spring 1230 into the magic realm

Before the realm is entered please give some indication of (primarily) who is going and what preparations have been made.

Anastasia is going. She intends to take a small chip from an object we leave just inside the Portal once she arrives in the Magic Realm to have an arcane connection to the vincinity of the portal, in case what they encounter requires a quick retreat. She'll bring some dry food, some water, a backpack, a journal, ink and quill for notes.

When the topic of an excursion comes up in council, Bartomeus listens without saying anything in the initial discussion. After a few minutes, he takes a long, deep breath.

"I guess… Yes, I will join in on this trip through the gate. The opportunity is simply too great to pass up. Though I'm not entirely sure what help I'll be… I do have a few formulae that may be helpful. The protective ward formulae should also be complete by he time spring arrives."

Bartomeus puts together simple traveling gear with basic foods, a couple skins of watered wine, his walking stave, a small carving and eating knife, writing materials and journal. Oh, and a good traveling hat with a wide brim and an elegant feather.

Kriegeist says, "I can't turn down the opportunity to go into the magic realm! I'll certainly come as well. Do we have a surefire way to find our way back?"

His preparations are similar, a traveling pack with food and water, and a blank book with some charcoal sticks for writing or drawing. He will also ask his familiar if he can be of any assistance as a guide.

You do know for a fact that the entry gate is 2 way. Beyond that you cannot tell.

Anastasia chimes in: "Our grogs leave a rock inside the portal every season, from which we extract vis. Once we cross the portal, I intend to take a small piece from that rock as an arcane connection to something close to the portal. If we get lost in the Magic Realm, I should be able to draw a circle of homecoming to our group, to bring us back to the portal. There may be dangers to face there, but getting lost doesn't worry me too much."

After some nervousness and discussion the group steps into the portal, where they find themselves in what appears to be an ancient Germanic village set upon a island. There are perhaps a hundred small houses in this village, and the main hall is visible up ahead. Close to a thousand people are in the streets, floating without touching the ground, and greeting each other in a language that nobody here finds familiar.

Before the group steps into the Magic Realm, Anastasia will ask her sodales to cast a formulaic spell in front of her, and let her analyze it. "I'm a spontaneous Muto Vim specialist. If you need more range, more penetration, a stronger effect than your formulaic spell allows... I can help when there is a need for it. But to reliably help you, I need to be familiar with how you cast. This will help me calibrate my magic to yours, so that I can boost spells of higher magnitude, or to make a more pronounced change to your spells." She'll follow through with Comprehend Magic once they cast.

Assuming they cast, the rolls to analyze Bartomeus and Kriegeist's magic succeeds, regardless of the magnitude of the spell they choose to use.

Given the level of information revealed by analyze magic I do want a response as to whether the other mages participate in this exercise.

Bartomeus runs a hand back across his hair which he has bound back into a pony tail with a leather cord. An unusually large, gold and black tortoiseshell cat cleans a foreleg as it sits on its haunches to the magus's right.

"Most interesting specialization. Most interesting indeed." The Bonisagus smiles tightly, rather more tense than his usual gregarious self. "I developed a new pair of formulae that provide some degree of protective warding against mentem-based spirits and creatures of the Magic realm. It lasts until sunset, and I'm quite happy to cast it on each of you should you want it. And perhaps your specialization can make it more effective. I have to admit, I am not a warding specialist at all."

Bartomeus then masterfully casts the warding spell on himself, his voice and gestures clear and crisp in their attention to detail and nuance.

Having obtained permission, Anastasia analyses the warding spell as it is cast. "Sure. I could enhance the creatures it can stop by an additional magnitude if we find a particularly dangerous area. Or I can prolong it, so we need not worry about it running out at a bad timing during our trip, however long it lasts. It's probably not a good habit to enhance it every Sun duration, however."

Kriegeist smiles. His hair is a frizzy disaster as always. He says, "I hope you realize you're asking for the first serious trust we've had between ourselves in this covenant. But I think it's deserved, by now. Most of my spells require one or more enemy targets, to be cast, but here..." And he casts a non-fatiguing CrIg spell to create a small flame above the palm of his hand, for a moment.

"Trust among sodales may have a foundation in the Oath but it still requires time and mutual will to build a structure that will be both enduring and inspiring," offers Bartomeus to his colleagues with a nod.

"Well, shall we head in?" says Bartomeus after a pause, his jaw set and his courage gathered. The large feline at his side simply yawns before rising up on its haunches.

Anastasia offers a charming smile to Kriegeist as he offers her his trust and takes a moment to comprehend his style of magic. She agrees with Bartomeus and readies herself to proceed in the Magic Realm shortly thereafter. She'll accept Bartomeus' ward before stepping in to the other side. Arriving in the ancient Germanic village, Anastasia is impressed nonetheless. Being initially confused by the language the ghosts seem to speak, she'll take some time to listen in to see if she can recognise an archaic german tongue, or a language parent to Latin. She does not engage the ghosts yet, content to observe.

the tongue seems to be something Germanic.

Kriegeist is at the back of the group, unsure how his gift will effect things in the magic realm, listening to the conversation and trying to see if he can identify any of the words.

[He has Low German native language, can he get anything?]

Bartomeus's eyes light up at the fascinating scene before him, so reminiscent of his apprentice years in the Rhine. (How anciently Germanic does this feel? Just old?) The magus watches the village's denizens move around, feet never touching the ground. "Fascinating. That would be handy…"

The Bonisagus continues to look around them for a few moments before looking down at the feline at his side.

"What do you think of this place, Aurelius? Do you see anything of note?"

(Aurelius has Second Sight and Premonitions, in case those trigger anything.)

"The houses are all... not regio boundaries, but like regio boundaries" Aurelius comments.
As you listen more to the language you also hear elements of Greek, Latin and maybe Celtic as components of the dialogue.

(Do we understand the cat, or does only Bartomeus understand the cat?)