Prospectus Logs #34: We Don't Need No Education +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of a trip to Castille in the name of a new contest. Also, almost | | forgotten, the matter of a dead magus, his body, and his books. By | | serendipity, a new encounter with the coins of Judas, and their | | ultimate disposition. How a Criamon may join the Templars. | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Albus Magus of Tytalus (Shannon Appel) Berengarius the Bloodthirsty Magus of Criamon (Eric Rowe) Fabricarious Magus of Verditius (Chris Van Horn) Risus Magus of Criamon (David Woo) Aubrin Elder Magus of Merinita Michelle Grog Roger-Tien Grog Steven Grog Xavier Grog Sgt. Remus Mouse Ariva Scholar Intentio of Flambeau Live Magus Manuel Lad of Logrono Miguel Scholar Pulvis of Jerbiton Dead Magus Ramiro Lord of Logrono Tenebricus of Criamon Magus of Sader Teresa Lady of Logrono Story Guide: Bill Filios +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | A CHRONOLOGY: The Coins of Judas | | | | * September 3, 1214 - Upon successfully recovering the Napkin of God, | | Albus is beset by a new vision, this one showing the Templar Fayez | | and his unsuccessful attempt to recover the coins of Judas. | | (Prospectus Logs #8, "The Napkin of God") | | | | * May 14, 1216 - After exchanging a pair of letters with Fayez's | | father, Jelil, Albus decides to head an expedition to Carthage. | | (Prospectus Logs #18, "Ex Miscellanea") | | | | * May 26, 1216 - Albus learns the coins have been melted down and | | made into a set of six amulets. He recovers four while in Africa, | | taking them from their creator, Monya. (Prospectus Logs #19, | | "Roots of Evil") | | | | * November 6, 1216 - Using a golem and spies, Monya tries to recover | | the amulets. (Prospectus Logs #22, "Wedding Bells") | | | | * November 14, 1217 - Monya uses a fox-faerie to try and steal the | | amulets. | | | | * November 15, 1217 - Albus melts the amulets down and has | | Fabricarious reforge them into coins. | | | | * November 22, 1217 - Seeing a chance to free himself from his angel, | | Albus returns the coins of Judas to Monya. (Prospectus Logs #26, | | "A Fox Amidst the Ducks") | | | | * May 30, 1218 - Albus despairs of banishing his angel with Jewish | | magic. (Prospectus Logs #31, "Lions and Lions and Lions, Oh My!") | | | | * August 30, 1218 - At the insistance of Narisian of Sansaron, Albus | | returns to Africa, determined to confront Monya. | | | | * September 16, 1218 - Albus finds Monya dead, her city destroyed, and | | the (reforged) amulets taken. | | | | * September 21, 1218 - Albus speaks with the Almohad army, and | | arranges to have the six amulets sold to him via Sader. (Prospectus | | Logs #32, "Out of Africa") | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - * - Albus' Dialogues January 18, 1219 Early Morning She continues to plague my dreams. She asks me where the coins are. They are on the way. They should be here soon. But She is not content. The dreams continue. - * - The Council Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal January 30, 1219 In attendence: Albus, Aubrin, Berengarius, Catorse, Drake, Fabricarious, Forticulus, Frangere, Fraxima, Lorum, Risus, Viator, and Xanti; also myself, Lucindia the Seneschal. Quorum was achieved and Aubrin called the one regularly scheduled meeting of Prospectus Locus to order. As is traditional the main topic of discussion was vis. Points of Information: * AUBRIN has learned that it was Accoerickimagius Ex Misc., an independent magus from Stongehenge, who knocked down our Aegis last year. He has addressed a letter to the magi of Stonehenge, to deal with this issue. * AUBRIN stated an issue has arisen in Logrono, a city in Castille. Lord Ramiro there is a friend of Artaldo, who is the brother of the riding instructor of the King of Aragon. The lord is looking for sages to teach his son, Manuel. More importantly, however, the lord's chief advisor recently died, and that advisor was Pulvis of house Jerbiton. Aubrin has asked interested members of the covenant to travel to Castille and use this contest as a cover to find the body and books of this Jerbiton. Points of Debate: * AUBRIN listed our vis collection this year and suggested that we use it to entirely pay off our vis debt. This issue was accepted. * VIATOR suggested that we try and convince the covenants to whom we owe vis to accept a smaller repayment because we will be paying in lump sums. This issue was accepted. * RISUS asked for three pawns of Vim vis, working toward a new Vim book. Passed. * ALBUS asked for three pawns of Animal vis, working toward a new Animal book. Passed. * BERENGARIUS asked for three pawns of Mentem vis, working toward a new Mentem book. Passed. At year's end, our debt has been reduced to 0 pawns. Our current stores are unknown, because it is unclear how much we will have to pay to the covenants of Barcelona, Estancia-es-Karida, Hamus Acerbus, Doissetep, Mistridge, and Windgraven, but Aubrin hopes for a 10-20% reduction due to our lump sum payment. - * - Albus' Dialogues January 30, 1219 Mid-day The contest seems a wonderful idea. I plan to win--to overcome my defeat in the Goddesses' realm. I have convinced Berengarius, Fabricarious, and Risus to join me. Before leaving, we put up the Aegis. I am afraid to test it. I am afraid that I am barred once more from my home due to Her tying me again to those damned amulets. Won't Fabricarious be pleased. It is a good time to leave. The road beckons. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 12, 1219 Early Evening A peasant threw a beet at me today. I ran him down and made him tell me why. He didn't like nobles, it seems. I gave him a silver. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 14, 1219 Late Evening A tiring day, with poor omens early on. Not far from Logrono, Berengarius pulled a beet out of his pocket and threw it at Fabricarious. The same beet from two days ago if I'm not mistaken. I tried to break up the fight. Fabricarious, who always is edgy, took it wrong and certamened me. I let him win and as a result must be nice for a day. I really must work to improve my skill at certamen. It is a contest I am poorly prepared for. If only Avitus had not insisted I be a generalist. Still, I must accept his wisdom. In the end I will win by being good at everything. She began tormenting me again as we entered the city. She bothered me about the coins. I told Her they were on the way. She insisted they had already arrived in Sader. Something to look into later. At Lord Ramero's manor, we gave our names and were welcomed. I then set everyone to looking for information on Pulvis. Berengarius went to a tavern named The Bull's Head. He learned that Pulvis had lived in the castle and had died of a seizure. His body disappeared, though it was under guard in his room. Risus spoke with other scholars. He met one of our competitors, a young astrologer named Miguel. He learned no other information. I spoke with the clergy. I was pleased to learn that my reputation had spread to this locale. My reputation as a hero of the church, that is. The churchmen were upset. Pulvis had been troublesome to them. The king was taking church land to pay the winning scholar. I promised I would do what I could. Tomorrow we will meet the rest of the competitors. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 15, 1219 Early Evening We met with the other scholars today. A mixed lot. I have already written of Miguel. There's also another Castillian named Ariva. Two magi are here. Our old friend Intentio and Tenebricus of Criamon, a member of Sader. I tried to arrange a deal with Intentio. I offered to split books and vis from Pulvis' body. He asked for a considerable cut and my fellows were unwilling to agree. I spoke with Tenebricus after that. There I met with a considerable surprise. Tenebricus has my amulets! They arrived at Sader a short time ago. Tenebricus paid off the other magi at Sader to study them for a while. They are to be sold to me afterward. I will try to maneuver Tenebricus into returning home with me, so that the amulets will be near and Her wailing will cease. At the reception we learned that we are to make presentations tomorrow--explaining how we will teach Manuel. I came up with something called the Total Immersion Method. However, Teresa, the Lord's wife, passed among us and asked about our plans. When I spoke of the Total Immersion Method, she said that Intentio was suggesting the same thing. I must consider this. I have asked Teresa to make sure I speak before Intentio. After the reception I spoke with my clerical friends again. They told me that the Lord liked civilized things and was worried about converting the Moors in his land. I plan to incorporate this into my plan. Risus was watching everyone's goings on this evening. He told me that Ariva and Tenebricus were meeting together. He also said that Intentio was sneaking around. Probably looking for that Jerbiton's body. It matters not--the contest is all important. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 15, 1219 Late, Late Evening An exhausting evening. I was woken by a riot in town. Investigating I discovered that Ariva and Tenebricus had been beset by a crowd. Worse, the amulets were gone! I tracked down Tenebricus' attackers. I found three good Christians. Upon threat of death, they admitted that they had been part of the crowd. They said that a priest had convinced them to attack the scholars. It was because church land was being taken for the winner of our contest. The three men did not have the amulets; I left them. I went to the church next. I gained an audience by using my name and reputation. I spoke and even threatened. The priest and his followers offered me up everything they had taken from Tenebricus. The amulets were not in the pile. The priest thought that a few foreigners who had involved themselves in the attack might have taken the amulets. I warned the church members that it might be best to leave Logrono. Then I left them. Heading back to the Bull's Head I tracked down the merchant who had hired the four foreigners in question. He said they were gone and suggested that they might have headed South to Toledo. I briefly tried to track them, but it was pointless in the dark. So, I return to bed. Hopefully I will have better luck tomorrow. It is annoying to have those amulets so tantalizingly close. Tenebricus and Ariva survived their attack. They are badly hurt. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 16, 1219 Late, Late Evening A wonderful day! First thing, I had Xavier go out to try and track down our four culprits. Then, I went to the Lord's hall to make my presentation. Neither Tenebricus or Ariva were able to attend because of their injuries. Teresa had managed to get me on the schedule before Intentio. My speech--it was a masterful oration. I said that I had given up my own plan because of a much better one presented to me by Tenebricus. I said I was speaking on his behalf, due to his injuries. The plan was actually mine. I said I spoke for Tenebricus because I wanted him to win, thanks to my efforts. This will indebt him to me and will also free me from teaching young Manuel. I talked about the Secluded Scholar System, where I would lock young Manuel up with books. I said it was a much better system than, say, hauling him around Iberia and putting his life in danger. I am sure I totally undercut Intentio's presentation. Teresa seemed very pleased with my plans. Afterward, many looney plans were suggested. Miguel talked about making a star room where Manuel would just learn things from their presence. Berengarius talked about introspection. He had his mouse spell out the word "Manuel" in stones. Risus said he would teach by telling stories. He told a story about his tree. Intentio offered his immersion plan. I think the winner is obvious. Afterward I spoke with Xavier. He had found tracks leading out of town to the South. He had even found proof that this group had leapt off the road when I went after them last night. So, we set off after the thieves. Myself, Fabricarious, Berengarius, and Xavier. Shortly before dusk we found a campfire, but it was recently abandoned. We continued on. An hour after dark I was ready to give up. Berengarius insisted. I climbed a hill before we turned back. I wanted to look around. It was a last chance. As if by divine intervention, my eyes were drawn back from where we had come. There, in the distance, I saw a campfire. It was near to where we had visited the campfire before. We sped back. In the end we crept toward the fire. It was the exact same camp we had visited before. Four men slept around the fire. With the aid of my friends, I ambushed them. They were taken by surprise. After threatening them, I recovered the amulets. Berengarius wanted to slay the four men, but I was unwilling. Instead we ran them off. We shouted that we were the "Friends of the Scholars of Iberia Association." We promised dire repercussions if they ever assaulted scholars again. I do not think they will be a problem in the future. We have a long trek before us. We must return to Logrono in time for the lord to make his decision in the morning. That will be when he declares me the winner and Tenebricus becomes his scholar. - * - Albus' Dialogues February 17, 1219 Mid-day We returned just in time for the results this morning. The surprising bit was that Miguel died during the night. Some type of fatal seizure. Lord Romero suggested that he might have found Miguel the winner if he had lived. I find that unlikely. He was probably just speaking well of the dead. Romero declared myself and Tenebricus the winners. There was some misunderstanding and he thinks we will both teach Manuel. We have six months to teach him enough about five subjects; if we do not, we are to be thrown in jail for six months. As the trusted teacher of Manuel, I was able to ask to see Pulvis' rooms. We had not been able to before because they are guarded. I found some tablets and a book scattered about. The room was mostly cleaned out. These had been forgotten. I game the books to my fellows. I spoke to Intentio briefly before he left. He admitted to having found Pulvis' body. It had been buried in someone else's grave. Quite strange. It doesn't really matter. I beat him at the contest. Afterward I spoke with Tenebricus. It was never my intention to get stuck here teaching a young lout. I have convinced Tenebricus that we should flee. We will do so as soon as he well. In a month, perhaps. Even better, I have convinced him to let me take the amulets to Rome, as She demands. I will arrange to have him study them there. But the important thing is, I will be free! My fellows are preparing to head back to Prospectus Locus. I should be able to join them in the Spring. - * - Albus' Dialogues March 15, 1219 Late Evening Tenebricus has recovered. As a result we took flight this evening. Quite literally. Tenebricus can fly and drag along others. We are now several score miles from Logrono and its loony lord. A few notes to conclude my business in Logrono. First, Manuel is an absolute lunkhead. Socrates could not teach him the demanded skills in six years, let alone six months. All the better reason to leave. I dislike jails. Second, Teresa is a murderess. No question about it. She is overly possessive of Manuel and wants to control him. I am quite sure she killed Pulvis and Miguel. She must have considered them threats. Fortunately, I was kind to her, and even joined her on picnics when I should have been teaching her son. - * - Albus' Dialogues March 29, 1219 Late Evening It is done! At last! Today Tenebricus and I arrived at the church in Rome--the Templar church that I have seen so many times in my dreams. It was all exactly as I foresaw. I turned the coins over to them. Then I was filled with the most wonderful joy. I think my relationship with Her has changed forever. They began to speak of me as the relic hunter. I have arranged it so that Tenebricus can stay behind and study the amulets. I hae claimed that he helped in their recovery. It is enough for the Templars. It seems I am done at least. A boat awaits me at Ostia. In a few more weeks I should be home. May I never hear her demands again in my dreams.