Winter 1221, Chapter 4: Epilogue

Sophronia eventually finds Liliana, who arranges for her to sign the charter.

In December, someone goes to collect the Perdo vis, but finds it gone. If anyone goes to collect the Faerie King's vis, you discover that Phessalia Merinitae has married the Faerie King, and he turns you away empty-handed while his bride looks on smugly.

In January, Lamentus goes into Final Twilight, and his body vanishes. Shmuel is inconsolable.

Additionally, having an Aegis cast for you will indebt the covenant to House Mercere by another eight pawns.

Please advance your characters through Spring 1221.

Llamrei the horse did accompany the party back to the covenant. She is very possessive of her texts and reads them all day long.

Chance the Goat takes an instant dislike to the horse, and makes snide comments about her inability to speak, at every opportunity.

Please use this thread to wrap up any loose ends from any of the now-locked Chapter 4 threads. (In particular, I need to know how Jonathan finally spent his bps; the vis situation should be sorted out soon.)

With wrapping up the 1221 year, we get the bonus xp and how many seasons? I don't want to assume it's 4.

You advanced Sinmore through Autumn of 1220. So you would advance two seasons. However, this is a good time to point out that you should be keeping a seasonal advancement ledger so that we don't have to leave it up to memory :slight_smile:

Definitely, I thought I could keep track of it easier.

And I thought game time would advance more rapidly than real time. :stuck_out_tongue:

If it's allowed, Sinmore will read the Parma Magica: Magus Invictus by Justinius Tremeris, Summa L4 Q16 for 2 seasons. As she's a secondary member at most I don't believe she gets any sort of priority on her choice of books. She'll switch to another choice if she has to: Creo: Ex Nihilo, Myanar filia Merinita, copied and illuminated by Leona Bjornaeris. Summa L22 Q15

If she has to take a third choice she'll start a simple project of inventing a Chirurgeon's Healing Touch for someone Size +2 (one extra magnitude and it can effect human size bodies of up to 15 feet tall). I'll develop the actual spell if it comes to it and Sinmore can't study from those books.

Maybe William the Greater would be interested in providing some assistance or support (or knows where I can get a lab text of something like that? It would benefit him as well)?

The compromise Aequi negotiates for Sinmore remaining on at the covenant will either be extensive covenant service or a restriction against using the library, so I'd hold off on using any books until he weighs in. (Lamentus was the Covenant Librarian, and Aequi has unofficially inherited that position, since he's the only one who knows how to open the library door besides Shmuel.)

I'll start designing the spell, she needs that anyway.

Mend the Giant's Flesh CrCo Ritual 30
R: Touch D: Momentary T: Individual (+1 for increased Size)
Base 20 (heal a Medium Wound) +1 Range, +1 Target total level 30

Lab total: 34+
Int +2 + Magic Theory 3 + 10 Aura + 10 Creo + 5 Corpus + 4 Knowing Similar Spell (Chirurgeon's Healing Touch) +1d10 from Experimentation with no additional risk.

I was initially going to make it a Light Wound, but I think this will be more efficient. She'll experiment on this, hope it provides some insight, she could use a bit of labwork to improve herself and perhaps her standing as a Maga. If this spell works out she might be able to get some reputation...at least among giant sized Magi.

Sinmore gains 7 extra points towards her lab total, and no extraordinary effects as a result of the experimentation. She's accumulated a total of 11 points out of 30 for inventing the spell.

Good, better than I expected. We're doing 1 season for right now then?

Yeah, I doublechecked the distractions section and the month it takes for your wounds to heal is enough to ruin the season.

I'm not sure I like the idea that magi have to be "attuned to the season's cycle" though, so if anyone has suggestions for a house rule, I'm all ears.

Well, none actually. It simplifies things, and have a nice mystical tingle to it.

Getting rid of these would probably make things far too hard to manage for bookeeping purposes

...All four of you.

Sinmore has an abhorrently nonexistent Order of Hermes Lore, but I imagine when she hits up Great William for aid, he would share his knowledge with you.

The nearest giant-blooded mage to you is Collem Ex Miscellanea, of Duos Flumen. (Former PC from the original, similar-ideas-but-very-different-execution tabletop version of this saga.) He's Scottish, focused on Creo, Auram and Corpus; he may already have a lab text you could learn from. "He's an interesting man, really... he's a known skinchanger, who takes the form of a giant black dog."

There is Fiona Ex Miscellanea, who lives in Normandy. (Peregrine_Bjornaer's character from Bibracte :stuck_out_tongue:) William doesn't know much about her, "...except that she always smells like freshly-turned earth, and all the lovely things that grow in spring." He blushes a little, and even Sinmore with her zero social skills figures out that he has a little bit of a crush :slight_smile:

Finally, Iohannes of Tytalus lives in the Alps. He is a Vim specialist who favours Intellego and Perdo (know your enemy, then CRUSH IT). He is the Alps' Chief Hoplite, and is surprisingly erudite and well-spoken despite his brutish appearance. Iohannes won a great deal of acclaim (...infamy?) as he's developed a spell that destroys the Gift, which he used notoriously during a Wizard's March back in the '50's. (...the 1150's, that is.) A few Bonisagi thought that if they learned his spell to destroy the Gift, they could use that knowledge to help figure out a way to create the Gift, but that line of research is still completely fruitless, to Will's knowledge.

Great William regrets that he is too busy to assist Sinmore personally (he's the Tribunal recordkeeper and scribe) but he hopes that the information he's provided can help her follow up with her colleagues.

After Maribus's wake, Aequi calls Sinmore and regretfully informs her that she is banned from the Covenant Library for a period of 9 seasons, which could be shortened for every season of Covenant Service performed above and beyond the required five seasons in a seven year period. During the discussion/argument with the older maga (Lilliana) and familiar (Sanno), he originally suggested 6 seasons, and they both suggested five years, based on a previous precedent. Aislinn was once banned from the Library by Lamentus for 2 years after dirtying some pages in a book, which were later restored by Lamentus. Using the destruction of Maribus's notes, they requested a stiffer penalty for Sinmore. Aequi argued back that the precedent was not the length of the time, but the inconvenience to the offender - Aislinn only tried to access the library once during her entire period, doing most of her studying and learning directly from vis, while Sinmore would find many books in the library very desirable and feel the pinch of not being able to access them. Especially as a Provisional Member who could still leave at any time, being willing to stay through such a punishment would show dedication and loyalty above and beyond the expected - anything longer would be a deprivation of resources. After some bargaining, Aequi talks them down to 9 seasons, although as Arya mentioned, it's apparent they gave in too easily.

Upon reflection, Sinmore realizes (hopefully, if she didn't get too angry) Aequi's arguments and responses come very quickly and organized, unlike his usual speech pattern - he had already talked it all out in a disjointed manner as soon as he saw the condition of the book and prepared a course of action. Please reference the random muttering and murmerings in most of my posts while we explored the island.

There should be at least ten pawns of Vim vis in Covenant Stores - Aequi pulled vis in both Summer and Fall. He'll offer one pawn of vis from personal stores if it can help push them over the total; but when he goes to look for it he apologizes and says it has gone missing (Chauncey ate it). 14 pawns needed - 8 for the Mercare Debt, 6 for the casting. Otherwise, we need to choose whether we pay off the debt, and borrow again under new rates, or if cast the Aegis, and make a partial payment and ask for an extension from the Mercare, at a higher interest rate, I'm sure.

Wait... is Sophronia already back? Did our vis stores just get a huge influx? (I learned Aegis from Lamentus last year, so Aequi can cast it).

Unless Attravere wants to grab it first, to follow through on Aequi's promise to help develop a Longevity Ritual, he plans to grab Sanguis et Lacrima, by Justinius filius Magnus doctrinae Tremeris. Illuminated by Leona bani Bjornaer, the Corpus Summae for Winter and Spring.

He will also, with much reluctance and sadness, appropriate Lamentus's lab. I'll update in the Correspondence thread an appropriate letter to the only Bonisagus in the Tribunal about coming out to Gauntlet Schmuel, too (umm... sometime tomorrow/this week).