[Prelude] Scene 1: The Certamen

[littha]

Whichever one is closest, hopefully it will be some stairs down.

[brujon]

Jonah finally decides he's analyzed things long enough, and he has a good grasp of the situation before him, thus, he speaks.

Ya'll are the strangest lot i'va seen'a while. M'guess is fate's gotta be inna strange mood today... Oy, you there! Whose's master of yours your're so keen about pleasing anyways?(Referring to adolphe) Well let it be said that Ol' Hex here doesn't take kindly to being bosse areound... That being said, (addressing to all), what're the lot of you doing here anyways? Seems ta me you got the spark in ya, just like ol Jonah here. Now i know a thing or two about that, and one thing i know best, is that when a bunch of wee pointy hats start gathering areound, no good comes out of it. So may i ask it of ye... What in the name's of all holy fuck are ye all planning about?

Jonah takes a breather, and flips a coin through his fingers, touching his beloved medallion, his gift of fate, and calmly reading the strings of fate that weave all that are here togheter.

(Roll: Entropy ->

Rolled 3d10 : 5, 4, 8, total 17

I wish to look at the threads of fate that binds them all togheter with me, and see if the prognosis is favorable or not.)

[Dictum Mortuum]

Gabrielle

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Gabrielle turns and opens the door behind her, hoping that it's the one that has some stairs that lead down. As the door opens, there is indeed a staircase; however, as she stands at the top of the stairs, she remembers that this is the door that she used to enter the room.

Jonah

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As Jonah finishes the spell, his perception is enhanced; he is able to see invisible strings of no particular color interconnecting him and everyone in the room. The strings that connect him and Adolphe are faint and one must concentrate in order to see them; however, the strings attached to everyone else in the room are elusive, but more clearly defined.

[brujon]

Gabrielle

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Gabrielle turns and opens the door behind her, hoping that it's the one that has some stairs that lead down. As the door opens, there is indeed a staircase; however, as she stands at the top of the stairs, she remembers that this is the door that she used to enter the room.

Jonah

(click to show/hide)

As Jonah finishes the spell, his perception is enhanced; he is able to see invisible strings of no particular color interconnecting him and everyone in the room. The strings that connect him and Adolphe are faint and one must concentrate in order to see them; however, the strings attached to everyone else in the room are elusive, but more clearly defined.

(There was no reaction from Adolphe to what Jonah said? Waiting for everyone else's character reaction)

[Dictum Mortuum]

(There was no reaction from Adolphe to what Jonah said? Waiting for everyone else's character reaction)

(I was waiting for the rest of the guys to react. I'll give 'em until tomorrow and continue with Adolphe's reaction if no one replies)

[Popedanei]

Niyati follows Gabrielle into what door she goes in. Heading to the broom closet.   

[littha]

Gabrielle just opens the next door around the room in a clockwise pattern until she finds the right one.

[ariasderros]

Versel watches Gabrielle testing the doors. A perplexing task to be sure, what with the odd properties of these doors. All Versel had managed to do in his time here was to open the door to his room, just to find that the door invariably led him to wherever he was needed to be. (See the opening post of Dictum's)

It truly is as my mentor told me, some magics make no sense to me, and seem to be impossible. How these doorways work is most perturbing. How could they just transit the Form of a person without the interjection of imposition of the actuality of transit?

Jonah finally decides he's analyzed things long enough, and he has a good grasp of the situation before him, thus, he speaks.

Ya'll are the strangest lot i'va seen'a while. M'guess is fate's gotta be inna strange mood today... Oy, you there! Whose's master of yours your're so keen about pleasing anyways?(Referring to adolphe) Well let it be said that Ol' Hex here doesn't take kindly to being bosse areound... That being said, (addressing to all), what're the lot of you doing here anyways? Seems ta me you got the spark in ya, just like ol Jonah here. Now i know a thing or two about that, and one thing i know best, is that when a bunch of wee pointy hats start gathering areound, no good comes out of it. So may i ask it of ye... What in the name's of all holy fuck are ye all planning about?

"To address your concerns and commentaries, I'll take them point by point.
Firstly, I've no idea why you believe anyone here is any stranger than anyone else, at least on a mundane level. Are not such things merely a matter of subjective observation of the Forms of things?
Secondly, I must agree on the prospect of today being strangely fated, what with having been here several days, and only just now crossing so many other peoples.
Thirdly, while I have no greater love for being "bossed around" than you, I doubt Mr. Adolphe's brisk manner is meant to convey any authoritarian ill-will. Some people just have ways of speaking that are somewhat off-putting that become more obvious in stressful situations... such as my own, right now. That in mind, please do not take over-much offence to what I've been told can be "stuffy-sounding" speech, as I do not intend for any perceived condescension.
Fourthly, what we are doing here. I personally was invited to this abode, and arrived a few days ago. Since then, I have received further mentor-ship on the nature of being, so-called, "Awakened". I have now been summoned to this room, as it would seem the ladies, Jerry, and yourself, could be assumed to have been the same. I personally am not "planning" anything  save to see what this is all about, and see what I can learn from it all.

As a tertiary point, I was told by my original mentor that his house, "House Bonisagus", is sometimes referred to in a derogatory fashion as "Pointy Hats". I did not understand why then, nor do I understand the usage to which you have put the term. We do not seem to have the time here and now, but it would please me greatly if you could, at a later time, do me the honor of providing erudition for the verbiage."

Adolphe then turns his head to the drops of blood:

"Oh, believe me when I tell you, that's blood. A person such as myself knows things and that is surely blood; if it wasn't that thick layer of dust covering everything around here it would be very difficult to clean up, but I'm sure you can easily remove it now! I wouldn't be so worried - it's just a few drops - probably someone cut himself - maybe in the process of moving furniture? I'm pretty sure this room had at least some!"

"As you say, Messieur Adolphe. Then I'll worry about it no more, for the time being."

(Would Versel know whether or not Adolphe is an Awakened or a Sleeper? Assuming so, which one?)

[Dictum Mortuum]

Gabrielle:

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That door is the right one - there is indeed a staircase leading down, when there wasn't one when you passed through it the first time. You can see the broom closet from the top of the stairs, it's just at the end of the corridor, only two meters away from the end of the stairs. There are no other visible windows or doors in the corridor). If you continue opening other doors wanting to find the broom closet, with every door you open you just see the same image as the one I described above.

Versel:

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Every awakened being holds some amount of quintessence (although that's not definitive). You can check out if you like!

All:

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Sorry if I didn't make it clear, but you've all been before in this house, which is actually a chantry. You've probably been living here for a while after you've been awakened, it's just that you didn't see much of it aside from your personal room and your master's that you where serving as an acolyte. Adolphe was one of the few people you've seen in the house aside from your master

[brujon]

Jonah stands puzzled looking at the drops of blood... Whence did the threads of fate smile unhappily to a soul, and whence might these threads point to, now? Jonah knows how to find the right path. Silently, he prays to Tyche, Fortuna, She of Many Faces, that one who dances slily at the courts of Sultans, and who more than once tricked Father Death...

Through silence he prays, and soon bursts into a chant, reminiscent of olden times, when the gods were young and prone to dance into the misty mountain tops of Earth...


"Oh fortuna! She of many faces! Fate weaver! Patron of gamblers and of saints alike... She who doesn't discriminate 'tween beggars and kings... Bringer of fortune and of doom! Heed the call of one who doesn't astray from the path laid by thee! Shew the ones that gather hither, which path has destiny laid forthwith... Shew them but a glimpse of what is to be! Oh Fortuna! Velut luna! Alea Jacta Est!"

And with that, Jonah lays down and touches the puddle of blood, asking She of Many Faces, where the threads of fate points thus, so that we may know the way laid out by fate...

Rolled 3d10 : 5, 8, 1, total 14

-> Entropy

[brujon]

Dang... I ought to get a better roll for my roleplaying, lol! Now i'll look like a sad wacko!

[Dictum Mortuum]

As everyone in the room watches Jonah practicing his ritualistic chant, a shadow of a man appears behind Adolphe and for a split second everyone besides the ecstatic Jonah turns their head to face the man that newly arrived in the round room. Almost immediately, Adolphe bows slightly to the man, who proceeds to enter the room. To everyone's surprise, the long shadow actually belongs to a little man, almost the height of a 10 year old child. The little man is actually quite cheerful and wears a long smile; his cheeks are red and he has a weird-looking, fat nose - his appearance could be that of a garden gnome, if he wasn't wearing those riding boots and expensive dark coat.

Adolphe then greets him by saying: "Good evening, Master. I am happy to present to you the new apprentices that successfully completed their training."

Jonah:

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You can continue casting for additional successes, but the difficulty raises by one. Btw you didn't fail - the difficulty is 5, so you get one.

[ariasderros]

This man must be the owner of this house, with its weird portals. He has rendered me much aid, and by the sounds of it, to these others too. I must try to make a good impression of myself.

Well met good sir. My name is Mr. Versel Leveux, and I would like to thank you most prodigiously for your hospitality and assistance in the ministration of our erudition.
...
Might I inquire as to the... purpose of all of this? Gathering us and training us, I mean?

... I may have overdone it again. I want him to know I am smart, so he finds that he hasn't wasted his efforts. But that may well have sounded like I was trying to hard.

[brujon]

This man must be the owner of this house, with its weird portals. He has rendered me much aid, and by the sounds of it, to these others too. I must try to make a good impression of myself.

Well met good sir. My name is Mr. Versel Leveux, and I would like to thank you most prodigiously for your hospitality and assistance in the ministration of our erudition.
...
Might I inquire as to the... purpose of all of this? Gathering us and training us, I mean?

... I may have overdone it again. I want him to know I am smart, so he finds that he hasn't wasted his efforts. But that may well have sounded like I was trying to hard.

Jonah, after finishing his thing... Finally addresses Mr. Leveux...

Oh i'm sorry, i guess i didn't hear you over the sound of your own pomp... As for why we call all of ye pointy hats... I guess if ya didn't hear the stories growin up, i can't help but feel sad for ye lost childhood...

[Dictum Mortuum]

The master takes his time to examine all the attendees carefully; his exterior appearance seems to be composed and calm, but his eyes betray his feelings - he seems to be worried. Then, in complete contrast of his ridiculous appearance, he speaks in a deep, soft voice:

"Good evening young mages. I'm glad that you completed your basic training successfully; I must apologize for skipping the formal ceremony that we normally hold for our graduates, but we're forced to do so under these dire circumstances."

He then turns to Versel and slightly nods his head and answers his question in the same tone:

"It's good to meet you, too, Mr. Leveux. I will be completely frank with you, so forgive me if our purpose does not seem all that righteous after all -"

after a slight pause, he continues:

"Our main purpose is survival; our ranks have been significantly diminished over the last few centuries - it seems as like as the world progresses, we're falling behind. What we're trying to do is to protect newly awakened mages to understand what this life changing event means, train them in the magical ways and most importantly warn them about the many dangers out there, for doing so ensures our existence, at least at a certain degree. Unfortunately, for various reasons that are related to our order and this chantry, training you does not mean that you have been accepted into our chantry's ranks as well; one might say that for the time being you're free to do so as you please and go on with your life."

Then, again, after a slight pause, addresses everyone in the room:

"Before I bid you farewell, I would like to ask of you two favors, there are two issues that could use your attention, if you, of course, have the time. The first and probably most important matter is that a fellow graduate of yours, named Igon Çubiry is supposedly held at a mental institution in the nearby city of Bordeaux; I do not know why this happened or under what circumstances he was arrested and led there - maybe truly went mad, but, of course, that may not be the case."

"The second matter is a personal one. An old acquaintance of mine has asked my help, but, alas, I do not have the time nor the resources to get involved; I don't actually know the nature of the problem, but you'll most likely be able to help if you combine your powers."

As he speaks he reaches into his pocket and takes out a napkin and a pencil. Then he quickly draws a sketch and extends his arm towards the group, waiting for someone to get it, as he finishes his sentence. 

[ariasderros]

"You have done us a great favor in lending us your aid. It seems only practical, at least for my part, that at least an effort be made for quid pro quo."

Versel will take the note.

"It seems as though the first priority would be to assist Mr. Çubiry, as his aid may be necessary for the other favor."

[Dictum Mortuum]

You take the note and give it a quick look - however, you can't help but notice the elaborate design - it seemed that the master just made just a few lines with his pencil, but the drawing you just saw is so colorful, a piece of art. It depicts Bordeaux and a provincial road leading to a small village; north of that there is a pond with a wooden bridge

Just below Bordeaux, to the southeast, there's a drawing of a country house, but it's just a quick and 'ugly' sketch - the lines are distorted and looks like it was made in a hurry; despite the bad quality of the house sketch, you understand that it's your current position.

[ariasderros]

Versel will give the map a thorough look-over. Then he will hold it up at shoulder height, for anyone who wants to read it as well.

"It is a map," he says to the others, "if any of you would like to review it for yourselves."

Versel then re-addresses the "master"

"Is that all, good sir?"

[littha]

Gabrielle takes a look at the map herself, careful to make a clear note of the important locations in her mind.