Calliope nods.

"I figure Crusaders wouldn't be able to handle a woman who knows how to think, read, and write better than they do. So of course they wouldn't handle me well." she said. She of course, excluded to mention it was because her and Emrys' inner core of magic had a strange effect on normal people.

"What is it with men and their wars anyway? I do not think the Christian God much appreciates any sort of bloodshed done in his name. Certainly not the son of the lamb." Calliope said, with a frown.

"That aside, another plus is that taking the boat with you guys instead gives you and I time to talk things over more about a potential trade contract, yes? And Hamburg would be such a perfect hub for importing Olives and selling them to other vendors too. Perfect for everyone involved, really."

She looked at Emrys knowingly, and nodded in agreement with him before looking back to Eike.

"In the spirit of both Felix's letter and conducting possible trade negotiations with House Podarces, would you be so kind as to offer my retinue and I hospitality for a few days until your boat is ready to depart?"

In case it’s not too late…

04:22, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 8 using 1d10+5.  Charm/comm.

In reply to Affare Acisculu (msg # 292):

Felix (the trade officer Felix, not your guys Felix) seems to waver.  But Affare manages to sweet talk him a bit.

"Fine.  I won't put you up in the trade house. But I know a place you can rest.  I'll make arrangements."

I just need to know if anyone wants to go out and explore Hamburg.  If you guys want to sit tight, I will move us along to Riga tomorrow.

Thanks

OOC: I mostly would like a (very high-level only lol) summary of if they end up being interested in a trade contract with House Podarces. Her House can acquire basic goods and sundries for sure, but their specialty is Olives and products derived from olives, which span the gamut of dyes to oils to medicines to foodstuff. She isn't lying when she says she thinks this could be a good opportunity for both the Trade House and her Noble House to have some economic activity in a niche of the Market that basically has no other competitors in it, while offering products that are both exotic and actually useful!

If a contract gets created and signed, she will send a courier/pigeon/Tradehouse person/whatever down to Northern Greece to pass the contract details on to her main family and their business center there. This is how she has been doing it with the several other contracts she's made so far since her trip up North to find the Magi (I presume she's made 2-3 other contracts in cities/towns and such on the way to where she is now. Not a ton, but enough to be lucrative for her House and make her parents go "oh wow, she actually did this?" if you will. :P

In this way, she doesn't have to backtrack herself to deliver a copy of the trade contracts she sets up back to her main headquarters in  Northern Greece, but yet her efforts still bear tangible and salient fruit.

Otherwise...I'm fine with hanging out with the mage folks. She would like to take some time to talk to Emrys a bit more about magic, prophecies, etc if possible and further their connection now that they have a moment to rest.

"Thank you Eike," Emrys says appreciatively, "I will tell your cousin Felix of your efforts when I next see him."

The magus excuses himself from cousin Eike's presence as the trade officer handles things with Affare and Calliope.  He looks to his other comrades, "I have no plans in Hamburg except to avoid attention until we depart.  So I won't be venturing from whatever accommodations Felix's cousin makes for us."

Emrys' irises are bright in the sunlight, "However if you wish to carouse or visit the market of Hamburg, be at liberty to do so.  I do ask you not to visit the city alone, preferably in a group no smaller than three.  And not to get into or cause any mischief.    I suspect the Danes won't be too lenient with troublemakers.  Though with crusaders in Riga, I think you will have to be more careful there so this may be your best opportunity to rest from our travels."

The newly gauntleted magus stands to the side looking at Calliope curiously as she pesters cousin Eike about the olive trade.

Affare makes some subtle inquiries as to the library situation in Hamburg.  Are there any towering stacks of books he could visit while in town?

In reply to Affare Acisculu (msg # 296):

Calliope, I will get back to you on the contract.  I need to consult the Guild book, but will not be able to do so until Monday or so.

If you wish to speak to Emrys, please feel free to do so.  I will be holding off updating until Monday for this thread, as I am hoping we will have another magi joining your group shortly.

Affare, Hamburg does not have a university.  Most books are in the hands of private collectors or the church.

You have a couple of days.  If you want to try to track down a private collector who might be willing to trade, you can do so.

You'll need to find some information.  Either an Area Lore/Int test or a Charm/Pre with the bonus from your specialization of loosening tongues.  Either test will be a simple roll.

Wulfgang?  Going bar hopping?

Calliope, during the downtime, sought out Emrys and asked him to have lunch with her on one of their days in Hamburg. She wanted to discuss more about magic and prophesies with the magi.

"Emrys...I wanted to talk with you more about magic and stuff." she said to have as she motioned for him to pass the salt. OOC: She will use High German 3 to communicate with Emrys, unless his latin or Greek is higher in which case she'll switch to the lower of his Latin 4 or Greek 5).

"And I know that I've helped your party several times already in major ways since meeting you, and that is par for the course for the special symbiotic relationship we have. But I wanted to talk to you more about how you can help me as well as drill you a bit for information to help me make sense of my prophecy. They always come true, by the way, but that doesn't mean the future is absolutely set in stone. It just means if all else is equal, it will come to pass. But now...now, you and I know the future, and thus have a chance to change it." she continued, stopping a moment to eat a few bites of her food and chase it down with some meade.

"But it was just too hectic traveling before to really just sit you down myself and have a deep discussion about this. So first of all, let's talk about what we can do. I am not a fighter, by the way. I survive by my wit, my supernatural attention to detail, and by avoiding serious dangers to my person that I am fortunate enough to foresee. In a combat situation, I mainly run and hide as I know only the basics of self-defense. I wish I knew how to use a crossbow or something, honestly. It's not a perfect protection, but it's better than nothing. Especially as a woman in a world run mostly by pig-headed men. No offense." she said.

"How about you? I have foreseen you casting spears from the earth, and I'm pretty sure you used magic to disguise yourself as "Hans" before. What else can you do? I think you and I should try to understand each other more, so that we can better help each other. Especially since I'm still working out how to save your life."

Emrys regards Calliope with a smile, his eyes shining in the light, "Yes you were helpful in preventing the shedding of blood.  I am sure things will turn out for the best with you by my side."


Emrys nods, "No one expects you to be a fighter.  Leonard, Wulfgang, and Evžen served Fengheld in one capacity or another as armsmen or being trained for that duty.  I believe Evžen fought in the Holy Roman Emperor's army and is an effective trainer if you can get past his accent."

"For myself, it wasn't shafts of earth but instead of wood you saw piercing my enemies," the man explains, "And while I am a magus of the Order of Hermes, considering I just passed my apprenticeship, or a freshly gauntleted magus as we would say, my powers are wide but not very deep overall.  I can fool attackers with an illusion of myself easily enough I suppose and a few other things like help treat wounds or protect an area against hostile magics for a year.  A master is capable of far greater feats than I."

He seems to consider a moment, "Though I suppose the same could be said about my breadth of...well...what the ancient Greeks would call techne.  Wide but not very deep.  And it is not something I can tap into all the time but it serves if I require some knowledge about something, someplace, some person, to knowledge either practical or more theoretical.  Though I cannot maintain the state of true reason beyond the task at hand it does prove useful at times even if the insight I gain is more that of someone with basic knowledge or skill."

Emrys nods towards the talking cat (who is likely doing something cats are wont to do), "As I said before I'm helping Velum find his human.  The person's name is Amis Sinon ex Jerbiton.  'Ex Jerbiton' is one of the twelve houses of the Order of Hermes.  I belong to 'ex Miscellanea' which serves as a catchall House for smaller groups that don't follow in the footsteps of an original founder of the Order so I'm also of the lineage called 'Makhai'."

The Makhai continues, "From my investigation trying to track down Amis, it seems the magus was involved in some research that well may have brought him some trouble.  His activities caused a rift with his...bodyguard... a man named Gustav...that led to Gustav resigning and going to Riga to join a crusading order called the Knights of the Sword.  We're traveling there to ask Gustav some questions to figure out where Amis may be now."

OOC- Emrys will tell Calliope (or anyone else who may not know) the progress of investigation so far in the hunt for Amis (and his reputation in his home covenant).  We've had lots of time of inactivity to trade stories he'll cover little details or items of interest as desired (and I think everybody has access to the old threads).  I'm pretty sure there's not anything in there that Emrys would keep secret from Calliope or the current company;-).  If you have specific questions about one point or another, feel free to ask.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:19, Mon 18 Dec 2023.

She nods as she listens with polite silence while he answers her questions, appreciative with the graceful openness he's exhibiting. So far, Emrys has been much more of a gentleman to her than most normal men and this has not been lost on her.

"Well, since you're being so open, I'll reciprocate." she said.

"And that makes sense about the spears, by the way. I had never witness magic like that so directly, so despite the vision being painfully clear I was only so sure what I was seeing." she continued.

"Now, I want to let you know that I'm not quite sure WHY you're so important, but it seems the greater forces of the world wanted to give me the choice of trying to help you. And as I'm here now, obviously you know what I chose. But my powers...they are finicky, but they do let me do some interesting things once you get past the personal horror of few people outside of my family and you believing me, that is." she continued.

"But I can do other things besides prophecy, although my prophecy is definitly the strongest manifestation of my powers. But I can see the unseen, which is how I knew you were disguised as Hans. My main prophecy power is something I don't have control over, but like I told you before it's never wrong if I'm unable to take action to alter the future. I also am supernaturally perceptive and intuitive, which I'm pretty sure is a side-effect of my powers. And it's something I'm not afraid to use when I have to make business decisions and gamble, because in a man's world this is my way of surviving and getting out ahead as much as I can. But I never ever use my powers to hurt innocent people though." she said.

She then considered.

"I am unsure you've noticed why but have probably noticed its effects on people, but your magic. It's a Great Gift, although quite different than mine though. But you have a literal aura of power around you, just in case you weren't aware. And I have learned most normal people cannot withstand that aura. They get overwhelmed by it. Some even grow unnaturally hostile, or suspicious. I can see this with my Second Sight, and I wanted to warn you in case you weren't aware. Mind you...sometimes, you can um...this will sound bad, but you can train people sometimes, like how you train a dog. They won't ever fully be unaffected by it, but they can at least begin to normalize it and it will affect them less." he said.

"Like look at your servants? Have you not noticed how sometimes they wince or flinch at your presence, but seem otherwise fairly submissive to you? But I can see that my presence bothers them still, but not enough for them to be mean to me especially since you're here, and they are slowly getting used to me too but it will take months before I'm at the same level they are with you. And that's because I also have an aura of power, similar to you. But it's not the same though, but it's similar. I can usually offset it with my mercantile skills, but...it's still hard on me, though." she said with a frown.

She then looked at Emrys knowingly.

"Were you aware of this? That you had an invisible aura of power? I've never seen anyone outside of my family with it before. The few minor practitioners I've met are nothing like you are. You're leaps and bounds more powerful than they are. And my powers, while far more narrow than your own, seem to be on the same level as yours. Which is why I theorize I also have an aura similar to yours. But knowing about the aura is half the battle, which is why I wanted to warn you about it. Especially in case other mages have one too and they don't know about it." she ended, a look of concern on her face.

OOC In Greek-

Emrys shrugs, "Magi have known about the reaction 'the Gift' provokes long before my time.  The Order of Hermes would not have been possible however without the genius of Bonisagus who developed a method so that magi could work together without their Gifts provoking antipathy for one another though it's influence is still felt by ungifted individuals as you've noted.  Though I have a friend, Fridrich, whose Gift doesn't provoke anyone whether man or beast.  His gift is considered 'gentle'.  He's Leonard's older brother."

The Makhai smiles, "My own gift is consider typical in the response it can create...uh...mostly."

"I can somewhat make up for the ire the Gift can create with my aptitude for self-expression just I think you do with your beauty," Emrys says with a grin, "Though there are others whose Gift is closer to the surface... far more provoking and blatant."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:53, Mon 18 Dec 2023.

Her eyes widened a bit in recognition as he acknowledged what she was warning him of.

"Ah okay, so you do you know about it then? And it seems there's some auras that are more or less of an impact on normal people than others. This is good to know."

She then considered.

"So you magi. Do you know where the Gift of magic comes from? The major, aura-causing one that you mages use I mean. Not the tricks of hedge witches and wise women, but your type of magic?" she asked.

"My powers are different than yours, and - and what I'm about to tell you please try and keep to yourself since my family is sensitive about it. But it's actually the result of both a divine blessing and a divine curse acting in tandem. Yes, I said divine. This isn't some mere bane that holy water or a sprinkle of salt and sage can cleanse though - believe me, I've tried." she continued, followed by a slightly sarcastic jaded roll over eyes as her voice suddenly held a hint of exasperation. not toward Emrys, but toward herself.

"I also have tried to learn the some of the tricks of at least 3 wise women and 1 hedge witch I met once, and they just...don't work at all in my hands. And I have a theory about this: that my inner 'core' of power is so potent that it simply rejects all outside influences. That, or its so possessive of me that it simply refuses to share. There's...more to that story, by the way. I know I must sound like a madwoman, but hear me out! I promise you, I'm no more than than a man who hurls wood spears from the earth!" she said, suddenly.

"I'm about to tell you something that no one outside my family knows. Because it is part of your debt to me. You see...I sought you out to save your life, as well as the life of the other man who stood by your side in the vision too. But in exchange...besides the noblewoman treatment of course - and you all have been absolute gentlemen might I add - I sought you out because I am hoping you can help me somehow learn how to break my curse, or at least somehow manage it better. Like that Gentle Gift thing you mentioned. And you probably need to understand how I technically came to wield a teeny tiny shard of divine power." she said to him, her tone dead-serious.

"The Gift you mean?" Emrys clarifies, "As far as where the Gift comes from, from what I understand of magic theory, no one knows what causes the Gift.  It's just a part of you and your essential nature."

The magus' eyes flash silvery as he regards Calliope.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Mon 18 Dec 2023.

"Oh, is that so? How interesting. And how...delightfully philosophical." she said, as she regarded him in turn.

14:31, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 15 using 1d10+8.  Perception + Second Sight.

This is a 16 if her "invisible things" specialty applies. But it's a second sight roll to try and see through/understand whatever it is Emrys just did or tried to do.

"I hope you have time for a short story..." she said, trailing off.

OOC: Waiting for resolve things with Emrys before she goes too much more into it.

In reply to Calliope Podarces (msg # 304):

<orange>Calliope:  still owe you an answer on that olive contract.  I will drop you a PM and let's handle it through that so as to not slow down the main game.



Felix sends word.  The ship is ready.  You are all trundled off to the pier.

The Lady Sleeps In is a large ship.  The crew moves about like fleas over a large dog's back.  They sail about the rigging with the ease of squirrels among tall trees.

The Captain greets you, but after a long scowl at Emrys and Calliope, he says, "The voyage will probably be rough.  I think it'd be best if you stayed to your quarters for it as much as possible."

The "quarters" aren't roomy.  They sectioned off part of the hold with robe and sheets to build you a private little corner you can all scrunch in.  But it's better than walking to Riga you suppose.  The ship sets sail.

Maybe the Captain wasn't lying after all.  Within half a day of pulling out of Riga, the ship starts to toss a bit from a storm.

Emrys tells Calliope, "What I'm seeing is more of a magical origin, not a divine curse and blessing.  Or one with a faerie or infernal origin.  The magic I sense is sort of like the Gift but incomplete, like it doesn't 'fit' you."

The magus nods seriously, "I'm not sure there is a curse to break.  At least the way you're thinking since I think your Gift is a part of your essential nature.  I don't think the reaction it provokes in the unGifted can be suppressed any more than the magi's Gift can.  Trying to find a way to do so would likely require a breakthrough on the level of the genius of Bonisagus... a lifetime of work and research."

Emrys shrugs, "Though I could be wrong in my assessment since I only just passed my gauntlet.  We may (or rather should) come across other magi so they may have a differing judgment."

The Makhai pauses and then adds, "Oh, on learning more 'tricks' it's not quite a that your inner core rejects an outside influence it's more like it has no more capacity.  The more you develop your own 'tricks' the harder you'll find learning others' 'tricks'.  However if you find someone that is a good teacher and a master of their power, they may be able to teach you another trick for your repertoire."

Onboard the Lady Sleeps In, Emrys keeps to the quarters as much as possible as the Captain requests.  Though the quarters seem to be the warmest and driest part of the ship.

Twice a day, a surly crew member comes and brings you some buckets of clean water, swaps out your slop buckets, and leaves you some dry bread and carrots. During the evening, you also get a piece of smoked fish each.

Velum takes an opportunity after the fourth day to gather you all in your curtained space.

"I have been quiet for some time, since we've been among the mundanes.  But it seems we are getting close to Riga.  We need to find Gustav as quickly as we can.

"I do not know much about these crusaders.  Do any of you?"

Feel free to make any test you think is relevant.  These would be simple tests.

Thanks

Emrys thinks on the matter of the Knights of the Sword and Riga.

Affare probes the bilge in his head for information about crusaders.  He cross-references this with his modest knowledge of church lore. Ultimately, he comes up with little of use.  Between the ship tossing back and forth and the others discussing their wonderful powers, he’s focused more on his upset stomach than the inner workings of his cranium.

Emrys Conversation:

Calliope raised a curious eyebrown then as Emrys did whatever mystical thing he just did. Not only because she totally noticed the silver flash in his eyes, but she noticed...something else too.

"Hmm...you just did something now, didn't you?" she asked, not accusingly so much as with cordial curiosity.

"How...peculiar. For a moment, while you were doing whatever it was you did, I could sense a presence behind you. Although it wasn't physically here...ugh, it's hard to explain! I could more sense it than see it. But the best I can tell you is that I think there's some entity that is supporting you somehow. It vanished shortly after when you stopped doing your silver-eyes thing though." she continued.

"Do you think you're haunted or something? Have you noticed unusual supernatural activity around you that was not your own magic? I can try to see if I can divine more about the nature of this presence...unless you know what it is. But it seemed unrelated to the other vision of your impending doom that I had. On the contrary, this felt much more positive." she added.

She then stopped a moment and looked ponderous.

"It's interesting you say that about my um...Gift? Core? Maybe we'll call it a shard, because the truth is that it actually is a whole bundle of - admittedly of a teeny tiny amount though - divine power that was granted to me. That probably is why it seems as potent as your Gift, leaving no room for anything else, but yet it clearly doesn't fit me." she said suddenly.

"Emrys? Have you ever heard of the myth of Cassandra?" she asked.

---

Later Aboard the Ship:

Calliope thinks on the matter of the Knights of the Sword and Riga as well.

"Cassandra?" Emrys repeats, "Offhand, no."

The magus regards the olive prophet for a moment and then says, "As far as what I just did, I cast a spell to see what realm your blessing or curse drew it's power from.  I only saw a magic aura on you, not one with roots in faerie or the divine realm."

"If I had to guess what you saw from me while I tapped my magic my guess would be you sensed my ties to the realm of magic," Emrys supplies, "My lineage belongs to House Ex Miscellanea, and we're known as the Makhai.  Or at least my former master Custennin and I belong to Ex Miscellanea.  There there may be a few of my line that live in the lands of the Greeks and most are not members of the Order of Hermes.  The Makhai are descended from the Titans...beings of immense power rooted in the magical realm and overthrown by the Faerie gods led by Zeus.  Maybe you sensed that?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Thu 21 Dec 2023.

You all begin to plumb the depths of your knowledge and start to compare notes...



The Baltic region east of Germany is still fairly pagan.  So a crusade there isn't unimaginable.

Asked a couple of you for a few additional rolls.  I will move us along tomorrow.

Thanks

Wulfgang oiled his bow and tended to other miscellaneous tasks of maintenance while he listened to the more educated folk speak. Magic, hauntings, crusaders... it was all a little beyond the scope of what he'd learned in the forest. The ship bounced and swayed through the waters, but he was a man of some fortitude, and held his own amidst the chaos of verticality.

02:26, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 9 using 1d10+5.  Church lore/int.

OOC: Sorry for the delay. the holiday has eaten up my weekend lol.


To Emrys, discussing Gifts and Curses...

Calliope's face lit up a bit with recognition.

"Oh I've heard of the titans! I actually know quite a bit about Greek-related myth and lore. And I'll tell you, if you aren't living proof enough that ism that the myths have more kernels of truth in them than most people realize." she responded.

"And I may have been sensing your titanic forebear or patron or whatever they are to you. It wasn't literally herem so much as its...goodwill? Support? Positive reinforcement? It's hard to describe as I've never seen such a thing so clearly before in real-time. But you're also the first fully-gifted mage I've interacted with. Like I said before, you're abilities are leaps and bounds beyond the lesser practitioners I've met in my travels." she continued.

"But that leads me back to myself and the myth of Cassandra. In a nut-shell, let me tell you a short story: "Several hundred years ago, the ravishing Greek Princess Cassandra was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy. The god Apollo, enamored of her, granted her the power of prophecy but, when she rejected him, sabotaged that power with a curse so that no one would believe her predictions. For you see, some theorize that the power of prophecy was a divine-tier gift granted by a god, so it could not be taken away so easily. So he cursed her instead. Others claimed that Apollo was incapable of denying his feelings despite the rejection, so instead of loving and lusting after Cassandra, he grew to love and scorn her in equal measure after being spurned. For even an angry god was still a god in love." she said.

"This was all around the time of the War on Troy, which I'm sure you are familiar with. Well...we all know Troy fell. Princess Cassandra was taken as a war prize by Ajax, and raped. However, the goddess Athena smote him and ultimately led to his death in retaliation as Cassandra prayed for revenge. I don't know if this part of the myth is true or not, but let's just say men have not been treating women properly for a long time." she said with a scowl.

"But after that, Agamemnon of Mycenae took Cassandra as a concubine instead. And he had 2 children with her. This part I can tell you is absolutely true, despite people calling it a myth. Because afterward, they say Agamemnon and Cassandra were murdered by Agamemnon's wife after she herself took another lover. HOWEVER, I will tell you something that scholars did not record in the mythologies: the real truth is that they did try to murder Cassandra, but while he was killed Cassandra lived, because her power of prophecy was so strong it gave her forewarning, and she used that chance to escape into the night with one of her children. The other was murdered though, before Cassandra could save them." Calliope said, her eyes, voice, and demeanor dead-serious. And a hint of sorrow.

"...and do you know how I know so much about what is true and what was false? Because the one remaining child that Cassandra rescued that night was my great, well several greats...grandfather. Yes, I am a direct blood descendant of Agamemnon of Mycenae & Princess Cassandra of Troy. And my last name, Podarces, is actually an homage and a reference to the lost Royal House of Troy. One child per generation in my family has the same Blessing and Curse as the original Cassandra. In this generation, my Father back home has it and now I of this generation have it too." she said, firmly.

"It seems Apollo just won't let us go from his clutches, both good and bad. And lately, it seems my prophecy has been more active and vibrant than my Father's. Which must mean that Apollo loves and hates me the most right now. It's what led me to find you, and also explains why I research curses so much across traditions, from the fae to the infernal to the magical. I even tried getting baptized into Christianity to see if that would break my curse, but it did not. So now...I'm technically a Christian, but not a very good one though. Especially since I can both sense...some sort of power or presence in Churches and such, but equally I'm living proof in the existence of the gods. And neither seems to be able to help me much with my curse." she finished, frowning.

She seemed a bit emotionally exhausted from all this, too.

"So that is why I'm trying something else. I want to see if you mages have any way to help. I realize it may not be soon or even guaranteed that I get help, but I'm sort of at my wits end but I've not given up. On the contrary, you have inspired me to feel more hopeful than I have felt in a long time."

To the Storyteller...
This message was lightly edited by the player at 21:12, Mon 25 Dec 2023.