In the pursuit of a representative on the board the turb leader and autocrat had a sit down to discuss the situation. The Turb leader, Gabriel, being narrowly cognizant of his status as a faerie wished to have a story which would gather vitality.
The Autocrat, Romanos, does not want to be seen as too heavy handed and wishes to improve covenant morale.
As such they have concluded that there should be an election for covenant representative.
Each is on the ballot, and they are opening up the rolls for anyone else who would like to be considered.
Gabriel quietly approaches Charmion. "I understand you wished to have a seat on the council as patroness of the covenant, and the charter has nothing in it to prevent you from being elected by the covenfolk."
Christophoros lobbies with the school's teachers and staff, as well as the scribing specialists, the copyists of the scriptorium and other erudite employees of the covenant. He tries to convince them that he would be a good representative for them amongst the magi.
Paulos stays in his kitchen, working away, but gathering bits of information about each candidate. Throughout the day, covenfolk wandered through the kitchen, knowing they could get a bit to eat from Paulos. And each time they do, Paulos learned a little bit more about how the election was shaping up. So far three main candidates had emerged: Romanos, the autocrat, Gabriel the Turb leader, and Christophoros, the school master. And from what it sounded like, each brought something different to the table.
Romanos obviously brought his skill in bureaucracy, as well as being able to combine the roles of covenfolk leader and covenfolk representative, which would no doubt aid in communication between the two. Gabriel offered a covenfolk leader different from the autocrat, but still firm in his leadership position, leaving the possibility that two heads would be better than one in making decisions. For no doubt Gabriel would consult with Romanos when determining how to vote. And Christophoros brought his knowledge of magi and his ability to be near them without being affected by their Gift. Paulos had been told that it was very uncomfortable for most people to be around those with the Gift, and he wondered about how a covenant representative could sit on the council and suffer that terrible effect. Then again, he knew that the magi had some sort of magic that would hold the bad effects of the Gift temporarily in abeyance. No doubt they would use that magic during council meetings.
As he chops onions to go in the soup he's making for dinner, Paulos considers the three candidates, and wonders if anyone else will throw their hat into the ring.
Cristopheros finds himself approaching a more secluded shelter than most, that of the ink maker. His appearance is close to that of a singed corpse, save for the fact that he is animated and fully cognizant, and something of a fringe academic, though he apparently has only written in the Vernacular, and then what are frequently described as mad ramblings.
The years spent working for magi stand Christophoros in good stead as he meets Gregorius. Although the ink-maker's appearance (not to mention the smell he exudes) is quite unpleasant, the schoolmaster is able to keep any negative reaction in check.
"Greetings, good man. I am Christophoros, the one in charge of the school. The magi, from their position as leaders of this place, have determined that they would allow one of the people working for them to act as a representative on their council. I think that I could fulfill this role well for all of us. As such, I would be in a position to make them aware of what we need to make a better living here, and make sure that they do not forget about us when they make decisions."
"Would you agree to support me in this? Is there anything that you would wish me to communicate to the magi, to make your life easier or more fulfilling?"
"In time, yes, but I must rebuild first what I lost in the incident. I do have one request I would like fulfilled, but it need not include the magi. I have been educated in medicine and letters, but unfortunately I neglected much of the difference in classical and modern Greek, and would find many texts on subjects I am interested in beyond my ability to learn from. I understand you run the school here, and if you could see that I am provided education in either Ancient Greek or Latin, you would most certainly have my vote."
"This is certainly something that could be arranged, although you must understand that running the school will take quite a bit of my time. I may not be able to teach you personally, at least not all the time, but I am sure I could convince the magi that your learning of Classical Greek and Latin would be to their benefit as well."
"Now, I understand that you are a skilled apothecary? I was wondering if you had something, perhaps a salve or a poultice, that might help me with some pain I often have in my joints..." He discusses some of the symptoms of his arthritis.
With her faerie sight, Charmion is instantly aware of Gabriel's nature. She wants to help Gabriel create vitality-rich stories, for both their sakes, but running for election herself would not support the story she wishes to weave. She appears before him in her spring, her flowing around her as if underwater.
"As patron, not as member, I will sit
At councils of this new Mercurian cult.
Goddesses sit above mortal debates
And bless the resolutions that they reach.
Nor could one of my species represent
The band of mortals you have gathered here;
Mortal must speak for mortal; god for god.
But when the votes are counted, have the crowd
Assemble at my spring. There I'll appear
To grant my blessing to the chosen one.
Thus will the people's choice be rightly crowned
With solemn awe, and they will start their role
By patron and by people doubly blessed."
Petr listens to the discussion of this election. He does understand that this is a very Theban thing to do.
But he also knows that he has no clue how one would decide this. Growing up as he did, he respects both strength and cleverness.
It appears early on that Gabriel is a strong lead, though many seem worried about his outlaw status and how that could impact the covenant. Romano seems to be coming in second, and while Cristopheros enjoys strong support amongst those at the scriptorium, they tend to be a relatively small cluster of specialists compared to the shepherds and covenfolk, and the school does not yet have a second teacher. The elections, however, are not over...
Paulos continues to monitor the electioneering process, though he doesn't get strongly involved unless he has to. He can see that Gabriel is pulling ahead. That wasn't surprising. Everyone loves a hero, especially the common folk. And around here, Gabriel was the local folk hero. As between the other two, he couldn't say that he was surprised that Romanos was ahead. The autocrat was dignified[sup]1[/sup], and seemed to have his act together[sup]2[/sup], while Christopheros's pride[sup]3[/sup] was getting in the way of people coming into his camp. If only the schoolmaster didn't give the impression that he thought the seat on the council was his as a matter of right, he might win more converts. But Christopheros was who he was, and there wasn't much you could do about that.
Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that others would be as aware of that. They haven't know him for that long. But also, Christophoros also has quite a few social abilities working in his favor (Bargain 3, Etiquette 3, Guile 4 and Leadership 3).
Christophoiros would also make the point that both of the others will be kept far too busy with their normal duties to have the time required to properly represent all of the covenfolk. And they are simply in a subordinate position vis-a-vis the magi, essentially at their beck and call, whereas Christophoros is much closer to an equal to them. As such, he would be in a much stronger position to represent the covenfolk.
(As a player, I don't expect Christophoros to win the election. But I have trouble seeing him as accepting that -- he would/will be furious if/when that happens. That may cause problems... but then, what do you expect from a major Proud flaw?)
Romanos arranges a meeting with Christopoiros where it is certain to be overheard by the cook, who being a notorious gossip would be relied upon to repeat the salient points of their discussion.
"I have concerns, it appears that Gabriel will win this election, and I suspect that this will not be a good thing for the covenant. While he is a folk hero to the people of the covenant, he seems more interested in what would make a good story or boast than what will be most effective in dealing with or preventing a problem. I fear if elected he may actually cause problems for the covenant that have the potential to elevate his own reputation. I have even considered dropping from the election and endorsing you, but I am not certain that would not simply give Gabriel a larger margin of victory."
As intended, Paulos hears the entire conversation. He suspects that he was intended to,[sup]1[/sup] but that hardly matters. Information was information, no matter the source. Now, some information was meant to be hoarded, kept close until needed. But other information must be used quickly lest it lose its worth. This information was definitely the latter.
And so Paulos begins spreading this new-found information about the election.[sup]2[/sup] But at the same time, he works to take the pulse of the covenant, trying to figure out if the autocrat's plan has any chance of success.[sup]3[/sup] Gabriel was popular, that was true. But if the covenfolk were enticed to really think on the matter, the election might become more than just a popularity contest. And that was something that Romanos would want to know.
[sup]2[/sup] Paulos will try to spread the information, but arrange it so that it doesn't look like it came from him. Int + Intrige roll:1d10=1; doubled; (1d10=7 x 2) + 1 + 6 = 21
[sup]3[/sup] Paulos will try and figure out what the covenfolk think about the election once Romanos's information is passed around. Int + Intrige roll:1d10=7 + 1 (Int) + 6 (Intrigue) + 1 (gossip specialty) = 15
The rumors seem to do Romanos great damage in the polls, but if anything they do, as he feared, benefit Gabriel. While Christophoiros comes in a stronger second than expected, Gabriel has over 50% of the vote.
Christopheros, Romanos and Paulos gain 6 xp for the adventure, Gabriel gains 6 xp by faerie sympathy, as does Charmion for her participation in the anointing ceremony.
Gabriel gains 2 confidence points, Romanos and Paulos gain 1 each.
Please note in terms of character advancement that you can have either normal seasonal experience or experience from the adventure.
Christophoros is furious at a losing the election, particularly against an illitterate sword-swinger like Gabriel, but is very successful at not showing it to others (Com 2 + Guile 4 + stress roll of 1,8 for a total of 22).
He will not forget this insult, to be sure. He will find ways to win next year's election. Building up the number of litterate employees of the covenant, for one, should strengthen his position. But he may also try to undermine Gabriel's position by seeking out those who may be less than satisfied by the outlaw's decisions and leadership.
