"Yes, Fengheld provided the Vim vis required to cast the Aegis. So this is settled, right after the Summer solstice, we will perform the ritual."
He looks at the other two with his only visible eye, "What would our next subject be?"
"We should probably talk about the developments needed so that we can live on the Island without trampling it into a complete mudfield. I know i'm way more sensitive on the matter than most, but still I can't allow It... Other than that, we should probably learn more about Walsrode and specially the religious community there to see it there're the meddling kind."
[edit meddling kind not meddling king sorry]
"The state of the island doesn't satisfy me either," replies Renatus somberly, "and I will probably try to improve it during the next season between eruptions of the vis." He shares a guarded smile, "My specialty is Herbam and I have spent some time visiting various gardens throughout Europe during my itinerarium, so I think I may be able to restore much of the flora once construction is completed."
"As for development, as far as I understood, there won't be much more physical construction once the manor has been completed. There will be athe question of what to do with the cottage once all the labs are installed here, but aside from that... well... as you have seen this island isn't very large..."
"Walsrode... well at this point we were instructed to keep as low a profile as possible. I could send my grog to visit the town and travel the surrounding area next season, and see what he learns."
"Sending a grog seems like the best course of action to me too."
He rises an eyebrow
" Pardon my ignorance, can you tell me more about your "itinerarium" ? Is it some kind of pilgrimage specific to your House ?"
coming back to the subject, smiling at Renatus in appreciation for his comment on how he could heal part of the plants.
Once we're established we should probably try reduce the loss of seasons of work needed to gather the virtus, be it by spells, prediction or whatever means. We should probably do a map of the surrounding and carefully write where and when each gathering occur, as well as the number of pawn each time. If there's a pattern we can probably find It this way. I don't know If we have a map yet, but you could take notes as you gather. As you're knowledgeable in Herbam, maybe you could also note if you see anything noticeable concerning the plants of the area ?
after thinking for a few seconds he adds :
I should also have a discussion with the workers before the construction of the last lab, If possible Iwould like them to make a secondary entrance for my future lab on the roof that I could use in Ibis form.
"Yes, the itinerarium is much like a group pilgrimage, specific to House Jerbiton. It goal is to encourage apprentices near their Gauntlet, or just after it, to see the world and learn more about artistic and scientific centers. So many visit Constantinople, Paris, Rome, and other great cities. Mine was a bit atypical, as it was just my mater and me, and we concentrated on tgardens throughout the great cities."
"Indeed, learning more about the source so that it doesn't impact our personal studies too much will probably high on our priorities once we are better settled."
He chuckles when Renatus request for roof access. "I believe that all of the labs have windows, so perhaps no modification will be required."
The Bjornaer smiles back at Renatus "We sometimes have unusual requests, a windows could do, i'll ask for a latch on the outside or something. Coming from an all Bjornaer covenant, I sometimes forget how those things might look trivial for someone outside of my House. From where I come, I could access most rooms in Ibis form. I know I can't ask a whole chapter House for such equipment, but for my lab, this doesn't seem too demanding"
"Of course," the Jerbiton concedes, "we all have our peculiar requests, I suppose. Perhaps a larger ledge on your window will be something that the carpenters can install without too much difficulty."
"Excellent. I will take a look at the lab first thing tomorrow then."
((Unless there are more topics of import, Ludovicus makes pleasant conversation, telling of his journey to Germany and the pros vs. cons of boat travel.))
"Well, one more thing to add to your tasks," the Jerbiton adds. "You will probably want to learn as much of the local tongue as time permits. Since the activities that we just discussed for the coming year does not include any formal teaching, I encourage you to interact with our grogs and servants as much as you can, and I will certainly try to speak to you in German as much as possible, translating the key words for you. This should help you learn the basics, at least."
"I'm sure that your grog, Ludovicus, will be able to pick it up a bit faster. I'll try to make sure that the other grogs help him do so."
The magi are about to rise when Renatus seem to realize something, "If you'd spare a few more moments, sodales, it strikes me that there might be one more subject that we need to discuss."
"When the plans were laid out for this chapter house, it was expected that four to six magi might live here, either as members or as visiting peregrinatores. With Tamas of Flambeau being reassigned to other duties and Wolfram of Verditius deciding that these plans didn't suit him after all, we are now establishing the chapter house with only the three of us here."
"So, should we ask Fengheld for additional members? Should we accept visiting magi in the near future? The second option may not be open until next year, after our chapter house's creation is registered at the Tribunal meeting in Durenmar, but it might be worth discussing right away."
"Obviously, having more members living here would help spread the load with regards to harvesting the vis source. And accepting visiting magi would provide us with an additional source of income, in the form of raw vis. On the other hand, we will only have limited space available."
"What are your thoughts on this?"
"I imagine we should at least try to get a forth member and if we still have space left, receiving peregrinatores could be an interesting option too. I don't really feel like we really lack space."
ooc : could be nice to have at least one more player what do you think ?
"Well, once completed the manor will only be able to host four laboratories and five magi. The cottage, if repaired, might be suitable for a fifth lab on a permanent basis. If we are to restore the fragile vegetation of the island, I don't see us having too many people living here, at least with the current state of things. Unless you see things that I don't?"
"I too wouldn't mind if more sodales came to our chapter house. I guess we'll see what state the cottage lab is in. To me, it doesn't make sense to have more magi than labs that are available. So definitely one more, and if we can use or improve the cottage, then eventually two more."
"In that case, I will inform Fengheld that we will be able to welcome one or two additional magi by next year."
(OOC: That would conclude the council meeting. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss before we move on to the result of the seasonal activities that are currently planned?)
(ooc : I don't think of anything else to discuss. Can we have a value for the aura or is it again something we describe as weak/strong before we use it for the first time ?)
((Onward!))
[hr][/hr]
The rest of this thread will be out of character as we deal with seasonal activities.
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There is magic aura of 2 in the bog.
so my seasons are :
Autumn-beginning setting up lab (+2 magic thoory I assume ?)
Winter-learning gathering spell (assuming lab has decent quality my total is : int 3+magic theory 4 + 1 (inventing spell) + rego 5 +vim 5 +2 aura = 20 so assuming lab has no malus I can learn the spell, if it has malus i'll have to pick a bonus one way or another. (+2magic theory)
spring-gathering vis and learning German with my grog. xp ?
And for Ludovicus
Autumn: Learning Gather the Magical Essence (ReVi 20), LT = 5 Re) +[b]9/b +[b]2/b +[b]6/b +[b]2/b -X(Lab Malus) = 24-X
Winter: Freezing to the bone while boating after vis flares, brushing up on his German boating terms (2 xp in German)
Spring: Setting up a lab in the manor (+2 xp in Magic Theory)
Note that for any season where you would gather exposure xp, you have to option of taking it in the local language (Low German).
During the seasons you spend gathering the vis, you can have the equivalent of half a season of other activities, when such activities can easily be interrupted (such as reading a book). If you choose to spend more time interacting with the grogs during that season, you can choose to receive a full season of practice xp in Low German (8 xp).
[hr][/hr]
When Ludovicus starts using the laboratory in the cottage, he soon (after only a few days) realizes that this is a non standard lab, and that the seasons spent here by Indulius and his apprentice may not have been very productive. Someone tried to reconfigure the lab, but that person's Magic Theory must have been rather poor. Furthermore, some of the equipment have been removed, as has been all of the lab notes that would usually have been present to describe the work done here.
As a result, until someone spends a season investigating the full peculiarities of the lab and reorganizing it, the lab will have the following characteristics: -2 General Quality, -2 Safety, +1 Warping, -1 Aesthetics, +2 Experimentation.
The lab may have other virtues or flaws, but for now you cannot fathom what they are. For now, the negative Safety and positive Warping scores can have an effect on any spell learned here (see Covenant p.111).
(Do you wish to discuss this with the other magi?)
[hr][/hr]
As Renatus of Bjornaer starts configuring the new lab, he realizes that the grogs seem to be bringing him much more equipment and supplies than what would have fitted into the wagons that travelled with you here. Tables and benches, for example, would have been much more noticeable when packed into the wagons, yet he doesn't remember noticing any such things.
[hr][/hr]
Gradually, as the days pass, the appearance around the manor starts changing. Renatus of Jerbiton spend an hour or two each day to work on the island's vegetation. Plants appear, fully grown, at various points that had been trampled by the workers.