1st Session - 8/30/98
Gamma Storyguide: Patrick Murphy (written with Jennifer Murphy)
(with apologies to Miroslav Krlezha)
While walking down the valley after visiting a family farther up the Esk, the young father Brendan Austhwaite spied someone behaving strangely at the standing stones. Coming closer, he discover Helen, an old woman from up the valley, trying to hide something behind her back and evading his questions. Finding that she had a bloody knife in her hands, and with a headless hen resting on a stone nearby, Brendan pushed the remains aside and sent Helen home.
The next day was to be held a feast in honor of St. Catherine, and almost everyone in the valley attended, including some of the magi. There were many events, including feasting, hunting, the wedding of John and Sarah, and buying and selling of goods. Everyone seemed in good spirits until a disturbance by the river caused Richard and Brendan to investigate.
It seemed a large group of men were berating and assaulting a local girl, Beth, insisting that she was a harlot who had given herself over to the Dark One. When Brendan sought to reason with the mob, they turned their ire towards him, suggesting she had been bespelled by the 'so-called holy man' and that he would take her side. Calls for calm and reason fell on deaf ears. Although many of the men were full of drink it was surprising that they even stood up to Richard's threats for a short time before dispersing.
While the magi sought to question Helen about her ritual, and the maid Beth about her involvement, people seemed to be hiding the women from the magi and those they talked to were not forthcoming. Celer found that Helen was simply enacting a ritual she had learned from her mother for appeasing the spirits of the stones. Incredibly, when Brendan encountered Beth, she accused him of bespelling her! Rumors about the monk began to get more and more incredible: Brendan had raped Beth, she bore his child, he murdered the child to make a potion with the infant's blood, the monk took the form of a wolf and ran into the woods at night...these sordid tales even made their way into Austhwaite Manor.
Celer, Roland, Brendan and Eleanor journeyed to the standing stones where the latter tried to summon the spirits of the stones. Surprisingly soon after trying to invoke the spirits, a menacing form shambled into view: a ten-foot tall black-skinned hag, with iron claws. Gelta, as she claimed to be called, insisted that Brendan had been cursed, and that she would lift the curse if they would allow the ritual to be completed and if they brought her a child to do with as she pleased. The Ex Miscellanea maga quickly agreed and Gelta shambled off.
Helen was summoned to complete the ritual, which turned out to be very simple, and Roland and Eleanor went to the church graveyard to dig up the remains of a dead child! Bringing the remains to Gelta at the stone, the old hag was irate, but she admitted that they had lived up to their end of the bargain as she had not specified that the child must be living. She pronounced the curse lifted and crept off, leaving the magi and the Austhwaites to ponder what exactly had transpired.
Cast: Brendan Austhwaite and Prava Sagitta of Verditius (Mike), Celer of Bonisagus and Richard Austhwaite (Chris), Sir Roland Whitney of Ex Miscellanea (Ann), and Eleanor of Ex Miscellanea (Julie).
2nd session - 9/9/98
Beta Storyguide: Mike Daumen
As the magi began the tedious process of familiarizing themselves with the manor and the valley, they discovered a cache of documents left in their care by John. The two most interesting documents were a map of the coast to the south, and a charter which gave the covenant the right to collect vis on land to the east, owned by the Lowther family. As the specified time to collect the vis was fast approaching, Baelthornon and Celer sat out with grogs to the manor of Michael Merrick, a knight in service to the Lowthers.
Merrick gave them directions to the site, which he called Mary's Garden, but following the apparently easy directions took most of the day, and the magi suspected that some sort of magic was impeding their progress. In the evening the party reached the Garden and set camp near a sundial. According to the description of the charter, flowers growing around the sundial would bear Imáginem vis and dew on the north face of the pedestal would contain Rego vis the morning after midsummer night.
But the quiet night was interrupted as wolves rushed into the camp from the deeper forests. With magic and weapons the party was able to kill one and wound another, driving the rest away. One of the party noticed an owl observing the battle from a safe distance, but it apparently fled soon after the fight ended.
After collecting the vis the next morning, the party was preparing for the return journey at Merrick Manor when another group of visitors arrived, led by a man named Eustace. As he demanded the vis in their possession, the surprised magi realized that he was a member of Dresca covenant; evidently a Bjornaer with the Heart-beast of an owl. They also observed that some of Eustace's men had afflictions similar to the wounds visited on the wolves of the previous night.
Eustace contended that John's right to the vis had lapsed and the Lowther family had renegotiated a charter with Dresca in his absence. Not wishing to forego this valuable site, the magi resisted and told the Bjornaer that he could bring this up at the Tribunal meeting in 1221. Frustrated, Eustace left without further comment. The party departed soon after, anxious that their visit to Mary's Garden might be their last.
Cast: Sir Richard and Celer (Chris), Baelthornon and Sir Christopher (Patrick), Sir Roland (Ann), and Eleanor (Julie).
Alpha Storyguide: Chris Blake
As agreed upon in the story A Midsummer's Harvest, the magus Eustace along with one of his fellow magi, Barloff, came to the covenant to prove their claim to the Garden and its valuable vis. As both covenants seemed to have valid claims to the vis source, it was decided that they should take their case to the Lord Lowther himself. The Lord admitted to making deals with both parties, not knowing that the Garden's resources could not be shared. While an agreement had first been reached with John of Corona Montis, the agreement had lapsed before John renegotiated it. During this time, Lord Lowther struck a deal with Dresca, and thus ruled that their agreement was of longer standing. Although he reluctantly agreed to keep the bargain with Dresca, the noble seemed to be rather impressed by the Austhwaites, and vowed to find some way to compensate them for his mistake.
Although Dresca had won the vis, before they left Barloff made an interesting proposal: he offered to end this dispute if Corona Montis could some how retrieve a wondrous lamb for him. This lamb was currently in the possession of Lord Pennington, at Muncaster Castle. The magi agreed to look into the matter, and arrived at the castle to find an auction for said lamb's fleece. The singular lamb had the purest white fleece and milky white eyes. After mingling with the assembled bidders, the auction ensued, with the fleece going to a Canterbury merchant named Simon for the incredible price of twenty horses. Alas, on his way home Simon was waylaid by ten men, although it remained unclear upon whose authority they acted. Sir Aeddan (i.e., Baelthornon) joined Lord Pennington in his search for the bandits, but bad weather brought a quick end to the search. The young magi decided that the matter required further consultation with Dresca before they would risk the anger of Lord Pennington, so they reluctantly set out for Eskdale and left the matter of the lamb unresolved.
Cast: Father Brendan (Mike), Baelthornon of Bonisagus (Patrick), Sir Richard (Chris), and Sir Roland (Ann).
Alpha Storyguide: Chris Blake
One crisp morning, the quiet surrounding Austhwaite manor was shattered when a miner ran up to the manor yelling that there had been a cave-in at the mines, and pleading for the Austhwaites to bring help. Sir Richard organized a group of his men and was accompanied by several of the magi, including Baelthornon, Eleanor and Prava. Digging at the rubble, the rescuers were grimly rewarded by finding two dead miners in the debris. Worse, where muffled sounds of the survivors on the other side had been heard moments before, all that was found was an empty chamber when the rubble was cleared away...no miners, no exit, nothing. Upon closer inspection, the group found tracks that lead though a small crack in the wall, suggesting someone had dragged off the survivors. After several futile attempts at forging an entrance to what consensus suggested was a regio, an otherworldly voice invited them in. Entering a newly-created opening in the mine wall, the group found the missing miners imprisoned behind some stone bars. Two were injured, while two more seemed unhurt. Their host, the spriggan Snead, related his tale to the assembled magi: he was chased out of his valley by a newly-installed church bell near his home. Furthermore, the bell had trapped his brother, and the faerie announced that if they wanted their friends back, the magi would have to bring the bell to the spriggan. Our young magi dispatched a small party to free Snead's trapped brother. They found Snead's bell in a Priory outside of Cartmel, where they learned that although the bell was fashioned in Rome, the clapper was fashioned locally, and investigation of the clapper proved it had a magical tint to it. Having fashioned a replacement clapper with Terram magics, the group swapped them and headed home. During a stay at the inn, the clapper disappeared and Prava accused the inn's owner of stealing it. Assuming that Snead's brother is now free, the magi headed to the cave to retrieve their friends.
All seemed well until it was time to harvest vis from the cave; miners found the entrance blocked. After clearing the mine out again, the magi harvested their vis, but they were shy one pawn. As they started to leave, a fifteen foot tall Snead grabbed Warring, claiming that the magi lied to him about freeing his brother. Snead said that if the wizards wanted their friend back, they would bring him the bell.
So the magi sent off for Cartmel again, this time with Brother Brendan to help convince the brothers at the Priory to let them borrow the bell. Not surprisingly, the father was unwilling to give up the bell, but he did agree to loan the bell to the Austhwaites if they paid to remove and replace it. After acquiring the bell the troupe set out for home. Along the way Prava told a small village farming family that they may touch the bell; they then ask if they can ring the bell. Prava agrees to if they can help lift the bell. A small crowd gathered while the men of the village lift the bell to ring it. Lifting the bell released a sprite that was in the bell. Later that night the sprite Lyell returns, and explains that he was not trapped in the bell but hiding from Snead in it. Lyell offered the magi treasures if they help hide him from Snead. The magi then decide to confront Snead with their new knowledge, but decide it best not to do so in his cave. They try to draw him out of the cave, but are having little luck, until Lyell shows up carrying some of his treasure. Once out of the cave Snead was quickly dispatched by Sir Richard and his men (with help from Sir Christopher).
Cast: Brother Brendan and Prava (Mike), Baelthornon and Sir Christopher (Patrick), Sir Richard (Chris), Sir Roland (Ann), and Eleanor (Julie).
Beta Storyguide: Mike Daumen
In the fall of 1219, while most of the valley was preparing for the arrival of the circuit judge, some idle boys noticed an unconscious stranger, his body stretched across the low wall at the edge of Brotherilkeld. Stephen Austhwaite overheard the children speaking of the man and rode out to investigate. Since the man was alive, albeit barely, he brought him to the manor to recuperate. His only recognizable possession (other than tattered clothes) was a white feather, which Stephen took.
Eleanor nursed the man's wounds, which included signs of torture and large scars across his back. Her attempts to peer into the man's mind were ineffective, only revealing that he was searching for something. Once Stephen returned the feather to his grasp, the man's ragged breathing improved and he awoke in two days. Even conscious, the man had gaps in his memory and only stated that he traveled to Rome to seek absolution of the Pope. As he recuperated in bed, the nobles and magi went to the assize.
Judge Hengfisk conducted the court efficiently, dispatching minor cases of land ownership and will disputes, but some of the magi noticed that the crowd cheered on the ever-harsher punishments he was handing down for even the most petty of crimes. The quick nature of the proceedings ended abruptly when a well-to-do stranger came forward, introducing himself as the Castellan of the Lord of Galloway in Scotland. He produced a royal writ which called for the capture of a man known only as Argent, a fugitive that had escaped the "care" of Galloway's gaoler. The judge ordered that any who knew the whereabouts of this man were to bring him to custody immediately, and adjourned court for the afternoon.
Returning to their visitor, the magi deduced that the stranger was none other than Argent (in fact, some of the servants were calling him "Silver" for the peculiar nature of his eyes) who grew distraught when he found out about his pursuers. Grudgingly he admitted that he was a prisoner of Galloway, although he did not state his crime. His pleadings convinced the magi not to turn him over that instant, but in truth the magi wanted to find out more about why Argent was able to resist their Mentem magics.
Confronting the Castellan, Thomas Anning, he stated that Argent was a noble who had flirted with a rebellion, but stopped short of actual treason. Because of his seeming betrayal of both sides, he was cast out of the kingdom and of the rebel stronghold. Through spell and conversation, the magi grew wary of Anning, who had been told by the gaoler that Argent was the key to becoming the ruler of Galloway and perhaps all of Scotland.
It soon became apparent that someone knew of Argent's presence when one of the servants relayed a hateful message to the man ("I'm coming for you, brotherless one") in the presence of magi. The boy was unaware that he had said the words, but the magi grew even more suspicious. When Sir Richard found out that a fugitive might lurk in the manor, the magi attempted to conceal his presence but were just as surprised as he to find that Argent had disappeared from his room.
A hasty search revealed the feather, which had gone unnoticed between the pallet and the floor. The magi used it as an arcane connection to the man, determining that he was at the standing stones. The party rushing there was ambushed, but as they struggled, they realized that the Scots were being harried behind the ridge which gave them cover. With this aid, the party killed the rest of the marauders and ascended the hill.
Atop it lay a wounded Thomas Anning and several dead archers. In a daze, the Castellan told the magi that the gaoler Wragg was performing some kind of ceremony with Argent, and that they had to stop it. When asked about his stunning reversal, Anning said Wragg had revealed more about the stranger: that the revolt he had contemplated was not against his lord, but had been against the Lord. Shocked, the magi rushed to a clearing in the woods, where Argent hung suspended within a magical circle. In the firelight the party could clearly see the two vertical scars along his shoulder blades, and realized their true significance.
The prisoner was released, but Wragg was nowhere to be found. Anning promised to return to Scotland and warn Galloway about his evil servant. And the magi wished Argent well as he struck south, his burden increased by a single white feather.
Cast: Stephen Austhwaite (Kendall), Baelthornon and Sir Christopher (Patrick), Sir Richard (Chris), Sir Roland (Ann), and Eleanor (Julie and Ann).
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