Ancient Discovery (Winter 1244)

Roberto responds with a wry smile
Sorry about that. We got sidetracked by an undead pirate. And my friend Johan was being extra cautious sailing through the mountains.

"Sounds like it was an adventure!" Lucas replies. "I hope no one was badly injured. I have a fondness for Johan and his crew since our trip under the sea and I'd hate to see any of them hurt."

"But you've made it in time for the expedition," he adds. "That's the important part. We'll have a planning meeting mid-morning tomorrow and then head out to Parma the day after by whatever means work best. There we'll meet up with the rest of the crew and with luck we'll be in Africa by Sunday."

One of his new crewmen was killed by an arrow in the eye. Then he got reanimated against us. The Woad broke the spell when he disrupted the pirate leaders concentration. Exploded the guy's axe-arm and rotted the deck beneath his feet.
Woad is a clever wizard and warrior. I am sponsoring him as a candidate for membership. Does there have to be a formal written application? If so, could you have one of your staff draft a petition? Or can we just vote on it? I have never studied the charter here. If you recall, you guys sorta "conscripted" me.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Lucas says when he hears of the lost crewman. "Please extend my condolences to Johan and the rest of the crew when you see them next. They might be a bit rough, but his crew was always kind to me."

Then Lucas gives The Woad a more appraising glance. "If Roberto thinks you're worth inviting to the covenant, then that's good enough for me. I trust him when it comes to getting a feel for people." He raises an eyebrow. "A magus and a warrior, huh? Any interest in coming to Africa with us? We have a dangerous expedition starting in just a few days. It's short notice, I know. But helping out the covenant like this would certainly endear you to some of the members - me in particular. I'm afraid details have to be a bit short right now, but it's for a good cause."

Then he glances back to Roberto. "The charter only refers to a 'petition' for membership. It doesn't say whether it has to be written or spoken. So The Woad certainly could simply present an oral request for membership to the Council or a representative of the Council. Again, the charter is silent on particulars, but I'd imagine it should be presented to either Carmen, as Pontifex Maxima, or to me, as Herald. Of course, my first act upon getting such a request would be to inform Carmen, so the request would get to her either way."

"I'd say the cleanest way to manage things would be to make a verbal request to Carmen - or to me, if that's preferable - and follow up with a confirmation in writing. I could have my assistant Andre whip something up for you first thing in the morning - it would just be a few lines. All it would require is a signature and then we'd have something for the covenant records."

He looks to Roberto and The Woad. "Would that work for the two of you?"

A few weeks earlier a knight arrived at the external defenses of Arans. The guards had detected him from a long distance, as he made no effort to hide his approach. He was travelling alone with 2 horses. Not totally unusual for a knight, but certainly not common. The knight was dressed in a black surcoat with a white cross. Anyone with a modicum of church lore, Iberia lore or military knowledge would have known him for what he is: a knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. An hospitallier.

The hospitallier introduced himself to the sergeant sent to greet him as Mateu de BesalĂș, brother knight of Saint John and defender of the faith. Apparently he had a mission assigned to him by his superiors that implied establishing relations with the scholars of Andorra.

A short introduction later (and some magical investigation) revelewd that he seemed to be telling the truth. Partially. It seemed that the Order had an interest in the capabilities of magi, but was well predisposed towards them as default. After some minor debate it was decided to allow him to stay and grant him quarters at Arans, with further inquiries he might have pending an evaluation of his behaviour.

Mateu discovered a few days ago that an expedition was being mounted to Africa, and asked to join it. He seemed more eager than expected, but the magi saw no problem in the priest joining the expedition as long as he did not jeopardize it with some crusading antics. And so Mateu is eagerly awaiting the expedition to start while he familiarizes himself with the covenant, its military preparedness and tries to make some discrete observations about the state of the faith among the covenfolk.

Then the Woad would like get straight to business and formally, verbally apply for membership, while in the presence of a representative of the Council.
The African expedition is known to the Woad, at least the overall concept, and he is ready to help. A mutual acquaintance of his and Roberto’s sent the Woad this way for assistance.

"Very good then," Lucas replies with a nod. "I'll forward your verbal petition to Carmen first thing in the morning and have Andre deliver a copy of a formal, written petition for you to review and sign sometime in the mid-morning."

"As for the African expedition," he adds. "I know Flavia will be happy to have you along. But I'd advise you not to unpack too much in the meanwhile. Like I was telling Roberto, the expedition leaves in two days."

OOC: Marko, Lucas will report the petition to Carmen in the morning. Do you want to play that out or just take it as read that it happens?

It is your story. It is up to you. Carmen is NPC. You get to play her. All I ask is you don't play her as hyper salacious as some of these other female characters act :laughing:

Or I can play her role if you want. How do you want this to go?

OOC: I will link you into the story and let Trogdor take over after that.

Mateu's initial contact would likely be with Father Clemente Gonzoles. (sue me, I tend to use Spanish names because that is a language I know :laughing:, and I tend to base names and personalities for NPCs on people I have known).
Clemente is a former Templar turned parish priest. He appears to be in his late 50's (he is actually 83, on Longevity). He is the one that tells you about the expedition and introduces you to the magi.
For ease of timing, let us presume that this happens right as Roberto and The Woad arrive. Or just after.

Roberto leaves The Woad with Lucas to work out what details they need to. He is headed over to the Mercere Quarter to use the Portal to Majorica then from there to his tower on Ibiza. Roberto is interceeded by Father Clemente, who introduces Mateu.

Roberto appears as a solider in his early 40's. He is not wearing much in the way of armor, but he does have a sword at his hip and a shield slung over his back. He is carrying a rolled up carpet, and is accompanied by an anthropormorphic cartoon cat wearing a jacket and carrying a nap sack.

Order of..., lemme think, Saint John, right? What brings you to Andorra? Looking for a job? I could use the help of a guy like you. I take it you are an experienced military man. What sort of experience do you have? Major battles? I was at Las Navas..., Jesus, that was over thirty years ago now!
I do need an experienced military man in the chain of command. What is your rank in your order? If you check out, I can make you a sergeant.
Just so you know what you are getting into, we are a band of wizards. Hermetic magi. Be prepared for diveristy. I am Catholic, as are most of our covenfolk. But not all of us. Some of the other magi hold different faiths, which I consider none of my business. Some of our staff on this expedition are Moslem. That might have bothered me when I was a kid, but I have long ago outgrown such concerns.
Preach and convert if you want, but try to reign in any hostility. I know it can be difficult. War scars the mind more than the body. But by being gentle, you can be influential.

Roberto loves to tak shop :smiley:
Say, that is a nice sword you have there. Can I take a look at it? Here is mine. Check it out. I named it Kindness. Been my mainstay for over a dozen years now. My friend Pedro made it and gave it to me when he died. It is my third sword. My first used to be my fathers. I gave it as a gift to a friend. The second one was a beauty. It melted when I skewered an 'afrit.
Yeah. That is what you are getting yourself into if you still want the job.
I have collected a few other weapons I keep in my armory. Never underestimate the value of a good spear! I can take you over to my tower and show you my collection. We can talk shop and strategy over a glass of wine. But first I want to get you set up with the other magi of this expedition. I presume you have met some of them by now? Tomorrow there is a lot of work to do. We head out in two days. Tomorrow I am drawing up a squad of soldiers to accompany us and debriefing them. I want to get you into that meeting.

Herald Lucas, the Woad is a pragmatic man, almost to a fault some times. He will not bother unpacking, in fact he has only few things with him, to only thing of real importance is is talisman - the spear of Lug The Woad shows his batle-worn longspear.
His mementos from back home, weapons and other trophies won in battle were left behind.

A brief tour of the place as well as a quick rundown of the members would be most appreciated. The Woad would also like to greet each of them personally, but that should be at their convenience. Any accomodations are fine for now, the Woad will not be settled in, magicwise, until returning from Africa. He just needs a place to stow his Irish winter clothing, which he believes will be of less use on the expedition.

I planned for Mateu to have been around for a few days already, around 10, since I read above that Roberto and the Woad arrive the day before the expedition departs.

Mateu treies to take in the sudden whirlwind of information that Roberto throws his way. He has got a few of those points already talking to Father Climent Gonçal :wink: , but nobody has talked THAT openly to him before! He is smarter than that to interrupt the fountain of information. Mateu is not sure he likes everything that he hears, specially what seems to be a fairly misguided (heretic?) vision of what proper religious behaviour implies, but he appreciates the openness and willingness to defend one's way of life, however wrong it might be. He has learned to appreciate this when fighting the Saracens of Valencia.

he raises an eyebrow when Roberto talks so matter-of-factly about Las Navas de Tolosa. He has lived all his life hearing tall tales of that battle from his Order's veterans, but this guy certainly couldn't have been more than 10 year sold at the time! He probably was a lowly page carrying arrows or something, but well, he could have been there. Not doing what he seems to imply (actual fighting!) but he could have been there. He had heard that magi were proud, but this is somewhat of a delusion for sure. Well, everybody has false memories.

He handles Ora Fidelium with hesitation to the magus, and takes the other man's blade. After a few swings he returns it reverently. It is certainly a high quality blade. Probably not one with such a revered history as his own blade but the craftmanship is superb. Certainly a great blade mylord. kindless is a mighty tool if it is brough to worthy deeds.

I am honored to be received so well, mylord, but I am not here looking for a job. As Father Climent will surely be able to tell you I am here on official hospitallier business. I have been ordered to check on the community at Arans to see if our Orders can collaborate. My superiors are aware of the covenant in Barcelona and there is an offer of friendship from them, but we want to know more about the Order of Hermes before the knights of Saint John make formal pacts. As such I have been ordered to accompany you on some expeditions as an observer if that is acceptable to the council of sages of Arans.

I have been taking part in the Iberian crusade for my entire time with the Order, including the conquest of Valencia 8 years ago, the campaign where I was knighted. I have been commanding a lance of Milites Christi sergeants since then. Recently I have been posted in our priory in Vilamur, south of Andorra, and so have been charged with this mission. I can certainly command some men if you think it advisable, and I will defer to your chain of command while I am a honored with the hospitality of your community.

Now I have to up my Leadership score to make true that statement :stuck_out_tongue:

He was 22 at the time. No Longevity either! Lab health and bronze cord :slight_smile: He was only 15 when he first enlisted. Ask him about it and he will be glad to tallk your ear off.
I am not a sage, nor a scholar. Some of the others are maybe. Me? I am an old soldier in search of adventure and honor. I may not look it, but I turn 55 this year. Clean living :slight_smile:
We are not looking to hire a spy in our midst. Try to portray yourself as more of a diplomat. I have great respect for your Order and I want to get some more Christian influence around here. Be subtle.

55 years. This guy must be taking his medical regime really strictly. Mateu bows to the older warrior. He could be his father and looks like an older cousin. I will take your advise. Nothing farther away than wanting to be a spy. My order is interested in learning your ways, not in using them against you like a cordovan coven. Glad to be taken on board.

Ten days after Mateu's arrival, he receives a written invitation to meet with Lucas de Mercere, who identifies himself as the Herald of the Covenant of Andorra. The time is soon and the place is one of the towers in the outer courtyard that serves as Lucas's home.

When the meeting time arrives, a guard ushers Mateu inside and up a spiral staircase to a small solar with a table and chairs in it. A fire in a hearth next to the table keeps the room relatively warm despite the early winter chill. Seated at the table is a fair-haired man wearing clothes that wouldn't look out of place on a merchant. The man stands and extends his hand.

"My name is Lucas," he says. "Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, have a seat." He gestures to one of the chairs and then gives a nod to the guard. "Please tell Stefan that we'd like some mulled wine," he adds as the guard retreats through the door. Lucas then resumes his seat at the table.

"I apologize for not arranging this meeting sooner," he says in a friendly tone. "I'm the Herald of our covenant and responsible for relations with those outside the castle walls - including the church. I understand that you're a member of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and have been sent here to establish some sort of relations with our covenant. Father Gonzoles has spoken in your favor, which means a lot here."

"From the way Roberto describes things it appears as if you'll be taking some role among the castle guard. Is that the case? I'm sure we could use a man of your qualifications, though I'll admit that such things are a bit out of my bailiwick. But if Roberto and the Spider think you're qualified, then I'm not going to second guess them. And the reputation of your order speaks well of your promise."

"But I wanted to share a couple of realities about living in the covenant and ask you a question. The first two things are matters that you'll want to know before settling down here, and the final issue is something that the covenant members will want reassurances about before we accept you on a permanent basis."

"The first reality is something you may or may not know about the magi who make up the heart of this covenant. As you've likely noticed, some of the members of this covenant are hard to work with. You've met Carmen and some of the other magi and I daresay you don't like or trust them very much. I'm afraid that's a byproduct of the Gift that allows magi to perform the wonders they do. It engenders ill will from those around the magi. A few, like Roberto and myself, are fortunate enough to be free of such difficulties. But that's not the case for most magi. You'll find that you'll suffer a feeling of unease and mistrust about the magi, who fill many of the major roles of authority at the covenant. This may well go beyond the feeling of general dislike you might feel for a commander or a colleague. It will make you feel as if the magi are dishonest, unrealiable, and undeserving of their position. It will make you question how and why they're in power and whether they deserve your loyalty. It helps to know, intellectually, that the feelings aren't real. But that won't help on an emotional level. You'll still believe in your guy that they're terrible people. In time you'll get used to the magi of the covenant, which will help. But the feeling of unease will always be there."

"The second reality, and I understand that Father Gonzales has spoken to you about this, is that we have several residents in the castle who are not Christian. Most of the residents of the castle are, in fact, faithful Christians. My wife and I go to services down in Arans every Sunday, as does Pontifex Solomon and many others. And we're happy to see a good Christian soldier like yourself come to live here. But that is not universally true. Some of our residents are less devout than others, and some who are devout are devout in different faiths. In fact, we have several followers of Islam in residence here, which faith I know you and your order has opposed. Can you respect those differences in faith and live here in peace with non-Christians?"

"I say these things not to scare you away, but to let you know about the reality of living in a covenant. You will be forced to interact with, and take orders from, people you have an inherent, if artificial, mistrust for. And you will live side-by-side with people of different faiths. That can be difficult for some newcomers to come to grips with and I wanted to make certain that you'll find such a situation acceptable."

"The question, in turn, is whether we can trust you to keep our secrets. Much of what goes on here in the castle is private and, shall we say, unorthodox. You and your order clearly know who we are and what we can do and it doesn't seem to bother you very much. I can't say that's always been the position that the church has taken. The church has, in the past, caused trouble for our Order. We'd appreciate some assurances that you won't sensationalize what we do here, causing the church to want to interfere. We would also like to know that you would be willing to keep our confidences, even from your superiors. We're not asking you to conceal criminal or sinful behavior. But we would want some discression from you. We understand that you've been sent here to learn about us and I think that's a wonderful idea. We also accept that this will involve you periodically corresponding with your superiors about the covenant. But there will be matters that you may learn in the castle that we'd prefer not be reported directly back to the Hospitaller Order. The same would be true if you were to take a position for a secular lord. Can you keep such private matters secret? Will your order allow that?"

"The African expedition is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. It's impossible to hide the fact that a large group of us is going to Africa. You can't move that many people without gaining some attention. But our precise destination remains a secret - I can say that it's a place that a colleague of ours has recently discovered, and one we'd like to keep a secret for a while more. We have no desire for anyone - church or secular - to discover its location, lest they attempt to exploit it before we can properly study it. If you come on this expedition would you agree not to reveal it's location or even details of its exploration to anyone, the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem included? Could you do the same for other matters in the future? I don't wish to cause you a crisis of loyalty, but I think it's best to settle this issue before the point of no return rather than after."

"Now, I've talked enough. I'd like to hear your thoughts on what I've said."

OOC: We so rarely get to address the realities of the Gift and the unorthodox nature of the covenant that I thought it might be nice to say them out loud at least once.

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Mateu remains silent during Lucas' exposition. he then nods. I have noticed what you said and been informed about some of the issue by Father Gonçal as you well know. Thank you to reinforce the point, since as you say I have been having some issues here.

I will certainly need to come to grips with my gut feeling about the magi. I have a mandate by my superiors, so this should be no problem. Faith in the Lord and the willpower I hope he will grant me will make this happen.

Regarding other faiths, I have already experienced some of them in my years of service to the orde. While I think they are misguided I understand necessity and the particularities of Arans, so I am willing to both follow the chain of command and respect their roles even if I do not consider their faiths to be respectable. After Christians show them the way it is their choice if they want to go to hell. Do not ask me to like them and nothing untoward will happen.

As you say the Knights of Saint John are aware of the general capabilities of the order of Hermes. We want to stablish closer relations with you so we can build on potentially closer collaborations. for that we need to know some more about you and specially how magi behave. Nothing private will be shared with outsiders, be assured of that, and no foreign intervention will be called. This has been addressed already and according to more learned people in my Order it is not our call to make. I am an envoy, not a spy.

Regarding my place in the command structure of the covenant, Roberto offered me command of a lance of 3 other mounted warriors. The truth is that I am still shocked (and honored) at the offer since he barely knows me. However no steps have been taken to ensure this command besides me knowing other mounted warriors in service to the covenant. I am willing to prove myself

As Mateu is wandering the covenant, making himself acquainted with his new home, he finds himself passing by the Guards' training ground shortly before sundown. Aside from the soldiers training on the field, there is only one person out that chill, drizzly afternoon: a tall, curvaceous woman with chestnut hair. She wears red and gold robes in the style of one of these "scholars" that reside here, with the hood up to protect against the rain. Aside from having her arms wrapped tightly around her and her hands tucked under her arms, she seems to be unaffected by the chill. She smiles as she watches the guards drill, occasionally nodding in approval. She grins when the guards finish, and one of them - a tall, gangly fellow who looks out of place in the company.

The guard trots to the woman. They kiss quickly, then stand there for a couple of minutes, their foreheads resting against each other, as they talk. They finally kiss again before the guard heads toward one of the towers.

The woman turns and walks to Mateu. She bows slightly before she extends her hand. "Do you speak Catalan? My name is Vibria. Vibria Flambonis Draconis. I take it you're new here?" Vibria is a couple of inches taller than Mateu, and rather attractive; she also seems to be radiating heat.

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Roberto tracks down Lucas, who is probably overwhelmed with preparations and other duties.
I need your help and some advice. I am trying to put together a duty roster. To do that, I need to get a grasp of the size of this thing.
I come up with my best plans at the last minute.
How many magi are going? Who are they? What kind of support staff is already in place?
I need to balance subtlety and security. It is unwise to present ourselves as an army. But I want to make sure we have protection and support.
I propose this. Each magus may chooses their own personal grog if they desire. On top of that, I intend to draw a lance of men from the Andorran Guard. A small one. Lieutenant Albert and his pick of three trained men.
Then I want three specialists. Officers by warrant. Temporary sergeants. I pick Selim the Younger. That kid that old Selim adopted back during the Brass expedition. He knows the languages and the terrain.
Then that crusader guy, Mateu. He seems decent enough, but he has me suspicious. He just shows up as a lone diplomat? I want to keep myeye on him, and I don't want to leave him by himself to snoop around while we are gone. The Pontifici? They don't pay attention to $#!+. The Masters are just as preoccupied, such as we are. The Journeymen don't care. Why should they?
Do I sound cynical? I apologize. Getting old I guess.

Third specialist. I am undecided. But I go by the rule of three. The number holds mystical significance. Grab someone unusual that never goes on expedition. Like a scribe or our weaponsmith. The Librarian?

Are we expecting an element of investigation and research on this mission? If so, a bookish type may not be a bad idea. And in periods of danger other characters may need to pitch in to keep the librarian or whomever safe. I like that.

Donna would be happy to go along, if someone informs her in any way that the mission involves looking into an ancient mystical cult- she has some issues regarding her own abilities that she has been trying to figure out and would hope she might get some sort of clue by tagging along.

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"Good morning, Roberto," Lucas says cheerfully, if a bit wearily. "Yes, I've been trying to coordinate things here at the covenant for Flavia. She's a marvel at research but she's not as good dealing with people. Plus she doesn't know very many people here at Andorra."

The Mercere magus listens to Roberto's comments and nods in response. "I've been considering the same question myself, well, at least from the non-military side. Here's what I have so far. Regarding magi, we have Flavia, of course. Then there's you, me, The Woad, and Guiverna for certain. Acutus has expressed some interest as has Solomon, though I don't have a final decision on either. Cecilia would also like to come along. She speaks Arabic quite well and has a charm that'll make her look and sound like an Arab man. She'd be a real help to Selim in dealing with any of the locals."

"That leaves us with two - maybe three - magi with real combat experience. No one would claim that Flavia, Guiverna, or I are particularly strong in fighting. We can only hope that Darius is also limited in the number of fighting magi he can call upon. I know there's no guarantee that he'll strike at us. But I think we can't really go wrong assuming that he will."

"So, figure about six Gifted magi all told." He smiles and adds. "Now that I say it, that is a lot of magi in one place. Figure each is good for a shield grog and a servant and that's already near enough twenty. We have Selim coming, of course. No one better for dealing with the locals. Beyond that we'll need some people to tend the animals, a number of guards, and some people for camp chores."

"I talked to the younger Selim the other day about caravans. He worked on them for years. He said that a caravan is typically made up of a number of files of camels, each file being between fifteen and twenty camels. An average caravan would be between six and twelve files. Normally you'd have a caravan master, the caravan owner or his representative, a tender per file and maybe a spare, a manager for the tenders, and one or two cooks. Guards and passengers vary depending on the wealth of the caravan and where it's going."

"For our caravan, it seems like four files of camels would be reasonable - a bit low, but not shockingly so. Selim - the older one - will serve as our caravan master, of course. I'd suggest that Cecilia - in disguise, naturally - take on the role of the caravan owner or his representative. And we can bring along an assistant cook and a scullery boy from the kitchens to take care of our meals. Then we add, say, five tenders and Selim the Younger as our tender manager. As for guards, we have you, The Woad, Mateu, and the lance of men. That's seven guards, which seems plausible to me. The magi will be the caravan's passengers. That will explain the additional servants and their personal guards. I like that because it'll allow us a slightly stronger fighting force without it seeming too strange. Having the magi as passengers will also allow us to keep a bit of distance between the Gifted and the general population."

"Speaking to your third specialist, well, we have Selim the Younger serving in the caravan and Mateu serving with the guards. I'd say the third ought to be someone with the passengers to keep a balance. Perhaps someone we think will be useful when we get to our destination. We're going to a ruined temple so a scholar wouldn't be out of place. But who knows what we'll find. For all I know a stonemason might be of more use if we have to dig around in a bunch of ruins."

"So, we're looking at about ten men for the caravan, seven for the guards, and say fifteen for the passengers. That's thirty-two people total. From what Selim the Younger says that won't draw too much attention. Flavia has arranged through her contacts for the camels to be ready in Algiers. Her story is that a moderately wealthy merchant is setting up a new caravan, which is perfectly plausible. We'll have about seventy-five camels, which seems like a lot, but I'm told is actually a bit small for a caravan. Still, that will allow us to bring along additional supplies for the expedition, since anyone would expect the caravan to be carrying trade goods. So I'm not too put out about that."

"The real sticking point is the tenders - Selim the Younger will be ideal for the tender manager. We have grooms and drovers here in Andorra. That's not a problem. But they only have experience with horses and donkeys. Selim the Younger is the only one we have who has worked with camels. And from what he says, camels offer a lot of unique challenges. Moreover, most of our people don't know anything about the land we'll be traveling through. That could be dangerous for us. Selim the Younger can offer guidance, of course. But he's only one man and that would stretch him out pretty thin. Flavia has an offer from the people she's working with to gather us a group of skilled tenders. Now, that would mean bringing in people we don't know and who aren't familiar with magi. But the alternative is to use people who don't know the animals or the land, which could lead to significant - possibly disastrous - troubles during our travels."

"What are your thoughts? Do we take on some local tenders or try and make do with our own people?"

"Oh, and as an aside, I agree that we'll want to keep a watch on Mateu. He seems relatively straighforward. But The church has not always looked after the best interests of the Order."