After Celeste had finished speaking, Tsaran turned to me.
"Well, Polybius, we have heard from everyone else. Brigitta favors returning to Lemannus to retrieve raw vís, then a certámen duel to settle the matter, though she does not object to more negotiation first. Celeste opposes the certámen notion, preferring a less violent solution and, I think, would prefer us to retrieve a more pacific and well-spoken representative for further negotiations rather than sending any one of us to do the job; she would also, I think, prefer to find an uncontested site rather than resort to violence to win this one.
"I favor negotiating further with the magus before we leave. We were sent here to do our best to settle any problems, not just to trade insults with them and report back. While any agreements we make with him would have to be ratified by the rest of the covenant to be valid, I would prefer to bring back a better offer than the last set of terms Karl offered.
"But my preference is really for doing as much as we can to resolve the matter. Another option, which would do so, would be for the rest of you to return before me. In your absence, I can declare Wizards' War on Karl and, with luck, kill him. As I will have acted alone, the onus for his death will rest upon me alone. Marcus and the covenant as a whole can then punish me, and Lumen Montis will be able to stand before the Tribunal as a peaceful covenant, if one which contains at least one member willing to kill those who threaten it.
"That course of action would be accepted among the Tremere, but I think it may not be accepted here. I would be quite pleased to put Brigitta's plan into effect and, with a few pawns of raw vís, duel with Karl for the valley. I also note that you are well-spoken and the one among us who has so far done the best at speaking to Karl. Perhaps instead of sending me to speak with him, we should send you to negotiate?"
At this point, Tsaran glanced at Celeste, then at Brigitta.
"I would not willingly give up raw vís to this Karl in exchange for his departure, but permitting him to spend a season reading one of our liber quaestionum — What use would he have for it, after? — would seem fair to me. For that matter, I have no objection to exploring other possible sites in the area before we return. If we find a better one, we can let Karl be.
"But your vote will, I think, settle the matter. If you vote to negotiate further before we return, we will do that — and if you satisfy Celeste's preferences better than do I, and wish to do so, you will be our negotiator. If you vote for the Wizards' War, that will not, I grant, settle the matter, but if you vote with Celeste to leave without further negotiations, I will not insist upon them, and Brigitta is, I think, indifferent to the matter.
"As to the rest, once we have returned, with further negotiations accomplished or no, the whole covenant will face together the choice as to whether to explore more before we decide, and also the choice of whether we yield the valley to Karl, buy it from him, face him in Wizards' War (though not one which we will be able to blame on me alone before the Tribunal) or certámen, or allow him to join us on our terms. I favor the last of those, but I would hear the words of the rest of our sodales before I cast my final vote on that matter."
"Well, Polybius, we have heard from everyone else. Brigitta favors returning to Lemannus to retrieve raw vís, then a certámen duel to settle the matter, though she does not object to more negotiation first. Celeste opposes the certámen notion, preferring a less violent solution and, I think, would prefer us to retrieve a more pacific and well-spoken representative for further negotiations rather than sending any one of us to do the job; she would also, I think, prefer to find an uncontested site rather than resort to violence to win this one.
"I favor negotiating further with the magus before we leave. We were sent here to do our best to settle any problems, not just to trade insults with them and report back. While any agreements we make with him would have to be ratified by the rest of the covenant to be valid, I would prefer to bring back a better offer than the last set of terms Karl offered.
"But my preference is really for doing as much as we can to resolve the matter. Another option, which would do so, would be for the rest of you to return before me. In your absence, I can declare Wizards' War on Karl and, with luck, kill him. As I will have acted alone, the onus for his death will rest upon me alone. Marcus and the covenant as a whole can then punish me, and Lumen Montis will be able to stand before the Tribunal as a peaceful covenant, if one which contains at least one member willing to kill those who threaten it.
"That course of action would be accepted among the Tremere, but I think it may not be accepted here. I would be quite pleased to put Brigitta's plan into effect and, with a few pawns of raw vís, duel with Karl for the valley. I also note that you are well-spoken and the one among us who has so far done the best at speaking to Karl. Perhaps instead of sending me to speak with him, we should send you to negotiate?"
At this point, Tsaran glanced at Celeste, then at Brigitta.
"I would not willingly give up raw vís to this Karl in exchange for his departure, but permitting him to spend a season reading one of our liber quaestionum — What use would he have for it, after? — would seem fair to me. For that matter, I have no objection to exploring other possible sites in the area before we return. If we find a better one, we can let Karl be.
"But your vote will, I think, settle the matter. If you vote to negotiate further before we return, we will do that — and if you satisfy Celeste's preferences better than do I, and wish to do so, you will be our negotiator. If you vote for the Wizards' War, that will not, I grant, settle the matter, but if you vote with Celeste to leave without further negotiations, I will not insist upon them, and Brigitta is, I think, indifferent to the matter.
"As to the rest, once we have returned, with further negotiations accomplished or no, the whole covenant will face together the choice as to whether to explore more before we decide, and also the choice of whether we yield the valley to Karl, buy it from him, face him in Wizards' War (though not one which we will be able to blame on me alone before the Tribunal) or certámen, or allow him to join us on our terms. I favor the last of those, but I would hear the words of the rest of our sodales before I cast my final vote on that matter."