| Palimpsest: Narrative | |
Chapter 7/Chapter 8
– "The Ghoul of St. Lazare."
Played September 9, 1998. The different magi who had all received a letter from Calixtus of Criamon arrived individually in the Alpine town of Chur. Each came with entourages of different sizes some had many grogs, others came along. All ended up in a scriptorium on the Eastern side of town, where they asked (as told) for a scribe named Klaus. There, Klaus told them that Calixtus was absent and instead showed them a letter that Calixtus had left in his absence. This letter outlined why Calixtus was absent and asked each magus to meet him in an abandoned chapel two days journey from Chur*and close to the site of their new covenant. One by one the magi made the journey to the old chapel. Lothair of Tremere, formerly of the Rhine Tribunal, arrived first followed by Tara of Jerbiton and Mathew of Bonisagus, both from the Stonehenge Tribunal. Archimedes of Verditius of the Rome Tribunal came next, then Fagin of Jerbiton of Wales, then Jebtha of Criamon. Finally, Aleksandr of Merinita came last, alone and new from the Novrogod Tribunal. Introductions were made and all waited for their host, Calixtus. After a day or two with no word from the absent Criamon, the magi decided to set out for the covenant on their own. Aleksandr scouted ahead in bird form and found an abandoned keep set against a cliff. Unfortunately, the keep seemed to have an armed force camped out inside it. Fagin, Tara, and Lothair set off to investigate these guests and were confronted by a Trasimondo of Milan, a mercenary captain who accused the magi of being marauders. Several subtle spells later it was revealed that Trasimondo's captain, one Robert il Drago, was ill inside and his mercenary force was using the keep as a base until he recovered. The magi convinced Trasimondo that they had healing arts and he let them in to tend to Robert. Inside, they found the graying captain sick on a pallet tended to by a hulking, shaven headed man by the name of Alo il Sago (Alo the Wise), a deeply devout warrior. With the aid of Lothair's assistant, Viktor the deaf/mute, the group healed Robert enough that he would recover on his own. They then told Robert that he was on their land but could stay the summer if they could use his men. A deal was struck and the magi of the covenant set out to explore their new home. Soon thereafter a woman of noble bearing showed up on horseback with several armed escorts. She introduced herself as Maria of Mercere of the covenant of Brugg. She had a message for Jebtha from Calixtus and took two letters with her from Lothair and ??????.
A week passed and still no word from Calixtus. The magi of the covenant searched their area and each picked a living quarters. The assorted grogs, mercenaries, and craftsmen kept to themselves and nothing much got accomplished. Aleksandr in particular was fascinated by the overgrown plants in the courtyard and spent many days trying to communicate with them. Lothair and his assistant Viktor tended to Robert il Drago. Finally a council meeting was called to discuss the covenant name, charter, membership as well as the mundane activities of running the covenant. The seven magi convened in the small room on the second floor and a charter was hammered out. At that meeting it was also decided that Karl, a young man who had accompanied Archimedes, would serve as Housecarl for the covenant and that Robert il Drago would be offered the position of Guard captain, if he chose to stay on after his recuperation. One of Jebtha's men, a man by the name of Gav, had served as turb leader in Wales and didn't take kindly to his demotion to squad leader but his wife, Molly, kept him in line. Jebtha also revealed during this meeting that the letter he received from Calixtus detailed a vis horde kept aside for the covenant in the Cave of Twisting Shadows. The entrance to the Caves are different every time and Calixtus had left a riddle that contained the location of the entrance. Jebtha set out to study this riddle. It was also decided that the covenant would start creating many small and intricate smithed items to sell in the towns and fiefs in order to maintain a mundane front. Over the next week the covenant started to come to shape. Karl and Robert (who had accepted the position and seemed unfazed by the magi's powers) started to organize the covenfolk, a task that suited them both. There were three squad leaders: Gav, Trasimondo, and Alo, each overseeing about eight men. At the end of this week, a strange visitor came to the covenant. He was a young lad, about 16 summers, who had a note in one hand and a chicken on his shoulder. By looking at him, one could tell that he was "simple." The letter was another from Calixtus detailing more thoughts on the covenant and recommending the boy, Hans the Dim, as a stable hand for the covenant. The letter discussed purchasing laboratory equipment from the town of Brugg. Archimedes, Mathew, and Lothair set out with carts to Brugg to retrieve the equipment. Around this time Jebtha believed that he had cracked the riddle and set off with several guards to find the entrance to the Cave of Twisting Shadows. A few days later a second visitor was led to the gate. He had been caught spying on the covenant but seemed to be not a prisoner but in command. He introduced himself as Quintus of Quaesitor and said he was checking on the covenant's progress. Tara, Fagan, and Aleksandr hosted Quintus and answered all of his questions, hesitating only in giving him a copy of their charter. Quintus spent the day at the covenant asking questions and looking around then left the next morning before daybreak. A week later the third visitor arrived a man with an Italian accent by the name of Vicini di Venezia. Vicini had been employed by a nobleman of Venice until this spring when the noble had been killed by his advisor/court wizard a man who had a very similar appearance to Quintus of Quaesitor. It appears that this wizard had fled Venice with the nobleman's silver and had fled to Chur, where his trail led to the covenant. The magi of the covenant agreed to look into the matter. Secretly they wondered if they had been duped by a con artist or if Quintus was acting as a court wizard. Either way, it looked bad. Fagan set out with his twin brother and three guards to the covenant of Gozwinpas, where Quintus was supposedly from. He was met at the foreboding keep by one Theodora of Flambeau. Chapter 3 – "The Threads Are Woven" July 1218 Played September 30, 1998 Fagan of Jerbiton, his brother Gwair, and their three Welsh knights – Owen the Ever Vigilant, Conrad the Horseman, and Quinn the Mighty – arrived at the covenant of Gozwinpas early one morning. After some pleasantries with Theodora of Flambeau, the party was led to a dreary guesthouse just off the main courtyard. There Rosamund of Guernicus, a young woman, spoke with Fagan. She assured him that there was no Quintus of Quaesitor anywhere in the Order and certainly not at Gozwinpas. She reiterated Theodora’s statement that there should be no bad blood between Scopulus Incanus and Gozwinpas. And she grew fiery with the thought of an "impostor" running around Europe pretending to be of House Guernicus. She told the group that she (and Gozwinpas) would also look into the matter. Returning to Scopulus Incanus, Fagan went into council with Tara and Aleksandr to determine what course to take next. Around that time, Vicini returned from his travels to tell the group that Quintus/Bernardo had taken up as an "advisor" to Holbein Fracstein II, the Lord of Aspermont. Lord Fracstein’s demesne is to the north by a few day’s ride. Negotiating the lock of hair from Vicini, the magi tried to cast some scrying spells on the owner of the hair but their magics were resisted by some force at the other end. They then took some time to ponder their next move. Meanwhile, a week to the north, the caravan train of Archimedes, Mathew, Lothair and their servants had almost reached the town/covenant of Brugg. However, in the town of Baden, they ran into a delay. It appeared that Count Heinrich von Rapperswil was opening a new monastery (Zisterzienserkloster Wettingen) as thanks to God for saving him from drowning. Count Heinrich, along with the new Abbot, Niklaus, were holding a festival in honor of St. John Gaulbert a saint from Italy. As there were no ferrymen to take them across the river, the party was forced to wait on the edge of the town square as the daylong party took place. That night, Abbot Niklaus told the story of St. John Gaulbert and wanted to stage a morality play based on the saint’s life right in the square. He revealed that he held the actual Sword of St. John Gaulbert and proceeded to reenact his life. When he got to the part where St. John corners a murderer and the murderer begs for forgiveness, Abbot Niklaus chose Lothair of Tremere to be the penitent and to beg for the Lord’s forgiveness. Lothair quickly feigned being a mute and the Abbot seemed fine with this but something about Lothair awakened a power within the sword and some link caused intense pain within Lothair. Mathew, acting quickly, cast magics to remove the sword from Niklaus’ hands. The grogs cheered at this "show" and the rest of the crowd, quite drunk, went along with it. Count Heinrich and Abbot Niklaus seemed less sure that it was an act. The group waited until daylight before being ferried over the river and off to Brugg. In a third thread, Jebtha along with a large retinue (Hugo, Jerome, Andre, Waimer, and Guy The Bald) arrived in the town of Davos looking for Pietr of Davos, a cousin of Hugo, and a man who knows "a bit of everything about the area." The group found out that Pietr left town with a wagon train about a month before after losing a hand for poaching in the royal forest. The group followed the wagon train and almost caught up to it in the town of Ardez. There, they found out that a "one handed man with a caravan" had killed a guard of Lord Klaus du Vintschgau and was being held for trial in Tarasp Castle. He was to be tried by Lord Klaus when the lord returned from a week of hunting. Jebtha convinced Hugo to allow him to turn the both of them invisible and the pair went off to the castle to save Pietr. They arrived at the castle to find that Lord Klaus’ party had returned a few hours before. The dogs in the courtyard didn't care for Jebtha’s Gift, invisible or no, and the duo had to quickly enter the keep. There, after some poking around, the found a guard watching a staircase to the dungeons. After some failed magic attempts which spooked the guard, Hugo grew tired of the hunt and stabbed the guard in the neck. They then entered the dungeon, found Pietr, and make a break for daylight before sunset. The other guards found their dead friend and several other freaky things happened that quickly convinced them that the castle was haunted or that demons had come for them. Pietr, Hugo, and Jebtha escaped and rejoined the others. Chapter 4 -
"The Road, The River, and the Riddling Wyrm." After leaving the town of Baden, the three magi and their wagons arrived in the town of Brugg. There they met with the burgher of the town, a magus named Rainald of Mercere, the leader of the covenant of Brugg. He housed the magi and showed them their laboratory equipment. Archimedes took exception to this and the magi of Scopulus Incanus negotiated better equipment from Brugg. They now owe Brugg five pawns of vis and an item that has been opened by seven pawns of vis, due at the next summer solstice. They then spent the week in town waiting for their new equipment. During this time, Lothair of Tremere met with Brugg's Tremere - Marcellus. Marcellus spends most of his time at Vindonissa, the Roman ruins nearby, where he is looking for artifacts from the Cult of Mercury. After securing their equipment, the magi returned home. However, a week or so away from home, their wagons were ambushed by a group of men who used flaming arrows to try to ignite the tarps. A melee ensued. Tyfid and Blog chased down one bowman while Nath ab Osmail, showing bravery at the end, charged into the brush to attack others, where he was cut down by well-armed men. Lothair used his Arts to drive the men off and Mathew spontaneously ripped the last bowman's leg from its socket, enabling Tyfid to catch him. With the unconscious man in a cart, they returned home. Meanwhile, around the same time, four huntsmen from the covenant left for the day -- Anselm the Silent, Lleyn ap Dubric, Vincent d'Avon, and Justin. (Rob McHugh said he'd finish this part) Far to the east, Jebtha the Criamon and his five followers, were looking for a place where "three rivers met and two monasteries didn't like each other." Pietr, cousin of Hugo, said that there was one place in Vomp where three rivers met, but there was only one monastery. However, after some prodding, it was revealed that this monastery was built on the remains of a former, heretic one that was not liked by the current inhabitants. Jebtha was sure this was the place and the group set out. A week later (after passing through Innsbruck), the group reached Vomp. Questioning revealed a cave on the southern river where brigands used to live. The group set out and found the cave the next day. Climbing to its entrance, the magi and grogs found themselves in a large cavern with moist air. Several almost lost their nerve but Andre told them a rousing story to regain their nerve. This almost gave out when the back of the cave revealed itself to be a giant lizard or wyrm of some sort. In fact, several members of the group fled out of the cave. The wyrm spoke in Latin and told Jebtha that there were two cave entrances behind him and "taking the correct path from here leads to the Caves of Twisting shadows. Taking an incorrect path leads to a brood of my children...who are hungry." Jebtha chose the left tunnel, which led down to a small room with a door marked with House Criamon's symbol.
Jebtha opened the door to reveal a blank wall. Immediately, four smaller wyrms
dropped from the ceiling and attacked the group. After an initial panic, the
grogs fought back against the wyrms and slew them, but not before Hugo got
bitten and started seeing visions. Returning to the main cave, Jebtha took the
right path but before he could open the door he realized that this was wrong as
well. The group returned to the main cave and thought for a while. Eventually
Jebtha realized where the correct egress was. He told the wyrm to open its mouth
and then boldly walked in. At this point, all members of the group felt dizzy
and awoke outside, their wounds healed and their beards longer. A Criamon magus
was there who told them that none except members of their House may remember the
inside of the Caves of Twisting Shadows but that the group stayed there two
weeks. With the group was a cart laden with strange items, which Jebtha told them
was a supply of vis for the covenant. With that, they set out for home. Chapter 5
"The Sad Ende of Walter the Wizard." Upon further reflection, Quitara of Jerbiton, Fagan of Jerbiton, and Aleksandr of Merinita decided to deal with the "magus" Quintus once and for all. Vicini, a messenger and jack-of-all-trades from Venice had scoped out the location of an advisor fitting the description of Quintus/Bernardo, who was now in the employ of one Holbein Fracstein II, the Lord of Aspermont. Fagan chose to remain at the covenant and sent out his twin brother, Gwair. Along with Quinn the Mighty, Roald (a savage), and Trasimondo, the two magi, the brother of a magi, and an Italian seeking vengeance, set out for Lord Aspermontıs home Castle Fracstein. The group passed through Chur with little incident and, on the second day stopped a few hours from Castle Fracstein so that Aleksandr could scope out the place in bird form. When he was gone, the remaining group (who were quite lax in defense) were set upon by three armored men who sprang from the woods. Gwair was wounded badly in the leg trying to mount his horse but the armored men were held off after a bit. However, they proved to be but a ruse as four armored knights then thundered into the clearing from the other direction, their heavy horse bearing down on the group. Only Taraıs quick action of creating an illusionary wall of fire turned the deadly charge aside. After some reflection, the four knights rode away, unsure of what other magics would await them if they pressed the attack. Meanwhile, Aleksandr (in bird form) found Castle Fracstein, a dirty little place and its leader Lord Aspermont, a dirty little teen who seemed petulant and a drunk. This lordling had taken Quintus/Bernardo as an advisor and the two of them were arguing in the great hall. After a bit, Quintus left his lord to repair to the tower nearby. There Aleksandr flew into the room in bird form to see Quintus staring into a brazier and (evidently) seeing something in the flames. Turning back to human form startled Quintus who gestured and caused the flames from the brazier to attack the Merinita. But a bad bit of luck (for Quintus) caused the flames to go astray. Quintus then asked Aleksandr to sit down while he told him what was up. Quintus said that his real name was Walter and that he used to be an apprentice of the Order near Rome 25 or so years ago. There, while under the guidance of a Tytalus, Walter was told that his Gift was "flawed" and that he would never be a member of the Order. Enraged, Walter bided his time before faking his own death and wandering The Holy Roman Empire as a wizard-for-hire to the rich and powerful. He wished no harm on the new covenant and offered his apologies for any ill will they might have for him. At that point the four knights from the attack returned to the castle and Lord Aspermont started pounding on Walterıs door slurring "The attack didnıt work!" Walter was momentarily distracted and Aleksandr used that opportunity to ensorcel his mind, bending Walterıs will so that he thought Aleksandr was an amazing man. Using his new puppet, Aleksandr distracted Lord Aspermont and left the castle. One of the castle hounds followed them and revealed himself to be Zwentifold of Gozwinpas, who was also tracking Walter on behalf of the Quaesitor, Rosamund. Seeing that the situation was in hand, Zwentifold left. Returning to the group, Aleksandr had Tara probe Walterıs mind to reveal any more secrets. It was discovered that he had spent most of the money he had stolen from Viciniıs master and that his story was basically true. His only magic consisted of reading the future from fire and his other abilities came from a ring (which repelled magic) and from a torque that allowed him to control fire. After the magi got what they wanted from him, they allowed Vicini to slit Walterıs throat, thus gaining revenge for his dead master. Removing the head of Walter (as prove for the Quaesitor), they through his body in a ravine and left. Returning through Chur, they group stopped for the night and, while at the townıs only tavern/inn/public house, they were approached by a Knight Templar. The knightıs name was Martín de Losada and he offered an Indulgence from the Pope in return for locating a wayward nun, "a wicked woman who has committed grave sins against our Church." The womanıs name was Almika and she had fled from Iberia earlier that summer. Gwair and Quinn agreed to help (being pious Christians) while the rest of the group returned to the covenant the next morning. Gwair and Quinn searched the town the next morning and found Almika near a well in the center of town. They started to approach her when four other horsemen emerged from a narrow alley and interceded. This group was also Iberian and saw a woman being followed by various armed men. The leader of this group introduced himself as Rafael Maximo de Cordoba (infamously known as "El Fuego") and wanted to know why two men with weapons were chasing a nun. Gwair and El Fuego verbally sparred over the woman (whom El Fuego had lifted onto his horse) and a crowd was gathering. At that time Sir Martín returned and demanded the woman. El Fuego refused to give her over when Sir Martín would not tell him what she had done. Gwair and Quinn withdrew from the conflict, having done what was asked and, outnumbered, Sir Martín withdrew for now. It turned out that El Fuego was El Fuego of Flambeau and was late to the gathering that Calixtus had asked for. He and Gwair made their peace and he was led to the covenant of Scopulus Incanus. Seeing that Almika was still in danger, El Fuego offered her his protection and a place to stay.
With all the members of the covenant back home, things quieted down for a few weeks. Laboratories were being established, books catalogued, buildings repaired, and food stored for winter. Rosamund of Guernicus came to investigate the event with Walter/Quintus/Bernardo but, finding nothing wrong, commended the party on cleaning up their mess quietly and efficiently. She took the head of Walter back with her to Gozwinpas. It was then that the two shepherds for the covenant Donato and Juerg came down from the bluffs behind the covenant to deliver a message: the covenantıs sheep had disappeared overnight, within a few hours apparently. After some discussion, Aleksandr and the new magus, El Fuego, set out with some keen-eyed grogs to investigate. Arriving on the bluffs, the trackers found that the sheep had left down a winding path apparently in single file as there was only one set of tracks. This path led to a ravine, where the tracks ended. Some investigation revealed that the tracks continued on the other side of the ravine. Aleksandr created a bridge out of nearby trees and the group continued up a dry river bed which ended, along with the sheep tracks, at the base of a dry waterfall. At this point, all but Aleksandr returned to the covenant as there was no way to scale the cliffs. Turning into a crow, Aleksandr continued. He followed the tracks down another canyon until they ended at a great fir tree that blocked the canyon from wall to wall. After a moment, the magus discerned that there was a faerie regio around the tree and that, within this regio, the tree was actually a door. He passed through the door and continued. The same day, another visitor arrived at the covenant. A man in priestıs robes, he asked to speak to the lord of the keep and was ushered in to meet with Fagan. The man introduced himself as Father Michael Zwygart and told Fagan that he was their new priest. Before Fagan could say much otherwise, Father Michael moved his stuff into the old chapel in the covenant. Fagan told him to meet the rest of the lords for dinner. Back up on the cliffs, Aleksandr of Merinita found himself in a small valley, enshrouded in mists. The faerie aura was high here and, on the way into the valley, the magus passed a fantastical animal guardian who silently let him move on. In the valley, Aleksandr entered a village of faerie who lived in crude huts. The covenantıs sheep were also in the center of this "town." Meeting with the fae who lived there, Aleksandr discovered that there was a deal with the old magi who lived at the covenant. In return for a "few" black sheep from the fae given to the covenantıs flock each year, the covenant would provide cream and bread each morning. When there had been no cream or bread forthcoming, the faeries (called "Fantine") had taken not only their sheep back but also those of the covenant as payment for breaking the deal. Aleksandr explained that they didnıt know about the deal and would be happy to reciprocate, now that they knew. At dinner, Father Michael met the rest of the magi who were around. A spirited discussion on God, magic, the devil, and "open minds" ensued and the poor priest seemed quite overwhelmed. The Father explained that he was sent here as much as a punishment for him as anything else. A local lord, Lord Aspermont (former employer of Walter the Wizard) had tipped off the Bishop of Chur that a group of "godless men" were living in the woods and that they needed a priest soon. Around the same time, Father Michael had opened his mouth and talked about "getting to know our Jewish and Muslim brothers" once to often and was sent to this godless place to lead a flock of men for a while instead of having time to read quasi-heretical books. Many of the magi protested the priestıs presence, fearing the encroachment of a Divine aura, but Fagan convinced them to let this priest sit for a while lest one who is less tolerant be sent to the covenant. In return for an evening of stories from Aleksandr, the Fantine agreed to return the sheep and rekindle the agreement. They also told Aleksandr about another deal that was in effect with the covenant. In return for one item of exquisite craftsmanship they would agree to provide a good harvest for the next year. Aleksandr flew off and back to the covenant. On the way down the cliffside, he noticed a shallow cave on the escarpment behind the covenant. Within the cave was an ancient device, obviously Hermetic, but now ruined and pitted. He then returned home. In the next few weeks, several things happened. Aleksandr took several carpenters to build an item for the Fantine. Andre and Wigstan Peppery went with him to entertain the Fantine. Meanwhile, Father Michael settled in and started saying Mass on Sunday. This was attended by the Welsh twins and all the grogs. The rest of the magi were absent. Father Michael also seemed aware that they are magi. What this means to him is unknown. Aleksandr gave the Fantine a hut fashioned with a lot of detailed scrollwork. The faeries were happy but chided him for "cheating" by using magic. Mathew and Archimedes investigated the device on the cliffside but didnıt know what to make of it yet. Returning to the garden in the covenant, Aleksandr managed to cast a Rego Herbam spell that broke the resistance of the plants, revealing an old garden within. It was then, just a few days shy of the autumn equinox, that Maria of Mercere returned from her trip down south with messages for the covenant.
Sidebar:
Meeting of the Covenant
Chapter 7/Chapter 8 –
"The Ghoul of St. Lazare." Played November 4 and November 11, 1998 [NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PART OF THE PUBLISHED ADVENTURE "THE FESTIVAL OF THE DAMNED."] On the Autumnal Equinox, the magi of Scopulus Incanus held a council meeting. There they decided what each magus would do for the upcoming season. At the same meeting, Tara of Jerbiton and Fagan of Jerbiton revealed letters they had recently received from Calixtus. Part of the letters stated that the covenant owed men-at-arms to Lord Wilhelm of Thusis as part of their vassalage. The number of men was unclear but they were due on that day – the equinox. Tara, Fagan, two Welsh riders, and the newly-healed Robert il Draco, rode out to Thusis to visit with Lord Wilhelm. On the way, they found a dead body washed up in the river. It was the body of a teenage girl who had died of (or at least had) the pox. Furthermore, it appeared that the body had been desecrated in some way, as it had carvings and incisions in the flesh. Sending Conrad the Horseman back with the body (for a proper burial), the rest of the group rode onto Thusis. After some negotiations with Lord Wilhelm, the magi returned to the covenant, leaving Vicini behind to negotiate the rights for some blacksmithing services and Robert il Draco behind to plot strategy with Lord Wilhelm. There Father Michael implored the magi to find out who caused these horrible, evil markings on the girl. He said that if the covenant didn’t do something, he would make sure the bishop did. Fagan assured him that he would look into it. The next morning, Fagan of Jerbiton, Jebtha of Criamon, Tara of Jerbiton, Gwair the Twin, Conrad the Horseman, Owen the Ever-Vigilent, Richard the Wall, and Pendarann rode back to Thusis, the town just up-river from where the body was found. After a half-day of futile questioning, they group determined that no-one in the area had had the pox recently and no girl bearing the description of the body had died. Heading further up-river, the group came to the town of Vézay in the late afternoon. Speaking with the local priest, Father Tanchus, the group learned that, yes, a girl named Helene, had just died of the pox last week but the body couldn’t be hers as she is buried in the churchyard. The priest even showed them the grave, which had spontaneously grown wildflowers over it. This seemed suspicious and the group agreed to spend the night in the guesthouse of the parish. That evening, they dined with the village elder (a senile old man hard of hearing and soft of wits), checked on Helene’s family (her mother and one sister have the pox) and poked around the small village. Under the cover of night, several of the magi and the group went back to the graveyard to investigate the grave. Some simple magics determined that there was no body in the grave but, before more could be determined, someone (or something) pushed a large gravestone off a tomb, narrowly missing Pendarann. A chase ensued by the grogs ending with the mysterious assailant being pushed into the river, where he fell – hard – onto the rocks and cracked his skull. The figure turned out to be Brother Nolis, the hunchback assistant of Father Tanchus, who had been tending the grounds that afternoon. Father Tanchus was upset by the death of his servant and puzzled as to his violent behavior. He took the body into the church and pray over it all night. The magi returned to bed. The next morning Tara and Richard left as Tara had been troubled by various visions overnight and felt an strong urge to "be someone" far to the north. The rest of the party helped dig the grave for Nolis and attended his service. The village came and some suspicion of the magi’s motives started to be voiced by a few of the locals. Sure that something was afoot, the magi stayed on longer and even helped Father Tanchus compose letters to petition the bishop for a new assistant. Suspecting grave-robbers, the magi set a watch over the cemetery that night and Owen noticed a mysterious figure down by the water. Following it (with Conrad), Owen followed the shambling man into town. When the man saw Owen, the lunged at him and threw him into a wall. A chase followed as the man-thing ran through town with Owen and Conrad following. It eventually went back to the church where Jebtha briefly ensnared it in spider webs. It broke free, eluded the grogs, and scaled a cliffside just to the west of the town. It/he did not return all night. Father Tanchus muttered something about "the devil fearing him" and "his work" and told the group that they would have to make plans in the morning to exorcise this demon. The next morning, Father Tanchus awoke early and started shaking holy water around the church grounds. He seemed quite panicked and muttered to himself. The magi asked him what he was doing and he told them it was to drive off demons who didn’t want his work to come to fruition. Further questioning revealed that the good Father had come across a book that explained that Christianity was the work of the devil as a way to trick souls into worshipping him. Now that he had "seen the way" he was removing the Christian presence in the area to let God return. This was all the group needed to hear. They dragged the priest back into the rectory and asked to see the book. Even a casual showing revealed it to be the rantings of diabolists. Jebtha engaged Father Tanchus in a theology debate while Fagan and Pendarann went to tell the town that they would spend the night in the church. Conrad the Horseman rode off at full speed to return to the covenant to fetch Father Michael and some more help. Fagan’s speech to the villagers didn’t go over well, especially the bit about "Satan," "diabolic priest," "wandering ghoul," and that sort of stuff. Once the panicked masses had been calmed, they came to the chapel to spend the night. Torches were lit on the churchyard fence, villagers posted at the windows, and Owen and Gwair stood by the door to the church. After the sun set, the man-thing could be seen wandering through the village, wrecking houses. It stood just outside the torchlight or a while, then came forward and extinguished the fire. As Gwair and Owen went to relight it, the ghoul put out another one further down the fence. At that point, Fagan had Pendarann ring the church bell. This seemed to drive the beast back…for a while. As the hours passed, the ghoul grew closer and closer, at times appearing out of the darkness near the church walls. And still the bells rang. Finally, at midnight, the church bell rope broke with a snap and a dripping noise could be heard. All turned to see the giant crucifix behind the altar start to glow. The stone Jesus started to melt and blood poured from its eyes and hands. With a shatter, the figure of Christ fell to the floor and the crucifix burst into flames. At that moment, the ghoul started approaching the church. Panic ensued. Gwair and Owen, driven back by the initial onslaught, fought valiantly, and Owen got in a good blow to the beast’s side. Its strength and quickness were amazing. Jebtha’s spells slid off the creature so he used his magics to help Gwair and Owen. Fagan used his powers to calm the crowd. Finally, after several minutes of fighting, the ghoul started to retreat across the churchyard. Once again, Jebtha ensnared it with webs. As it struggled to break free, Gwair picked up his bow and fired a mighty shot into the back of the neck of the ghoul. With that blow, the ghoul stopped moving. But it was still long hours until sunrise, when, at last, the crucifix stopped burning and fell to the ground in ashes. Fagan gathered the villagers and set out North to Thusis. They arrived late afternoon to find Father Michael, several covenant magi, and a few grogs, ready to ride up to help those in Vézay. Fagan turned over Father Tanchus (who now realized what he had done). It appears that Tanchus had dug up the body of poor Helene and used her body in a ritual to create his "holy" water. When Nolis went to return the body to the grave, he must have flung it in the river instead. Near catatonic, Tanchus let himself be led off to face the bishop in Chur. The magi returned to Vezay to fetch the book that had led Father Tanchus astray. They also made sure the ghoul was still dead (it was) and cut it out of the webs. A day or two later the villagers returned to their homes, scared but having no other place to go. Father Michael returned to say that Father Tanchus is "in God’s…or Satan’s…hands now." He also said that the bishop was impressed by their actions. And so ends our tale.
Chapter 8/Chapter 9 -
"The Siege and the Statue" Played November 18 and November 22, 1998 Returning to the covenant, the magi who had been to Vezay noticed that someone, or something, had been in their sancta while they were gone. Nothing appeared to be missing but papers and items had been moved around just a bit. The only person who found something missing was Jebtha of Criamon, who was missing a small gold statue that he had somehow obtained in the last year during his twilight experience in the Spring. The magi hastily called a council and, after discerning that no one was scrying on them or invisibly in the room, summoned Karl, the Housecarl, to find out if anyone strange had been in the covenant in the past week. At the same time, El Fuego set a trap near his sanctum to ensnare anyone who intruded. Around the same time, several leagues to the East, were the armed men who were serving their two week's service to Lord Wilhelm of Thusis. Robert il Drago had met with Lord Wilhelm for the past few days and outlined the situation to the rest of his men. The valley they were in was called Stosavia, which is connected to Thusis over Glas Pass. To the north of the valley was a gorge called Versam Gorge. It led to Trin, Tamins, and Reichenau, which formed the domain of Hohentrins, with the castle of Sogn Parcazi above Trin-Porclis as its center. It was in possession of the Lords of Werdenberg- Heiligenberg and the lord was Lord Manfred Werdenberg. It appeared that Lord Manfred had been expanding south through the Versam Gorge and recently had taken over the town of Tenna. This was nothing exciting except for the fact that the Versam Gorge was what allows the Glas Pass to stay in use, which is what enables Thusis to remain relevant. Lord Wilhelm had rights on his mother's family's side to the valley of Stussavgia and wanted to take back Tenna from the Werdenbergs. His plan was to march down the river and attack the garrison. However, he didn't know how many people were there - somewhere between 20 and 60. He was looking for a scout troop to sneak in and evaluate. This is what the men of Robert il Drago were to do. At Scopulus Incanus, the magi were waiting to see if anyone strange had been in the keep and if anyone was going to invade El Fuego's chambers when Molly MacEwan came running out of the kitchens in hysterics. She just kept screaming about Gav and how he needed helm. The magi entered the kitchen to find Gav convulsing on the floor, bleeding at the mouth. Dragging him outside, the magi managed to sedate him with spells, at least until sundown. Molly knew nothing except for the fact that Gav entered the kitchen, said her name, then fell to the floor. Immediate investigation revealed broken glass in Gav's right hand, as if he had crushed something while in pain. Further spells revealed an unknown liquid amongst the blood and glass shards but it could not be identified. Outside Tenna, the party of Robert il Drago waited until nightfall to send two men over the walls - Gerard the Feral and Waimer the Hawk. The town was walled with wooden posts and torches had been placed along it. A gate was closed at front and no guards were seen along the wall. After dark, Gerard and Waimer scaled the walls and dropped into the small town. Within minutes a guard patrol with a giant hound on a leash was on to them and they scattered amongst the hovels and squalor. Gerard managed to hide on a roof while Waimer ran along the inside of the town wall. While on the roof, Gerard managed to see how many tents were in the town square to report back to Robert. By this time, Waimer had gone of the walls and a guard patrol (with hounds) had sallied forth from the gate to investigate the outside walls. At this point a battle ensued. Waimer fought the two guards and the hound and was joined by Alo il Sago and another comrade. Two more of Robert's men entered the town and killed off another guard who had been leaving to raise an alarm. Gerard found a storeroom of supplies which implied that the troops of Werdenberg were planning on staying a while. After a skirmish outside the wall, the men of the Dragon managed to kill off the guard patrol and the giant hound, which seemed encased in a suit of metal bands. They returned south to tell Robert. At the covenant, the magi revived Gav with their magics and asked him what happened. Apparently, a week or so back, Gav was approached by "the most beautiful woman in the world" who told him that Jebtha had two statues of hers that Gav must bring to her. If he didn't do this, the beautiful woman would hurt Molly. Gav found one statue in Jebtha's sanctum but couldn't find the other. In a panic, he started searching other magi's homes but couldn't find the statue. Then, when Karl started asking around about an "intruder" in the magi's chambers, Gav feared the worse. The beautiful woman had given him a potion to take that would "make him forget that he had been in the chambers." What the woman had failed to tell him is that this potion was really poison. The magi found out that the statues were to be turned over to the woman the next week in Chur. They agreed to keep Gav alive until then. In the valley of Stosavia, Robert and Lord Wilhelm conferred. From the information that the covenant's grogs had gathered, it appeared that the men of Werdenberg were too many to be driven out from behind the walls, especially with the war dogs. The only hope would be to have the citizens of Tenna stage a revolt when Wilhelm attacked. In return for this assistance, Wilhelm would be willing to give Tenna the rights to have their own market, tax-free, for twenty years. A parlay took place on the grass outside of Tenna between Wilhelm and Donato the Grey, the leader of the Werdenberg men. Neither side backed down and a long siege was planned by both parties. The magi of Scopulus devised a plan where El Fuego would arrive with a fake statue at the site in Chur where the woman was supposed to be. Magically disguised as Gav, he would give this fake statue to the woman and find out more information from her. Tara was going along and Matthew decided to disguise himself as a beggar to watch the scene.Aleksandr went to town a few days early to spy things out in bird form. He found out that there was a beautiful woman staying town, in fact she was a friend of the bishop and seemed to be a baroness of some Eastern country. Finely dressed and well-mannered, she spent her time at the bishop's guest house. Back in Stosavia, outside the walls of Tenna, a plan was made. Lord Wilhelm wanted to give a message to the town elder: if the town helped drive out the Werdenberg army, then Wilhelm would grant them the right to have their own market - tax-free - for forty years. It was decided to create a diversion near the front gate so that one of Robert's men could sneak over the back wall and deliver the message. And so dusk came. Near the front gate, Wilhelm's men started firing flaming arrows over the wall, enough to cause a diversion but not so many to burn the town down. Meanwhile, Gerard the Filthy climbed the back wall and landed in the town. There he saw that hay had been stacked around all the houses. From the outside of the town, the attackers saw that the fires were not being put out but were growing stronger - the town was being torched by Werdenberg's men. Gerard confirmed the same from inside as armed men lit the bales of hay. The town was ablaze and, without warning, the town gate came crashing down, it had been rigged during the day. The army of Werdenberg, smaller than thought, thundered out and fled north toward the pass. Some of Thusis' army followed, although the war dogs harried them. Others tried to save the town, but to no avail. By the end, the town was gone and Werdenberg had fled. Lord Thusis pulled his army back. Leaving the townspeople homeless with winter coming, and retreated to his home in Thusis. In the meantime, however, Robert and Alo managed to find a dead war dog. They discovered that the armor on the dog actually seemed to be part of the dog - almost metal scales that grew in the fur. They took the dog back to the magi. In Chur, the morning arrived. El Fuego and Tara rode into the square with the fake statue. Soon thereafter, a beautiful woman arrived with a mounted guard and several of the bishop's guard escorting her. She dismissed the men and approached the two magi alone. She had quickly seen through El Fuego's disguise and waved Matthew over, his beggar's garb had not fooled her. A heated conversation ensued. It turns out that this woman, the baroness Barova, was not only nobility but the apprentice to Paternostro of Tytalus of the Nubes Fenestre covenant. She claimed that the statues were hers and demanded that they be returned to her. More debate on whether to kill her or not followed, until Matthew called her bluff. As a Bonisagus, Matthew has the right to take any apprentice. He told Barova that she would leave now, without the statue, and he would not take her as an apprentice. If she stuck around or caused further trouble, she would spend the rest of her days cleaning his lab equipment. Unsure as to whether he could do this, Barova retreated with her guards, vowing revenge. She soon left, returning to her home on the Adriatic. Meanwhile, El Fuego threw the iron duplicate of the statue into the well in Chur. Unbeknownst to him, Aleksandr had determined a few days earlier that a group of sprets (sprites) had made their home in there and that people made offerings to these fae for good luck. Of course, the townspeople think they are making a donation to a saint, but the effect is the same. The results of this iron offering to the faeries is currently unknown.
Chapter
10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12 - "The Magi Who Came To Dinner" Played December 2, December 9, and December 16, 1998 It all started so simply - an invitation for conversation. The autumn had passed and winter had borne down hard on Scopulus Incanus. The season's work was complete and the magi were gathered to meet and cast their Aegis of the Hearth. Lothair of Tremere cast the spell without problem. Soon thereafter, Robert the Redcap arrived by air with a few messages for the magi. One was a letter for Lothair, which turned out to be from Guibert les Andelys of Tremere, the high-ranking Tremere of the Tribunal and second in command at the covenant Nubes Fenestre. The letter was an "invitation" to Lothair to come visit him after the solstice for conversation. The invite was also for any other magi of Scopulus Incanus who wanted to get to know their fellow magi. Although dubious of Nubes' intentions, El Fuego, Matthew, Tara, and Lothair agreed to go, along with several grogs. Nubes Fenestre had supplied a magical chariot that would grow large upon command and could fly through the night pulled by the griffin attached to it. And so, on Christmas Eve, the party left the covenant to streak through the night, causing many peasants in the Alps to see a "magical sleigh" fly overhead in the night. This rumor would grow with time. Arriving on the snowy peak of Nubes Fenestre just before dawn, the chariot alighted alongside a crevasse outside a large and imposing keep. There were a few guards at the gate to the keep who, upon seeing the chariot, lowered a drawbridge over the crevasse. The group started to cross when the Nubes guards, without warning, took their crossbows and fired bolts at the visiting group. Chaos ensued. Lothair was hit badly in the chest. Others survived with scrapes. El Fuego and a few Iberians charged the crossbowman. These guards, however, turned and tried to flee into the keep. Something seemed to stop them and they suddenly burst into flames. Within minutes they were dead in the snow. Some of the group retreated to the chariot while others raced inside. Within the walls there was an odd sight: frozen guard bodies were in the guardhouse, dozens of them. The courtyard was otherwise cold and empty, except for a lonely giant, at least 18' tall who wandered around. Hiding in the guardhouse (with the bodies), the group were accosted by a shadowy figure who said "Foolish magi" and started chanting. El Fuego attacked but missed and the man cast a spell on El Fuego that incapacitated him for the day. The grogs followed the shadowy magus up the stairs, past a magically trapped door, and into a sanctum, where he disappeared. The remainder of the party checked the tower but could find no sign of him. Back at the chariot, some of the group noticed an invisible assailant collecting blood from the snow. With all their injuries, it was decided that retreat was prudent. Quitara gained control of the magical chariot and the group returned to Scopulus Incanus. An emergency council was held. Whether by intention or by accident, the covenant of Nubes Fenestre had wronged Scopulus Incanus. It was unclear whether the covenant was responsible, was killed, or if this was even Nubes Fenestre at all. After some debate, some of the magi went to Brugg to speak with Rainald of Mercere, the covenant leader/burgher of the town. He was horrified by the story and offered to deliver whatever messages the magi felt were necessary. He did not, however, offer any support at this time. Marcellus of Tremere pulled Lothair aside and cautioned him that this may be the work of enemies of the Tremere or it may even be a Diedne resurgence. He suggested that more information was needed. From Brugg, the group (utilizing the magical chariot), traveled to Gozwinpas to report their story to the Quaesitor, Rosamund. Arriving during the night, the magi were not let in but Rosamund emerged from the keep to speak with them. She was also horrified by the story but somewhat skeptical as well. She told the magi that she would look into it but expected them to bring her more information in the meantime. The magi returned to Scopulus Incanus and reconvened. El Fuego, Aleksandr, and eight grogs would return to Nubes Fenestre to try to ferret out more information and, if possible, find the person who had cast spells at them. Taking raw vis, the group set out with the chariot and arrived in the middle of the night on the icy peak. Crossing through the Aegis, El Fuego noticed that it seemed...different than before, perhaps weaker. Approaching the gate with caution, the group was well-prepared when the corpses of the crossbowmen who had been burned several days earlier rose up and attacked the group. However, the night air and icy ground played havoc with the brave forces and the battle, although won, did not go that well. Entering the passage to the first courtyard, the group was stopped by the giant who was blocking the far end of the passage and trying to reach in. As the party was navigating their way past the giant, a voice cast a spell at them and a torrent of water rushed into the tunnel, knocking Gerard the Feral back several paces, in spite of his strength. An arrow loosed down the tunnel ended the spell and more arrows caused the giant to retreat. Stepping out into the courtyard, the group found nothing but moonlight and ice. The door to the second building/tower was open a crack and some of the party followed inside, the rest guarding the building from the giant or other zombies. Inside, a figure raced up the stairs to the tower and El Fuego led the charge after him. At the top of the stairs, the figure again managed to disappear and there was a zombie lord of some sort who engaged the group in fierce combat. Eventually, the party escaped but not before Gerard had been aged by the tomblike breath of the walking corpse. Wounded, tired, and confused, the group retreated back down the stairs. After some reflection, El Fuego decided to return to the chariot to confer with Aleksandr about what had happened that evening. Carrying the wounded, the group left the castle, crossing the bridge, and into the chariot. Meanwhile, El Fuego sent his cousin, Teodor, to explore the keep and castle further to find out what surprises may lie ahead. El Fuego and Aleksandr conferred for a while, trying to figure out what had happened to Nubes Fenestre and who their assailant was. Was he Hermetic? Hedge Wizard? Diedne? Perhaps the Aegis was weakening due to a miscast during the ritual? Was this assailant up for talking? At point, Teodor came running from the castle, obviously frightened. In the pre-dawn gloom, he had scouted out the back courtyard. Amidst the shadows, he had seen a truly frightening scene - four men had been crucified in the middle of the courtyard. Their beards and robes flapped in the wind and something was written above their heads. As Teodor looked at them, all four lifted their dead heads and started chanting in an unknown language. He had fled. This proved ill news to the magi and Aleksandr agreed to fly above the keep in bird form to see what other surprises may be awaiting. In the dawn light, he transformed himself into crow form and spent close to an hour scouting about the place. As the light revealed the castle, he found no sign of a crucifixion, no sign of further bodies. The wounded giant was sleeping, dead, or unconscious. There was also a back entrance, though deep snow made it difficult to get to. At the same time, as the sun came up, Teodor realized that his memories of that courtyard were false and that, in fact, it had been an empty courtyard. Further discussion resulted in the decision that Aleksandr would approach the keep under a banner of peace to see what this assailant wanted. He went alone, as he was one of the only ones who had not entered the keep in hostility. Entering the gate, Aleksandr was saying "we come in peace. I come to talk" in Latin, Rus, and another language unknown to any others. There was no response. He tried again. Nothing. Finally, he passed through the gate and into the courtyard, where the ground itself shot up to form a stone cage around the magus. Aleksandr waited. After a few minutes a man emerged from another building - middle-aged, brown hair, and a regal bearing, this man refused to give his name and started raving about oaths, obligations, and "lancing the boil" within the Order. His conversation showed that he knew much about the Order. He would not listen to Aleksandr's attempts to be rational, instead wondering if the trapped magus was "one of them" and if he had come "to meet with his friends." After a while, he left again, leaving Aleksandr trapped. As a diversion, Aleksandr dweomered the stone bars to look like trees. Outside the covenant, El Fuego ordered a few grogs to "go in and check on Aleksandr. But be careful." The men approached the castle. Inside, this mysterious magus appeared again and told Aleksandr that he should dismiss his friends before "I get rid of them myself." Aleksandr told the approaching grogs that he was fine and to leave. They did. Inside, the mystery wizard was now musing about "different choices one has to make" and "the burden of duty." After a few minutes he left again, deep in thought. At this point, Aleksandr attempted to turn into a bird again but the Aegis inside the courtyard canceled out the magic of his necklace. After another hour or so, the magus returned to further quiz Aleksandr. He told him that he'd trust him if "you lower your parma so I can discern your true intentions." Aleksandr demurred and the other magus just stood there. In fact, he seemed to have stopped moving entirely and a blank look had come upon his face, as if he were a puppet whose strings had been cut. After a few minutes, Aleksandr cast a simple spell at the man but it seemed to pass through him. Out of the silence, Aleksandr heard a voice, a woman's voice. From the shadows of the building stepped a most beautiful woman...the countess Barova. She was dragging (with some difficulty) the body of an old bald man dressed in dirty robes. She smiled at Aleksandr and pointed at the man she was carrying. "This is Danòs the Quaesitor. That is the illusion he was talking through," she waved her hand through the image of the middle-aged man, "and we have a lot of things to figure out." The two conferred and a story started to emerge: Danòs had suffered a severe Twilight a year or so back and had spent much of the past year in his chambers. Normally paranoid and distrustful, he had become even more so during this time. The members of Nubes Fenestre were worried about him but couldn’t seem to talk to him. Probably during the casting of the Aegis, Danòs did…something…which caused the ritual to go off, but incorrectly. He then waited for and ambushed the members of Scopulus Incanus. Barova noticed that the staircases that normally led down from the towers to the cellar rooms had been covered over with stone. She theorized that Danòs was hiding something down there, possibly the other members of Nubes Fenestre. For even a twilight-riddled Quaesitor wouldn’t kill without a trial, would he? The rest of the group was summoned into the courtyard where Aleksandr was freed, a peace was made with Barova, and Danòs was tied and bound. Carlos the Elder found some herbs in the kitchen that allowed him to make a sleeping draught for Danòs. Danòs having been secured, the group set out to search the cellars of the covenant. Investigation of other towers revealed that all the staircases had been sealed over (it also revealed that all the doors to the towers were trapped, an inconvenience to say the least). Finally, El Fuego cast magics that opened a hole in the courtyard, revealing a hallway below. From there, they found a door behind which were the magi of Nubes Fenestre and many of the covenfolk, who had all been trapped there for over a week. Stories were exchanged, the ill were tended to, and thanks were given. Fredeberto of Tremere took the opportunity to challenge his parens, Guibert Des Andelys to certamen and managed to earn his sigil from his weakened master. Paternostro ascertained that the covenant’s vis source had been ravaged. Obviously the covenant of Nubes Fenestre had been weakened in more ways than one. All the magi thanked the members of Scopulus Incanus and said they would come visit in a few weeks to offer their thanks and discuss compensation for their troubles. And so the group left in the chariot (which was lent to them), returning to the grey cliffs they called home. Behind them, the icy peak of Nubes Fenestre looked the same but for the magi who lived there, everything was different. Chapter 13 - "Negotiations and Nuns" Played January 6, 1999 A story in which nothing happened but much occurred. Weeks after the magi had returned from Nubes Fenestre, yet another visitor arrived at the covenant. This one was a woman, southern in descent, who entered Chur by herself looking for an Archimedes of Sicily. Several covenant grogs, in Chur on errands, heard her questions and told her they could lead her to Archimedes. Gennario endeavored to charm the woman, whose name was Gabriella Piacenza di Caverna, but to no avail. They brought her through the snow back to the covenant, where she met with Archimedes. It appears that she had run into an old friend of his, a Khalid al-Isfahani of Palermo, who had given her a package to deliver to him. The package contained a box , which was obviously magical, that allegedly had it's origins in the library of Alexandria. Khalid al-Isfahani hadn't been able to discern its workings and thought Archimedes might be able to. After some research, Archimedes realized it was initially beyond his powers and set it aside for further study. Meanwhile, the woman approached Fagan of Jerbiton and revealed herself to be a fellow Hermetic maga, new gauntleted, and it search of a covenant. Her parens had spoken well of Archimedes and she wondered if she could stay for a short while, not necessarily as a member, but as a guest. Always weak to a woman in need, Fagan agreed, provided the other members agreed. That night, at dinner, it was revealed that Gabriella was of house Bjornaer and had been trained by Bernardo di Legnano of covenant Cefalu, a covenant that had supposedly been destroyed 25 years ago. After some grumbling, it was agreed that Gabriella could stay for a short while. A week or so later, the four senior members of Nubes Fenestre arrived to negotiate payment for the service that Scopolus Incanus had provided for them. There were four magi present from Nubes: Bethegund of Mercere, Guibert Les Andelys of Tremere, Paternostro of Tytalus, and Fredberto of Tremere. A long and protracted round of negotiations took place between the two covenants before the following deal was reached: Nubes would grant one vote, in a bloc, without question, at a Tribunal of Scopolus' choosing, provided it did not directly harm them. They would provide Scopolus the rights to one season per year in their library for five years and a copy of one book per year for the following five. They would also provide half the vis needed to heal Lothair and Guibert would come in the spring to work the magics. In return for this, Scopolus must keep the extremely weakened condition of Nubes Fenestre to themselves and account any of their stories to a "misunderstanding." Failure to do this negates the deal. After this, Paternostro asked that Barova, his apprentice, be allowed in to speak with Jebtha. It turned out (from questioning) that retrieving the statue was the gauntlet that Paternostro had laid out for her. She was allowed and she asked Jebtha one last time to return the statuette to her. He refused. She then said that she had done some research and had a bit of information that he might not want known and asked for the statues again. This made Jebtha pause. After some silence, Barova asked him, "Are you a member of this covenant? Do you have a sanctum here? Do you vote at their councils?" Jebtha immediately asked Barova to speak in private and, when they returned, he had agreed to give her the statue, on condition that he be allowed to have it for one more year and have rights to look at it for five years thereafter. This was agreed and Paternostro concurred that she had passed her gauntlet. And, with that, the members of Nubes Fenestre left. After they did, the members of Scopolus asked Jebtha what all the questions were about. He demurred and spoke in arcane riddles, but eventually it was revealed that Jebtha had passed his gauntlet but, before he had a chance to speak the oath, his parens had been killed. Thus he was not an official member of the order. The other magi were horrified and there was much discussion as to what to do. Jebtha revealed that he had always abstained from voting in the council meetings so he had not really been a full members. Also, the ghost of his parens, Nicomus, was still in the area, and Jebtha hoped that Nicomus would speak at the next Tribunal. Still, Jebtha had taken vis for use in a longevity potion and the other magi were much concerned as to the legality of his presence amongst them. At best it looked bad, at worst, they could be accused of breaking the Code. Finally, it was decided that Jebtha could remain on as a "guest" of the covenant but could no longer vote or receive vis. Meanwhile, in Thusis, Vicini of Venice returned from his months abroad where he had been securing the covenant's trade routes and establishing their fledgling work in crafts and smithing. Whilst negotiating final rights from the lord of Thusis, he was privileged to hear the work of Laceline of Elm, a poetess of some renown. The work was brilliant and Vicini considered himself lucky to have heard her. The next day, he set out on horseback to return to the covenant for a spell. As he rode through the woods, he had the feeling he was being followed. He paused and waited and heard a scream from behind him, women's screams. Racing back, he discovered two women being harassed by brigands. On horseback, and well-armed, Vicini managed to scare them off. It turned out that the two women were the Lady Laceline and her handmaiden, Sister Corinne of the Convent of Licht Martins. The women had been following him because Lady Elm wished to speak with some of the "learned men" who were at the castle. Vicini escorted the women to the covenant and introduced them to Fagan and Tara. It turned out that Laceline, although a famous poet, was still illiterate and wished to be taught how to read and write. She was ashamed that she still did not know and had approached the covenant in hopes they would keep her secret. Fagan agreed to help (another damsel in distress), especially when he learned that Lady Elm was a fan of the Arthurian legends that so moved him. Meanwhile, Sister Corinne went to the chapel to pray but, when seeing the visibly pregnant Almika in the church (still in her nun's habit), she grew faint and begged Almika to "save us, save us" especially after hearing that Almika was from the Iberian mountains. After she had calmed down, she told the story of her convent, Licht Martin (Martin's Light) in the town of Elm. Evidently, the whole convent had fallen under a sickness several years ago that refused to leave and some of the sisters were near death. One of the nuns often received dreams from God and told all her sisters that their savior would be "a woman who is married and a mother but to no man. A woman who comes from mountains not ours. A woman who is close to God but not near him." Sister Corinne felt that Almika fit this description, since she was married not to a man, but to Jesus and who was close to God but had obviously fallen from him to her carnal sin. Although seven months pregnant, Almika felt that God was calling her to Elm to save this convent. Vicini readily agreed, as did Gabriella of Bjornaer, who was moved by Corinne's story. And so, a group decided to escort Corinne to Elm and investigate the strange sickness which had befallen them there.
Chapter 14 - "The Convent of Licht Martins" Played January 27, 1999 The next morning, a group left Scopolus Incanus bound for Elm: Sister Corinne, Almika, Vicini, Gabriella of Bjornaer, Denol of Powys, Owen the Ever Vigilant, Phillip the Wolf, and Lord Gwair. Fagan of Jerbiton, Lady Laceline of Elm, and Pendarran also accompanied the party as far as Thusis. There, those three stayed as Pendarran was to teach Lady Elm her letters for the spring. Fagan would remain a day or two, then return to the covenant. Their tale occurs next. The larger group left through the piles of snow that was marginally cleared by the braver traders and woodsmen who still worked through the winter months. They reached Chur without issue and set out north for Elm. As they left Chur, three horsemen overtook them and rode by without stopping. Phillip recognized their insignias as being those of Aspermont, a petty lordling who had employed the rogue wizard Walter the previous summer and who bore no good feelings toward the magi. Sure enough, later that day, a blockade of a dozen horsemen, all of them armed and wearing the blazon of Aspermont, stood in the road. The leader of the group approached the party and told them that the toll was twenty pounds of silver (an absurd number) in order to provide protection against brigands on the roads. Although they had a maga in their midst, the group was still questioning their ability to handle a dozen horsemen. Vicini attempted to negotiate with the Aspermont sergeant, but to no avail. Finally, he offered the man a gamble: a game of dice to see whose story prevailed. If the sergeant won, he got Vicini's fine horse. If he lost, the group could go by without hassle. The sergeant agreed (due in most part to Vicini's charm) and the dice were taken out. Little did the sergeant know that Vicini was a master gambler who could palm dice, control rolls, and had an uncanny bit of luck in his life. It wasn't long before Vicini won the match and, before the sergeant could recover his wits, the group rode through the roadblock and onto Elm. In Elm, a somber scene awaited them. The town itself was nestled in a valley in between many mountains, the one prominent one with a visible tunnel in it. It was in this mountain that St. Martin fought a giant centuries ago and his spear killed not only the giant but pierced the hole in the mountainside. The town seemed under a pall and most of the people seen around the village looked sickly and drawn. The three women rode to the Convent of Licht Martins, while the men found shelter at the castle of the Lord of Elm. Within the convent, Sister Corinne went to seek an audience with the Mother Superior while the two other women had to endure a conversation between some huntsmen and the cellerar as to why there wasn't more meat this year (something about wolves). Corinne returned and led Gabriella and Almika to the Mother Superior. The Mother thanked the duo for coming but expressed little hope in helping reverse the illness "God's punishment for sin." The Prior of the Convent, Annina, was even more blunt with her criticism and chastised the women as meddlers and "obvious sinners." Gabriella and Almika spent the day asking questions and learned of a lot of "sin" in the convent - erotic carvings, forbidden love, broken vows, supposed hexes, but nothing that would seem to cause the level of illness clearly visible in all the nun's faces. Finally, they went in the evening to meet with Sister Sira, a blind nun who had had the vision of Almika as a protector. She told them that she had just dreamt of Peter's travails and lack of faith when walking on water and thought that might help them in some way. Other than that, she had little to say. After leaving Sira's cell, the two noticed they were being followed. In fact, another nun by the name of Sister Ottavia was following them, but ducked back to her cell when she realized she had been noticed. Gabriella and Almika followed her, but the nun seemed nosy, not malicious. While talking to her, they found out that the adjacent cell had been left empty for almost two years - ever since Sister Adenna went missing. It appears that the good sister disappeared one morning and was never seen again. Others had tried to move into her room, but always felt something was "wrong" with the cell. In fact, Sister Sira was once rumored to have gotten "lost" in the cell for an evening - insisting that the door had disappeared. The two women went into the cell, where Almika noticed that there seemed to be another room within the room - an alternate room lying just outside her perceptions. As she was looking for this room, she suddenly found herself in it. It was the same as the original cell but much colder. The door was indeed gone and the bed in the corner had become a crude pile of matting - almost animal-like. But most interesting of all was the writing on the walls: the phrase "Genesis 22:10" written again and again and again and again in an ink that look ominously like blood. Meanwhile, Xxxxx suspected that Almika had found a regio and cast spells to detect one. In fact, she found one and was able to join Almika in this alternate room. Quick investigation did reveal that the ink was dried blood. Whose was unknown. Leaving the regio, the two women appeared back in the cell where the Prior, Annina, was there. She scolded them for interfering and demanded they leave the cell at once. She also seemed to think them witches who could disappear and reappear. The two women went to the church, where they looked up Genesis 22:10. The verse read "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son." This was part of the larger story of Isaac and Abraham on the mountain. Further questioning of the nuns revealed that Adenna had told a Sister Heidi that she had been "talking to God" and was "going away for a bit to do something wonderful." Heidi knew no more than this. Disturbed by the night's proceedings, the two women returned to their guest room to sleep and pray. The next morning, they met up with the men and conferred with what had happened. They had many theories, but overall felt that Sister Adenna's disappearance, the mention of a mountain and sacrifice, and the illness must all be connected. Since the only mountain of interest in the area was the one where St. Martin had fought the giant, they decided to investigate the Martinsloch (St. Martin's Tunnel - the hole that ran through the mountain). They found a villager who would guide them up the mountain ("tough work it'll be") and set out through the pine forest. When they got to the base of the mountain, they noticed that the forest had gone eerily quiet. It was then that the wolves surrounding them entered the clearing.
Chapter 15 - "Curiosity" Played February 3, 1999 Fagan of Jerbiton was at the castle of Lord Wilhelm of Thusis, helping establish the tutelage of Lady Laceline of Elm. While there, Lord Thusis invited the magus to dinner, a pleasant and innocuous affair made difficult by a lack of a common tongue. At the end of the meal, Lord Thusis had a coffer brought out - wooden with silver filigree, over two feet long, a foot deep, perhaps a foot wide. It was well-made with a solid, but unspectacular lock. Upon the front was a painting chipped with age. Lord Thusis explained that the coffer had been in his family for over a hundred years and, in fact, had been retrieved behind a stone in the wall in the building that the magi now inhabited. That it was fully of treasure there was no doubt (here Thusis tilted the coffer to show the sounds of metal and coins rattling around). However, no one had been able to open it in the last century. Lord Wilhelm had thought of smashing it open a few times but had averred at the last moment. The offer was simple and blunt: if the magi wanted a license to make "fine metal crafts" in their home, they must open this box and give Wilhelm the treasure therein. Failure to do so would mean they weren't qualified to be smiths and lockmakers. Fagan, sensing magic, brought the box back to Scopolus Incanus. There, an interesting thing happened: upon entering the covenant's Aegis, the weight and sounds in the box disappeared. The box became empty. Fagan used some magics to determine that the coffer was empty, at least in his sanctum. That night, at dinner, he told the rest of the magi present about the coffer. Some debate ensued as to its contents and where they went when brought in the Aegis. Matthew of Bonisagus quickly discerned that the coffer was old and (very easily) opened the lock on the coffer. Jebtha investigated it to confirm that the coffer was empty, but for the remains of some rotten velvet that used to line it. Wondering what would happen if the coffer were to be opened outside the Aegis, the magi closed the lid and brought it outside (where it immediately felt laden with treasure). There, the lid appeared to be stuck (though unlocked) and Matthew had to use magic again to open it. When he did, a large cat-like creature emerged. Perhaps the breadth of a mid-sized dog, this cat was multicolored, though largely a deep violet color. It was certainly larger than the coffer from which it had emerged. Immediately after, another cat emerged. And another. Several hundred in fact poured forth from the coffer, a purple stream of felines, who fought, sniffed, scratched, and spread out around the moonlit snow. They were apparently harmless (as a big cat can be) but very frisky and "playful." Their roar was also as beautiful as a church choir and their scent was faintly of perfume and flowers. Several things happened after that: Fagan entranced one cat and started talking to it. Several bowmen shot down the cats, where they died in the snow. Lothair of Tremere retrieved a mouse from Hans the Dim and checked to see if the cats responded to food (they did). El Fuego created a pit to trap some of the animals and Lothair used magics to draw the animals to the pit (a botched spell produced the unmistakable smell of wet mice throughout the covenant for a few days). The group also noticed that the animals did not enter the Aegis, but skirted around it. Furthermore, their dulcet roars apparently did more than sound nice - they entranced those who heard it, though the magi's Parma seemed to resist the effect. Things took an almost ominous turn when some of the felines entranced the craftsmen who lived outside the Aegis in small workshops. The cats were scratching the houses, knocking things over and, in their efforts, succeeded in lighting two of the workshops on fire. Matthew managed to quench the fires and lead the soporific covenfolk inside. Finally, after about an hour, the cats had either been slain, captured, or (in most cases), scattered amongst the forest. Several live specimens were caged and brought inside to be studied later. Opening the coffer both within and outside the Aegis produced no further cats. Closer inspection also revealed four names and dates scratched on the inside of the lid: Brynn 918 The magi retired to bed and found that all the cats were gone the next morning. They supposed the animals were magical creations that disappeared at sunrise, but nobody knows for sure. Matthew retained possession of the box, figuring it a good place to store odds and ends he'd rather not see stolen. He also inscribed the last and newest line: Matthew of Bonisagus 1219 |
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| Updated on 01/06/99 by grot@nadig.com | |