Adan approaches Carmen cautiously. He knows his religious views are unpopular, and she is both an amazing woman, and a maga. "Excuse me, your... mageness? Highness? Mistress Pontifex? I was hoping I might get approval for a small expedition. It has to do with some research Maga Arachne suggested I look into that has led me to some interesting possibilities."
Adan is on the City of Brass Expedition and it is unlikely he would be back yet. And it is uncertain if any of you survive. But playing along...
Eh? Who are you again? One of Arachne's grogs? Didn't you just return from the Levant? And now Arachne wants to send another expedition? What for? Oy vey...
Tell her to come talk to me.
Adan is not in city of Brass, Batholomew is. Adan was in the previous expedition...
"No, I'm sorry, Arachne didn't ask for an expedition. She asked me to look into this Order of Pluto. And I did, I found some references to a small group of Heretics, shortly after the council of Trent. They apparently split from the Cult of Pluto and decided to worship seek immortality, and treated Our Lord as an aspect of Pluto or Hades. What interests me is that I found a reference to some of the source material they sited in their arguments which refers to tomes of the first language. Considering that a lost of my theological uncertainties have rested on some questions about names in ancient texts, I would be extremely interested in finding such a source. If you need a magus to sponsor the expedition I could ask around..."
Since it is research on Arachne's behalf, she should sponsor it. As for "first language", I figure it is either Hebrew or Basque.
Cult of Pluto. This is about Fleur's sanctum? I still don't understand the connection. Why travel to the Levant?
"Let me think, there was something about Fleur's sanctum. I think it was one of her servants who carried the message that Arachne Wanted me to research the Order of Pluto. Which I did. While I was researching that, I came across this reference to the first language, before Hebrew, or Egyptian. Which isn't really what Arachne wanted me to research, but it would really help me clarify some issues with this theological puzzle I've been wrestling with. I suppose I should have seen if any magi were interested, but if thee can't be an expedition then what is the point in interrupting their studies to ask? Oh, the Levant- they made reference to some kind of library or resource there where they had either access to, or it appears more likely were referring to someone else's access to documents in the first language there. "
OOC: if a magus is interested this is a starting point for research into the language of Adam. Obviously Adan has no use for it's mystical aspects, and is a long way from really understanding what he is going on about, but this could be either a useful adventure for a magus interesting in discovering something of the language of Adam, or a very amusing adventure with no magi coming along...
But...
You know what? I keep promising my mom to take her on a trip to Israel. Wanna tag along?
"That would be wonderful. I am honored mistress maga, pontifex, I... I'll make the preperations." It is a curious perk of being the head of the covenant that while Adan might still babble in her presence at least it is not pontificating about his pet theories in theology.
Well, she also half ignores you and thinks "whatever..." when you say something strange, then continues to half ignore you. Bus somehow, mention of the Levant and her opinion that Hebrew is the language of God's people and thus the first language, these germinated into the idea to take her mom on a trip to the Holy Land.
Write up an invitation to Fleur and our new pledge Cata. Make of it a vacation for the ladies.
"Ah, yes ma'am" Adan leaves to make up the invitations.
OOC: are you planning to spin Fleur's cave/fertility adventure off of this? Otherwise she would decline as she has just found something else to catch her interest...
I have an idea. We can merge Cata's introduction into this (I can split and merge). This conversation took place before that (scratch the invitation text, pretend that was never said). The conversation planted a seed of an idea that blossoms when the spontaneous flying carpet test drive takes place. We pick up her mom and fly to Israel on a jaunt 
That works... if the flying carpet can hold that many (and travels fast enough, otherwise it's more of a cross-Europe journey than a jaunt)
Good point. The carpet can carry plenty, but it is not fast enough. Still, the first step is going to Barcelona to pick her mom up. I will play it by ear from there. Carmen has forgotten all about the grog's idea. It has become her spontaneous idea
So it is Adan, Carmen, Carmen's mother, and Cata?
I don't know the full history of the gate network, but I would expect it to go into the Theban tribunal but not the Levant (and even in Thebes the gates are likely to be at chapterhouses of Normandy or Roman covenants)
Antoine was around when the collected Carmen's mother; but if the carpet isn't going on from Barcelona he doesn't need to be there. And he did want to talk to Vocis and Arachne. OTOH, he's persuadable if Carmen wants to persuade him.
Due to my very, very poor end-of the year availability, it might be more convenient if we pushed Antoine and Arachné's conversation into a small separate thread, since it may drag other a long time.
From past experience, I know that everything binds up and slows down this time of year.
I have yet to merge bits together. Please be patient and I will sort it out soon.
So if we have everyone and are ready to be off- are we flying the whole way or do we roll up the carpet and take the gate network closer first?
I am thinking we fly to Barcelona, grab Carmen's mom, take a gate from there to Rome, collect intelligence about our destination from the Redcaps at Harco, then on from there.
Everything goes smoothly until you arrive at Harco. When Adan begins talking with a recap there things start to go downhill quickly- it would seem that the information Adan has about the location doesn't fit with the notes that the Mercere's have about the place, and the redcap is frustrated to be dealing with a servant, even one taught by the church, instead of a magus, and appears to feel slighted by this treatment. It would also appear that the redcap is either newly gauntleted or not yet gauntleted...
Carmen nudges Adan out of the way and speaks with the Redcap directly. Salve sodale. My apologies. I am Carmen Perez of Flambeau, Pontifex Maxima of Andorra. I would like to inquire about matters in the Levant, specifically Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. And perhaps to acquire the services of a Mercere travel agent. We are taking a short vacation. Getting to know a new applicant and taking my mother to visit the land of her ancestors. Low key, we seek not action nor adventure. My mother is an old woman, don't let her appearance decieve you.
Carmen's mother, Golda Simone, is almost surreal. She looks a few years younger than Carmen, say around 25. Carmen is really almost 50, so figure her mom is pushing 70! Golda is a dainty and delicate "girly-girl" sort of person, all smiles and giggles, exhuding an innocent sort of salaciousness. Nothing what you would expect from an old Jewish woman (though in the modern day, the term "shiksa bunny" comes to mind).
Another misperception is that, at first, she doesn't seem that smart. Yet really she has a very high "social intelligence" and pretends she is not as wise as she actually is as a means to win friends and influence people. Few men would be able to discern this, but it is apparent to most women right away.