I'll update this either late today or tommorrow but for now I want to check which mages will be going and if any companion characters are being dragged along
Iolar
Wirth +Clara
Roberto
Aelinius
I guess kilica should come also.
Wirth will kill the first person hurting his wife, but, as he is cautious there, he'll be more rassured if kilica is there too.
Who is Roberton? Is that my character diggin' on some crazy Daft Punk electro? That sounds wicked! Move over folks! DJ Wirth is spinnin' on the decks, while I dance the Robertron!
Early in summer the party travelling to Shadows of the past sets out early in the morning travelling along the road which skirts the marsh near the mouth of the river and heads towards the town of De Panne.
Iolar says that apparently a guide from Shadows of the Past will meet them at the inn about a days journey along the road. This guide apparently knows a magical shortcut to the covenant of Shadows of the Past which is located in Normandy.
Most of the magi travel in a coach with it's bone jarring lack of suspension on the pot hole covered earthen roads. Kilica rides alongside the coach , while Iolar after a brief exposure to the comforts of the coach chooses to take to the wing circling over the coach instead.. for a while then her flight starts to roam further and further away from the coach as she enjoys herself.
Initially there is little traffic along the road as the magi have started off early and there are few travellers starting at the covenant. But after a while they come across a few merchants with wagons and travellers on horseback pushing hard on the long leg of the journey past the covenant to the next inn.
[color=blue]OOC The journey to the inn is uneventful unless you create an incident for yourselves
Roberto does not like riding in the wagon. He mutters how he needs to get out on horseback again soon.
[color=green]Wirth
[color=red]Maybe I should travel as a giant. I'd only hurt my feet then 
The Inn is a typical coaching inn of the sort developing along the trade routes providing accomodation for travelling merchants. Iolar lands and joins the group in the coach before raching the inn avoiding any problems with people seeing her shapechange.
As the coach approaches the Inn the magi all feel an InCo spell be defelcted by their parma magica . Approaching the coach is a women apparently in her thirties dressed for travelling on foot and carrying a sturdy walking stick.
[color=red]Are you the party from Novus Mane I am here to meet?
When Iolar indicates that you are she introduces herelf
[color=red]"I am Genevieve Filia Chandragec follower of Jerbiton, sent her to guide you to Shadows of the Past. I apologise for casting a spell upon you it was cast so that it would not penetrate parma and I sought to identify the coach I could not count the number of people within so I could meet your group before you reached the inn. If you wish to stay the night here I have reserved two private rooms for yourselves so that you would not be troubled byhaving to deal with the innkeeper, or we can set off for Shadows of the Past immediatly , the wood we need is about two hours walk from here and then once we are on the road it will actually take another hour to reach the covenant but it may seem longer"
Aelianus stretches his body and introduces himself as the leader of the covenant and a Verditius magus.
Genevieve politely greets Aelinius and waits to see what the magi wish to do next
[color=red]We shall take rest. Also, though I understand your motives and appreciate that you used forceless casting, I must warn you against becoming too dependant on magic. A scout sent ahead to do a mundane head cound would have sufficed I am certain. But then again, I do not know your situation. Are their enemies hereabouts that you fear?
[color=red]I have no enemies in this area, nor do I have mundane servants with me. However it seemed polite to offer my services before you reached the inn . Many magi have trouble in such dealings while I am blessed with a more gentle gift
[color=red]Ah, understood. Most magi simply get frustrated with the Gift and give up all attempts at social interaction, and never develop the skills. Thank you for your concern.
[color=orange]Hmmm..., either she is not telling me something, or she is just that rude and presumptive. Or maybe she is just lazy. If she does not fear enemies, she could have done a head count herself. No need to attempt scrying.
[color=blue]OOC just read my posts and it wasn't clear why Genevieve said she used the spell. She was looking for a coach where she could see people her spell could not detect as she thought that the best way to identify the mages as she didn't have a good description
Then my accusation of "Lazy" is most apt 
A little suspicion can save a life sometimes, 
!
Genevieve accompany's the PC's to the inn where she escorts them to a private dining room where food is served by the innkeeper. She seems happy to make conversation with the magi about tribunal gossip , mundane politics and similar but deftly diverts questions about shadows of the past.
[color=blue]Feel free to have any conversations or ask any questions here but I am including all events at the inn so people can look at them while I am away from my computer
After the meal which is pleasent enougth Genevieve suggests that the magi retire for the night there are two private rooms so she suggests that Roberton, Wirth and Aelinius take one of them while the women folk take the other.
Iolar politely declines and slips away to spend the night perched somewhere convenient.
There you go with the Roberton again! It is the latest dance craze! Are there any pretty girls for Roberto to flirt with? Unlike most magi, I bothered to develop my social skills.
[color=green]Wirth
[color=red]:evil: Tell me, why should I sleep away from my wife?
If I must take a separate bedroom, I will.
Clara laughs, and puts her hand on wirth's arm. "[color=red]Quiet! She didn't knew we were a couple, that's all! You need to relax sometimes"
[color=red]My apologies magus Wirth, Clara it was not my intent to cause offence. Wirth are you happy that your wife share your room with Aelinius and Roberto as well as yourself? Or would you prefer to share with Myself and your servant.
After some discussion arrangements for spending the night at the inn are finalised and the mages get some sleep through an uneventful night. In the morning Genevieve has arranged for breakfast and some food for the mages to carry on their journey.
She tells the magi that the entrance to the magical road to the covenant is two hours hike across the countryside.
As the magi hike across country she tells them of the road.
[color=red]"Our covenant is located on the site of an old unseelie faerie court , it seems that during the early schism war when it sided with house Diedne, mages of houses Flambeau and Tremere raided the court killing the monarchs , after that the forest when feral and became dangerous to all. It was made worse when a band of Diedne made their last stand there they cast Curse of the Haunted Forest upon the woods. Neither them or most of their attackers where ever found. Not long after the war . Two mages from Thebes came to this tribunal one was a spiritmaster and the other an ancestor of Miriam . They where able to tame the spirits of the forest and forge binding agreements with them . That is where our covenant was founded. The faerie court had links through regios to various locations across the land and we have established roads which are safe to travel as long as you follow the rules.
First travel with someone known to the guardians such as myself
Second carrythe Fetish I give you
Third STAY on the road , do not leave it no matter what you see, If you do I won't be able to help you. Possibly one of the covenant elders will be able to but they will be hard pressed to help.
Apart from that you will be perfectly safe and the hourney will take only 12 hours in realtime from Midday to Midnight. Iy may feel like more or less that I don't control but the real time of the journey is fixed