Amphora is informed that Polycarpus and another magi have returned, and she soon arrives at the designated chamber. Standing ramrod straight with her helm tucked under her arm, she crisply nods at both magi in turn as she raises her buckler before her chest; a vision of her face appears in the center of the metal disk and speaks in Romaic Greek.
"Greetings, brothers! I am Amphora, student of Boustaphan and follower of Tremere. I thank you for the hospitality of your household and ask a few moments of your time, so that I may relay my master's instructions that sent me here."
Welcome here, soldae. I am Polycarpus, first amongst equals here at the covenant. This is Atlas Ex Tremere also a guest here. Come and join us over a bottle of wine and we shall speak of the matters that you wish to speak of. Polycarpus summons servants and bring forth one pitcher of golden wine and one filled with deep red wine. Along with that there is some fruit, bread, cheese and dried meat. Polycarpus shows his guests to the area near his laboratory where he receives guest.
Greetings, sister. Polycarpus and I were out exploring a ruin. It's tainted by a weak infernal aura. The ground around the ruin appears to be swallowing it up. We both experienced acute headaches when close to the ruin. There also appears to be a spawn of Typheous, or Satan, if you're religously inclined, born of a ewe. It has the front shape of a lamb and the hindquarters of a snake. It is a bit sickly, but also contains a pawn of vis, which I imagine it is tainted.
What brings you here? My parens, Iaeptus, suggested that this covenant might be a place where one of my kind could be welcomed. My hope is that we do not bring any internal Tremere tension by being here together.
Atlas enjoyes some wine and cheese, and quietly contemplates the coming of the full moon, trying to recount the days since the last one.
OOC: I would've left my parent's home shortly after the last full moon, allowing me enough time to travel to the covenant and construct my home, including excavation of a basement structure to secure myself.
Amphora grins and eagerly nods as she follows the two magi to the dining chamber; she accepts a glass of red wine and piles her trencher high with bread, meats and cheese. After so long at sea, she tears into the repast with a weary soldier's appetite; though her own mouth is full, the spectral one she's summoned forth is not so impaired.
"The very table groans with the weight of your hospitality! My brethren-in-arms will be informed of your generosity."
The young warrior maga frowns, an expression echoed by her phantasmal twin.
"I'm afraid I know little of the ways of the Fallen Ones, though any skills that I do possess and the strength of my limbs are at your service, as are those of my servants. As to my purpose here, I shall show you."
Loudly sucking the meat juices from her thumb, she pulls out a leather mapcase, a tube some two feet in length. She withdraws a large piece of parchment, which she spreads over the table. moving the salt cellar and a few other items out of the way.
"My master decreed that I erect and maintain a signal tower in the Roman style, to better transmit messages to the ships of our fleet, and from them to the land. The hope is that I may find a covenant near the sea that will both benefit from my aid and not object to such a structure, which would also serve as my santum and living quarters. The design would be thus-"
Amphora withdrew a small bottle of gall ink from her satchel, removed the stopper and poured a quantity of the dark liquid onto the treated goatskin; the very second the ink touched the parchment, it danced, flowed and spread across the surface, in no time depicting a simple box tower of three floors. The maga spun the drawing around so that her fellow magi would receive the full effect; satisfied with the completed image, she crossed her arms, nodded and popped an olive in her mouth.
"Something along these lines; yes, that turned out rather well, don't you think? And if such a structure would displease you, might you direct me to a nearby covenant you feel would be more amenable to such plans?"
OOC: Multicasting Phantasm of the Talking Head so she doesn't run out of words!
Polycarpus: I welcome every magus who wish to settle here. But I must ask you about this tower. Is this the only interest that your house has in this region? I would not have a problem with one such structure, after all we gain a soldae and we help or brothers and sisters of the Order. However I did foun this covenant in order to support the freedom of magi so outside influences and especially powerful interests are something that I am somewhat suspicious of. The last covenant I lived at where a much more authoritarian one and that suffocated a lot of young magi. Don’t take this personally but I strongly believe in freedom.
Amphora shakes her head and lays both palms face down upon the table.
"I fully appreciate your concern." She indicates Atlas with a nod. "It is true that our House makes no small plans, and yes, this tower is part of something larger, but only as a method of communicating between our brother and sisters at sea; House Tremere has no desire to bring conflict to this isle, especially between magi."
She sighs and rubs her face with her hand, her eyes scanning the various objects on the table; at length, she takes her trencher and sets it firmly at the end of her arms reach.
"This is Black Sea, where our ships travel to on a regular basis." She then takes a scrap of parchment in her left hand and lays it flat some distance away. "This is Epirus, the great arm of land that thrusts deep into the sea, with Morea at the tip." She points at an area just 'north' of the parchment. "And the Transylvanian Tribunal is up here."
She traces an invisible path with her finger, down the western coast of 'Epirus', around the tip of 'Morea' and towards the 'Black Sea'. "A journey by sail is quicker than going over land, but still takes a great deal of time; of course, spellcraft allows even greater speed, but one cannot always depend on spells, for a wide variety of reasons. But-" She places her cup midway between the Black Sea and Epirus, and then places her inkpot between the space that remains. "A series of signal towers such as the one I am tasked to build allow mundane communication, at great speed, that is fast, dependable and flexible. It would not replace Redcaps and the countless other means we have available, but supplement them and ease the burden on our preexisting lines of communication. The Romans used such a system for hundreds of years."
She stops, takes a deep breath, and soberly raises her cup to her lips, as though she'd actually used them to deliver this rather passionate monologue.
"I strongly feel that towers such as these may one day be the key to the Order's continued existence."
Polycarpus: I see your point and I think that a few more of my soldaes need to hear your words. Now perhaps I can intrigue you with strange phenomena that we are investigating… Polycarpus tells the story about the suspected infernal aura and the lamb (see above). Do you have any ideas on what this mystery means?
The Tremere maga frowns as she wipes her mouth on edge of her robe. "This sounds rather serious! What do we know of the history of this site? As I understand it, such a sinister influence may be the result of some ancient atrocity, a foul crime where innocent blood was spilled. Or perhaps one of the island witches?" She shrugs as she takes another sip of wine. "If you plan to return to this foul place, I'd be happy to join you and bring my grogs along, if you think their strength would be of use."
We are planning to return there, Polycarpus speaks, but we thought that it where best to return and think some about the situation and if we need then stock up on some supplies. How about this. I must be somewhat of a poor host as I have my lab work to tend to, there are crucial experiments in progress. Then I will return to you and we will eat and drink and speak of this foul place. I will order my servants to pack food and other supples so that we may return to this site tomorrow at first light. I am hesitant to spend the night near a such foul location. OOC: No clues…
(ooc - at some point Kalliste will return flying, and a while later Nestor and Caput will arrive, each in a ship, sailing together. Please let me know when we're present so we can start interacting)
A black cat with some white patches slips into the conferance room and as it see the other mages, it speaks up in latin. "Salve Sodales. I see two that I have not met before. I am always happy to see new visitors though the other news is not so good. I will need a few seasons in the lab before I go hunting hedge wizards."
A few days later the magi (both the residents of the covenant and the new guest) assemble in the covenants council hall. The council takes place in the evening after a formal dinner. Polycarpus has taken upn himself to lead the meeting. He speaks. We have gathered here to do two things. First we will listen to our two guests and then we will ask questions regarding their plea to enter the covenant. Later on we will decide and also we should speak about our strange and sinister findings on the island. Some of you know about this but I think that we all should think some more about the phenomena and what we must do about it. I will now leave the word to our guests and let them speak.
Having rested as a guest for a few days, the young speechless maga is now refreshed and dressed in a simple white robe tied at the waist, her feet shod with graceful sandals and her hair tied in a single dark braid that hangs down her back. With a nod to her host, she begins to 'speak' via the conjured face on the back of her chair. She places it facing away from the group, so while the voice seems to come from her direction, it's slightly muffled and her lips do not move, though her face is still highly animated as she states the case for her membership.
"Greetings, brothers and sister. I am Amphora, student of Boustaphanis and follower of Tremere, and I thank you all for the hospitality I have seen during my stay. I come to you seeking to join your covenant, if you will have me; it is true that as a servant of my master and Tribune, I have duties that I must perform, but at all times I would be your comrade in war and peace, your peer in council and art, and your sister in friendship and travail. The loose structure of your covenant appeals to me, as it would most easily allow me to fulfill my duties while still sharing the special bond that unites us all in our quest for knowledge. Magi are at their strongest when they stand not apart but together, sharing burdens and triumphs as one; please consider my pledge of membership, and judge for yourselves if I should stand among you."
She smiled as she looked from face to face.
"Ask me any question you wish, and I shall answer."
OOC: I didn't roll for her mastered spell, but I can if you wish.
Kalliste is in her feline form at the council table with a large fish to snack on during the meetings. She might look like someone's familiar if it wasn't what she spoke. "I am Kalliste ex Tytalus and I would ask what you bring to this covenant in way of debts, demands and burdens from your house as well as what benefits that you bring as well. Magi stand strongest when tested by conflict and adversity and allowed to grow."
OOC mastered formulaic spell in magic aura with casting total equal to spell level has no botch dice and can't fail. So don't bother.
Caput's ship arrives in company with Nestor a while after Kalliste arrives (a week or so, maybe two)
He will politely wait until it is indicated by the covenant members that it is his turn to speak. He won't comment on the other new arrivals, as it is not his place to do so.
"I am Caput ex Flambeu. I have discharged my debts and obligations to all other covenants and tribunals and wish to settle in the Thebes region, as it is the region I knew best from before I was apprenticed. My needs are simple - a modest lab where I can reap the benefits of the services I provided in recent years, a place to dock my small ship and some quarters for the crew when they are ashore. I will recruit my own grogs and servants, and as a rule, their activities are self-supporting but I am willing to incorporate their efforts into the existing trade and raiding income that this covenant is already engaged in - this seems only fair if I am getting a magus's share of the covenant's income and resources.
While I wish some time in the lab, I am also eager and willing to take part in activities outside of the covenant. Glory doesn't just make itself, one has to go looking for it.
Kalliste and I discovered some unregistered hedge magi who are assisting a prince in interfering with the covenant's shipping, and I am most interested in following up that effort with a final solution to those magi - in the form of a join or die. But I am willing to defer on the timing to the covenant, even if not accepted as a member.
You can expect me to be generally willing to join in expeditions, provide grogs, transport over water and fair winds on the way and in danger, well, most threats respond well to a solid dose of my fear magic, on individuals or groups, and if that fails - I can say without bragging that there is probably not another swordsman as skilled as I in Thebes among the mortals, and my grogs are trained to work together to make the most of that skill. I am adequate but not especially skilled for my age at Certamin, this is a weakness I am working on, although I'm aware Certamin is not common in Thebes.
While I am not much of a diplomat, I have had many years experience in organizing groups efficiently and my men have softer skills that I lack. As a group, we are fairly efficient at keeping a finger on the pulse of seagoing activity in the region.
Amphora's eyebrows rise just a bit when the cat first speaks (she assumed it was a beloved familiar), but she quickly regains her composure. "As a member of my House, I am obligated to serve my masters as they need me, but they allow that I must also learn and grow as a maga on my own, so they assign me tasks within my capabilities that take no more than a season to complete, often less; the rest of the year is my own. In times of war, I may be called upon to fight the enemies of the Order, which of course no one can predict."
The Tremere produces the drawing she showed to Atlas and Polycarpus earlier. "I have also been tasked with building a signal tower, to be erected within sight of the sea and staffed night and day, which my people can easily maintain without taxing the rest of the covenant's reserves; ideally this tower would also house my sanctum."
She pauses and frowns, slowly stroking her chin. "As to what I bring with me, my knowledge, books and spells are at your disposal; my strongest arts are Creo, Regio, Aquam and Mentem. I travel with my people, who are have tended to the needs of an army on the march, washing and maintaining clothes and linens, preparing meals and making such repairs as they are able. I bring my strong arm and the strength of my grogs, and my word is my bond." She spreads her hands. "I leave you to judge if this is enough."
Atlas stands and removes his cloak assuming his normal shape. I am Atlas ex Tremere. I share some obligations to my House, just as Amphora does. I have another obligation, a curse, if you will, as I am lycan. I am most skilled in the art of Terram, well skilled in Rego, with good knowledge of Creo and Corpus. As you can see, I can fit aboard ships, if necessary, and this covenant is close to my boyhood home.
You may have noticed the tower I constructed. Due to my curse, I require solitude every full moon so I do not harm others. I have some items to offer the covenant, but what I offer my brothers and sisters is companionship of a loyal sodales. Things I bring with me are but trifles, for the true power lies within ourselves and the commitments we make to each other.
Atlas looks on each Magus before proceeding, I offer you my word and bond of service and duty to the covenant, so long as the requirements of service do not violate the laws of the Order. My brothers and sisters, we have a grave danger to our very home, and we should quickly come together and strike out at it.
Atlas proceeds to detail the discovery of the sickly creature, which contains some vis, and the infernally infested house, leaving no detail missing.
(ooc: I need a timeline on how long to the full moon, this would be something that is always on my mind, and I would keep careful note of the progress of the moon at all times)
The black cat speaks softly, "Perhaps on nights of the full moon, spells could be invented to keep you from rampaging. Perhaps a Muto mentem to make you docile. Worse comes to worse, I can probably hold my own again you." The small cat suddenly starts to shift and grow until it becomes becomes a large lazing lioness. "I am a shape shafter with my specialty in Creo with corpus and animal but I have some flexibility. Cat, Dolphin, eagle, Lioness are all some of my forms but not all."
Polycarpus: As members of this covenant you will receive a number of boons. The only thing we ask for in return is that you defend this covenant and our way of life. Help out with common matters in a way that all agree upon. This covenants goal is to grant as much freedom for every magus and not to for us do the biddings of some covenant leader. Each year you will be given resources worth 15pounds of silver for the upkeep of your household, a functional laboratory and 5 pawns of vis. Are you willing to work towards preserving our unique way of life? Few laws but a great deal of personal responsibility is what is expected.