Now Sionnach certainly was interested in that squirrel, relaxing a bit and making a coughing motion as if he was clearing his throat. He casts The Voice of the Bjornaer Magus [MuAn 15] silently and without gestures [got quiet magic x2 and subtle magic so no penalties, An=10, Mu=4, Sta=0 and we're assuming here we're far off enough from town to not be affected by the aura, for a total of... 19]. "Ah, visitors?" he replies in Gaelic as well. "What a nice surprise! Has Hibernia been treating you well?" As he speaks to Hugh's familiar he comes closer, trying to remember if he's seen him in the days before.
A squirrel riding around on a shoulder does stand out, so yes, he would have seen him.
The squirrel fluffs its tail. "Yes, it's nice so far. We just got here, but we've been in town. Did you hear that music before?"
"It seems I missed it, what a shame," Sionnach lamented. "But at least we got to meet each other, I'm sure this can't be a mere coincidence. I also came here with a friend," he said, pointing his snout to Arnar. "He goes by Aquila, doesn't speak much Gaelic. If we could find a place to sit, maybe we can chat some more." He was being uncharacteristically cheerful all throughout the exchange, something anyone who knows him would notice right away.
A bit surprised at the response from the squirrel and amused by the way the fox is playing things, Bran decides to go along with it. "I didn't hear it either. Perhaps it was all in your mind?"
The squirrel looks at Sionnach, "What language does Aquila speak?" Not waiting for an answer, he whispers in Hugh's ear again, and the man replies. The squirrel looks at Bran and hops up and down excitedly. "He says you're tricking me! Is this a prank? I love pranks!"
"You caught me," Bran gives a slight bow, "'tis I, Bran the Bard!" [Insert absurd doggerel Poem in Gaelic about a mischievous squirrel] "Perhaps you've heard of me."
The squirrel hops up and down excitedly. "That's a great poem! Do you know more? I'm Piko! This is Hugh. Have you been to France? That's where we're from." He takes a moment to whisper in Hugh's ear, then stares at Bran, waiting.
Arnar does not understand half of the rapid exchange in Gaelic, but he does pick up on his name. «Pleased meet you,» he says haltingly in Gaelic, «Latin or Ostmannar tong good.»
The squirrel says something to Hugh, and he grins, turning to Amar and speaking in Latin. "Latin! I speak Latin. I'm Hugh." Piko still stares expectantly at Bran.
Bran smiles and responds in Latin, "Of course I know more though that's the only one I know about a squirrel." Turning towards Hugh, "So, you have come to tame the wilds of Hibernia, ay? What about this territory offends you so?"
Piko looks disappointed and relaxes, now just watching the conversation. Hugh shakes his head, continuing in Latin. "I haven't come to tame the wilds. I came to explore them. It just happens that the call went out now, and I went along with it to see if there would be anyone companionable. But they all seem unpleasant, or boring, or both."
"Not come to tame them, huh?" Sionnach says, switching to Latin and settling into a more typical tone for himself. "Well, assuming you're being honest here, this should definitely make things easier for the both of us. What would it take for you to tell us some more about your companions?"
Hugh shrugs. "I don't know much, but it's not a big secret. They aren't my companions, though. This magus [insert name here] came to the Grand Tribunal, he wanted to pass a petition to impose outside rules on Hibernia, it didn't pass, so he tried to get people to relocate here to change the rules from the inside. Of the people that came, they're either just here for the vis and the nice auras, or they're conflict-minded and actually here to cause trouble. But there aren't a lot of them so I wouldn't be too worried."
[I don't know if he knows much more than that, but he will share what he knows. up to @silveroak what level of detail we are going into with who came.]
«Explore the wilds? Why so? The wilds are just find, and don't need anyone `exploring' them,» Arnar comments surly.
Hugh raises his eyebrows. "I said explore, not tame. I know how to go through a wild place without leaving my mark behind. You are of the Order? That bit about the Grand Tribunal slipped out, but you seem to know what I'm talking about."
«There is always a mark. Whatever you do you leave a mark. I am sure you would take offence if we asked to explore yourself, and so does `the wilds',» answers Arnar somewhat annoyed, «you should rather allow the wilds to explore you, and maybe, just maybe, they will allow you to visit, or even stay.» He completely ignores the mention of the Order.
Hugh shrugs. "I'm quite happy to let them explore me. But that will happen whether I allow it or not. I don't know what you mean by exploring 'me', but I'm not necessarily offended - is that a threat? A proposition? An offer? Perhaps my language invoked unfortunate connotations. I came here to experience the world in a different place. And to the extent it wants to experience me in return, I welcome it."
"If you're here just to experience the land, you're more than welcome. Might even end up learning a useful thing or two about it, or even about yourself," Sionnach said, moving back closer to Arnar. "We don't really appreciate trying to disturb it however. So long as at the very least hold to that basic principle, we should be able to get along well enough."
Hugh looks between the other three. "I don't want to disturb anything. In fact, I'm beginning to feel like I stumbled upon a private meeting, I hope I'm not intruding."