"Yes. Very interesting. I would like to hear more of these tales. Perhaps on the road you would delight us with their telling. If I am correct about what happened to her then there will be no ghost though it may be possible she left an adulteration... unlikely... but possible. There will be an area where those of my tradition may learn from her still and this place, her Final Transmission, and this is what I seek. Seek your cousin and I will return to the library to search for other places we might settle."
Unless Turold has anything else he wishes to discuss she returns to the library and begins her searching the books. When the others begin speaking of the sites they have found Betula listens closely.
“The Farne islands likely have a magic aura but they are sparse and windswept and will not sustain agriculture of any kind. The fishing is also treacherous as the tides are strong around the island. The site is also a Christian pilgrimage site and so gets more visitors than we would like. I did come across a site north of the wall that was occupied by soldiers and giants. It was a good defensive position. My research indicates it is associated with a magical salmon so there should be an magical aura of some kind there.
"As a youth, I heard a story. Wizards who lived on a rocky island in the East Anglia fens. People know where it is. They don't go there because they fear the snakes. I don't know if the story is true. Never been a covenant there, as far as I could find."
"Another I remember about. Norse wizards who harvest vis from rocks in the Wamses. Again not confirmed by the library."
"Last one for me. In the Pennines, druid gathering sites. I might be able to find one or two, based on clues from the library."
"I find this quite interesting," Betula says, "Perhaps one or the other is a site that I am looking for known as either the Midsummer Copse or Midwinter Copse. It is a grove of pines in the Pennines. I also wish to find a witch there as well. Due to this I would like to center our search in those sites in and around the range. I did find reference to a regio that includes a Roman bath not far from Castellum Veridian. Supposedly entrance requires some prayer but the books could not say which one. Unseen, with just the information provided, the sites that stand out to me are these Farne Islands though they may be too barren for my tastes, the Hill Cath'rinne mentioned, The Carpathian Gate site, and Blackpool. I do not know about boating but I do know some of Regios and can often see them. East Anglia seems too far for at least some of us. I have no interest in living among magical traps left by previous tenants."
"What do you know of this bath regio, Betula? I mean, if entrance was controlled by a prayer, I suppose if we could find a dead corpse that lived there, it might reveal how to enter there, however I'd like to be persuaded a bit before I use precious Mentem vis. Or to look for another way. Any tips on the prayer at all? Something close to Csstellum Veridian would have upsides. I suppose your refusal to live among traps at least rules out one site, even if I suspect we're overestimating the difficulty of dealing with that. Right now, I think what interests me most are Farne and Carpathian Gate also. But we could try to find the Pennines site too."
"The entrance requires a Mercurian rite, something like a prayer for protection and hospitality, but what it actually is was not said," Betula responds, "the aura is likely not particularly powerful and it is in Mercia. Though considering that, knowing how to open the Regio may be helpful as we might use it to hide from Wulfric and his kind when we are near it if the need arises. There are many sites in the Pennines which may be of interest, even if not as a site to settle. The Pennines are also between The Gate and Farnes so it may not be far from our way to explore more of those. Mountain travel may be difficult though. Blackpool, being a place the druids brought us in our travels with them seems like a good option to me. Possibly far from the wall for some but those we have made friends with might be happy to have us occupying it, some of them might join us as well. I felt some of them tired of their nomadic existence."
"Well, it certainly meets the criteria of an easily defended regio, and it has the advantage of being close to several vis sites and mythic sites we've already discovered. I'm open to explore it. On the bright side the Order does have several Mercurians... it's possible that this may be a common prayer. I don't suppose we have anyone here who might have a guess as to what prayer we might need to get in?"
Thom listens, thoughtful as the various viewpoints are shared. He takes a sip of the thinned down wine.
"We have a bunch of promising possibilities, it seems. One path forward might be to send Master Janus's scouting expedition to this Wicker Hill. That will help us assess the viability of that location and help us figure out if the council of Ungulus has been lost. If they have been lost, Ungulus itself may be an option for us. Honestly, it may be our responsibility to secure Ungulus if it has, in fact, been abandoned."
Thomas looks over to Betula and Cath'rinne.
"I would hope that Mistress Cath'rinne could be part of the scouting party to Wicker Hill, with your particular gifts, but we might also send a scouting group into these locations in The Pennines and then into Northumbria and these Farne islands. Aren't they near Bamburgh?"
The young Merinita shrugs.
"I'm no so excited about pushing down into Mercia to be at the mercy of this Wulfric fellow. We will be forced to deal with him if we do. One way or the other."
Just then Ealhstan barges in a short, thin rope seems to be in his hand. On closer inspection it is a braid. Out of breath, “The maid… Eli-ssa had this token from her lover. She wishes for it back tomorrow but said ‘if you can find him…’”
Cath'rinne nods when Thomas speaks about Ungulus as an option if the magi are found to be dead. She is about to reply when Ealhstan barges in the room. "Marvelous! How lucky we are. Finally, some intel to work with. Can I have this?" Cath'rinne quickly volunteers to perform the casting, it seems.
Casting total using the Inexorable search casting tablet is 23 - the spell is cast at the cost of 3 fatigue points.
Cath'rinne finds good maps at Ungulus, probably starting with one showing Galloway and the region North thereof. Wicker Hill, Dumfries, and Dunwald are all clearly marked within Galloway. The spell indicates a location North of Galloway, seemingly on the manor of the earl of the county North of Wicker Hill, rather central within this county.
"If they were laying siege," replies Thadeus in his usual clipped way of speaking, "they would have sent news. To ask for reinforcements and supplies, if nothing else."
"The good news is that the man is alive, not dead. We must investigate. At least some of us. Who is best suited to that?"
"I can scout overhead and investigate with spells, but if it comes to actually talking to mundanes to find out what happens, I'm letting others do that."
"I suggest the big fellow there," says Thom with a gesture toward the giant-blooded Scot, Hamish. "He said he knew something about the area."
He shrugs as he looks back.
"I'm happy to go. I've learned some basic illusions and invisibility spells if we get in a pinch along the way, but I'm not any good in a town. We saw that on the journey here from the Wall."
"I will travel on the rescue mission to deal with any combat we need but given our joint capabilities I would prefer to rescue without a fight if possible" replies Janus.
Ealhstan steps forward from the wall, "I will help you find these soldiers and magi if I can. I'm not great in a battle but I have a sense of certain things and if the rumors of the Diedne are true those senses may be helpful. I do want to remind you that Elissa wishes for the braid of her lover back, tomorrow... but, perhaps if one of you magi explained to her that it is still of use in finding her love then you might keep it as a connection to the man and, hopefully, the rest of his group."
"He's alive. We have an idea of where he is. He's close to the manor of an earl north from Dunfries" she will hand back the lock to Ealhstan. "What we don't know is what he's doing there nor if he's there alone or with the rest of the group. Did the armed group decide to siege the earl? Unlikely but not impossible. Is he being hosted for a dinner party while they're negotiating passage through the Earl's lands? I doubt it but we don't really know. Was he recovered wounded after being separated from the group? Perhaps. Is he being detained?" shrugs "We don't know. What we know is that the group has disappeared and that the last messenger to go for them did not return. At the very least, that seems to suggest it's more likely than not that things are not going according to plan as opposed to being collectively allright and free. If things are not going well for the group, that means it's more likely that he's wounded or detained than our missing army having a dinner with the local earl for the past season or two - if they were, you'd think the redcap would have returned alive with news. If the group is still intact and camping outside, we should be able to find him without this lock of hair. I doubt this is the case. On the other hand, if he's being detained against their will, or if he's hiding while separated from his group, this lock of hair might be the difference between getting him back or not getting him back. And he may be our only link to a group which may be collectively in danger. This is hers, though, so I'll let her make the call if you don't mind explaining it to her. I don't think she'll trust me if I talk to her."
Ealhstan grimaces as she hands him the braid, “No, I suppose not but it should not be me either. While I am educated and even know a smattering of Hermetic Theory, I am not a magus. This affords me some leeway in dealing with the covenfolk and others but it does not have the gravitas of one of their Lords who knows about these things saying it must be so. Caelha might be best or, perhaps, I could take one of you with the Gentle Gift to speak with her? Perhaps Caelha and one who is going on the search expedition could speak to her? Explain to her.”
Thom's brow furrows as he listens to the discussion.
"She's a servant, right? The needs of Ungulus... Honestly its survival carries far more weight than her her heart's infatuation with a lock of this fellow's hair."
He looks at Ealhstan.
"I can explain it to her if you want. It's a simple conversation: 'Do you want to continue to live and work here in the comforts of this place? Good. Then go back to your work. Thank you for having something we could use to try to save what you have here.' "
Thom shrugs. "Or am I missing something? Do all the serving grogs here have voting sigils in the Council?"