[color=red]I wish to know about his dubious and doubtful secrets others may not be aware of them. Please find out what was done with his body and leave a message in my sanctum as soon as you have information.
She turns and leaps back into the air looking for Aelianus who seems to have finished and while she was distracted the fun has stopped as well. She flies off and circles until she sees Aelianus then lands next to him , resuming her human form
Dragor does not even crack a sweat or flinch. Take careful note, not a single statement of his was untrue!
He runs off to find master David and informs him that the firebird Bjornaer maga is looking for Pete's corpse, the exchange we just had, and asks for further instructions.
David nods when Dragor has finished talking to him, his face impassive. [color=red]Keep listening. They can have my hideous rower when I feel it is prudent to give him to them. Though he retains a mask of calm, inside he is grinning. Let the pagan bitch squirm for a bit!, he thinks. For all her posturing, she is nothing more than a woman, and an impetuous one at that. It will do her good to feel how little she can actually control.
Aelianus looks at Iolar.[color=red] Soldae you mentioned something about fay threatening our covenant. Care to elaborate upon that one? Diodorus sits down at the side of Aelianus and starts licking his paw as if he didn’t notice Iolar.
[color=red]I have been investigating the cause of the storm and after gatehring some information I spoke to Okeanos about it as it seemed he was also speaking to the same merpeople as me. I am concerned about his answer .....
She relates the contents of the previous conversations and what she has learned.
[color=red]While you wher ebusy with the Boy's gathering I spoke to Havelard as he seemed knowledgable about faeries and he suggested that we speak to the dead pirate Pete who seems to have been mislaid. I just asked Dragor to dig him up for me. However I thought you may know more about these mermaids having lived here for longer than me
[color=red]No such being has not been my focus of interest. I think that there is little to learn from the fey and as such they mostly only gives us trouble. Sadly I have not any items that can deal with a potential problem. Aelianus face is filled with arrogance as he mentions the fay. One could wonder if he has avoided the fay or if they have avoided him due to his blatant gift.
[color=red]I agree that the fay are of little use , they often cling to ancient places of power though and Vis can often be obtained from them so they have their uses. These concern me because of the storm and the damage it caused. I am unlikely to trust them or their powers . I will continue to investigate until I am happy the situation is under control . If you will excuse me there are a couple of matters I would attend to.
Iolar takes her leave and walks down into town whistling a cheery tune. First she checks on the progress of the clothes she ordered , probably being deeply dissapointed with the results.
She then goes in seach of Roberto and Wirth again walking in search of them
Roerto and Wirth are down by the wharf. We talked Walter Eyke into supplying us with some building materials, and we are Rego Herbam sponting a dock in place. Other than that, the place looks nice. Did not take as much magical effort as I had thought, so With spends lots of time with his wife and Roberto spends a lot of time pretending he is the leader of these laborers. In fact, he made mention that some of these teamsters should be recruited and trained as warriors.
Anyway, [color=green]
Roberto: (bows politely) [color=red] Greetings milady. How may I be of service to thee this day?
[color=green]Iolar
[color=red]"Well met Sodali, There were a couple of matters I thought perhaps you and your esteemed colleague may be able to help with, the first is a rather sordid little matter connected with the storm, there is some evidence it may be linked to a dead pirate called Pete . I am looking for his body so that we may ask someone capable of Necrmancy if that is the case and as you have both a much better command of the local language than myself I thought you may be able to find out what happened to him.
The second matter is more pleasent , when we arrived I noticed that yourselves and your companions seemed to enjoy music and as there seems to be little socially happening at this covenant I thought perhaps we could arrange some social events to allow those magi and mundanes interested to enjoy each others music and company.
I still think a magically created pier would have been more impressive but at least this one isn't falling apart yet."
She smiles as she says the last
Roberto silently admits a Creo Ritual would have been easier and more prestegious, but he is happy with these results.
[color=green]Roberto[color=red]
Do we even have a necromancer on hand? I don't want to stereotype, and even though David is Tremere he seems more like a doctor to me. And he is a Jew. They don't deal with the undead. And if Pete drew the anger of mermaids and got killed for it, well, that is pretty pathetic. Besides, Pete's dead. They told me that they tossed his putrid carcass over the breakwater.
Hey! That reminds me! I was walking along the breakwater, hauling up fallen stones with Rego magic, when a mermaid jumped right over head (it was Lawrence, who is male but looks girly). I want to put a chain along the mouth of this harbor to mark our boundary, and extend our Aegis around the harbor and town. That should prevent any magical storms from afflicting the harbor again, and will keep the damn fish people away from us!
Oh, about Pete, if you wanna know more about him, I suggest you go talk to Fred or Reginald. They seem to know plenty. They told me about his affair with the sea hag, YUCK! They also told me he had to rape whores that other pirates would demand refunds from. Nasty fella that Pete was. We are all better off with him dead and his body far under the waves.
Go talk to Fred. He is at the VanHalen house. Marcello is there I think. He can translate for you. Heck, I'll take you. Everyone speaks French around here as a second language. You need to learn French. It is good all over Europe.
[/quote]
At the VanHalen house
Fred takes Ulrich to Betty VanHalen’s place. Imagine Johan and Betty as a biker couple transplanted to the middle ages. There is no tavern in this tiny six house town, and this house is even bigger than the Eyke house (though much shabbier). Thus, is has become the de facto tavern and flop house for local brigands. They store their home made brew and stolen goods here.
Don’t ask me who owns the other houses. You guys deal with that. But this is how the criminal element breaks down in this town (Coljine and Marcello both know this by this point, Wirth and Dragor will have sort of an idea, and the rest of you really never take notice)
Ulrich originally had a few more followers. Arnoul, Jean, Guy, Cable, and Simon were his most loyal, and helped him get out of town when things got strange. You all blamed Pete for your misfortunes, and when Simon died of fever over the winter, you all planned to come back and make Pete pay.
But Pete is dead. So are all of the other men that used to work for Ulrich. However, Ulrich is friends with Fred, Johan, and Betty.
Fred was a fisherman, and he was old chums with Ulrich a few years ago. Fred became a sailor, and that’s when he met the pirate Johan VanHalen. Johan came to the town with Fred and met Betty. The two shacked up and called themselves married. Another friar that used to drink at their place blessed them though, so everything is okay. Fred and Johan tried to talk Ulrich into the piracy gig, but Ulrich kept insisting he was more of a highwayman.
Anyway, Pete came to town to hide out with Johan, who owed him a tall favor. Then Pete started his hijacking routine. Then he drove Ulrich out of town and took over his gang. Then he hijacked a merchantman and convinced Fred and Johan and their little coast raider crew to join his crew.
Everyone that used to be part of Pete’s crew before he took over is dead, as is everyone that used to work for Ulrich. Fred, Johan, and Reginald pretty much run things now. They have a dozen men under them that flop at the VanHalen house or in their barn. Johan VanHalen is not the leader type, he is the one amongst them that is the true drunkard. Reginald is more of a left hand man, doing sneaky side work like charming officials, forging documents, selling stolen goods, banging the moneylender’s wife while making him think he is the only guy that can be trusted, and stuff like that.
So Fred was the natural choice for new leader. He has lived here all his life, everyone knows him, his parents worked up in the towers, he has no fear of the magi (not exactly true, but for whatever reason the Gift does not bother him and the Blatant Gift is only as unsettling as the regular Gift to other folk). So anyway, Johan and Reginald chose Fred to be the new leader.
Which Fred explains to Ulrich, but not in those same words.
[color=green]Fred Fisherman the New Pirate Leader: (while drinking at Betty’s and plying Ulrich with food)[color=red]
What the %$#@ do you think you are doing man?!? I got it all worked out in a delicate balance. I convinced the magi to join our crew. A partnership. We will get ourselves another ship, and with their witchery, we will make a [b]tall[/b] haul. We make them rich, we make ourselves rich, we make the whole damn town rich. We will be the new Lords of the Land my friend! Look, give up the land robbery. It’s old news friend! Look to the future, do this with us, join our partnership. Help make us all rich.
Ulrich’s Contacts
Fred Fischer, New Pirate Leader
Social Status: Outlaw Leader -1
Modifiers: none
Resources: +1 not bothered by Gift, +1 Underlings
Cost 4; Resistance +1, Bond +3 Old Friends
Johan VanHalen
Social Status: Outlaw -3
Modifiers: -1 Drunkard
Resources: +1 Underlings, +1 Safehouse
Cost 2; Resistance +1, Bond +1 Friends
Betty VanHalen
Social Status: Branded Criminal -1
Modifiers:
Resources: Information, +1 Gossip, +1 Busybody
Cost 2; Resistance +1, Bond +1 Friends
Walter Eyke
Social Status: Merchant +0
Modifiers: -6 Low Self Esteem
Resources: Information, merchandise, money
Cost 3; Resistance +1, Bond +2 Intimidated
oops!
[/quote]
[color=red]The Tremere have a history as necromancers and even if he isn't he is probably a corpus expert and so can manage a spontanwous whispers throught he black gate which is all you need for a dead guy. I am personally not unhappy to have an unpleasent pirate dead , I just want to make sure that any faerie vengeance has died with him, I get cautious with faerie vengeance as it looks like even a good Aegis cannot guarantee a covenants protection.
It is possible the other pirates know what is going on , but I expect that this is the sort of thing that is kept a secret. However we may as well see what they have to say , please lead the way.
What did you think of my other proposal?
Iolar Accompanies Roberto to meet the pirates
[color=green]Roberto
[color=red]You should hang around Marcello and Carlos more! In fact, I bet they are over there now
I will write of the encounter at VanHalen's later tonight. Andrew, what specific questions do you have?
Aelianus and Diodorus walks back to the laboratory. They discuss along the way the unpleasantness of being disturbed for no reason at all.
[color=green]Wirth
And I am happy of it 
Anyway, she also reads that book, so, in the meantime, I take a look at these teamsters, selecting a few ones, and trying to make groups we could assign to kilica, Marcelo and/or Jan Axel for training.
I also check from time to time on "my" pirates". How are they doing?
[color=red]David talked a lot about zombies. He should be able to do this.
[color=red]My wife plays some harp. She'd enjoy this.
She also seemed very impressed by the love for music of Okeanos giant bodyguard. You could ask him too.
[color=red]Great idea. This'd also protect okeanos in his undersea studies.
[color=green]Jan Axel
Good place!
I hang there when I'm not around okeanos, which is pretty often these times (I don't even know where the damn magus is 
)
I'm gonna like this job
[u]The Legend of Ugly Pete[/u]
Roberto takes Iolar to the VanHalen House, and she is instantly appalled and delighted at the same time. She is appalled at the profane mundaneness of it all; drunken louts scattered about, scarred and ugly, arm wrestling, fist fighting, gambling, drinking more, and etceteras. She is instantly delighted because she has found the music she seeks. I don’t know where Marcello is because that is someone else’s character. But Carlos Guiterez is here, the grog that charms all the ladies and plays the guitar. She sees people singing drinking songs. Betty is serving up pints, because she thinks a house wife’s duty is to serve drinks and clomp drunks on the head when they get out of line. Johan is blitzed and passed out. Fred is talking to Ulrich off to the side, and Reginald is here after having just comforted Walter and wishing him well. Oh, and Veronica Eyke is here with him. Jan Axel is mumbling with someone. Neither of them speak a language in common, but they are drunk and think they are having brilliant conversation in Flemish.
Roberto explains to Iolar that he finally understands what it is she is lacking, why she is disappointed with her interactions with others. She is trying to find family and familiarity in her surroundings, and things just are not matching up to her expectations. Roberto has kind of found it here
[color=green]Roberto: [color=red]Look, I understand many magi of our Order feel a resentment towards mundanes, they feel rejected, and try to compensate by feeling superior. You think I didn’t feel that sting? My family died, they never spurned me. But within a year after that my Gift developed. No one wanted me around, no one would take me in. You know where I found my social acceptance? (gestures at the rabble)[color=red] Places like this. Amongst rogues, then fighters, and eventually amogst grogs. At first they distrust you or fear you, then they may resent you, eventually just be mildly irked by you, but eventually they accept you. Here, look at that (gestures at different people)[color=red] That guy is ugly (Pre -3)[color=red], that guy is a freak (Disfigured, a huge facial scar)[color=red], and that guy is annoying (Social Handicap)[color=red]. All in all, these things and the handicap of the Gift, the balance out, do they not?
And Pete was the ugliest of them all. Muy feo, y muy malo. Vey ugly, very bad. He had Mythic Ugliness and a horrible stench they say. Betty! (gets the attention of Betty VanHalen)[color=green]
Betty VanHalen: Remember, Betty speaks Latin because she was studying at a convent school before she got expelled for stealing. [color=red]Oh, you want to know about Pirate Pete do ya? Pete was so ugly, the midwife that delivered him tried to put him back, and he smelled so bad that they made him stand downwind past the lepers. Putrid Pete the Pirate was sooo nasty, they whores in England wouldn’t give him any willingly.
But the Sea Hag is so ugly, even Pete hesitated to bed her. But bed her he did! You see. the Sea Hag rescued Pete when his ship wrecked in a storm. He hesitated, but she wooed him. Pete protested, but we saw it on his face when he told us his tale.
Oh God! Can you imagine if she would have conceived child? It would be uglier than the Devil’s hole! (much pirate laughter)[color=red]
And when Pete was drunk he confessed it all. He slept with the Sea Hag, and promised to wed her if she made him a powerful man. Before you know it, Ulrich flew out of here in a drunken delusional rage, Pete captured himself a ship, they all made a lot of money, and the town was better for it.
But Pete welched on his promise. He was supposed to marry the Sea Hag at Sea Dog’s Chapel on Christmas. Never before in his life did that old heathen son of a mother keep mind of when Christmas day was, but on that day just a few months ago, Pete managed to squeeze his rotund self through a crack in the wall of the covenant, and he hid himself in the catacombs down below.
No one saw Pete for a week, and we thought he went through with it. Then he shows up New Years eve and wants to hide out in my cellar again. I let him. Then he decides to pack up his belongings and sail back to England. A few guys were going to go with him, and the were making preparations (or playing cards) when the storm hit.
The way we all figure, Pete met his punishment. The Sea Hag took his life and she took his ship. He was the only one that drowned that night. And she spit him back. He washed up on shore the next morning. The boys hefted him up and tossed his carcass over on the other side of the rocks of the breakwater. That way, if he washes up again, no one has to see it.
David
Later on, Dragor meets with David to discuss the corpse (good job covering for me by the way). Anyway, he asks that if you decide to share the find with your sodales, you mention that he retrieved it on her behalf. He also mentions that she seems really interested in summoning Pete’s ghost.
[color=red]"I had not noticed that , I will be certain to ask him. I also play the harp a bit although I am a better singer
Arriving at the VanHalen house she does look around disaprovingly
She smiles at Roberto's speech and replies quietly to him
[color=red]I appreciate the tought but its not quite right I had a very pleasent childhood I grew up in a covenant and my parents where magi so there where not many problems with my gift. My problems with places like this is that it's messy dirty and unaesthetic . You need to remember at heart I am Eagle, I soar above the world the Queen of Birds that and the rest of my upbringing leaves me preferring a more refined setting than this. I appreciate the music, the community is fine for most but Eagles are aloof and proud , and even when my human heritage is to the fore as know I am still apart from most people. The other alternative is to say I was a spoiled child when I grew up and as a result am stuck up but a gentleman like you would never say that.
I see why you fit in here and I can manage in places like this, perhaps later you will let me show you somewhere where I fit in.
After listening to the story of Pete
[color=red]Assuming there is nothing more to this story than we have learned it would seem the problem is settled and there is not much more we need to do. I would still like the body to doublecheck that there are no suprises waiting for us. If anyone finds the body I will pay a small reward if you tell me where it is
Iolar remains at the vanhalen house staying away from the centre of attention , as evening gathers she takes her leave of her fellow magi steps outside and takes to the air , settling in a comfortable perch outside the covenant for the night
Jan Axel sure is 8)