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Jeremiah Hamilton:
Rather than meeting at Quinn's office at the consilium, Jeremiah had offered his own place of business for this particular conversation, meeting the Lictor downstairs at the entrance to the Green Room with a polite smile. The cafe itself was quite cozy, done up in warm woods and a paint job to match the name. Tables were set up both inside and out, with the interior also hosting a wooden stage, currently unoccupied, and a counter near the front with a view into the kitchen beyond it.
Dad Hoc:
Who knows how he navigated the world before he was an unassuming old man, but now that he is an unassuming old man, Quinn just sort of slips through it like a fish. Old jewish men in suits belong everywhere, when they speak the right languages. And now he belongs here. He carries his cane along leisurely, following after Jeremiah with little more than a smile and a nod of the head.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Care for something to drink before we head upstairs?" Jeremiah asked, motioning towards the counter. "On the house."
Dad Hoc:
"If I'm speaking enough that I need a drink, I'm doing you a disservice," Quinn explains with a little shake of his head. "Though if you decide you're getting hungry, I know where there's a good deli." That was probably a joke. "No, unfortunately, I am here with the homework, and one of us is going to have to do it."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Understood. Shall we, then?" With that Jeremiah led Quinn towards the the side stairway that went up to the studio above. The space was homey in a way, infused with the sort of care that any artisan put into their primary work space. The largest bit of real estate was taken up by a grand piano, accompanied by a collection of other string and brass instruments on one wall and a multitude of music books on another along with a few chairs to sit on. Another door was on the far wall, closed for the moment.
"So what do we got?" He asked, letting Quinn claim a seat before taking one of his own.
Dad Hoc:
Quinn takes a moment to take it all in. Sanctums are sanctums. But studios are where the soup is made. He's not exactly distracted, but he's definitely trying to reconcile the interior of this room with his experience of Jeremiah up to this point. Wheels are turning. Eventually he looks to Jeremiah and gets down to it, finally moving to settle down in the most comfortable of the chairs to him, which may not actually be te most comfortable chair to Jeremiah, given he favors good sturdy chair backs.
"What you had was a problem you felt you could not resolve without a lictor. I took it upon myself to help you all realize how wrong you were about that." It's said kindly, as though he is delivering some sort of high compliment. "As I see it, we need to write down the decisions and thought processes that made you all feel safe in coming to the conclusion that I wasn't necessary. And then we update the Lex Magica here to reflect your gathered wisdoms."
He pulls out a kindle from his pocket and pages through it a bit until he pulls up what he is looking for. The tingle of magic in the periphery suggests the information it contains is as magically secured as information on a Kindle can get. In any case, he passes it over. Sections relating to the Right of Sanctuary, and your Bronze Law, subsection six under Soul Stones leap out as highlighted.
"I did some preparatory reading, and flagged these sections as standing out for needing commentary relating to what transpired. Can you think of other areas we ought ot consider?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah nodded quietly, taking the offered Kindle and looking it over as he mulled on the matter. "The Precept of Protectorate is one to touch on as well, since we went in without their express permission."
Dad Hoc:
"Oh. Yes. I tend to overlook that one, having the 'go anywhere, do what I want' pass." Quinn's nose wrinkles a bit, but he does agree that this is the case. "And now we decide if we're attempting to write a very narrow case application, or create a lasting precedent that can be repeated and referenced in the future. In other words: do you want to see this conduct repeated under similar circumstances in the future?" Quinn relaxes into his seat, folding up his arms in his lap, cane set across it neatly.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Good question." He sat back into his own seat, looking over the copy of the Lex in his hands. "A cabal being compromised like the Arcana were is something worth looking into, but the question of making sure that it's being done on sufficient evidence and not a whim or some secondary desire to break Sanctuary for their own gains is important."
Dad Hoc:
"I would agree that if you were to want to make it more generally applicable, you would want to ensure all the prior avenues of effort are exhausted, and the authorities granted are clearly defined, or this could be abused precisely as you say. I, for one, would be interested in seeing what you might write up in that regard. And so is Arminius." Quinn shifts a bit in his seat and continues right on explaining.
"To change the subject without actually changing it at all, you've demonstrated the truth in a lot of people's assumptions about you. Good assumptions, positive assumptions to be clear. You've navigated a legal nightmare and you did it with the Unnamed Nation at your side. You had their cooperation and agreement the whole way, and the solutions you all reached, you reached together."
"So. Would you be interested in penning these decisions under my review, and then joining my offices? I could use you at the Convocation level. And when you tell me no, and cite your cadre and your responsibilities here, I hope you'll consider accepting the role of Claviger. I need to know that I have someone I can trust with an ability to work with the Children. And Arminius has his hands full as it stands."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise at the offer made, smiling a touch as Quinn followed with the reasons why he would indeed turn down that particular offer. "I would be honored to serve as a Claviger, sir, and continue to aid both the order and the consilium with my efforts."
Dad Hoc:
"Good. May it be some time before you discover the ceiling of your competence, son." Quinn seems to achieved his real reason for setting this meeting, but that just means he's free now to turn attention back to the somehow less important matter of revising the lex.
"So. In light of your new duties, would you like to take a stab at writing the revisions, or would you prefer that I do it? It's up to you if I'm trying to foist off onerous labor on to you or pay you some conspicuous compliment. I think you'll find there's little difference, in practice."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Indeed. I think I'd rather observe one more skilled in the process than I and learn for going forward in this case."
Dad Hoc:
Quinn's unreadable face remains unreadable, but there's a definite sense of a fork in the road and a path being chosen there. At least from where Quinn's sitting. "Humility can temper ambition. Of course, it can also shatter it. I'm pretty sure I know which one this is, though, so I'll not belabor the decision further. Let's review the facts you'd like me to consider, then."
"There was encroaching on their sanctum, breaching their actual sanctum sanctorum, scrutinizing their spells, locating and scrutinizing the soul stone we located but choosing to leave it in place unmolested. Dealing with the sanctum ghost. Dealing with sanctum security. And dealing with harmful spells in the sanctum we were fairly certain were hostile in nature and cast by the enemy. Am I missing any bits of note?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Not that I can think of off-hand."
Dad Hoc:
"If you do, or if any of your friends do, let me know. I'll try to include it in my drafts. I'll let you all have a look, and will of course show it to the council before I make it all official, but I should have it tidied up in a week or so at the most." And then it will be on to other consilia and other problems, so he seems to suggest.
"I imagine I'll see you again, though, Jeremiah. If I'm being honest. You're in a war now, and are in some remarkably uncharted waters. Seer defectors? Is that even possible?" He begins to rise from his seat with that question asked, clearly indicating he doesn't have or expect an answer from Jeremiah. He expects him to find out the answer.
Which is why he smiles and offers his hand, "It's been a pleasure riding shotgun with you and your people."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Will do, and I suppose we'll find out. Stranger things, yeah?" He said with a small smile, standing in kind and taking the offered hand. "It's been good to have you here. Thanks for the help."
Dad Hoc:
"Not at all, not at all. It was fun. And had a happy ending of sorts. So, all things considered, this was almost a vacation." Quinn reclaims his hand and then gives the studio a once over, passes by the piano to play chopsticks precisely once, then finds his way to the stairs.
And the consilium breathed a collective sigh of relief.
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