Rage Across Sardinia Season: Spring, 1219 [From THE ROLLS OF DRAGON'S RISE]: Full Members: Angus of Bonisagus Lab Worker (Don) Flamma of Tremere Head Protector (Eric) Marlon of Tremere Head Hunter (Phil) Nicholi of Jerbiton Chancellor (John) Tolas of Tremere Leader Members: Ahmed of Flambeau Associate Member (Scott) Arturo of Jerbiton Associate Member (John) Lysander of Jerbiton Hunter (ChrisV) Malcolm of Jerbiton Lab Worker (Matt) Musculus of Quaesitor Protector (ChrisF) Pumilio of Erimor Hunter (DaveP) Mundane Leaders: Manual Ship Captain (Billy) Mundanes: Andre, Silver Grog Covenant Guardian (Matt) Iago, Mercury Grog Guardian of Angus Nickoli Story Teller (Eric) Reginald Woodsman (John) Samson, Silver Grog Guardian of Lysander Turati, Mercury Grog Guardian of Ahmed Villagers: Edwardo Dead Woodsman Rosella Kitchen Girl Others: Tonare Horse * * * [Dramatis Personae]: Antonio Werewolf Edwardo Peasant Gustare of Clan Ventrue Vampire Rosella Peasant Ruka Dragon Shen of Sidhe Faerie King Tofu Imp * * * [A Timeline of Dragons]: Fall, 1202 Members of Vardian's Tomb fight two of four dragons recently born in nearby Faerie forest. -Vardian Log #18 Spring, 1204 One of the four young Dragons, a diabolic beast named Ruka, kidnaps Acutus and gives him to diabolists. -Vardian Log #22 Spring, 1211 Several Magi travel to Sardinia and slay Meka, the most magical of the four young Dragons. Flamma claims the vacant lair as the future site of Dragon's Rise. -Vardian Log #42 Summer, 1211 Vates sees Parins causing the four Dragons to kill each other in a vision caused by a magical fountain. -Vardian Log #43 Summer, 1212 The Black Dragon (an ancient beast, not one of the four young ones) comes to the Tomb for aid in recovering part of Vardian's Skull. While there, it eats the Demon, Becky. -Vardian Log #47 Fall, 1212 Luigi battles the Black Dragon in revenge for the death of his wife. -Vardian Log #48 * * * [From THE SLIGHTLY SLOPPY LAB NOTES OF FLAMMA INCENDERE]: These cold winter nights bring strange things in the wind. This evening, a large man and his green ox wandered into the village. It seems they are from England, and that the man chased the ox all the way here. The way Nickoli relates the story to me, this man, Reginald, and his ox had a fight and the upset ox ran off, swimming the English Channel, running across Europe, and finally swimming across the sea to Sardinia. Reginald followed and after a long chase, running and swimming the whole time, he ended up here. While it seems a tall tale to me, the mundanes seem to believe it. I also note the great fondest Reginald has for his ox. Such a man is always worth keeping around, so I convinced Tolas to hire him on as a woodsman, his chosen profession. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: I really enjoy these council meetings. Manipulating most of the Magi here is child's play compared to those vicious meetings back at Postestas. In one of my finest performances so far, I have managed to get Flamma elected as Head Protector and Marlon as Head Hunter. This puts the three of us Tremere in the three most important positions of power, in case trouble comes in future years. Of course, that will not happen as long as the others remain as docile as they have been. Marlon has noted that he does not wish to do much hunting, and I plan to respect that wish. I expect to have him sit in his lab and make vis during his season of service. What is important, however, is that he remain nominally in the position of Head Hunter, for that will increase the power of all of my Tremere. In other business, some of my thralls have become probationary members. Lysander we made a hunter, with the hope he would be forced to learn a spell to defend himself and thus become somewhat effective. Malcolm was made a lab worker as is his ex-master Angus. The Erimor Mage, Pumilio, seems an effective fighter despite his lack of common sense. He will make an excellent hunter beneath Marlon. The last new appointee, Musculus, will be a protector under Flamma. The matter of the magical horse, Tonare, also came up. After some discussion and argument I decided that we would vote to have Nicholi be allocated the horse for his use. Arturo was a bit upset over the decision, since he had had his heart set on the horse. I was quite fair, and told him that the next horse born of the sea horses would be his. I decided that telling him the real reason for my decision, that I did not want to give the magical beast to one who was not a real magus, would not be a good idea. It was just after the horse issue that Gustare the vampire chose to make a mysterious visit to us. I have to admire him for his nerve in showing up at our covenant after blackmailing us while at Vardian's Tomb. At first, I was tempted to blast him where he stood, but our friendly charter prevented such actions. Instead, I allowed him to sit in on our meeting, as he wished. While we all pondered the presence of Gustare, the new woodsman, Reginald, asked to be admitted to the council room to speak. We voted to let him in to talk and he told a worrysome tale. While chopping trees in our woods, he had heard a terrible scream. When he arrived at the location of the sound he found one of the woodsmen, Edwardo, dead. There had been blood splattered all about and the man had had his throat ripped out. It looked like the work of wolves. (I'll Have to remember to do something nice for his daughter, Rosella. Her mother is also dead and Flamma will be quite upset at the situation. Since Rosella works in the covenant kitchen she won't be totally without means, but I can probably get her married off or something.) Gustare asked to speak once Reginald had left. It seems the wolf issue was why he was here in the first place. He explained that there were some werewolves upon Sardinia. Gustare insisted they were evil and needed to be destroyed, and he had information which could help. In return for his information and aid, he requested membership in the covenant and a vote in the council. While I knew I would never allow this, I was intrigued at his motives and had Musculus cast Frosty Breath at him for more questioning. It seemed that he was honest in his explanation of the situation, but he has been too troublesome in the past for us to trust him. I think Flamma might just have toasted him had she been here. Gustare agreed to return the next night, after we had discussed the issue. As the last action of the council, I determined that we would not use the good labs wherein grows that strange ivy. At the end of the season, we should collect five pawns of Creo vis from it, if Pumilio's research was correct. I am a bit worried with Gustare's presence in our covenant and the thought of werewolves in the area. Having never encountered them before they are a dangerous unknown. Tonight, I will have Musculus aid me in casting spells, looking for possible danger. In the morning I will have Angus, Ahmed and Lysander take some grogs and evaluate the situation. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: It seems my fears were warranted. One of these Werewolves (called Garou by Gustare) had managed to follow Reginald to our covenant. Late last night, Musculus detected it, but only once it had entered the Bonisagus tower. For some reason, it headed to the lab of Lysander first, but the ineffective coward fled magically. It is unfortunate that Verdan had left for Literatus the previous evening, else, the wolf might have eaten him first, and quickly solved one problem for me. In any case, the Garou then attacked Angus in the lab below. These beasts must be dangerous indeed, for it caused even the capable Angus to flee from it. In the stairwell, Angus was aided by the newly arisen Malcolm, but the two might have still fallen had it not been for the fortunate appearance of Gustare. He battled the beast and with the magical aid of the magi, he finally slew it. I arrived only in time to collect the vis from the corpse that they were arguing over. Gustare took that time to remind me how valuable his presence could be. I decided he was too confident to remain. This morning saw a bustle of activity. A brief council session determined Gustare was not appreciated at the covenant. When he returns this evening, we shall notify him of that at once. Then, Angus and the others went Garou hunting. Reginald went with them as a guide and Andre was assigned for extra brute force. Manual, the ship captain, was at the covenant looking bored, so I asked if he also wished to go. He did so. The last member of that little expedition was the story teller Nickoli. He begged me to be allowed to go on the adventure, as he called it. I allowed him to go as he is only annoying when he is around me. The fact that he entertains the children is all that keeps him here. * * * [From AN ORAL HISTORY OF EUROPEAN FOLKTALES: THE GOGOL TALES]: [written by the storyteller, Nickoli] My first tale of the Garou is a bit dull I am afraid, but as it was also the first meeting of the Magi of Dragon's Rise with the Sidhe of the nearby forest, it bears telling. It all began when we journeyed north into the deep woods, to search for signs of these mysterious wolf-men. As we journeyed, I entertained the enormous warrior Andre with the tale of the Ogre and the Two Foxes, to make our trip more pleasant. Shortly though, I was interrupted by our arrival at the dreary place we had been headed for, where the good woodcutter Edwardo had been fouly slain. However, Edwardo's body was not where the Reginald had last seen it. Rather, there lay only scattered splotches of crimson in the dirt. The Magi seemed inordinately pleased with the droplets of blood, and mystically determined a great spell to lead them to the missing body. After some time stumbling through the darkened woods, we came upon a grisly site in a small clearing. All that remained of poor Edwardo was a terribly gnawed skeleton. I was awfully upset, as were several of the others, but the Magi just whispered their magics with each other. Eventually, they dragged out maps of the area and pointed to a small forest just north of lake Omedeo. My father had once ventured in that area and returned with many wonderful tales of the Faerie. I informed the Magi of the nature of that wood by relating to them several of the stories that my father had taught me. While we travelled towards the lake, the cowardice of Lysander began to show again. He whined for several hours about how he wanted to leave, and how he couldn't do anything anyway if something did happen. Angus made him be quiet and continue along. Personally, I think Angus just wanted him along because his guardian grog is a strong and valiant warrior. Eventually, we reached the boundary of the forest which the spells of the Magi had led us to. Entering cautiously, we took great care to note our strange surroundings. After several hours, however, we found ourselves back in the area where we had first entered. This deterred the Magi not, however, for they boldly marched right back into the enigmatic wood. Their persistence was quickly rewarded when we discovered a tiny man riding a chicken. The man had fluffy little wings on its back and a pointy little tail sticking stoutly into the air. He introduced himself as Tofu. When questioned of the ways of this wood, Tofu said that only those who their king, Shen, saw were worthy could enter. As this seemed rather dangerous and unpredictable, Angus chose to simply to ask the little fellow to bring the Garou to us. Tofu agreed, and then scampered off on his chicken. That evening showed me some of the strange personalities I was accompanying. Reginald seemed bored and wandered off looking for big trees to cut down. Angus showed some paranoia, no doubt added to by the presence of Lysander, and put up magical wards over our camp for the night. Of course, nothing happened, not even to Reginald who spent the night alone off in the wood. In the morning, the chicken rider had not yet returned, so the group decided to attempt entry into the wood again. After we had traversed quite some distance, we were startled by the hum of flying arrows. Turati and Reginald were the first struck, and they both turned a bright orange color. Lysander was hit next and he turned a ghostly white, much to the amusement of Ahmed. While the others with me ran about frantically, only Angus and myself maintained our calm. I had instantly realized that it was the Faeries of the forest behind the ambush and knew I could do nothing to stop them from taking their enjoyment out on us. So, I decided to entertain them with a tale of my father's in the hope that they would listen as opposed to shoot. You remember that story, it is the one that begins "Once upon a time there grew an enormous blue squash." Anyway, it seemed to work, as no arrows struck me. While Angus was preparing his deadly magics Reginald was struck two more times and Turati once more. They both ended up with red and blue speckles scattered over their orange forms. Then, Angus released his spell and a tiny scream echoed from the woods. The arrows stopped flying as the Faeries fled and Angus went forward to recover his victim. It was an invisible pixie, and with it we returned to our campsite. The pixie recovered and chatted with Angus amiably, despite his harming it. I also convinced it to tell me an intriging story which I will have to relate at another time. Eventually, we let the pixie return to his faerie forest. While we sat in camp that night, the chicken rider returned. After a brief chat it headed off again, to collect the Garou. It apologized greatly for forgetting the first time. The next morning, Tofu has not yet returned, so we headed into the Faerie wood yet again. This time, we were greeted by the exciting sounds of a hunt approaching. Closer and closer the horns came, until just before us on the path a naked man burst through the bushes, chased closely by several strange creatures. At first, they seemed men, but they had the upper body of a stag. All the members of the hunt quickly disappeared into the wood. Reginald thought briefly to help the man, but we quickly explained that these were not our woods, and the ways of them were not our own. I told Reginald that our habits could offend the faeries, just as theirs did us, and since this was their home, we had to follow their rules. Eventually we came upon a small tower wherein dwelled the Faerie King and his Elvish companions. Angus decided to enter the building alone as he seemed not to trust the possible actions of the other Magi present. I asked to accompany him and he agreed to let me, an action which I think he later decided was the correct one. As long as I have known Angus, he has been one of the kinder and more intelligent Magi in the covenant, and I do not understand the fear he generates in some. Inside the tower we were greeted by Shen, as he and his many companions sat about a large table. For some reason this briefly reminded me of the council meetings at Dragon's Rise. Angus requested that we be allowed to enter the forest fully, to search for the Garou, but Shen demanded a reason why we should be allowed in. At this point, I again recalled a Faerie's love of a good tale, and told them the story of Titio, The Little Lost Mongoose. They seemed to enjoy the tale and I promised them another, the one we were to soon make, if we could but be allowed to enter. Shen agreed and as we left, warned us of a Dragon they had seen following us. Outside the tower we discussed the Dragon and finally headed into the wood hiding the Garou. It did not take the immense Dragon long to appear. What seemed odd to us is that upon it rode a man. Lysander somehow appeared in the air near the Dragon briefly before panicking and returning to us. When he again touched the ground, he was as white as a ghost. While Angus drove the dragon away with powerful magics, Lysander told us that it was Gustare that rode upon the Dragon, despite the fact that the sun was still high in the sky, a fact that usually bodes ill for vampires. Upon hearing the revelation, we were all quite happy that Angus had caused the dragon to flee. Later, Angus told me that he thought he recognised the dragon as Ruka, who had caused his old Covenant some trouble back in Rome. Hopefully, Angus did it enough harm that it will not trouble us ever again. Later that day, we reached the open meadow of the Garou. In the center grew a massive tree, at the base of which lounged a small group of wolves. They noticed us at once, and a large one padded slowly towards us. As it closed, I was frightened by a low growl behind me. Whirling about in fear, I noticed a fat wolf panting loudly where Iago had been standing. Rumors of his being a werewolf came back to me. I had thought those just cruel jokes, due to his great bulk and hairyness. The Iago-wolf lumbered towards the other and they exchanged a few growls. Then, they leapt at each other, biting and clawing. The evening light glinted brightly off their razor sharp fangs as they tore at each other. Blood flew haphazardly from both, but soon it became clear the strange wolf was bound to be victorious. This indeed became fact when it pinned the Iago-wolf beneath it and put its fangs to Iago's helpless throat. A soft whimper from Iago and he was released. Iago returned to human form and limped painfully back to us, defeated. The Garou, Antonio it turns out, then also returned to a human shape. In that form, he told us we had lost and must leave their glade. Angus thought to blast him, but again impressed me with his restraint by negotiating with him instead. After some tense minutes, Angus returned to tell us he had made a treaty of friendship with the Garou. Truly this group of Magi are unlike any my father, grandfather or myself have ever encountered. I continue to be impressed by their kindness and moral fortitude. The treaty itself splits Sardinia as far as lands go, and we are allowed to cut wood below the line. It seems our wood cutting was what upset them in the first place. Also, there is some promise to possibly aid each other in times of need. Especially if Vampires such as Gustare return; for the Garou hate those drinkers of blood. Finally, we began our long trek back. Our only stop was to visit Shen so that I could relate the story of our adventure. Unfortunately, I had to spice it up a bit because, as mentioned before, this was a rather ordinary little adventure. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: For nearly a full month, Lysander sat in his lab, working on a spell that would return his natural color to him. Then, just as the first new moon of Spring passed, he and the warriors were all restored. The need for the spell was gone. Lysander left at once, to watch his business for the season, having determined that he had already ruined it for magical works. I shall have to remember to thank the faeries of Shen's forest for this small boon.