Novgorod Log #6: The Cave of Runes +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of the continuing hunt for knowledge and vengeance. The secrets that | | lie behind a rune covered wall. How the membership of Nature's Teeth | | continues to expand. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Adriana of Ex Miscellanea Maga (Matt Seidl) Aethmunder of Bjornaer Magus (Don Perkovich) Carmen of Bjornaer Maga (Donald Kubasak) Felix of Flambeau Magus (Dave Pickering) Ivarr of Tremere Magus (Sean Matheis) Pacifer of Tytalus Magus (Shannon Appel) Una of Tytalus Maga (Clayton Springer) Jenna Autocrat (Kevin Wong) Big Claus Nordic Grog Jarl Nordic Grog (Kevin Wong) Little Claus Nordic Grog Scald Nordic Grog Gorm Chicken mage Master of the Killing Beasts Shaman Old Marcus Ancient Roman Petronius of Mercere Redcap +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "He does weird magic with chickens. Most people are afraid of him." | | -Marcus | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Tendrils spread forth from the Covenant of Nature's Teeth, forming a web of intrigue and plots. In the Western Baltic, the three elders of Flambeau Marinus conspired. Weris of Flambeau would soon return to tell them if the new covenant was a danger. In Sweden, priests of Odin plotted. A single black feather was all that remained of the bird which had brought them the warning. In Harnosand, Elgan raged. The giant named Walter had told him of the two sorcerers who had stolen his blacksmith away. In the far North, the Master of Killing Beasts waited. Perhaps he was still oblivious of the vengeful magi who conspired against him. In Vastervik, old Marcus studied. Already, the magi of Nature's Teeth had completed one task for him. Places of power too lay upon the web, for the fate of Nature's Teeth would be fundamentally tied with them. A wall of runes. A field of lightning. A land of trolls. And then, there was the greatest place of power, the island itself and the enigmatic tower. At the center of all of this sat the magi of Nature's Teeth. They studied their tomes, researched their spells and copied their books. Nearly oblivious of the web of intrigue about them, they were still at the center. - * - From the Memoirs of Petronius of Mercere April 22, 1201 Tomorrow, I shall be landing upon a small island in the Baltic. It is the location of a would-be covenant named Nature's Teeth. The trip has been a lengthy one, but for the most part relaxing. Sailing upon the Baltic is much more easier that hiking across these harsh lands. The magi of Nature's Teeth seem much more practical than some of their arrogant fellows. Their letters were quite mundane, not the transcriptions of treachery and plotting which I have, in the past, delivered. Two Tytalus, named Ballisto and Pacifer, are each receiving letters of love from beautiful women in Germany. Carmen of Bjornaer is corresponding with her sister, one Nova of Criamon. I must admit that the majority of Nova's letter went straight over my head. Auditor of Mercere, surely the finest fellow at Nature's Teeth, is still conversing with his old Covenant in Germany. Quite loyal. The only note of any consequence was from one Resarcia. She spoke of some odd ritual, and doors and gems. I found it quite boring. I look forward to meeting the magi of Nature's Teeth, though I feel as if I know them already. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus April 23, 1201 Must every redcap in the Order insist upon reading the letters of others!? A Mercere arrived at our covenant today, and at first he seemed a fine fellow. Then, he began to speak of the contents of our letters as he passed them out. I was ready to kill the bastard. But, in my anger, I forget the important things which occurred today. First, Petronius brought with him two old friends, Ivarr and Una. Ivarr used to correspond with Adriana, back at Interritus. That friendship often brought Ivarr, and his fellow apprentice, Una, to Germany. I remember the good times that the six of us had, now so long ago. It is good to see them both again. As soon as Ivarr and Una spend their week upon the island, they shall be welcomed into our Covenant. Petronius also brought several letters, the most important of which was from Resarcia. She sent new word of the ritual which will be necessary to open the doors to our castle. Clearly, we shall soon need to turn to that matter. Oh, and lest I forget, there was one last matter today. We had a discussion over the correct dimensions for the chairs that we shall sit in at our Council table. Ballisto had had a rather large one made for him by Hobble, and the others were all worried that chairs would become larger and larger as we tried do outdo each other. So, it was decided that all of our chairs would be a standard size. It all seems rather odd to me. I do not see the need to compete in such a silly matter. My chair shall remain a utilitarian wooden one. Petronius is now staying at our covenant for a few days, waiting to carry away our replies. I shall have to remember to be most careful in what I say in my letter to Agrippanilla, knowing that Petronius shall be perusing my words. - * - A Letter from Resarcia to the Covenant of Nature's Teeth Delivered upon the 23rd of April, 1201 My Friends, An associate of mine in the North has just recently sent me the pages which I have enclosed. I am relatively sure that they are a few pages from the ritual that I have asked you to seek, the one that I believe will open the doors of the main fortress. You may wish to examine these notes. The magic theory is very foreign, perhaps something never seen in our Order before. I suspect that much can be learned from it. My associate said that the pages of the ritual had originally been copied by a magus named Teirdre. He lives somewhere in the far North, and is not a member of the Order. If you seek him out, he may be able to point you to the rest of the ritual. His notes comprise perhaps a tenth of it. When reading through the ritual, I found that it seemed to place great importance upon the gems which once lay in the main entrance to the fortress. I am now sure that you shall need to recover them as well before the doors may be opened. Looking through my notes, I believe I may have discovered the location of one of these gems. It is said that a large blue one was seen not long ago in Baxholm. From the description, I believe that it is one of the seven that you seek. I hope that this letter will help you along in the quest for the knowledge hidden in your Northern home. I look forward to hearing what progress you have made. Resarcia -*- The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus April 30, 1201 Today, we accepted into our covenant two new members, Ivarr of Tremere and Una of Tytalus. They both survived their week upon the island, though Una seemed somewhat the worse for wear. I do hope that she is ready for the coming conflict. To the Council Meeting, Little Claus brought his translation of the runes which we uncovered several weeks ago. Many of the magi, Adriana especially, wanted to go off and study the runes at once. I have convinced them that there is a more important mission, slaying the Master of the Killing Beasts, for whom I have known hatred in my heart since his creatures nearly slew me, several months ago. So, we are off to Vastervik, to learn what Old Marcus might know of the Master. We shall try and ask him of other things as well, such as the gems that Resarcia spoke of, and the mysterious rune-covered cave. Clearly, though, all of those matters are of less importance than our vengeance. - * - Little Claus' Translation of The Wall of Runes In small runes at the top of the door: "Behold all you who do pass by, As you are now so once was I. As I am now so must you be; Prepare for death and follow me." In larger runes on the main part of the door: "I was a warrior's weapon, once. Woven silver wires, and gold around me. I've been kissed by soldiers, and called a field of laughing comrades to war and death. I've crossed borders on galloping steeds, and crossed the shining water, riding a ship. My voice has invited princes to feasts and has sung in the night to save what savage thieves have stolen. My voice is all that may open this path." Little Claus apologizes for not maintaining the meter in the main verse. - * - From the Chronicles of Una of Tytalus May 1, 1201 We have the strangest man as a contact, a sage who mutters and says very little. Felix wanted to fry him, but we have few enough contacts as it is in this barren wasteland. With our limited resources, it would be folly to go out of our way to destroy the ones we have, especially when there are many contests to come. Anyway, this Marcus knew nothing of value. We asked about gems. Nothing. We asked about vis. Nothing. All he knew about was some man called Gorm who was once a prisoner of the Master of the Killing Beasts. A distraction from the proper path. Still, perhaps this sage is not so befuddled as looks. When pressed, he hints at more knowledge that he must look up in his books. Perhaps he withholds information knowing that he will thus not long outlive his usefulness. What a brutal coven I have joined. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus May 1, 1201 Marcus was even more useless than he had been in our last visit. Several times, Felix and I came very near to slaying him. He refused to tell us much about the Master of the Killing Beasts, protesting that we were too weak to face him. Like the old man knows anything about true strength. Only a tenuous lead has been given to us, concerning some man who the Master had once captured. Somehow, this Gorm is supposed to be significant because of the fact that he escaped from the Master. We are now somewhat discouraged concerning the matter of the Master. The others are afraid to face him. Perhaps some day, we shall seek out this Gorm, but not this one. Instead, we go to the cave of Runes that Adriana is so enthralled with. Perhaps there, we shall discover a new source of strength. - * - From the Chronicles of Una of Tytalus May 3, 1201 After two days of sailing, we arrived at the beach of the Rune Covered cave. It was the sight of a previous battle, one that Felix and Adriana revelled in telling of. When we entered the cave, Pacifer, displaying his fine leadership, applied his shoulder to the door. Unsurprisingly, it was not the door which gave way. Many spells failed as well. So, we set to considering the riddle. From the runes, I guessed that the sound of a trumpet would open the door. Lacking the magic to create a trumpet, I suggested that a spell of air might be useful in mimicking the sound. Ivarr, more practiced in these arts than I, did the honors. With a soft grinding sound, the wall of runes opened. I must remember to study the art of Auram, and make up for my lack of knowledge. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus May 3, 1201 Past the open door of runes, we saw a long passageway, winding ever downwards. It was an oppresive sight. Leaving Aethmunder behind us, to guard the entrance, we set out downwards. After we had marched for hours, we realized that there was something magical about the tunnels. And then, we began to worry, for the path back was not the same one we had entered by. When we sent Carmen back to investigate, hoping to discover that the entrance was still behind us, she disappeared. Panic was nearly upon us, for even with our magics, we could not survive long in the dark, dank caverns. Dying deep below the ground, far away from battle or foe would have been a most dishonorable death. As alway, danger brought out the best in me. Instead of falling apart, I carefully considered. After a few moments, I asked Ivarr to again blow a horn. He did, and the world about us subtlely changed. A new passage beckoned to the side, curtained in routes. Our path was clear. After Felix cleared the tunnel with his cleansing flames, we advanced down it. Suddenly, Carmen, who we had thought lost, reappeared. Clearly, she had become lost in this deeper regio. Our reunion was a joyful one. As we crawled down the passage, we grew once more impatient. And so, Ivarr blew his horn one final time. - * - From the Chronicles of Una of Tytalus May 3, 1201 After Ivarr again sounded his trumpet, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. It seemed the eye of a cat, a cat that we mice were blindly running towards. Soon, we saw that the light came from a room. Despite being deep underground, it had a view of the beach that we had landed upon a couple of hours before. Scattered about the room were several parchments, piles of precious metal and a skeleton. Through the skull of the skeleton was a sword. As the other magi moved about the room, collecting the treasures that it contained, Adriana incautiously withdrew the sword from the body. As she did, the floor was pulled out from under us. Clearly, the cat that I had imagined had decided to strike. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus May 3, 1201 When the room began to shake, I was prepared. I was floating in the air, thanks to my Corporem magics, just a few inches from the windows overlooking the beach. Smashing through the great window, I pulled myself out with the same motion. And thus, I was safe. Inside the room, the floor had begun to tilt. Soon, my friends were tumbling out of the room, into the cold sea below. The next moments were frantic ones. The magi and grogs struggled to reach the shore, some nearly drowning in the process. And then, in the distance, I saw a worrying sight. A Viking ship was sailing to the beach. As I floated to the ground, Felix shouted that Walter was aboard the boat. Clearly, he had survived his earlier battle upon that site and returned, once more trying to regain the lost blacksmith. Still disorganized, the majority of our armor scatted across the bottom of the cove, we bravely faced the invaders. Darts, arrows and flames flew into the ships, striking several of the rowers dead. And then, Una and Ivarr together threw a thick coating of oil upon the boat. Felix's flames, already maddened by my own spells, struck the oil and there was a huge explosion. The boat slowly sank below the water line. This time, we were sure that there were no survivors. - * - From the Chronicles of Una of Tytalus May 3, 1201 My friends, if not prudent, are nevertheless good in a fight. They easily dispatched the Vikings. Still, I believe that it is going to be a long, hard road in these Northern wastelands. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus May 5, 1201 Once more, we have returned to our comfortable covenant. However, there is one element of our adventure that still worries us. In the last two days, we have noted changes in the behavior of Adriana and Ivarr, the two magi who laid hands upon the sword we discovered in the cave of runes. Felix and I were concerned for a time, and had begun to make plans to destroy the sword. Now, however, that Felix and I have talked with Adriana, we believe that the sword is harmless. Adriana says that the sword has given to her a hatred of the people of the North, especially the giants rumored to be in these lands. I believe that this hatred shall be healthy for her. Recently, she has been much too meek.