Captured by the Bird Headed Jews
Mythic Historical - This post is based on the Bird Head Haggadah, the earliest surviving Ashkenazi hagadah. A haggadah is the book that describes the practice of the Passover seder. In the 21st century Jews read from the haggadah at home on the first two nights of Pesach. Created around 1300, this haggadah depicts the practices surrounding passover as well as the story of the Exodus from Egypt. All the Jewish people in the book are shown with bird heads. The modern explanation for the bird headed figures in the book’s art work is the Jewish prohibition on depicting images of humans. But in Mythic Europe perhaps this book should be taken more literally.
In the forests of Southern Germany live a curious group of Faeries. These creatures look human, except that they have the heads of birds, generally with long curved beaks and feathery flowing hair. When Christians attacked a nearby Jewish village on Passover a young girl, Chaya ben Avram, fled into the woods, and encountered the faeries. Chaya told the Faeries the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the Faeries understood the power of the story. This incident created a regio in the woods, and Faeries abduct passers by every Passover to recreate the story, drawing their power from this human story.
The magi learn that travelers have been disappearing from a nearby road when it winds its way through the woods. A group of covenant grogs carrying valuable goods are the latest to disappear, and it seems that an expedition must be sent to retrieve them. The party finds the Faerie regio, and must pass through the Faerie’s trials to escape. While the historical bird headed Jews are found in the art of Southern Germany, this story is so fanciful that it could be moved anywhere in Mythic Europe with little trouble. This could be run as a somewhat “on rails” introductory adventure to the more fantastical elements of Mythic Europe, as well as a good reason to incorporate Jewish stories into a saga.
The regio entrance is under an archway of branches. Naturally it opens only at night and only during the the eight nights of Passover. Otherwise the party will have to find a way to see into the regio, either with Second Sight, Magical Sensitivity, or a spell. Once they can see into it they can enter it. The regio has several levels, the first with a Faerie aura of 3, and increasing by 1 as they go deeper into it. The levels can only be accessed one at a time; once the party enters a level there is no going back, only forward. Each level plays out a different part of the Pesach story, as seen through the eyes of a nine year old.
Upon entering the regio the party will find themselves in a harsh desert dressed as Israelite slaves. Their normal possessions have not been taken, but changed, so that a suit of armor has become tattered rags and a magic wand has become a twisted walking stick. Their possessions are useless for their usual purpose while they are transformed this way. This is Faerie Terram based enchantment with a Penetration of 10 + a stress die, so some characters will be able to resist it. As the party enters the regio they hear a booming voice pronounce words of Hebrew.
“B'chol dor vador chayav adom lir'ot et-atzmo ke'illu hu yatza mi-mitzrayim”
Anyone who understands the language knows that it is from the hagaddah
“In every generation each person must think of himself as having personally left Egypt.”
First Level - Faerie Aura 3 - “And the Egyptians Dealt Cruelly With Us”
The first level depicts the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt. The party will find that they are being forced to labor by bird headed Egyptian taskmasters wielding whips. These are Faeries with a Might of 5 whose whips have Init +4, Attack +7, Defense +3, Damage +4 and Soak +3. A whip never does more damage than a Light Wound with a single hit. There are as many Faeries as there are party members. The characters may fight the taskmastrers or they may submit and do the labor. They are expected to build a stone storehouse, which requires a day’s hard labor. Each character should make three Stamina + Athletics rolls of 9+, with each failure costing a long term fatigue level, to build the storehouse. Alternatively they can use magic to build it, or find some other creative solution. Once the faeries are defeated or the storehouse built the next level of the regio opens.
Second Level - Faerie Aura 4 - “Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild Animals, Pestilence, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, Death of the Firstborn”
The second level shows the preparations that the Israelites undertook in order to escape from Egypt. The hot desert sun is setting over the slave houses that the Israelites live in. Their taskmasters are nowhere to be found. Indeed, as the sun sets the party is treated to a view of the miraculous plagues as they rain down on the Egyptians in their cities far in the distance. Some fellow bird headed Israelites - again Faeries with Might 5 - will rush up to them and tell them that they need to bake their bread and mark their doors with goat blood, and that there is no time to waste. The party must quickly bake matzo - unleavened bread - which can be done with a Dexterity + Profession (Chef) roll of 6+. Magic can, of course, help as well. More importantly they must find a goat, slaughter it, and paint its blood on door frames of their slave houses. If the party neglects this important task an Intelligence + Theology roll of 6+ should be allowed for each character so they can remember the task and the deadly consequences of failing to do it. This part of the story ends when the sun sets and the angel of death passes over the houses. Any first born party member who is not in a house marked with blood must make a Stamina roll of 12+ or die. This effect has Penetration of 20 + a stress die and is a Corpus effect.
Third Level - Faerie Aura 5 - “He Split the Sea for Us and Brought Us Through It On Dry Land”
The third level shows the Israelites trapped at the edge of the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army, mounted on chariots, crashing down upon them. The sea before them begins to part, and the party must flee or be attacked by thousands of bird headed Egyptian soldiers. These are, again, Faeries with Might 5, but the heavily armed and armored Egyptians have Init +3, Attack +15, Defense +15, Damage +10 and Soak +10. There are thousands of them - this is not a battle that can be won. The party must escape through the parted sea, with each member making three Quickness + Athletics rolls. On failure they are subject to a single attack by an Egyptian charioteer. Magic may be used to travel quickly, deflect these attacks, or in other creative ways. After three rounds of flight the party reaches the other side, and the sea comes crashing down on their pursuers, ending this part of the story.
Fourth Level - Faerie Aura 6 - “He Drew Us Close Around Mount Sinai and Gave Us The Torah”
The fourth level seems, at first, as a relief. The party finds themselves on the slopes of a tall mountain. High above they can see thick clouds and a golden light peaking through the clouds. There is nothing below them, the natural course is to climb, and that is the only way the story can proceed. At the top they find a burning bush surrounded by glowing light. This form may seem Divine, but it is, in fact, the Faerie leader of this regio. He goes by the name “Hashem.” Hiding in the shadows is the nine year old girl Chaya, characters can notice her with a Perception + Awareness roll of 6+. Hashem announces that the party has personally experienced the story of the exodus from Egypt, and now they must wander the desert for 40 years.
The party should have a chance to object to this, though Hashem is unpersuaded by any arguments. This is how the story goes, after all. Chaya is a more likely avenue of persuasion. The girl is frightened and wants to go home. She isn’t sure how long she’s been here, but it's certainly long enough. She told this “Hashem” the story of Pesach and then everything quickly got out of hand. She has seen several groups of people, including the covenant’s unfortunate grogs, pass through these trials. She knows that they are all wandering the Faerie desert and will be for many decades to come. She is frightened of “Hashem,” it is wrong to defy God, and she does not want to tell him that he’s doing the wrong thing. Some Charm, Leadership, and Folk Ken rolls of 9+ can get this story out of Chaya and persuade her that “Hashem” is not god - something she’s already inclined to believe. Only once Chaya is on their side can the party persuade “Hashem” to let them go, perhaps with an argument that the story isn’t really a good one if they don’t actually leave the regio.
An alternate course the party could take would be to fight “Hashem” He has a Faerie Might of 20 and a Soak of +2. He is immune to physical damage and to fire, but can be harmed by cold and water. Throwing a skin of water on him does +10 damage, and more impressive Creo Aquam effects will be even more effective - assuming they can penetrate. The challenge is that the characters have very little equipment because of the transformation when they entered the regio.
“Hashem” has no ability to attack, but once he gets bored or once the party attacks him he will start to transport the party to the next level of the regio. This is a Muto Vim effect with Penetration 10 + a stress die. It targets one character a round. If they are successfully affected then they are transported to the next level of the regio.
Fifth Level - Faerie Aura 7 - “Had He Given Us the Torah Without Bringing us to the Land of Israel, It Would Have Been Enough.”
The final level of the regio is the desert of Sinai. Once transported here a character must wander for forty years before they are released from the regio. The poor living conditions of the desert provide a -2 penalty to Aging rolls. The character had better hope that their companions can rescue them.
Back in the fourth level, if “Hashem” is defeated or persuaded then the regio collapses. All the characters in it, both the party of adventurers, their wayward grogs, the two dozen or so other unfortunates who have been trapped by the faeries, and the girl Chaya are expelled into the forest. Five pawns of Rego vis, in the form of the task master’s whips, and five pawns of Muto vis, in the form of desert sand, can also be found at the entrance.
Story Seed - Chaya ben Avram
The girl who started this all has no family to return to, and, in any case, is in no condition to be reintegrated into society after her strange experience. She has been in the regio for at least a year, and has acquired the Faerie Upbringing flaw. She is also Gifted. Chaya can be played in a number of ways to suit the needs of a player character seeking an apprentice. She might be fascinated by her experience and want to learn more about it, making her a good fit for a Merinita or Bonisagus magus. Or she might be driven to punish the fae to make sure this does not happen again, making her a good fit for a Flameau, Tremere, or Tytalus magus. Or she might be interested in learning more about stories and people, making her a good fit for a Jerbition. Or your troupe may find another way to portray her entirely. No matter what, she is Jewish and that faith is an important part of her character, which may lead to interesting stories for her future parens.