Novgord Log #19: The Old Troll Under the Sea +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of an ancient sea troll, and the great treasures that he has | | discovered. Also, Lost love, recovered again, and how that can be | | more valuable than the greatest gems. Finally, a visit from | | Magvillus. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Agripinilla of Jerbiton Maga (Chris van Horn) Andron of Bonisagus Seeker (Eric Rowe) Auditor of Mercere Redcap (Kevin Wong) Ballisto of Tytalus Magus (Bill Filios) Carmen of Bjornaer Maga (Donald Kubasak) Felix of Flambeau Magus (Dave Pickering) Gorm of Ex Misc Shaman (Matt Seidl) Nihil of Criamon Magus (Chad Weetman) Nova of Criamon Seeker (Dave Woo) Pacifer of Tytalus Magus (Shannon Appel) Baron Rutger German Noble (Chad Weetman) Franz Ship Captain (Shannon Appel) Halffird Youth Karena Hand Maiden (Matt Seidl) Spot Talking Cat Adrian German Grog Big Claus Nordic Grog Jarl Nordic Grog Little Claus Nordic Grog Skald Nordic Grog Dotta Sea Troll Fjord Blacksmith Garius of Flambeau Hoplite Iestun of Flambeau Hoplite Nacleon of Quaesitor Magus Orm Blacksmith Ulf Sea Troll +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I'll protect you 'til the dawn of time." | | -Nihil | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus October 2, 1202 Despite the disheartening events of this morning, I was still able to return to my lab, and finish my study of Imagonem. I must admit, it was actually fun to work upon, although I have to be sure never to let Andron hear of this, lest he brand me a lab magus forever. This evening at dinner, we spoke of the lab; I polled all my friends to learn how their work progressed. Agripinilla and Ballisto both mentioned that the spells that they were working upon would not be done until after the winter had come to an end. So, it seems that it will be some time before we make our triumphant return to Stockholm. Still, it will be time well spent if we are more competent when we finally venture forth again. Nova is just starting to write down the spell of Imagonem that I plan to learn, so, in the meantime, I am doing what I can to help improve our library. By the time that Nova has finished writing her Disguise of the Transformed Image, I shall have scribed my enchantment of levitation into our books. As we spoke at dinner this evening, I was reminded of Interritus, and the harsh restrictions there, which carefully mandated when the magi had to do work for the covenant. I must now admit that I little understand those rules. Why would a magus fail to help his fellows, when doing such strengthens them, and thus himself as well? - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus October 26, 1202 This morning, the Baron Rutger Verdan returned to Nature's Teeth, just as he had said he would. Gorm was just finishing his work upon the chicken which would be used to bind the spirit of the Baron's father, and so the timing was perfect. However, where the Baron should have been quite pleased, happy that he would soon retrieve his father's lost body, instead he was somewhat gloomy. As he joined us at the dinner table tonight, he mentioned that his plans in Germany had fallen apart. Apparently, the late Priest's papers had been insufficient to convince the Bishop of Stettin of young Fritz's guilt. The Baron said that he was sure that politics were afoot. When Felix offered to slay Fritz for Rutger, the Baron simply shrugged and returned to picking at his food. I feel both sympathy and understanding for Rutger. I too am weighed by a vengeance unfulfilled, and I too understand the need to carry out that vengeance with one's own hand. After dinner was done, Gorm proudly produced the magical chicken that he has spent the last three months enchanting. With a dumb smile upon his face, he handed it to Andron. Since the spirit of the Baron's father had once more taken flesh, in the body of Gorm's dead chicken, Andron was finally able to cast his spell of detection, for he had an arcane connection that he could actually hold. Pointing to a map that we had laid upon the Council Table, Andron announced the last resting place of the late Baron. He is a good six days sail, in the middle of the Baltic, far to the North. As I write, several magi are gathering together for the trip. Ballisto, Felix, Nova, Carmen and Gorm are all accompanying the Baron, in the search for his father's corpse. I would join them, but my birthday is just five days away, and I would not want to miss collecting this year's vis. Anyways, it shall surely be an uneventful trip, and I am sure I would be bored. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus November 2, 1202 I feel like I'm aboard a sinking ship here. This evening, Auditor abandoned me as well. He is going to Visby, where he plans to spend the winter. While there, he will listen for rumors of the many things that we seek: the gems of Iceland and Stockholm, the green gem of faerie and the wizards Teirdre and Trollwise for a start. Hopefully, when he returns, after the spring thaw, he shall have many new leads for us to follow. And this time, we shall be ready! - * - From the Runes of Little Claus 1 November, 1202 The trip north should have been a pleasant one, for there is little to worry about while sailing upon the Baltic Sea. Instead, it was a rather tiresome one. The whole trip north, the German Baron, Rutger, commanded my grogs about, giving them various futile orders. It was a vast relief when Ballisto announced that we had arrived, for it meant that the trip was half complete. The body of the baron's father was far below the sea. Thus, only Ballisto, Felix and Nova were able to search for it, for only they could breath the cold waters of the Baltic. What I write next is all second hand, thoughI do wish that I could see Ulf's fabulous caverns on my own. The three magi descended for what seemed like ages, until finally, they came to the dark bottom of the cold Baltic Sea. When they arrived at the bottom, an unearthly glow created by Felix lit the sea about them, and thus they wer able to begin their search. Shortly, the magi located a nearby cavern. They approached it curiously, for a beautiful green and blue coral, utterly unknown in the North, surrounded it. Felix was breaking off bits of the coral, collecting them to set in his chair, when the ancient troll, Ulf, emerged from his cavern. Ulf was a very pleasant fellow, and after the magi had ceased destroying his garden, he was more than happy to speak with them. The magi began to ply Ulf with questions, as they always do when meeting a potential opponent. Ulf was more than happy to answer them, and soon he had revealed that he was thousands of years old, a son of Njord, god of sailors and the sea. He said that he had lived under the sea for aeons, and in that time, he had constantly traversed the Baltic, collecting items of interest. Asking of the body that they were seeking, the magi learned that Ulf had indeed collected it. He happily agreed to show it to them, and thus he led the magi into his vast undersea labyrinth. The magi said that they walked through caverns for hours, admiring the thousands of items that Ulf had collected. Finally, they came to the hall of bodies, and there they saw the Baron's father, stuffed and mounted, both cold hands clutching at his riven throat. The troll was loath to give up any of his collection, no matter how worthless, but finally a trade was arranged. In return for the stuffed corpse, the magi agreed to give the troll Gorm's dead chicken, as soon as the spirit of the Baron's father was released from it. Ballisto was ever cunning, and as he looked about Ulf's great caverns, he slyly asked what gems the troll might have discovered in his years of collecting. Smiling, Ulf led them back through his tunnels, apparently happy to show more of his huge collection. Though I know that Ballisto and the rest all deeply hoped that Ulf might hold one of their magical door gems, I am sure that they were still shocked and surprised when they learned that he actually did possess one of the gems that they sought. Proudly, Ulf pointed towards a ruby, the size of a hen's egg, and proclaimed it to be a mighty gem of fire. Of course, the magi were desperate to get the gem. However, the troll Ulf had intimidated them with the tales of his ancestry. Thus, the magi decided to try and speak with him, rather than attempting to kill him out of hand. At first, Ulf was unmoved, for all of his beautiful gems were quite valuable to him. Finally, though, a deal was made. Ulf has required that we find his wife, a beautiful woman named Dotta, stolen away from him by a blacksmith named Orm several years ago. When Dotta has been safely returned to him, then Ulf shall give the gem of fire to us. Before the magi left Ulf, they were able to witness a demonstration of his magical powers. They watched as he shouted loudly, causing stunned fish to rain down upon him. Then, after they had eaten, the magi allowed Ulf to transport them back to the surface, by calling a mighty plume of water. It was nearly a day that the magi were down below the waves. When the magi returned, carrying with them the body of the Baron's father, the Baron began to express his thanks in quite excessive terms. Finally, after thanking them for the thousandth time, he pledged allegiance to Nature's Teeth. If he decides to stay around, out of some misguided sense of honor, I shall have to make it clear who the leader of the grogs here is. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus November 7, 1202 When my friends returned from their short trip to the North, they brought with them great news, the best that I have heard since our trip to Stockholm. When Ballisto entered our lab, he began to speak almost at once about the gem that they had discovered, and how it could be ours if we found just one troll woman. Soon, Ballisto's enthusiasm had infected me, and we were both running about the covenant, collecting everyone for a Council Meeting. At the council meeting, however, we hit a minor snag. Felix revealed to us all that he knew the blacksmith Orm. Apparently, Orm was the blacksmith that Felix killed in Baxholm, over a year ago, in a raid initiated by Weris of Flambeau. We talked for some time, before it was finally determined that we would split into groups in an attempt to find the woman, Dotta. Carmen, Gorm and I, along with our good Nordic grogs, shall travel to the ruins of Baxholm. There, we shall work to try and rebuild the town. Carmen believes that her magic will help us in thisn task. Once we have gained the goodwill of the villagers, then we hope they will reveal to us the location of the girl we seek. I should note that this approach also has an additional benefit, for it should hopefully free Carmen from the ghosts which trouble her so greatly. While we work upon Baxholm, Felix, Nihil and Agripinilla shall search through the nearby villages, trying to find someone who might have seen Dotta fleeing from Baxholm when we burned it to the ground. I have nearly forgotton one other matter brought up at the Council Meeting. When Andron came to the meeting, he brought with him the diamond that we took from Trollwise. In the last month, he has continued to study it, and finally he has made a break-through. It seems that the gem is not as worthless as we originally thought. Rather, it contains a powerful ward against demons. We removed the gem from Trollwise's staff, and them embedded it in our council table. Thus, our meetings and our meals shall be forever free of diabolic influence. Tomorrow, we shall be off. With any luck, we should have the second of the door gems before the year is out. - * - From Adrian's Report to Uniso Of November the 13th, 1202 For four days we searched the lands near Baxholm, asking everyone we knew of the woman named Dotta. She was said to be a striking beauty, and thus we were sure that someone in the North would know her. But, we had no luck. I should note that Felix had brought with him his adopted son, as well as the cat, Spot. When we arrived in the village of Djursholm, four days into our search, this become very important. Shortly after we entered Djursholm, Spot suddenly leapt from Halffird's arms. As the cat raced through the village, Agripinilla and Nihil both looked about in exasperation. Felix, however, smiling upon his panicked son, shouted that we must chase after the cat at once. So, we all headed off to the edge of town, where we found the cat scratching upon the door to a small hut, somewhat secluded from the village. A burly blacksmith opened the door as we approaching. He looked us over for a bit, and then he greeted us kindly, and let us into his house. There, he introduced us to his wife. It was Dotta. Ulf was not exagerating when he spoke of Dotta. She was an amazingly beautiful woman, prettier than any other that I have ever seen. However, any attraction that I might have felt was nothing compared to Nihil's reaction. He was ensorcelled by some black magic, and he nearly fell to his knees before the woman, pledging his love to her. As Nihil cleverly distrcted Dotta, Felix took her husband out front, beyond her view. I did not even turn when I saw the flash of flames, for I already knew what the blacksmith's fate would be. Although Dotta did not see the execution, she still knew that something was wrong. Breaking free from Nihil, she fled to the work area behind the hut, and, showing an amazing strength, picked up her late husband's great maul. She brandished it at us wildly, demanding that we leave. Felix simply smiled, and showed his common sense. He explained that the village would be burned to the ground, and every resident killed if she did not come with us. Sighing deeply, Dotta gave in, and accompanied us back to our boat. - * - From Adrian's Report to Uniso Of November the 19th, 1202 After we left Djursholm, we sailed North, heading for the lair of the troll Ulf. Again, the trip was a tiresome one. Dotta pined for her lost blacksmith, Fjord, while Nihil pined for Dotta. Several times, Nihil argued with Felix about returning Dotta to Ulf, saying that she hated the troll and did not wish to returned, but Felix stood strong. Finally, he quieted Nihil by explaining to the Criamon that they were going to rescue Dotta from the Troll right after they had received the gem. It was a blatant lie, of course, but Nihil was still deeply under Dotta's spell, and ready to believe near anything. Well after dark on the 19th, when Nihil was fast asleep, Felix went to Dotta and told her that it was time. The two of them quietly stepped into the frigid Baltic water. When Felix returned, a few hours later, he carried with him three gems: the magic ruby that he had sought, a huge purple amethyst and an uncut diamon in the shape of a man. Apparently, he had bargained well when he returned the woman to the troll under the sea. The next morning, Nihil was most distraught, but there was little that he could do, for Dotta was deep under the sea, below miles of water that he could not breath. For a time, Nihil and Felix faced off against each other, threatening Certamen. Finally, though, Nihil sulked off to the front of the ship. Felix avoided him for the rest of the trip. I should note that Felix said that he would try and help Nihil recover Dotta if he could. He spoke of the possibility of diplomacy in such an undertaking. I note this to you, sir, for we shall surely be called in to help in such a task. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus December 4, 1202 When Nova showed up at Baxholm, yesterday, she brought much good news. First, she told me that she had finished writing her spell of Imagonem, and that I could now learn it from our library. Then, she announced that the other group had returned to the Teeth already, and that they had brought with them a huge ruby, the second of our door gems. Thus, it became clear to me that there was no longer any great need to remain in Baxholm. I talked with Carmen for a while, and assured myself that she would be fine, for she planned to continue the work, hoping to free herself of the spirits that haunted her. She assured me that with the help of Gorm and Nova she would be all right, and so I returned to Nature's Teeth. Almost at once, I went to the door of our tower, eager to see the new gem that we had one. There, I found Andron, lab equipment scattered all about the court yard. Looking up and noticing my puzzled gaze, he mentioned that he was investigating the door itself. Finding no reason to pummel him for this response, I stepped up to the door and examined our new gem. It is a ruby, as Felix had said. Just like the sapphire, it contains an image within. Where the sapphire shows some type of fish-man, rising from the waters of a sea, the ruby shows a dark-skinned man. I would think him to be a Moslem, or some similar man of the east. The images in both of the gems was exceptionally clear as I looked upon them. I think they must follow a yearly cycle, for usually the images within are blurry and muddied. It was only last December that we were fully able to make out the picture within the Sapphire. I was still looking upon the gems when Andron violently shoved me out the way, mumbling that I was blocking his view of the archway. Resisting an urge to knock him out, I headed to my lab, to begin my work upon the spell that Nova wrote. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus January 17, 1203 Gorm returned from Baxholm today, and spent several hours searching the covenant. Finally, he reported that Carmen's ghosts were nowhere to be seen. It seems that she had repaid her debt to the dead. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus January 24, 1203 Today, our covenant met its first visitors of the year. I am afraid to say that it was a most trying experience, and one that I would prefer to never repeat. We knew that we were all in for a bit of trouble when we saw the boat's flag upon the horizon. The symbol of Magvillus was boldly emblazoned upon the sail. We looked to each other worriedly, each feeling some guilt in our hearts. Ballisto went out to greet the three that came ashore, a Quaesitor named Nacleon, and two Hoplites of Flambeau, Garius and Iestun. Afterwards, we walked back to our council room, a most solemn procession. It was a relief to learn that Nacleon had come seeking knowledge of the death of Taxus. For the most part, we were able to answer his questions, for Taxus was one that we had not slain. The only bad moment came when Ballisto had to speak of Taxus blackmailing us. Somehow, though, he convinced the Quaesitors that we had been unfairly persecuted by Taxus. Nacleon simply noted the blackmail and bribery to his scribe. He did not seem surprised at all. I think he knew that Taxus was crooked. When it became clear that we had not killed Taxus, and that we did not know who did, Nacleon grew friendlier. He spoke with us for quite some time, compiling a list of our enemies, for it seemed possible that one of our foes could have tried to destroy us by leaving a dead Quaesitor upon our doorstep. The list was an impressively long one. It included the Master of the Killing Beasts, the entire Order of Odin, a German Bjornaer, the Seeker Corruto and, of course, Coslen. Nacleon duly noted them all, but did not seem enthusiastic about any of the choices that we gave him. Tomorrow, Nacleon will leave, to seek out Nova, Carmen, Auditor and Ivarr, all of whom are currently away from our covenant. Clearly, he will gain nothing new from them. I am quite thankful that Nacleon came seeking information about a death that we had nothing to do with. If had questioned us on other matters, blood would have coated the rocks of Nature's Teeth today.