Chapter 1: The Journey to Nowhere

[MTKnife]

@Salutor

[He'll still cast the Posing the Silent Question. I'm not sure whether he had to cast the Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem or not (although it didn't sound like he did); either way he should be able to cast this spell without penalty (due to Enduring Constitution). He'll then either be at a -2 penalty or no penalty to the Frosty Breath, and then a -2 penalty or a -4 penalty afterwards. (Ouch.) Let me know which, and what the result of the Posing the Silent Question was? He's trying very hard not to let the grog see how tired he is.]

Oh, sorry, forgot about that spell: yes, he sincerely wants to help the magi.

@MTKnife

"Personally, I think they had inside help, but who knows? Anyway, we're out on the frontier here, and I don't know who or what is out there, and on top of that, on dark nights this place is crawling with ghosts and God knows what else, and probably has been since shortly after the Cult of Mercury held its last ritual in the Neptune temple, if not earlier."

"Ghosts? From the time of the romans? Interesting. Do they seem to do anything, or want anything, or are they simply present? Have you ever seen them affect anything physical, or attack anyone?"

Physical? Sometimes they throw things around, move stuff, break things....There've been a couple of times when they messed up someone's mind. It was probably just fear, but who knows?

@MTKnife

I haven't seen much of anyone else since then, other than those Redcaps who visited last year, but it's hard to sleep easy here."

"Why didn't you return to Thebes with the Redcaps?"

"Someone need to look out for this place until the Order returned, right?"

He'll also ask whether the grog has any idea of anything that might have happened to cause how magical the site is to change.

"Well, you understand, I don't know much about magic. There was just so much damage done to the place, I don't know. Buildings were knocked down, labs were destroyed, the fountains all stopped working." He points downward. "Or maybe something down there got unhappy with what was going on up here."

Scott

[Salutor]

Gregorius nods his appreciation to the grog.

"Thank-you. I shall have a lot more questions, especially on the destruction of the previous covenant, to put to you later, but those can wait. For now, I need to speak with my fellow magi - unless there is anything else important or urgent I should know?" He pauses for a moment, and then adds: "Also, what's your name?"

He waits for the grog to reply. Should he have nothing further to add, he'll leave his shield grog with the man, then return to his sodales. Half way down the stairs, when he thinks nobody (including the butterfly) can see him, he pauses and leans against the wall, letting himself sag for just a precious minute. [I know this isn't enough to recover a fatigue level at his degree of fatigue, but he's trying. Am I on -2 or -4 at the moment (or 0, only if didn't unravel Fabric and Frosty breath was on a stress die)?]

If any of his covenant sodales aren't with/returning to the main group, he'll ask a grog to inform them of his own return. Then, once the magi have gathered and the non-magi have been dismissed, he'll sum up for those that hadn't been watching:

"After a little paranoia, the grog seems to be ready to welcome us back with open arms, although I'll check again on the sincerity of that once he's no longer under the effects of Aura of Rightful Authority. He had a few bits of interesting information: firstly, he thinks that raiders who destroyed the previous covenant, whilst riders armed with apparently mundane Kipchuk weaponry, also had magical back-up which the magi of the covenant couldn't do much about under a surprise attack. Secondly, the covenant site is apparently quite seriously haunted on dark nights, with roman ghosts with the power to move objects and affect people's minds. The first we're clearly going to have to investigate in a lot more detail; the second could be a boon or a bane, depending on the ghosts' dispositions towards us. If we could get them in our service, they could be very useful, but we'll have to see how possible that is. Portia, am I correct in thinking that the Aegis will dampen their powers, but not keep them out of the covenant if they're already within in it when the ritual is cast?"

He'll pause, and try to answer questions. To anyone inclined to pay attention, he seems noticably tired.

"For now, I recommend that we introduce the grog to the rest of us, have lunch, and then set about exploring the village with his assistance and removing any traps actually within it. We should find out where the traps in the woods are, but leave them - they could be a useful line of defense. The grog said he knew where the cave system is, and that it has one laboratory in it; we should explore those and any other laboratories but possibly" - he smiles self-deprecatingly - "I could ask someone with a stronger Parma than me to enter the laboratories first?"

[MTKnife]

@Salutor

Gregorius nods his appreciation to the grog.

"Thank-you. I shall have a lot more questions, especially on the destruction of the previous covenant, to put to you later, but those can wait. For now, I need to speak with my fellow magi - unless there is anything else important or urgent I should know?" He pauses for a moment, and then adds: "Also, what's your name?"

The grog nods. "Theodoric."

He waits for the grog to reply. Should he have nothing further to add, he'll leave his shield grog with the man, then return to his sodales. Half way down the stairs, when he thinks nobody (including the butterfly) can see him, he pauses and leans against the wall, letting himself sag for just a precious minute. [I know this isn't enough to recover a fatigue level at his degree of fatigue, but he's trying. Am I on -2 or -4 at the moment (or 0, only if didn't unravel Fabric and Frosty breath was on a stress die)?]

No need for Unravel, and I don't see why Frosty Breath would have been a stress die, so 0.

Scott

[Arya]

@Salutor

"For now, I recommend that we introduce the grog to the rest of us, have lunch, and then set about exploring the village with his assistance and removing any traps actually within it. We should find out where the traps in the woods are, but leave them - they could be a useful line of defense. The grog said he knew where the cave system is, and that it has one laboratory in it; we should explore those and any other laboratories but possibly" - he smiles self-deprecatingly - "I could ask someone with a stronger Parma than me to enter the laboratories first?"

Portia looks up from her tablet while Gregorius speaks. "A solid plan. Capital," she agrees. "I hadn't even considered lunch, but now that you mention it, I could eat a horse.

"Given my field of study, I should investigate the existing laboratory. And if you like, once we are established, I can host a course on Parma. Perhaps next winter? Best time for studies, I find."

[JeanMichelle]

Aetos looks around:
"I'm not so sure about cave-crawling. I'd rather stay outside here. My firends and I", he strokes the eagle on this shoulder, "will keep a lookout for raiding parties. Unless the aura is much better, I'll have my lab out here somewhere, maybe on that tall tree yonder."

[callen]

As the interrogation didn't take long, Tasia enters part-way through it. "I agree: that sounds like a good plan, Gregorius. Perhaps I should join Portia?"

[Salutor]

@Arya

And if you like, once we are established, I can host a course on Parma. Perhaps next winter? Best time for studies, I find."

Gregorius looks slightly surprised, and then smiles warmly. "A generous offer, my thanks. I had planned to spend some time with the book the tribunal included in the library, but I have little doubt your teaching would be substantially superior. I will have to consider how I could repay you, but such details can wait until we've settled in, and know what we have and need better."

"Theodoric also said that a lot of the caves were filled in with rubble - there might be a lot more down there as well, and it sounds as though that's where the magi of the former covenant tried to make a stand when they were attacked - probably why it's full of rubble. I have a spell that should help in clearing it out, when we come to do so, although it's not really what it's designed for."

As nobody seems to object to his plan, he sends a grog to fetch Theodoric and the shield grog he'd left with him and makes sure he at least knows the rest of his new masters by sight. He then ensures a couple of grogs are on watch, and settles down for lunch (and a rest).

After lunch, he'll start on the grand trap tour of the village with Theodoric. He'll start with the former temple, but get Theodoric to show the magi the caves entrance (and any traps there) first.

[MTKnife]

@Salutor

After lunch, he'll start on the grand trap tour of the village with Theodoric. He'll start with the former temple, but get Theodoric to show the magi the caves entrance (and any traps there) first.

The cave entrance is just inside the eastern edge of the ring of covenant buildings--it was actually inside a small building of its own, though that structure now lies in ruins. Theodoric rigged up one deadfall trap near the entrance, concealed amid the ruins, but he says he's scared of the caves and has avoided this place like the plague.

The temple to Neptune is located to the north of the old covenant's central courtyard. Like all of the other ruins, everything above ground level, and a bit below, has been deconstructed--dressed stone, after all, is useful for building--but the perimeter of the building is marked, not only by its foundations, but by the edge of a faerie aura of strength 4*. When called over to investigate, both Viola and the Cat immediately spot the entrance to a regio at what was the front entrance to the temple. Both look quite concerned, but neither wants to talk about what she saw inside. The old covenant had excavated the the temple, revealing a tile mosaic that made up its floor; this mosaic, three feet below the current ground level, is covered in a shallow pool of still but exceedingly clear water.

• It's possible that this aura is actually 5. The details and contents of the aura and regio are up to Arya.

Scott

[JeanMichelle]

Aetos checks the water magically for magic properties (is it vis?).

ooc: Int 10 + Vi 0 + Aura + other stuff >InVi5
no botch invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2803691/

[MTKnife]

@JeanMichelle

Aetos checks the water magically for magic properties (is it vis?).

ooc: Int 10 + Vi 0 + Aura + other stuff >InVi5
no botch invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2803691/

Oh yeah. Rego vis, to be specific.

Scott

[JeanMichelle]

Aetos tells the others about his find and claims the vis source - for himself for now, but with a promise of handing it over to the covenant once the legal formalities of founding the covenant and registering it are dealt with.
He asks them for advice concerning sustainable harvesting.

ooc: There must be some kind of legal whatever to deal with such a situation, but I don't know enough about it. If this is too complicated,just chalk it down for the good guys. Yeah Aetos sure read the Brundtland Report (which was written by House Bjornaer).

[Salutor]

[Can Gregorius see the regio entrance? Second Sight is 3 + 1 (regiones speciality) + Per 3 + Aura mod + die (not sure if still using the 2 I rolled earlier or not). It'll presumably be massively easier to see the boundary once he's inside the faerie aura of the temple than when he's still outside, due to the way the ease factor calculation works. I realise what he actually sees isn't defined yet, but it would be useful to know if he sees anything.]

[I'm assuming that Portia and Tasia have gone inside the cave to explore it, whilst the other magi are exploring the village.]

Gregorius looks if anything slightly relieved to discover that the aura at the temple is faerie. At Aetos' claiming of the vis site he frowns for a moment, but then nods.

"I wish I knew where Flavius had gone - I don't like the thought of him exploring bits of our covenant site before we do."

"Rego vis in water - I'd guess it's likely to form from the water icing over in winter, or from new rainfall, but that could easily be very wrong. Probably best not to completely drain the pool - but we should ask Theodoric if the former covenant had any particular harvesting methods or restrictions he knew about."

"How much of it is there there?"

[Arya]

Viola and Gregorious (and anyone else in the portico with Second Sight) see that beyond the pool, there is a set of double doors, marking a regio entrance.

[MTKnife]

@Salutor

"Rego vis in water - I'd guess it's likely to form from the water icing over in winter, or from new rainfall, but that could easily be very wrong. Probably best not to completely drain the pool - but we should ask Theodoric if the former covenant had any particular harvesting methods or restrictions he knew about."

"How much of it is there there?"

Theodoric replies that water has been collecting there every time it rains ever since the magi from the old covenant dug out the temple. Whenever it stopped raining, the magi would use some kind of spell to move all the vis into a jug of water.

Your spellcasting reveals that you've got 2 pawns of vis in there at the moment; Theodoric isn't sure how much vis was there each time the magi harvested it, but he remembers their harvesting it every time it stopped raining (on average, he says, it rains about 10 days a month around here).

Scott

[JeanMichelle]

Aetos decides to leave the pool as it is for now (he knows he is lousy at vim). He'll offer the vis in the pool to anybody else who can collect it.

[callen]

((OK, don't with the rewrite. Now back to this thread.))

When Tasia first joins the others partway through the interrogation she'll cast Trust Me on the grog without using gestures ((with the Aura that's automatic without fatigue)). She will also do so with any other grogs with whom she'll be interacting today. She figures that will help get them used to her.

@JeanMichelle

There must be some kind of legal whatever to deal with such a situation

If Aetos asks about this, Tasia will inform him of what she knows ((Code of Hermes 4 + Int 2 +1)), which doesn't seem to be overly much, but some basics.

@Salutor

[I'm assuming that Portia and Tasia have gone inside the cave to explore it, whilst the other magi are exploring the village.]

((Sounds right if that was where Portia suggested.))

Tasia will cast Sight of the Sigil, being loud and not very subtle, with some help from Vrahos before entering the caves. ((26 + 1 loud + 1 gestures + 5 aura + 6 MM +5 = 44 -> 1 fatigue))

[Salutor]

@JeanMichelle

Aetos decides to leave the pool as it is for now (he knows he is lousy at vim). He'll offer the vis in the pool to anybody else who can collect it.

Gregorius shakes his head.

"I don't think I could manage it even with ceremonial casting. Maybe if the aura was a bit stronger and magical. Viola?"

"Theodoric, do you know of any cases of anything - particularly faeries - appearing in here?"

After the vis is gathered (or not), he'll suggest they move on to look at the stone tower.

[callen]

Before everyone parts ways Tasia says "If any of you come across a variation in the aura or something that seems to be interacting with the aura, please let me know. I am very interested in discovering why the aura has weakened here."

@Salutor

@JeanMichelle

Aetos decides to leave the pool as it is for now (he knows he is lousy at vim). He'll offer the vis in the pool to anybody else who can collect it.

"I don't think I could manage it even with ceremonial casting. Maybe if the aura was a bit stronger and magical. Viola?"
...
After the vis is gathered (or not), he'll suggest they move on to look at the stone tower.

((I've sort of lost track of when everything is happening and thus where Portia and Tasia are during certain discussions. I will assume Tasia will be around for some point of the conversation.))

"I would be happy to look into it after Portia and I have finished our investigation. I cannot promise that I can do what is needed, but it is near my area of expertise."

[MTKnife]

@Salutor

@JeanMichelle

Aetos decides to leave the pool as it is for now (he knows he is lousy at vim). He'll offer the vis in the pool to anybody else who can collect it.

Gregorius shakes his head.

"I don't think I could manage it even with ceremonial casting. Maybe if the aura was a bit stronger and magical. Viola?"

"Theodoric, do you know of any cases of anything - particularly faeries - appearing in here?"

After the vis is gathered (or not), he'll suggest they move on to look at the stone tower.

[Foo, that spell is harder than it used to be.]

Viola shakes her head. "Not...safe."

Scott

[callen]

@MTKnife

[Foo, that spell is harder than it used to be.]

((We're talking about Gather the Essence of [the Beast], right? Tasia can spont that with relative safety and will offer to do so when she's part of the conversation.))