The book purchasing journey

At the first light the casting of the Aegis of the Hearth where made and the newly arrived magi departed from one and other, some into the forest, others away in wagons and a few left at the covenant grounds.

The wagon rolled away stashed with magi, vis and necessary supplies onward on a journey to collect books in order to secure a better future for the covenant as a whole. The magi rode comfortably but outside the servants and the guard slogged their way on foot. Thankfully the guards of the wagon where unable to gasp the enormous wealth that lay in one of the wagons where the vis where kept. 50 pawns of vis where an gargantuan amount for any magi and especially for magi at the start of their life as magi of the order of Hermes.

The wagons rolled on and as the Pomeranian forest closed behind the caravan each and everyone of the traveller could feel the oppression that the forest enforced upon the travellers. After several hours of travel the team of wagons approached the town of Kolberg. Flying over the town where the colours of the knights of the sword. Some said that they where pious men doing Christ’s work on earth other told dark stories of rapists and the slaughter of innocent men.

As the caravan approached they where noticed by the city guard and a ride started riding towards them and other men of arms begun to put their hands on their weapons and look suspiciously onto the approaching caravan.

As the rider approached he enquired in a harsh voice about the travellers business in the town of Kolberg.

Mariella endeavors to remain out of site in the wagon and let others deal with the mundane without the problems of her gift

Did you calculated like this? 50 in store - 5 Co - 5 Te + the first harvest.
Manius travels in the wagon but sometimes rides his horse.
When hearing the voice I come forward and ask loudly:
[color=red]Who is this?
I'm slowly searching the speaker. The reason of my slow action when I discover him I secretly cast friendship upon him. When done:
[color=red]We are travellers as you see. We want to rest here this day and night. Where can we get quarters?

[color=red]I am Hans son of Gottfried, I am a horseman in the service of the lord of this realm. Honourable Friederich von München is the supreme ruler of the Kolberg and he one of the grandest knight of the sword. Make sure that you pay your toll at the city gates. When you get through the gates there should be plenty of places where you could stay. If you prefer to stay at the monastery there is one on a hill west of the city. The horseman has a stern and loud voice and determined look upon his face.

[color=red]Take care when you travel the wilderness there have been numerous brigand attacks and thus the city is on high alert. Where are you coming from and what is your errand here? The horseman seemed impatient to get his answers.

[color=blue]I slimply took the stores... Where did the Co and Te vis go, I fail to remember... But considering Aegis and the reduction of Co and Te plus the first harvest it should be 63 pawns of vis.

Mariella remains in the background avoiding notice in the wagon

Alberich stands idle, letting the magus handle this.
He gauges the forces in presence, pondering the risks should a fight break out, and prepares himself should violence erupt.

I take some steps toward the guard.
[color=red]Brigands? On which ways? We came from east but did not meet them. If the whole Kolberg is so frightened they must be numerous. It is very unusual. Does your lord think they want to attack even the city?

[color=blue]OOC Questions:Do we want anything in this city? Is here a covenant or anything? What is the time?
And btw the year and the season?
[time jump]After all we do not need the Te vis because there are enough silver in the store and we have a Te source to rituals.
But Co is needed to healing and longevity thats why I say to Justus to let them at home. [/time jump]

OCC
We are passing through and plan to charter a ship here to takeus to Lubeck, there is no covenant here to the best of my knowledge

[color=blue]No covenant mearly a port that will shorten travell time.

The horseman seems to notice Manius skin colour, he turns paler and his face becomes filled with panic. The man screams “[color=red]Stand back daemon” his voice are filled with dread but he seems attempting to hold back his courage. The man draws his sword half ways and seems unsure about whether he should flee or fight.

Justus Felix steps out of the wagon and starts speaking to the man. [color=red]Please sir, calm yourself. We are nothing but travellers seeking shelter in this city. This man here with the dark skin is a pious man but his hails from the land of the Saracens. We are nothing but pious Christians.

The horseman seems hardly impressed by Justus words as he is shocked by the unsettling sights he has seen. Tension fills the air and everything hangs in the balance.

Albrerich, seeing the growing tension, decides to speak in turn, and lie to some authority :laughing:
[color=red]Be at ease, my friend. As you can see from my grevious wounds, I'm a former crusader, back from the Holy land where I uncountered these pious men. They came there in pelerinage all the way from here to see the land of our lord jesus christ and be blessed by his grace, despite the dangers of such a travel.
As my friend here told you, this man is just a saraceen who saw the grace of the Lord and renounced his former ways. Surely a christian like you can understand how our lord might touch any heart, can't you?
It would be a real tragedy if my friends had faced successfully all the threats of the land of the infidels, just to die here at the hand of a fellow christian, all because of a simple misunderstanding.

[color=blue]What about the friendship spell I casted before? Does he have magic resistance?

[color=blue]Sorry, forgot about the spell. It ain't easy teaching and wiriting posts at the same time.

The horseman seems calmed by the word (and the spell) and develops a more relaxed position. He speaks,[color=red] I am sorry for my rash judgment, may the lord forgive me. There are more than mere brigands in the forest. It seems to seep a gruesome darkness into the minds of men. There has been found mutilated bodies of travellers and of townsmen living outside the wall.

[color=red]Be advised my fellow servant of the lord that the towns folk are spooked and they might take you for a daemon of the abyss. The horseman nods at Manius. I must get back to the others, make sure you pay your tolls and may the lord be with you. The horseman turns his stead and starts riding back.

[color=blue]If you progress further into the town you will suffer the effect of the dominion.

Alberich, to the guard
[color=red]Thanks you, kind sir, we shall take your warnings to heart. May the lord be with you!
Once the man has gone, Alberich speaks to the maguses
[color=red]Well, sirs, what do you wanna do? In these unknown surroundings, and with these rumors, I think we should head into town, but, if we do this, Master Niger probably do best not to show himself. Should you choose to stay outdoor, though, we should quickly find a suitable place, easily defendable.

[color=red]It would seem that the local bandits have good luck or survival instincts, It is a pity I like to meet such people it is most educational. I suggest that we move into town and find an Inn where we can stay out of public until one of out less frightening people can find a ship to charter

Mariella Pauses and then continues
[color=red]I may be able to get us accomodation at the Monastery I ahve a freind there however not only will that place us in a strong Dominion aura , we would be guests of my friend and any incidents we have would be an embarrasment to him and me . So we would need to be careful to avoid any problems. Do you want to try that or would you rather seek an inn in town?

Justus Felix turns to his fellow magi and asks, [color=red]where do we go now? I suggest that we search for shelter in the town.

[color=red]We have a choice to seek an inn in town or try the monastery which option do you prefer either is acceptable to me

Alberich
[color=red]If I can suggest something... You've already made yourself pass as holy men. Better to continue the charade, then. Moreso, A monastery will probably be a quieter and more discret place than the town. We can go in there without most people taking notice.

The party travels to the monastery as they all seems to have agreed upon that. [color=blue]Do you wish to have a story here or should we simply fast forward till Lübeck?