Chapter 2: The Winter Storm

I will refresh my memory of that tonight at home. But I will grant you this tidbit of information. The winds tell you that, although the storm was within the limits of seasonal weather, it was unusually strong and unexpected. It was not natural. It wasn't the wind's doing either. It was the sea mother. She was vexxed.

The day after the storm Marcello is seen with Mistress Boone meeting the Coven folk and all the people in the town. There is much talking and some blessings handed out. They visit every house and walk the grounds.

((Marcello knows very little of the language (Flemish 1)yet so he needs Colijne to translate. He will work hard on learning the it))

Marcello
You have just been sailing along, pretty much easy going about everything. The Busybody that you are, you have started gossip circles with the covenfolk and townsfolk. They worry about the disaster, the storm omen, the sea-devils, and the witch-towers (the covenant). You tell them not to worry.

I give you the following agency to work with. You are the covenant’s principle, not Roberto’s. I am going to work on something similar for Coljine later

Betty VanHalen (3 points)
Social Status: Commoner (wife of a pirate named Johan VanHalen) +0
Resistance Modifiers: Pirate’s Wife -1
Resources: Information, Useful Minor Flaw (Busybody) +1, Useful Minor Virtue (Gossip) +1
Resistance 1, Bond +2 (friendly conversation)

Veronica Eyke (2 points)
Social Status: Commoner (wife of a fisherman/sailor named Walter)
Resistance Modifiers: Dark Secret -1 (cheating on husband)
Resources: Information, Underlings (clique leader) +1
Resistance 1, Bond +1 (charmed)

Reginald Montclaire (3 points)
Social Status: Outlaw (pirate) -3
Resistance Modifiers: Dark Secret -1 (Veronica’s Lover)
Resources: Multi-Lingual (French, Spanish, Dutch, Flemish, German, English) +1, Social Contacts (pirates) +1
Resistance 1, Bond +2 (remorseful)

Walter Eyke: cuckold (3 points)
Social Status: Tradesman (seaman) +0;
Resistance Modifiers: Dependants -1
Resources: Information, Exceptional Skill (seaman 6) +1
Resistance 1, Bond +2 (needs Marcello’s reassurance that everything is okay)

David
David, Dragor informs you that the one sailor that died remains unburied. His name was Pete. Pete was a fatherless and godless wretch, ugly as sin, and everyone hated him. The pirates begrudgingly accepted him (and I know I overuse the word begrudgingly), they accepted him because he was just one bad son of a mother. The pirates tossed his body out into the sea, and it washed up on the other side of the break water. Dragor has retrieved the corpse for you. Pete has no left hand, is missing his left ear and right eye, and has a severely disfigured face. That was ol’ Pete. Then he drowned. He was obese to begin with, and his corpse is now bloated. He is Large, size +1, and was very physically powerful.

[size=150]Re-Revised Mermaid[/size]
These are the (revised) stats I am using for mermaids at the moment. They are actually easy to spot if you are actually looking for them. Iolar saw a few playing in the spray while flying around. She landed on a rock to talk to one, and had breif conversation before it ran away. Havlard is familar with the Ben-Varry of the area around Man. Clara spoke to one breifly, and Okeanos is up to stuff with a meremaid named Lucy.

[u]Underwater Activities[/u]
Normal Characters have a -3 penalty to all actions. Those with Undine Blood have a +2 bonus to offset this penalty, for a net -1. Those who have Strong Undine Blood have the ability to perceive clearly underwater included with their Faerie Eyes. Those who have Mythic Undine Blood (a double Major Virtue combination) can move freely underwater without penalty, and usually have the ability to breath underwater as their Mythic Power. The Faerie Power of Aquatic grants the ability move and breathe freely, as well as see clearly, and since they have Undine heritage, they have a bonus of +2 to underwater activities on top of that.

[u]Mere-Folk[/u]
I used the following rules for the creation of Mere-Folk. This is not balanced, and I did not make precise calculations. However, though arbitrary, it is applied evenly across the board for all fair folk I intend to be encountered in this adventure.
All Mermaids begin with the Free Virtue of Faerie; which includes a Faerie Might score (see below), the Virtue of Faerie Eyes (which included Second Sight), and Immunity to both Aging and Fatigue Loss. Also choose a Faerie Heritage, granting a specific bonus as described in the Faerie Blood Virtue. Also choose a Minor Personality Flaw specific to the quirky nature of their kind. The Student of Faerie Virtue is possessed only by the scholars amongst their kind, and the Faerie Upbringing Flaw is equivalent to the Covenant Upbringing amongst humans.
All Faeries may take a Free Minor or Major Faerie or Supernatural Virtue, balanced by an equivalent Faerie or Supernatural Flaw. In the case of Mere-folk, they all have the Major Virtue of Aquatic and the Major Flaw of Major Weakness-Dependant on Water.
The Faerie Might score is based upon age category, which is completely arbitrary. As a rule of thumb, a Youngling has a Faerie Might of 10, Might 20 if Mature, and Elders have a score of 30 or more. Starting Experience points equals 45 + (Might x 20). They also begin with All Languages 5 and their own unique Faerie Language 5. Faeries may take twice as many Virtue points as Flaw points.

[u]Lucy the Mermaid (revised)[/u]
Faerie Might: 10 (Aquam)
Characteristics: Int -1, Per +1, Com +0 (+3), Pre +3 (+6), Str -2, Sta +0, Dex +1, Quik +3
Size: -1
Age: n/a
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues: +0 Faerie-Mermaid (Undine Heritage (+2 to underwater activities), Faerie Eyes (Second Sight), Immune to Age, Fatigueless, Compulsion-Curiosity, Aquatic, Dependency on Water), +1 Enchanting Music, +1 Gift of Venus, +1 Improved Characteristics, +1 Privileged Upbringing,
Flaws: -1 Small Frame, -1 Noncombatant
Personality Traits: Curious +3, Brave -2, In love with Okeanos +1
Reputations: Alluring 2 (local), Ga-ga for Okeanos 4 (local)
Combat:
Evade: In +3, Atk n/a, Def +7, Dmg n/a (using Swim as her evading ability)
Soak: +0
Wound Penalties: -1 Lt (1-4), -3 Med (5-8), -5 Hvy (9-12), Incap (13-16), D (17+)
Fatigue: n/a
Abilities: All Languages 5, Swim 4 (gracefully), Awareness 2 (danger), Charm 3 (being friendly), Craft-Sea Jewelry 2 (shells), Enchanting Music 4 (love), Faerie Lore 3 (undersea faeries), Folk Ken 3 (sea folk), Music 4 (singing), Second Sight 3 (underwater), Undersea Lore 2 (channel)
Powers:
+3 Aquatic: This is the power to move and breathe freely underwater, as well as perceive clearly. Way of the Sea grants an additional +3 bonus to all undersea activities.
Weaknesses:
-3 Dependant on Water: Suffers Depravation if separated from water more than an hour
Equipment: shell jewelry
Encumbrance: none
Vis: 2 Aquam in her body
Appearance and Description: Lucy is the daughter of Dorala the Mere-matron and Octchall the Havamand. Her parents are divorcing, and she is thinking of moving into the sunken ship. If asked about the storm, she mentions that is was surface weather, so she has no idea. Sea-Mother has many meanings to her; her mother, the sea-hag, the goddess of the temple, and etceteras. Uou have to be more specific.

[u]Linda, Lucy’s little sister[/u]
Faerie Might: 5 (Aquam)
Characteristics: Int +0, Per +1, Com +0 , Pre +3, Str -3, Sta -1, Dex +1, Quik +3
Size: -1
Age: n/a
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues: +0 Faerie-Mermaid (Undine Heritage (+2 to underwater activities), Faerie Eyes (Second Sight), Immune to Age, Fatigueless, Compulsion-Curiosity, Aquatic, Dependency on Water), +1 Privileged Upbringing, +1 Gossip
Flaws: -1 Small Frame
Personality Traits: Curious +3, Brave -1
Reputations: Pest 2 (underwater)
Combat:
Evade: In +3, Atk n/a, Def +7, Dmg n/a (using Swim as her evading ability)
Soak: -1
Wound Penalties: -1 Lt (1-4), -3 Med (5-8), -5 Hvy (9-12), Incap (13-16), D (17+)
Fatigue: n/a
Abilities: All Languages 5, Swim 4 (gracefully), Awareness 1 (danger), Charm 3 (being friendly), Craft-Sea Jewelry 2 (shells), Faerie Lore 2 (undersea faeries), Folk Ken 2 (sea folk), Music 3 (singing), Second Sight 3 (underwater), Undersea Lore 2 (channel)
Powers:
+3 Aquatic: This is the power to move and breathe freely underwater, as well as perceive clearly. Way of the Sea grants an additional +3 bonus to all undersea activities.
Weaknesses:
-3 Dependant on Water: Suffers Depravation if separated from water more than an hour
Equipment: shell jewelry
Encumbrance: none
Vis: 1 Aquam in her body
Appearance and Description: Linda is Lucy’s pesky little sister. Lucy has many siblings. Linda is just a brat. She has no useful information

Not all mermaids are female, but the young mere-lads certainly do look effeminate. There are many varieties of mere-folk throughout Mythic-Europe. In the English Channel there are two distinct types that are interbred to some extent. The Mermen of Lyonesse and the Havamand of the North Sea are two distinctly different faerie beings, but their daughters are virtually the same. Thus the races can miscegenate. The Average Mermaid has a Faerie Might of 10, and mere-children have a might of 5 or less. Adolescent mere-lads have a might of 15. Mere-matrons and Mermen of Lyonesse have a might of 20. The Lyonesse mere-folk also have lords, ladies. and wizards (of the Order of Triton) with higher might scores.
The Havamand goes through a grotesque transformation upon adult hood, distinguishing what the male’s true breed is. Isolated and alone, they are treated as outsiders in Channel Undersea culture. They are ugly, but also quite magical. They have might scores of 25 or higher, depending on age, and they often have supernatural abilities and powers.

Well thats a potential Vis source for the covenant :smiling_imp:

Assuming Iolar's conversation with a mermaid did not shed any light on the nature of the Sea Mother or any other information about where that storm came from.
She is going to Find Okeanos to determine what he knows . She does not like not knowing about potential magical disasters it is disconcerting

Okeanos, heads out to the sunken ship casting all the previous spells on himself, and meets up with Lucy - the mermaid that is now trying to move into the recently sunken ship. he has Alluring to Faeries (Bonus: +3 to Communication and Presence with Faeries) a pre and com of +1 and Charm 2 (gaining trust).

[color=red]"hello Lucy, I have come, let me tell you the story of the sinking of this ship..." just then there was a rumble, large flare of light and then a fizzle, followed by another, then another. Lucy looks up in wonder then giggles and does a couple back flips there under the water to show her pleasure at the light show.

she then agrees to teach me a new song and for the light show she hands my a figurine .