@Arthur How do we do Correspondences? Do we use this optional rule? What limits do we put on it, if at all?
A few more questions:
Does each Magi need to take 2 seasons to set up his/her lab?
Who and why would invite Alba and Celeste to this new covenant? It seems like they'd both be in Irencillia, and if someone would invite one of them, the other might come as well.
I have been meaning to ask the same question!
@Vortigern and @Nithyn I'm thinking of running that adventure for the Ash gild on Summer of 1206. Are both magi going? Or only one?
At the moment I'm just thinking on how would be the best way to present the quest, so take your time to advance the magi till Spring of 1206.
I think it really depends on what it is? The two have very different strengths/approaches after all.
I want to avoid spoilling too much, but...
Story:
The gild heard rumors about the most recent spell developed by an archmagus, and really, really, really wants it. They can leverage on an old debt to request a copy, but that enough won't suffice. The envoy will need to present a compelling argument and negotiate on behalf of the gild. It might also be necessary to accomplish a small task for the archmagus (but what an archmagus considers "small" might prove to be fairly complex for a recently gauntleted magus).
If necessary, the exact nature of the task will depend on the envoy(s). I won't request Vorsutus to negotiate with farmers. I won't send Belisarius on something that requires a R:Voice spell, but I might send him on a task that would be easy for someone who knows a R:Voice spell, but is tricky for him.
If both magi go, the task will require cooperation from both (or will at least be easier to accomplish with cooperation instead of one trying to do everything). If only one, it will be suitable for whoever goes.
EDIT: I can also tell you that the archumagus is a Flambeau. While yet unrelated to Belisarius (and with a very different inclination in terms of Arts and Abilities), he might be interested in getting in touch with the figure.
Vorsutus would be eager to both get on good terms with such a prominent magus in the Tribunal and with the Gild both. I'm amiable to participate as long as he has had a chance to deliver his family etc. to Tugurium first.
The information regarding the lab I believe is that we may stipulate a reasonable set of arrangements for the sanctum itself within the context of the grounds of Tugurium, and the lab will have one season invested in setting it up already but therefore will still have the "basic" flaw until a second season is spent completing it.
I believe also that Clusius is more or less the one writing letters to recruit Magi as members?
Didn't saw the edit until Vortigern answer to it xD
As Vortigern said, 2 seasons is the bare minimum time expected to set a lab completely functional if there is not one.
But then you also need to one or more seaons to build the building where the lab (and the sanctum) will be located... i suppose 1 season for a regular house/tower and 2 seasons if you want something more special/big 
So... maybe around 3 or 4 seasons if you want something custom? (I'm counting here than any Virtues from the building itselft don't need extra time, since you aren't modifying any previous building)
BUT, if you don't care about customizing your lab or something like that. Iirc when i read the saga so far, there are some prepared labs in Tugurium already (i think that they are in the caves). Surely Arthur or Rafael will be able to add more insight on the default catalog to choose from xD
Thats interesting to know for sure.
I was expecting more or less listening about a covenant searching for magis and Alba being interested in visiting it.
Tugurium has a great variety of structures and rooms where a lab can be insyalled. So you get to choose the set up that you would like for your sanctum and lab. Somewhere in this topic -- or perhaps it is in the covenant creation topic -- I described what you can or cannot select. I can try to find it later this week if no one else is able to locate it by then.
But the gist of it was that if you want an independent house, or a fairly large space, or a room on top of a tower, or an underground lab, you can get that. A basic lab will be installed when you get there, courtesy of Julius the Steward, saving you one season of work. The lab will probably have some flaws to balance out any virtue you want.
As for a reason for your maga to join the covenant, well, it is your job to find one. Clusius sent a letter through the redcap nerwork inviting magi interested in joining a new covenant.
The covenant is described as having plentiful vis sources (it pays out a minimum of 3 pawns per year to its members) and a well-developped site, but a somewhat precarious political situation due to its location. So the covenant need manpower to collect its vis, to help keep its infrastructure in good repair, and to develop its political support in the surrounding tribunals.
Of course, that letter doesn't go into details, but if you maga writes back to inquire further, you get a bit more. That is also how you can specify any specific requirements or preferences so that a basic lab can be prepared for her.
I must confess that until now I had not realized that there was a thread for the creation of the covenant (I supposed that it should be somewhere, but I did not see it ^^!)
Here is the post:
Then more or less what i expected 
Great, i did something well! 
Thats very cool, Alba for sure will do it 
(expect her asking for something too specific anyways xD)
Perhaps a thread for us all to post letters or the like in would be amusing? Or else how would we all like to do such things since correspondence is such a facet of the hermetic world?
I think that correspondence as described in Covenants doesn't work well. So let's not use that.
You can exchange correspondence with other magi about your research projects and reading. Perhaps collecting several years of those could form a tractatus on that subject?
Re: Correspondence
I think that sounds great.
Would anyone else like a Companion (played by yours truly)? If so, do you have a concept already in mind that you are looking for? I think I'm willing to make one more paired (loosely, Rafael, loosely 
) with another (different) Mage.
Reviewing the tracker for sponsorship issues/difficulties, I think the connections people have asserted (where present) all seem strong enough to garner a sponsor from the relevant Covenants. We just don't have a connection to all of them. So our breakdown currently (I think) looks like this...
Connections (Sufficient)
Triamore (Clusius)
Durenmar (Celeste, Regulus)
Oculus Septentrionalis (Celeste)
Fengheld (Clusius, Alba)
Irencillia (Celeste)
Roznov (Vorsutus)
Story (Likely) Required
Dankmar
Terschelling/Waddenzee
Crintera
If this looks accurate to everyone I would suggest that the Covenant Council (also known as us) nominate/assign one Mage/Ambassador to each of the remaining Covenants to directly go and attempt to gain support from the relevant Covenant in some way.
I'll volunteer Vorsutus for any on the list.
Also, given previous discussion, as opposed to simply bribing Oculus I second the idea of purchasing an enchanted ship of some kind with the additional stipulation of receiving sponsorship. It sounds like the nominal price would be much the same just we get a ship out of it as well as the sponsorship? iirc the original idea was 10 pawns/year for 7 years. How much would a ship be? More than 70 pawns? (If so, krikey)
Since interest towards Dankmar was expressed re: Celest, I'd tentatively nominate them for that mission.
Crintera, perhaps, would be a good assignment for Alba given her nature orientation?
That would possibly leave Terschelling/Waddenzee for Vorsutus.
Regulus could do as he described and go comb through Tribunal records to see if he can find any useful details re: conflicts or other exploitable facts which might help us secure sponsorship from the remainders. Perhaps letting him complete that mission first before we send envoys to try and negotiate would be wise.
That would leave Wolfgang, Clusius, and Belisarius.
Perhaps either Wolfgang or Belisarius would be interested in coming with Vorsutus to Waddenzee as a show of, ah, more martial strength given the nature of that Covenant?
And if we are going to make a deal with Oculus someone might want to go and negotiate that?
You should never send a Merinita to talk to the Bjornaers ^^! Specially a blatantly faeric one like Alba
Bjornaer think that faeries usurped to their ancestors, and thus, in general, dont see Merinitae in high regard.
That being said, if you ask her, since she lacks the necessary common sense, she'd go anyways xD
Hah! Interesting perspective. Hmm.
Perhaps we simply send Wolfgang or Belisarius to Waddenzee and Vorsutus can go to Crintera then.
I would love just to see Wolfgang to come back to life D: For now it seems like Plot still out of the forums.... 
Alba could go to help somebody anyways
If really nobody wants/needs her, she would stay helping and supervising the construction of her Sanctum 
she wouldn't settle for just any non-custom/personal building after all xD But even then, she would prefer to be useful to the covenant, given the chance.
You can assume Igor Rastavan will convince an Ash gild member from Crintera… if Vorsutus does well on the mission for the Ash gild.
I’m away from my books, but there is a chapter for an hermetic shipyard on Hermetic Projects that could provide us some guidelines.