"If you want my advice, I would suggest that you discuss this with Mistress Dorana in person, rather than ask that by way of a letter." He hesitates then add, "She can be a bit... prickly about how she spends her time, particularly in the lab. She is not overly fond of that. And if she suspects that I have anything to do with this project, well," he shakes his head and sighs, "let us says that she doesn't seem very fond of me."
"As for the vis-collecting effect, are you sure that there isn't a way to cut down on the level of the spell in some way? In fact, wouldn't there be an easier way to collect it?" He shuffles in his chair, then shake his head. "We seem focused on collecting the vis at a distance. What if we were to bring the flaming gas closer instead? Would that not be easier to manage? Then we could use Gather the Magical Essence to gather the vis." He grimaces, "Of course, that would mean one of us would still have to be there to collect it. But we could enchant yet another device to perform the collection at touch range. This would be much easier to manage. In any case, it that means creating two seperate lesser devices instead of one or more greater one, we might still come on top both in terms of time and in the amount of vis required."
"Noted. And thank you for the suggestion to go in person. I hadn't even considered it, but I agree, it's the proper way to request favors of this magnitude." He smirks, "I suppose I'm not the first magus Bonisagus who is so focused on his ideas that he forgets what is proper."
"That is an interesting thought. The spell to move the flares closer would not be overly difficult, I don't think, and lowering the range of the collection effect to touch would make so that I could enchant it in a lesser device." He pauses, and begins speaking again slowly, "One potential difficulty could be ... whether the flare persists long enough to activate the collection effect ... once it is removed from its place of inception." More quickly now, "Would it expire before it can be captured? Could we provide some alternate fuel source to keep it burning? And what happens to the vis when the flame is moved or expires? If removed from the bog, would it simply dissipate? I will see about answering some of these questions as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll look into the vis and time savings. If you would excuse me." He waits for Renatus' acknowledgment and then hustles off to his lab.
Renatus nods and adds a arting comment, "If it is the bog gas that contains the vis, as it seems to be the case from what I have seen, then moving it instead of the flame would allow it to keep burning. At the very least, it might capture the erupting gas and prevent it from dissipating." Then he lets Ludovicus depart to consider the suggestion further.
Winter rolls on, with the magi busy with their various activities. (OOC: You can apply those activities to your character's stats.)
Two weeks before the Spring equinox, Renatus calls for another meeting.
"I will soon be departing for Fegheld in order to attend the Council Meeting. As I did last year, I will be returning unused lab texts and books to the library, and asking for replacements as needed. I will also be submitting the vis needs of the chapter house, and the preferences of each of you regarding the distribution or surplus vis. You should let me know in advance what you'd like to receive and I will see what I can do."
(Has Ludovicus presented a new detailed proposal by this time?)
((Was there any distribution of vis to our chapter house from the Council Meeting last year? I can't find a mention of it.))
((While re-examining the enchantments required for vis collection devices, Ludovicus found that he could not come to a decision on what the best approach would be. He has some concern (well-founded or not) that transferring the gas/flame will render the vis unharvestable. So he tries to field test the two-step collection method in the field. Accompanying Renatus Bjornaer, who he'd asked toward the end of Winter to notify him once a flare was sighted, he tries to spontaneously cast a ReAu transfer of the bog gas (base 2, +2 voice, +1 precision for lvl 5 with CT = (6+0+2+A)/2 = (8+A)/2) into a ceramic jar, the lid of which he'd wrapped with a wet cloth so as to make as air-tight a seal as possible. With the gas in the jar, he then casts a Range: touch version of Gather the Essence (with Flexible Formulaic Magic) to transfer the vis into whatever type of container they typically use. He then casts an InVi spell spontaneously (after some rest), to determine whether the vis was collected successfully.
He's also realized that there's still a possible need for opening the ReVi collection device, even for a touch-range version, since multiple uses per day might increase the level above what he can enchant in a single season. According to his observations of flare frequency, how many uses per day would suffice? So he's not exactly sure what he wants to do here. But he's sure that there'll be a need for the see-through-fog device, and that the best course of action is to ask Dorana for help with it.))
Ludovicus responds, "If it's allowed, and not a burden, I would like to travel with you to Fengheld. Not to attend the meeting, of course, just to meet with Maga Dorana and ask for her assistance with the enchantments we've been discussing. My vis request would be for any Arts related to these devices, so Rego, Intellego, Vim, and Auram. Maybe Ignem too, as an alternate. Also, is it not your turn to collect the vis this Spring? Would I need to fill in for you while you are gone and thus not be able to go with you?"
(It was mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 2b. I'll add the info in the Seasonal Activities topic from now on, to be sure we don't miss it.)
After a bit of experimenting with collecting the flares to harvest the raw vis they contain, Ludovicus comes to a number of conclusions. First is that a Rego Auram spell can indeed be used to bring the flares closer, although an Ignem requisite is needed (Base 2 works, no additional magnitude needed for the requisite). It isn't even particularly tricky (no magnitude for precision needed), but the spell needs to be maintained for some time before one can bring it close enough for the vis to be harvested at touch range. Maintaining the first spell while trying to cast the second one had been a difficult challenge and he'd needed several attempts to achieve it. Finally, he'd also learned that whatever item they enchanted with to harvest the vis at tough range, it would need to be proof against fire. The flares were hot, as the small burns he'd collected proved.
(As for frequency, so far there has been only a few occasion when the magus on watch has been called more than five times in a day and night. Sometimes several days can go by without any flare, then a close succession in the same day.)
"As a member of the covenant, you certainly have the right to attend the council meeting. We should be back within a week of the equinox, so the loss of vis should be minimal if Renatus," he nods to the Bjornaer magus, "is unable to collect the few flares that happen during that period."
((Ok, thanks. Ludovicus plans to use his two pawns from last year for the enchanted devices.))
((Based on these conclusions, Ludovicus believes the following will be required: Fog-seeing-through device: helmet
InAu lvl 15 (True Sight of the Air), +3 Env Trig, +1 for 2 uses/day = 19: 2 pawns of Intellego or Auram vis Gas-moving device: wand
ReAu(Ig) lvl 5 (base 2, +3 sight), +3 for 6 uses/day, +5 Concentration = 13; 2 pawns of Rego or Auram vis Vis capture device: metal cauldron
ReVi lvl 15 (base 10, +1 touch), +3 for 6 uses/day = 18; 2 pawns of Rego or Vim vis + 2 pawns Vim vis))
"Very good! I will be ready to go whenever the time to leave arrives." Mumbling to himself, "Did I say that right? Leaving time arrives? No. I think it was fine..."
(True Sight of the Air is a R:Per spell. So you are missing 1 magnitude for the helmet to grant the effect at R:Touch)
(The wand's gas-moving effect should be Base 2, +3 Sight, +1 Conc. The resulting level is the same, but "+5 Concentration" for an enchanted item means that the items maintains concentration. Here, it is the effect that is D:Conc and there is no need for the item to maintain it.)
(In both the gas-moving and the vis-gathering items, if you lab totals allow it you could increse the number of uses per day without affecting the amount of vis required.)
((Argh! I also don't need the +2 Sun because of the environmental trigger and 2 uses per day. Fixed below.))
((I was thinking that it might be good if the device maintains concentration. That way there is less risk of a botched capture, if a grog who can't concentrate well has to do so while trying to activate the capture device, for example.))
((Updated versions: Fog-seeing-through device: helmet
InAu lvl 10 (base 1, +4 vision, +1 touch), +3 Env Trig, +1 for 2 uses/day = 14: 2 pawns of Intellego or Auram vis
Lesser enchantment; negotiate with Dorana
Gas-moving device: wand
ReAu(Ig) lvl 5 (base 2, +3 sight), +4 for 12 uses/day, +5 Concentration = 14; 2 pawns of Rego or Auram vis
Also ask Dorana? Or Renatus Ibis? Ludovicus' LT for this effect is just 19 = 3 seasons (including +4 from wand)
Vis capture device: metal cauldron
ReVi lvl 15 (base 10, +1 touch), +4 for 12 uses/day = 19; 2 pawns of Rego or Vim vis + 2 pawns Vim vis
Invested item; Ludovicus will enchant - LT = 29 (+4 for similar spell) = 2 seasons))
(Not quite, you still need it to be D:Sun so you need to add back those 2 magnitudes. See below.)
(You still need the effect to have D:Conc before you can have the item maintain it. Right now the effect has D:Mom because it doesn't have the magnitude for D:Conc.)
(Note that you only need to improve your lab total by 9 to be able to enchant it as a lesser device in a single season. Also, a "metal cauldron" would be an item of Medium size (x3) made of Base metal (5), so it would need 15 pawns of Vim vis to open it for enchantment. Even by making it a smaller cauldron so that its size modifier is only x2, it would still mean 10 pawns of Vim vis to open it for enchantment.)
((Oh no! So many mistakes! Sorry for making this process painful. I won't be relying on memory anymore. Here we go again, hopefully the last time:
Fog-seeing-through device: helmet
InAu lvl 20 (Base 1, +4 Vision,+2 Sun, +1 Touch), +3 Env Trig, +1 for 2 uses/day = 24: 3 pawns of Intellego or Auram vis
Lesser enchantment; negotiate with Dorana
Gas-moving device: wand
ReAu(Ig) lvl 10 (Base 2, +3 Sight, +1 Conc.), +4 for 12 uses/day = 14; 2 pawns of Rego or Auram vis
Lesser enchantment; Ludovicus' LT for this effect is 19 (including +4 from wand); need to raise LT by 9.
Vis capture device: metal cauldron
ReVi lvl 15 (base 10, +1 touch), +4 for 12 uses/day = 19; 2 pawns of Rego or Vim vis
Lesser enchantment; Ludovicus will enchant when his LT is high enough; current LT = 29 (+4 for similar spell); need to raise LT by 9.
Ludovicus will undertake the enchantment of the gas-moving and vis capture devices, once his lab totals are high enough. In the meantime, if Dorana agrees to make the True Sight of the Air device for us, we can use it to help spot flares when there is fog, which should help boost the vis yield at least a little.
When all three devices are used, it will ideally be by a two-person team: one will spot and move the gas+flare (which requires the device user to concentrate), and the other will activate the vis capture effect once the vis once the gas+flare reaches the cauldron.))
(The totals look good for the items now. Note that things are easier than you may think, because of the Shape & Materials bonuses. ArM5 p.110 indicates that a helmet give +6 to affect the wearer's sight and a wand +4 to control things at a distance. Finding a suitable material could provide a nice bonus to the lab total for the cauldron as well. It could also further improve the bonus for the other items. But remember that the Shape & Material bonuses are capped by the magus' score in Magic Theory.)
"I must admit that my skill in enchanting any of these effects are quite limited," says Renatus when Ludovicus finishes presenting his summary of the items. "My best would be in Rego Vim, but even there my progress would be slow if this was a full invested item. They are all beyond my capability to enchant them as lesser items."
Turning to Renatus Ibis, he asks, "what about you, sodalis? Have you any talent in these Arts? Do you have any suggestion to make this easier?"
Ludovicus turns to Renatus Ibis"Sorry to interject sodalis," and then back to Renatus Jerbiton, "but I believe I can complete the enchantment of both the flare transfer and vis transfer devices after more seasons of study. I had been planning to increase my understanding of the relevant Arts anyway, so it is no great deviation from my plans. But it would mean that we will have to wait more than three years before we have the new devices..."
((Ludovicus has to increase his ReAu(Ig) and ReVi lab totals by 9. This will put either, or more likely both, his Rego and Vim scores above 10, so he has to find new environments in which to study these Arts. He plans to look for these new environments, and also get a better lay of the bog and surrounding land, during the next season that he spends collecting vis. He also would be interested in finding a better (quality > 9, level >= 12) Rego summa to cut down his study time. Assuming that the current Re summa goes up to level 12 or higher, he won't be able to enchant the vis gathering effect as a lesser enchantment until Winter 1211, if he doesn't find a better source from which to study.))
I can't enchant any of them as lesser items yet, neither auram nor ignem is my specialty. I could probably enchant the gas-moving device given time.
As I expressed before, my plan was to could turn water into a more viscous substance so that the gas would be trapped like in a balloon, but this is a higher level spell, I can probably barely learn the spell from a lab text, but enchanting it is way out of my reach for now and would require more vis that what you propose. I know my Prima nows such a spell, Mistress Eule said she'll ask for it on my behalf but I'm not sure the's done it yet
Renatus seems a bit sad when talking about Eule. In a more enthusiastic tone he adds :
As for making the items faster, there's always the option to collaborate in the lab and to work more in that particular season, even it that leave us exhausted for the next. Also, that's no something I can do as you know but if any of you plan to get a familiar anytime soon, he could also help in the process. With enough discipline (ooc : leadership skill) we could probably do any of the last two items next year if two magus and a familiar collaborate...We might not even need the familiar if we're willing to work more than usual.
(Or a little bit of study by the main magus done beforehand. The Arts involved aren't that high, and having an assitant drastically reduce the amount of study needed.)
(The library gives the stats of the Rego summa as L13Q9. Possible Study Bonus environments for Rego would include a craftsman's workshop, a monastery, a court of justice, a port. All of those would cover level 15 or even higher. Fengheld's main site has several of those environments.)
Ludovicus smiles at Renatus' offer. "That is very generous of you, sodalis. Your help would certainly facilitate the enchanting of the devices much sooner. Maybe even this coming year. We will have to sit down together and plan out the projects, to get a better sense of when we can do them. I would be happy to repay your assistance with a favor in the future."
((With Renatus' +7, and with the +3 for Puissant Vim that I forgot to add previously to Ludi's LT, the vis capturing device can be enchanted much sooner. Next season in fact. The vis transporting device is possible in the not-to-distant future too. Here is what Ludovicus plans to do: Spring 1209: Travel to Fengheld, negotiate flare-spotting device, attend council meeting; Be back at chapter house in less than 10 days, enchant vis harvesting device, Lvl 19 | ReVi LT = 8+9+2+6+2+4(similar spell) = 31 +7 from Renatus = 38 (I couldn't find any relevant bonus in the Shape and Materials Bonus table) Summer 1209: Harvest vis source Fall 1209: Enchant vis transporting device, Lvl 14 | ReAu(Ig) LT = 8+0+2+5+2+4(wand) = 21 +7 from Renatus = 28 Winter 1209: Harvest vis source (test enchanted devices - at least vis transport and harvesting devices, if spotting device is not yet ready)))
Note that things are easier than you may think, because of the Shape & Materials bonuses. ArM5 p.110 indicates that a helmet give +6 to affect the wearer's sight and a wand +4 to control things at a distance. Finding a suitable material could provide a nice bonus to the lab total for the cauldron as well. It could also further improve the bonus for the other items. But remember that the Shape & Material bonuses are capped by the magus' score in Magic Theory.)