Japik recovers from the fatiguing climb quickly and is eager to get going again.
Let's try to move around that village so as few as possible notices us. Lead the way Bernhard.
Bernhard scramble to his feet, "Ah, hmm... Of course, magi, this way." He points to the path that leads towards the village. "We have to get past the village anyway. They... well," he looks around the group, gesturing vaguely, "I think there is little chance of us passing unnoticed here... I mean... I was noticed right away, I think, when I first visited the Oberland." He shrugs, "There are less than a fifty people living up here, from what I understand. And they probably don't get that many visitors, aside from family members."
While he speaks, he leads the magi along the path, which seems relatively well-travelled. As it curves towards the village, though, he leaves the main path for a smaller one. About thirty paces or so, this smaller path joins a much larger one, obviously used by the shepherds to lead their flock farther north on the small plateau.
The walk is a fairly short one, less than an hour for sure, as the group follows the path cut along the length of the Oberland, roughly in its middle. On both sides of the path, a short distance away, small flocks of sheep are grazing under the supervision of a boy or a man. Each guard a dozen sheep at the most. In a few places, particularly close to the village, small patches of fertile soil have been turned into gardening patches and surrounded by a border of rocks to protect the tasty young greens from the voracious sheep.
As they approach the northern tip of the plateau, the path gradually fades and the layer of soil becomes thinner, showing more rock. You can all feel the wind more sharply as the ground levels up -- for most of the way, the surface of the plateau was at a slight angle and slowly climbed , which offered some shelter against it. Now, however, Bernhard leads you out of the shelter of low hills to your left, slipping between then to bring you around two larger ones. These are still fairly low, maybe fiften feet high, and about one hundred feet wide. This opens up the view to the north, of the sea and the northern part of the Unterland. And there, nestled between the two hills, is the oak tree he described. At its base, the trunk wider than two men together can encircle with their arms. The lines of its bark turning to the right as it rises along the short length of the trunk, and wide branches soon extending out in a corona around and above it. The oak is not tall -- not even clearing the low hills -- and some of it branches are bare of leaves. And hanging from the branches are tendrils of black moss, moving with the wind.
Then these are the people we need to become friends with for real. Well maybe not us but those able to talk for us. Japik says as they start walking around the village.
When they approach the two larger hills and the tree appears Japik starts running towards it. He stops a few paces from it and circles it slowly while looking up at its branches. He is careful not to touch any part of it as he remembers Bernhard's description of its corrosive effects. As the others come after him he looks at Quercus. Check how strong the aura is here. He turns to look at the view of the sea past the tree. Well apart from the aestetical value of the tree itself this is a very beautiful place in deed.
Nice and quiet. If we set up an outlook on one of the hills, we will see anyone coming well in advance.
Circling around the tree is difficult, as its branches reach out on all side, brushing against the two hills that bracket it. It is far wider than high, extending to a diameter of twenty paces. So Japik needs to scramble on the lower slopes of the hills in order to circle it, not an easy task but one needs to exercice some care and it might take a while.
With its twisted trunk and moss-ladden branches, it is difficult to call the tree beautiful. Impressive and unusual, certainly, but there is an element of wrongness and suffering about it. And, once you get close to it, you notice a light decaying smell. Whether it comes from the tree itself or the moss that grows on it is hard to tell.
Quercus looks at the tree with attention. he is unsure if it is in bad shape because of the moss or if they form an indissoluble couple that must be taken as a whole. He regrets not being able to speak with the tree. Something for the future. Certainly the presence of the oak is seen as a good omen by Quercus: Even if the oak is covered in poison it thrives in a hostile environment.
Nodding to Japik, he sits down and tries to cast a similar spell as the one he tried before. The presence of the oak convinces him that there must be an aura here. This time he is careful to draw the adequate protective symbols on the ground around him to avoid almost losing control as before. Once he is satisfied with the preparations he concetrates his energies and casts the spell making quite a show with his gesticulation and strong voice.
Cast spont spell with fatigue. Ceremonially with strong voice and gestures :
B2 (Determine the power of a mystical aura), +1 touch, +3 hearing, = InVi10.
InVi casting total 2int+4In+5Vi+2AL+2Phil+2voice&gestures=17 + D10 + aura (if any)
Quercus' preparation and spellcasting take half an hour. What are the other magi doing meanwhile?
Pytheas is quiet as the group travels on the plateau, taking care not to call attention to himself from the occasional shepherd.
Once they reach the tree he takes his time, making sure he is fully relaxed before checking if there is any vis (and of which kind) in or on the tree.
Cast formulaic spell See the Nature of Vis, InVi 15 Sight/Mom/Ind
The roll is 1d10 + 6 (if the tide is going out) or 1d10 + 12 (if the tide is going in).
Try again if needed.
What is immediately visible to Pytheas when he casts his spell is the black aura that surrounds the moss. It is diffused throughout the tendrils, not concentrated in a single place. Nothing else jumps out before the the moment passes and the spell dissipates.
((Spell successfully cast with no Fatigue loss. The tide is currently at its highest.))
His spell complete, Pytheas reports:
The moss contains Perdo vis, as Bernhard reported. I can see no other vis in the tree itself, but we'll need a full and thorough investigation to make sure.
Assuming the hills are easily climbable Japik moves to the top of the northernmost hill and stands looking in each direction and then down on the tree and his friends below. How much of the Oberland can be seen from this point?
He will then climb down on the western side of the hill and move to the edge of the cliff looking down at the water. How far below is it? Is it possible to climb down with the right equipment or is it as smooth and perpendicular as nature can be? What does the water right below look like? Lots of rocks in the water for example?
Japik will spend most of the half hour Quercus spends casting his spell inspecting the cliff (from above), the two hills and the area between. He will not use any magic to do this just his natural senses. Looking for anything that might look strange or unnatural, any rock formations or openings perhaps?
((Roll for Awareness Per+1 and Awareness 2, total +3))
Japik starts to climb the [strike]sourthern-most[/strike] northern hill. It takes him a while and he slips a couple of times, but eventually he reaches the rounded top. As he raises his head to look around, he gets hit by a bout of vertigo. If the climb on the stairs were breath-taking, this is simply too much and he just have to sit down for a while as his head spins and his chest constricts in anxiety.
((Checked to see how badly he would react to all that height and open space and rolled a 2. Japik is a dolphin, not a bird...))
Prochorus walks around looking for neighbors - anyone living between here and the village?
There were a few small huts for the shepherds, but nothing significant and none of those anywhere close to the oak.
Prochorus spends some time wandering around the hills looking at the shrub trees as well as villages that can be seen from here in the Unterland, whil Japik is climbing onto one of the hills. Pytheas, after his spell has revealed that the moss tendrils do indeed contain raw vis, is pumping Bernhard for details about how and when he tried to gather the vis.
Quercus finally completes his spell and is happy at hearing the firm tinkling of chimes, that reveal a reasonably strong magical aura here. He feels drained by the spell but satisfied at this confirmation.
((Magical Aura 3))
Hmm, I thought it would be higher. Well, though life.
How large do I find the aura? If I cannot determine it, I will do what I say in the second paragraph onwards (climb the hill, cast again)
I assume "Aura 3" means "medium" in the current saga's terms, while 5 would be "powerful" and 7+ unheard off outside regios.
Once he recovers, Quercus explains to the magi nearby (I think this means only Pytheas) about his discovery. It would seem that this medium aura can be a good place to set up our covenant if we do not a higher one. We will needed to secure this location.
Having detected the strength of the aura, Quercus wants to determine its exact extent. He climbs up the northernmost hill, asks Japik if he is OK, tell him about the aura and once he finds out that the Bjornaer is just feeling dizzy will settle for another spell. This time he will make no preparations, just concentrate and go for it.
Cast spont spell with fatigue (once he has recovered). Strong voice and gestures :
B1 (Detect the presence of a mystical aura), +4 sight = InVi5.
InVi casting total 2int+4In+5Vi+3aura=14 + D10
A few seconds (one round) should be enough to take a look around and determine the extension of the aura from the top of the hill. If there are other Auras within sight range he might be able to glimpse them as well. He will cast this two or 3 times taking time to recover, but the battery of sponts should be doable in 10 minutes or so if the first spell is not enough to determine the extent of the whole aura.
Japik sits on top of the hill for a long while recovering from the vertigo but also enjoying the view from his more stable position. When Quercus climbs up he asks him about his findings and is happy to learn the strength of the aura. He stands up slowly and looks around to see how much he sees of the Oberland from this point. Can he see the village by the stairs for example?
((Yes, an aura of 3 is considered a good one. My usual descriptive levels for auras are 1-2 weak, 3-4 reasonably strong (or medium), 5-6 are very strong, and anything higher not usually encountered outside of a regio.))
((You'd have various ways of mapping out the aura. One is using the spell you describe below, using Sight range. Another would be repeatedly casting your previous spell at various points around the tree. Yet another would be casting a D:Conc version of Sense of Magical Power (ArM5 p.157) and walk around. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. But the spell you used before was D:Mom, so it couldn't determine the size and shape of the aura. Let me know if you acutally want to go through with the plan you outline below.))
(([strike]Note that Japik climbed the southern hill, not the northern one.[/strike] And how do you climb it? Mundanely, magically or by changing shape?))
As soon as Japik tries to stand again, vertigo takes hold of him again. Not as bad as the initial bout, but as soon as he looks out it gets worse and he starts swaying...
Carefully Pytheas walks to the cliff overlooking the sea, lies on his stomach, and looks down, looking at best he can at the cliff face. He does not quite know what he is looking for, a cave maybe ? A small beach ? Anything more than a sheer drop, really...