Lares takes his seat at the end of the table and listens to the others intently.
“Larex ex Miscellanea. It seems our assessments of the situation are in substantial agreement.”
“As for the Aegis, unless someone else is skilled in this field, I propose that I be the one to cast it. There are some matters we must determine or decide, however.”
Lares raises a finger.
“First, the timing. Do we know how much time we have before we have to recast it? What time of year is it? It will take time to prepare for the casting.”
Lares raises another finger.
“Second, the level. There is a lab text for a strong Aegis in the library here. I would prefer that we attempt to cast this. It will take substantially more preparation, however. I am not yet quite sure how well equipped my laboratory here is [@silveroak what is my estimation based on having looked through the lab?], but I may need a theoretically-informed assistant for inventing the spell. Several of us – preferably five – would also need to learn the relatively strong Wizard’s Vigil available in the library. Please review the Vigil to determine if you are capable of learning it now or with a season or two of preparation with the available tutorials.”
He waves his fingers around.
“Is everyone willing to participate on this endeavor? If not, there is also the alternative of me learning a weaker Aegis by myself from notes I discovered in my laboratory. This is less resource intensive, but results in weaker protection. I do not favor this alternative for the reason that,”
He raises a third finger.
“third, the potential threats are substantial. Beyond the ones you mentioned, there seems to be some kind of a powerful spirit inhabiting the surrounding wastes, called ‘the Red’. I do not know its specific nature, but I seem to have been quite worried about it. Furthermore, there is a real chance that the secret of our situation is on its way out.”
He lowers his fingers and his gaze, looking uncomfortable.
“I woke up with a woman, Barshako, who seems to have been my wife. She insisted on leaving to find her mother, which I allowed, having not fully grasped the situation we find ourselves in. As we speak, she is travelling the mountains to the west, having left a while after we awakened.”
He pauses briefly.
“She probably has a limited understanding of the situation here. She could, however, shorten the time we have for preparation, should she fall in the hands of our enemies. I therefore propose we recover her at once. I am willing to bear the brunt of this, of course, given the mistake is mine. I would appreciate help, however. The terrain is unfamiliar and dangerous, she has a head start, and she may be a werehyena or shapeshifter. Anyone skilled in flight or defense would be most helpful.”