(1910) Quiet Consilium

[Kaze]

Kaze abides, watching, his expression one of interest. Winter and Shodan had been in conflict a long time. It might be a good thing to have it out in a duel.

[Anima]

Quite the first exposure to the Sacramento community. Anima watches the guardian walk away. Such swagger for a someone who should be a sheep dog, a watcher on the walls. The doctor shrugs, too much bravado being thrown around for his taste.

And then there is the voter, was he baited? Who knows, but he made the wise decision to not risk Free Council knowledge from being locked away in some Guardian vault when it should be shared.

[Cosmo]

"Is that true?" Cosmo looked to Winter. "Have you threatened to detain a member of the Concilium and was it related to crime he had committed?"

He didn't dispute the part about Winter gaining the items. The guy had to throw down spells like it was a life or death duel while Cosmo was just talking to the shop keep, but yeah, he did it. Kind of like how that last glyph blossomed into being. Were there more? Cosmo couldn't see, but he'd be surprised if the Guardian hadn't used more after the shop.

"I'm fairly certain that the law states that the Council may force a duel to avoid a worse outcome, and Campanella as the Heirarch did say retract the comments or the circle gets squared. I'd say threats and insults are fair ground for a duel, with the items as a consolation prize?"

Which was really just the nice way of saying stop weaseling around as he returned his attention to Campanella for a verdict.

  Cosmo senses nothing!

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-24 20:37:15		Cosmo rolls 3 to snense motive on campanella (Wits+Empathy) (10 Again)		4, 2, 1		failure
2019-10-24 20:36:18		Cosmo rolls 1 to Spot a cloaked spell (Wits+Occult-potency3) (10 Again)		4		failure

[Campanella]

"Magus Shodan issued a challenge on Magus Winter."

"Should Shodan claim victory in the duel he would be access to, and control of, two objects believed to be Artefacts of some kind: a statuette and a disc."

"Magus Winter has the right to ask for a similar stake from Magus Shodan. It is our way. One does not duel over nothing. Nor does one fight a duel for nothing! So Shodan, will you accept Magus Winter's conditions? Artefacts for artefacts or something else of similar value?"

His voice rose, perhaps a little too high and a shade too fast, but it filled the space and bought everyone's attention crashing back onto the Hierarch rather than the two quarrelling mages.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-25 23:27:46		Campy to be authoritative rolls 3 to Presence + Persuasion (10 Again)		8, 5, 6		1 success

"I agree with Magus Cosmo here. There are more than sufficient grounds for a duel" the Hierarch continued after a pause.

He turned to the Libertine.

"All Magus Shodan has to do is respond to Magus Winter's very reasonable request - what does the Sentinel receive if he is victorious and you are not? One does not simply lay down a challenge without backing it up. When Magus Alastor and I duelled we did so for the position of Hierarch on the understanding that the looser gave the victor their loyalty. If you would duel the Sentinel over Artefacts - and you have! - you must offer up something as collateral should you loose. Or maybe you wish to rescind your own comments, as enthusiasm and pride - before they brand you as something else!"

And then Campanella addressed the group.

"Let us be clear. An Obelisk was retrieved from a Seer sanctum - and it is here in the Circle where it is freely available to all. If there are any more Golems, or remains of Golems, let them be bought to the Circle as well - for safe keeping and examination."

For those who beat Campella's social fu

Human frailty made the Hierarch brittle, a truth revealed by a widening of the eyes, a certain twist of the mouth, and by Campanella reflexively clawing at the grimoire on the lectern. Campanella was panicking. At least initially. Floundering as the conversation bounced angrily from one part of the nave to the other. The Hierarch had been quick to hide it, but not quick enough for some of the other mages. That panic lent an impetus to his speech as Campanella sought to bring some order to the chaotic scene.

[Yumyumcrow]

ST NOTES
Woland - Shodan may get back 1 WP for acting in accordance with his Vice.


Think we might be getting a bit cross-eyed on the golem issue though. I don't think any of the stone automaton's were bought back from the Seer Sanctum. If memory serves they were all smashed.

At around the same time Kaze, Alastor and Phoenyx did track a hunter cell down and cleared them out. Phoenyx and Alastor fought a Golem-like thing there, too. Not sure if the body of that thing was disposed of. So I'll bring it up here in case anyone knows.

The 'Obelisk' is at the Circle waiting to be examined. By everyone and anyone.

As for dueling: both parties do have to put some form of stake - be it reputation, Artefacts, Hallows, or services owed, etc. See p118-124 of Tome of the Mysteries (1st ed) for further information if you are interested.

[Phoenyx]

None of the golems from the seer sanctum were returned - they were all 15 feet tall and horrifying.

The construct had by the Hunters was (I'm guessing) some kind of Promethian. What happened to it was debated at this Concilium here:

http://nwod.org/forum/showthread.php...onsilium/page7

(I had to look these things up )

[Winter]

"A threat?", the Guardian asks pensive, his back slides against the bench at the Hierarch's right "a threat is the communication of an intent to inflict unlawful harm. Mine was merely a conditional statement, a class of statements that somebody who claims expertise in the field of Computers should already be familiar with. A suggestion, if you will. Is informing somebody of the potential pitfalls of threatening the Veil and the security of the Consilium unlawful?, he clicks his tongue.

"Nevertheless, I don't expect any of you to take my word at face value. Both Magus Kaze and Magus Langdon were spectators of that exchange", his arm stretches to the left, toward the chapel, "the conversation occurred in the side chapel; it will be a child's play for the Enchanters to attest the truth. Or I will perform an incantation myself, one that will lay bare our auras for everyone to see", he deadpans.

Then the Hierarch speaks, and the Guardian - thorough as he is - reads his discomfort. When he had accepted the job, he had promised the Moros that he'd be his watchful shadow. The moment to make good on that oath had come. Alas, the only way he could do so, he figured, was by shielding the guy's name from the critics... take the bullet in his stead. The Guardian waits and waits, until he's sure the Moros' words have sunk into the room.
The only way to settle the score, once and for all, was to corner the Libertine so he couldn't balk away.

"Regardless of that particular exchange", the Guardian continues, "my statement was utterly vindicated shortly afterwards, for Magus Shodan did indeed violate the Precept of Secrecy in that occasion... consecutively and each time through a degree and with recklessness more and more reprehensible than the previous. And within the span of a handful of minutes", he furrows his brow at the Libertine, facial muscles contort in a stern expression, "Some people today have questioned my judgement, going as far as doubting of the impartiality of my Order. I don't take offense for that, for it is due to a lapse of my judgement that we have come to this. At the time I chose to put the security of this Consilium ahead of Justice. I let consistency - the same consistency Magus Cosmo praises as the hallmark of a functioning society - guide my actions; for Magus Shodan had to be treated no worse than Magus Kaze had been. Alas, it was a mistake, for unequals cannot be treated as equals", he knocks a fist against the wooden arm of the bench. "Today courtesy has been mislabeled for complacency and temperance is being confused with negligence".
Suddenly, his head jerks toward the Hierarch, "Hierarch, what is the punishment for one who willingly steps into a trap, risking capture and the security of his peers? What is the just punishment for somebody who openly and vilely performs acts of vulgar magic amidst a crowd of Sleepers, his will so weak as to be unable to defy the shrieks of Corruption itself? What of the will-worker who balks at the prospect of taking responsibility for his own shortcomings and lets a room of uneducated pay for his own sins?", what would the other Libertines think of Shodan's disdain for the Sleepers? Didn't the claim that Humanity was magical?
But there was more, much more, "Worse still. Magus Cosmo, what should the Council do?", he openly queries the Ladder, "What should the Council think of a Mage who chooses the convenience of shortcuts over the integrity of the veil. One so vile as to be unable to invoke magic in a controlled manner, one whose resolve is so weak that Paradox seeps into the world and latches unto his very words. Is there Wisdom into carelessness? Is letting your spells collapse under the onslaught of Disbelief a virtue?, his gaze shifts to Phoenyx, "But worse still. Where's the honor in fleeing and abandoning your comrades. I had to personally turn myself in to the FBI so that I could assess the damage and cover the tracks that he hadn't even bothered checking", he frowns,"Magus Shodan's action have threatened the Mysteries. This is why in good faith I cannot allow the examination of an Artifact by somebody whose claim to fame is leaving a trail of talking and confused Sleepers in his wake", the Guardian springs to his feet, "Since time ImmemorialOne Law towers above the rest; the Lex Visus. And the Eye is its only judge and enforcer. Multiple warnings have been issued and ignored. Today, with the last piece of evidence collected, the investigation is finally deemed to have reached its conclusion. Out of respect for the Hierarch the verdict is announced openly"
Suddenly his voice increases a pitch, "Magus Shodan, Scion of the Watchtower of the Golden Key. The Eye of the Dragon formally invokes the Right of Nemesis. A duel arcane to prove your wisdom, absent that...", he deadpans, "Death".

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-27 18:20:55		Winter rolls 2 to read the Head honcho (10 Again)		5, 9		1 success

[October]

And the back and forth continues.

The doctors eyes follow between Winter and Shodan, trying to follow the arguments as they’re laid out.

But when Winter begins to make case, his accusations causing a mixture of disbelief and surprise on her face. Had Shodan done all that Winter accused him of? Casting vulgar magic in front of Sleepers? Did he abandon his fellow Awakened? She didn’t know either man well enough to know if the accusations were true or not. Though she knew Shodan a bit better, but not well enough.

Then came the ultimate challenge. A Duel to the death. Eyes blink as she processes it.

But Shodan seems to admit to some of it. Casting vulgar magic in front of Sleepers, while wrong, seemed to have a valid reason. Not a good excuse, but it was what it was.

Though it doesn’t sit right with her. Honor for an artifact?

Shaking her head, some disbelief still present, “Wait, how can you think the Free Council getting an artifact that the Guardians have been protecting be an equal exchange for your pride?” she asks, “Or does the Free Council have nothing of equal value to offer? But that’s not even the most concerning part of this mess. Casting vulgar magic in front of Sleepers needed to be addressed back when it happened. That puts everyone at risk!” she might not have an Order, but even she knew that was fucking bad. “Rather there is lasting fallout or not is not the point. Casting magic in front of Sleepers goes against the very Laws we have. Those Laws protect us and provide us structure.” How was it ok and justified to him?!

“The act is in the past, yes. But the fact that it happened and you’re trying to justify it just isn’t ok.” She thought he was better than that. Her head shakes again, “I don’t know what the right course of action is, but someone needs to figure it out and put this fucking matter to rest. It sounds like there is some deep rooted issues between you two, and it needs to be sorted. And maybe everyone needs to be reminded of the danger casting magic in front of Sleepers puts us all in.”

[Cosmo]

Words were said, things were escalating, and one thing was clear. Law and order needed to be reestablished.

"Everyone stop."

Cosmo's hands flew up, one towards Winter and one towards Shodan. His eyes flicked around, stern and judging to all who chose to speak.

"October is correct. If a duel is to be declared, something of equivalent value must be offered. Either the Free Council offers objects of value for the items Winter recovered, or the duel will be strictly fought over reputation. Winter has expressed a willingness to accept Hallows instead if there truly is nothing of value in the Lorehouse. There should not be a back and forth except what items are of equal value if that is to be the focus of the duel."

Hands lowered back down as his attention turned to the Heirarch.

"Sir, the charter states that if charges are brought forward no party is guilty or innocent until a trial is held and the truth discerned. This is not just to determine guilt or innocence, but to ensure fair sentencing if guilt is determined. None of the charges that have been brought forward should be considered as related to the duel. Theft, threats, secrecy, all of it demands a trial and time to acquire the evidence for the Council's judgment to be fair and informed. And it must be the Council who judges these accusations, not an individual or a duel."

He returns his gaze not to the Heirarch or the duelists, but the members of the Concilium at large.

"The charter states that any breach of the law must be brought forward immediately for trial. Sitting on transgressions to be brought forward as fodder for a point you make isn't justice, it's blackmail. It undermines the system and the public's faith in it. Nothing brought forward can or should be considered now in the context of the duel. It should be brought forward to a full Council of the Paths as the charter demands."

Finally his attention returns to Winter and Shodan.

"So, will you duel for reputation or magic items? Nothing aside from your one word responses is required as the Heirarch alone renders his verdict and the rest of us watch in silence."

  6 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-28 20:33:35		Cosmo rolls 12 to Orate (Presence+Persuasion+Oratory Spec) (10 Again, WillPower)		5, 2, 10, 10, 5, 6, 2, 9, 10, 9, 9, 5, 7, 2, 1		6 successes