But aside from that, Edith is a Corpus Specialist, and can cast Whispers through the black Gate. I presume you have questions?
Marcellus suggests quietly that any interrogation of the ghost could be made elsewhere and later. (It might be better if the information we gather is not shared freely with the dragons.)
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You can question the bones, but I ain't letting you take them. I beat the guy fair and square. They are my trophy.
Brother, your hearing is sharp but you jump to conclusions. They do not need to take anything. We can go down to your dungeon and get your wife while they have a solemn moment with their fallen comrade..
Grrr..., fine. I'll show you where I got her locked up. You guys! Do not think about taking even a single coin! I count them all three times a day. I will know if one is missing and who took it. Do not tempt my wrath...
(I am taking liberties to move things along, if that is okay. Edith is ready to cast the spell on your word)
(OOC the idea is that the two drakes go get Kallista while you question the bones together)
Does it looks like the dragons expect Marcellus to come with them?
If not, he will stay for the questionning of the ghost. He suggests that questions about how to hatch the owlbears might intice the ghost to cooperate, as he might see them as his legacy.
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My bad, I got the plan switched around. So yeah, they will leave you there.
I do believe that there is a Mentem Requisite? Edith knows the spell well enough, but her casting total is not the best and she will loose Fatigue.But it works!
Oh spirits! Hear my call! By the hoary hoasts of Haggoth, I adjure the bones of Lord Featherbottom! Give up your spirit and subit thyself to the Wizard's Inquisition!
And with a mighty groan that echoes with the dust of a decade of death.
Whhhhoooo summons meeee?
The Woad looks at Marcellus with anticipation, hoping he will do the talking.
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Marcellus is at a loss for a moment as the others look at him to do the talking. Then his face becomes serious as he realizes that yes, he can do this.
He looks at the bones severely and speaks. "We summon thee, Featherbottom. We, Marcellus and Edith, The Woad and Ikelos, magi of the Order of Hermes, call thee forth to account for your actions and creations. Answer us, if you would know peace in the afterlife!"
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I love the way you speak to the spirit in dramatic commands. Very Hermetic of you! In reference to historical occult Hermeticism of the real world.
The Order of Hermes betrayed meeee! They drove me out and murdered my children! Then they murdered meeeee! ooooaHHoooo (and other spooky ghost noises).
I demand justice!
If you wish to know my secrets, give me your word that you will seek justice on my behalf.
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"Do not presume to demand anything from us, Oathbreaker!" thunders Marcellus uncharacteristically. "You will answer us, if you wish your children to survive! For their survival is our goal and the very reason we seek answers from you."
"A few of you children remain and we would preserve them. Eggs were found, still unhatched and likely to remain die if nothing is done. How do we cause them to hatch?"
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You lie! I broke no oath. I was framed and falsely accused! I brought my remaining children here to raise them, and then the vile drakes started hunting them. I created the second generation to be stronger, but I knew it was not enough, I needed a second iteration!
This was the project I was working on when the magi of Andorra murdered me.
The eggs, if they are the same you speak of, they will endure indefinitely. They are not living things, they are magical constructs that hold the seed of life in he form of a suspended ritual spell. Such are the quirks of experimentation, each eggs requires a special condition to be triggered.
First seven years must pass! As the lands of the dead are without time, I do not know when that shall be or when it was,
Second! Each must be bathed in the blood of a dragon, absorbing the essence of the enemy, no longer to be prey!
Third is the performance of the final ritual, the vs needed already imbued in the eggs. And this is where I now have the upper hand! I had destroyed my lab texts, and I alone know the secret. I am the ghost of a Hermetic magus, and I know there are limits to how long you can command performance of me. If you would have my further cooperation to teach this to you, then meet my demand. Find the truth! Seek justice on my behalf. Those that murdered me, though true that they can claim that I was not under the protection of the Code at the time, they still murdered me and they know this to be true. Find their identities. Expose them. They came from Andorra covenant.
[Spoken to Marcellus, completely ignoring the ghost]
The Woad is all for finding the truth, but he thinks the main point is to make sure this area does not have needless conflict and rampaging beasts. We'll need to go back to the covenant and ask Vocis and Vibria...The Woad is really searching his memory now, but did Edith not say ehr instructiopns were for us to avoid conversation with the Fire Drakes? Wonder why, this situation becomes even more exciting as it evolves.
[and then to the ghost, since I've now someehat caught up to what we're doing 
]
Salve Sodales, honoured spirit. The Woad would like to know more detail about your last days and your actions, and what reasons your killers gave for Forfeit Immunity. Also, bathing the eggs in dragon's blood...the Woad foresees a challenge here. Hopefully the dragon does not need to be dead. Because that won't happen
[glances worried at...whicever dragon is nearby - I kind of lost track]
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(they went down to the dungeon)
None They gave no reason or justification. They knew not who I was. I was no threat. I offered them hospitality! They offered to come speak to the dragon with me, get the, to stop hunting my children. But they were envious of my genius! We came here to speak with this monster, and I was betrayed as they pelted be with boulders as the dragon eviscerated me!
True, I am Orbus. I was cast out of the Order for crimes I did not commit. But they did not know that!
The Woad would like to know if there is a non-violent way we can prevent further conflict with the Owlbears? At least for now. Apart form the interesting situation with the eggs, what about the living, active ones?
Otherwise, he can think of no further questions for now. He must discuss the matter with his sodales. Fare well, spirit.
And then he waits until Marcellus is done as well, because some matters are not for ghostly ears.
[OOC: But I'll continue here already, so as to not bog down the story]
Marcellus, the old wounds of this matter may be healed - maybe imperfectly, and apparently only for Andorra's side in the conflict - but may not be desirable to cut open again. The pain and the risk of an even worse healing is probable. The Woad genuinely does not know what happened back then, and desires not to antagonize the elder magi. But if we are to solve the matter of the owlbears, he thinks we must inform them: Any further work along the avenue found will reopen the matter of what happened with Featherbottom, and require the full truth to be revealed. And even then, we have only the word of a slighted ghost that we will be wiser to the workings of the Owlbears.
Also, the Woad does not think it a criterium of succes for us, in the eyes of Andorra's elder magi, that we hatch those eggs. However interesting that may be. But if it is a priority of the dragon's allies with Andorra, it may become one for us anyway.
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Marcellus addresses the ghost with final words, "We shall look into this, Orbus. But know this! If you lied and you were guilty of crimes against the Order, and still deny us the knowledge to hatch the egss, then we shall hunt down the last of your children and kill them! The eggs will be destroyed and the last of your legacy erased forever!"
After reasonable time for the ghost to answer those parting words, he signals Edith to end her spell, thinking, Hmmm, this may be a spell worth learning or investing into an item. What about a version for animals? This will bear considering.
He thanks Edith for her spell, then gesture his fellow magi together. "Are we all agreed that this is worth pursuing?"
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The Woad feels he must agree. It seems the only avenue of approach to deal with our assignment regarding the owlbears. The truth should come out, even if it means asking our seniors difficult or even unwanted questions.
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Just to say, Roberto had no knowledge of any secrets when he instructed Edith that the expedition was to avoid talking to Firedrakes. That is just something the senior magi had strongly advised him about, and he was just passing the message along.
The two drakes return, accompanied by a lovely young woman.
Venkath introduces her.
This is my wife Kallista. She once applied to be a member of your covenant. In her mind that was only a month ago. But it has been decades. Time flies! I have her son in the regio, and I told her the deal.
"Greetings, sodalis Kallista," he says bowing. "I am Marcellus of House Verditius, a guest of the covenant of Andorra. These are the maga Edith and the magi Ikelos and The Woad. We came here seeking information and learned of your presence when our host, the dragon Venkath, announced it. It will be our pleasure to assist you in the quest for the Spear. We will have much to discuss once we are back to Andorra and can begin our search for it."
Turning to the dragons, he adds, "We have obtained what information we could for now, though we may have come back in the future, if that is agreable. Perhaps when we have found the treasure you seek, perhaps? For now, we are ready to rejoin our comrades who remained behind."
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The Woad bows his head politely, as his name is mentioned, but says nothing. Otherwise he remains the picture of a stoci warrior, leaning casually on his spear.
While on the inside, he is silently admiring Marcellus' skills of socializing and intrigue. For now, he just plays along at Marcellus' lead.
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Um, yeah. Hello 
So, as I understand it, twenty years had passed in these last twenty days. I told my son I would be back in a few days, so I hope to clear this up in a year or so.
Say, did you guys ever vote on my application?