lira. Might as well finish the tour now, while we may still do so unmolested."
"Let's tell Hans before we finish the tour here, then. That way, he can arrange for us to have grogs to accompany us." Petronius turns back towards the barracks, with Morticia following him. They enter the barracks and locate the grog captain, letting him know their intent. Hans is a man of medium height and delicate build, dark olive skin and black curly hair. "If you can assign us our personal shield grogs, that would be even better," concludes Petronius before thanking the captain and leading Morticia out of the barracks. From what she's seen, the turb's accomodations are well-tended and clean, as such things go.
Resuming their path around the main hall, Petronius quickly shows Morticia the hen house, kitchen and well. Then he suggest they go back to their quarters to change into more appropriate clothing for the walk to the secondary site. "It takes about an hour to get there."
Morticia returns to her chambers and quickly changes into something more comfortable – a loose fitting blouse, skirt, and comfortable walking shoes. Lizetta goes to the other extreme and dons her arms and armour, just in case. It is somewhat startling to see how the horribly disfigured woman towers over her charge, even as tall as Morticia is.
Once they're under way, Morticia peers off in every direction, as though she were looking for something. Especially while they're in the woods.
"To the old tower and back?" Katherine asks to Marcus the sergeant, when he relays the captain's orders to her. Marcus nods his badly scarred head in understanding, seeing what the tall shield grog is actually asking. "Light armor'll do fine, Kat." He looks at Lizetta's back as he even-taller Italian grog moves away towards the barracks. Once she's gone inside and clearly moved out of hearing range, he turns back to Kat. "Keep an eye on all of them and report to me once you're back. Dismissed."
"Aye, sir!" Kat doesn't salute, but she does straighten up and nod, before following Lizetta into the barracks.
When the magi return to the courtyard, the two grogs await their charges. The contrast is striking. Lizetta's tall frame armored up by heavy metal scales, clinking softly every time she moves. Katherine, looking almost like a normal-sized woman beside the Italian grog, is dressed much more comfortably, with a simple leather cuirass over traveling clothes. Both, however, brought their shield and weapons along.
As the groups move out into the forest, taking the path out of the secondary gate, Petronius soon notices Morticia's behaviour. "Looking for the ghosts?" He smiles as Morticia look surprised at his question. "They aren't perceptible during the day, for the most part. I've never seen them on this path, anyway."
Just as he says that, there is a very soft rustle amongst the brush just behind the group.
((Lizetta and Morticia should make an Awareness roll to notice. Ease factor is 9.))