Session 27
« Session 26 | Nova Semitae Saga Journal | Session 28 »
Summer 1230
Paden brought another person from the village identified as having descendants of Khras-Nagar to the regio where he was. After explaining the story and getting forgiveness from the descended, his curse was finally lifted and a pre-Celtic briton man emerged from the statue, grateful for having been released from his curse. He agreed to serve the magi in whatever capacity for five years.
Autumn 1230
After making some preparation, the magi prepare to head into the area known as Merlin's Midden looking for several vis sources mentioned in old records:
- Celtic warrior burial mound for bronze weapons (Terram)
- Monstrous digging creatures whose corpses provided vis (Corpus)
- Special herd of deer guarded by a giant bear; some deer have golden eyes (Animal)
- A 'wishing log' where some of the coins shoved into the log are vis (Mentem)
The wishing logs were located first. Identifying which were vis was done with a spell, and the party noted that the coins were ancient Roman coins. A full rook was harvested, leaving a couple of pawns of vis behind. Several modern coins with new wishes were left behind.
Tracks from some kind of smaller mammal were spotted criss-crossing the thick forest and some party members reported being watched. A trail leading to the barrow was found and followed, leading to an underground complex of burial chambers. Some of the first burial chambers were already ransacked and had no vis. Several chambers in, a burial chamber with several corpses and bronze weapons were finally discovered. When trying to retrieve one of the bronze weapons to be tested, a ghost of a Celtic warrior materialized and attacked. The grogs' weapons were ineffective, but magic affected them just fine. Magni took a minor wound and they dispatched it quickly, retrieving three pawns in weapons. Two more chambers provided three more pawns of Terram each, with a ghostly defender. The magi had the idea to empower Ed's hammer with magic to see if it would affect the ghosts, and it did.
Retreating to the entrance, they had lunch to recover. Joshua created a small makeshift hut out of fallen wood to see what would happen on a subsequent visit. The went hunting for deer tracks and found a dead deer in a clearing next to a pond, its eyes already missing. Investigation revealed the deer suffered from many attacks from thrusting type weaponry like spears from a group. Party members once again felt watched and this time a dozen creatures were noticed keeping an eye some distance away. Geoffrey turned on the charm to coax them out. A dozen ferret-like creatures wearing crude clothing and armor bearing spears emerged from the foliage. One bore an iron-made short sword. They tried speaking in Welsh and communicated in a primitive dialect of Gaelic. They wanted to know why the party was hunting in their territory. The party expressed interest in the deer. The creatures indicated that they normally stayed away from the herd, but this one became separated so they killed it. The herd was protected by a large bear that they didn't want to attack again. They revealed the bear had been killed before, but always came back. The party learned they also spoke a more ancient dialect of latin. Leaving on neutral terms, they negotiated a signal for when they returned so that they wouldn't be attacked. Gifts should be brought next time that include bread and honey.
Back at the covenant, Joshua brought up several issues at the seasonal meeting:
- Joshua asked for more covenant-provided vis to create two more healing beds for the hospital (approved)
- For service, the council asked Neanne for two more regio-passage doors; she created one earlier, but another two are needed to fully utilize Varana's Tower. She agreed.
- Discussion and motions to proceed on staffing Varana's tower with volunteers now that people and supplies could be sent easily via Julissa's portal.
- Discussion about communication devices so that two-way chat could occur.
- Motion to pay for a second guest lab in the Great Hall. Geoffrey offered up Tenney's services to set this up.
- In return for housing a member of House Bonisagus, the covenant has agreed to a stipend of vis in Muto or Intellego, as well as a season's access to Durenmar for copying/researching.
A couple of long-serving covenfolk approached their respective magus-officers about their retirement and who could replace them:
Autocrat: Obscurus Ignis was apporached about Jusef's retirement. Jusef has served for four decades and would like to retire and focus on being the local rabbi. He initially indicated that he has groomed his son Daniel to replace him, but admitted that Daniel's wife, Freyde, would be a better candidate but was aware that many outside the covenant would be hesitant working with a woman. Obscurus Ignis decided to accept Freyde as the titual Autocrat and to have her create a 'Speaker' position to deal with external groups who might prefer to deal with a man.
Turb Captain: Similarly, Marcus indicated he was ready to retire along with his wife Sara, both long-time grogs serving the magi. He offered up his opinion on possible replacements, but noted that each had weaknesses of their own. After discussing the issue with the Council, Geoffrey selected Gwendolyn as someone the turb has served with, had leadership skills, and had a mentor in her father. This would be a position leading warriors and be as close to a knighthood as she could get in feudal society.
Experience Points
- For exploring the Merlin's Midden regio, the characters below gain 5 Adventure XP. Appropriate skills to spend this one include Magic Lore, Hunting, Survival, Perception.
- Magni, Obscurus Ignis, Joshua, Geoffrey, Paden, Franklin, Samantha, Ed, Sir Hwyel, Madog, Gwendolyn