The season has changed to summer, and a change in covenant leadership happens seemlessly. Apollodorus had collected some fascinating folk tales and in the times you've shared a quiet meal together in his studio he told you some of them.
The forest surrounding Mont Beuvray appears to be strangely devoid of the fae. Woodcutters work unmolested, however there are sightings of some unusually shapped trees.
Wood formed into such unusual shapes may have unusual properties, and summer is one of the best times to investigate the trees.
If possible then Onesiphorus gather a few henchmen and servants if there are going to be a long walk where food might be prepared. If it is a short walk then he just takes his casting tools and a stout walking staff and goes of investigating the trees.
Getting together some grogs and servants isn't difficult. However none of the people you gather have seen what you describe. Your best bet is to find a woodcutter to guide you. None of the woodcutters are employed by the covenant.
Onesiphorus will send out a servant to find a woodcutter as he has much more important work to do. He will ask the woodcutter to tell what he knows about the place and if he can escort them there. Onesiphorus will offer a few rabbits or so from the covenants stores as a reward. Enough to make any commoner happy but they should come from the common wealth.
A woodcutter is brought back to meet with you and as you offer him a meager few rabbits his face clouds over in disgust. Before you can even react he grabs the rabbits and as he walks out the door he says, "This is payment for wasting my time, good day, sir."
OOC: A folk ken roll is probably necessary, or some further investigation is probably warranted.
Now don’t you go anywhere. Onesiphorus does not like this insolence. I have summoned you to do my bidding and I offer you a reward. Stay here and talk to me.
Roll to intimidate the man to stay: Leadership 2 + Precence 1 + dice 3 = 6 Add confidence if needed as they don’t need to like Onesiphorus. invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3189764/
I'm going to clarify you really want to go down this road. I think you're overplaying your Hubris "ability" If it were 6 or so, I'd say this would be appropriate to the character. I can see you bargaining roughly and inartfully, but the initial offer of a couple of rabbits is insulting the the woodcutter. If you can explain how much worse you can get with Hubris behavior in the future, I'm open to going down this road for the story.
Just a reminder of the context and area around the covenant. The covenant is rich (currently not much in stockpiles of vis or silver) but generates quite a bit of each on an annual basis. Secondly they, the residents of and around the covenant, have dealt with a good natured Jerbiton for most, if not all of their lives, and their parents probably did as well. Your Folk Ken roll suggests that trying to use the stick instead of the carrot will be self-limiting at best. Your original offer of two rabbits was entirely insulting, and you've wasted his day. He does not have to do your bidding, and pressing to do so will likely ensure that no one he knows will do it, either. Remember, he is not employed by the covenant.
As an aside, he's already gone, and doesn't hear your attempt to cow him into doing your bidding.
OOC: Should have read the material more carefully… I just assumed that the people where quite poor. Anyway it will only further “improve” Onesiphorus reputation. How about I change a few flaws for a major proud personality flaw so that Onesiphorus hubris skyrockets?
Onesiphorus will not be that happy about the rude manners (his opinion of the event) of the wood cutter but the next day he will send someone with an offer of silver. Enough to make even a offended wood cutter to come back.
OOC: they may be poor, or might not, but they see a lot of wealth, and a Jerbiton isn't as stingy with mundanes as other Magi would be. Since you're gently gifted, you have a chance to recover from the slight you offered. If you want to switch some flaws around fine, but you should consider that carefully. Right now, I think you're playing an effectively naturally Gifted magus, and overplaying the Hubris. I'm trying to figure out how you can make your character even more objectionable as his hubris increases, and having a difficult time seeing it. I think it's reasonable that your character would've called someone to his office. I don't think it's reasonable to expect you can order people around who don't work for the covenant in the way you did, misunderstanding about how much to pay or no.
You send someone to deliver your proposal to the woodcutter. When he comes back he says the woodcutter told him that he's not coming back, and if you want his help meet him an hour after dawn, 4 miles from the covenant along the road to Autun the morning after next.
OOC: I have decided to try to play down the hubris (we just assume Onesiphorus had a bad day) and just play his hubris as he wish to dress like an important man thus showing of his status as a magus, show that he is the man in command and think that his suggestions are much wiser than any other.
Onesiphorus make sure that he and a henchman who carries the supplies is at the Autun road the next morning at the time suggested. Onesiphorus is dressed in his traveller’s clothes and carries a staff and his casting tools.
The woodcutter is waiting for you patiently as you arrive. Without exchange of pleasantries, he bids you to follow him into the forrest and heads into it.
(Assuming you follow him).
He keeps a quick and steady pace, he's an accomplished woodsman and the pace zigzags quite a bit. Eventually you figure out that their is a method to his madness, in that he's taking an easy path into the forest. It's not a road, or even a game trail, but it is easy to travel, avoiding areas of heavy brush that would have to be cut through. After several hours, nearly by noon you come upon an area where several of these trees are growing into strange shapes (refer to the earlier picture for a general idea, if you want something specific, tell me what you might be looking for). There appear to be 12 trees in a short area. The area is not quite a clearing, but it is significantly less forested here.
Onesiphorus will walk around investingating the trees and cast a few spells. Like: Scent of the Magical Boundary, Wizard's Eye for Vis and sense the nature of vis. They are all lv. 10 InVi spells and should work and determine if there is a regio that Onesiphorus is about to stumble into, if there are any vis and of what sort. If needed I can roll the dices for the spells but I make a few other abilites checks to see if he sees anything other of interest.
Craft Woodworking 9 + Int 3 + Dice 6 (1 if simple roll) invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3209871/ = 18 (or 13) to determine if the wood is good for crafting and if there are any especially good uses.
Onesiphorus return to the woodcutter and speak with him. I must ask as I am very curious about these trees. Do you know anything about these strange trees or do you know about anyone who can tell me more about these strange trees?
"I know of a few of these locations. This was the easiest one to reach. I don't know anything about them." While the woodcutter talks you can see one tree that is nearly completely circular, and could probably be shaped and finished to be a true circle with little effort.
Onesiphorus: I would like to see the other location that look like this one but perhaps it will take a too great amount of time. How many days would it take to visit them all? Also I wish to know if you could cut down that tree and bring it to my laboratory. I want the tree as intact as possible and with roots and all. I want this done as soon as possible. Could you gather a work crew and do this task for me. The covenant will of course pay handsomely for the tree and for any time you take to show me the other sites. Perhaps even you could draw roadmaps for me to follow if I by any reason wish to go to the clearings or we could make a deal of some sort.
"Trying to dig the tree out would take hours of back-breaking labor, something that I'm sure someone with your power could handle much more easily. Trees, when they grow, typically develop root systems as large as their crown above the ground. Then hauling such a large thing would be another problem. Other locations are much more difficult to reach, and I haven't been to them since I was a boy, long ago. I'm sure I can find my way back to them, but if we were to leave now it would probably be dark, due to how difficult it will be to travel." His demeanor suggests that he's unwilling to take you, but might be willing to work with someone to draw up a map, but isn't interested in any of the other work you're offering to him.
[color=green]"Excuse me, herr Magus," says a voice from behind Onesiphorus in High German. [color=green]"Are you investigating the groves of these...unnatural-looking trees?"
Onesiphorus: I can settle for just the tree and the branches. Just as you would cut down any other tree that is going to a woodworker of my skill. For this work and a map I am willing to pay you in gold or whatever you would like. Just name your price.
Onesiphours replies in low German. Yes I am, and who might you be? Herr? Onesiphorus takes a good look at the man before him.
"Very well. I'll cut it now and have a gang haul it out later. Please stand aside. As Onesiphorus moves out of the way to speak with the young man who just appeared the woodcutter takes his axe out and gets to work. His first swing though sounds as if it is metal hitting metal and he howls out in agony. The axe flies backwards out of his hands and imbeds itself in a nearby tree, and he's falls to the ground.