“I need to obtain a longevity ritual by Winter this year so a lab would also be a priority for me as well” replies Janus having been prompted by Nauvi
Thadeus winces visibly at Janus' comment. He is still several years aways before needing a longevity ritual.
Betula scribbles down the new desire. "Is that everyone who has spoken? Have I forgotten anything? Here, I will read the list," and she does, leaving of the names of those who proposed or supported that item.
Covenant List
- strong Magic aura,
preferrably in a regioThad, Bet, Cath - in or near a forest Bet
- nearby site of fae power Thom
- enough space Thad
- Ghosts Cath
- Defensible ^ or Regio Jan Cath Bet
- Near the Wall Jan
- a site where labs can be made quickly Nauvi Jan
"I think you wanted the regio for defense, just as I did, so I would split the regio from the aura and group that by "Defensible and/or regio" And space, yes please."
Betula draws a line then makes the changes asked by Cath and shows the list to the others (see above), "Like this?"
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Nauvi looks through the library, looking through the names of the books and looking for any references that match up to the legendary vis sources his parens had told him about. Nauvi's determination to find the perfect spot forces him to go through books at a prodigious pace, and he stays working late into the night. His careful cross-referencing yields some clues about magical places, but Nauvi is less clear on Hermetic history.
[OOC: rolled a 1 then a 6 for Magic Lore, Int +3 Magic Lore 1 +4 library bonus is 20, spends 2 confidence for a total 26.
Rolled a 2 for Order of Hermes Lore, Int +3 OOH Lore +1 , +4 library bonus for total 10]
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When the others begin pulling books from shelves in the library and council chambers Betula excuses herself, "There is someone I must speak to and more of us than books it almost seems." Descending the stairs she looks for Turold and grabs the first servant she sees once she is at least a floor below the library and out of earshot, "Is there an herbwife here, a wise woman, someone who delivers babies?"
«Euh,» stutters the maid, startled by Betula's enthusiastic and direct demeanour. Frightened by the Gift she backs into the wall and stutters a little more. «C-c-clarissa is our chirurgeon. Mus-must, I s-s-sup-p-pose she has delievered babies.»
Clarissa is a quite mature and well-composed woman, managing the sick room on the first floor. Although, since Luciu passed away, nobody has been sick, and some of the beds are used by the guests instead of cramping all the floors above.
«Of course, if there is need, I step in,» says Clarissa. «But it is not often that we have the chance to welcome new life here. More often we can only ease the pain of those who pass away.»
If she discusses the matter further, Betula learns that Elissa's child is the only one born in the neighbourhood for the last year and a half at least. Clarissa delivered them together with one of the shepherd's wives. There are a lot of shepherd's wives and maids who have quite some experience tending the sick room under Clarissa's charge, dealing with all sorts of emergencies, so there should not be any shortage of skill.
"Good, good that you have delivered before. A proper herbwife would be better but, should I have need, you will do and I will return," at which Betula abruptly leaves to go find Turold.
[EDIT:] When Betula finds Turold ( @temprobe ) she takes him aside, "I remembered something. Mention of a place. It might be of import to your tradition. I don't know exactly where it is but I know some features and its general area. A member of my tradition, Cassandra, was learning some of the wisdom of the Druids and she ascended. The story says it was in a grove of pine trees, if my memory and the story serves, in the Pennines and referred to as either Midsummer or Midwinter Copse. Does any of this ring a bell? If not, can we get word to your people? Perhaps one of them knows its location. I wish to study the site, sometimes when those of my tradition ascend we leave behind a mark on that place that shares that one's wisdom."
With his research wrapped up, Thom finds his way back to the meeting room at the appointed hour. He sets out cups and pitchers of beverage in case others want a drink when they reconvene. He also convinced the cooking staff to make up a tray of little tarts made with honey, dried fruit, nuts, and spices.
When the group has re-gathered after the research, Thom recounts a bit of what he learned.
"… Probably the most interesting thing I came across are references to The Bog Boar. It appears to live in a regio and comes out to feed occasionally. Likely a third or fourth magnitude in it's power. And it's up along the Northumbrian Coast in a marsh I believe. It might be an indication of other areas and creatures of interest along that stretch of coast."
7 on an Int+Org lore check, 8 on an Int+Area Lore check. Additionnal specialty of legends might apply to this roll. Does Turold know what area Betula's talking about?
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"So it's likely we can expect an aura that's at least 3 or 4 magnitude, defensible, with a vis source nearby it feeds on. It could be worth checking, but I'm not sure it's my top option. Who knows, even if we reject the site, maybe the creature would make a worthwhile familiar for those of who are thinking about that."
Cath'rinne shares some of the leads she found during her research.
"The first area I can talk about is East of here, in the Pennines. It's a hilltop, quite removed from any civilization, there's a cave and a magic aura. I don't know how strong the aura is, but it does give us some secrecy and defensibility. I anticipate it checks off the same kind of positives we could get from the bog boar cave, but we can't know unless we explore both."
South from there, in the Yorkshire Dales, there was a former covenant named Rosalba. They were defeated by Blackthorn, but there are active defenses and so we're likely to find usable labs and libraries should we get arround those traps. May be more easily said than done, since we have two challenges to overcome - locating it, and disarming the traps. Should we pull it off, however, I expect it to be worth our time. If we don't die trying." she chuckles, seemingly amused. "I have to say the story intrigues me and may want to explore even if you decide you'd rather not walk into traps just yet."
"A good piece of news is I've located Wicker Hill, which may be useful to track down the expedition from Ungulus, or as a covenant site if the Diedne were vanquished from the area by the recent expedition. I've also found about a former covenant north from here, the Carpatian Gate, which was a former Tremere covenant a powerful aura that was destroyed during the war. I don't expect there are much leftovers there to pick, but if we're looking for a high level aura or regio, this might be worth a look as a top prospect."
"Of the four options I bring, I'm more inclined to look at Carpatian Gate first, unless we find evidence on our rescue expedition that Wicker Hill has been abandoned or severely weakened."
"Oh, and I found something about two covenants failing on Isle of Mann, both within a year of settling down. Unless someone knows more - I suggest we avoid being the third to fail as a result of unknown local problems."
"I'd be inclined to avoid Rosalba, since if Blackthorn was unable to disarm those trops I doubt we will be able to do so. Didn't they lose magi destroying it?"
"They did."
"How about the Farne Islands? I've heard about the legends associated with Lindisfarne, but I've found in this book a reference to a network of regiones forming a network with a path to the mainland. It could combine our desire for defensibility, magical resources and food in one place."
Nauvi shows the references in the book.
"Many good suggestions though, are any of us skilled at dealing with magical traps?" he asks.
"Sorry, Lindisfarne? A regio network sounds interesting. Anything else to share about it?"
This sounds very plausible, but the location sounds as if it is North of the area frequented by Turold's own tribe. Turold recognises the name of Cassandra as an alien witch of many stories. She was an unshakable adventuress, and badly wounded in several battles with legendary beasts and native witches of other, non-druid traditions, but only grew in confidence every time.
"I've heard of her. There were many tales about her, her battles and adventures that were shared arround the campfire. I believe she lived north of our traditional lands. I unfortunately have no idea how to find her resting place, should you wish to contact her ghost. Is that a thing among hermetics? You seemed to be more apt at talking to trees in a similar way to what I do. Anyhow. I could try and find out more. I have a distant cousin that belongs to a tribe that dwelt north. It would take me some time to track her down however. Is this what you wish?"
"The Farne Islands are an archipelago stretching far beyond Lindisfarne. The druids are supposed to have dwelled in the most powerful regio, only accessible from two islands at low tide. There's also a record somewhere else of a contest somewhere called the Wamses, where the referee earns a token of vis, so presumably there are vis sources there. Does anyone know much about boating or travelling between islands, or indeed getting in and out of regiones?"
Nauvi is too proud to admit his persona nearly got trapped in a faerie regio.
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