Betweentimes at Bentalone

So who would like to hunt for vis with Alienor and what season would you like to hunt for vis during 1199? Though we could do it later as well. Alienor doesn't have a pressing need for vis just something she would want to do soonish.

note that companions and grogs can aid in a vis hunt as well, you don't need multiple magi taking time from their labs to hunt...

Lutra can help with the story if the roll indicates the local lake is a possible place to look, may even suggest to look into that, otherwise don't see him getting involved much. For the roll, does each magi wanting to participate individually roll area lore/magic lore + intelligence?

The boys are going. Was that roll established somewhere? Magic Sensitivity should be a big help.

Even without a roll I feel like the lake would be a pretty ideal place to find a vis source. Our spring, until it was found to be a vis source by Hermetic Magi probably for the most part just ended up in the lake anyway so who knows what centuries of a significant amount of Vim vis ending up at the bottom of the Lake Aix would do.

Jerome would be happy to hunt vis if there is a need for it.

However, there is another adventure Jerome needs to undertake. He needs to research the Daimion in the non-Hermetic ritual. Would that be covered by Magic Lore? (Assuming it is magic for now.)

He could either go to Paris and interrogate the mysterious letter writer, or seek out arcane libraries which might accept a guest reader. Without any obvious opportunities, I think he would be inclined to go to the great Hermetic Fair in the Greater Alps, to see if he can make alliances there.

Re: Magic Lore research - The covenant in Toulouse, I'm forgetting the name, is the center of the Gorgiastic Cathars (Criamon splinter group in House Ex Misc) which seem to be spirit-focused to some extent though their gnostic concept of god exists in the magic realm rather than the divine. Might be a good place to go first.

Barring Toulouse being under siege at this time.

Is that a show stopper or a plot hook?

We don't necessarily need the vis, we have 30 of every art. but the only source we have is Vim though it is quite a significant source at 30p/yr. In Alienor's mind it just feels too much like "all our eggs in one basket" and depending too much on the vis trade which is not a good exchange rate since we don't have Redcaps or Mercere affiliated with the covenant.

Looks like the sieges of that city were later:

Assuming this disambiguation page is relatively complete.

Tousouse is not under siege for roughly the decade following your adventure. Magic Lore research would be appropriate.

Is research a seasonal activity? I tried to look it up in Cov, but it did not say. Or can they be combined with a season of study.

Given the advice from his sodales, Jerome tries to get an invitation to visit the library in Toulouse to research magic lore.

research for an area lore type ability is a matter of simply making a roll and spending a day or two on research before heading out, and finding out if you succeeded or failed when you check out the location you decide to investigate, which is a seasonal activity.

I think he means researching the daimon.

Indeed.

What Jerome wants to do, one season in 1199, is to research in the Toulouse library, to study Magic Lore from the best book he can find, and research a few specific but related question in between.

The questions are

  • are there any reports in the daimion in the ritual? Its origin and its power?
  • can he find out where Astella's Garden and Val Negra were located?
  • can I find out what magical tradition the ritual comes from?
  1. Will he be admitted? What does he pay for it? Which season?
  2. Research bonus? Ease Factor?

He can check out the clues he find a later season.

1)Leaf
•If there are no teachers in the Covenant, Leaf will ask both Companions for their aid in recruiting 1 or 2 such specialists. Teaching AL and Languages (Latin and French) will be the most important requirements.

Is this something that can be accomplished behind the scenes, at some point in 1198, without requiring an adventure @silveroak?

•Leaf also urges the other Magi to spend silver or vis to obtain better books for the Library through the Redcap network, including Magic Theory. Is this agreeable?

•Will there be disbursement of vis?

*edit •What sort of free Lab improvements can be financed by Bentalone? Up to Upkeep 4 or so?

•Leaf will follow his sodales in corresponding with both his parens Xenophanes at Jardin and also Leonarda at Miniata Sophia. As he is currently studying Creo, that will have to be the subject. Does this start to earn xp in 1199?

2)Mireilla will happily collect the silver, and will hasten to Toulouse to establish a workshop there. She will inform the Magi where she will be each season.
As part of the craftswoman social class, she already has a shop established in Avignon. She will move quickly to rent space, furnish it, hire a local girl Apprentice, spread some silver amongst her neighbors for goodwill, pay a local thug extra to keep an eye on things. Note that Ways of the Town means she is well-thought of, generally, and most Urban dwellers would not think of messing with her.

•Does she need to roll anything, @silveroak?

•She will shuttle back and forth through the Urban regio network (she has the base 9 required and a -1 to Botch dice in Urban settings, so this should generally be automatic) between Avignon and Toulouse. She will also hire an assistant in Avignon, and train both the one in Toulouse and the one in Avignon in the Profession, this is 10xp/season for 2 seasons/year in 1198; this means that by 1199, her Workshop total in both places increases to 11.

•She will keep a nose out for rumours that might be of interest to Bentalone, and the general state of the region.

Very much so, but we mustn't ignore Hermes Lore, Magic Lore, and Area Lores. We may have to recruit scribes too, if we want to trade books with our neighbours. Jerome can hear around if he gets a chance to go to Toulouse, although that might be a year later.

I think so. It is so much easier if everybody knows what they can spend, and there is no point in stockpiling without limit.

Decided to take the initiative on the vis search and got a 3. Area lore (4) + intelligence (3) gets me up to 10, or 11 if my specialty in bodies of water is counted in, which since Lutra is particularly interested in the lake near Aix and that would be the first place to look for him, it may come in play.

well, there are a number of recently excommunicated priests in aix who could teach languages and area lore, so I wouldn't think this should require a story...

ways of the town provides protection from urban animals, not people, though the +3 does apply...