"My name if Marcellus, filius Honorius of House Verditius. We do claim juridiction, nor intend any form of intimidation. We were simply accompanying an ally, the dragon you saw us ride, to meet his sibling for reasons of our own. Our presence is probably the only thing that kept the second dragon from attacking you, which would probably have resulted in more death."
Marcellus shrugs, "But if you feel that our saving your lives is ground for a complaint, it is of course your right to do so. Or we could try to resolve this in a way that avoids any more death, be it of dragons or humans."
The Woad may repeat himself, but our covenant has a treaty with the dragons, which makes it our jurisdiction to sort out this situation. Why donât you accompany us back to Andorra and we will present the case for the senior magi followed by a fair treaty with the dragons?
However, what you know about Mistridge is this...
There was a revolt by locals and covenfolk, after generations of abuse, and led by a Rusticani magus, Mistridge was overthrown around 1216ish. For years there had been talk of rebuilding it, and apparently someone got around to it finally.
Anyway...
Phillipius shakes his head at you two.
You have it all wrong my friend. Andorra so far has rejected taking a place in Provencal, so you are way out of your jurisdiction. And your cute llittle spin will not hold water in a Tribunal. Your showing up with another dragon demanding we stand down in not qualify as "saving us".
And you. A treaty with dragons is not a legall defense. Besides, any such treaty only applies to your Tribunal. What is that? Iberia? Or are you guys still pretending Val-Negra is a valid option? Or do you claim that Provencal now has authority over you?
Meanwhile...
Venkath has taken advantage of the pause to catch his breath, and he is ready for more fighting. He unleashes a gout of flame upon Joaquin, who manages to protect himself with his magic shield.
"You misunderstand our intervention. I would probably do the same in your place, for you do not know what passed previously." It is Marcellus' turn to shake his head.
"This dragon," he points at Maurice, "was coming here regardless of our presence. Had we not been here, he would have attacked you as soon as he arrived. The only reason he did not was us."
When Venkath sends fire against Joaquin, Marcellus calls out sharply, "Maurice! Rein in your brother or he will be killed! If not now, then later by other magi!"
The Woad nods impressed at Marcellusâ statements.
Then he addresses the foreign magi, and scoffs:
Do you people not believe in being good neighbours?
Of course you can have a treaty with a dragon! Legally binding? Donât let yourselves be limited by relations within the Order. While the Code only applies among magi, common decency applies universally.
And donât get caught up in Tribunal border disputes. Weâre not even in disagreement about any resource, so why bother. Neighbours exist even across borders. And The Woad for one would like to expand his local knowledge and number of acquaintances.
Now, what precisely is the dispute with the dragon? Have you tried talking with it? No, donât yell at the Woad, he is not taking sides, heâll ask the dragon the same questions! Maybe he is hungry, so you could feed him something else.Maybe youâll gain his friendship, or even something else, who knows what dragons can offer. If you ask them, it is.
Joaquin has a magic shield that repels the flame well enough, but it is obvious that Venkath is at his full strength and fury.
Phillipius shouts at you guys...
You ask what our dispute is? It's a frickin Dragon! The beast has been terrorizing the valley, destroying crops, stealing livestock, and setting houses on fire with people trapped inside. I don't know. Is that enough for you?
Bishop Philipius of Gurnicus singles to his retinue, and they proceed to recover the body of the fallen Fritz.
And he begins to contemplate a radical plan to extract himself and his sodales from the situation.
OOC What does Maurice do in reaction to Marcellus' words? I am hoping that the call of battle has subsided somewhat and he understands what I'm trying to do here.
Maurice is just observing the situation as it de-escalates. I suppose he hears Marcelllus' words of warning, but he is not seeming to take it seriously. He sort of waves his taloned paw at you in a gesture that indicates "calm down and wait".
ooc: I forgot what color I was using for Maurice. But here is a tim. You can write "color=(name) and it will give you something that is easy to remember and reepeat,
Calm down. If he wanted to, my brother could have killed all of them already, and you as well. He is playing with them. He has been towing with them the whole time.
Kinda like a cat.
Which is actually the first form I learned to change into. I can relate to cats.
(side note: sme years ago, Maurice in cat-form knocked up Felecia the familiar of Fleur, and is thus the father of Vibria's draco-cat familiar).
Oh come on, the world is full of fantastic creatures. Just take advantage of the intelligence of the dragon and deal with it, instead of just fighting it. Also, it may be a losing battle.
Maurice, Venkath, would you like to tell The Woad your side of the situation?Eating livestock is one thing, it is the way of the predator, but one must not overdo things. Killing people should not be necessary, nor is ruining crops a good solution. There are vast areas of mountains with no people, could your two sides not stay apart? Terrorise people and youâll see them rise up in resistance. In Hibernia these things have happened a lot, but weâve found we can reach agreements after a while of fighting. The Woad thinks youâve blown off enough steam here, youâve already lost one comrade and obviously you are facing an opposition beyond you. Do the smart thing.
Oh, and how can a Hermetic magus be a bishop? Is that not similar to owing fealty?
The other magi bravely run away. Venkath chortles, then scoffs at The Woad's words. He and Maurice growf at one another. Then he will begrudgingly talk in a human tongue.
Look, you. I am a dragon, see? I make men tremble and their widow's cry. I want people to fear and hate me. I have a reputation to be concerned with.
The Woad apologizes, it was mostly just to shut those magi up and send them off. However in Hibernia magi sometimes reach accords with even mighty magical creatures, to the benefit of both. Your reputation, the Woad admits, was not taken into account.
How would dragons view it, if your terrorizing of an area was so great it forced a bribe out of lords and wizards? And then maybe ease off the grand killing, maybe move on a little to other areas, while enjoying the spils of the extortion? That'll still make people fear you, rightfully so. They still remember what you already did and are afraid you'll do it again.
Then both sides would be getting something, and the area would be allowed to recover. Dragons live for along time, the Woad thinks, so after a human generation the area can perhaps support another dragon. It's no use if the area dies out completely. Also, if plauged too much, the wizards will just come at you even harder. Granted, that may still not be enough, but wizards dying does stir things up. There are no provisions among us that we have to avenge a dead sodales. The Woad knows he won't, also because those magi were disagreeable. But it may attract other troublemakers.
Anyway, the Woad thinks we had some other business. Something about Owlbears and the wizards who once made them?
Marcellus sighs, "That is a dangerous game. You have made enemies of those magi, and we magi can learn and adapt quickly to face challenges. They may very well come back in a few years, much more powerful and ready to face Venkath, or you, or any dragon. And they won't be back to play. They will kill that dragon, and the next ones they meet. And so equiped, with power and knowledge, they will hunt down your kind."
"So what have you gained? Momentary satisfaction of toying with humans? In exchange, you will die in a few years. And here I thought dragons, who live such long lives, would think long term..."
Hey, don't get on my case about it. I am down with the masquerade and have learned to adopt a human guise. It is my big brother you should be cross with. And I don't think he cares, so I advise you don't do that.
Then The Woad speaks to Venkath, which I shall not quote, but just know that he is impressed enough to listen somewhat. Though he cherry picks what he wants to hear and tunes the rest out. Yes! Right on the nose there. To become immortal I must first become infamous. There is a whole process to it.
The Woad shrugs and smiles.Well, at least the Woad tried. And those unpleasant magi left. Donât be surprised when they return in greater strength and numbers. Magi can spend time and take shortcuts of a sort, and attack with great strength. But they might be extra annoyed, because they had to spend time on a project to Kill specifically you, so itâs useless against other dragons.
The future of this this case needs to be discussed with our elders.
Anyway, we had some business about Owlbears?
Marcellus frowns, "When we arrived, you seemed ready to attack the magi to help your brother. And when I asked you to interpose yourself, you did nothing... even seemed to encourage him..."
He stops and takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly, letting go of his frustration. "Well, you came to speak to your brother and try to convince him. Let us do that."
Marcellus turns to Venkath, "Lord Venkath, your prowess in battle was very impressive! Infamous you will indeed become, with such feats of power! But yet, I cannot help but worry..." He purposefully his words hanging, trying to draw Venkath's curiosity.
Maurice shrugs. Hey, what can I say. I always stick up for family. Back them up first, ask questions later. Never take sides against the family. So anyways, let us talk to my brother. Do not fear, you are under my protection
Then Maurice speaks to Venkath, who responds... Yeah, you better worry. I will abide by my father's treaty though.
Marcellus smiles his crooked smile. "I worry about what it means for you. With such feats and reputation, I worry that these magi, or others like them, will go searching for it and use it against you."
