Alpha Storyguide: Chris Blake
A note from Phædra arrived in the winter of 1225. The note confided that she was close to finding the Staff of Hermes (as told in the story The Eyes of Argus), but she had met with resistance from local magi. She asked the magi for their help once again, asking if they were interested to meet her at Harco, Domus Magnus of House Mercere.
At first Roland argued against helping her, be in the end he was convinced to go along. Roland, Celer, Baelthornon arrived at Harco at the appointed time, only to find that Phædra had already left. Appearenantly Elgentine of Criamon had arrived before the magi, and Phædra fled to avoid confronting him. She did, however, leave a message for them. They simply had to convince Poncet of House Mercere hat the message was indeed meant for them. This they accomplished despite the glibness of their new companion, Superbus of Epebolus, who had met Phaedra and was determined to help her. He was much impressed with what he had heard of Corona Montis and sought to join and make a name for himself.
Phædra’s message sent the magi to her home covenant of Cyllene. At Cyllene, the magi learned why Phædra asked for their help: it seemed that all of her fellow magi had their own reasons for thinking that what she was doing was wrong. Quintinus of House Menecrates thought that she was suicidal to attempt to walk among the gods; Durandus of House Trianoma was afraid of what her success would mean for the Order; Glaucon of House Criamon thought that she was a fool to set goals that were out of her reach, and that she surely went to seek her own death. After some persuasion, Glaucon agreed to allow them to search her sanctum, with him present, of course. Within, Baelthornon found a book with the Austhwaite’s coat of arms upon it. Inside the book he found a note from Phædra, directing them to meet her the Temple of Apollo at Kospen.
Arriving at Kospen, the magi found only that there was no Temple of Apollo and that Kospen has only been around for about 30 years. Realizing that they had likely been duped, and that Phædra’s first note had warned them "not to listen to their lies," the magi returned to Cyllene, determined to learn the truth of the matter. Confronting Glaucon, Celer challenged him to Certámen, but lost badly. With Celer’s defeat the magi had no further leads, and were about to head home. Then Elgentine approached Baelthornon, and confessed that he had Glaucon place the note in Phædra’s sanctum. He said that he had needed to buy more time for himself to stop Phædra. However, she had proved more resourceful then he thought, and so he now sought their help in stopping her. Elgentine also tried to convince Baelthornon that what Phædra sought should not be found. He also professed to be ultimately concerned for her safety. When Baelthornon told the Criamon that he would try to convince her to take the Staff to Durenmar upon if discovered, Elgentine told him where to find Phædra: She had gone to Karpathus to ask the Oracle of Hermes in Spoa where the staff could be found.
In Spoa, Phædra found the magi, and explained to them the ritual she planned to perform. Phædra would approach the temple at dusk, then light all the lamps in the temple and burn incense. She would then place a gold coin on the altar, and walk out of the temple by the statue of the Oracle, whispering her question as she passed. She would then cover her ears until she exited, for the first thing she would hear after leaving would be her answer. Receiving her answer, Phædra and the magi set sail for a haunted island where the Oracle had directed them. Their ship wrecked upon the rocks, leaving them stranded, but not alone. The inhabitants of this island are a reclusive bunch that encouraged the rumors that the island was haunted to keep others away. These people also worshipped some old god that they said protected them, buy killed any that tried to leave the island. They said others had come to the island to seek out their god, but none had have ever come out of the god’s cave, as the god’s sirens killed all that entered. Realizing that their mundane companions might succumb to the siren song, the magi decided to leave them behind and fight the creatures themselves. This proved wise, as the magi had little trouble dealing with the sirens inside, and quickly moved on to find a statue holding a staff. Sensing an end to her quest, Phædra rushed forward to take the staff, but when she touched the staff, she fell into a catatonic state. Roland, not really knowing what just happened, also touched the staff, and he too fell into a catatonic state. When Roland awoke, he told of how was overwhelmed by the power of whatever it was that inhabited the staff, but whatever it was, Roland felt sure it was not a Greek god. As soon as he touched the staff he was locked into battle of wits, one that he won. Phædra never came out of her catatonic state, and the magi left her comatose body — devoid of a mind — at Cyllene and returned home to England.
Cast: Roland (Ann), Baelthornon (Patrick), Superbus of Epebolus (Mike), Phaedra and Elgentine (Chris).
Beta Storyguide: Mike Daumen
With the magi away in Greece, the manor's guards were hailed by a Templar coming up from the village. Since none of the King's men had acquired the same distaste for the crusading order that the rest of the covenant had, they let him inside with little fanfare. Richard and Christopher, summoned at his request, regarded him with great suspicion - even though he was clearly a novice. He explained that the two knights had been asked to come before the ruling leadership of the English Knights at Temple Cressing. Though they were wary, nevertheless they followed the monk's directions to East Anglia, with a handful of trusted men.
At a crossroads south of the temple they met Brother Godwin, the elderly knight who had returned Brendan's charge Mary to him in the story Visitors at the Abbey. He confessed to having sent for them, so that they could offer evidence that the magi at Austhwaite manor were indeed good Christians. Cryptically he stated that because of prior encounters between magi and Templars, in England and elsewhere, the Knights had convened a curia to decide once and for all their policy toward the Order. As they journeyed to the temple, he offered a bit more exposition.
He pointed out that with the loss of Jerusalem to the Saracens, the Templar Order was adrift and had split into several factions. Godwin called himself a Cypriot, a group concerned with interpreting and fulfilling various prophecies involving the Templars' future. The Banker sect was content managing the wealth they won by safeguarding royal treasuries in France and elsewhere. Knowing that the nobles had previously encountered Joachim von Geat, Godwin explained that he was a "Hinnus" (Mule), who believed that by commiting acts of iniquity they would hasten the Second Coming. The knights were shocked to hear that Pilate and even Judas were "respected" by the Mules, since their terrible sins ultimately brought about Christ's resurrection.
His tale ended in sight of Temple Cressing. The party traversed great rows of majestic rosebushes before reaching the smallish but sturdy edifice. Left in the care of one of Godwin's associates, they explored a bit around the temple before retiring to a nervous night's sleep. With the Temple coming alive for morning prayer, Richard, Christopher and Julius went before the elders of the English temple.
Before them in a majestic audience room were five Templars: Brothers Godwin, von Geat, Luytjens, Renko and Villareal. As they asked questions about the magi, their acts, and their characters, it appeared that all but von Geat were at least willing to accept that the magi were Christians. When the knights told their most adventurous tales, some of the guards would exit the room, evidently telling others of the bravery of the residents of Austhwaite manor. Although Sir Christopher had often professed that he placed his faith in stout knights and not the magics of the 'mystics', he nonetheless eloquently and dramatically argued for the magi of Corona Montis, comparing their use of magic to his use of the sword: a tool to be used for good or evil. Once Richard and Christopher were finished, they witnessed the arrival of the last witness - John Austhwaite, lord of the manor and supreme of the covenant.
John spoke eloquently, pointing out to the Templars' surprise that there was a patron saint of Magi, and revealing that most wizards viewed the Gift as truly a blessing from God. His impassioned words appeared to win the day, and all but von Geat heartily thanked the group for coming. Aside, John told Christopher and his nephew that he had arranged for their summons through Godwin, since if they came it would be for the goodwill of the Order and not at John's request.
As they left the audience chamber, several Templars invited the knights to hunt for boar as proof of their might. Warily, they joined a small band of Templars to a stretch nearby Royal Forestland, on which they claimed the King allowed them hunting privileges. The knights refused to use the Templars' spears, with braces to protect their hands if a boar ran down the length of the shaft, in favor of their trusty lances (and still a bit suspicious of the Templars' intentions). Spotting tracks along a game trail, they stumbled upon three boars just in time to set their weapons for a charge.
The Italian Templar Mantecchio seemed to be the most proficient of the hunters, nearly killing his beast in the initial clash. Christopher caught his target on the end of his lance, and managed to hold on as it advanced. By the time it reached him it was mortally wounded. Richard fared the worst, losing hold of his lance, and the boar he faced succeeded in toppling him. Only his armor prevented Richard from dying under the mighty beast, who was easily flanked by Julius and the remaining Templars. In the end they succeeded, and took part in the feast that night at the temple. Satisfied with the détente, the party returned to Austhwaite manor.
Cast: Richard (Chris), Christopher (Patrick), Godwin and von Geat (Mike).
This page last modified August 26, 2011 10:55 PM
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