Edwin looks east and says "We are trying to find a latisfundia near here. We will travel along the wall and see if we can spot an obviously settled place."
Edwin hopes the explanation satisfies the centurion while informing his travelling companions.
«There is nothing along the wall until Alexandrius decurion's camp. The lands have been laid waste by the raid,» says the decurion.
Running after the soldier, there is nothing but mist. The soldier has vanished. Did Luciu cast a new Veil Piercer? He should probably take the two opportunities to botch, once at sunset at once at dawn, shouldn't he?
Assuming that he does in fact successfully cast the spell, he sees that the soldier ran down a ramp which appears to end in a drop, but which does in fact, lead down to a walk-way leading East in a new level of the regio.
Spell active, Luciu sees the soldier enter a new regio level, and taking note of the path so he can traverse it again later, he follows.
Everybody else sees Luciu disappear into the mist.
Luciu gets down on the walkway, narrow between two brick walls. There is no mist here, but all you see is an endless corridor and the cloudy sky above your head. Awareness+Perception 9+ to glimpse the soldier in the distance before he disappears around a bend, but if you don't there is still nowhere else he could have gone.
How far does Luciu go?
Luciu just manages to spot the soldier, and follows. He intends to follow until there seems like an important reason not to.
They trod on, mile upon mile. Luciu will have to run to catch up. The soldier keeps an impressively steady and fast pace, alternating between running and walking, always fifty double paces and then he switches. Even though Luciu has travelled far, this is quite a new experience. It takes Stamina + Athletics 9+ to keep up. Not that there is every any doubt about the route. After about an hour or a little more, you hear a shout ahead of you. «Halt!» If you kept up with the soldier, the shout is directed at him, rather than yourself. You hear it before you see anybody.
Back at the camp, I suppose the others are starting to worry about Luciu who just wandered off and has been gone an hour.
Luciu is a skinny bookworm, and almost immediately starts to fall behind. When he realizes he'll need to match pace with a fully trained Roman legionnaire, he stops trying, catches his breath, then heads back.
Once he gets back to the regio, he motions to his group to head out of the regio altogether, once there he will explain what he experienced, and suggest they continue the search for the town.
You break the fast and bid your goodbyes. The journey through the wooded hills is long and arduous, and several times you face the choice of abandoning the wagons or backing up half a mile. A couple of times you come across a lone shepherd or a peasant family in a cottage. They shake their heads when they see the wagons, but offer some helpful advice when asked.
The wall is ruined, and long sections are completely gone. This also slows your journey. It takes the whole day, and you still do not see anything remotely resembling a covenant. You have no idea how far you have travelled. It feels like twenty miles, but knowing how slowly wagons move off the paved road, a tenth of that is more likely.
The journey continues the same the next day, until midday. You get into much steeper terrain. A grog is sent ahead to scout, to avoid breaking the wheels on a dead end. He comes back to report.
Master Luciu. There is a secluded valley on the other side of this hill. There is a village, at least twenty houses. Sheep and goats. I did not approach, but I had a good view from the peak over there. Otherwise it is completely hidden between the hills. There is not much left of this wall you want to find, but I think I could see some ruins at the upper end of the valley.
When you ask about the way, he apologies.
No way there for the carts. Maybe if we go downhill to approach the valley from below, but I could not see that far.
Luciu looks at his companions. "Shall we go? Or do you want to go by yourself, Edwin?"
"Easier if we go together. If I speak to the occupants, if it's where we are looking for I can make a quick introduction and you can find the magi to speak to, if it's not I can speak to them and you can help if it turns ugly."
Luciu nods. "Ok, let's go. Keep in mind I don't speak the language, but you don't need to translate every little thing for me, we have the same goal."
I assume Luciu and Edwin make the way across the hill on foot, escorted or guided by the grog who has already tried the route. Janus and the other covenfolk stay behind to watch the carts. Please correct me if I misassume. Rubelius has left the group weeks earlier, to go his own way, having had enough of the battle zone.
When you get to the top of the hill, you can confirm the grog's report. The hills are steep, and the village well secluded, to be visible only from select angles. It should be possible to descend, but there is no obvious path. Going parallel to the valley would be even worse, as the valley sides are ragged with hills.
Supposing that you approach the village, you have to tread carefully to avoid stumbling and falling. It probably feels dangerous to the bookworm with little outback experience, but it is not hill climbing. After a couple of hours you are down, completely exhausted, not only in your feet, but also your brains from constantly concentrating to look for good footing.
The sun is setting behind the hill in front of you, but the village is only half a mile further down the valley to your right. As you approach in the twilight, you hear people shout and flock to look, cautious but curious. A couple of torches are lit. At the front are two the two most heavy built men in the village. Children have been ushered to the back, but hide behind corners. They watch without a word until you get up close ...
Edwin will muster the energy for a smile, and tries to listen to their shouts to recognise their language. Assuming they are speaking a dialect of English he can understand, he will greet them in English, but is ready to switch to Danish or Latin if it seems they understand that better.
"Good evening! My companions have been travelling along the wall, trying to find a safe place. Tell me, what are your local rulers like?"
You recognise some Norse and some Saxon words, and some words you do not understand at all. The rhythm sounds more Saxon than Danish, but you cannot make out sentences at the distance.
«They are travelling the wall,» they whisper. «What wall?» asks a teenager. «Does he mean the Old Wall?» asks an older fellow. «You know the ruins.»
«Rulers?» the two larger men say questioningly, looking first at Edwin and then eachother. Then they turn, «Angus, where is Angus? They ask about the ruler ...»
It takes a while before Angus appears, an old and crooked man with a white beard reaching almost down to his hip, which is not that far since he is not at all tall, and otherwise little hair. He seems to walk at great pain, while leaning on a sturdy staff and refusing any support from a young maid accompanying him. «Who's asking?» he asks in a squeaky voice only barely audible. «Who's asking?» repeats the younger man who greeted you first in his steady basso voice.
"I am Edwin. I once managed an estate for a group of....scholars in the south, but the wars damaged it too much. My colleagues are looking for allies and a place to live, now that the war is over."
«Is the war over?» they ask with surprise. You can hear the words spreading down among the chattering villagers. «If the war is over, why would anyone want to come here?» squeaks the old man. The younger men repeat the question, and explain. «Here, the living is meagre, and I am not sure the hills can feed more people. What has happened to the great fields in the South? Can't they be rebuilt after the war?»
"I am sure they could, but the estate I worked on had the crops burned. They will need to lay fallow a year before we could try rebuilding. To answer your question, the war does seem to be over."
As the villagers chatter about the ending war, the old man concludes, «you have to tell the full story. Come!» The younger men repeat the words, motioning you to join them inside one of the larger cottages. Night has fallen, and the only light is from the fireplace in the middle of the room. The little old man takes place in the high seat, a chair carved out of a large trunk, with the backrest extending two feet above his head. The younger men show you seats on the bench towards the fireplace, and seat themselves towards the wall.
«If the war is truly over, it is great news. Please tell us what you have seen,» says the man seated next to Angus. «I am Hrothulf, and this is Æðelwulf,» he adds motioning to the other young man. «Angus is our Elder. You were Edwin, is that right? And ...» he turns from Edwin to Luciu.
Other villagers flock around the grog, to hear the stories, offering him also to use the fire, «if you brought something you want to cook.»
The perceptive among (Per+Awareness 6+) you will notice the blinking of polished metal in the firelight, both from items on shelves around the room and from buttons and buckles on the men's clothing.
Luciu looks on attentively, smiling and trying to project openness. When the man looks at him expectantly, he guesses he might be seeking a name and points at himself, saying, "Luciu."
"Forgive my manners", Edwin says, "this is Luciu, one of the scholars I travel with."
He sits down near the fire, but realises he has only brought a little bread with him for the journey.
"Ah, the war, the final battle was horrific. There were so many bodies left for the birds and worms."
Edwin proceeds to tell them what he has seen.