The council chamber

You can either write books or submit a request via the redcap network and find out what is being offered. It is also worth noting that commentaries on the authorities (and sometimes on the roots) are also available.

Aurthor speaks sagely, a compromise is needed. What say the others?

I am happy to report that exploring the town of Siderno has proven profitable. A source of Vim vis, that... others...were harvesting clandestinely within a grotto was found, handfuls of moss which must be kept in darkness.

OOC silveroak, [strike]how big is this source?[/strike] Who did we take it from? Andros will want a cut initially, don't know if it is written in the Charter, but I seem to remember from other Covenants that the Magi finding vis sources initially gets the first harvest, and some fraction from a few more.

...as well as these intact artifacts from ancient magical cults. (In the ruins of the ancient temples you find a metal defixio of the Cult of Pluto, and in a separate place a prayer tablet with a song in what appears to be ancient Greek upon it (A Hyperborean hymn- Defy the Hound of Cerberus)

OOC silveroak, where in the wiki should these go?

We must reach out to the Redcaps to see what is available to copy, be it Lab Texts for Spells or devices, or even a good book on Concentration. Hiring or training more teachers and experts in the book business will be a sound investment, to see our little library filling up is most satisfying!

Looking to see what's available.

The vis was previously being harvested by your rival covenant. They obviously won't be happy about it, but they weren't exactly happy before either...
I'm creating a "collections" area for found stuff.

1107 Autocrat's report:
The stores of Vim vis are getting very low, we were forced to use the Rego crop this year to cast the aegis of the Hearth, which I understand to be more valuable. In speaking with the Mercere house it was suggested we could invest some of our vis in order to generate more vis revenues. This is something I must leave to the magi to decide. I also understand that the Vis of account could have been traded for Vim, but using this with our existing stock would have left 0 vim vis.
In silver we are doing well, with 1147 3/5 pounds of silver income and 321 5/9 pounds expenses, bringing our reserve to 4372 4/9 pounds of silver. Expenses are detailed below, after savings for craftsmen and labor:
buildings : 0
consumables : 0
labratories : 4 1/2
provisions : 0
wages : 38 3/5
weapons and armor : 1 1/5
writing materials : 1/2
taxes : 276 5/7
Lucio has great potential as a leader in the covenant, but for that to be realized to its greatest potential I believe he will need to be removed from regular work requirements and trained or taught three seasons a year. This will have an impact on covenant finances, but I believe the budget can withstand this increase.
We have found that Phillip the Mason’s apprentice is very eager to produce artwork and is willing to put in seasons of his free time in order to accomplish the work. Hopefully his choice of subject matter will become more appropriate as he matures.
It has also come to my attention that Adriana the weaver has woven a blanket for herself which has magical properties. These apparently work only for herself, and no vis appears to have been used in the construction. I am not certain what response, if any, you consider appropriate but I felt this should be called to your attention. Additionally it appears that the Mercere house has found a potential buyer for Pelegrino’s tincture of gold- a mage at another covenant is willing to pay a pawn of vis for it, but apparently Peligrino has no interest in vis, and since it was manufactured in the off season and not under her professional scope I am not certain what the ownership situation of the herbal concoction might be.

May we have a list of what vis is stocked, and how much vis of account we have? asks Aurthor.

If maintaining the security of our Aegis of the hearth is at stake, we shall have to keep a closer eye on our stocks. What are we doing with it all?

As for the tincture of gold, what does our fine covenant member want? I understand this tincture may be interesting. Perhaps Taurus would find it useful?

OOC: If this is the "restore the fatigue level" tincture from A&A, then it's another tool in the Life-linked spontaneous magic/ life boost using kit.

"We have used the stocks for our Aegis every year, and have paid out for members longevity rituals to date. There are many forms of vis we have plenty of, but our usage of vim has been greater than our income. here is our current inventory of vis, our only regular expenses are the aegis which take 8 pawns a year, and our book copying, which takes 2 pawns of vis of account each year."

Evan has an idea about the vim vis lack. It may not be a good idea, but its an idea. We could have apprentices extract vis when a lab is open and they have a free season. Isn't one of them using up our writing stocks? Have that one make some vis instead!"

((OOC: Apologies if I have missed something, but I have a couple of questions: What is this tincture of gold? And can someone point me to how "vis of account" works?))

Taurus harumphs at Evan's suggestion about apprentices extracting vis. "If we are using more vis for the Aegis each year than our sources bring in, we should be relying on the pups to provide for our security? Better to pay a magus to extract the Vim from the aura.

((OOC, Archimedes, Tonic of Gold from A&A p.77, restores a Winded character to non-fatigued.

How are we casting the Aegis? Is Evandrus the caster of the Aegis? He's the only one who knows the spell, right? Is he casting the lower level version, 25th level, because the 40th has barely any penetration! If he's doing this duty alone, then costs should be halved, as Mercurian Magic is in play. No one else has Day of Communion or some such spell.

Also, since I think I read somewhere that silveroak is using the aura strengthening/weakening rules, I'd be very wary of milking it unless totally necessary.

Andros found a source of Vim vis in his last adventure, 5 pawns/year. So we're not in a life-or-death situation.))

I was under the impression it was being cast at level 40... if this is a mistake I can refund the spent vim and obviously the new source will handle future expenses...

I am using the aura strengthening/weakening rules, and those penalize the aura per mage season of extraction, not by total vis, so having it done by the most competent mage at extraction would make sense.

((OOC Even if it was at level 40, it would still be 4 pawns of vis a pop (40/5/2=4). That is, if Evan is the one doing the casting, I did not see anyone else with the spell in their arsenal. I'd imagine that Taurus can maybe cast a relatively high level spont of "Day of communion" to participate, but I'd think more levels would be required. BTW, Evandrus doesn't have Wizard's Communion in his list, he should, as it's free from Mercurian magic.
However, for "Communion", you'd still need 50 levels for the 25th Aegis, and 80 for the 40th version. So it has to be Evandrus, alone, and thus Mercurian Magic should always be in play. Unless there was another Founder recently departed who was doing this behind the scenes.
Does Aegis need to penetrate?))

Greetings sodales. I am Danaë, follower of Mercere. I completed my Redcap training with Maltuso just this Winter, and Harco has seen fit to assign me to this Mercer House. As is traditional and customary for those in my line of work, I request membership in Praesidium Orae and full admittance into this august Council.

With a twinkle in her eyes and a bright smile she continues I am told this brings some measure of honor and prestige, but perhaps you shall judge that for yourselves. Besides the vital services we Redcaps provide, being part of a covenant one might also aid in taking care of small (or not so small) matters that arise and that Magi might find inopportune to deal with.

after answering the Magi's questions I shall now humbly take your leave to allow you discussion and await your decision.

A note: both Aurthor and Taurus are planning on reading The Magus Craft in both fall and winter of 1109. Obviously they cannot both do this...

OK, I'll read something else.
Plot adventures as if we are both reading books that season.

Pelegrino, who is making the tonics of gold that sell for 1 pawn of vis (and restore winded fatigue level) is asking that she be "promoted" from her current position as a huntswoman to a full time herbalist, and that she get credit for her work done in her spare time to date to have a longevity potion made in 1119.

Rego for Apprentices is Q14 so you could read that instead.

(OOC Hehehe, reading his own apprentice's freshly minted book! Ahh, the conversations "No no you see, you have got it all wrong!" "But Master, you taught me everything I know." "Yes, yes, now write a couple of tractati on Comprehend Magic, be a good lass." "Master, you haven't taught me any!" After a season of Advancement Total 31 "Behold, my Teaching for the ages! Now go and write some more!" )

((OOC Pellegrino is a "she"? How many of these tonics can she reasonably make each season? Are we competing with other people who sell similar stuff? If she can literally make vis with these things, she certainly must dedicate herself to this full-time. I see quite a few coven folk with interesting talents, but I feel that we must tread carefully here, a LR for her is a season off of a magus and 4 pawns of vis by 1119. Other coven folk may appear with extraordinary talents, and we must eke a way through this sensibly. Companions will require LR. For some other coven folk (Julien, some of the captains) whose skills are valuable we might also want to fashion an LR. Camilla might be interested in making such an LR, for vis payment/other considerations and if she could experiment for some sort of Breakthrough (into Unaging, LRs that don't render one infertile, and with the Fertility magic stuff Andros found in Siderno) At least we currently have a surplus of Co and Creo experts. Also, we should be distributing vis to Magi, Taurus had to milk the aura to obtain Vim vis. With Danaë, we might have better access to vis exchanges))

she can currently make 2 per season, and she can also train other grogs to make this and other herbal formulas. There is also an alchemist who can make a variation on the same potion, except he would require investment in a lab instead of just a kitchen. She is asking for the longevity ritual in exchange for the fact she has at this point made (at the end of 1109) 9 of these tonics on her own time, and is suggesting that the longevity potion be in exchange for the vis earned on her own time.

Redcap report 1107 &1108
Christodulus, who had been out of favor with Simon as a convert from Islam to Christinity has been appointe Emir of Palermo, and is rumored to be the right hand man of Adelaide del Vasto.
Pope Paschal II returns from France with little to show for his trip aside from allowing Pope Sylvester IV the run of Italy. While odds have improved for Sylvester in wagers within the order the odds still favor Pascall to be recognized as the true pope.
Robert of Capua has taken over the reign of that principality following the death of his brother Richard II in 1105.
There is, of course, a meeting for the Tribunal at Magvillus in the summer of 1109