Nerius Log #5: Wdenec

The Players

Anchises						Magus     (John)
Bihan							Apprentice
Drinano							Magus
Guen							Peasant
Henry							Companion (Shannon)
Jordan							Grog
Louis							Grog
Luis							Companion (Eric)
Maurice							Grog
Stagnum							Magus 	  (Scott) 
Wdenec							Magus

**
** From the Memoirs of Henry of Louten, Volume X

Sometimes it seems, that in those days shortly after the Founding of the
Covenant of Saint Nerius, we were not destined to rest.  Far be it for
me to complain, however, for they were exciting times, full of adventure.
Indeed it was nigh a week after the magi returned from that marvelous
land known as the Middle Marches that they were approached again by one
in need of aid.

The kind abbott first brought the matter to the attention of the magi.
He spoke of a town named Menec which was being threatened by a misguided
magi, who wanted to use the space the town was on, and thus was asking
the town to move.  Menec had sent an adventurous young man by the name
of Guen to find a solution to the problem.  He had been sent to Vannes,
where the bishop suggested he speak with us, for we were knowledgable of
magi.  Indeed, even in those days, the name of our Covenant was spreading,
gaining it's rightful place in the world.

Most of the magi were deeply entrenched in their studies, but Stagnum and
Anchises, being true adventurers to the core, at once volunteered to aid
Guen and his town.   They gathered together several grogs, and a newly arrived
warrior by the name of Luis, and, joined by myself, they began to march
with Guen to his town far to the North, seeking adventure where we could
find it.

Upon our journey, we stopped at the beautiful town of Vannes.  We slept
within the town at The Sparkling Minnow, one of the most *interesting*
places I have ever visited.  As well, we did our holy duty, visiting the
cathedral of Vannes, which they were rebuilding at the time, surely 
working on creating some work of art which would exceed what had come
before it.  Almost with reluctance, we left beautiful Vannes, but we
knew that we had an adventure before us.

As we neared Menec, a dark sense of foreboding began to overtake me.
The shadows seemed to deepen, and the entire world around me seemed
to become lackluster; without life.  This sense only increased when,
just outside of Menec, we came upon several standing stones.  Being a
historian of Brittany, I was quick to tell my fellows of the dark rituals
which the first people of this land had surely practiced using the
stones.  Indeed, as we gazed upon the stones, we saw several carvings
of primitive human figures.  The magi began casting spells, and one
of them seemed interested by the fact that the stones contained small
amounts of vis.  However, it was quite obvious that the stones were
much to large to make extracting it worth anything.

As we entered the town of Menec, I was almost entranced by one of the
most awe-enspire sites I had ever seen.  There were scores of stones
arranged in patterns right through the town.  A large semi-circle,
containing three score stones or much wove it's way from the North
to South.  On the west, along the open side of the semi circle, eleven
perfect rows of stones ran further to the West, as far as the eyes could
see.  Later, when we examined the stones more carefully, we would find
that the number of stones was counted in the hundreds, but for now, we
simply sat, drinking in this site.

We spoke briefly with Father Robert, who had sent Guen to us, and he
seemed pleased that we adventurers had been sent to protect his town.
And thus, we sent off, noble questors seeking out the wizard who was
threatening this town.

Leaving behind the beauties of the stones we marched to the North,
only to find another of the awesome figures.  However, this stone was
disturbing, for it stood alone on the hill, and I had been told many
a time, in my study of Brittany Lore, that the single stone were the 
dangerous ones, full of evil.

Yet, we were _adventurers_, and we could not let this stop us, so
we bravely marched up to the stone, and one of the magicians quickly
assigned a grog to climb it.  Thus, brave, dexterous Jordan rapidly
climbed up the stone, and told us how he could see another semi-circle
of stones, albeit smaller, and with only ten lines, a short distance to
the North.  We were pleased, for we knew at once that this must be were
the magi was.  And thus, overenthusiastic Jordan dismounted from the
stone, at a speed that was more dangerous than most would want to consider.
And, after Jordan was on his way to a healer in Menec, we were off again.

And then, our true adventure began.

Within this second area of stones, we met an elderly man, surely aged
more than two score, who named himself Wdenec, a name meaning "Mourning,"
and introduced himself as a EX Miscellanea mage.  He had with him an 
apprentice, surely not more than a score aged, named Bihan.  Bihan
was also a mute, or so it seemed.  Wdenec seemed a strange one from the
start.  Like a mdoern day messiah, he stood, in his robes of the magi,
carrying a long wooden staff.  All the time, vines tried to crawl up his
staff, as if wishing no more than reach the hands of a holy one.  Yet,
as we would soon find, Wdenec was not the holy man the he seemed to be.

Knowing that Wdenec must be a reasonable man, I began to explain to
him why we were here.  I pointed out that surely he could not expect
the town to move, and that he was being unreasonable, and that he
should come and join us in our newly founded Covenant.  Unfortunately,
we were unable to save Wdenec in this way ; he was not to be swayed.
He explained to us that he _needed_ to use the stones of the village,
and that what he was doing was for their own good, for his magic would
cause the aura of the village to be a strongly magical one.

And, I shifted uncomfortably, and realized that that is what was making
me feel uncomfortable.  This area, around these stone, was full of
extremely potent magic.  I exclaimed that we should start a Covenant
here, and Wdenec simply looked at me and said that many years past a
Covenant had been here, but they had had a great enemy, and the enemy
came to destroy the Covenant.  Wdenec had bravely gone off, hoping for
add from the faeries, but he was delayed by the Unseelie court, and
decades had passed.  Feeling for him, I began attempted to dissuade
him from his course of action, but he calmly explained that he needed
an extremely powerful aura, so that he could return to his friends,
and the stones, along with his ritual, could provide it.

Thus, we left, saddened by the fact that we could not make this magi 
understand that the village would not move.  And, we set upon a plan
that could, we thought, cause this magic-user to give up, and perhaps
join us instead.  Upon our return to Menec, we began pulling down
the stones, hoping that without them, Wdenec would not be able to
cast it ritual.

And pulling down the stones was a long and tedious task, taking much
of our time.  Wdenec soon realized what we were doing and the poor
man let his anger overcome him, and he began to threaten dire results
if we did not stop.  And this made us only work harder.  A short time
later, Drinano arrived, for he had been notified of the events by
a messenger, and was eager to learn of this ritual.  And he confirmed
for us that Wdenec had indeed joined the order nearly four decades ago,
in the year 820.  It seemed that the Unseelie Court had _indeed_ delayed
this mysterious magi.

Yet, no sooner than Drinano had arrived, then Wdenec returned, now possesed
by fury alone.  He, ignoring us all, began to cast his ritual, but
Anchises intervened, casting a spell to silence it, but Wdenec, angered
even more now, challenged Anchises to a certamen, and beat him in less
than the time that it takes to draw a breath.  Wdenec, still embodying 
anger, stalked off.

Thinking little of the consequences, Stagnum moved up to finish the
job that Anchises had started, and he began again casting spells, toppling
more of the stones.  But surely, Wdenec had left a wild magic in the air,
for Stagnum's spells began to fail in unpredictable and dangerous ways.
The first time, he only dropped a stone on a number of sheep.  However,
as he failed his magic a second time, he nearly killed himself with the
falling stone.  And, once again Wdenec was back, now seemingly a shell,
propped up by anger alone, and he strode forward, and destroyed the church
of Menec, caring not of the innocent peasant, Guen, whom he crushed
within the building.  And, from there, he strode off to the circle,
casting his ritual, ignoring our feeble attempts to stop him.  The
area at once became uncomfortable, filled with a powerful aura. And
he turned back at as, and he laughed, proclaiming that he was no
longer a member of the Order.  He said that he was from before the
Order, and the Order had destroyed so many of his own, and that now,
he had our secrets and our Parma Magica, and he would bring these
secrets back, and he began to walk down one of the paths, marked out
by the stones.  Anchises took out his sword, and began running after
this magi, hatred in his eyes, contempt for this magi who had destroyed
a human within the church because of lack of care.

And the winds began to wind around, building up to a crescendo, and
Wdenec continued down the path. Almost with a negligent flick of his
wrist, Wdenec caused a wall of stone to rise behind him, blocking
Anchises' wild charge, but Anchises cared little, and he swerved out
of the path of stones, continued his mad pursuit.  But, by now, Wdenec
had reach the end of his walk, and he turned back to Anchises, sneering,
telling him that he had left the path, and Anchises, sword in front of
him, charged into Wdenec, and through the other side, for Wdenec was
no longer fuller in our world.  And with an evil grin, Wdenec promised
that he would be back, and the winds died down, and Wdenec was gone.

In great anger, Anchises shattered his sword against the ground, but
there was little more that could be done, for Wdenec was gone.

And, the rest of the story was not a happy one, for the town would
have to move, not being able to live in this aura.  We had failed.
But, we did have some consession for our loss, for Bihan had been
abandoned to his fate, and we learned that the mute was not; he had
merely been bound while in Wdenec's service.  The stones that we had
toppled were brought back to the Covenant, and used to help finish it,
for the stone was free, and there was magic within.

But still, we had a loose end, an unanswered question, for some day, we
knew, Wdenec would be back, and that confrontation could indeed end
as poorly as this one had.