Cocking an eyebrow, Percival nonetheless dropped into a fighting crouch. If this was an incantation, or Sir John was jesting, or the man had simply lost his mind, he wanted to be ready for whatever happened.

"Salvē," he muttered, unconciously correcting the Latin pronunciation as he looked around.

Goffery falters in his steps for a moment, something ahead of them surprised him, but his stone features made it impossible to tell what it was.  This didn't help the concern that would put Percival into his fighting crouch.  Though Cival being unable to not try and correct things did break Goffery out of his surprise and bring him to the moment.

"You can calm down Cival.  Sir John, it seems, is merely addressing the spirits who have importance here."  He said as he looked at one of the figures he could see, wondering if he should kick himself for earlier comments, or learn to expect more things like that.

After finishing his polite conversation with the spirits and resuming the walk along the northern edge of the Cambridge wall, Sir John nods and says, "It is as Mr Lemmin says, Sir Isaac holds the place outside the wall, while Prince Saladin holds the inside.  Both of them are highly intelligent beings but both are limited since it is hard for a bodiless spirit to learn new knowledges that arose after their demises.  It's not impossible and these two are among the best, this is why we cannot make an agreement that allows the Fae to enter inside the Cambridge University reality bubble."

He looked at his watch.  "We'll soon be approaching Jesus College and Jesus Green, that is a place where we will need the greatest vigilance but also a degree of diplomacy.  Once we reach Fort St George and the Ferry, we'll be on the home straight."

Alcuin

As the trio walk toward Jesus College, a fog seems to rise up from the damp ground, not a freezing fog as they might have expected earlier but a thick and clammy fog, warm as fever and wet as a weekend in Workington.

Suddenly voices can be heard from all directions and with the way fog can distort sound, it is hard to tell whether those voices are coming from far away or from as close as an imp upon one's own shoulder.

"Have you paid the tithe?  Is your soul right with God?  Are you neglecting your duty?"

The journey was starting to get pleasant, almost nice until the fog became that much warmer, the condensation slicking small parts of his form as the those areas the walking rubbed at and made exposed for the water to set on the cool stone in places not protected by the goose fat laden with silver and iron filings.  A sweat almost look on the stone form if any paid attention before the call of the creature.  Not wanting to give words out to draw the ire of what ever creature might be ahead, Goffery turned towards Sir John Hobbs and made some hand signals to ask a course of action in quiet.

First a finger to about where his lips would be, then lifting his left hand palm up flat with his two middle fingers pointed down and making a walking like motion in an arc around his hand from the heel along the thumb line.  Then lifted both of his hands palm up in a more shrug like manner, then lifted two fingers and then pointed towards the voice, made a fist with his right hand and made a punch motion towards his left palm.  Another shrug and lifted three fingers and then pointed towards the voice and kept his fingers flat and the back of his hand up and moved his thumb in a way similar to a hand puppet talking and looked at Sir John Hobbs and Cival for an agreement on ideas for finishing getting past this current issue and making the wall whole.

OOC: I honestly don't understand what you are trying to convey with your hand motions.

OOC: I suppose either if the storymaster wants you to roll something to figure it out I can tell you, I could just tell you flat out, or you can just play off having no idea what was pantomimed and hijinks can flow from there. Whatever would make it more fun for the story.

I didn't understand what you were saying either, Goffery.  I suggest though that you roll Dexterity + Language and Percival rolls Intelligence + Language to see whether (a) you said what you think you said and (b) whether Percival understood you.

OOC Mechanics
10:28, Today: Percival Galois rolled 21 using 1d10+11.  Intelligence + Language.

OOC: Goffery Lemnin rolled 8 using 1d10+7 with rolls of 1.  pantomiming hand signals. So that is a fail. And game matches reality.

Sir John pauses to try to understand what Goffery is trying to say after pausing and scratching his head he says.  "It only seems to work with pure iron or an iron-nickel mixture, preferably filings from a meteorite.  Sadly it doesn't work with pyrites, which is a shame because if it did, it might well keep certain kinds of demons out as well as Fae."

Then he resumes walking through the fog saying, "Ignore the voices gentlemen and try to put your feet in my footsteps.  Fort St George is that way." He takes out a gyroscopic compass.  "Oh... well THAT way, sorry." He adjusts his direction slightly and says, "I'm so glad they invented these things, the magic of the wall interferes with magnetic compasses.  Magnetic North is ever so slightly off on Jesus Green."

There was a silence as the seven foot tall stone creature looked at the two, waiting and watching for comprehension, and then when both didn't understand what he thought was simple and clear options the head ans shoulder lowered.  Listening to Sir John Hobbs Goffery gave a nod, "That is handy."  He moves to follow behind the Master of Emmanuel Leaving Cival to follow behind him.

However, he could not let it slide, "So we follow my first suggestion." He brought his finger up towards where he would have lips.  "We stay quiet."  And then he lifted his left hand palm up and moved his first and second finger while his third and thumb were folded up into his palm, one after the other along the heel of his hand, then along his thumb and past the first finger on his left hand.  "And walk around the voice."  He said unable to release the pettiness of his suggestion, following along right were Sir John Hobbs was stepping to stay with the warning.

Sir John nods and, as Goffery suggests, remains silent as he leads the trio to the point on the Cam which is exactly opposite Fort St George. He snaps his fingers and out of the mist a boatman appears poling a punt across the river.  When he pulls up at shore, Sir John hands each of his companions what looks at first glance to be a silver coin except for the fact that it has no corrosion and no markings.  "That is the cost of the crossing", he says, while ensuring that the iron wall reaches to the very edge of the river itself.

He hands his 'coin' to the boatman and says, "Here you are Karen, lovely day isn't it?"  The boatman says nothing and with gloved hands, makes the coin disappear into the folds of their hooded cloak.

Percy was happy enough to walk in companionable silence, even if these two weren't exactly blood brothers. He was just an affable person in general, and was happy to complete this task if it meant safety for innocents. When the mist-born boatman slides silently up, Percy slows his step somewhat. Not out of fear per say, but...healthy caution.

"Karen? My good man, might you mean Kharon?" he asked, cocking a surprised brow.

"Akóma éna nómisma, re palió agóri? O potamós Styx den symvadízei me ton plithorismó?"* the young man said to the hidden figure, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

*[Language unknown: "Lienai ac werintard lar, we firi elie? Aiun enon Whndro Se rend wh ha whe tinahodi?"]

Goffery enjoyed the quietness of the walk in the mist, thankful that the voice tried nothing against them, meaning it was a trap of ones own hubris, something he noted to himself for future reference.  As they slowed near the water, the golem moved with great care to take the coin from Sir John Hobbs without causing him harm.  Though as the senior member of the party addressed the boatman, There was a noticable slowing in his motions as he made the connection at about the same speed as Cival, maybe a little slower, but he was not as social a fellow, being that he was never the most social nor was he really a fellow any more. At least not in body.

And the issue of body made him concerned, thankful for Cival to take attention with his rather showoffish way.  He wasn't quite sure what Cival said, but it was all Greek to him.  For now, he waited in action, concerned if he got in that boat it might confirm his soul was either missing from the afterlife and in his form.  Or maybe worse that he was dead and it was only the memories of Goffery Lemnin that were pretending to be a soul in this form.

Either way, the near 2.2 meter tall creature of stone approached following behind the Master of Emmanuel with the coin held to pay his passage and finish the wall before it was too late.

Percy, could I have a perception roll from you please?

OOC Mechanics
07:27, Today: Percival Galois rolled 9 using 1d10+7.  Notice.

Karen's hand is small and feminine.  She says nothing but cannot suppress a giggle at Percival's comment.  It's hard to see her face beneath the shadows of the hood but there is no evidence that this is anything other than pantomime and the Cam is still the Cam and not the Styx.

Goffery at times was glad for the lack of emotions on his features as he stood for a moment and then realized that the bits of the fantastical had made his imagination grow far too big.  They were circling the grounds not traveling to the underworld, though the payment was a bit interesting.  His stone hand patted Percival on the back, possibly wobbling the smaller man.

"You need not get too into the myths of old Cival.  Come along, we have quest to finish, Oh knight of the tea cup." He said with a bit of tease, more personality showing since Sir John showed up.  He took care to get into the boat, giving the payment to Karen to allow his passage as he returned his focus to the task at hand.

"Selíni se álla potámia? Ti tha élege o Ádis?"* Percival asked with faux-seriousness, and accepted the general mockery with good grace.

"Myths don't often stay in the past, Mr. Lemnin. But you are right. Enough socializing. Shall we gentlemen?" he agreed, clambering aboard in the few spaces that the Golem wasn't taking up.

*[Language unknown: "Haslarandonefor t reaticyin foanic? Ich ousbutrat Caprpa ne?"]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:14, Mon 14 Feb 2022.

Both Sir John and Karen grinned at Percival's Greek witticism but, while Karen does indeed wink, she does not say anything because right now, her role is that of the silent boatman, carrying out her part in the ritual of sealing.

As the boat sails into and then out of the fog, the world passes into utter silence and it seems as though the journey was longer than it should have been, but nevertheless, when you reach the other side, you are on a footpath leading across Midsummer Common in the direction of Victoria Avenue.

As soon as the boat touched down, Percival jumped out and did his best to secure the vessel. With soemone like Goffery aboard, his width and weight could easily swamp the boat, and that might ruin Sir John's night very quickly.

"Efcharistó, Káren," the young man said with a slight bow as he held the boat.

Goffery waited in the boat for a bit longer, letting Percival take the lead again, he took hold of the other shore and held onto it, holding his hand out to help Sir John get out of the boat before he made his way out.  His great strength enough to pull himself out of the boat without much issue.  Standing he turned towards Karen and gave a simple bowing nod to Karen.

"Thank you Karen."  He said simply before turning to follow after Sir John to protect him on this quest.  Looking up towards the horizon as best he could, trying to get a gauge on the time and how little of it they had left.  Then looking back at Percival he said simply, "You really couldn't make sense of the simple hand signals from back by the mocking voice?  How do you deal with the trickery of the fae if you can't follow simple gestures?" He asked with a bit of concern in his voice that was either worry or well formed teasing.

As the trio walked over Midsummer Common, dawn was approaching, but not too quickly and five minutes later, having surrounded Christ's Pieces and moved through a backstreet, past the Cricketers' Arms, there they were at last, returning to Parker's Piece and closing the wall for one more year, a breechless bastion built around the bubble reality that is Cambridge University.

They reached the Reality Checkpoint at the very moment when the first rosy fingers of the coming dawn caressed the cast-iron finger of the lamppost.

As they made their way to the checkpoint, Goffery looked about, waiting to see if the wall came down, if they failed it, watching for the fae to burst through.  But after a few moments and nothing happened, the golem took a less guarded position, and he looked at both Sir John, and Percival.

"You have made us safe again Sir John.  Thank you.  And thank you Cival, you were a most useful distraction on the path."  There was a pause that one could almost think a smile was trying to be manifested by the stone statue, but there was nothing to move.  Then it turned towards its head towards the sun rise and waited a moment, then back to the two of them.  "The sun is rising and people are coming out.  I should make my way back into the back of the library.  Last time I had to play the role of statue on the streets, I had three different people graffiti me, and an uncomfortable pairing take shelter behind me to make out.  So Good day to you Cival." He gave a slight nod, "Sir John." He gave a much deeper bow and then made his way to Emmanuel college to hide himself away.

Though he stopped a few strides away to look back to Percival.  "And should you need my help in stopping yet another end of the world situation, please try to avoid having it happen on a Saturday Afternoon." He then turned and continued his way back into the Emmanuel College Library.