"So you're following us hoping that we found a covenant where your patron may want to study in? I don't suppose you could arrange a meeting with him instead? It would be awfully simpler to see if we're compatible."
It takes all of next day and a few hours on the third day to finish the field. There are many corpses who are burnt beyond recognition or hacked into small enough pieces that the spell does not work. There are also fragments of bodies that look as if they have been dissolved in goo.
Interviewing the grogs adds some vivid tales of the horrors of the battle and the magnificent beasts and spectacular magic used. By the tales, there must have been more magi. One mentions that Janus the Flamboyant was holding up towards the end.
Cath'rinne finds one more magus, a young Tremere.
The giants was our bane. They carried Amadeus away too roast him. Who, you ask? Amadeus of Tytalus. He fought bravely, but the giant knocked him out with a single blow, reaching over the shield grogs with the clubs. The grogs could not do anything. Thick metal plates they had on their legs, the giants.
After this, there is little more to find. The bodies have clearly been looted, and there are no more valuables to find, except for around Diana.
Thomas considers Cath'rinne's question, and replies "I can arrange a meeting, if you know where you will be at a given point in time. If you can name a place and time then I can convey it to him."
"Castrum Antiquum, in the north next to the wall. That should be my next stop. After that, I'll be goign to Ungulus. He can join us at either of these locations depending on how much time you need to travel to him and him to travel back with you."
Whispers through the Black Gate shouldn't work without upgrading the spell, yeah, but all of that and the spot where they died on should be arcane connections I can use The Whole From the Part on which might be useful on its own (magical stigmas from twilight or initiation, part of the essential nature of the target) or indirectly, through testimony, to confirm deaths. Any luck?
True, that's possible in some cases. It does not work when the damage is so that you cannot tell body part from coal or from goo. The place where they died is no help; I don't think it lasts long enough in general (3+ months) and here they are muddled by too many people dying in the same spot. You do find two more body images with some strange magical scar; almost certainly magi, but no tell-tale signs of their House or affiliation.
Cath'rinne will describe the two unknown magi to Hamish in private. Does he recognise them?
What valuables would we find arround Diana?
Diana's possessions have already been described. Two of the grogs carry similar clay figures in their belt, one each; not sure they count as valuables, but I reckon peculiarities are of interest too. All the grogs have a little silver in their pouches, maybe totalling 3-4 shillings if you collect it all. Two of the grogs have excellent quality shields, and one has a hauberk that seems to have a magic effect when you investigate it. The other arms are also worth a fair amount although the quality is just average. Most of the armour has seen better days, probably even just the morning before the battle.
Type of shields?
Do you prefer to give us a listing now, or to give us a value equivalent in MP?
I'll interrogate the grogs as to why they carried that.
The excellent shields are round ones. The rank and file equipment is quite inconsequential, and the limit could easily be what you can carry. You have one or two horses to carry for you, and the silver and books that you have are heavy, and you need to have some provisions for the journey too. But ok, let's say that there are five fully equipped shield grogs, that is including the special equipment already listed. Two or three have heater shields. Some have axes and some long swords. They have different levels of armour. If you want to take something with you, you can make up the detail, and make a detailed inventory for each horse and rucksack ...
The grogs are not immediately forthcoming, so please narrate the approach you take, and make a roll appropriate for your approach (leadership, charm, intrigue, or whatever).
Hamish steps over to the gathering of shield grogs and the materials and gear gathered from the battlefield. He picks up one of the excellent quality shields, assessing it and testing it on his arm. Without removing it, he turns back to the shield grogs.
"Good work, boyos. Scavengin' is a shite job but necessary. Unless milady says different, we will equip you with what you know how to use and what you are able to use. No point strappin' yer scrawny bones with a blade or axe you don't know the use of."
The big red-head sets about making sure the grogs get the horses loaded evenly and sensibly, focusing on value and usefulness as he assess what they have gathered.
He will also assess the shield and longswords to see if any are an improvement on what he brought with him.
Hamish turns to Lady Cath'rinne.
"What of the rest of these things do you need us to take by horse? That staff looks magicky as three black locks of a selkie's tresses if you ask me. You takin' it?"
Finn speaks up âI have already taken the staffâ
Hamish listens to Cath'rinne's description of the two magi, his brow furrowing.
"Ahh. Fair enough, but keep yer wits about you. That staff could be trouble."
Hamish cannot recognise the magi that Cath'rinne identifies. He has never seen them without their robes and the wrinkles of advanced years, and he also cannot recognise their voices, which he can hear when Cath'rinne calls it up through the Black Gate.
He has to load the horses himself, as there are no grogs now that Obstetrix has left. The two specialists give a hand, but they are not as used to handling horses and heavy loads as Hamish is.
"We will help you find a resting place. Do you know how many Tremeres you were protecting?"
We are loading this. Covenant in spe updated.
"Thomas @darkwing, would you like to load some of this and sell it for silver while you contact your patron, Nauvi ex Tytalus? I am not sure we will use this but we could use the found pounds of silver this is worth to build the covenant."
Cath'rinne will assess the vis gathered during the evening - succeeded on Scales of the Magical Weight and Sense the Nature of Vis, D: Conc in spont so as to assess it each item one at a time with the same spell. (Rolled 22 and 24)
"Please let me test something, Finn." She gets within 5 paces of Diana, and sponts ReCo base 10 "Transport the target instantly up to 5 paces", using it as an arcane connection, in the line of Seven League Stride, which lets you transport instantly to somewhere within the range that you can see... or that you have an arcane connection to. Her understanding is that if it's merely a favorite item, the connection would have faded. She's hoping to establish if it might be the talisman of Diana, or at least recently enchanted by her. (Rolled 35, needed 20 to hit base 10)
"I'm loading the shields, the hauberk and what was found on Diana, possibly the clay statues. Anything Thomas isn't able to take to sell, that you feel would be valuable either to you or to a group of shield grogs in the future, please do so."
What kind of arcane connection did I find to those two unknown presumed magi that Hamish doesn't recognise?
Cath'rinne tries to get on their good side by saying she thinks it could be useful to keep up the fight. She's willing to help them find a resting place if they help her. She'll also ask about the hauberk to the wearer. (Rolled Presence+Charm, 10 for the first grog, 11 for the second one)
Tremeres? One I think, Vladimus. No, he had a lieutenant, Natasha, of the same house.
Assuming that Cath'rinne pursues this, he can add that there was also a fire warlock, called Janus, and that head magistrate wizard whose name he does not remember if he ever new.
The five pebbles contain one pawn of Rego vis each. The vial contains two pawns of Herbam vis.
Having spent extensive time studying the battlefield, I suppose you also found some vis held by the other supposed magi. To mundane eyes it looks like junk, and thus past scavengers have ignored it. Roll two D10 for two random forms (count alphabetically), and take 1D8 pawns of each of them.
Is this in human or vulture form? Recklessly casting the teleportation spell to an unknown location, Cath'rinne suddenly appears in the face of Diana. It takes finesse+Int 9+ to land (or fly away) gracefully (cf. Seven-League Stride). If this fails in human form, you can soak 5 damage or sprain an ankle (light wound). The vulture would be able to take to its wings. But sure, there is know doubt about the arcane connection.
One is a body without head. The other is most a body with the face and most of the clothes burnt away by acid.
The wearer of the hauberk is very thankful and seems to be looking forward to a proper burial.
Oh. It is enchanted to protect me better. Gift from my master. Alas we could not protect him. God bless him.
Diana's grogs are less forthcoming, and you hear genuine concern in their voices when they say,
Hey. Give those back to us. They are not yours to use.
Covenant in Spe updated.
This was in vulture form, and I rolled a 9.
If, once the investigation is over, I'm unable to tell who they are, I'll take a bone and the skull respectively, for safekeeping on the road with me.
She'll keep her word to that one, asking for help so the body is buried respectfully in the forest nearby.
She chuckles "I don't suppose I can just handbreak them and find out?"
Do either of the unknown wizards I have the description of through The Whole from the part check out with Vladimus or Natasha by any chance?
«He! Euh?» stutters the ghost and abruptly shuts up.
Vladimus is probably the headless corpse, but Natasha you don't think you have seen.
14 on a Folk Ken check. Did he seemed surprised, afraid, to find my comment weird? I figure it might come in the tone.
Hamish settles the scavenged gear on the horse before turning to Finn and Thomas.
"What is it you two do? I'm assumin' you aren't here just to look pretty."