That sounds right.
Scott
I think there's a few days in the middle missed out. My understanding is:
Day 1: Founders arrive. Magi explore the caves. Viola leaves on her hunt for sacrificial animals. Grogs unload supplies and remove traps from forest.
Day 2: Viola continues her hunt for a sacrificial animal, whilst the rest of the magi continue exploring the vicinity of the covenant. Tasia and Petrus visit Arslan's sick son in the village.
Day 3: Portia's caladrius (Galenus) heals Arslan's sick son. Viola returns from her hunt. Gregorius is still exploring the locale.
Day 4: Charter signed. Tasia elected. Viola and the Grogs throw a party and gain access to the faerie regio inside the temple. (I'd assumed the party was day 5, but may well be wrong.)
Day 5: Portia begins creating labs. (Spoiler: Viola will most likely emerge from the Temple in the morning, and have the day to do things). Tasia explores the caves more(?).
Day 6: Gregorious meets with headman of the village. Patrick arrives, and spends the day warding places? Portia continues to create labs. [Note, Gregorius didn't go to the village until a couple of days after the Council meeting. I'm assuming Patrick didn't arrive until Gregorius had left, but am happy to be contradicted.]
Day 7: Patrick continues to ward things. Portia continues to create labs. Ghosts should arrive that night? [Or Day 8? Or even earlier?]
Day 8: Patrick spends the day casting Lamp of Significance, Ring of Candlelight, and Ring of Summer Breezes.?
Gregorius will spend most of his time exploring the countryside around the covenant, trying to get an idea of the terrain. Alcimus is usually with him.
I should bring Gregorius into the thread to meet Patrick IC. (Next post.)
He'll ask Patrick not to cast a Ward Against the Beasts of Legend on his lab, as he'd like Alcimus to be able to enter it. (He also suggests that Viola may have similar concerns with her butterfly). He's also unenthusiastic about having the main building warded with the spell, for the same reason, although prepared to consider the idea.
[OOC: Does Ward Against Legendary Beasts work for a spell cast as a result of Magic Addiction? I thought if you were casting a formulaic it had to be of equal or higher level? You can probably flex it up somehow. I think this also means the ease factor to avoid magic addiction for the second spell is going to be higher...]
Patrick warded the main building on his first day (Day 5 by your calendar), so Gregorious wouldn't have had a chance to give input on that. You're right about the Magic Addiction, but my thinking was that he already knew he was getting another toke on the magic bong as it were, as he was intending to cast the Beast Ward before failing his addiction roll.
Patrick also knows Arcane Ring Ward vs Demons 20 (ReVi 25) and Ward vs Faeries (ReVi 15). He was intending to cast those after the ghosts, but since he failed his addiction roll, maybe Gregorius discussed casting one of those? Alternately, we can say he spont'd the Mundane Elemental Intrusions ward -- warding against mundane Au/Aq/Ig/Te threats.
[Okay, so Patrick arrived before Gregorius made his village visit? I'll say Gregorius was out exploring again to be consistent with him not being around when he arrived.
On the spell casting: the flexed up ward against demons works, as does a sponted anti-elemental ward. Alternatively, if he'd been planning to cast the ward against legendary beasts anyway, then maybe still cast it but flexed up in some manner?
Depending on what gets cast, Gregorius may well end up deliberately breaking the circle (although depending on how willing Patrick seems to be to recast the ward against spirits, possibly not until after the first appearence of the ghosts).]
Gregorius arrives back in the early evening from another day (5) exploring. He's a lean man, of medium height with dark brown hair. His clothing is practical for a day's hiking, and a bag hangs from his belt, clearly weighted. At his side lopes an enormous white wolf, the size of an average pony.
He stops, surprised, when he sees the tents on the outskirts of the covenant, then picks up his pace, scanning the covenant grounds for any other unexpected signs. On finding the circles around the main building, he pauses, and doesn't cross over the line. Instead, after looking at it, he turns, casts a spell, then begins to head for the caves. Alcimus follows, but seems to keep much of his attention on the main building.
I think we had played it as Patrick arrived in the covenant while Gregorius was at the village. ~shrug~
It's two circle spells, using the inner and outer edge of the same thin ring of stone/earth/whatever. Chip at the outer edge of the circle and lose one spell while keeping the other, was the idea. For the labs, I'm wondering if he could have managed to scribe the rings on the ceiling -- wards are his specialty, he'd know tricks like that.
Since you've just "entered stage right" on Day 5, we can play out the discussion of your ward preferences in character.
Patrick rests wearily on the lip of the ruined fountain in the center of Tanais. His short, wiry body is hunched over in exhaustion, and his leather hunter's garb is drenched in sweat. He clutches an ornate book, clearly a hermetic tome of some kind, to his chest, his knuckles turning white as he feebly attempts to reclaim his body from the junkie shakes. Perhaps an onlooker notices that upon his belt hangs a bag similar to Gregorius's, equally weighted for similar purposes, but perhaps they do not.
Patrick opens his eyes and stares at the main building, now covered in an intricate etching of hexagons. The geometric precision caused by his loss of control seems a wicked irony to him, and shame strikes deep to his core. Tears well up, blurring his sight, and the building seems to form the shape of his beloved Maeve, cradling young Leah, the two of them wreathed in hexagonal flames. He shuts his eyes and seeks for control again, working the strange mathematical formulas that are almost spells.
By rote, he calculates the magical aura near the fountain. Then he takes a breath and counts out the faerie aura by rote. Another breath, and he checks for the strength of a divine aura. Another, and he seeks the strength of infernal auras by rote. Each rote formula gives him a tiny nudge of The Rush, but he stays in control.
After performing his calming ritual three times, he opens his eyes to stare at the travesty he had wrought in earth and rubble beside the main building....but sees a massive white wolf instead.
"Whoa, nellie!" he whispers in Animal Ken, loud enough for the familiar to hear him. "My, but you're a great shaggy magnificence of a thing, ain't ya?"
He relaxes his grip on the Analects and reaches his hand out, as if to call out to the magus and his familiar, but his hand still shakes with its junkie tremble. Quickly, he grips the book tight to his chest again, before painting an inexpert smile across his face and standing up.
"Now sure'n tis you who be the Merinita I've heard so much about." he calls out in rogue-ishly accented Latin to Gregorius. "Viola, isn't it? T'was told you'd be hard to miss, with that gorgeous familiar of yours, and so I say that I've spotted you, 'spite o' your disguise."
Perhaps, he muses, someday he won't need to play these fool games in order to look another magus in the eye.
[That was what had been played originally, I think, yes, but then you'd posted that Patrick had cast the ward on day 5 (my calendar), but Gregorius didn't go to the village until day 6. ~Shrug~. I'm not sure it actually matters very much, and Gregorius will probably have returned later from exploring than he did from the village, so there's plenty of time to have cast spells in his absence either way.]
On spotting the unfamiliar man near the fountain, Gregorius changes his path, and heads towards him. He looks puzzled at Patrick's initial incomprehensible (to him) growlings, until Alcimus responds in slightly flawed Latin:
"Nellie? Do I look like a she-wolf? You're right to recongnise the magnificence, however, so I can overlook it. I am Alcimus."
He looks slightly smug, but doesn't take his eyes off Patrick.
On Patrick's address to him, Gregorius' face briefly attains a frown, although it's quickly banished to a more neutral expression.
"Salve" he pauses a moment, and then continues, "sodalis, I assume? Your information is somewhat confused, I fear. The white wolves have never been associated with House Merinita. I am Gregorius, of Tremere." He glances at the book Patrick is holding. "Yourself?"
I think that's more correct. At any rate, the important thing is that I wanted the magi to have a few days to get ready before the ghosts appear.
Scott
Patrick locks eyes with the wolf for a moment, then deliberately blinks and tilts his head to the side, bearing his neck to the beast -- he's unwilling to engage in a fight for alpha status so soon. "Nellie's the name of a she-wolf near Brussels who'd love to meet you, fair Alcimus. Let me know if you ever wish an introduction."
He straightens to face Gregorious, revealing the of Tytalus part of the embossed title on his book. "Ah, your pardon, Gregorius. I fear much of the information I was given about this covenant seems wrong. Well met, little brother. I am called Patrick the Unrepentant, and I claim the honor of being the first guest of yon fledgling outpost here. I've spent the day casting wards in preparation fer the translucent guests we be expecting, and have not yet had time to roam the fields. You seem to be coming in from a hunt, but carry no game. Have you found anything worthy to hunt?"
OK, updating:
Day 4: As her first task Tasia assigns the former storeroom to Petrus as the infirmary. She proposes making the large foyer a very elegant entry (Grand Entrance & Studio) to display various works by the magi. Other than that she enjoys the festivities. Vrahos had some fun entertaining at the festivities by launching mostly burnt logs (at the point when they're just glowing red) over the water and striking them with large enough rocks to make them explode into pieces in the air over the water. (Tasia insisted on it being over the water.)
Day 5: Tasia walked around with her magical vision, investigating the area. Vrahos started working in the large lab.
Day 6: Tasia continued her investigation. She then met Patrick and went around with him as he started placing wards. Vrahos continued in the lab.
Day 7: Tasia continued her investigation and her work with Patrick. Vrahos continued in the lab.
On Day 8 Tasia is planning to start investigating the flooded chambers, but I'm not sure we're there yet.
Tasia's Lab (at the end of the first season):
The overall floor space is about 2350 square feet. She's going to section off 350 square feet to serve as her bedroom outside of the lab (she doesn't want to live in her lab) but also away from the grogs. That leaves 2000 square feet for the lab.
Aura +5
Size +6 (0)
Refinement 0
General Quality +10
Upkeep +3
Safety +4
Warping 0
Health -4
Aesthetics -4
Specialties - Vis Extraction +1, Terram +1
Awkward Shape (-1): -2 Safety, -1 Aesthetics
Basic (0): -3 General Quality
Empty x3 (0): -1 Health, -1 Aesthetics
Familiar (0): +12 General Quality, +3 Safety
Spacious (+1): +2 Safety, +1 Aesthetics
Superior Equipment (0): +1 General Quality, +2 Upkeep, +1 Safety, +1 Vis Extraction
Subterranean (0): +1 Upkeep, -1 Health, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Terram
"Yes, those sound like good ideas. But with the unknown danger nearby I plan to keep several grogs around for defense. I'll send out those I can spare to search for materials." Tasia sends out a few looking. She's not worried about transporting things yet as that can be done more easily with magic.
Upon hearing the commotion Tasia heads over to Gregorious and Patrick. "Welcome back, Gregorious. I see you have already met Patrick. He just arrived with the understanding that there would be guest labs available." She subtly smiles as she says the last. "I haven't found much here. I plan to search the flooded labs soon. Did you discover anything about our magical neighbors while in town?"
Alcimus says nothing, although he does look slightly interested.
An expression flits over Gregorius' face at the book's title and "little brother" that Patrick isn't quite able to read, although he can no doubt hazard a guess. When he speaks, his tone is friendly enough.
"Welcome. I fear the covenant is not yet as set up for guests as we would like it to be, and your assistance with the ghosts is certainly appreciated. That is what the circles around the buildings are? My own time has largely been spent getting to know the local terrain rather than hunting per se. Viola, however, did go on a hunting trip the other day, so she might be worth talking to if you are interested. May I ask if it that which brings you to us?"
Gregorius shakes his head. "The village has a wisewoman, although the headman claims her powers are minor. Other than that, he claims ignorance of anything beyond legends. I'm planning to go back to the village and speak with their wise woman in a couple of days, and see if I can get the legends, or better, their substance. Similarly, he says he doesn't know the identity of those who attacked us. It's not implausuble, given the good relationship the village apparently had with the previous covenant, although it unfortunately also wasn't the time and place to check on his veracity."
"On more mundane matters, he confirmed that the village would be interested in buying stone from us, so that's definitely worth setting up when we can. It may also be possible to arrange for them to sell us fish once our supplies start to run down, if we want or need to."
Patrick doesn't seem to be patronizing or mocking when he says "little brother." It's more like he's offering the sort of casually friendly derision that brothers often give each other.
"Wards, yes. They're something of a hobby of mine. The hexagonal pattern indicates a ward against demons. If the ghosts prove infernal in nature, the grogs have a secure retreat. I've also been casting circles against ghosts, and legendary beasts. I've done about half of the explored caves so far, and can go back and protect against other incursions later, if people desire -- faeries, fires, flooding, you name it." Though his cheeks color slightly as he mentions the demon ward, the Irish accent nearly disappears as he discusses business.
"And yes again: you have rightly surmised my purpose here, brother. I'm hoping to find exotic game worthy of taming and selling to a magus capable of providing me with a longevity potion. Though, I'm quite excited to have arrived so much earlier in your covenant's establishment than I thought to. Ireland is quite overrun with covenants, and I have long dreamed of forging a home out of the wilderness.
"I'm particularly intrigued by Tasia's stories regarding the confusion in reports on the aura levels here. I have an idea for a Working which would help us monitor aura fluctations, a derivation of the theories of Justinius Tremendi in the application of visible signifiers in self-sustaining spells. In essence, I propose to ensorcel lamps so that they burn at a brightness directly related to the aura strength they are fueled by. However, if we wish to do the job properly, we'll need to cast quite a number of them, and so many ever-burning lamps could have some drawbacks. It speaks quite visibly of wealth and power, at the very least. What are your thoughts, little brother?"
OOC: Justinius Tremendi wrote the Intellego summa and tractatus in our library.
"I'm afraid my arrival has been quite a distraction for our Quaesitor, and hope that my assistance with the spirits shall make up for her lost time. I've a mind to join you when you talk to this wise woman, as I'm interested in local legends of a different sort, but perhaps it would be better for me to speak with the local fauna, instead. What say you to this bargain, little brother: if you will ask the wise woman about exotic beasts as well as these other legends, then I will seek both such stories from among the four-footed, once we've ascertained the ghost situation."
"Ah! This reminds me. Are either of you well-versed in the vagaries of the mind? My consort, Leon, has been suffering from a spell-induced delusion for nigh on five years now. It seems a misspoken incantation has left him believing that he is a fish that has been transformed into a man, and that if he serves me well, I'll release him from his 'unnatural' servitude."
After a quick pause he adds, "T'was not my fault! I swear it! At the very least, please make sure no one tries to feed him any fish. It rather vexes him.
As for income, we have a chirugeon of some age, skill, and verbosity, have we not? The locals here may never have seen Proper Medicine before, so perhaps we could harness that as a source of income or allies. These leper guardsmen could add to that mystique, if we position ourselves correctly."
[Oops. I forgot to re-rename the Intellego tractatus. This is what happens when you go through a lot of iterations of library...]
"A ward against faeries around the temple may well be needed, although I suppose a decision will have to wait on the results of Viola's investigation of the regio there. There's certainly a faerie regio in there, though, and I'm inclined to prefer anything in there not trouble the rest of the covenant. Where have you warded against legendary beasts? I'd prefer not to have Alcimus here" - he scratches the wolf's head - "blocked from anywhere without discussing it first."
He thinks a moment.
"A ward - or set of wards, for safety against flooding would also be useful. I don't know if you've been told about the water behind the rubble on the lower floors?" He pauses and thinks for a few more moments before continuing. "Actually, that could be a way to drain the caves. Ward off separate blocks of it, use Perdo Aquam on those, repeat. We couldn't manage a spell to drain the caves in one go - certainly not spontaneously - but that might be managable. Problem would be to get the wards in places they'd cut off the water flow, and get them in place in the first place - are you any good with Lungs of the Fish and casting silently?"
"Viola mentioned a herd of magical horses that may be of interest to you. I am afraid I do not know of any longevity specialists to recommend, but I am new to the tribunal myself."
"I have seen we have a copy of some of Justinius' works, but not had a chance to study them yet, unfortunately." He smiles. "It's on my list of things to do, but, alas, half-way down. Something to monitor aura fluctuations would be useful - at the moment, we don't even know how often they're fluctuating, just that they are different now to what the Redcaps reported, which was different from what the previous covenant had. Getting rapid warning of changes might help us to pinpoint a cause, which would be very useful. I'll also note that, thanks to a quirk with our Aegis, we already have a covenant site that glows red at night, so looking obviously magical is not going to have a major impact. We know we likely already have enemies; a visible display of power might help rather than harm, even if it's not martial in nature. Done tastefully, it shouldn't hurt with visiting magi."
You speaking with the fauna is probably the better path, at least initially. I've been trying to minimise the amount the villagers meet non-gently gifted magi, at least until they're a little more used to having us here."
He simply looks slightly bemused at Leon's predicament.
"I've offered the assistance of Petrus to the local villagers already, although I suspect they'll leave calling him in for major complaints. Probably just as well they can't understand him, given the nature of his "verbosity". I'm hoping in a little while he can take on a couple of apprentices from the village - give us a replacement as he grows more infirm, and give the village a wiseman with ties to us."
[I just assumed it was a commentary on the summa. But then, I tend to design my libraries to be hotbeds of nepotism.]
Patrick turns to address Alcimus directly in his own tongue. "Alcimus, I've already warded the main building against those of your stature. It....took me some effort to do. Do you want access to the building? I can break the ward if it is important."
After listening to Alcimus's answer, Patrick addresses Gregorius again. "I should be able to break the Beast Wards without affecting the Spirit Wards, but unless necessary, I'd like to wait until we are finished dealing with the ghosts, since the wards are set up as different faces of the same coin. Shall I ward your sanctum against the Fair Folk, then, instead of Beasts? It's nearly the same amount of work to do two wards as one."
Patrick's attention seems to turn to some interior landscape, as his eyes glaze over and he tries to do the math. After a few seconds, he grunts in frustration, and drops to his knees, grabs a stick and starts doing geometry in the dirt. He refers frequently to the Analects of Tytalus as he does so. "Are the caves naturally or man-made? Is there any structural or hermetic significance to the layout of the corridors? If the caves enjoy Euclidean perfection, there are, as Tytalus is fond of saying, many ways to eviscerate an Undine Warrior. It may be easier to just take control of the water directly, or there may be ways to create the ward circles without getting wet. The question is, what is the easiest option?"
Patrick definitely seems interested, but allows the conversation to shift to more immediate concerns.
"Ah, excellent! I never did finish reading his greater collection. That is a magus who knows a thing or two about knowing things. Is the glow an effect of the.....but that can wait until later. As for artistry, I am not a Verditus. Do we have any craftsmen to make the lamps which I'd ensorcel?"
After dividing the labor of inquiry amicably, he adds, "Wiseman? We should be cautious about their preferences for such roles within their tribal structure. Savages can be touchy about such things."
"Yes, Gregorious, this wise woman may be the next best person to approach. We don't care much how much power she has so much that there is a good chance she will be aware of other power nearby. If you would like me to go with you, I can translate very well and can handle individuals without too much difficulty from the Gift."
Thinking for a moment about what she just passed Tasia jumps tracks to talk to Patrick. "Come to think of it, Patrick, with your talent for circles could I have you light and heat a number of different rooms around the covenant? I think I would like to make some portable 'torches' that could be mounted around the covenant site, too, for outdoor lighting at night. It would be helpful for our sentries. Perhaps a wooden pole with an iron band around the top and the iron band serving as the circle?"
When Patrick asks about his friend, Tasia responds, "I could take a look at him. I can't promise anything, but I have some skill digging about in persons' minds."
Later, "Yes, Gregorious, I was thinking the same thing about warding against flooding. I will soon start examining those labs through their walls. I want to know what we have to deal with on the other side before having to deal with the flooding again."
As mentioned before, there's a substantial wood some ways to the north. You'd probably want to check with the villagers before felling timber, though.
Of course, the whole plateau is made of limestone--the caves are, in effect, a quarry.
Scott
"Leon has a gift for languages, as well. If relations are good with these neighbors, he should spend a few seasons hunting with this people. That's for the long term, though."
"Oh, and Gregorius, if you're going back there soon, could you ask about timber rights? Unless we're going to start quarry operations, we need building material."
"Oh, it's less of a talent and more like a preference, you might say. I find circles quite....delightful. I'm quite handy with The Ring of Candlelight, but I don't have anything memorized that is any brighter, I would have to perform the spells ritually, and then I might as well create these torches as the Lamps of Significance that we've been discussing. Though, if we're talking about displays of power, perhaps we should consider something more....opulent than just a never-ending torch.
"I'd be grateful. It's a terrible shame, what he goes through. And I miss eating fish."
"Wards in the dry spaces shouldn't be a problem. For the flooded sections, it might be easier for me to just command the water to move back, or turn into ice and then have the grogs carve it out. There might be some interesting things I could do with accurate maps, especially if there are smooth surfaces in those rooms...."
Patrick angrily scratches out the diagrams he's been making in the dirt. "I don't think I'm skilled enough for my first idea -- it's a spell of the 6th magnitude, and I just don't think I could pull it off reliably without vis. Perhaps we could generate a sphere of air around me, so that I could still speak? I confess, I've never really tried to ward a person from mundane things like weapons or water. I suppose the principles are the same..."
OOC: Arcane Circle/Ring versions of a ReAq ward would be 30, I think. Base 5, +1 Touch, +3 Arcane Ring, +1 Arcane Circle. Not sure if my Minor Focus: Wards applies for a Personal ward vs water, since I was trying to avoid the pink dot BS.