The Forgotten Zodiac

((From here we go straight to Dublin? The next big event is when the country officially declares itself separate from the Catholic church, right? And do you want to bring in any natural magic people? We have shifters and wyverns and lots of things available.))

"I won't have to ask if you make sure to tell me." Alexander returned to his work, stashing the letter in the folds with some other letters he was holding back on sending. "Come find me when you get back." He spent the rest of the day doing his usual, writing letters, signing papers, and arranging for tax transport. The trip to Dublin would require some arrangement.

((I'll bring in more characters when you do. And yeah, I think we should skip straight ahead to Dublin. Morgan will find a new housemaid there.))

((Do you want to expand to more characters, or do you just want to keep it Morgan and Alexander for now? If you want expansion, I could bring in a tamer/helper of the magical creatures. He could seek sanctum for his animals with Alexander. Then he could offer the animals services to Alexander's defense, so Morgan would like him.))

By the end of the month, they had found themselves temporary residence in Dublin. The place of residence was admittedly less than optimal; they had obtained rooms in an inn on the upper side of the city. It was functional, for it was close to the meeting Alexander had to attend; but it was not particularly private or clean. Both occupants were glad they would be there no longer than a week.

((We should expand, in my opinon. That's a wonderful idea, but we could also play the part of the antagonists, yes? Which would require deciding who they are... .3. Who were the bad guys, again? Also, I had wanted to play out the whole 'resignition' thing. It would be fun.))

Morgan made his distaste of the boarding incredibly vocal. "I tell you, Alexander, I just don't like it! Sure, there are more nobles here, but these mercenaries they've hired in the absence of the Elects are absolutely brutish. Plus, they could be listening in..." He plucked at the symbol on his half-cloak. "I'm so ready to get rid of this stupid mark. It makes it so obvious what I do...but," He shrugged. "You have your meeting today, and I have my chance to go resign."

((Then I'll use Dagan Lowell as a tamer/keeper of natural magic animals who wants sanctum in Alexander's town, since it's big enough to have what he needs and small enough to keep him from getting undue attention.
That sounds fine. To do that, I might need a slightly clearer idea of what will happen. Morgan goes by himself, to give them his proposition and his story? Or does Alexander go with Morgan, and Morgan gives them a letter or something with the full propostion? Is Alexander still paying off Morgan's 'debt' to them, or not?))

Alexander found the boarding just as distasteful as Morgan. He, however, was required by etiquette to keep it inside his head for the very reason he disliked it; everyone was spying on everyone else. "Morgan, your concerns are duly noted and ignored. For now, there is nowhere else to go; and so, for now, we will stay here. Relax, once the meeting is over we'll be able to pack and return home. Assuming you get what you want."

((Morgan would go alone, Alexander would go to his meeting. Alexander doesn't need to pay off the debts if Morgan is still in the Vatican, even if he's not officially in. There are multiple board members who would review Morgan's case in front of him, so I can help you along and keep the conversation steered in the right direction. Also, the board members would know about Morgan's left hand. Do I have to explain that, or can I just say that it's a taboo and the Vatican really doesn't like Morgan much for it?

Also, Lanstul is the name of a real German city, and since it's definitely not the largest but not the smallest at the same time, I decided it would be a suitable name for Alexander's hometown.))

"Yeah, that list of 'wants' is a pretty big one, though. Since I wasn't able to find a suitable housekeep in Lanstul, I wanted to poke around here and see if I couldn't find one." Morgan shrugged. "Were you planning to go to any restaurants here? I need to know if I should inspect anything this evening while you sleep. I'm already checking out the meeting house, and yes, I already examined this stupid inn. Again, I dislike it, but it will have to do."

((He has a permanently attached spell thing. That's all I know about his hand. Is there something specific?
Lanstul is great.))

"I won't be eating out. Restaurants are far too expensive to be worth the trouble." Alexander, now finished with a meal at the residence in question, rose from the table and signalled to the barkeeper to show that  he was done. Since he'd already paid for his meal, which was also quite expensive for its quality, the teen was free to head straight to his meeting. "I'll be heading over there now; and, given their propensity to talk, you'll have all day to yourself. I sincerely wonder how many of those men are practicing their speeches to use as torture devices."

((There is, but I don't want to tell yet. Just know that he's not liked for his left hand and many of the Vatican members believe it should be cut off.

Aye.))

"Very well then. Have fun," Morgan said sarcastically. He made sure to follow Alexander all the way to the building; hopping along rooftops, keeping his distance but never taking his eyes off the boy. When he was safely in the Nobles' Manor, he turned and put his free hand in his free pocket, sighing a bit. Well...nothing else to do, then. May as well get his hearing over with.

"And what are you doing here?" The guard at the door, a low-ranking Gifted in a bad mood, greeted Morgan. The Church of the Vatican stood tall behind the iron-wrought gates Morgan had been attempting to pick open. It was a back door, really. Not guarded as much, but Morgan really disliked front doors.

"Picking a lock. I forgot my key," Morgan shrugged. There was a click after a moment, then the gate swung open. The guard snapped his fingers, a lance appearing in hand, prepared to stop the intruder.

He walked away from that fight. Morgan made him. The Elect slipped in through the back door effortlessly, smiling a bit. Far too easy. Honestly...

((How many are on this council? They will all be men, because they are Catholic religious officials, right? Does Morgan know them personally, or do they just know him on paper?))

Unknown to Morgan, he'd triggered several spells when he entered the courtyard. Every important council member was now aware of an intruder, and also of that intruder's magical capabilities. Fortunately for his health and well-being, his abilities were rare enough that they recognized him. That and, with the influx of the magically gifted coming through recently, they were used to having emotional misfits try to sneek in the back. It would be quite a bad day for the guard later, but Morgan was less unusual than he thought.

((Yes, all male. Many, but most don't talk much unless they have something really important to say. Morgan may know one or two personally from his initiation, but not on a friend/aquaintence level. They mostly know him on paper.))

The Elect wandered the halls rather aimlessly, not having any idea where he was going, but knowing where he needed to be. Eventually, he found it. The courtroom. Where the highest members of the council sat, day by day, reviewing cases and seeing those awaiting judgement. Whether it was overdue fees, illegal magic use, tax skipping, or matters to do with the Vatican itself, it all took place here. It would be a security risk, Morgan recognized, if not for the fact that most of these council members were highly trained, skilful Magi that could overpower any intruder very easily.

"Hello, hello, hello! Nice to see you all again. Beardy, shortstop, bald-head, pickle-nose." Morgan was...less than respectful when it came to the Vatican. As so obviously demonstrated. He plopped down in the 'judgement chair', draping his legs over the side and propping himself up with his elbow on the opposite armrest. It was remarkable how easily he seemed to keep his left hand in his pocket so often. He looked around at them, and was very dissapointed to not see shock on their faces. "Darn. I forgot about the magic alarms. Maybe I'll try coming in from the roof next time..."

The lead councilman looked down at his papers and back to Morgan. He cycled between the two several times before he said "Very well. We'll discuss your reasignment now." He motioned for his assistant to go inform whoever had actually been next in line that they had been bumped down the list, and straightened himself in his chair to increase the difference between himself and Morgan. "The roof would not help you. The alarms there are just as unavoidable."

"Reassignment? Ha!" Morgan snorted. He drew the letter of resignition from his pocket. With a flick of his finger, one wire forced it up to the lead councilman's desk. The wire retreated easily again. "That's my letter of resignition. But...I've come to propose something. Skip the tagging and the taxing. And the...debts. Forget all that, because I've come to you to propose that I go...undercover." He paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "Lanstul, the place where my charge lives, is very obviously undermonitored. I was there for no more than two days before running into three Protestant mob leaders. That, and many Nobles take up residence there. But since all of those have been withdrawn...we're looking at a small city with no Vatican and lots of Noblemen and Protestants. The way I see it, you want some form of survellience there; and the easiest way to do that would be to remove me from the official records and let me stay working for Alexander. He's a sharp kid, with lots of connections; I can collect intel from every source he's got without raising questions. So," He examined his fingernails, buffing them against his coat before grinning up at the lead councilman. "I think you can see your options here."

"We should just accept the letter of resignition and have you tagged, Morgan," A wiry old man snorted, clearly not in the best of moods. "And as a citizen, that left hand of yours would land you a nice place on an execution block..."

"Well, that escalated quickly." Morgan tutted. "Come on, you don't see any other Elects sticking their necks out for the Vatican. Undercover work is very dangerous, I'm sure you're aware. If I'm caught, there are more nobles than you can count on your collective fingers that will be grabbing at their pitchforks and coming after me..."

Most of the council members were pointedly looking over Morgan's head. They clearly did not approve of him, which left most of the talking up to the otherwise motivated. The council leader who had addressed Morgan before spoke up again. "He does make a good point, if he is truly willing to spy for us. We will agree to skip the tagging and the taxing. The debts remain, until you or someone you find to sponsor you have paid them off." This was incredibly convenient because, while he did have a number that Morgan owed the Vatican, that number was not shared with Morgan. They could just keep him working for them as long as they liked. "However, I know of this Alexander we've assigned you to. He's clever; he'll figure out what you are doing and make you work backwards. To avoid that eventuality, you are to tell him why we agreed to let you stay. He will request that you give us bad information, which you will send to us. You will also send us the real information, so that we will know what he does not want us to know as well as what he wishes for us to believe." Without asking if the conditions met with Morgan's approval, for he truly did not care, the spokesman turned to the rest of the council. "All in favor, please raise your hands."

"Sure," Morgan shrugged. "Makes sense. You lot, always with your plots and plans...consider it done. I'll do whatever."

"Honestly..." Someone else muttered, but raised their hand anyway. It was almost unanimous; they just wanted Morgan out of their hair. He was a troublemaker with his own agenda, and pretty much everyone here had a strong dislike towards him. They only reason they kept them was one of the more major points that they hated him. His left hand.

After Morgan was gone again, the council member to the leader's left sighed. "You know he's not going to listen to us. He just can't follow orders. And that hand of his is only going to get him killed..."

"He knows that," Another council member snorted. "He cares about that just as much as he cares about us."

"He would have resigned and left if we hadn't accepted his offer. With the current situation, tracking him in Lanstul would be somewhat awkward. He knows this; that's exactly where he would go first. Our only options were to kill him where he stood or accept his terms." The council leader surveyed the room, looking skeptically at the better mages there. "He's still in the building, if any of you prefer that option."

There was a long silence, and a member in the back muttered, "It's best to have that left hand for us rather than against us. Much less in this building..."

"Next case!" The member to the leader's left called.

Morgan strolled down the main road, ignoring the fact that he was slowing down a carriage that couldn't really get by him. He drew a map from his pocket, examining the streets and roads, and...oh yeah, the mark. Morgan ran his hand over his half-cape, giving it a solid shake. The mark of the Vatican turned to dust and fell away, leaving just the black color of the cape itself. There we go, Morgan smiled in satisfaction. Mission accomplished.

Somewhat. The Vatican wanted real information. Morgan was faced with a choice; he could tell Alexander about it, or follow through with what they wanted.

Screw that. Alexander would know the second he saw the kid. Morgan eyed the doors of the noble's meeting house as he passed; sealed shut with a guard at the front. How very hidden. Morgan continued on his way, but paused again. He reached down into his boot and pulled out what appeared to be a small bug. "Honestly, it's as though you lot want me caught...toodles." He squashed the bug, the magical hearing device dying with it. A flick of his finger, and it fell to the road.

Where to now, then?

"'Scuse me?" A man's voice rang out behind Morgan, clearly directed at him due to the comparative emptiness of the street. "You're with the lord of Lanstul, Alexander Finnigan, right?" Morgan's hailer was young, maybe twenty-one. His clothes revealed him to be significantly below Morgan's social class, and he stood stiffly at attention, clearly nervous with whatever he was attempting to do. On one arm, he had a long leather glove, similar to the ones falconeers wore; but this one had deeper gouges and burned edges, as if the bird's claws had been heated as well as sharp. "Dagan Lowell," he introduced himself, holding out his hand. "I was hoping we could talk. I have a proposition for you." As sketchy as these offers normally were, Dagan did not seem to be that problematic a person. To the contrary, despite the low quality of his clothes, they were clean and well presented, as was he. His head was held high, though not high enough to be arrogant, and nothing really seemed off about him. There was no particular reason Morgan should refuse his request.

"I see." Morgan ignored the hand. "A proposition, you say? Hm...come along, then. I was planning on stopping by a certain cafe anyway. Walk with me," He stuck his right hand into his pocket, smiling a bit as he strolled casually down the main road towards a quiet little pastry shop. He settled down in a chair outside, calling for some tea. He then looked up at Dagan. "Have a seat, friend. My name is Morgan. I'm sure you would understand my hesitance to talk to you, but I'm in a good mood right now. So please, sit. Order a slice of cake for yourself or something. It's my treat." He smiled warmly.

"I just have two conditions. Firstly, we're not going to talk about me. Secondly, you're not going to stand until I agree that we're done talking. The third rule stands without needing to be said; if I suspect any foul play here, I'm going to retaliate as I see fit. But," He leaned back, resting his feet on the table. "You don't seem like the kind of man that would do that to me. We're all friends here, yeah?"

Dagan sat, but he declined the offer of food. His goal was an equal relationship with Morgan, and he didn't intend to start that relationship by putting himself into Morgan's debt. "I only have one question that relates to you. That can certainly wait until after I've given you a sufficient explanation." He sat awkwardly on the chair and waited for Morgan to motion him to continue, since the magician clearly wasn't someone he wanted to anger.

"I suppose." Morgan tutted, shaking his foot a bit to dislodge some dirt. He took his teacup from the waitress, giving her a nice tip as he took his first sip. "They say the first sip of tea is the most crutial. After all, if you burn your tongue, the rest of the cup is ruined. Which is always a shame." He smiled curtly, taking another sip. Then he put his feet down on the ground again and set his cup on the table. "Let's hear it, then. Explain yourself."