Rónán mac Domnall's Arrival

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Loch Ness: A New Dawn
1

About six weeks after the magi held their first council meeting, a young man arrives in a large hired cart. He is well-dressed and probably in his mid 20s. He does not appear particularly muscular, and his hands with their nearly faded ink stains and lack of callouses betray his scholarly bent. His slightly wavy, blond hair is of medium length, falling about his ears. He wears a slight mustache and beard as well. With him in the cart are four pretty, young women, all roughly 20 years old. Three of them are brunettes and one blonde. They are also dressed far too well to be mere servants.

The young man descends from the cart and then provides a helping hand for each of the young women, treating each one with delicacy. He pulls down a number of bags and crates, and then pays the driver.

Once the driver is clearly headed away, though young man talks to the women a moment and then heads toward the covenant looking about. He speaks to whomever meets him or otherwise calls out in Latin, [color=purple]"I am Rónán mac Domnall. I have come to meet with Master Gavin ex Miscellanea."

2

A grog working weeding some plants looks up at the newcomers. He puts down his gardening tools, shakes his head, and points to his ear. "Sorry, I don't speak Latin," he says to Ronan in Gaelic, knowing enough from living in a covenant to recognize when someone is speaking Latin. "I can get someone who does." It doesn't occur to him that talking to the man won't do any good if he doesn't speak Gaelic.

OOC: I'll pause for reaction, since I can see that Ronan speaks Gaelic.

3

Renán replies in Gaelic (Ulster), [color=purple]"I apologize. I had thought the language spoken here was Latin. I am Rónán mac Domnall. I have come to meet with Master Gavin ex Miscellanea."

While distinctly different dialects, that should be simple enough that it comes across fairly well, more like with a strong accent.

4

The grog looks a bit confused for a moment as he works to puzzle out Ronan's accent. But then he manages well enough and nods. "Beggin' yer pardon, sir," he replies. "The masters and the mistresses speak Latin, But us normal folk don't." He brushes his hands off on his tunic and points off in one direction. "Master Gavin's cottage is over yonder. Let me take you there." He nods his head to Ronan in a cursory boaw and then leads the man, and his four wives, down a path to one of the many cottages that sprinkle the settlement. Ronan can see that this one had a beautiful garden in the rear, though it's only just coming into bloom in the early spring weather.

The grog brings the entourage to the front door and knocks. A short time later a youngish blonde man answers the door. "Hello Hamish," he says upon opening the door. "What can I -- oh, you've brought company."

"Beggin' yer pardon, Cory, but this is Master Ronan come to see Master Gavin." It seems that by speaking Latin, Ronan has immediately been promoted to 'master.'

"Good day to you, Master Ronan," Cory replies in accented Latin. "Please come in. You'll have to forgive me for not inviting you upstairs, but I need permission before I allow you into Master Gavin's sanctum." He ushers the five newcomers into the entry hall and waves Hamish off to go back to his duties. The hall is a small room with two inside doors, a staircase, and a bench. It's crowded with six people in it, but that can't be helped.

"I won't be but a moment," Cory adds. "Master Gavin is just in the lab." He passes through one of the doors into what looks like an antechamber. A few moments later he returns with a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties, clean-shaven and wearing clothes you might find on a well-to-do scholar or a prosperous merchant.

"Hello," the dark-haired man says, also in Latin. "My name is Gavin. You must be Ronan. I've been expecting you." He offers the alchemist his hand. "And this must be your family. A pleasure." He gives the ladies a shallow bow. "Please, come upstairs for some tea. Unless you'd rather settle in first. I've had one of the empty cottages cleared out for you to stay in. It's only a short walk from here."

[hr][/hr]
And when I say 'tea' I mean an herbal tisane. :wink:

5

Rónán replies, [color=purple]"Master Gavin, I have been greatly looking forward to meeting you." Rónán takes his hand enthusiastically but shakes it warmly and confidently. He introduces his four wives: Sorcha with dark brown hair, Caitlín with blonde hair, Deirdre with light brown hair, and Brígh with curly, brown hair. [color=purple]"Tea would be nice. It has been a long journey." The five of them follow Gavin upstairs. [color=purple]"Are the cottages large enough to use to set up labs and workspaces as well? As a fellow alchemist, I am sure you appreciate the need for space for all of one's equipment."

Though he won't go into tremendous detail at this first meeting, Rónán is very open about any questions about his background, whether about Ireland or alchemy.

6

"The cottages are all this large," Gavin replies, leading the group upstairs. "Easily large enough for a laboratory. In fact, the empty cottages all have labs in them already. Mine is downstairs."

"I apologize if I seem a bit off-putting to any of you," he adds. "It's an unfortunate byproduct of my ability to use magic. I can protect two of you from it's deleterious effects if you consent. But I'm afraid that's the limit of my ability. If the ladies prefer, you and I could chat while Cory gives them a tour of the covenant grounds. Then I could show you my lab without boring your wives."

7

[color=purple]"That sounds like a good idea. I have heard of the Gift doing that, but until now I had not experienced it. Most Alchemists of Oxford, if not all, lack the Gift. I believe I could concoct something to block its negative effects on us, but without a lab your method sounds much more practical. I am interested to see how you protect against it anyway."

8

"Excellent," Gavin replies and arranges for Cory to take the wives out on a tour of the covenant. Then, once they're gone, he responds to Ronan's comment about the Gift. "That would be ... notable. The Order has the ability to do so, but only for Gifted magi, and it's a secret of the Order. If you were able to do that so simply, it would draw the interest of the Order for certain. And that's not necessarily a good thing."

[hr][/hr]
OOC: I think I see where Ronan is going with this. If I had to make a guess, I'd say that Ronan is planning on using SuFo to devise a spell that grants the Virtue Unaffected by the Gift as a SuFo 25 spell. I'd check with Peregrine about whether he'll allow that. It is a foundation of the game that Parma Magica is the only controllable ability that can numb the effects of the Gift. If Learned Magicians could do something as simple as learn a level 25 spell to gain the same effect, that would shake the foundations of the game. I can see that as the possible result of a breakthrough. But it seems too simple for a basic spell. That's my opinion, at least. Peregrine obviously has the final say in this saga.

9

Yeah, that definitely feels like a Major Breakthrough, and one I'm certain people have been working on since time immemorial.