Grand Dining Hall

[alhoon]

Draxton, pushes his dish aside as if offended by Van Rijn's remarks. While he can understand the grieviances of the transmuter he cannot understand the point of this ridiculus outbreak and more of all, . . . what happened to him and he fell.
Perhaps it was a good idea that he prepared an invisibility spell after all.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Hartly had been in the middle of his roast beef when Van Rijn began his speech.

Is this a shadow of my own future? He wondered. Ignored and unappreciated due to petty jealousy and bigotry against my field?

Then Van Rijn fell.

Hartly stood up, pushing back his chair. He made to push his way past the throngs of Brothers when he heard the conversation going on close to his ear.

He had been lost in thought when his eyes fell upon a woman who had apparently come alone. Her voice had a slight accent to it, from... Paridon? His face twisted as he felt it remind him about something... he had read some works from Paridon... They had stuck in his mind both because the author had undergone some discussion among some of the Brothers, many of whom discounted the works because of her gender.

Kingsley. That was the name. He'd have to find time to talk with her and discuss her theories. Some held a glimmer of promise, if you could wrestle them away from the thin layers of dross that surrounded them.

"I believe that he may be refering to himself." He said in his slow, flat tones. "There have been... rumors."

Pushing his way past the other brothers, he made his way to Van Rijn.

"Perhaps I can lend aid." He said, bringing to mind one of the first spells he had discovered upon decifering the secret language of creation.

[Pamela]

“Himself?! Is he mad, then?” Gertrude asked aloud, finding it hard to believe that a man of van Rijn’s stature could endanger his standing and his life by dabbling in such a grisly field. Breaking rules was not going to be any way of encouraging the Fraternity to bend them.

But if there’s rumours…who knew? And for how long? She looked around at the elders she recognised: Hazan and Skully, and the gentleman who looked like a corpse laid out for burial in his finest clothing- that one had stood during van Rijn’s speech. Either he was a guard or a figure of authority to consider himself capable of stepping in on the Fraternity’s behalf. Well, well, this will be a meeting to discuss in detail when I get home…What in the world is Hartly doing? Giving him final rites? She thought with amusement.

[Viktor Hazan]

“For any treachery to the body of the Fraternity? Likewise, no! For any divulging of those secrets which I have sworn to keep? No, no, and again, no! Instead, because of my study of what the Fathers, in their exceeding wisdom, have been pleased to call "the study of the overly gross and fleshly concerns of transmutation, in place of that enlightened study of illusion which central to our understanding of Shadow"!”

From his place at the table Reuland begins to rise and Hazan’s face darkens. Van Rijn continues unabated

“For this, and this alone, is my advancement denied. Therefore, I throw down this gauntlet to the Umbral Fathers, the Lords of the Fraternity...”

Then, sudeenly, Van Rijn collapses limply onto the ground. Several servants rush to him and he is quickly carried from the stage.[/i]

“What? What? What?” said Viktor in the tumult, but a few heard these expressions of shock from him.

Necromancy! I was sure he had left this field behind when he got this reprimand from the council a few years ago, Viktor thought. I’m dreaming, this isn’t true! My old friend in the grasp of forbidden necromantic studies! Viktor slapped his forefront.

The Vistani! The last card! Death! It was him?

He looked at Balfour de Castelle, shouting orders and threats but it was lost in the noisy confusion.

“Headless chicken, is that what we are becoming?” Viktor said.

---

Pushing his way past the other brothers, he made his way to Van Rijn.

"Perhaps I can lend aid." He said, bringing to mind one of the first spells he had discovered upon decifering the secret language of creation.

Lauren has difficulty getting near the podium. Most of the persons are standing up, shouting in the direction of the podium or at their neighbour. Many chairs fell on their back, making his run toward the podium slow.

But while getting there, he notices a few people got up early and made a tight circle around the podium, as if to protect it.

[Viktor Hazan]

“Himself?! Is he mad, then?” Gertrude asked aloud, finding it hard to believe that a man of van Rijn’s stature could endanger his standing and his life by dabbling in such a grisly field. Breaking rules was not going to be any way of encouraging the Fraternity to bend them.

Viktor heard the woman, and noticed her expression changing afterward to slight amusement.

What is funny? Did I miss something? Viktor thought.

"Mad? It could be much worse then being mad, as he has chosen this path of horrific studies while being conscious of all the risks. He's not mad, it's betrayal!"

[Mayhew Donovan]

Donovan gagged on his pinot noir and had to dap his lips with his napkin.
He wasn't quite expecting that to be the topic of discussion!

Then van Rijn fell and everyone rose or cried out. Donovan is no exception.
“Is…is he still alive?” a voice asked to his right. Donovan had no answer as he moved forward only to be stopped by the various people clustered around the podium. He could just make out van Rijn's limp figure.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Hartly stopped at the circle and eyed it critically.

Like cattle protecting the young and infirm. He mused. Or vultures feasting on a corpse.

It quickly came apparent to him that he would not be allowed any closer and pushed his way back to his seat.

"A tightly knit society we have formed." He grumbled as he sat back down. "A few words against our vaunted 'elders' and their charter and we stumble head over heels trying to position ourselves." He sat down and took another bite of dinner.

"How do you take this?" He asked, looking at no one in particular.

[Grey Arcanist]

So why did he collapse? Conrad thinks to himself, as he moves toward the fallen transmuter. He did just 'challenge' the elders; might they have struck him down? Or conversely, did Van Rijn deliberately stage this melodrama, as part of a scheme to manipulate the rest of them for some reason? I need to understand Van Rijn, he thinks...what was he thinking? Well, perhaps I can find out in time...but first lets see if we can learn the specific cause of this collapse. Might he have been poisoned? That is a testable hypothesis... Conrad pauses for a moment as he casts his Detect Poison cantrip, then uses it to learn if Van Rijn has been poisoned.

[Viktor Hazan]

Hartly stopped at the circle and eyed it critically.

Like cattle protecting the young and infirm. He mused. Or vultures feasting on a corpse.

It quickly came apparent to him that he would not be allowed any closer and pushed his way back to his seat.

The circle of persons around the podium are mostly people he seem to remark for the first time at this moment. These were quiet, unremarkable persons, who didn’t get the slightest of attention before this moment. Dispersed in the crowd, they were invisible.

Together, they make it clear that they not belong here tonight.

[Viktor Hazan]

That is a testable hypothesis... Conrad pauses for a moment as he casts his Detect Poison cantrip, then uses it to learn if Van Rijn has been poisoned.

OOC: nope!

[Tobias Blackburn]

Leaning towards those closer to him, Harlty gestured towards the men around Van Rijn.

"Does anyone recognize them?" He asked, whispering quietly enough to be masked by the ambient noise. "If not, we may have to consider a way to get them away from the Professor."

[Ambrose Skully]

“For this, and this alone, is my advancement denied. Therefore, I throw down this gauntlet to the Umbral Fathers, the Lords of the Fraternity...”

"It would appear that the gauntlet is not all that he threw down."
Ambrose motions towards the cadre surrounding Van Rijn with his one good hand, "Now see here, you, make way. We simply must cart away that loud-mouthed carcase before he begins to smell."

[Pamela]

If Hazan were acting his sense of horror and outrage, it was a virtuoso performance. Gertrude turned to the man with some real sympathy. She knew of the Fraternity’s ways of dealing with rulebreakers. True, there were non-members present, but there was certainly someone in all these numbers who would have been able to dispatch van Rijn. They would probably also be able to get away with it without much fuss; all were witness to how ill he’d looked on his appearance.

Do you truly care about him, then? “Professor Hazan, are you saying that these rumours are true? Or are you merely voicing the suspicion?”

She looked around at the hubbub- some women were in swoons, their husbands and fathers tending to them. Bloody weaklings… She removed her gloves gently, then clapped her hands loudly. “Gentlemen! For shame! We are brothers in Shadow, not children in a nursery, or actors in some melodrama! Take the women away, and all non-members!”

She turned to Hazan, slightly apologetic. “Forgive me for intruding, sir; I feel the less witnesses there are to our upheaval, the better.”

[Viktor Hazan]

Leaning towards those closer to him, Harlty gestured towards the men around Van Rijn.

"Does anyone recognize them?" He asked, whispering quietly enough to be masked by the ambient noise. "If not, we may have to consider a way to get them away from the Professor."

Van Rijn is now back up, supported by one person of this circle.

"I figured those were members from far away. Never saw them before.", Viktor said. "but I do not have the impression they are threatening him."

"Au contraire", said Viktor grimly.

[Pamela]

She turned puzzled when Hartly returned to his seat. Why had he changed his mind? Did he believe the ‘rumour’, or had he been informed it would be wise just to let nature take its course?

At his query, she murmured, “Security, I would assume…?” At Hazan’s answer, she began to be worried. A determined look came upon her face. “If there is going to be trouble we really must get the onlookers out…”