"That would be wonderful," Lucas replies and steps into the council chamber. "Greetings, sodales," he says to all of the gathered magi and magae. "Thank you for your trust in me. I shall do my best to show you that it was not misplaced. I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the coming months and years."
Roberto looks anxious to finish up. That is fantastic and I am glad you are full of zeal and enthusiasm. I hope that your vim and vigor are an example for us all. But anyway, having concluded the business for which we have convened, I hope you will all pardon me as I must get going. I have a hot date tonight. :mrgreen:
A curious look from Arachné
So you have. Well, enjoy your date, young flame. I shall... she raises from her seat have a quiet walk, and then return to my quarters. I have work to do for you.
In winter 1234, she crafts 2 4-charge Web of Dreams for Roberto. In spring 1234, she crafts 3 3-charge Weaver of Dark Webs.
I shall have to think about what she can do for him the other 3 seasons of 1234.
As the meeting breaks up, Lucas muses that this is probably the shortest council meeting he'll ever attend - no doubt there will be times he wishes they were this short. But there would be many times for that in the coming months and years. For now, he looks around for the magus who matches the description he'd gotten for Vocis. Spotting him among the small group, Lucas approaches and bows his head in greeting. "Good morning, Master Vocis," he says. "I've been hoping to talk to you about the covenant's library. I was librarian in my previous covenant, and was hoping that I might continue such duties here as your assistant. It won't be quite so easy to do so from Mallorca, but I'm sure I can manage to be of some help. Also, I wanted to speak with you about how those of us serving in the Sa Dragonerra Chapterhouse might borrow books from the library to study, and whether the llibrary might be able to accommodate some volumes that I'm bringing with me."
BTW, at some point, Arachné will talk to lucas about why she acted like she did.
Basically:
- She was part of an covenant of specialists called Insidiae. They investigated the ruins of a covenant that had been destroyed by some unknown ennemy, but were ambushed. Hastily retreating to Insidiae, they were followed and attacked. She was the only survivor, aside from some grogs and servants.
- She sought refuge and rest in Andorra, and it was granted. Yet, while it was away, Andorra too was attacked, her friends disappearing into twilight, possibly final. This may, or not, be related.
So there's either one powerful ennemy outside that guns form covenants, or that, plus one that aims for Andorra. And it may return. Since coming here, she has thus worked to improve our defenses. And is seeking help.
Re: Arachne's explanation
Lucas is completely understanding of Arachne's caution. He acknowledges that covenant security is a very important thing, all the more so when credible threats have been identified. And he's actually relived that the covenant warden takes things so seriously. As for helping with security, he's willing to do what he can. His own skills with harnessing and tethering may help. He can work some transformations that could be useful for the covenant guards to employ, though he really needs to get his Terram up if they want to carry their weapons with them when they transform. If Arachne has any other suggestions as to how Lucas can be of help, he'll be more than happy to hear them.
If Arachné was still 20, Lucas would see the sparks and unicorns in her eyes.
Like
But she's older, wiser and grimer now. So she'll just smile and bow slightly.
I thank you, sodales. I really appreciate this. Truth be told, I am sure you can greatly complement what we have here, and I shall readily put forth suggestions toward you... once I have the time to wrap my head around what you can do.
"In the meanwhile," Lucas says, "I shall try to shore up my abilities to defend the covenant. I'm afraid it's all too easy to let those abilities atrophy when you're in a House Mercere covenant."
(you just missed a gif 
Vocis smiles broadly and claps Lucas on the shoulder. Well, if you're seeking a librarian position, contributing books is certainly a good start. But first, welcome to the covenant and please accept my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. Mica mentioned a new magus had arrived, but I've been too busy in the lab to make the rounds. Perhaps you could join my wife and me for dinner on Sunday?**
As to your interest in being a librarian, I'm willing to take you on if we can find a way for you to contribute from Sa Dragonera. The difficulty there also ties into your other question concerning borrowing books. The current library rules require journeymen to seek my permission before books can be taken from the covenant grounds, and unfortunately Sa Dragonera is considered outside the covenant grounds for these purposes. I've implemented this policy for the same reason your presence there will ensure your rapid elevation to Master - the area's magical defenses are virtually non-existent. As you've likely heard, the library was badly damaged four years ago. Consequently, I'm somewhat overprotective of what we've accumulated since then. I'm sure you can understand, having served as a librarian yourself.
Hmmm...how often do you travel? I know the schedule Redcaps keep but I'm less familiar with the House responsibilities of Mercere magi. I'm currently focused as much on acquisitions as I am on protecting what we have, so your librarian role could be to support our book trade while you're living in the Balearics. You may also earn a stipend from the covenant for any season spent in such an activity. I'll have to confer with Solomon and Carmen to work out those details. Did you have any other specific duties in mind?
Oh, and I will make our scribes available to copy your books as soon as you'd like. What titles did you bring?
**Vocis actually invites every new member of the covenant to dinner at his home at least once just as a 'get to know you' visit. His wife Amelia is the typical friendly grandmother, understanding of the Gift, and a good cook, so it's a pleasant experience unless the guest chooses to make it otherwise (even if she doesn't like you, which was the case with Pere). The Transylvania thread notwithstanding, these dinners really don't have ulterior motives. 
You never invited Roberto to dinner. I would have remembered that. Fleur and Pere might feel left out also 
That's why I added the footnote in my post with Lucas. This is something Vocis did with all the new people (and all the old people too), but it wasn't a big enough deal to make a special point of RPing it each time. In this case it just happened to flow naturally from an unrelated conversation. Otherwise it's just background fluff to demonstrate that Vocis views the covenant and the Order as an extended family. And to show that he's not the evil, manipulative Tremere people seemed to think he was early on. Yes, I'm aware of and enjoying the irony of that one. 
Sure, sure, whatever you say.
So what did you and Roberto discuss at dinner? What are some of his opinions on the matters you talked about?
:mrgreen:
handwaver
Guilty as charged. :mrgreen: These would all have been 'get to know you' events, no shop talk. In Roberto's case, I assume he regaled Vocis's family with tales of high adventure, Amelia found him charming, and Vocis's grandkids thought he was the awesomest thing on Earth. With Fleur, Amelia would have treated her like a niece and suggested potential suitors, with a high probability of girl-only talk involving the two of them and Mica as soon as Vocis could politely escape. With Pere, Amelia saw right through his charming dissembler act, disliked him immediately, and warned Vocis after dinner to keep Mica away from him.
I will let it all slide only because of your exceptionally accurate description of how the grandkids think Roberto is the awesomest 
The storm was fierce and the waves were rough. It threatened to break us, so I summoned all the reserves I could muster and commanded the ship to rise up out of the sea! A feat well beyond my natural skill, but the situation was stressful and dire, and I was confident that the Lord wold not fail me in this time of need. But then behold! A great waterspout rose against us, then another! Certainly some enemy sorcerer commanded devils of the sea against us! But my determination was not to be denied that day, and so I flew the ship up over the whirling columns of water...
"In fact, I wanted to speak to you about the possibility of a contribution," Lucas replies. "I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time when a winter covenant fell to pieces, and was able to obtain three very choice volumes, though they were still very dear, even given the situation. I have copies of Mutare Naturam Magicam by Andronicus of Mercere [Muto Summae, L20/Q11], Catalogus Plantarum Mysticum, by Johann of Merinita [Herbam Summae, L18/Q13], and Ad Operationem Corporis, by Petrus of Bonisagus [Corpus Summae, L20/Q10]. Three very important summae on their respective topics, muto, herbam, and corpus."
"Now as I say, these books came at a very dear cost to me. But I'd be willing to dedicate them to the covenant under the right circumstances. In particular, I was thinking that our charter says that a journeyman must perform three important services to the covenant before being made master. Acquiring even two books of this caliber is quite a task. I'd like to propose that dedicating two of these volumes to the covenant library be counted as one of my services. The third, I propose keeping in the library as a surety against any book that I take to Mallorca for study. And in due time, when I eventually return to Andorra, the third book will then become part of the permanent collection as well." He smiles a reassuring smile. "I don't expect any kind of answer right now, of course, but I wanted to put that bug in your ear so you could consider it."
"And I must say, that I like your proposal that I help with acquisitions. As a Mercere magi, I'm very familiar with the book trade. I was also thinking that I might serve to coordinate any library activities that occur in the Balearics. Not that there will likely be much traffic. But there may be some. It might be helpful to have a man on the spot to deal with any issues. Beyond that, there are tasks that I can perform in the library while in Andorra - I expect I'll be here if not frequently, at least not infrequently. I can also work to copy some of the magical texts for sale if that's necessary. It's a tedious job, as we both know. But if there's to be a book trade, it needs to be done."
"As for travel, House Mercere is much more easy-going with its Gifted magi." He stresses the word 'Gifted' as he speaks. "Not that I'm trying to lecture you," Lucas adds in an aside. "But remember that all Redcaps are officially recognized by the Order as magi, albeit unGifted magi. Some Redcaps get bent out of shape when it's implied they aren't magi. Just a word to the wise, especially since you've got a Mercere Guildhall here. No sense accidentally or unintentionally insulting a Redcap when it can be avoided."
"In any case, the House usually requires that Gifted magi only spend one season every cycle delivering messages. To be perfectly frank, there aren't enough of us around to require any more. But that one season keeps us grounded, so it serves its purpose. And it may be that the House will have different tasks for me than delivering messages this cycle."
[hr][/hr]
Lucas will happily accept Vocis's invitation, apologizing that his wife is not here yet. Amelia will have no trouble with Lucas, as he has the gentle Gift. He's a good conversationalist [Com +2], so he can keep up his side of the conversation. And he'll avoid shop talk, so Amelia doesn't feel left out, though he won't be able to help but talk about his children. All in all, he'll enjoy himself and have a fine time. He'll also be sure to promise to return the favor as soon as is practical, though with him setting up shop in Mallorca, that might not be so easy.
He might get your ass in a silver plate for implying that he might be treating redcaps badly :mrgreen:
Vocis can't help but smile. Oh, I definitely want you working on acquisitions. I need to compare your books against those currently in the library and possibly discuss the matter with the other Masters, but it doesn't sound unreasonable. If you could leave the books with Nicasi in the library for now, I'll try to find time to peruse them in the next week or two.
A flicker of annoyance passes Vocis's face, but he turns it into a half-smile and says Good point. I don't think I've stepped on any toes yet, but I also haven't needed to differentiate between a Redcap magus and a Gifted Mercere magus in casual conversation. I'll be more careful with this now that it's likely to come up.
Lucas may be Amelia's new favorite member of the covenant. She certainly insists on hosting again once your wife and children have moved to Andorra.
Nah, Vocis feels it's bad form to thrash a magus in Certamen for being both polite and correct. :mrgreen:
"The books aren't here yet," Lucas replies. "But I'll see that they make it to the library within the week. I'll wait to move the bulk of my belongings until I find a place in the Balearics to settle. But the books I'll bring right away. In fact, I'll feel safer once they're properly settled into the library. I do hope they prove valuable to the covenant."
Lucas is a Mercere. I've always imagined that they're a fairly easy-going and likable house. He'll be more than happy to take Amelia up on the offer as he would like to introduce the two to his wife and children. Like as not the whole family will be staying in Andorra for a few weeks until Lucas can find an appropriate place in Mallorca and arrange to get his stuff moved there.
Knowing how people are, I have to imagine that there are some Redcaps with a real chip on their shoulder about being magi and who react badly when someone implies that they aren't (or even has the audacity to simply not include the proper honorific). I've seen that kind of reaction from PhD's, lawyers, etc., and I can't imagine it's any different with magi.
I know we still haven't finished the Pamplona thread, but do we want to take care of Acutus' introduction to the Council and petition? I'm assuming it happens sometime in Summer of 1234 given that the Pamplona thread is in Spring 1234. I assume Fedora would be the one introducing him.