La Maison Soulombre, Afternoon of April 11th

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Nathan of the FoS
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La Maison Soulombre, Afternoon of April 11th

Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Attendance at this afternoon's meeting is rather sparse; many of the brothers present have elected to visit their lodgings in town after having been forced to spend the night at the Maison. Those present adjourn to the library, where a map of the regions surrounding the Nocturnal Sea and a map of the boroughs of the mist-shrouded city of Paridon have been placed on either side of the lectern, for the reference of the speakers. After a muttered discussion about allocation of time, Honored Brother Valry Rivtoff--a Nova Vaasan nobleman of mediocre arcane talents but deep pockets--steps to the podium.

"Brothers!" he says grandiloquently. "We desire to learn of this Land of Mists, the domain of Shadow in which we all dwell--not only the principles which undergird its nature, but the history, the anthropology, the geography of the lands which surround us. I have undertaken to fund a study of the Nocturnal Sea, its islands and coasts, which has been undertaken by Brother Paul Dirac..."

After another five minutes of bloviation Rivtoff seats himself and Dirac steps to the podium and begins to recount his journey to Liffe and the Isle of Ravens.
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Post by alhoon »

Interesting... If Draxton offers to finance some other expedition for an honored or exalted brother and keeps the founding as a monthly revenue, he won't probably be bothered at least as long as the expedition goes on.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

A bit tardy as always, the bard hastens into the lecture-hall near the end of Rivtoff's overlong introduction, guitar-case in one hand and program of events in the other. Sidling towards a seat near the back of the much-diminished audience, he bows his head apologetically to the Vaasi noble at the podium, and nods briskly to Brother Dirac, who awaits his turn to address the gathered Brothers.

Taking his seat, he once more adjusts his chair to make room for the instrument-case at his feet. Crow then sets about fumbling with his program, his notebook, his nib-pen, and the short-handled quizzing-glass through which he peers, from time to time, at the large maps set up on display.

If the quizzing-glass's lens is slightly smaller than the norm, or its frame, a bit thicker, his constant fiddling with paperwork makes it hard to spot this minor distinction. Nor, in all his page-shuffling, is the dearth of a Fraternity ring on either hand immediately evident.

A good thing Kingsley chose to recouperate from the night's excitement just now, he muses, as he steals another lens-assisted glance at the maps ... and at another as-yet-unchecked Brother, when he shifts his gaze toward the displays. She might well have asked whatever became of my spectacles.



[OOC: The bard improvised the quizzing-glass -- basically a monocle on a stick, and appropriate to the period -- with Taroyan's ring, a lens from his spyglass, and some odds and ends from his instrument-care kit. In the event anyone happens to look, his SoH check to hide the fact he's not wearing a ring at the moment is 24, assuming he gets a bonus for hiding (the absence of) a coin-sized object.

[Also, the reason he's late is that he was watching other people leave the estate through a front window, to try to spot any others he hadn't viewed through the ring yet. (Any payoff there, Nathan?)]
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Despite his best efforts, Crow has detected no sign of anyone or anything unusual through his "lens"; a few minutes in the library shows that no-one here is concealing anything (at least, nothing that the improvised quizzing-glass reveals), meaning that something like three-quarters of the Fraternity members present have now passed inspection with flying colors. The bard gets a few annoyed glances for his paper-shuffling, but Brother Dirac is actually quite a captivating speaker--much better than his patron Rivtoff--and his account of his visit to the Isle of Ravens holds the attention of those present quite well, although the more academic members of the audience are probably slightly put off by his rhetorical flights of fancy.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Mildly irritated as his search's continued lack of progress, but enough of a professional not to let it discourage him, the bard strikes Rivtoff and the previously-unviewed audience members from his mental checklist. At an impasse for now, he settles back and begins listening to Dirac's presentation in truth rather than in pretense: the Nocturnal Sea -- although a bit far afield from his usual zones of inquiry -- emerged into the Core within the amnesiac spy's truncated memory, and he's curious to hear of what might've transpired thereabouts, in its decade of existence.

(Had he not tempted fate by tweaking Roeccha's curiosity earlier, Crow might have asked the four officers upstairs to give him a written list of members in attendance: a potential bonanza for his long-term investigation of the Fraternity's own doings, as well as handy in the current search. As things stand, however, requesting such a list could have roused doubts, among the senior Brethren, which he'd rather didn't bestir themselves. Not here, not now. Not yet.)

The bard uses the quizzing-glass for its conventional purpose, and scans the maps of Paridon and the eastern seas once more. I just hope that Larner isn't the crushing bore he seemed, when Kingsley introduced us. This lad Dirac's lively enough, but if the next lecture's as dull as yesterday's, I'll be hard put not to steal something for sheer lack of stimulation, no matter what Buchvold might have to say about it....
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Dirac finishes his account of his visit to the Isle of Ravens with a flourish, then continues, "In addition, this project--so generously underwritten by Brother Rivtoff--has gained the support of the Fathers of the Fraternity! Having won their support for a more general inquiry into this little-known portion of the Land of Mists, I intend to return to that fell isle in summer of the coming year, as a part of a larger survey of all the Nocturnal Sea and its adjoining territories--a project in which I will be joined by none other than Esteemed Brother Viktor Hazan. We will illuminate this corner of Shadow and bring its secrets to light!"

Having made his dramatic conclusion, Dirac needs a brief prompt from Larner to give the expected coda. "Oh, ah, yes. I will now entertain questions from the audience. Please, ask away!"
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Post by alhoon »

"Thank you Brother for this exciting and most useful report. I would like to ask if you noticed any exploitable resources in this place that brave adventures could be sent to carry away. I mean are there any plants, minerals or anything else with special properties that cannot be found elsewhere and that could help a spellcaster either create a magical treasure or even use in spellcasting to augment his or her spells?"
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"I regret to say that I found no evidence for anything like that," Dirac replies, "except, of course, for the rumored library the Lady of Ravens is said to have. I saw only the great hall of her abode, but I can't think it would be very wise to enter without permission in search of...much of anything, really. I suppose a minute examination of the island might yield something of interest, but it seems to be rather ordinary in its vegetation and animal life."
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Post by alhoon »

"Thank you Brother for your reply." Draxton says and takes back his seat.
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"Er...Brother Dirac. You didn't see the library?" Magnus Wolfsbane asks.

"I'm afraid not...I wasn't invited, despite my best attempts to win through by charm," Dirac says, shrugging self-deprecatingly, with a "Women--what can you do with them?" expression on his face.

"What about this...um...Kalibos?" Pierre Lacomte asks. "Do you think there is any profit in meeting with him again?"

"I rather doubt it, all things considered," Dirac says slowly. "If he and the Lady are sworn enemies, I confess I would rather have her help than his...jewels notwithstanding. I think the treasures of knowledge we might get from the Lady's collections are more to be prized."
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"No other questions?" Dirac says, looking around. "Thank you for your attention, brothers! Brother Larner, the floor is yours."

Brother Larner steps forward, ruffles his papers once as if to review their contents by touch, and then begins to speak on the far-off metropolis of Paridon. Despite Crow's fears his presentation is far from dull; he has an enviable gift for conveying information concisely and clearly, and he slips a witty aside or two into his discourse as he speaks. Obviously his career as a tutor has prepared him well for holding an audience's attention.

Finishing, he looks over his spectacles and says, "I will be happy to entertain questions?"
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Post by steveflam »

Helmut looks around. Then to the stage and Brother Larner. Clearing his throat he speaks up. "Pardon me brother Larner, but while you were in Paridon, what did you learn of Dopplegangers?"
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"Not enough," Larner says, frowning. "Their powers of mimicry and mind reading are well-known, of course, but surprisingly little is known of their society, their anatomy, their physiology...it is a deficit I hope to remedy, perhaps with the help of some of those present." As he says this his eyes rest for a moment on Crow. "Do you have any specific questions about them, Brother Jurgen?"
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Post by steveflam »

Helmut thinks over the question. HE does notice Larner's eyes fall on Crow a moment. "Well I was interested about their physiology as well as their society. Pity not much information is known, Brother Larner."
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"It is," Larner says. "It is a very great pity, and a lack which I think we would do well to remedy. But that discussion is, perhaps, a bit beyond our scope at present. Are there other questions?"
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