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Resigned, Valeria draws her baton, and mutters a few words of power, surrounding herself with a magical barrier. She can hear footsteps from below deck, and has no doubt Ariana heard them too. "I say we try to take them down quickly," she whispers to her student and Ian. "Before our former friends pay us another visit."
Hoping that Arian's ecchymoses will make her story more believable, Valeria plays along with her student's lie: "You obviously don't realize who you're talking to, and in what circumstances,, and intends to press " she tells the lawyer. "My charge and was violently attacked on this ship while she was leading an investigation on behalf on Monaco's royal family, and is entirely in her right to sue for assault and battery." She briefly pauses, letting the implications sinking in. "She has enough ties to create a big scandal, and unless you want to be part of it, I'd suggest you step aside and let us go."
As the group hurries out of the room, Valeria bites down the frustration of such an easy defeat to check on her student: "Are you alright? You took some serious hits." Though Valeria tries to think of a solution to spy on the men, there isn't much the group can do, being outnumbered and with their cover blown. They'd have to seriously rethink their strategy to get closer to the coffin. "Unless you think we'd better keep exploring the ship, I'd suggest we get out and think about our options," she says once she's sure they're out of earshot. "As much as it pains me to say it, this task may be too great for us. We're going to need help."
Valeria is torn between wariness and curiosity. As threatening as these men may be, they obviously have some knowledge of what is inside that coffin, and are therefore frustratingly ahead of them. "As a matter of fact, we do have the law on our side," Valeria interferes, nodding at Ian. "But such things tend to happen when priceless bones are smuggled out of the country to be sold on the black market. Unless you can prove that your great-aunt Hilda is in that casket, you're done."
Valeria takes a walk around, looking for anything that might be worthy of interest.
Nothing catches her eye, but even she is capable of hearing Arianna step on the creaky floor.
She quickly beckons Arianna to come back. "Not this way. That's past limits," she says in her best imitation of a teacher calling back a stray student on a class trip.
Hope you're feeling better, Ian! :) GM, I have a question regarding equipment (I know I've postponed it since forever, but now that we've completed the prologue and are starting to really get into the game, I'm trying to wrap it up before stuff really becomes serious). Regarding starting gold, with a +0 career bonus and a +0 Charisma bonus, that would leave Valeria's resources as 3,500 x2 x2, so 14,000 dollars, is that correct? I've also started to look around for what could be Valeria's Bonded Weapon. As an occultist, she can only wield Simple Weapons, but I don't really know what that would entail in a modern-set campaign. I've thought about a self-defence Baton as a substitute for a club or a staff, like this one . What do you think?
Valeria shakes her student's hand, and introduces herself politely to the clean-shaven man called Ian. During the flight, she lets Ariana talk enthusiastically about her family's 'long lost heirloom', turning her face to the aircraft window to hide her smile. She'll always be surprised by how swiftly and smoothly the young woman can talk herself out of most situations. It's definitely a skill that Valeria doesn't possess. La Vierge is docked, but there isn't much to see, and the monks are probably long gone. "I doubt they'd let us climb abroad," she says to Arianna and Ian. "How about we start asking around about that treasure? There might a few shops around the docks. Their owners could have noticed something."
Valeria leaves the Dean's office with a quiet sigh of relief, relieved that he did not ask any further question, but still intrigued by his story. How on earth he stumbled upon a story that wasn't recorded in any books, she wonders on her way back, is beyond her. She was almost certain that he was hiding something. She doesn't have much time to wonder what, however, as she finds Arianna's message on her voicemail. She leaves a message to her student: "Thanks for letting me know, Arianna. I'll join you at the airport tomorrow. Just let me know at what time your plane is supposed to land." She suspects they'll have much to say to each other.
The Dean sure is an odd character. At least it explains why the Baron's face looked so familiar. "It wouldn't be the strangest thing I've stumbled upon," Valeria smiles. "Not when your main interests are old grimoires and relics. I don't have much an interest in Swiss noble families, but when I stumbled upon tidbits about the history of their castle, I got curious. I always like to know more about European monasteries and religious orders. No matter how small, there's always the chance to discover something interesting. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I've found the second Montesiepi chapel," she shrugs.
Since Valeria has no particular reason to trust the Dean immediately, she tries to guess whether he's telling the truth or hiding things from her.
After her conversation with Arianna, Valeria waits eagerly for her student to recontact her, but her phone stays desperately silent and her mailbox depressingly empty. To pass the time, and since she has nothing else to do, Valeria continues with her investigation of the Von Wattenwyl family; Though she is no expert in old Swiss dynasty, she hopes that one of her colleagues might have stumbled upon information regarding the mysterious family, or perhaps even the castle itself. Suspecting that the Von Wattenwyl's trail might quickly grow cold, Valeria nonetheless attempts to show the book about the castle to a few, trustworthy professors versed in history or nobility. It's risky to spread the information, but as a researcher in theology, she has a pretty good alibi for coming with questions about an old Templar order and a creepy castle that might keep a few secrets, like a minor relic. Should they know a couple books on the subject, she'd be delighted to read more.
Valeria thinks about the eerie feeling she gets every time she looks at the Baron's face, but judges it best not to bother Arianna with it right now. Without seeing the sculpture for herself, there is little her student might say about it, and this inexplicable sense of déjà vu is too difficult to put into words. She'd rather share concrete information than vague and fleeting intuition. "Not really," she answers. "Direct your investigation as you please and keep an eye out for anything related to the monks or the Von Wattenwyl family. They're connected to this mystery somehow, and I don't know yet if we should be more wary of the Von Wattenwyl ancestors or their descendants."
"Afraid not. Otherwise, it would have made our work much easier, wouldn't it?" Valeria says with a hint of her typical dry humour. "If French civilization hasn't entirely collapsed when I wasn't looking, I assume that someone would have actually kept record of these kind of things, if you can make the right people talk." While talking to Arianna, Valeria starts to think about her next move. She has no doubt that her wealthy, charismatic student will be better at gathering information in France than her, but she also gets the feeling that books won't be of much help. "I'll try to dig up what I can about the late Baron, and keep an eye out for further rumours. There might be people who are investigating it already and that we might contact. How does that sound?"
"The ship on which the monks left Calais." There is a pregnant pause, then Valeria sighs. "You didn't write that part in your letter, did you? Let me gather my notebook." Once Professor Barone has closed her book and gathered herself, she tells Arianna all that she knows about La Vierge, as well as what she learned on the monks: "Not much is known about them, really," she adds, once she's done with her notes on the historian's work. "And I'm willing to bet that we won't find much. As a recluse religious order, they haven't given much of a reason to arouse suspicions or prompt investigations. As long as they keep their heads down, no one will ask questions. I wonder who is funding them. They might be somewhat self-sustaining, but a castle costs a fortune to be taken care of, and they still have money on the side to give to charities and furnish their wine cellar."
"Really? I thought I was being quite clear." Maybe that was why her students always formed a diligent line at her desk after getting their annotated papers back. "Are you still in France? Is there any possibility you might investigate what happened on La Vierge? Someone on board might have come across some information as to what the monks were transporting, or what was the next step of their pilgrimage."
Old Swiss castles and potential relics are an unusual topic to research in a library, but then again, Valeria's work makes her no stranger to odd requests. She spends time looking for any information about the castle or the Monk Order, with help from the librarians if necessary.
When Arianna eventually phones her teacher, she can distinctly hear someone flipping a page before a somewhat gruff voice says: "Professor Valeria Barone, how may I help you?"
Though Valeria had spent many years researching the occult, she had come across few genuinely enchanted objects. Exposure to the Veil was capricious, and just because Goetic sprits may rub off on the occasional haunted house, or you could find the odd bewitched trinket at your neighbour's garage sale didn't mean that you had found anything truly worthwhile. Most of the time, magic left but a spark, a shadow of the Veil, about as useful to an occultist as the facade pipes of a church organ for the musician. Then, in same rare occasions, something could become so profoundly saturated with otherworldly energy that it ceased to be inanimated to become inhabitated, with a magical aura so strong that even the common of mortals, blind to the Veil and the otherworldly, could no longer ignore that something was happening. Inexplicable, that's how most people would have described the incident. A swarm of rats leaving a ship was the sight of nightmares, not reality. The truth was that there was an explanation, although few people would actually seek it, and even fewer would find it, or even be ready to hear it. But then again, Valeria Barone, professor of Theology, was more than used to spend hours on research than maybe two people would read. Castle von Wattenwyl, a remote place that no one had ever heard of, especially regarding relics, was a good way to start digging. She sent a telegram back to the address indicated on the letter: Dear Miss Grimaldi, Will look into CdW. Maybe see if you can track down La V. If you drop at C., find sailors. Best, Pr.Barone PS: If you can, try local specialty speculoos.
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