Covenant of Almelo (Elm Forest)
Boons
The site of Almelo makes a magus feel the magic course under his skin. Magic is easier to weave here than elsewhere, and mysteries are sometimes solved from the sheer insight granted by the power of the land (Minor site: Aura) – Aura 4
The elm forest from which the covenant takes its name is very pleasent and inviting. Meandering streams and groves perpetuate the area, various songbirds make the forest a quaint site as does the rather mild climate. The many deciduous trees make for a firework Fall of golden-red colours.
(Minor Site: Vivid Environment)
Well, maybe you are porud of it, maybe you are not, but you have already cultivated a small network of spies. A servant here, a merchant there, and that retired soldier still knows the young grogs of that covenant... (Minor external relations: Informants)
Both Triamore and Florum have promised books, Vis or whatelse the Magi may wish, if they would start Almelo covenant and work for the creation of the Lotharingian Tribunal. What exactly constitutes 'work for the creation of the Lotharingian Tribunal' and when the promised goods will come is unknown...but surely the two covenants will keep their end of the bargain? (Minor external relations: Promised favours)
You saved the life of Marcus Juvenus, a Redcap sometimes travelling in the area. Not wanting to be in your debt, he arranged for a small group of Archmagi to come to Almelo. These Magi wove pure magic into the covenant, realigning many unknown reservoirs of power. Now wisdom is to be had in the sorrowed face of a broken statue, in the glint of light upon the moss, walking the elegant patios and archways or feeling the air blowing in your face from an open window. (The whole covenant is now a Great Work wherefrom Vim can be studied, Lvl 15, Quality 15)
Hooks
The Magi have received a letter from a friendly Quaesitor stating that there might be a regio in the vicinity of the covenant, somewhere in the forest, by the river or maybe near Deventer. Nonetheless the Magi are warned to be cautious and on the look out. (Minor site: Regio)
The covenant itself is an old abandoned site for a covenant started by an entrepreneuriel Diedne in the 9th century. As such it is made of wood, with minimal stonework used. However as it has been a while since the place was inhabited, some areas have become mossgrown, with marble statues crumbling under the weight of years, and doors refusing to close due to expansion from moisture. (Minor fortification: Wooden and crumbling)
Almelo is as of right now on good terms with Triamore, Florum, Spider's Palace and Requies Eternae, and well...who knows where Waddenzee really stands? Each covenant has covertly promised to help each other if the need truly arises (Minor external relations: Hermetic politics)
The covenant has a few Vis sources (Quite impressive in this area) but it seems that the source is rather erratic. The Magi most definately must do something to find out what is going on! (Minor resources: Dwindling ressource)
Lady Anna Corijs is a good friend of one of the Magi. She is a sweet and caring person. However, her lands have brutally been possesses by the vile Lord Arcken Onkerdonk. She so far supplies the covenant with a sizeable portion of money from her considerable wealth, but how long until she starts asking you to help her regain her lands? (Minor residents: Refugee)
The very core of Almelo's existance, the formation of the Lotharingian Tribunal, has not gone unnoticed. Some seek to advance it, other to stop it. There are both rivals and allies to be had in this endeavour. (Major external relations: Tribunal border)
The Court of Spring Blossoms is located in a glade in the forest. It is presided over by the Green Prince and his small entourage of dryads, fey knights and other playful creatures of Spring. So far the Green Prince has only watched from afar, but might he hold the key to mysteries or mayhem? (Minor Surroundings: Faerie Court)
It should be noted that these are the obvious boons and hooks. There are probably other as befits the story. As always suggestions are most welcome
Regarding finances:
Apart from the Magi, there are 5 Shield Grogs, 5 servants (purely for services like making food etc.) and then there are 10 gartners tending the small orchard adjacent to the covenant. The only specialist is a scribe who is also a failed apprentice. Lady Anna has a lady-in-waiting with her.
The covenant has two sources of income, each generating about 40 pounds each. One is the orchard, from which nothing has been harvested yet, but is assumed to generate a sizeable income. The other is from the coffers of Lady Anna, who each year has pledged to donate 40 pounds to the Magi.
The Covenant of Almelo is situated in the forest just south of Deventer, a small town with a lively market and home of skilled craftsfolk. Currently the Burgomeister tacitly supports Lord Onkerdonk as 'First Protector of Deventer', though he has no official jurisdiction in the city (He pretty much does what he wants anyway). He controls lands on the western side of the Rhine, while Lady Corijs controls lands on the eastern side. The two families have feuded for may years, with Deventer as a sort of neutral ground (The two families own and control parts of the trade of the city).
A trail winds by the forest and leads to Deventer, another to Schloss Corijs (The Corijs family prefers Saxon to Veluws) and a third south to the Rhine, where a small village lies providing passage over the Rhine to Nijmegen.
Vis Sources:
Creo: Every autumn a very observant person (Per roll diff 9) can spot a single worm eating its way through delicious red apples in a grove at a farm outside Deventer. Caught, the worm is worth 1 pawn.
Corpus: Every summer, there is a certain glade in the forest, where gathered sweat from men and women distill into Corpus Vis. The maximum gathered amount is 5pawns, and requires one person, for every pawn.
Aquam: Every Autumn, a grand feast can be sacrificed to the Ijsel River about 10 miles north of Deventer. If done here, by a small marshy streak, the next morning, one of the sacrificed edibles can be found found in a shallow pond, worth 3 pawns.
Imaginem: Every Winter a single white rose blooms out of season on the limestone plateau south of Deventer (some of it in the forest). It takes some time to find the rose, as it never grows the same place twice. The rose is illusory, but its image in a mirror can be "caught". This mirror, forever showing a white rose is thereafter worth 3 pawns.
Terram: At spring, there are several weeks filled with mud in this area. About 20 miles west of the covenant, there is an area, which gets especially muddy due to underwater rivers, marshes, the terrain falling towards the area etc. if diving into the mud at the deepest place, a fistsized pale, bonelooking orb can be found woth 2 pawns.
Vim: In Nijmegen, on Midsummer's Eve, the blood of all those executed having a spark of the Gift, wells out of a number of tombstones on the cemetery. Collected, it is worth 3 pawns.
I didn't know of such a place. It is the correct Deventer yes, also as shown in Guardians of the Forest