Beta Storyguide: Mike Daumen
Early one spring morning in 1222, several of the magi were summoned by a small boy to visit Brendan at the chapel. Upon arriving, they noticed that another guest was present: a Templar who introduced himself as Joachim von Geat, one of the higher-ranking knights on the island. The meeting started out less than cordial, as the magi brought up their previous encounters with the Knights, but things grew more tense when the knight revealed that he had kidnapped Mary, a young girl in Brendan's care. He explained that she was insurance to force the magi to do the Templar's bidding: to investigate the disappearance of another Brother near Holm Cultram Abbey in northern Cumbria. Frustrated, the magi acquiesced and decided to send out a party.
Although the Abbot Terence professed to know nothing of the Templar's presence, the magi were met in secret by a young monk named Aimery. The magi quickly discovered that Holm Cultram was swirling with rumors: that the Knight in question was looking for a diabolist who had corrupted several monks, that the man had placed forbidden books in a tower with no windows or doors, and that because of several recent deaths – Jorge of Compostela haven fallen from a great height (a fallen star), and Wilfred having starved to death in the wine cellar (famine) – some monks believed that Judgment Day was nigh. However, Aimery indicated he had met Brother Roger, who took him into his confidence, but had not seen him for several days. He then begged the party to be silent, and not to search for the tower, since he believed that breaching it would open another Seal of the Apocalypse.
Quickly the party deduced that some passageway led underground from the abbey to this mysterious tower. Apart from two grogs getting tipsy, nothing was found in the wine cellar, but searching the catacombs the party met blind Owen, who had been in line for the position of Abbott until Terence had outmaneuvered him and "banished" him underground. He knew not only of the strange Scottish monk that Aimery suspected, Brother Mitchell of Fife, but also the location of his tower. According to the eccentric monk, Mitchell had brought several controversial manuscripts to the tower to keep them out of the hands of more impressionable persons. Emerging from the catacombs into the night, the party went to bed.
They were awakened early by reports that someone had found a corpse in the mill. It was Aimery, brains dashed against the millstone with an almost-empty bottle of absinthe to enfeeble a man. Roland, pointing out that absinthe was made from wormwood, caused a stir as many onlookers made the connection to the other deaths and the Apocalypse. Undaunted, the magi began to seek out the tower. With Owen's rudimentary directions it was fairly easy to find, a solid black tower with no obvious entrances.
The magi were quickly intrigued after recognizing one of three runes on its face as the symbol of Ex Miscellanea. Before deciding what to do, they were hailed by a stranger who asked them to leave the tower unmolested. He introduced himself as Corbie McEachern, and stated he was a magus of the Loch Leglean Tribunal. Even more surprising was the revelation that Michael Scot himself had claimed the tower as his sanctum – which Corbie was sworn to protect – as several Hermetic sites in Scotland had been recently desecrated. He accused the party of being vandals, but after a Certámen he was ill-prepared for, he allowed them to inspect the tower, confessing that Scot had been offered membership in the Tribunal but had not been heard from since.
Despite Corbie's warning that the tower was impervious to Hermetic magic (which he had obviously tried), the magi cast several spells to find an entrance, only to grow wary when their parmae were assailed. After much discussion, Roland theorized that a weak but continuous spell that showed an entrance through a more powerful illusion could affect parma, but still be prevented by it. Bravely, he dropped his parmaand disappeared into the side of the tower, only for his head to reappear from the second story. The party entered the tower and began to examine its contents until a commotion was heard outside. From their hidden vantage point, they saw Abbot Terence and some twenty monks arrive. Immediately the abbot was joined by the fiend Wragg, who admitted it had been a mistake not to have visited the tower before. At the diabolist's feet lay a bound Templar; upon seeing the prostrate knight, Corbie swore and muttered that he thought he had hidden the man well enough.
Wragg called out to the party, but it was obvious that he could not see entrances either. But as several monks brought forth a ram to batter the tower, the party drew up defense plans. Their forces were suddenly aided by the discovery of three mischievous imps who asked for assistance in protecting their master's tower. As Wragg drew closer to examine the tower, he was pierced deeply by Roger's crossbow bolt, whereupon he ran around the tower and the attack commenced. In several waves the monks attacked the tower, but they were repulsed by a surprise sortie out of the concealed door and rains of alchemical fire from the window. Wragg reappeared – in a hideous, half-spider form, he tossed Roger out the window and reached in again after recognizing Anning's voice – but as the tide of battle turned, he fled.
While the abbot and his men were defeated, and the prisoner recovered, Roger did not survive the fall and combat. Sadly the party returned to the abbey and asked Owen and Roger to oversee the expulsion of any tainted members. After Corbie apologized for attacking the Templar, whom he suspected as a vandal, the headstrong Gruagach went on his way.
Soon thereafter, Mary returned in high spirits, wearing a rose in her hair. She joyfully described her captivity in a castle with a rose garden and many grandfatherly men who happily played games with her. After seeing her arrive safely, the elderly Templar who escorted her home was seen bleeding underneath his traveling pouch. He denied offers of treatment and left quickly without the magi being able to discern the reason for his mysterious wound.
Game Note: Brendan admitted to the magi that Mary was the daughter of a friend and fellow seminary student who had died. One of the reasons he left Oxford was to quash the rumors that the girl was his. She had been living as the adopted daughter of another woman in Eskdale. Only Clothilde knew of this arrangement, which he had revealed in the story The Edge of Reason.
Cast: Baelthornon (Patrick), Roland (Ann), Marcellus (Greg), Celer (Chris), Sir Anning and Father Brendan (Mike) .
Alpha Storyguide: Chris Blake
While studying from the Intéllego Tractatus in the library, Savaric stumbled across a hastily note scribbled in Greek. The note said, "At last I know where the Eye is." Given that the note was written in Greek, the Magi believed it to be a note from Phædra, a Greek maga and a missing member of Corona Montis. Questioning some of the household servants of the Austhwaites that knew her, the magi soon learned that Gladys had kept some of Phædra's books. Her dairy gave clear directions to a Scottish town, where a Crusader was reported to have brought treasures from the fallen Constantinople.
The magi had not been in this town long before a group of Templars confronted them, telling them to get out of town before things went badly for them. After a short debate, the magi decided to do a little confronting of their own, an ambush that ended with four heavily injured Templars and two more willing to forget the whole affair for the time being. With the Templars out of the way, the magi searched the tomb of the Crusader, Lord Craig, where they found another note from Phædra: "Look for me at the head of St. Bernard's Pass. Beware of Æros."
The magi determined that this pass lay in the Alps near the French-Italian border. However, before the group could set sail for France, they were again sought out by the Templars. Two Templars brought a message to the magi, saying that their superiors wish to end their feuding. As a peace offering the magi were given the services of these two Templars on their journey. Immediately suspicious of the Templars' motives, the wizards nevertheless decided to take them along, if only to keep their enemies close at hand. Once in France, they hired a mountain guide named Henri Renu. Henri took them first to the French side of St. Bernard's Pass, but with no sign of Phædra, the group then traveled though the Pass into Italy. Again there was no sign of Phædra, so the magi went to investigate an odd rock formation they spied about halfway though the Pass.
The formation was in a very deep valley, and as they got closer to it, the group noted it looked roughly like that of a human head – as if the whole of the mountain were a slumbering giant.
As the group approached a cave within the "head," they heard a deep growl, then Æros, a horse-sized, three-headed dog, stepped out to challenge the group. His challenge was simple: he would ask three questions of one of the group, if he answered them all then the group would be allowed to enter, but failing to answer just one question would cause the participant to be eaten. Prava boldly accepted Æros' challenge, but even with the assistance of all the magi present, failed to answer any of the questions put before him. Aeros then moved to eat Prava, and the group assailed him with both steel and magic. One of the Templars and Sir Anning were overcome by terror and fled briefly; the magi attempted to break through the beast's resistance with their spells while their grogs used arrows and pole arms against it. At the end of the surprisingly brief struggle with Æros, a strange woman appeared at the mouth of the cave, and blasted Achard with a bolt of lightning, killing the poor man instantly. Still, Æros lay dead.
Still in wolf form from his melee with Æros, Baelthornon charged the new "assailant," and was about to attempt to rip her throat out when he realized that the woman must be Phædra. After a brief discussion, the magi came to believe that this was truly Phædra, and that she had nothing to do with the death of Dennis, whose ghost they had encountered at Hardknott. Further discussion revealed that she came to Corona Montis in search a fourth Eye of Argus (see the story Don't Let the Bull Bite You in the Ass on the Way Out). She recounted her belief that if she could replace the eyes in the Head of Argus he would reveal to her the location of the Staff of Hermes. With the Staff, she would bring peace to her homeland, ransacked by the recent Crusades, as well as to the Hermetic Order. Unfortunately, she thought that the Head of Argus had four eyes, when in fact it had five. Due to her encounter with Æros, she found herself unable to make the journey to Caverno Naturno, where she knew a fifth Eye to be located, so she asked the magi to go and bargain for the Eye in her stead.
During the night, while Anning was on watch, the Templars Osborne and Avery tried to kill Phædra. Anning managed to stop their attempt and wake the others, but the effort was his last.
Once again the group called upon the guidance of Henri Renu, this time to get them to the nearby covenant of Caverno Naturno. When they got there, they magi found that Adalaide of Tremere wore a pendant with the Eye enclosed. It cost the magi a rook of vis, but they did manage to acquire the Eye without tipping their hat as to why they wanted it. Upon returning to Phædra, the magi learned that somewhere along their journey back the Eye had been stolen. The thief is believed to be their missing guide, Henri Renu.
With Savaric in raven form and Baelthornon now in the form of a wolf, the magi began their pursuit. After a short chase though the French countryside, the thief was caught, and revealed to be Eglentine of House Criamon, of Blackthorn Covenant. He claimed that he had to stop Phædra before she used the Eyes bring about the destruction of the Order, or worse. Eglentine only gave up the Eye after Prava physically assaulted him, bashing his head on a rock after tripping and falling.
With the Eye once again in their possession, the magi returned to the cave and asked what Phædra intended to do with the staff if she were to find it. She agreed to let them cast Mentem magic on her to discover her true motives and satisfy their misgivings. Once satisfied about her intentions, they helped her prepare for the ritual of questing.
With the completion of the ritual the Head of Argus came to life, and asked what knowledge it might reveal to its restorer. Cellar - who preformed the ritual in Phædra's place, since she was still week from her encounter with Æros - asked for the resting place of Hermes' Staff. Argus refused to answer any question pertaining to his enemy, Hermes, but told them of an oracle that would, and of the ritual that was necessary to awaken him. The Eyes then turned to ash and the Head returned to its slumber.
Cast: Savaric (Greg), Baelthornon (Patrick), Prava and Sir Anning (Mike), Celer (Chris).
Beta Storyguide: Mike Daumen
A party of King's men on a springtime patrol was rousted from their inn by a hue and cry, requiring all who heard it to pursue a fleeing felon. The merchant who raised it stated that he had been robbed by the "Thrush," a mysterious bandit who had fled north along the road to Penrith (and actually the alter-ego of ne'er-do-well Stephen Austhwaite). Earl was sent back to the manor to alert the nobles, in an effort to capture the villain in the Royal Forest of Inglewood. The rest of the men, under command of Marcellus, traveled north to Kirkbythore, at a crossing of the River Eden, to join in the manhunt.
Brendan, having caught word of his brother's predicament, asked the magi to intercede before he fell into the clutches of an angry mob. For aid, he gave Baelthornon a childhood toy of Stephen's, and a necklace that Stephen had given to him as a way to find him in that region. Stephen had instructed Brendan to hang the necklace upon a forked tree by the river in order to find him in Inglewood. Baelthornon, Celer and Savaric set out with Richard and Christopher and arrived as Guy, the Regarder of the Forest, was organizing the patrol; this patrol was to work towards another force at the north end of the wood, the idea being to pin the Thrush between both groups.
On the first day of patrol, the only excitement was the discovery of what appeared to be the site of a poached deer: an arrow in a tree, close to an area of trampled underbrush, and leaves spattered with deer's blood. Guy, adding poaching to the list of the Thrush's crimes, pronounced his intention to execute the man once he was found. That night, a watch having been set up, the party camped with a Norman friend of Guy's who was acting as an advance guard. There, Julius discovered that this noble Roger concealed a quiver of arrows in his pack, a grave offense in a Royal Forest.
The men had been roused by a messenger reporting the patrol's progress, and the magi set out early in an attempt to use their "special" skills to find the Thrush (as they told Sir Richard). Savaric sought out the tree upon which the necklace was to be hung in crow form, but was deterred by an angry starling who felt his nest was being threatened, so he returned to the party. There he discovered than an Intéllego Corpus spell using the toy as an arcane connection had been magically resisted.
Eventually they came to the tree Brendan had told them about: a birch tree that seemed to sprout three separate trunks. As Baelthornon placed the necklace over a small branch, it was stuck fast by an arrow shot from behind the party! They turned to face an old woodsman who interrogated them about the necklace. Once they convinced him that they came to aid Stephen, he led them on a brisk run to his concealed lean-to. As they trailed the man, Savaric noted that where the man left tracks, they appeared to be those of a deer.
Stephen lay underneath the lean-to, seriously wounded and unable to flee. The party chose to disguise him as Savaric, the latter keeping close by as a raven. But after their first attempt to cast a spell on him failed, the magi confronted the youngest Austhwaite about his resistance. Sheepishly he admitted that he had bought a medallion from a tinker who claimed it would prevent magical spying on him. In exchange for their help, the magi took the medallion and cast The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch upon him, then a particularly well-cast Disguise of the New Visage to make him resemble Savaric. While this occurred, Savaric talked with the old man, Tom, who boasted that he had taught Stephen all he knew about robbery. He revealed that he wore magical boots to conceal his tracks, since if he were caught justice would be swift. Tom also stated that they were in a faerie area, which also helped hide his presence.
Still, he asked the party to leave, as he did not want the magical concealment to be tested. The party headed southward and met up with the advancing patrol. Stating that he had been ambushed by the Thrush, "Savaric" asked to return to Eskdale, accompanied by the other wizards. Richard agreed, although skeptical that a mundane could have snuck up on a magus and so wound him, as the magi retold it. The patrol continued for that day and the next, but when the southward patrol was met, everyone agreed that the Thrush had somehow eluded them.
Richard chose this moment to reveal Roger's secret, which was noisily hushed by Guy. Apart from the rest of the men, who began to disperse to their homes, Guy stated that Roger's family knew of a sinister secret, and had hunted at his pleasure with the threat of disclosure to keep the Regarder silent. Although Richard confronted the smug Norman, and Christopher attempted to goad him into acting rashly, Roger refused to take up the challenge and left with a large load on one of his horses. Guy asked the nobles to not reveal his shameful situation to anyone, but promised he would seek them out if Roger attempted to pressure him again.
Back at the manor, the returning magi delivered Stephen into Brendan's care, and returned his amulet – after Baelthornon removed a link from the chain which held it. For this favor, Stephen promised to lay low and use his "contacts" to purchase laboratory equipment in York or further south. In response to Richard seeking more information about the "ambush," Baelthornon admitted that their magics had been somehow resisted and that they were unable to find the Thrush with spells, but chose not to reveal Stephen's secret. The magi agreed that it was only a matter of time before it was nonetheless revealed, but opted to ignore it for the time being.
Cast: Baelthornon (Patrick), Roland (Ann), Savaric (Greg), Richard (Chris), Stephen (Mike).
Alpha Storyguide: Chris Blake
In the summer of 1222, Baelthornon was surprised to receive a letter from his estranged father, Lord Cador Willoughby. It seemed that two of his father's cogs had been lost at sea, full of cargo, within but a month's time and in the same general area. The Crown could do little to aid him, so Lord Cador wished his son to look into the matter for him, knowing of his unusual abilities.
One of the ships was bound for Lancaster, and Sir Aeddan decided to start there, journeying with Sir Christopher, Prava and Savaric, as well as a couple of grogs. Being noble, Baelthornon approached Lord Lancaster first. Lancaster proved to know little of the shipping trade; however, he did have the harbormaster brought before Sir Aeddan. He knew the ships and the captains of these ships, and claimed that they were both capable sailors, and although it was unlikely that they both sunk within one month, it was still possible. He also said that there had been some trouble with "pirates" taxing passing ships.
With this information, Baelthornon decided to go to Dublin, sailing through the general area of the disappearances. The magi booked passage with a Captain Sheldon. But a day from their destination, Sheldon held a large dinner, ostensibly to celebrate the safe trip. What he was really celebrating was the amount of money he got for drugging Baelthornon and friend, and then selling them to a Captain Dayel.
After their capture, the group was securely bound and gagged, and the grogs were kept fatigued by what Baelthornon guessed must have been unseen magics. When they finally stopped Baelthornon was separated from the others. He was taken and locked in cell by himself, while everybody else was dropped into a well. The only escapee was Savaric, who flew out of the ship's hold in raven form. However, his mind had been affected by a botched attempt to change form, and he was quite incapable of action for a couple of days.
The well turned out to be the entrance to a faerie regio, home to a curious creature named Treat, green and having fish tails for legs. Treat collected parts from sunken ships, and he was quite friendly, anxious for some friends to converse with. It became clear that Treat had the power to help the others escape, but was unwilling to do so. He liked having the group as his guests, and genuinely tried to make them comfortable in his home, but was adamant that his guests remained there. Prava tried to use his magic to escape but found that the regio was causing his magic to respond oddly. Only after it became very clear to Treat that his guests would prefer death to imprisonment did he soften; Treat only relented and agreed to take them to the surface only after the Prava vowed to sink Captain Dayel's ship for Treat's collection and promised to visit the creature yearly.
Once on the surface, they had to find Baelthornon while eluding capture for a second time. Because they were brought up two at a time the rescuers found themselves separated. Sir Christopher and Herald tried to board one of the stolen ships, while Prava and Michael hid in the woods. Unfortunately for Christopher and Herald, they were quickly spotted, and recaptured after a brief struggle. Their hands and feet were rebound, and they were about to be shoved back into the sea to drown. At that moment, their captors all got bewildered looks on their faces, seeming completely confused as to what was going on.
Baelthornon had been left alone in his cell until he had a visit from his long lost sister, Adwen. Aeddan was stunned to see the sister he had sought for so long, looking so much like him, but was even more stunned by her hateful words to him. She informed him that he was to be held for ransom, then she was going to kill him. With her brief description of how she would exact "revenge" on the family, she left, leaving Baelthornon to wonder at what was at the root of her hatred. Shaken from this meeting and still bound and gagged to prevent his spell use, it took Baelthornon some time before he could make any attempt at an escape. Finally managing several decent spontaneous spells despite his binding, Baelthornon freed himself from his restraints and destroyed the lock on his cell. Working slowly in the dark to avoid raising any alarm, when Baelthornon finally moved into the dark hallway outside his cell he was dismayed to be immediately confronted by Dayel, a hedge wizard and seemingly specialist in Mentem magics. A brief scuffle ensued, but Baelthornon soon found his parma gone and – after a quick Mentem spell – obediently re-entering his cell. After recovering, Baelthornon was again confronted by Dayel, but this time the hedge wizard assumed a more friendly stance. Dayel told Baelthornon that he had not stolen Adwen from their parents, rather insisting he had purchased her from them. He claimed that their parents had felt that twins were a bad omen, and since they had no use for a daughter, sold her to Dayel. Moreover, Dayel said that if Baelthornon were to join in their plans, that Adwen's anger towards him could be brought under control. Baelthornon believed none of Dayel's tale, but feigned interest and talked of Dayel and Adwen joining the Order, which would mean that they would gain its protection but would also require them to obey its rules. Dayel indicated he would pursue joining the Order, but unfortunately for him, he was very wrong in his assessment of the hatred he had cultivated in Adwen. Bringing the two siblings together again, they exchanged heated words, and Adwen then attempted to kill Aeddan with her magic. Dayel stepped in between them to try to stop the fight, and for his trouble Adwen flung him against a wall, killing him. She then turned and fled the house.
This was the point where Sir Christopher and Herald were about to "walk the plank;" with Dayel's passing, his Mentem magics were ended, and all of the men under his control now left bewildered. The magi outside were surprised to see someone who looked like Baelthornon in a dress came leaping out of one of the nearby lodging houses. She bounded straight on to one of the stolen ships, gathered all the men that were loyal to her, and despite the best efforts of the magi, sailed away.
Sir Aeddan made a rare trip back to Falmouth, where his family was astounded by his tale. Some part of Aeddan must have contained some doubt, for he used Mentem magics to discern whether in fact Dayel's account was true. While relieved to find it was not, a quiet and troubled Baelthornon once again left his family and returned to the wilds of Cumbria.
Cast: Sir Aeddan/Baelthornon and Sir Christopher (Patrick), Prava (Mike), Herald (Ann), Savaric (Greg).
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