2 fatigue "I have no idea."
Lares sits down heavily and growls to his beard:
"By Rod's low-hanging sinistral sack! This is useless."
He rests, then positions himself lying down so that he won't hurt himself if he passes out.
He life-link sponts Peering Into the Mortal Mind, level 30, no penetration. It's the same total as before, so 25 with exaggerated & loud.
He wants to know:
-
What happened to Argentius, where, how, who did it, why.
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Where Argentius' body was put afterwards.
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What was done with Argentius' belongings - who got what.
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What the grogs intend to do now.
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Where the grogs are, who they are with, and where is each of them individually.
These are all, of course, just as far as one specific grog knows.
If there should, by storyteller decision, be a limit on the amount of information he receives, then he will prioritize questions 3, 4, and 5. The most important one is 4.
- Argentius was killed by the grogs ambushing him as a unit, as suggested by Barshako.
- It was dragged into the desert and left for scavangers
- Posessions were left with the body
- The grogs intend to return to the covenant and report that Argentius self immolated while casting a spell. Beyond this they have no plans.
5)The grogs are together, nobody else is with them, and they are halfway back to the covenant.
Lares hobbles to his bed and closes his eyes, resting away the fatigue.
This is not a ruse. No one is assaulting the covenant while many of the magi are gone. But what am I to do with these murderers? And doesn't poor Argentius deserve better than becoming a feast for crows?
He peeks out of his bedroom to make sure no one is within hearing distance, then gets back on his bed to rest.
"What would you do in a situation like this, Albrecht? A beloved companion has been brutally murdered. You have the murderers in the palm of your hand. Do you squeeze? Do you let them atone, freeing them back in your midst? Or something else?"
Albrecht considers "I would be inclined to crush them, lest others decide they can betray their magus in the same way. I have always maintained that it is better to be feared than loved."
"This thought of this spreading has occurred to me, I will admit. But they have families, friends, acquaintances. These would be forever aggrieved. What if the others were instead to see that magi can be merciful and fair, given true and honest repentance? Is the true human response to kindness a stab in the back? Or is it, rather, to see that a shared humanity goes beyond hierarchy?"
"Certainly it would be mercy, but I expect it is more likely to be seen as weakness than fairness."
Lares smiles tiredly.
"See, this is why I keep you around", he jests. "You complete me."
Lares finishes his rest, then heads back to his lab to cast.
He lifelink sponts PeMe over the arcane connection to erase all of Barshako's memories of the past year, including the day she woke up at the covenant.
This should be a base 20 effect, as discussed in the OOC thread. +1 to touch makes it level 25. Penetration 5. So a level 30 effect altogether.
The roll is the same 25 as before with exaggerated & loud, given that his Pe is the same as his In.
This means he may pass out, so he lies down again.
After this is done and/or once he's awake, he gathers his sons for a huddle out of other covenfolk's earshot, as before. He is gray with fatigue from casting, so he lies down for the discussion.
"It is imperative that this stays between us.
If you assumed that some of the grogs had murdered one of the magi in cold blood, what punishment would the groups of the covenant consider fair? If one of the Berbers could be clearly shown to have committed such an act, for instance, would they condone the banishment of such murderers? "
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Erasing Bashako's memory consumes 4 fatigue.
Your sons consider "The expectation would be that they would be executed, some would think that to allow a magus to die would bring such a penalty, since they failed to defend them with their life. As to whether that is fair, opinions differ, and I expect people tell us they believe you are fair when that is not what they truly believe."
"Thank you."
Lares lies with his eyes closed for a while, thinking.
I can't risk leaving the covenant at a time like this. Apologies, Argentius.
"Within what I assume will be a few days, the men of Argentius' expedition will return without him and Barshako. Please make sure that they are disarmed, separated, held away from other covenfolk, and informed that they will be questioned. Have only Arabs guarding them. I will want one of them brought to my laboratory. I will cast a spell. Then I will question this person together with the council of the covenfolk. I would like for you to be present in the questioning, as well."
He sighs tiredly.
"This will not be pleasant, to put it mildly. I thank you for your help, however. Your loyalty is of utmost value both to me and to the covenant as a whole. Needless to say, you cannot speak of any of this to anyone, including your families. Mind your words amongst youselves, as well, lest someone overhear. We are dealing with extremely sensitive matters."
After this, Lares rests away the fatigue and then simply gets back to his labwork, waiting for the grogs to return.
A day later the grogs return and are isolated and detained as you have instructed. The council is assembled for their questioning- since they returned without the magus this is not considered suspicious, or if it is such words are kept from your sons.
Lares makes sure that he wears the clothes that still have the Doublet of Impenetrable Silk that he cast earlier. He breaths deeply in and out.
Here goes.
He has the same grog of Argentius' expedition escorted to his lab whose mind he interrogated with spells earlier. When the grog and his escort enter, Lares discreetly casts his formulaic Aura of Rightful Authority on the grog without sound or gestures. This should be easy. It means the grog will be strongly inclined to obey Lares for the rest of the day.
He then addresses the grog in a cordial tone.
"Since Argentius and Barshako are missing, I and the rest of the council will need to hear what happened on your trip. We will begin with me casting a spell on you now. Please stand still and quiet while I cast."
He lifelink sponts Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie (InMe 20) on the grog.
Lares' casting total is the same 25 as before with exaggerated and loud.
Assuming the spontaneous casting goes well, Lares then casts his formulaic Moon-duration Maintaining spell to keep the Frosty Breath going for a month.
"Nothing to worry about. It is a very simple spell. It simply ensures us that you are telling things as they happened."
Lares addresses the man's escort.
"Please take him to the council. Tell them I will join them shortly."
As the man is being taken out, Lares tells him:
"It will be just a few questions. Answer truthfully, and do not say or do anything else."
Lares rests away any fatigue he may have, then moves to join the council as its head.
Lares loses fatigue level with his subtle casting of the air of rightful authority, and another two fatigue casting frosty breath. 3 levels of fatigue will require 42 minutes to recover from, which is pushing the duration of concentration, and you arrive with a couple of minutes that you will be able to sustain the spell.
Ah sorry, I forgot to mention he has the quiet and subtle magic virtues, meaning that he is at +15 for casting Authority before aura, so with the aura 8 in his lab he can't lose fatigue I think.
Actually quiet magic still imposes a -5 penalty if you don't talk (unless taken twice, which you did not), but this does mean you do not take fatigue from that casting, shortening the rest period to 12 minutes and leaving you a fair amount of time.
Yes, good.
Another thing: Lares wanted to cast his Moon-duration Maintaining spell on the Frosty Breath. Is there some reason why this is not possible? The significance of this, I suppose, is that otherwise he would have to roll for concentration every time he asks a question.
Either way, Lares makes his way to the council chambers. He tries his best to seem calm and collected, a strong leader who buries whatever sadness or anxiety he may feel.
When all are present, Lares begins by addressing the grog under interrogation.
"The purpose of this inquiry is to clarify the reason why you and your companions have returned without Argentius and Barshako, whom you were tasked to protect."
He then addresses the others present.
"To facilitate the proceedings, I have cast a spell that creates a visible mist at the mouth of the speaker whenever lies are uttered. This is simply to ensure that we hear things as they have transpired."
Lares turns to the grog under interrogation.
"Let us begin. First tell us why Argentius is no longer with you. Tell the truth, do not leave out anything you consider significant, and only focus on answering this question."
(OOC: Can we get a name for the grog? Would make things easier.)
(Edit: Just to make sure we're on the same page: Lares' intention is that the representatives of all the three groups of covenfolk are present in this.)
Izil ab Izri answers with frost pouring from his mouth. "We all spent the night at the camp of the traders at the oasis Bashako led us to, and she spoke with them and Argentius in private for several hours. When they were done Argentius told us we must return to the covenant, that he would proceed with the trader tribe, who were jealous of their secrets, and Barshako alone. He said they would not take him to see what he needed to see otherwise."
Lares stand up and looks at the grog from beneath his brows with his most awe-inspiring, authoritative eye.
"Why do you lie to us, Izil? The frost at your lips betrays you! Tell us the truth at once: what happened to Argentius?"
Frost emerges once more "I do not know."
Lares sighs.
"Have it your way, then. Please take Izil outside while we deliberate."
With Izil outside, Lares addresses the rest of the council.
"As my spell indicates, Izil refuses to tell us the truth. How would you prefer we proceed? My proposal is that I cast a spell on him that compels honesty. This will take a while, however. We may pause the proceedings in the meantime."