"I'm not the one looking for something, nor am I the one who consider that information valuable." Hygwald gestures at the great hall. "Look around, what we consider valuable is visible for all to see. Meanwhile, you yourself seem to be rather lacking in anything visible. So make me an offer, based on what you have and how valuable you consider this information, and I will consider it." You can see that the Tremere is enjoying this, much like a cat playing with a mouse.
"I'm not lacking anything. I find spending my time on gathering mundane possession a waste. I'll be a member of this tribunal soon and when I eventually learn something of interest for your covenant, I'll make sure to send a redcap..."
"That sounds very much like an empty promise, I fear..." There is a hard glint in Hygwald's eye. "Be off, then. Oh, and do be careful going out."
His smile has a lot of teeth, "New grogs like ours can be unruly and rough with strangers wandering about..."
"I'll be off if that's your wish, thank you for the Ale." He stands up and starts walking the the door, "We'll probably see each other again and I'm pretty sure we'll be allied de fait... Threatening me with grogs, is that really necessary...I'll leave the clothes by the door they belong to you after all " He removes his belt, tunic and his shoes and puts them next to the door, answering by this deed to his previous provocation about his nudity and then immediately turns into his Ibis form and let the breeches slide. He lift off and soon after when he rises steadily casts "Circling Winds of Protection" just in case he's aggressive enough to make his grogs shot him arrows.
Heartbeast roll : 1d10+3=4
I rolled a 1 so second roll : 1d10=8
that makes 16+3 = 19
Casting 1d10+11=20 so no fatigue lost
Concentration roll : 1d10+5=7
(in case it's not working the first round i'll try next : 1d10+11=13, 1d10+5=13)
Assuming no complication, he flies back to the coast and follows it eastwards.
(Actually, as he is standing inside a foreign Aegis, Renatus needs to make a Stamina + Heartbeast roll against an EF of 7 in order to be able to change shape.)
(Note that the door is quite distant from where Hygwald is sitting, and he's not getting up to follow you, so you won't be able to talk to him from over there.)
(Alright i edit accordingly)
(Actually, Renatus loses 1 Fatigue Level from his spell, as he suffers a -10 penalty to his casting total for being inside a foreign Aegis. The local magical aura isn't sufficient to bring him back over the line for no fatigue.)
His exit as an ibis takes the [strike]pirates[/strike] grogs near the door somewhat by surprise, so none of them act against him. As he flies away, he notices two of them handling what looks suspiciously like a net, making him wonder whether they'd been waiting to trap him.
The rest of the day is spent flying over sandy islands, similar to the one where Terschelling is located. There are no settlements on these islands, and only a few on the coast itself (with these being small vilages). By the end of the day, however, he sees a small town within a bay where a river flows into the sea.
Renatus ignores the first town and follows the river until he reaches a village. There he tries to ask if he's following the good river (he's expecting the Elbe) and how long he should follow it to reach the Harz montains.
The area on each side of the river is mainly swampland and the sun is coming down fast, with no village in sight after an hour's flight south.
Renatus uses the opportunity of a welcoming environment to feed himself and makes a small flight around to find a safe spot for the night that he protects with a ward against mundane beast.
(invisible castle down, i rolled 5 for voice of Bjornaer magus and 3 for ward against mundane beast which is enough for both)
He continues his journey south the next day in search for an opportunity to get direction.
(For known formulaic spells in non-stressful circumstances like these, no need to make a roll.)
The next morning, it takes him another hour of flying before he comes upon a small village some way off the river. It seems relatively new, with only small fields being plowed. It also looks like the inhabitants have been working on draining part of the swamp to extend their fields. There is a small church (more like a chapel than a proper stone church) near the even smaller cemetary, but there doesn't seem to be a nearby house where the priest would live.
Renatus passes above the village and feels anger rising as he discovers the draining process. He has no intention to speak to such individuals and sees If he could discreetly ruin their attempt to drain the swamp, maybe by creating a small wave in the swamp to overcome and hopefully break their ridge surrounding field. He knows It's against the code but hey, no one has to know 
.
He could always weaken some of the small dams that direct water around the drained area, but there is quite a bit of traffic in that area. Crops seem to have been plowed for the year, so the villagers now have time to work on extending their fields. Although not full time -- they are still busy taking care of the spring tasks with their livestock -- but you can see that some work is beginning at the various drainage ditches. A wave would be hard to create, as there is no important body of water nearby -- just small streams and ponds in a generally wet area.
Unwilling to take uncalculated risks after noticing the traffic, he struggles to regain his composure. The village seems too small for him to be able to pick clothes discreetly anyway so he continues his journey, hoping he'll be luckier further on the river.
The river's length is only sparsely populated, so it takes half the morning before you find a village large enough to have a church, steal some clothing and inquire about the name of the river. Only to learn that this is the Ems, not the Elbe. The Elbe is many days to the east, you are told, and much wider than the Ems.
Renatus takes the Eastern direction and hopes not to get lost again, he's not sure how far south he's been and hopes that he's not been to far South already. Anyway, assuming he finds the Elbe, he will try to find an opportunity to ask for the Hartz Montains. It's suppose to be the highest mountain of south Saxony so It shouldn't be too difficult to find he hopes. He's learn his lesson already, he really has to ask for a Latin speaking grog once he's reached Fengheld, and to learn a spell to create clothes. It's such a pain in the cloaca to travel like this.
Over the following days, Renatus continues his journey. After flying east for a day, he gets to another river, but it doesn't seem to satisfy the "wider" criteria so he continues his flight east. He eventually (after another day of flying) reaches one that might qualify. He stops again to check. Almost gets caught stealing the clothes, this time, but is able to confirm that this is indeed the Elbe.
One more day of flying, this time south, brings him close to what must be the Harz Mountains. It looks like a fairly large area, over 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. The last day of his trip is spent flying over those mountains until he locates a settlement that fits the description he's heard -- a sprawling fortress on a hill where extensive vineyards are cultivated.
Overall, his journey has taken about two weeks.
(BTW, from what I could find, ibises are not very fast birds in flight, going at about 40-50 kph. I've used those speeds when calculating how long it took to get from one place to another.)
(OOC: I just took the Ibis for the symbol of the bird I know this isn't the best bird from a stat point of view but well creating a character isn't all about picking the best options)
Renatus tries to find a place outside the Aegis of the fortress where he could find a grog to introduce himself. He expects them to be surprised by a talking bird but considering he's expected maybe not too much.
(OOC: The comment wasn't about the ibis being the best bird or not. It was simply about the info I could find on it and its rate of flight. Just wanted to make sure we agreed with the rate of travel. I only did a quick search on it, so you could easily have found different data and then I'd adjust it for future stories. 8) )
(More tomorrow about the arrival, gotta go now.)
Fengheld is located on a hilltop, with an immense curtain wall with many towers protecting a score of buildings, some of them quite large. The place is bustling with activity. The vineyards on the south side of the hill are the primary focus of those activities, with over a dozen people working there. But herds of goats and sheep are also grazing on the other sides of the hills, under the watchful eyes of shepherds, and peasants are toiling in the fields in the valley floor below the vineyards. Inside the wall, a handful of soldiers are training, while more stand watch on the wall. Wagons are also being loaded there, and there is the smell of a smithy in the air.
When the strange long-beaked bird lands near the open gate, the pair of grogs standing watch there eye him warily but make no threatening move. When he starts speaking, stating that he is a magus, one of them says in basic Latin to wait before sending to other off (in German) -- assumedly to get someone who will be able to address the visitor.
Soon enough, a steward of some sort comes to meet Renatus, letting him know that he's sent for a maga to greet him.