Chapter 8. Winter 1013 and Spring 1014 at Ungulus

Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica: Wake of the Schism
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This post is a wiki, and should be completed as actions and resource demands are agreed. Feel free to add posts for clarification and elaboration. Winter and Spring should be considered final when the story resumes. Summer is tentative and may have to be revised in response to story events.

Winter 1013

Character Action Spare time Requirement
Janus Invent Conjure the Mystic Tower Assess the defences of the Covenant and how best to site the new tower to improve them. Locate idyllic location within the aura. Frederic's Lab
Thadeus Reading on Muto Get to know the grogs of Ungulus and inventory covenant resources Muto Summa On Fluidity (L18Q10)
Cath'rinne Invent Aegis of the Hearth ReVi 25 Tessa's Lab
Sionag read creo looks on surroundings to have a set of ingredients / herbs of spare in her chest creo summa L20q10
Thom Invent Wizard's Vigil from Lab Text Explore the surroundings, looking for faerie Cramped, Haphazard Lab + Vigil Text
Nauvi Read Corpus Speak to the grogs and ask about the area Corpus summa L17Q11
Betula Read Terram Summa Build stone labyrinth path; Meditate upon the life growing inside her Terram Summa L18Q9
The Scribe (Scribe 5) copy lab texts
The Bookbinder (Scribe 3) Copy Intellego summa - 9 levels Intellego summa L16 Q12
The Illuninator (Scribe 3) Copy Concentration summa - 9 levels Concentration summa L6 Q9
Turold Practice Latin 8+2 making himself useful to Betula
Finn Practice Latin 8xp
Caelha Reading on Rego? Rego Summa The Book of Control (L18Q9)
Hamish Practice Leadership 4 xp Organize Turb
Chronos Author Tales from the Giant's Kitchen (Magic Lore Q9) His Sanctum
Ealhstan Read Battles in Northumbria (AL: Northumbria Q7) Help out the covenfolk of Ungulus in their duties Battles in Northumbria

Spring 1014

Magus Action Spare time Requirement
Janus Read Magic Theory summa L7Q9 for 9xp. Conjure tower at start of season. Ask an ungifted person to recruit more scribes from Carlisle Magic Theory summa, 7 Creo vis
Thadeus Set up basic lab in the new tower Travel to Lord Fergus' estate to bring back the grogs who took refuge there. Perhaps swing by Wicker Hill to recover some of the equipment from the underground lab. Adequate equipment and supplies
Cath'rinne Adventure? Casting Aegis of the Hearth. Harvest the Edinburg source. 5 Vim Vis
Sionag Read Corpus summa (L17q11) Corpus summa (her dowry)
Thom Read Creo Summa (L20Q10) for 10 xp Trip to Midsummer Copse area? Cramped, Haphazard Lab
Nauvi Set up lab in new tower Visit local villages to meet people
Betula Read Terram Summa Give Birth and new baby. Terram Summa L18Q9
The Scribe Copy Magic Lore tractatus Q9 Tales from the Giant’s Kitchen (he will take the original away when he travels)
The Bookbinder (Scribe 3) Copy Intellego summa - finished Intellego summa L16 Q12
The Illuninator (Scribe 3) Copy Concentration summa - finished Concentration summa L6 Q9
Turold Practice Latin 8+2
Finn Adventure Recruitment in Carlisle
Chronos Author The Last Campaign of Tacitus (Order of Hermes Lore Q9)
Hamish Practice Leadership 4 xp Recruit and train Turb
Ealhstan Read Know Thy Enemy (Org Lore: Diedne Q8) Help out the covenfolk of Ungulus in their duties Know Thy Enemy Tractatus

Summer 1014 (tentative plans)

Magus Action Spare time Requirement
Janus Invent Wealth of Croesus CrTe 30 from lab text (Cr16+Te 11+Int 3+MT 3+Aura 6-Lab 1= 38 Layout plan for size +5 hexagonal lab at idyllic site and get the grogs to built 3 foot dry stone wall, with door entrance lab text for Wealth of Croesus
Thadeus Invent Wizard's Vigil (MuVi 20) from lab text Investigate and harvest vis source(s). Sort out the papers from the Council of the Eight cottages and from Wicker Hill. Tacitus' former lab + lab text
Cath'rinne Adventure
Sionag Adventure (midsummer copses ? )
Thom Adventure at Midsummer Copse Other people and some turb folks
Nauvi Go to retrieve dowry of goods and grogs
Betula
The Scribe (Scribe 5) Copy The March in Loch Legean The March in Loch Legean
The Bookbinder (Scribe 3) Copy Battles in Northumbria Battles in Northumbria
The Illuminator (Scribe 3) Copy Order of Hermes Lore tractatus Q9 “The Last Campaign of Tacitus” The Last Campaign of Tacitus
Turold Adventure
Finn Adventure
Hamish Support summer adventures as needed. Train turb
Ealhstan
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OOC. @darkwing
Where is the dowry stored?

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Before Caelha departs for Blackthorn, Thadeus will sugest writing a letter that she can carry with her to that covenant. This letter would commending her on the excellent job she has done managing Ungulus.

We may also want to inform Blackthorn about the new coucil of magi for Ungulus, and express our interest in continuing harmonious relations with them.

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And if they come demanding rights we can burn them back to the Stone Age!!

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:laughing:

That's why I used "inform them". We're not asking permission, just stating a fact.

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Cath'rinne cast the Aegis ReVi 20 during Spring, achieving +21 penetration on her own.

Edit: Scratch that. I thought we had ReVi 20 and 30, but we have 25 and she can learn it. Make that Aegis 25, +16 penetration.

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We have lvl 20 and 30 lab texts.

The lvl 25 is a casting tablet, with a +26 Penetration embedded.

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20 and 30 from dowry, and 25 from Ungulus it seems: Setting: Ungulus reformed - #3 by loke

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I don't know where the lvl 25 comes from. It's not in the dowries (see Covenant in spe) and in the description of the Ungulus library the only lvl 25 Aegis was a casting tablet. But I may be wrong.

Edit: Forget it, I found the lvl 25 in Chapter 2.

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Chronos spends the Winter and Spring authoring two books, preparing to travel in Summer. He politely suggests that the covenant scribes copies the book for archiving at Ungulus. He wants to take the original manuscripts with him, to send to Harco, when he travels, but if you agree to copy, he agrees to leave the second tome, for which there is no time to copy, until the next time a redcap visits.

I have assumed that you agree in the wiki posts above.

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The only issue with that is that our plans to learn Wizard's Vigil to help boost penetration fall apart. We'd need another magus to learn it at level 20 in order to reach double the level of the Aegis, and I'm not sure we have someone else good enough at MuVi to do that quickly.

On the other hand, if Cath'rinne learns the level 20 she can cast it by herself with full penetration without help. The question is which is best: 20 at +20 or 25 at +16?

And do we change our plans to learn Vigil? The spell is of limited use for non-rituals.

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Given Cath’rinne did not make the +25 penetration level just shows how much we need people to learn the Wizard’s Vigil to support the casting. Given the Vigil is only available at level 20, giving 10 towards the 50 needed, we pretty much all need to learn it I would think. Janus will learn it when the lab text is available

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Just in case the like isn't clear, I agree.

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I agree

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Nothing that isn't fixed by Cath'rinne learning a Vigil and/or time. If I planned not to raise Rego Vim + Al/Ph + Penetration, I wouldn't have offered to be ritualist.

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Exploration. Winter 1013.

Janus explores the area to assess defensibility and find an idyllic spot for himself. The aura is several hundred paces wide and extends down to the shore of the lake. The tower is placed on the most defensible spot within the aura, on a hill, and close enough for the lake to block one approach. Janus finds a beautiful spot just short of a hundred paces along the lake from the tower. The area between this site and the tower is favoured by the goats. The sheep seek flatter ground.

With an aegis a hundred paces across, covering the tower and Janus' idyll, the second tower would be awkwardly placed in goats' land. It is possible, but it would look odd (and those with a Prof: Architect score, or an AL roll 12+ can tell this in advance).

The cottages and outbuildings would be harder to defend, both by Aegis and by arms. They form small hamlets 50-500 paces from the tower.

The grogs and servants seem tired and overworked to Thadeus and Nauvi. There is constant tension. Even if they have not seen an attack for more than a year, they feel the menace, and the grief over lost comrades, and now more magi mean more work. The rangers can give Nauvi the best accounts of the area. The shield grogs know their way to Carlisle and to Workington or Keswick which are villages with regular markets and churches. It takes the better part of a day to get to either town, and 2-3 days to Carlisle. The rangers can say more about peculiar hill formations, hunting grounds, and some of them have even been to the faerie court South of Lake District to trade vis on behalf of the magi.

Sionag finds some ingredients, but Winter is not the ideal time for most plants.

Thom does not find any faeries in the immediate vicinity. He probably makes the trip to Workington and Keswick. There are lesser faeries around near the larger settlements, but nothing out of the ordinary. Brownies are known to inhabit some of the houses, but they are never seen. There is a lesser farie in the hollow tree by the road. Etc. Faerie auras are 1 or 2.

Hamish gets to know the turb. Several of shield grogs are knocked out with fever for the better part of Winter, and so are some of the servants. Those with a little knowledge of the arcane lores (magic or infernal) may put it down to disease spirits that would normally have been blocked by the Aegis.

Have I forgotten anything for Winter?

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Winter 1013 Lab Work for Thom

Invent Wizard's Vigil (MuVi 20) from Lab Text

Lab Score: Mu (10) + Vi (3) + Int (3) + MT (6) + Aura (5) - Cramped Lab (General Quality -1) = 26

Successful Invention!

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The Spring Equinox is ritual time. Cath'rinne casts the Aegis, and Janus conjures a second tower. Cath'rinne immediately leaves to collect the Herbam Vis.

Towards the end of Winter, you have started to feel the staff shortage. Meal times are not as regular as you have learnt to expect in covenant. When food is brought, servants are running, and Mildred, politely at first, suggest that nobody asks to have it brought to their labs. Chamber pots are sometimes not emptied for a day, and clothes are not mended.

Janus asks unGifted people to try to recruit scribes from Carlisle, and Osgar reminds you of the need to recruit servants.

Chronos promises to take any letters you write when he travels in Summer. He is waiting to see if you get word from Blackthorn before Midsummer, and cannot say if he will travel via Wallsend to Calais or to Cad Gadu and Blackthorn.

Does anyone want to take up the challenge to recruit while Cath'rinne is away? I'll run a light-weight story in parallel if you want to play. We could combine it with Nauvi's village gossip exercise.

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Finn would like to go recruiting people. Here comes the Pied Piper of Ungulus!

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Discussion. Winter 1013.

At a convenient time, Thadeus will speak with all the magi who are available.

"What should we do about the grogs that took refuge with Lord Fergus? When we visited there, we indicated that we would come back to retrive them come spring. At a minimum, I expect that Gwaine -- that's the grog we had an arcane connection to -- should probably want to come back to see his child born. There were a few others, if I remember it correctly. Some may decide to stay there, so may want to return."

"So I would propose sending a party to bring them to Ungulus, comes spring. I'm not sure how many will want to come back, and whether Fergus will let them leave. At a minimum, the lordling would expect some sort of payment for feeding them during winter. He might even be inclined to turn us away. How should we deal with that? This may not come to be, but we should be ready if it does."

"On a related topic, I would propose that we go back to Wicker Hill and try to gather up as much lab equipment as we can from the underground laboratory that we found there. We will need it to set up the laboratories in the new tower. And we may not want the peasants to discover it when they plunder the ruins, as they will invevitably do if given time."