The potions have some kind of Intellego enchantments; non-Hermetic and not tied to any specific form. The rods he does not quite comprehend; they are not enchanted in any usual sense, nor are they under an effect, but they do have an air of magic.
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Thom's curiosity has him quickly moving on to look into Cottage 8, the Barley Cottage.
He finds what Thadeus found; does he study anything in particular?
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Thom scratches his head. D'oh.
He moves over to Cottage 4, the Turnip Cottage.
Betula casts Chime of the Nearby Vis [casting total 32/2 = 16 = SUCCESS Personal, Moon, Hearing]
Since there appears to be no one here Betula enters each of the cottages in turn. Listening closely to whether she hears any vis in each cottage but she does not disturb anything.
After examining each of the cottages she approaches the Oak and casts Converse with Plant and Tree [Success CT = 41, Pen = 16]. "Grandfather Oak?" She says to the tree, again giving it time to respond between questions, "How many winters has it been since you have heard people like me about?"
"Do you know of another exit from this place?"
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Betula goes to Cottage 2 after Cottage 1 and fine a similar kitchen. There are fewer storage cupboards here, instead there are several beds in the main room, in addition to the bed in an alcove, which she could also find in Cottage 2. One top shelf displays three vials one with a white scarf and two with red scarves.
Cottage 3 has a work table laid out with several maps. The master rack of shelves features four pieces of quartz and three pieces of polished wood, all smelling strongly of vis. The shelf below it contains a pile of books.
OOC. I'll save Cottage 4 for when @temprobe and @Lothindil have had a chance to follow up, but feel free to dig a little deeper in the Cottages you have entered. Thom and Betula will get to Cottage 4 at the same time.
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Hearing about potions, Sionag will go to see this more in details. Maybe her knowledge on mythic herbalism, apothicary and medecine could help to identifie in details potions.
The most nicely wrapped potions make little sense to Sionagh. Thadeus says they are magical, but the magic is not one known in their traditions. The other substances that can be found in Cottage 2 make more sense. There are many common healing herbs, although they seem to have been stored longer than recommended. Much is certainly spoiled. The dried ones may be useable, if one can avoid crumbling them.
Cottage 6 is less pleasant, and Sionagh does not know half of it, but she does identify a few poisonous substances.
Thom heads out toward the tree and sits beneath its boughs, resting and thinking.
As he rests, he looks about the area from his vantage beneath the boughs of the big Grandfather Oak, looking in particular for any sign of the small, lesser faeries that sometimes live in magical gardens and areas. [Second Sight: 19]
Thom also generally considers the area, the feel of the regio. He looks wistful, perhaps remembering his years living in another regio.
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Thom and Betula enter Cottage 4. Like Cottage 8, it is half scriptorium and half kitchen, containing even more papers than the first scriptorium. Along the walls there are many cupboards, and the ones behind the reading stand look like book cases, but with closed doors, you do not know. The ones on the opposite side of the room look lighter and probably belong to the kitchen.
Stooping over the letters on the big work table, they hear a firm voice out of nowhere. «Don't touch.»
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Thom looks around.
"Hello?"
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There is no immediate reply. Was it a trick of the mind?
Betula heard it too, but only Betula knows that.
"Hello?" Betula says. Then she looks under the table and then begins looking into cabinets for the source of the voice.
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There is no sound.
"You heard that too?" asks Thom as he goes back to the table with the letters.
He looks down at them, not touching them, to see if he can read anything on them.
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Betula picks up a letter from the table.
When Betula opens the most prominent cabinet, she finds three nicely bound books on the centre shelf, and a dozen cheap and soft bound books on the shelf below. The other shelves hold letters only. «Leave those to me,» says the voice. «Please close it.»
When she reaches for the letter on the table, just before she touches is, it flies away landing neatly in a pile. There wasn't a wind, was there?
"Hmmm. Some sort of protection magic? Perhaps to cause an apprentice to keep their mitts off things?" offers Thom as he tries to make out any words on the letters or anything else he can read to identify the "who" of this cottage.
Betula focuses on her second sight hoping to see what might be invisible such as a spirit or an invisible person [Per + Sec Sight roll = 26 + 1 if spirit spec applies].
She does not immediately see anything, but searching a little, she sees the figure over in the alcove. It is a man in his prime, dressed in a dark grey robe, most likely a ghost. «It is ok, I can handle it. Better you help the others.» It sounds more like an Imaginem effect than the actual spirit talking.
Thom will see it too, at second sight 11+, if he searches or Betula draws attention to it.