Prospectus Logs #25: Ignorance is Bliss +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of troubles brewing among the faerie lords, and how the magi are both | | its cause and effect. Also, a magus missing and the quest for him. | | Forgetfullness, fire, and wailing, all as part of a journey to the | | Underworld. | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Berengarius the Bloodthirsty Magus of Criamon (Eric Rowe) Fabricarious of Verditius Magus (Chris Van Horn) Frangere of Tremere Magus (Eric Fulton) Fraxima the Faerie Flambeau Maga (Donald Kubasak) Larissa of Mercere Maga (Kevin Wong) Risus of Criamon Magus (Dave Woo) Viator the Villainous Magus of Jerbiton (Dave Pickering) Xanti Ex. Misc. Magus (John Tomasetti) Aubrin the Evil Elder Magus of Merinita Forticulus (the Evil) Elder Magus of Flambeau Zilia Viator's Wife Andre Grog Arnau Grog (in Training) Francis Grog Hufar Grog Michelle Grog Steven Grog Torp Grog Isabella Amazon Ruler Miriam Corpse Duchess of the Dead and Dying Rosalina Amazon Blacksmith Lord Thom Faerie Duke of the Dead and Dying Rurk Swamp Goblin Leader Story Guide: Shannon Appel - * - Other Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal September 21, 1217 In return for Aubrin's recent aid to the Vole Queen, that fay ruler repeated her fertility ritual upon Prospectus Locus this day. - * - Other Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal September 25, 1217 Shortly before noon today, three daughters were born to Viator and Zilia, definitively proving the worth of the Vole Queen's fertility ritual. None of the children are gifted. The two parents have not yet selected names. - * - Forticulus' Hastily Scribbled Notes 27 September 1217 What is our covenant coming to? Not only is Aubrin forced to call himself "Evil", but that moron Berengarius has imitated him, and even worse has started calling me "Evil" too. I almost killed him this afternoon! I controlled my temper though, and am trying to discern a name he will truly hate to threaten him with. - * - Forticulus' Hastily Scribbled Notes 30 September 1217 It is no good, that Criamon has defeated me. For three days solid I have tried to determine a title that Berengarius might hate, from "Unenlightened" to "Chicken-killer." He takes them all in stride, smiles happily, like the fool he is, and takes no note of any insult. After determining this was not worth a Certamen, I approached Berengarius and kindly asked him to stop calling me "Evil." He has agreed to no longer do so to my face, though he states that he plans to tell other people I am "Evil." Enough, I will deal with his foolishness no more! - * - The Council Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal October 17, 1217 In attendence: Aubrin, Berengarius, Catorse, Drake, Fabricarious, Forticulus, Frangere, Larissa, Lorum, Risus, and Viator; also myself, Lucindia the Seneschal, and Fraxima. Absent: Albus, currently unable to enter the covenant; Xanti, currently questing after the river Lethe. Points of Information: * AUBRIN stated that he was concerned about Xanti. The spirit master left Prospectus Locus two months ago searching for the river Lethe and has not yet returned. Aubrin stated that Xanti only took a few day's worth of supplies and was apparently heading out for Lord Thom's realm, so he is long overdue. Fabricarious was elected to lead an expedition to track down Xanti; he leaves in two days. * BERENGARIUS declared he had [17 crossed out] [18 crossed out] 17 chickens. * VIATOR proclaimed he had three daughters, one apprentice, and one weasel. * BERENGARIUS announced he should hence be known as Berengarius the Bloodthirsty. * VIATOR announced he should hence be known as Viator the [Verminous crossed out] Villainous. Points of Debate: * BERENGARIUS suggested that all covenant members should be required to name themselves "the Evil." This issue was not seconded. - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal October the Twenty-first, Third Year of Exile (1217 AD) "You're insaner than I thought; that's cool." Those words were spoken four days ago by the lord Berengarius to the lord Drake. It paints a vivid picture of the world that we have found ourselves in, here in exile. This day we visited the court of the demon Thom. Our mission was to find word of the missing lord Xanti, who had traveled to see this same Thom some months ago. Our journey out from the covenant was easy enough, two days all said with no real problem, then we came to the boggy swamp that surrounds Thom's castle. Our first sign of trouble was a number of corpses scattered across the muddy plain, but fortunately our suspicion waxed high at once, and so my men were preparing their weapons even as the corpses--surprise--rose to their feet. A swamp goblin was shouting commands, ordering the zombies to attack, saying he spoke in Thom's name, and then he fled. But, we could not pursue him at the moment because we were distracted by our undead adversaries. For a few seconds I was concerned, for the zombies outnumbered my men, but I soon found this worry was unwarranted. The lords Berengarius, Frangere, Fraxima, and Fabricarious all joined my grogs on the line. Viator used his powers to loft zombies into the air. My mens' skill was greater than the zombies' putrefied memories. In but a few minutes the fight was over, my men unhurt. I was then prepared to run down their goblin leader, but Viator alerted me that he was actually still nearby, disguised as a rock. Fabricarious snatched up the rock, which promptly turned into a goblin, and then things turned into chaos, as the lords alternatively tried to threaten or speak to the goblin. The goblin--Rurk was his name--tried to beg for his life for a few moments, then he suddenly twitched his fingers and Andre was turned into a rock! Young Arnau proved his skill and courage when he stepped up to the goblin and killed it at once. I am worried about Andre, but Fraxima assures me that most faerie demon magic is temporary--except for curses, whatever that means exactly. Arriving at the gates to the demon Thom's castle, we found we were distinctly unwelcome, but finally Berengarius, Fraxima, Larissa, and some of my men were let in. We later learned that Thom was angry because of us doing rituals to the demon Aquil and allowing the demon Vole Queen to do rituals at Prospectus Locus, thus he had named the lords of Prospectus Locus _persona non grati_. Fortunately he had not yet met a number of our more recent arrivals, including myself and my men. Thom was initially unwilling to give us information about Xanti, but finally Berengarius convinced him to aide us by offering to trade one of those stone lions that plague our covenant. So, it's back home, to make sure that Aubrin agrees, then back up to the demon's castle, and that should hopefully lead us to Xanti and the river he was seeking. A side note: Berengarius has apparently sworn nine-tenths of his loyalty to the demon Thom. Don't these lords understand that they are just tying themselves to a corrupt world? - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal October the Twenty-fifth, Third Year of Exile (1217 AD) "I know, let's run a pipe to Hell." Those were the words of Viator, or Lord Paulo, the heir to Prospectus Locus. That these lords may joke of the dark side that rules our world, that they may mock it, is disturbing, but a part of the new life I have taken. We returned to the castle of the demon Thom today, stone lion in tow. The demon Thom tried to get us to bring it down to his basement--which he named the Land of the Dead and Unborn and is apparently a very real Hell--but the lords were unwilling to do this without some recompensation. It is apparently one of the commandments of the lords' world: thou must bargain with demons. Thom agreed to, at some time in the future, hold onto a pagan soul at the lord's request, instead of letting it pass on to the afterlife. There was some more bargaining too, as Thom offered a few additional tidbits of information, and in the end the lords swore to kill two pagans for Thom. After that we hauled the big, heavy lion down an endless set of stairs, and that was when we had our first sight of Hell: a dark and bleak realm, filled with the damned. It could have been our own world. Climbing the endless stairs, we returned to the demon Thom and he then passed on to us the information concerning Xanti: that he had come to Thom seeking the river Lethe; that he had done Thom a favor by banishing some pesky spirits; and that Thom had then pointed him to a cavern perhaps a mile away that led to the Lethe. Thom them hemmed and hawed for a while, concerned over his promise to provide us with good information that we would be happy with. He admitted that the cavern entrance was guarded by spirits. He revealed that he had not given this information to Xanti. Finally, he told us that the Lethe ran into the very Hell we had just visited, where it pooled into a large lake. Viator was a bit irked that Thom had not told us this before we made our trip down to the Hell. Thom graciously allowed us to go back down his stairs, saying it was "No favor." We proceeded to walk down the stairs once more. Back in the Land of the Dead and Unborn, we were able to find the Lethe lake with little problem, thanks to Thom's directions. A cliff of rocks rose up behind it, and there was a opening from which the river issued. The lords were at first worried about the water, unsure if memories would be lost by drinking or perhaps by mere touch. They considered different ways to avoid getting wet as we rafted up the Lethe, but we were making little progress. Finally, Larissa showed her courage by marching up to the Lethe and plunging her arms in. There was no effect. Realizing that we would be safe if we simply avoided drinking the water we began to build our raft, using the lumber that Thom had suggested we bring with us. Very soon we were being propelled up the Lethe by Viator's power. Every once in a while another tunnel ran into the one containing the Lethe. We explored some of them, hoping for signs of Xanti. We saw wondrous sights: one river that flamed with fire and another that was shrouded by screams. Eventually we came to a tunnel which led up to the surface. We explored this tunnel and, perhaps a hundred yards from an exit leading out to Thom's swamp, we were attacked by spirits. We managed to retreat, but by this time were sure that we had found the entrance through which Xanti had entered this realm. Staying clear of the area protected by the spirits, Torp did his best to examine the area for tracks. Regretfully, the group of us had messed up many of them, but Torp was at least able to determine that someone, probably Xanti, had entered from the swamp and headed down toward the Lethe. We rafted up the river for a long time after that, and finally came to an area where the river widened to form a lake. A plain extended to one side, and there sat a village. The village was a most odd one, ruled by women. Fortunately, Fraxima was able to take command and speak with their leaders. She discovered that Xanti was indeed here, somewhat forgetful for having drank a small amount of Lethe water and now the captive of these women, but otherwise fine. After identifying Xanti by his distinctive facial scars, Fraxima was able to take command of him. In the meantime Berengarius and Viator explored the village and nearby fields for a short time, but discovered nothing of particular note. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Grab that hoe." | | "Woo-hoo!" | | -Rosalina and Berengarius, on homonyms | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ A long and arduous trip followed, back down the Lethe, into the Land of the Dead and the Unborn, and finally up those countless stairs. It is all behind us now, a trip through the Hell beneath the Hell we call our world. Xanti seems well. He does not remember all of his trials and travails in the Underworld, but otherwise his memory is intact. We should be home in a few days. - * - The Memoirs of Aubrin the Evil October 28, 1217 Berengarius stopped by today to tell me of his travels beneath Thom's castle, mentioning that he had tried to bring back samples of the waters of the Lethe, Cocytus, and Pyriphlegethon, but that they had all become regular water within a day of returning to our world. He has some crazy scheme where we douse Drake with just a little bit of Lethe water, hoping it will destroy his most recent memories and return him to sanity. It must be a Criamon thing, but I'll at least mention the possibility to Drake. I also here Fabricarious wants to set up a forge by the Pyriphlegethon; perhaps Criamon are contagious.