In which Fedora makes an official visit to the Covenant of Pamplona in Navarre. Also on the list is investigating a magus dwelling in the nearby town of La Vella. To make it a round of four, let us include stops at the two hubs that Andorra connects. One of these is the one being established around Barcelona. The other links us to a Provencal covenant. For now I am saying it is Doisettep. However, when Faith & Flame comes out in June, I will let you the players make a more informed decision of which covenant we want to be linked two. Whether or not there is a Doisettep in that book, there is one in this saga.
So Fedora, you shall decide upon the order of things, with the caveat that Provencal cannot be first.
To brief you with the information you need...
The covenant in Pampalona needs a better name. Anyway, it consists of three magi. Sancio of Jerbiton is related to local nobility, and has the Gentle Gift. His twin sister Ingrid of Flambeau also has the Gentle Gift, but distances himself from his noble relatives. He is of the Apromor lineage. The third is a reclusive Ex-Miscellanea wizard whom little is known about yet, other that they practice some form of folk magic.
The situation in La Vella is that a Jerbiton archmagus from Bellaquin (a Provencal covenant) has purchased a townhouse and hired a staff and lives there posing as a wealthy retired mundane businessman and patron of the arts. No known magical activity, and if it wasn't for the fact that we know he is really a prestigious magus, there would be nothing out of the ordinary. Valgraven I think his name is.
Barcelona has been agreeable in their half of the deal. Almost every covenant in Iberia has established a tiny chapter somewhere in the suburbs, with a secret portal to their covenant. Andorra has one as well, and we also own a townhouse in the city with direct links to us here and in Mallorca.
And we shall put off Provencal for last.
Fedora, decide upon your plan, equip yourself and choose your entourage, and tell me what you need of me.
(Dunno if this is on purpose or not, but the name of the navarresse city is Pamplona, not Pampalona; there is an extra A in the name that marko keeps repeating)
Let's do Barcelona first, as a token of respect and appreciation for their being on board with the Portal Network.
Next, let's do Pamplona, and figure out why Ingrid seems to be a guy . (I know...small-screen-keyboard fail, likely, but still amusing.) Then la Vella, and finally Provençal.
Apparently, I had posted proposed advancement but forgot to actually, you know, advance her through Winter 1234. I'm also debating whether to go for one more child before she's expected to do her Longevity Ritual. (Would Vulc be able to do a reasonably powerful one for a mundane such as her, or should she look to her House and try to soothe his hurt feelings with some extra friskiness?)
What season are we planning on doing this? (I would vote for Summer, since that seems to be the best season for travel hereabouts...not enough snow to get a good sleigh-ride going.)
Am I missing something, or is Roberto the only Gently-gifted magus currently with Andorra (or Sa Dragonera)? And I think he's already committed to the City of Brass around this time.
What she was hoping was to take a Gently Gifted magus (hopefully one combat-capable, just in case) as an escort, since they're going to be mostly in urban areas I think. And a small contingent of guards (3-4 at the most) in case they get waylaid...after all, the cities are hardly safe. Other than that, I'm drawing a blank.
Pere is also Gently Gifted. He's not a combatant in the classical sense, but if he gets within Eye range of opponents he can defuse almost any unpleasantness with Mentem. He also has two personal grogs and the mundane resources to ensure we travel in comfort. Of course, he's not the best candidate to deal amicably with the magi of Barcelona.
Take them both, Pere's two grogs, two Gold Gryphons, and one of the elite Andorran Guard.
I will get back to you. I am going to read everyone's stuff, then I have to go to bed like an hour ago.
Ah. I missed Pere Fleur because (a) I've only been skimming the character creation threads in case anything leapt out at me, and (b) I was only checking the character sheets on the Wiki.
Fleur and Vibria, I can see...interesting rp ahead.
[strike]Fedora grabs two almogavars, plus Armand from our senior guard, and heads to Barcelona. Fleur will accompany her, and is supposed to meet with Pere, and from there Pere is supposed to guide Fleur to Mallorca where he resides (but they will both travel with Fedora instead).
There are two portals you can choose from, the inside and the outside gates. The covenants of Iberia now each control an outpost somewhere in the suburbs or nearby Barcelona. Not everyone has a portal yet, some just use arcane connections and teleportation for now. Andorra maintains a small townhouse in Badalona, on the south side of Barcelona.
Carmen owns a Hermes Portal to her mom's house in the inner city, near the Jewish quarter. It is expensive to pay someone to recast it annually, but she can afford it. There is some trick she knows of that makes it feasible, but that is her business. From there, it is close to the Silver Rooster, Barcelona Covenant's main site, wherein there is a portal to Pere's house in Palma on Mallorca.
Pamplona has no outpost here, and they are not part of the Iberian Tribunal. But Duresca is not to far away from it.[/strike]
Xavi rises goes near Markoko and says "psst, Marko, Badalona is on the north side of Barcelona, on the other side of the Besós river". At the time is quite a distance from Barcelona.
:mrgreen:
That's what I get for just googling "suburbs of Barcelona", finding random information, and just pretending it was something I knew all along.
So scrap that idea. I suppose that, whatever in that era constituded "suburbs", would be a formal part of the modern city. So I shall google "Barcelona Neighborhoods"...
Candidates (that I know nothing about...)
Suburbs of Barcelona at the time are actual neighbourhoods now. If you want a Suburb go for
Gracia (Grace)
El Clot (The Hole, in reference to the fact that it had a lot of "holes" where honey was producted IIRC; Clotum Melis in latin times)
Torre baró (Tower of the baron)
Sant Pau del camp (Saint Paul of the fields)
Horta (Orchard)
Sarrià (the entrance, from Sarrianus, latin; "entrance" for pilgrims in their migratory paths)
Poble Sec (Dry Village; one of the external docks of Barcelona and where the Drassanes - Naval Shipyards- were created, sicne it was a ship contruction village since the Xth century)
As you can see we like definition names :mrgreen: All those are like half an hour walking from the city centre (except Sarrià, that would be like 1 hour and Poble Sec, that would be like a 10 minutes hike) and are villages at the time.
You can also choose El Raval, even if it would not be named as such at the time as a specific place, but as the area around the city. it was not walled until the XIVth century, when the Black Death spreads in the city killing around a third of the population and the king decides to create a new neighbourhood more sparsely populated in the other side of La Rambla to spread the population and have easy access to easy orchards and fields in case of a siege.
I would go for Poble Sec if you want something near the city. I am sure there are other areas as well, but this stands out as the shipyards and fishermen's area of the city.
Fedora grabs two almogavars, plus Armand from our senior guard, and heads to Barcelona. Fleur will accompany her, and is supposed to meet with Pere, and from there Pere is supposed to guide Fleur to Mallorca where he resides (but they will both travel with Fedora instead).
There are two portals you can choose from, the inside and the outside gates. The covenants of Iberia now each control an outpost somewhere in the suburbs or nearby Barcelona. Not everyone has a portal yet, some just use arcane connections and teleportation for now. Andorra maintains a small townhouse in [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Poble-sec,_Barcelona]El Poble Sec[/url].
Carmen owns a Hermes Portal to her mom's house in the inner city, near the Jewish quarter. It is expensive to pay someone to recast it annually, but she can afford it. There is some trick she knows of that makes it feasible, but that is her business. From there, it is close to the Silver Rooster, Barcelona Covenant's main site, wherein there is a portal to Pere's house in Palma on Mallorca.
Pamplona has no outpost here, and they are not part of the Iberian Tribunal. But Duresca is not to far away from it.
[i]Sant Montjuïc does not exist at the time. Montjuïc is the mouintain. Sants (Saints) is called as such because it contained quite a few hamlets with small churches, but it is not defined as a formal area at the time. It is just a bunch of small hamlets and agricultural communities. And the Via Augusta, of course.
OTOH El Poble Sec is already a thriving community and suburb of Barcelona. It was torn down later on and rebuilt when the city grew, but right now it should have a strong personal entity, I would say. the Drassanes (royal shipyards) are where they are for a reason.[/i]
Edited.
It is hard to get a good grip on the layout from over 800 years ago when the information google brings me mainly focuses on information such as the train station, hotels, restaurants, and modern political structure. And a reference to District 3.
I like the shipyards idea
Fleur is a bit uncertain, Fedora is technically a senior maga to her. Except of course she is a redcap as well, and they generally show deference to the Gifted. And, of course, she is quite attractive. "So," she decides to avoid a formal address and hope it isn't seen as rude. "I'm sure you must have some fascinating stories."
It being summer, Fédora isn't dressed for snow and the biting winter. She is, however, still wearing her bright red ushanka, and has all her gear with her. She definitely hopes she gets to use the Redcap's Bridle, she is wearing the Boots of the March, the Cloak of the Beaver's Fur, and the Stone of Inspiration (which she has activated).
[color=blue]"You are one of the new magi...Fleur, yes? Of Bonisagus?" Fédora asks in Latin with a hint of accent that Fleur may have a hard time placing (Russian).
[color=blue]"I do have some stories I can tell. A few might even be true." The Redcap gives a wan smile at her joke. [color=blue]"And a few songs as well. Perhaps we can trade. Take turns telling stories or singing songs to pass the time. I tell a story or sing a song, and then you. It does not have to be a tale for a tale, or song for song. As long as we entertain each other."
Fédora will tell a variety of tales, some are stories that she heard as a child in the court at Kiev, some are her...adventures, if you want to call them that, as an apprentice in Novgorod or as a Redcap in Cunfin. And a few songs that she sings in her native tongue.
. (I know...small-screen-keyboard fail, likely, but still amusing.) Then la Vella, and finally Provençal.
