(Maybe you should do Japik's boat thing - see if it works out, since he's apparently off before I get back, so he would do it regardless of my news.)
I can ward you against them. I think that'll do it. I am not sure it is safe to fly you up while sitting in a rocking boat, though. Maybe I'll give you the feet of a fly? Should be amusing.
(Consider the boat stolen.)
"I sure hope there is something worth the effort at the top of that thing. If there is, we will probably have to come up with a better way to get there."
Early in the morning after he has got the boat he hides it in a cove and then looks for his sodales and Hjalmar, urging them to get ready for a boat ride. This time without any uninitiated into the knowledge of magic.
After showing them to the boat they get into it and Hjalmar set course for the pillars. They avoid any other boats they may see on the way.
(Now what is the plan when we have full access to our magical abilities?)
First thing Herman will do is cast Clear Eyes of the Naiad and see what the lower portion of the pillar looks like.
Following that, he will cast Break the Oncoming Wave to provide a more stable platform for the next steps. That will drop once he starts leaving the boat.
After casting his first spell, for a few moments Hermann is able to see that the pillar seem to erupt from the sea floor in a rather abrupt manner. There are a fair number of loose stone forming a small slope around it, but these seem to be mostly from rocks that broke off from the pillars. The chalky white pillar turns greyish in the water, with some seaweed growing amongst the rocks at its base and mussels clinging to the pillar near the tide line.
(No rolls require for either of the spells.)
Would you prefer the Hands of the Fly approach or the Rise of the Feather Body approach? Neither is without risk.
(Which book is Hands of the Fly from, so I can compare? Rise of the Feather Body has the challenge that I will have to be very close to the pillar so I can pull myself over at the top.)
(Japik could try to spont a CrIm effect of a very big bird with a horrible cry to try to scare away some of the birds on the pillar. I don't have my books at hand so don't know how effective such an effect can be or if it's possible at all.)
(I can't find it either, but I assume it is a MuCo spell to help someone climb by giving a +3 bonus -- much like Sure-Footedness of the Crag-Leaper from MoH p.85)
(The would be creating an image that affects two senses -- vision and hearing -- so Base 2. Voice range would be far enough if you yell, so +2 Voice. And at least Conc for another +1. It's a moving image so another +1 or +2, depending on how complex you want those to be. So level 10 or 15. If you want a really big bird, larger than a man, then you may need to add another magnitude for size.)
Then lets go with Rise of the Feathery Body, with the assumption that as I rise, I reach out and keep pulling myself as close as I can to the pillar. If he loses concentration, I can hope to grab hold until he can start lifting me again.
(Not from a book, just my deranged lil cells.)
Feathery it is. Let's do it next to the steps so you can pull yourself close and grab them if something disturbs my concentration.
Ward against mundane beasts: spont base 2, sun 2, touch 1 = 5; total before die and aura 15 with shout, wave and drum.
Rest in between.
Rise of feathery: life-link spont level 10; total 18
(Both spells are cast without problem.)
Soon enough, Hermann is slowly floating up along the pillar's side, using his hands to cling to it and keep close. As he touches the pillar the first time, he feels something touch his Parma Magica and fail to penetrate. The feeling continues all along the climb, somehow getting stronger as he rises. When he maneuvers at the top so he can stand, as his foot touches the surface the feeling culminates before disappearing.
Prochorus, meanwhile, is in the boat sweating profusely at maintaining concentration. When he sees Herman disappear at the top, he still maintains his spell as long as he can, but eventually he cannot do so anymore. At that moment, Herman feels the spell ending and drops solidly unto the pillar's top with his full weight.
Given that there is almost certainly an Aura up here, that is the first question. (For all of these, Intellego 15, Vim 5, Sta 2. Cast as fatiguing, with stress roll. I will rest for two minutes after each one. I will specify which ones have shouting and extravagant gestures, if any. Normally, total is 11 + Aura /2 + Stress / 2) I (Herman) will first cast a touch range momentary spell to check for a magical Aura. (That is a target of 2.) Then measure the aura (base 2 + 1 Touch.)
Then try to determine what the enchantment is on the pillar that was trying to affect me. Presumably the target number depends upon the magnitude of the spell. So throw in Gesture and Voice. (i.e. 24 + Aura + Stress / 2)
Also check for a faerie Regio, since I know that spell.
(Magic Aura 2. There are no active powers that you can detect. Your Parma stopped being pinged right after you reached the summit. No Faerie regio present.)
How big is the top? Are there any interesting features other than a lot of bird droppings? Heck, i am happy to get my hands dirty. Scrape away some of the stuff covering the rock, and see what is underneath if need be. Then use Vis checking spells. Momentary / Hearing should be enough to at least let me know whether there is any here (Base 1, +4 Hearing). Assuming there is vis, and if the sound seems to indicate the surface, use Touch / Concentration (Base 1, +1 concentration, +2 touch) and feel around to see if I can identify exactly what has the vis. Alternatively, if the sound seems to come from above, I will have to take the time to do a ceremonial casting for Concentration / Sight (Base 1, +1 Conc, +5 Sight, success on anything other than a 0 given 15 + 5 + 2 + 2 Aura + 2 Lib. Art. +2 Phil.)
(Just to make sure, we are talking about the red pillar, which is fairly flat and where Prochorus also felt something pinging his Parma. The white pillar is the one with the chain and is the one to the east.)
The top of the red pillar is flattish, with only a slight slope down to the east. About 6-7 paces in diameter. It is smaller in area than one would have expected, as the pillar rounds off in its last third. There's nothing particular. A big rock, with a bit of bird shit here and there.
No raw vis that you can detect. You know that sometimes, specific conditions and / or actions need to be performed for vis to concentrate into something that can be gathered. Legends often contain hints as to what it could be.
Just to confirm: A level 2 Aura and nothing else special. There is something that pinged my Parma when I was arriving, but I can't detect anything now.
Is there an intellego vim usage that (if at concentration duration) I could hold to tell what spell was trying to affect me if something reacted while I was coming down?
I will signal to the boat, and stay close to the cliff while they lift me back down. Presuming no other surprises, and this hasn't taken too long, we rest for a little, and then check the other pillar.
Herman knows that there is a whole area of investigative magic, practiced by House Guernicus, that deals with the detection and analysis of magical residues. This isn't something he's spent much time studying, being more interested in the faerie realm than the magical one.
Still, the spells he's used so far were aimed mostly at detecting active magic. Detecting residues should be possible as well, but he knows it is much harder to do. (It uses the Base 10 guideline of InVi)
So, after pondering the problem for a few minutes, he attempts another spell. He barely pulls it off after spending almost an hour preparing and casting it (ceremonial casting). It reveals only the barest sense of a fading magical effect, losely linked to the Arts of Corpus and Vim. Unfortunately, the Bonisagus mage was unable to add the additional magnitude that would have given him more details about the effect.
Meanwhile, down at the sea level, Japik and Prochorus have been waiting for almost two hours. And, even from the closest he can safely get to the edge of the summit, Herman cannot see the boat where it floats near the base of the pillar.
Not seeing the boat "Hey, guys?" (As far as I can tell, I can't actually use Intellego to find something I can't see without an arcane connection.)