Holding a finger up to the magi Betula explains to Mordred, "We are looking for a place to settle and there may be a good place... Ummm," switching to Latin and addressing Cath'rinne, "can you point towards where this aura is located? And how far is it?" [Assuming she does] switching back to Saxon she tells them and says, "Can the forest tell you anything of that place?"
She describes what she saw in general terms from up in the sky, and the location of the area.
Obstetrix has been silent, but mostly because she was careful to cast several spells. One was to check the father's health, just to be on the safe side, and the other to commune with the forest.
"We should investigate that Aura, if only so we know where exactly it is, and some of what's in it. But I daresay that even as we march north, we shouldn't go too far, for the war isn't over just yet, and am not sure about either of you, but am not a combatant, and we did hear rumors of a magical battle that took place further north, possibly within this kingdom, if the Aelderman's men are out looking for those responsible."
Spell rolls are on Discord
Cath'rinne nods. "I hear you. I'm not a Flambeau obviously, although I'm not defenseless either if it comes down to it... " She takes a moment to think. "I agree about exercising a degree of caution, and I don't plan on actively waging war. Although... I can't say the idea of picking the bones of a magical battlefield clean doesn't interest me. By that, I mean looting any hermetic resources that may have been dropped from either sides that may help in founding our covenant and were missed or ignored in the aftermath."
“I have no idea exactly where any fighting is happening but I can’t say I feel welcome here in Mercia. Even if we were far off any road,” she says to her sodales*, “I would like to try to visit Castellum Veridian, the covenant where my apprenticeship began. To… to see if anything is left.” Then, turning to the boy, “earlier you spoke of a group that waged magical war… can you tell us if their fighting is still happening? Can the trees tell you?” At the last part Betula takes on a reverent tone.
- sodalas? Feminine? Anyone know?
When the magi discuss in Latin and point to the West, Mordred and the father whisper together with a concerned look on their faces.
When Betula asks about on-going war, Mordred answer, «No. Nobody shows there magic anymore. We just hide from Eadric.»
«Yes,» says the father. «The large big battle around here was at the White Horse¹ two years ago, I think. That's a little East of Nottingham. There is rumours that the fighting has moved North, but I am not sure.»
Then Mordred asks, «what have you found to West?» and points. «Is that where you are going?»
Obstetrix' spell only confirms that the father has taken a beating and will ache for a week or so, but no lasting injury. I suppose the intuition of the forest is just a buff for when you venture off the road, or?
I believe this was missed.
As Betula mentions this, Cath'rinne asks her "Where is this Castellum Veridian you speak of?"
Assuming the translation keeps up, Cath'rinne answers. "A place of magical power. I don't know much more about it. Do you know the area? It's about a day on foot through the woods, going west, from a bit further up north."
“Castellum Veridian is… perhaps was, in Sherwood forest. It is a large forest for these isles, I have heard of much larger forests in the east of the continent but have not seen them. Nottingham is the largest town near Sherwood.”
Mordred and the father stick their heads together again to talk privately, before they look up, quite disconcerted. «Please, keep that secret. It is one of the few good places that Eadric's men are still unaware of.» The father looks at you with pleading eyes. «We should only head back there when we are certain that there is nobody at our tail.»
He adds, «I am Malhad, by the way, healer of our people. We live in the forest; moving around to avoid the witch hunters. Wizard is too strong a word, I think, but even so, Eadric does not approve of my powers. What is a hedge wizard?»
"Nice to meet you, Malhad. We hide from Eadric as well as you do, in case you haven't realized it. You seem to be concerned there are people on our tail. No doubt there are folks in that town wondering where you went, but what makes you think they could be onto us? I teleported you from the jail to this coach, sitting some 500 paces away from the prison. They'll search the entire town for you, most likely, before they realize you're no longer there. And since you left no tracks, they'll have a hard time figuring out how you left town without being seen by anyone. There was magic use in the square... if they suspected those here, we couldn't have left town with the coach. They shouldn't be able to locate us, although we do have to figure out how to hide the coach if we leave the road, or whether we should catch up to it later..."
She takes a moment to consider her next words. "An hedge wizard is someone who has limited forms of magical powers, such as your healing and your ability to speak through mind speech. Are there a lot of talented people like you and your son among your people? Is that place connected to your people?"
«I don't know. They could have tailed Mordred, couldn't they? We cannot afford any risks. We are not as many as we used to be, and there are not so many good places to hide from the witch hunters. We really can't risk anything. We have risked too much. We have to be sure.»
«The powers are not so rare. Not so unnatural as Eadric wants to believe. You just need to have the patience to listen; to find your role. Some become healers. Some become animal lords. Some become seers. But those who close their eyes and ears will never find their true self.»
"No. I took your son who they were looking for into hiding outside of town. Then I turned into my heartbeast, and I spent a lot of time flying above the woods, watching. And I flew through the forest. If they had tailed him... if they had tailed us, I would have spotted them before the group made its way to the coach unless they were invisible somehow, and I doubt someone who persecutes magic users has invisible agents. I have good eyes when I fly, and a scout hiding from humans from behind a tree rarely thinks about the bird thirty feet in the air who sees him between the branches. Even if he does think to hide from the bird... it doesn't really matter. The smell of a human is quite distinctive when you're in a forest. I would have known." She seems quite sure of herself, or her senses, as she speaks.
She pauses for a moment. "We saved your life. We hid your son from the patrols who were looking for him and who would likely have brought him to your side to torture him too. Our magic is powerful, and we can offer your son and yourself a future, if you assist us. I think your and your son's special skills would be of value if you joined us. Conceivably, we could also take in others from those you call your people. But that will require you to trust us and be more forthcoming with what you know. If your instinct is fighting it... that may be a reaction to my gift. There's a reason I usually avoid towns."
«Oh. The Gift,» says Mordred with awe, «like Alric the Wise you mean. You remember when he came.» He looks at his father for confirmation, and turns back to Cath'rinne as he continues, «I did not like him. But they say he the most powerful wizard of the forests of England.»
«Maybe.» The father hesitates. «I do not want to be ungrateful. We are just used to being cautious. It has become a habit, and a necessity. Now we are, of course, in the same boat. Shapeshifting is such a rare Gift, and what you did to get me out of gaol is ... I have never seen anything like it.»
He pauses, pondering, before he continues. «We can go to our camp to rest. I think we should. Most secrets are not mine to share, but given that you have already seen the location of this one, I think we can go without asking the elder.»
She nods. "Thank you."
OOC: Rolled Int+Order of Hermes Lore of 11 in case she might have heard of an Alric the wise.
Cath'rinne turns to her sodales and the companions. "I think the key question is what do we do with the coach. Do we hide it, and if so how? Do we have a way to let it cross over unfavorable terrain like that without losing its wheels or leaving weird tracks? Or do we let it continue ahead for a while to hide our entry into nature and catch up with it later? If we leave the coach behind, who do we leave with it? Bearing in mind that, while I can fly there quickly, most of us are on foot and we're looking to walk for a day, so any sun duration spell will run out before we return."
Malhad urge you to hide the coach, or drive it far away from where you enter the forest. «We need to do all we can to hide our tracks.» He does not offer any ideas to how though.
Betula overhears him talking to Mordred about a wizards more powerful than any wizard of the forest, including Alric the wise. They were the ones to wage war, and cause such destruction on the land.
The name Alric means nothing to Cath'rinne. It sounds more like a Saxon hedgie than an Hermetic magus.
"My skills at Muto are sadly lacking, but if we take the coach off-road, I can cast a spell that will increase the speed at which the plants grow, and it should be enough to hide the coach from casual eyes. If our friends here are willing to show us to a camp of their people, we should take them up on their kind offer, and find out more about what's going on here, before we head off to see Castellum Veridian. Plus, I'll admit that meeting other healers is of much interest to me."
Cath'rinne explains her idea to lift the coach to protect the wheels while hiding the tracks, then camouflage the coach deeper in the woods and hopes one of her sodales will do the former.
She will step out of the coach then cast Trackless Step with a group target for the horses dragging the coach, herself and any accompanying horsemen / footmen. Spell level 20.
This will normally take 1 stamina for spontaneous casting / 2, and 2-3 extra stamina points based on the roll. Ceremonial casting total with ReTe of 16. DiceParser is not responding so I'll let the GM roll the dice.
Edit: GM rolled a 7, so that's 2 extra stamina, for a total of 3.
Obstetrix takes on her Heartbeast form, before starting casting the spell to lift the cart, so that it doesn't leave any tracks, while Cath'rinne's spell takes care of the horses' tracks, including Obstetrix's own. For some reason she took a smug moment to savor this, but then, with a nigh, she began to cast the spell. It wasn't a spell she has learned, but it was supposed to be within her power to do it, and because of that, she cast it ceremonially, so that it has a better chance of success.
OOC: has +20 casting bonus, ReHe10 spell.
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Mordred and Malhad watch the operation with awe, mumbling between themselves. «How did they do it?» «This is beyond even Alric the Wise. This looks like the warlocks of the White Horse or their enemies could do these things.» Then suddenly he lowers his voice and whispers to Mordred while watching Betula out of the corner of his eye.
Until then, they made no attempt of secrecy, so Betula and or Saxons are likely to have got the gist of their conversation.
The spells work well, and the magæ move the wagons 25 paces into the woods before they hit an obstacle which make them lose concentration on the spells. This took about 15 minutes, to navigate the wagons between trees and branches, plus the ceremonial casting time. I suppose 25 paces suffice. There is plenty of materials for camouflage.
Cath'rinne will ask the grogs and companions to start to camouflage the coach. She is trying to recover a bit before she leaves the coach. Assuming someone translates what Mordred and Malhad are discussing between them, she will ask them "What do you know about these White Horse warlocks and their enemies?"