After an unventful journey Katja reaches the covenant of Ad Fons. It seems strangely quiet even in winter with the snow on the ground she would expect to see people moving around the village on chores or gathering wood. No one is moving around , there are a pair of sentries on the covenant wall so it is apparent that the covenant is not completely uninhabited
Katja knows that she must present an unusual sight. A floating stone sled leading a horse rather than the horse leading/pulling the sled. She gets to the walls and hovers with bottom of the sled about six feet off the ground just in case. [color=red]"Hail Ad Fons. I am Katja of Durenmar looking to visit and perhaps join your number. I have letters of introduction, supply of fine glasswares, and all the supplies to set up a lab. I also need seek your aid for two of my companions for the trip have vanished. Both being of the order."
There is some commotion on the wall and one of the guards heads into the covenant. A few minutes later another man comes out of the covenant he comes to the gate and calls down
[color=red]"I am afraid that the mages of this covenant are unavailable. May I offer you the hospitality of one of the guest Chambers until they are available to meet with you?
Katja looks around, [color=blue]"That would be wonderful. If I could get assistance moving my stuff from my cart to room, that would be even better. Skilled hands as much of it is glass and the full tools for glassblowing other than the necessary ovens. The horse belongs to a redcap who is among my missing sodalis. Obviously the sled itself will have to remain outside the aegis until I am given a token." She to keep her concern that all the mages were gone at once leaving the covenant wide open and immediately starts looking at the walls and defenses. If she has to defend this place herself, it is going to be tricky since even the weakest aegis would cripple defensive casting that she does have.
[color=blue]OOC Katja has not been given a token to the Aegis s the Guard captain does not have one.
[color=blue]Of course I will summon some servants
After a short pause the gate opens and several servants come out to help move materials to the covenant while a couple of guards stand by. The guards seem unusually alert and keep nervously looking at where the sun is setting.
The guard commander Erich leads Katja to a suite of Rooms where she will be able to stay. [color=blue]My lady I would be most careful after dark there have been a number of incidents in the last couple of days and I am not certian you would be safe if you went about on your own. There will be two guards downstairs who could accompany you if you wish to go out
OOC what sort of walls and protection does the manor have?
Ad fons is a covenant situated in the deep forests of Pomerania. The covenant is a exquisite crafted manor house with a beautiful garden surrounding it. The garden is surrounded by a stone wall, not enough to withstand a full scale assault by a professional force of soldiers but it provides protection from brigands and animals. Near the manor house on the other side of the wall lies a pond whose water supply comes out of the ground. The pond is the covenants main supply of vis and prolongs the life of its denizens. Other vis are gathered from the surrounding forest by grogs with a standing order to collect a strange items the find in the forrest. Surrounding the covenant is a village that lives on both supplying the magi and working the forest around them, pig herding is one of the major incomes of the community. On a nearby natural hill stand a small tower surrounded by a wall, an eerie retreat for the people of the covenant in times of need. The tower is fenced in by a low stone wall, only measuring six feet of the ground.
Katja considers,[color=blue] "At the border of your aegis, I could create a circle of 6' stone walls about the manor. They would only last a month but it might get you past the initial crisis if you feel it advisable. I am hesitant to do it though without permission of the mages or without a major need."
She looks about the suite, [color=blue]"If a small repast for supper can be supplied then I will be good until morning. This travel has been very wearying and I will be glad to relax in a normal bed with guards to the door to see I am not disturbed." She knows her stone sled should be safe outside the aegis as it is just a large carved block of stone. it might be a place for something to hide in but not the best one as the back section is only 4' high.
[color=red]Extra walls arpund the manor should not be needed the problems have been in the village. Hopefully the Maga Mariella should be recovered by tommorrow and should be able to greet you properly, she has been unwell since the departure of the other magi.
The room is comfortbale and Katja is able to settle in for a peaceful nights rest.
She has been asleep for a few hours when there is a terrible scream from down in the village , to Katja is sounds like the scream she heard from the bandit camp two days ago.
Katja could have protected the village too but at the screams, she rises and dresses. She heads down the stairs, [color=blue]"Guards, Something is going on. Perhaps we should see if we can aid. Once I am to my sleed, i will be 10' off the ground so safe. I hate battle and have no talent for it but I can create walls and dig pits including around the whole village." She fears this but has a duty to this which she would have be her home.
Heading down into the village Katja is able to locate the probable source of the scream around one of the houses there are several torches and in the light of the torches she is able to see 2 guardsmen and several villagers bent over something on the ground.
Also heading down from the direction of the covenant but somewhat behing Katja is a small figure dressed in black robes
Katja's path is first to her sled and looking for a rock on the ground as she goes and then once in the sled, she casts two spells the first lets her sled move, the second causes the stone to glow as a light source. Getting to the village, she looks down from the back portion of the sled looking down to see what is happening now that she has light. She might have to wall the village off tonight.
The fact that another figure is coming out from the covenant behind her is almost relieving and she hopes she can learn something as a result of it.
There is some commotion among the villagers at the sight of the flying sled they appear to be standing around a body on the ground. From her height Katja cannot see any clear cause of death.
The figure coming from the covenant is still some distance away as they are moving fairly slowly
Katja slowly descends holding out the light source. It is a strong light, equal to sunlight on a cloudy day so is more than enough to light the area clearly. She smiles as she speaks softly in slavic first, low german if that fails. [color=blue]"What happened here and is there anything that I can do?" She expects the two guards with her will have something to say as well. She does keep the sled ready to rise if anyone shows even a hint of a weapon in hand. She is not getting in range of a fight.
Cleary reassured by the guards who are with her one of the guards reports to her, [color=red]We have had another killing, an old man went out to the privy on his own he had been out for only a few minutes and we heard the scream and came to investigate. This is the 5th death we have had like this. One man was killed out in the woods like this and the masters thought it was the wolves they killed them and went out to find where they came from since then we have had 4 more killings inside the town . All of these people have had their blood drained and not a mark on them . Not even ...
His voice trails off as the figure from the covenant comes through the crowd , which parts to let her through showing a clear reluctance to be too close to her. It is a a short dark haired women , wearing black robes . She moves slowly as if fatigued
[color=red]As the guard was saying not even I have worked out what is happening. I am Mariella of Flambeau . I was told you had arrived unfortunatly I am not in the mood to waste time on greetings.
Her voice and posture suggest that she is exhausted and to Katja it seems that she is on the verge of an explosion of rage and anger . She seems less under control than did regius, she suspects it is not just Mariella's gift which is clearing people out from the area around her.
Katja speaks softly, her voice concillatory and trying to be calming, [color=blue]"As I want to join your number, I am here to assist you. I do not know what is going on but I can do the following until this is resolved. I can put up walls around the village, 6' high and 15' long segments and only open at places you specify. they will last only a month but it can be done quickly. I can dig pits 3 paces deep for outside the walls to make it harder to get to the walls. I can also every night just past sunset, cast lights that will last until dawn so the town is light up so guards on patrol can see what they are doing and see anything approaching. I don't know what else I can do to help but I am a terram expert. I should warn you that I know nothing about actual fighting and I really don't want to learn."
[color=red]Stay out of the ay of the profesionals then Snaps Mariella. Bu now the crowd has dispersed except for one women sobbing over the body , although quite a few are watching from a distance.
Then clearly ignoring Katja she turns to examine the body pushing the sobbing women aside with a quick Rego corpus spell and shouts a command for the grogs to search the area for tracks.
Katja drops the stone with the light so that it can help the woman investigating the body and looks at the grogs to see if any of them desire a light source that is brighter than torches.
Having given the body what seems to Katja a cursory examination , Mariella moves away from the body towards the searching guards demaning to know why they have not yet found anything.
As she moves away several of the locals return from wherever they had been hiding and start moving the body back into the house. Katja also notices that there is another young women wathcing all of this commotion with concern from the shelter of the doorway of another house.
Katja slowly has her sled descend to the ground while she approaches the young woman carefully. [color=blue]"Good Evening. I noticed you watching what happened. did you see what happened or are you related to the victim?" She is wary and hopes her two guards are keeping near her.