Sometime after the events of In My Mother's Footsteps Mufarjj is out in the field training with some grogs. There are set upon by 20 mean and all of the grogs are quickly subdued, except Mufarjj who begins killing the men attacking, while they only seem to be working to disarm. One of the mean steps forward and shouts something in Mufarjj's mother tongue, a whirlwind from the east appears and takes Mufarjj aloft carrying him back towards the south east and points unknown.
The men are left alive and tied up, eventually they are able to free themselves, but this is many hours after Mufarjj has gone.
((About when would this happen? Ideally in Spring of 1227, if Korvin is available, Alexei would like to do the LR. Alexei has Princeps duty in Summer of 1227))
Alexei will gather the men involved at a barracks and break out some decent ale and food. Once they've eaten, he first assures them that he's not angry or upset with them and that he knows that they tried their best. Alexei already had a decent idea of what it was that took him, but he needed more information.
"Now...tell me about these men. What did they look like? Did they have complexions similar to Mufarjj? Did they say anything? Make any terms? You said Mufarjj was taken, did you see where?"
He also brings in Brionne to see if any have any lingering magic on them.
"It was magic lads. Don't let that discourage you, I know you fought hard. I need you to stand your guard, double strong now. I'll take care of these brigands and their master." he smiles at the men and turns to Brionne.
"Get Michelle, I'll need the two of you and some supplies." Alexei returns to his sanctum and takes out some vellum and begins writing a letter.
((Based on the time, Alexei will have finished adding on the enchantment "Shriek of the Ominous Blade" and was opening the staff for more enchantments, but will not have the "Warning of Fist, Fang and Claw" yet))
Alexei finishes writing his letter and has Helmut deliver it to Fiona and then admonishes him to listen to her in his absence. From there he gathers some provisions and his vis, and takes some arcane connections from various parts of the Covenant. These he gives to Michelle and Brionne, just in case, as he already has his own connections. He claps them proudly on their shoulders.
"Well boys! Let us recover our friend and set to right this spirit that keeps plaguing us, eh?" he gets on a horse along with them and has Brionne bring along an extra horse, this one for supplies and if Mufarrj needs one. He leads them to where the grogs said their fight was and investigates the area, especially having Brionne snoop around.
Based on the reports, all of Mons Electi's men returned, but most had been incapacitated, likely the same way his grogs were years ago when he first met Mufarrj. He took a look at the bodies that were left behind. "Definitely Mufarrj's handiwork." he muttered as he briefly examined the wounds. Brionne hadn't sensed anything, which didn't surprise him. The last time he fought men like this they were hapless mundanes, it was Mufarrj that was being helped and even enchanted by the spirit. Perhaps he had another servant? Or maybe the creature had appeared himself?
"Michelle, Brionne, they said he was lifted off to the Southeast. Let us head in that direction for now. Be alert, if you feel any strange compulsion or fatigue fall on you be quick to warn me, I might be able to counter it."
Alexei turned his horse to the Southeast and started moving in that direction, looking for signs of passage.
((I can't roll right now, but basically looking for some kind of trail. If he was lifted up by a whirlwind it might have left a mess that was easy to follow, but if nothing else will try following any tracks that the minions might have made))
((based on this, each man is fully armed and armoured, riding a horse, bringing an extra horse for supplies (food, water, bedrolls), each has an AC back to the Covenant, and Alexei is bringing vis. They probably have brought the Verditian trove (armour is on Michelle, sword and shield on Brionne, and the bandages). I need to check the break down of the vis that Alexei had earned before this happened in addition to his own supply))
((It is just the three, Alexei will probably bring the equivalent of 5 pounds of silver, considering he has the AC for it, if he needs more of anything, as long as it's portable, he can just hop back and get it. I'm not sure how many days each horse can carry though, if after the first day or so they're not finding anything he will likely have to hop back for more supplies))
Alexei turns to the men. "Give me a few pieces of your hair each." he says as he reaches down and picks up a rock from the trail they've been on. He also takes a tuft from each of the horses just in case. "I should have done this from the start. I'll be back, I'll grab some more supplies as well. Be on your guard and hide while I'm gone."
((ACs for each grog, each horse, and a rock for the trail. Alexei is going to jump back to the covenant, go into Mufarrj's room and get an AC and also grab some food quickly if he can and head back where he left, he'll try to make it a quick trip))
Alexei raises an eyebrow at the sight of them milling when he asked them to hide. He looks around him to see if there is any disturbance or perhaps anyone hiding and then turns his gaze on the men and the horses.
"Brionne, which magus were you helping that one winter and were accosted by those men in the church, what was his name?" he asks as he keeps his guard up.
((He's referring to the beating at the barn...trick question, want to see if this is some kind of trap))