Ghoul of Onogošt
Date - 3/8/08 (1st session)
...in which a mutilated corpse reveals a priest's diabolic tamperings
With the renewal of the spring of 1220 A.D., hope seemed to return to the winter
covenant of Vigil Cavernæ. Talesta of Tremere's recruiting drive had borne
fruit: four new magi were welcomed into the covenant—albeit in a probationary role—bringing with them youth and ambition. After ??? filia ??? of House Guernicus, Theron filius Chrysander of House Criamon, Marcello filius Luca of House Mercere and Licentia Equitae filia Iuliano of House Flambeau were made probationary members, they settled into their new home.
Within two and half weeks of settling in, the new magi had their first taste of action. C???, a charming young troubadour, brought three reluctant Orthodox brethren from their abode at nearby Kotor. Their peasants had discovered a corpse washed up from the river. The corpse was of a
young girl of 15, with skin marked by pox, and although there was no sign of
a struggle, her body was mutilated in a strange, systematic way. It seemed
the brethren had immediately felt this the work of the "sorcerers" of Vigil
Cavernæ, and Shadrach cut short his visit when they one of their number recalled
his association with the magi.
Talesta rightfully felt this could turn into an ugly political incident for
the covenant, and asked for volunteers to investigate the matter so as to clear the covenant's name. Three of the new magi set out to investigate with the grogs Ratko and Tibor, and guided by C???. Upon their arrival in Kotor, they employed their magics to learn that the girl had indeed
died from the pox, and had been given a Christian burial. They were left with the
uncomfortable conclusion that she had been mutilated for some occult purpose
after death, and perhaps even after burial. They set off to investigate this vile deed.
Passing through the village of Rada and an unnamed hamlet, the group entered the village of Onogošt, near the end of the river, on the fourth day of their travels. They were immediately impressed with the handsome stone church of St. Lazarus that dominated the village, and quick to examine the graveyard that lay behind it. Of particular note was one grave covered with flowers - V???'s magics told her the flowers had sprung up on the spot overnight.
After talking with Radovan, the village elder, and his daughter Vesna, the group
learned that indeed, Ana and Marija, mother and daughter, had the pox.
The group then met with Father Terenzio and his hunchbacked assistant Nikola, and
accompanied them and Matija the healer to visit with them. István provided
his sodalis with a panacea salve, which Feo encouraged to administer to the
women. As he did so, Feo used his Corpus magics to rid them of the disease.
The townsfolk were stunned by the powers of the "physicus" from Ragusa and his salve. Meanwhile,
Sir Vinko spoke with Jelena, mother of Dunja, whose body they had found. He
offered the family alms and inquired about her background.
Father Terenzio denied that the girl they had found could be Dunja, pointing
to her grave, replete with fresh flowers growing upon it (the villagers took
this to be a sign of Divine favor). Staying at the house of Petar, the group
resolved to dig up the grave to get to the truth of the matter. Around midnight,
they started their grisly work, and Mislava brought forth a storm to cover
their actions. The grave proved to be empty, as the magi had suspected.
István narrowly avoided a huge marble headstone that was pushed towards him,
and Claudio chased their shadowy assailant to the banks of the river. There,
as each man drew weapons, the attacker slipped upon a stone and split his head
open. Claudio returned to tell his masters of the dead form of Brother Nikola,
the hunchback.
Father Terenzio held a vigil for his companion, and afterwards he was buried.
Sir Vinko was surprised to hear no mention of Christ or the Trinity in Father
Terenzio's eulogy. Now convinced that the Father was up to no good, the magi
prepared to confront him.
With the fall of night, Mislava and Benedicte decided to try to jog him into confessing
as the Serbian maga cast a spell to take on the likeness of Dunja. Waiting
for the Father in the Church of St. Lazarus, screams and shouts from outside
alerted everyone to something dreadful, with villagers soon reporting that
a "monster" had killed a couple of the villagers. Sir Vinko organized a defense
of the village, and led most of the group as they tracked a humanoid assailant.
Meanwhile, back at the church, although "Dunja" confronted Father Terenzio, he
began frantically conducting some sort of non-Christian ritual upon hearing
of the "monster," in full view of Mislava. With its completion, the figure
of Christ began to bleed,then burst into a black ichor, and the crucifix caught
fire. At that moment, a banging began upon the front door. Sir Vinko's party
returned to the village in time to see an Infernal figure at the door of the
church.
Into the sanctuary burst the hideous corpse of Nikola, animated by some sort
of demon. The magi began hurling spells at it, but were unable to best its
magic resistance, and Mislava slowed but could not stop the creature with her
powerful winds. Raw steel saved the day as Sir Vinko, Claudio and Kostandin
hacked away at the ferocious form until it stopped moving.
Afterwards, Father Terenzio tried to persuade the magi that he had done no wrong.
He explained how he had learned from his book that Christianity was a sham,
perpetrated by the "real" diabolists for centuries. While his knowledge was rich,and
echoed Gnostic and even Bogomil claims they had heard before, it was also flawed.
The Greek book apparently also showed one how to "cleanse the world of this
diabolic influence," which presumably Terenzio had done to convert the church
from a Divine aura to an Infernal one. The first part of the ritual had been
to exhume Dunja and perform the incisions they had already seen; Nikola was
to bury her body in the nearby woods but had apparently dropped her in the
river along the way.
Cast: Theron of Criamon (Craig Boas), V?? of Guernicus and Tibor (Margaret Boas), ??? of Mercere and Tibor (James Dolberg), Licentia Equitae of House Flambeau and C??? (Valerie Nix).
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