After the meeting with Stentorius, Wolfram asks for directions to find his fellow Verditius, Peter Von Würzburg. The mundanes he speaks to direct him to Peter's tower, but when he shows up there he is told that Peter is currently in the vineyards. Following those indications, Wolfram foreys outside of the covenant walls and into the extensive vineyards. It takes time, but eventually he finds him speaking to some of the workers.
"See here? You need to dispense a dram-full of this powder amongst the roots of each trunk along this section. Don't put too much or the grapes will have a sour taste!"
Picking his way through the meticulously planted and arranged vines, Wolfram quickly and carefully makes his way to Peter. He had thanked the mundanes for pointing him the direction of the tower, and then again when more pointed him towards the vineyard. But walking about in ankle-deep dirt while trying to keep your balance and not wreck what a senior member of your house had done was no small task. And when you're small to begin with, the task is even larger. But keep his balance he did, and when he heard Peter speak, he knew he was on the right track. And of course he'd heard him speak before seeing him - the vines were taller than he was, so he had to rely on his ears to point him in the direction.
Eventually, he came to where Peter was giving instructions to the workers. Seems they had forgotten some small but important part of the task of keeping the plants healthy and alive; he'd had similar experiences with the mundanes back at Durenmar. Mundanes just weren't smart enough to remember to carry out even the simplest of tasks, and it had bothered Gudrun to no end when they had missed some small detail. He smiled at the memory of how she used to get so worked up. He allowed that smile to stay just until there was a definite lull in Peter's current conversation; at that moment, he brushed himself off and stood up fully.
"Excuse me, Master Peter. I am Wolfram Höger ex Verditius, first apprentice to Gudrun Tigurina ex Verditius. And, if I may be so bold as to borrow a few moments of your time, I would like to talk to you about our house, and our magic, and why it is that I am even here."
He bowed when he said his name; it wasn't a custom for the house or even for mages in general, but he felt it necessary to show the proper respect to a senior magus of his house. Especially one he wanted to learn from.
The black-haired, middle-aged man who had been speaking to the mundanes, as they all huddled around the roots of an intriguingly blue-tinted vine, stands up and brushes dirt from his hands. "Ah, greetings Wolfram! I wondered when I might have the pleasure of meeting you," he says with a smile. "My time you will have plenty of, if you are willing to share it with my grapes. For I can't neglect them, not at this time, indeed not. Come, let me show you some nice views, and we can talk as we walk."
He gestures toward the path made by two adjacent rows of vines planted on the same terrace. Wolfram notices that Peter's palm and finger tips are stained a reddish-purple, as are most surfaces of his formerly-white clothing. A pruning knife is tucked into the cord around his waist and a wine skin and a pouch hang from straps looped over one shoulder.
Before starting off down the path, Peter turns to speak to the mundanes, who are trying hard not to be rude in their visual inspection of the newcomer, "Now that you know what to do, please see it done." He then shifts his attention back to Wolfram, as they begin walking at a slow pace that is easy for Wolfram to maintain, "Regarding the first two topics you mentioned, I suggest we defer those for a later time, when we can sit down together over a bottle and focus on the inane and the arcane, respectively. As to your presence here, I thought it was you who submitted the application to come to Fengheld, no? What do you hope to achieve here?" These last questions were asked in a kind way.
Sadly, I concur. From previous PM to me it seemed clear that he was leaving. So I will be writing off his magus when things resume.
Is there a way to salvage your story using one of the other characters as an entry point? Otherwise I am on track to resume the more general story by mid-August.
(FWIW, I may not have the time to write much at the moment, but I still monitor what is being written. I can also post short answers to questions.)
Part of the relevancy of my story was that it offered a chance to earn Peter's respect, if the outcome was successful. So it would have benefited Wolfram the most, since he wanted to be Peter's Verditius buddy. It could still be a way for the young magi to win the good graces of a senior council member, but to do that, it seems to me that more than one of them should be in involved. Or at least, I think that the story would be more interesting if at least two magi were in it, and that there are some elements that Tamas might find interesting... But if he's out of the picture until mid-August too, then that leaves only Renatus. I guess I could run the story and play Ludovicus, but I'd rather not. It would be weird. Quandary. What do you think Bitter? Should we forge on? Does Renatus want Peter to potentially have his back?
This is your call, I've already played a (non PbP) campaign with the SG playing a character, that's a bit weird but that worked OK partly because Ars is more collective in the storytelling than most RPG in my experience. I'll be at home in 3 days and I'm on holidays till the end of august so I have plenty of time to post (and to help with prepwork if you need including the remaining grogs), even a few times per day so that's the best time for me. I'll be quite busy at the beginning of September.
Considering the interest of Renatus for Peter's support, that's not really a problem, he's not sure yet who's support he's gonna ask, the obvious choice is the other Bjoarner but that's probably not the path I'm gonna take as I'll probably going to need the support of someone with more political connections, I'm even considering the Tremere Archmagus to be honest even if his tendency to stick to the rule is going to be a pain in the *** (which is good storywise :mrgreen: ). So why not Peter, It's always good to be on good terms with several members of the covenant anyway : when everyone owes you one the votes are always in your favor . That's also a good time to role-play together.
Anyway don't feel compelled I simply want to have a good time playing Ars and now is the best time for me, but If you don't feel like It I'll just wait mid august for Arthur.
Great, I'll make the road trip back home during the night so I may not post immediatly this evening but only tomorrow. I'm sure the story will be nice.
. That's also a good time to role-play together.