Fleur considers this, and turns to Cornelius, "If we get it out to fly to Asguard, and it escapes, would that be depriving him of his magic under these circumstances? I would assume it is trying to get back to what it considers home, which is probably where Cacadeus stole it from."
Cacadeus didn't steal it. Valten IV of Flambeau stole it from some covenant named Andorra. The same one Vulcanus used to be part of. And you wouldn't be stealing it from him. I would. It is all on me. I just need one of the two of you to help me how to open the birdcage and deactivate the ward. And clean the crap off of it. Hmmm, maybe if I laid a rug over the carpet so we wouldn't have to actually touch it.
Really, I want to help you. I would be ever so grateful if you can get those two brats out of my life and their stupid red haired wench mothers with them.
"I believe Fedora had similar sentiments, though differently expressed. However," She looks to Cornelius,"Where would we stand with regards to the code if we help her liberate the carpet and things go wrong?"
Cornelius frowns, then grins.
This has gone far beyond Quaesitor business. I just wanted to ask the guy a few questions. My motives now are that of a magus Bonisagus. I am a Seeker, and I am overcome with the urge for the opportunity to visit Asgard. I think I understand what this regio maze is all about. I have done some exploration of portals in Denmark leading to Myrkwood and Trollhiem. They all seem to be connected.
I am also sort of a "Frontier Quasitor", and had to learn to adapt to rugged justice. Gemma admitted the carpet was stolen from your covenant of Andorra. I say you have the right to take it back. I Think I could disenchant the cage if we have enough vis between the two of us.
Gemma looks quite surprised and gawks when Cornelius mentions you are from Andorra.
"How much do you think we will need?" She has been saving her vis for the last 4 years, but she does have plans for it, and wonders what this carpet is and whether the covenant will reimburse the vis if she brings it back, or whether it would be better to simply gain the kudos of returning it and getting more vis elsewhere. There is that rook that Carmen gifted her for Christmas...
Cornelius looks at the cage with a raised eyebrow.
There are a series of negative reaction tests I can use to try to discern what magnitude is needed and if I know the level required. One moment
Cornelius makes for quite the interesting magician. He apparently is handy with spell analysis. A different style than the Pralicians but effective nevertheless. He casts a series of Vim spells, Intellego mainly. First in ascending level then descending.
It seems to be a Magnitude VII Ward. Not sure of the total level though, but I think that is the highest level effect. I know the ritual PeVi50r Disenchant. That should be sufficient, but it will take me two-and-a-half hours and require ten pawns of Perdo &/or Vim.
...
I do happen to have vis on me, though not enough of the right Arts. I'll gladly split the cost though, and trade you for what we need. The fifty-percent trade rate, not the double rate the Mercere screw you with.
You know what? We are into it this far. I'll pay the damn fine. The wall of drawers behind me, I bet they contain vis.
Cornelius casts a simple Intellego-Vim spell, and determines that the drawers on the lower left corner hold vis. He opens one of them...
And he is struck with the BOOBY-TRAP! It struck Vibria once, activated in another way. i just read up on it. I think Vibria regrew an arm and might be missing a finger. Not sure.
But anyway, it affects Cornelius by making him obese and giving him man-boobs. His clothes are suddenly tight and tear a little.
An image of Constantius of Jerbiton, aka Ulric, appears. Fleur remembers him from Bellaquin, the financial mastermind behind the puppet Valgravian. And the image is true to form, he is both large and obese. A whale of a magus.
clap=clap-clap
Well done Cornelius, old friend. I knew it would all come together. In fact, the curse and this image could not have been activated unless it was you. It took me four spells and more than a rook of vis to pull it off, and over a year of planning and rumor mongering, but it was worth it to make this prank possible.
Don't worry, it will wear off by the turn of a lunar cycle. But you will know what happened. And you will never, ever, make another fat joke about me again.
As for Ava and Herot and the rest, it is your playground now. I am on to better things. Both Ava and Signum are insane. And frankly, it is wearing off on you old chum.
No hard feelings. One day over beers I will tell you how I set it all up. But for now, I can tell you that I knew you would be nosing around for vis. You want to borrow that carpet a explore the realm access. Se if it is real. That was my bait old bean! I am not so unkind as to deprive you. Just speak the magic word "Zahliezean!:, and it will open. It is filthy, but functional. And alive! Rolled up it is dormant, unrolled it is awake. It can fly at great speeds and carry massive weight and...
oh yes. It is actually a genie bound in material form, and it is oath-bound to serve the magi of Andorra Covenant and follows only their commands. Good luck with those guys! I am sure their Quasitor their would be interested to learn how you came across their carpet!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Heh, my belly does roll like jelly when I laugh. You are right.
Oh, and Vulcanus has no idea. I fixed his goat but good. If my guess is correct, he is on a wild goose chase in another Realm, and has not been seen in a while.
Have fun with your own jelly rolls my friend!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH kaff HAHAHAHA!!!
You see Carmen silently hailing in general to anyone who can see her. The "shhh" sign for "quiet", and pointing down stairs and to her hear for "listen"
But she has a Com score of -1, so take it for what it is :mrgreen:
You are all able to hear what is transpiring downstairs. All about you are thingamabobs and artifacts. You also see the windo Carmen mentioned. One of them. She did say there were two, one upstairs and one down. One of the two leads to Asgard, the other to an island hidden somewhere in the North Sea (maybe?). But that is not Antoine's quest. He seeks a sword, searching for tradition. Is this trophy room the place to look? Does it offer clues?
Gemma has dissapeared before you can turn to look at her, but Fleur swears she can hear her whisper Good Luck upon the wind.
Lucas drops his invisibility spell[sup]1[/sup], looks around the room at all the artifacts in it, and knows he'll need a little help. But first he sends a mental message[sup]2[/sup] to Antoine, hoping he'll make it through the magus' magic resistance: I'll try and sniff out the sword, he sends. I'll point if I find it and shake my head if I can't. He knows better than to try and break through Carmen's magic resistance. Then he concentrates for a moment and casts a spell that will let him smell magic of the sixth magnitude or higher[sup]3[/sup]. He reasons that by limiting things to sixth magnitude, he should eliminate any lesser items that are lying around. He assumes that the sword is at least of the sixth magnitude. His spell cast, he sniffs away, looking for any items of moderate power or greater.
[hr][/hr]
[sup]1 - harnessed spell[/sup]
[sup]2 - cast Whispering Mind, silently, and without gestures[/sup]
Whispering Mind
CrMe 15
R: Sight, D: Conc, T: Ind.
This spell lets the caster speak directly into the target’s mind for as long as he maintains concentration.
(Base 3, +3 Sight, +1 Conc, Boosted)
CT: Cr (9) + Vi (6) + Sta (2) + Aura (5) + simple die = 22 + SD = Casting Total: 1D10+22 = [9]+22 = 31; success
Penetration = 31 (CT) + 1 (Penetration) - 15 (spell level) = 17 vs 15 MR for Antoine for Me; spell should get through. Whew, worked the first time.
[sup]3 - cast the following spell spontaneously, silently, and without gestures[/sup]
Smell Magic
InVi 10
R: Per, D: Conc, T: Smell
This spell allows the caster to smell any magic of sixth magnitude or higher.
(Base 3, +2 Smell, +1 Conc = 10)
CT: [In (5) + Vi (5) + Sta (2) + Aura (5) + stress die]/2 = (17 + SD)/2 = Casting Total: 1D10+17 = [6]+17 = 23=23/2 - 11; success
Seeing no-one in the room, Antoine also returns to visibility by taking off his ring (that works, right? It's D:Conc, maintaining conc). On receiving Lucas's plan, he gives a curt nod of approval; after a moment's thought he starts casting himself - he's not as subtle as Lucas, but by using large gestures and no words he manages to cast.[sup]1[/sup] However, all that happens is that Lucas feels a ping on his Parma, and Antoine looks put out.
After a further moment of thought, Antoine casts again.[sup]2[/sup] Writing with his finger (he turns his back briefly to prevent him having to mirror-write), he forms the following: "Too many smells -> try easier spell. Sword must be powerful."
He'll also maintain concentration in case he needs to write some more.
[hr][/hr]
[sup]1[/sup]Casting A Word In Your Ear silently with exaggerated gestures:
A Word in your Ear (CrIm 15)
Base 2 , +3 Sight, +1 Diameter, +1 Part
The caster can create a miniature of their voice directly in the target's ear. This speech is all but imperceptible to those nearby.
CT: Cr (4) + Im (9) + Sta (1) + Talisman (4) + Aura (5) - silent (10) + gestures (1) + simple die = 14 + SD = 14 + 3 = 17; success.
Penetration = 17 - 15 = 2
Lucas MR (his ear is the target): More than 2.
[sup]2[/sup]Casting Invisible Quill of Light, spontaneously & silently:
Invisible Quill of Light (CrIm 4)
Base 1, +1 touch, +1 conc, +1 complexity
The caster causes words to appear in mid-air, following the path of his finger, as if made of bright white light. The words remain visible for around 30 seconds.
CT: [Cr (4) + Im (9) + Sta (1) + Talisman (4) + Aura (5) - silent (10) + gestures (1) + stress die]/2 = (14 + SD)/2 = 18/2 = 9; success.
Fleur looks to the ground and says "Zahliezean!" and waits for the cage to open- then removes the carpet and unfurls it, addressing the Carpet "I am Fleur of Andorra, hold still while I wash you off" then proceeds with a spontaneous CrAq: Cr (12)+Aq(1)+sta(3)+aura(5)+[url=http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=97679]die roll/url=30/2=15 base 5 (spring with a high rate of flow), range touch (+1) duration concentration (+1)
The Carpet is ready and eager to serve 
?
After washing the carpet Fleur gestures for Cornelius to climb aboard, then she climbs on as well, and directs to carpet towards the storm.
Hearing those down below readying the carpet, Lucas finds something to hide behind lest he be seen.
Yes. Exactly 
Except there is one problem. It cannot fly when it is wet.
Looking closer at the specs for The ever-loving Flying Carpet, it is designed a bit wonky in consideration of what we now know about flying carpets. I blame Fixer
Leave all that aside, it has a fundamental flaw in that it cannot operate when wet. You steer it by tugging on the tassles like reins. Cornelius reads this to you from the notebook on the desk next to him. Vulcanus was doing some analysis, and discovered the carpet was a sentient living being with a magic power. He drew the conclusion that this must be the missing Andorran Carpet.
He wrote here that he had plans to eventually present the carpet to his old covenant. His shorthandwriting is terrible. He wrote "Use carpet as peace offering and excuse to visit Andorra. Challenge Antoine to find the sword. First hide sword. Where? Ask Heimdal. Come up with riddle.", and it leaves off there. The ink, it is not fresh. But the book looks as if it was set open this way to dry. For several weeks at least.
Your carpet...
ReAq3 No Fatigue.
I am stealing Vulcanus' cloak. I am turning into a criminal. You are a bad influence. Let's go.
Now that you are aware of the carpet's weakness, be forewarned that you are headed into a storm cloud and should take some magical precautions of some sort.
Having just washed the carpet Fleur drops her concentration, and the water, being of magical creation, disappears as she rests to regain her fatigue. "So we need to protect it from the storm.I'm not strong in Rego or Aquum, but I have an idea... Fleur attempts to create a glass dome, 1/2 in thick, which will cover both the carpet and the occupants. CrTe: base 3, range:touch, duration day, level 10. fatiguing spontaneous magic: Cr(12)+Te(3)+die roll(1), exploding(12)+sta(3)+aura(5)=35 divide by 2=17
and there is a glass dome with a handle that can be held over the occupants and the carpet as we fly towards the storm.
Very clever indeed. What is the duration on the dome?
day, about what time is it? I scored an extra level of magnitude if it is close to sunset...
Antoine pops his ring back on, then rests his hand on a table so the ring looks like it's just lying there.