"You clearly were not trained among the Verditius," nods Argentius with a lighter tone, though not mirthful.
"I'm not entirely sure what happened after they turned on me. I tried to rise into the air to escape them but was too slow. To slow by far. All those spears… I knew I was a dead man," says the dark artificer.
"I believe I was brought back from the brink of death by a magic spirit," says Argentius. "We were at an oasis which was probably at the threshold of a magic regio of some kind. I suspect the spirit was curious and for some reason of its own decided to save me from death."
The artificer continues. " I believe it changed me, somehow, Lares. You can see it in my body, the wounds that will not close, my darkened skin…" Argentius grows quiet for a moment.
"I can still work my gift. Cast the parma each dawn. Use my casting tools. But… I have had no need to eat or sleep or even drink since. I can do all those things, sure. There is no need." Argentius shakes his head. "I will need to study what happened. What it means. This will invariably take me on more journeys away from Al Kufra to figure this out. What I need now is time to study this thing out. Quietly. Without fuss."
"As to what we tell the covenfolk? We tell them as much of the truth as they need to hear: I was betrayed by Barshako and the now exiled guards who left me for dead. I was spared death by arcane means too complex to understand and have now returned. Betrayal and rebellion will not be tolerated at Al Kufra."
"By Rod! It kept you from Vyraj, or perhaps brought you back - or suspended you? Must be one powerful spirit."
Lares looks Argentius over.
"And you. You have returned to serve the covenant in death. That is commendable. By studying your condition, you are likely to produce knowledge that the Order has not dared dream of."
He pauses to think.
"You are probably right about the covenfolk. If anything, your return should give any rebellious souls pause. Let us summon the council that leads the covenfolk now and show them."
Unless Argentius interjects, Lares gets up and summons the council members of the covenfolk groups.
"Before we do that," interrupts the dark artificer. "I intend to use this ring to verify our covenfolk." He gestures at the plain gold ring. "It allows me interrogate a mind to find information I am seeking. I will use it to verify the covenfolk who serve me directly and others as needed."
Argentius looks at Lares. "My innocence is gone. I hope you understand. I will use this to serve Al Kufra and protect us all."
Argentius then agrees to the gathering of the covenfolk leaders.
Argentius's hood is pulled up as he and Lares join the covenfolk council. He still holds his walking stick, and his casting earlier in the day of Aura of Ennobled Presence is still active. He has also activated the translation spell on his ring at the gathered covenfolk. When Lares gestures him forward, the Verditius takes a step forward, pulls back the hood and smiles.
"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
Argentius lets things sink in with the council for a few moments before continuing.
"The reports of my betrayal by Barshako and the other traitors were not."
His smile has disappeared, his jaw set, shadowed eyes narrowed. Anyone who remembers or took note of Argentius's handsome, faerie touched face will likely be troubled by his changed appearance, the sun darkened, brown skin and the thinner, more dessicated musculature and frame of his body. He remains handsome, even beautiful but more like storm sand driven on dunes than the first rays of dawn.
"These traitors betrayed you and Al Kufra as well as me. Barshako's deceit went so far as to recruit desert traders . Then these traitors attacked me with spears and left me for dead. They failed, however, to consider the power of the arcane gifts of the magi. Others should not make the same mistake."
The dark artificer lets his words sink in before looking back to Lares.
The council is visibly nervous as Argentius makes his announcement. Cathars and Arabs alike make religious signs as he reveals his face. The Berber representatives look ashen.
"Argentius will resume his normal status within the covenant as per now. If you or your people have any further questions, comments or concerns, make note of them and take them up with me later. I am sure this is not the strangest thing you have experienced with us, but the idea of Argentius' return will surely require some getting used to."
Lares leads Argentius back to his kitchen.
"Let them think on it a bit. I am sure the Cathars will think you Shaitan or something, but I will cross that puddle when I get to it."
"No, Lares. Al Kufra is fortunate to have your leadership. If we make it through the next years, it will be because of your leadership. I'm confident of that." Argentius smiles.
"Thank you."
The artificer turns to leave but stops in the doorway.
"I'll try to keep a lower profile for the next few weeks to make it easier on the covenfolk. And you. If you need me, I'll be in my sanctum or at our library."
"Well, actually, I do have a question for you. I've been thinking of doing something nice for the covenfolk as a whole. They have been through many upsetting things, lately, and I feel like we could stand to show that we are working to make things better rather than just slowly deteriorating from crisis to crisis. I am not sure what it could be, yet. Better farming yields, a new income source and more wages, something about the heat... maybe ask them? At any rate, if I come up with something that would benefit from your expertise, would you be willing to contribute some of your time? I can understand if not - they just murdered you, after all -, but it can't hurt to ask."
"Of course I'll help, Lares. But it will have to be in a few seasons. I need to understand what has happened to me. That's likely going to mean leaving Al Kufra for a time," says Argentius. "As good as our library is, I'm not sure we have the resources I'll need."
The Verditius smiles again. "Bring me your ideas, though. I'm not the artificer I apparently became before, but I'll do what I can."
Lares watches Argentius walk away. As Lares returns to his laboratory, he runs his fingers through his beard, lost in thought.
I wonder why Barshako left him in the desert with all his belongings. Didn't it ever occur to her to steal those fancy rings? Unless...
"Albrecht, do you think he's telling the truth about being altered by a magical spirit? If he wasn't a creature of magic but something else, could you see it? And why would a powerful spirit just help him like that - did you ever hear of anything similar in your loremaster days?"
Argentius returns to his sanctum, keeping his hood up as he crosses the compound.
He spends the remainder of Spring on a few things:
Re-establish his household staff: He finds any serving staff (kitchen help, cleaners) who worked in his sanctum before and asks them to continue their work. He will use his ring to assess their loyalty and ability to trust them. Depending on what he finds, he'll make decisions from there. He also asks his kitchen help to only provide food when he asks specifically, though he does ask that fresh water and beer be on hand.
Search the Library: In the last couple of weeks of Spring, Argentius searches the library for any books that make reference to the Magic Realm, Magic Regios, Magic Humans or Creatures, or The Red. While he won't have time to study them in full, he will make note of them for future study. If he sees references to other tomes, he'll note those as well for future acquisition.
Journal Update: Argentius will also record careful notes of his experience: the mundane details of the journey south, the incident of his murder, and his conversation with The Red. These notes will remain within the protection of his sanctum.
Experiments: Argentius will begin to study the basics of his Parching Wind power, testing it on plants, food, small animals. He will do his best to perform these tests in his laboratory away from prying eyes, though he may occasionally wither a weed or two in his strolls.
Other than those things, Argentius will continue his practice of spending the cool of the evening in the breezeway in front of his sanctum or sitting by the fountain. He won't shy from conversation with the covenfolk but he also doesn't seek them out. Should any of the covenfolk engage him in conversation, he will try to work the conversation to a place where he can ask about what they know of The Red or The Black.
Albrecht considers "Clearly he is changed. By what I couldn't begin to guess, and not knowing what did this it would be nearly impossible to guess why. It seems to me the real question is how much time and energy you want to invest in finding out those details."
Argentius finds nothing in terms of books, the closest he can find in terms of information available to him is several bundles of correspondence on the trade routes and hidden areas of the desert (area lore:libyan desert).
"I suppose I'll have to live with uncertainty for now. Barshako doesn't herself know why she did it anymore, and I am not sure I want to risk any probes into Argentius. Thank you for the wise counsel."
When Lares next meets with the council of the covenfolk, he will ask them what the discussion on Argentius' return has been like.
"Are the people afraid? What are they saying about him?"
He also asks the representatives suggestions for what they think might improve the lives of everyone in the covenant. Or, conversely: what is making their life hard?
"I'm looking for ideas concerning projects that we might undertake to improve things around here. No promises yet, though."
People were scared when he first arrived, but since he has been spending all his time in his lab they are less worried, since that is pretty much what everyone remembers him doing before the event. There are of course rumors that he has made a deal with the devil amongst both Arabs and Cathars, though the Cathars seem more convinced of this.
When it comes to the idea of making life easier the Cathar representative suggest finding a way to make the land more fertile, or to reduce the heat, the Arab representatives suggest that a faster way out of the covenant, at least to the oasis, would make things easier, and the Berber suggests that more hunting parties, and maybe raiding parties could allow the covenant to be stronger and grow more effectively.
"Rumours are to be expected after such a shockingly surprising return, unfortunately. At any rate, thank you for those suggestions. I will see what I can do."
Argentius gathers the bundles of correspondence into his sanctum, perusing them and taking a few notes, especially anything referring to the area west and south of Al Kufra.
Argentius also continues to try to talk to any of the Arab or Berber communities who might travel more than others. He's trying to learn what the covenfolk know of The Red or The Black. Do they use the terms? Who might have affiliation with or fear of either entity? He's ultimately trying to see if there are any sympathizers among the covenfolk and any insight from the locals.
He will have very little time before he has to leave for his summer assignment, and won't get anything useful in that time, beyond the fact that some Arab and most Berbers use the terms, and generally fear the Red. They also tend to avoid looking at you when you talk with them and try to cut conversations short.
"The Berber representative asked for more hunting parties. Raiding too, but I'd rather not risk that. Anyway, is there any reason why we could not increase the hunting parties? This seems like a trivial request, to me, but perhaps there is something here I am not understanding."
They give each other looks. "Well..."
"Technically there should be no problem. There might be some concern about overhunting, or getting lost in these labyrinthine mountains. In theory there could be an issue if there is too much traffic to and from the oasis of someone being followed, but I think the main concern in the past was that it would lead to grogs hiding out in the mountains and being supplied from the covenant. I'm not even sure who raised that concern to begin with."
Another son speaks up, "there was also a concern with them being targeted outside the aegis, though I'm not sure by whom."