All That You Are

[Mobius]

"Doing Fi-" A yawn sneaks out, "Fine." was the reply to Cosmo's pleasantry.

Though her mind was a little hazy, she wondered why the sentinel had invited her here. Surrounded by some of the real movers and shakers at the consilium she couldn't help but feel out of place.

"What's on the agenda?" she asks Winter directly.

[Cosmo]

Greeks are a conversation topic Cosmo had no idea how to tackle, so he simply moved where the Heirarch indicated. With nothing to add and his only question posed by Mobius, he beams in silence and waits for the elder mages responses.

[Winter]

He looks around, obtaining assurance that no unwanted guest has entered the room. Then, he speaks.
"Your presence has been requested to bear witness to my declarations", he answers the Acanthus, "As for the young man. He's to represent the defendant, if he so wishes. Play Devil's Advocate for us by prodding both Mr. ****'s and mine arguments, searching for misjudgments. Nobody is perfectly impartial; certainly - as the accuser - I'm not"
But first, they needed to get the most pressing issue out of the way.
"I pledge to defend my Order's sacred mission to the best of my abilities and to enforce the Law until the very end of the scheduled confrontation. Should I not try my best to fulfill this vow - regardless of the results - then I shall bear the consequences for willingly breaking the oath for a month and a day afterwards"
Words, that wouldn't carry much meaning if they weren't attached to a strand of Supernal Truth. A deconstructed language enmeshed on a lifeline of mana and celestial fire that stretched over the abyss.

  3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-09 01:26:20		Winter rolls 6 to Perception (10 Again)		7, 7, 4, 5, 10, 10, 7, 10, 1		3 successes

  2 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-09 01:42:53		Winter rolls 6 to do something (10 Again)		8, 4, 5, 3, 1, 9		2 successes

[Campanella]

Campanella was in the process of gently ushering the group around his workplace.

Winter's declaration caught Campanella off guard. His senses flared. His mind blanked. Only the Guardian's words remained, answering the Hierarch's groping - and unsaid - questions. The exact importance was lost on the Moros, but he could sense the weight of the words.

"Ah."

A pause as Campanella stopped walking.

"Ah."

His posture shifted and his leading arm slipped gently back to his side, then lifted again so his hand could brush his chin.

"So this is serious, then?"

What a silly thing to say. Nemesis had been invoked at the last meeting.

"Well... This does put me in an unfortunate position. I have to stand for the other... party... In cases such as this... I have to ask, are we speaking of the Duel or what follows on from it? I would rather not have the Pentacle spilling its own blood so soon after we survived such a trial as we did..."

He looked about cautiously.

"How about we move to my office. We can be doubly safe there."

And book keeping (since I rolled): -

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-09 05:59:42		Campanella to figure out Important Things... rolls 5 to Wits + Occult (10 Again)		3, 5, 7, 3, 2		failure

[Mobius]

This was the hot topic, of course, and Mobius wasn't especially surprised by Winter's answer. But, this was serious business. The sentinel's words at consilium meant that he wasn't hoping just to duel to see who had the bigger ego. As cocky as Shodan was, and as misguided as his choice in Orders, she didn't want to see him get seriously hurt.

She does her best to hide her worry behind her tired eyes and awkward pursing of lips.

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-11 00:49:36		Mobius rolls 2 to Poker Facing it up (Manip + Subterfuge) (10 Again)		6, 9		1 success

Probably not the most convincing effort. Either way, she simply nodded at Winter, acknowledging her role. She looked to the Hierarch and was ready to follow wherever he may lead.

[Cosmo]

So many questions, so little time.

"If I'm standing in for Shodan then I think we should pause any talk of the trial until he's present. I don't know many legal systems that would look kindly to one party privately meeting with the judge before hand, and presenting evidence and making a decision without the accused present would not be a trial. Just my two sense."

Cosmo didn't comment on the bronze oath being sworn, or at least what he assumed to be a bronze oath. He didn't really know where else to look for what it could be so he just followed as Campanella began to nudge people towards his office.

[Winter]

He waited for the Hierarch to usher them into his office. Then, as the door sealed their little bubble of privacy, he spoke.
"Rest assured, no harm will come to the other party from me", hopefully they were quick-witted enough to catch the implication underneath, "this isn't a trial. Your presence was requested as a form of stewardship while we examine the evidence. He has stated in public that he doesn't care about the Law, so he isn't exactly somebody fit to argue his position rationally", he concludes.
Two cents, two cents.
"If I wanted to spill blood I wouldn't have accepted a duel and neither I would have informed anybody of my intentions; I would have retired him quietly. That alone is testament to my goodwill and fairness. Alas, the matter isn't entirely left to my personal judgement, there are more people in the caucus, and they might develop a different opinion", he says, helping himself to one of the chairs.
"Each one of us might regard the Normals differently. Even then, we might agree to disagree on the basic nature of the Art. But what he did was dangerous, stupid and reckless, and the fact he doesn't perceive the error in his ways just compounds his mistake. No amount of dueling will ever convince him of the contrary; and this is exactly why I suggested a month of confinement", he shrugs, "I've said it already, toddlers behind the wheel. But again, you don't need to trust my words. I can just show you what he did, and you'll form an opinion of your own"

[Campanella]

Campanella gently led the group to his office, then closed the door.

Cosmo spoke as they moved. Winter replied as the door clicked into place.

Campenalla's office felt suddenly very small and he felt a desire to get a bigger one. He crushed the feelings beneath an imaginary boot as he shuffled around the space and placed down the wine.

"Indeed?" He said in a voice that was both authoritative and non-comittal.

"As this is a case for those versed in the Lex, I shall defer my opinion. You say you can show us?"

He glanced at both Cosmo and Winter as he finally got behind his desk.

"Now. Before we go further. May I offer anyone a drink? I was going to save this beauty for later - but I have some orange juice and a serviceable red hidden away for just these sorts of meetings."

[Mobius]

"Juice for me, please!" was her reply to the Hierarch. The first bit of perk from an otherwise obvious night owl.

Filling an empty seat in the office, she lazily casts her eyes around the the place - taking in the sights.

"You have a tape? Or.. something else in mind?" she asked curiously, finally returning her attention to Winter.

[Cosmo]

Winter's oddly specific reassurance wasn't very reassuring, but Cosmo figured it was the best he was getting. Besides, it was clear the actual purpose of the meeting was the witnessing of a bronze oath to be recorded.

"Tapes, dates, and times would be best." Cosmo said as he took his own seat in the office. ​"If you want this to be admissible in a trial for a breach of secrecy I'm fine with you telling us where and when to look but would prefer a third party to actually cast any spells or review any footage when possible. It'll keep people from questioning the legitimacy and authenticity."

"And just juice please." He smiled politely to their host, somewhat surprised by the deference Campanella was giving. Not that he minded. Every secession left an opening for Cosmo to step into, and step he did.