The Demolished Man Season: Fall, 1221 Full Members: Ahmed of Flambeau Hunter (Scott) Dubius of Criamon Faerie Envoy (Woo) Flamma of Tremere Head Protector (Eric) Lysander of Jerbiton Chancellor (Chris) Members: Adric of Jerbiton Associate Member (Kevin) Muris Infestus of Verditius Associate Member (Donald) Head Mundanes: Arkum the Fox Autocrat (Shannon) Luigi, Iron Grog Grog Captain Guardian of Flamma Mundanes: Bolo, Iron Grog Covenant Guardian (Dave) Gussepie, Silver Grog Guardian of Meles Karelos, Mercury Grog Guardian of Musculus Palatzo, Silver Grog Guardian of Muris Samson, Silver Grog Guardian of Lysander Tiano, Silver Grog Guardian of Adric Turati, Mercury Grog Guardian of Ahmed * * * [Dramatis Personae]: Horridus of Flambeau Spanish Magus Rumbaru Hedge Wizard Tofu Imp Tofu's Chicken Chicken * * * [A Timeline of the Constructs of Rumbaru]: Summer, 1207 The first construct of Rumbaru, Nigel, is seen at the Tribunal of Rome. -Vardian Log #32, "Tribunal, 1207" Fall, 1209 Father Peter, another construct, helps to destroy Portaclera in Germany. -Vardian Log #37, "Green Magic" Winter, 1211 Father Peter leads the attack against the Flambeau covenant in Barcelona. -Vardian Log #45, "Gate Escapes" Summer, 1214 First suspicion of the constructs, when ties are made between Nigel and Father Peter. Nigel is confined to Carmania. -Vardian Log #52, "Tribunal, 1214" Winter, 1218 Nigel is killed, and his true form revealed. -Rise Log #3, "Children of the Storm" Summer, 1219 Father Peter is killed. For a time, the threat seems ended. -Rise Log #5, "Swords Against Wizardry" Summer, 1221 After discovering that the hedge wizard Rumbaru is behind the many constructs, Magvillus assigns Dragon's Rise to resolve the issue. -Rise Log #10, "Politics, as Usual" * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: It was on the twenty-fourth day of Fall, 1221, that the third Council Meeting of the season was called. Horridus of Flambeau, the wizard that Magvillus had promised to send us had finally arrived. Thus, the time had come to plan the second of the tasks that Tolas had laid before for us, which is to say that the time had come to plan our expedition against the wizard Rumbaru. When the magi had all arrived, they listened quietly and attentively to what Horridus said. Horridus stated that he was lately of Spain. There, he had fought one of the constructs of Rumbaru, a magical golem, just like the ones which the magi of Dragon's Rise slew before my time here. Horridus revealed that the constructs were coming from Cairo, in darkest Africa. When Horridus was done speaking, the magi began to make plans, deciding who would be most appropriate for the expedition against Rumbaru. As the magi made their plans, there was one brief interruption. Bolo spoke briefly with Flamma to tell her that a man upon a chicken was circling the covenant's Aegis. The man, or more correctly imp, was Tofu, who had acted before as an envoy from Shen. As is proper, it was Dubius that spoke with him. Shen was upset about certain leaves being taken from the faerie forest, and thus requested that they be returned. Dubius became very confused, for a pixie had told us that it was all right to take the leaves. Thus, Tofu was sent back to the forest with a message. The magi stated that the leaves would be returned if we received an official, signed letter from Shen. After Dubius had finished speaking with Tofu, the magi completed the planning of the trip to Africa. Four magi were chosen. Flamma and Ahmed were selected due to their prowess in battle, while Adric and Lysander were picked due to their good relations with mundanes. Of course, Horridus, the magus sent from Magvillus, would be travelling with the group. Seven warriors accompanied the expedition as well. Beyond the personal guardians of the wizards, Gussepie, Palatzo and Karelos were selected. Finally, I petitioned the magi to be allowed to go along, for I had never seen Africa before. Flamma was quite concerned about my personal welfare, for the expedition would be a dangerous one. Still, I was finally able to convince her to allow me to go. I will have to remember how effective it is to look at her mournfully. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: Thus we set out, for the second time in the Fall of 1221. Our mission was a great and dangerous one, but still the magi endangered it with their usual frivolity. While we should have been carefully planning our assault upon Rumbaru, Lysander was allowed to run about, playing the merchant. We had to wait nearly a day so that he could load wood and rare luxury goods upon the Troubadour. Finally though, we were off. I decided to put Lysander's silly mercantile activities to good use, however, by using them as a cover. When we arrived in Alexandria, where Lysander would insist upon selling his good, we would claim that we were merchants for Lord Rupes of the Rupes Valley. Thus, even if Rumbaru were watching, we would be hidden. Clearly, great plans may come out of useless deeds when an intelligent enough person does the planning. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: When we finally arrived in Alexandria, after a most fine trip upon the Vicious Troubadour, Lysander and I disembarked. As usual, the magi had come up with a cunning plan. Posing as a merchant in Alexandria, Lysander would seek information on Rumbaru. I wanted to see Alexandria very badly, and so I was allowed to accompany Lysander, posing as an exotic pet. Our visit to Alexandria was quite pleasant. Lysander went from one merchant to another, buying and selling. Even though I control the finances of the covenant, I was still astounded by the amount of money that I saw go through Lysander's hands. I must say, he is very good at what he does. We did seek for information on Rumbaru while in Alexandria, but I am afraid that we did a poor job in that. By the time we had left the city, we knew no more about him that we had before. Upon returning to the Troubadour, Flamma again consulted with her magic arrow. It showed Rumbaru to be still further up the river. So, we continued on. In Cairo, we were again allowed to stop. It was a beautiful city, so intense in its diversity that it filled my head nearly to bursting. Lysander again showed his wily business sense, purchasing rare Egyptian goods which would make a good profit in more civilized lands. Again, we sought for information on Rumbaru, but it seemed that no one knew of the strange wizard that we looked for. So, we left the last bastion of civilization behind. Into the darkness we went, following Flamma's arrow, preparing for our final confrontation with Rumbaru. In civilized Egypt, we had hoped to gain new information on Rumbaru, and in that we had failed. Still, I was sure that we were prepared, for five great magi of the Order of Hermes were leading us. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: For some time, Flamma's arrow continued to point stubbornly up the Nile. Finally though, three days into our trip, it began to slowly turn, until it pointed almost straight East. I knew we were close. Soon, the epic battle which we had planned for would be upon us. I sent Lysander ahead to examine the area. He proved competent enough to give me a simple report. According to him, Rumbaru dwelled beneath some ruins a good distance to the East. So, our expedition set out overland. We arrived in the ruins without incident. They were mostly as Lysander had described them. After my grogs had searched the ruins for a time, we discovered a trap door. It was clear that it led to the catacombs where the villain dwelled. Lysander quickly reported that two people lay in wait below us. We began to speak of how to deal with these guards. For a long time, the magi talked about spells that they couldn't cast. Finally, Flamma determined that simple application of flame would do the job well enough. Using impressive earth magics, she moved the soil that had been over the two guards. A quick, fiery explosion followed. As expendable as ever, Lysander once again was sent ahead, this time to determine the effects of Flamma's blast. He saw one guard lying on the ground, smoking. Unfortunately, the second one was unhurt. He quickly returned to us, clearly panicked. Then, for the first time Horridus cast a spell. He was not nearly as effective as Flamma. His flames were so weak that we could not even feel them from above. I could have done better with my armor. Despite the wimpiness of Horridus' blast, Lysander again teleported to the guard room below us, to examine the effects of our magic. This time, he returned to tell us that the remaining guard had spoken, saying Lysander's name, and asking Lysander to come with him. Uniformly, we decided that Lysander should go with the guard, to find the secrets of Rumbaru's lair. He protested loudly, worrying about the danger. Finally, though, we convinced him that the trip was necessary. As he teleported down once more, sweat was visibly beading upon his skull. And then, the rest of us sat down to a pleasant meal. We were still enjoying our magically spiced meal when Lysander returned. He said that the warrior had led him into a strange room. A large table had filled the room. Several people had been sitting there. The center piece of the room had been a vat, full of rancid smelling fat. Lysander said that the strange people at the table had offered him a bowl of this rancid fat soup. He had taken it and teleported back. When Lysander began offering the awful smelling soup to the rest of us, our meal quickly ended. Showing his usual adeptness, Ahmed quickly announced that the fat was magical. For an awful instant, I had visions of Calios. By this time, I was getting pretty tired of sending Lysander in to do our work. Clearly, he was the most expendable, but at the rate that his mind worked, we could have been there until the tenth crusade. So, borrowing Flamma's boots, I volunteered to make a quick attack. Somehow, Lysander had been possessed by a single instant of intelligence while last exploring. He had grabbed an arcane connection to Rumbaru's dining room. Using it, I went in. I scanned the room quickly, curious about how inaccurate Lysander's report had been. He had neglected to mention the fact that the majority of the people sitting about the table were covered in the same awful fat that he had been offered. Smiling and waving at the people seated about the table, I casually strolled to the center of the room. Satisfied that I had maximized my radius of destruction, I then exploded into flames, teleporting out quickly afterwards. Again, we sent Lysander in to investigate the results of our attack. It was a not inconsiderable time before Lysander returned this time. We had almost given him up for dead. When Lysander returned, he was covering in the same fatty goop as the people from the table. Ahmed was several syllables into a destructive spell before Lysander could stutter out a quick explanation. He said that he had returned to the dining room and refused another invitation to eat. Lysander had started to question the one man not covered in fat, and found that Rumbaru was nearby. This man had offered to take Lysander to Rumbaru only if he covered himself in fat. So, the idiot had. At least he had had the intelligence to return to us before he was taken to his death, like a pig to the slaughter. Afterwards, we wasted nearly half an hour trying to clean the fat from Lysander. It became quickly clear that the fat was somewhat magic resistant. We discussed this odd occurrence for some time while my grogs cleaned the fool with rags. Finally, though, we were done. By this point, Flamma's patience was at an end. So, the entire group of us went in, heading down the ladder into Rumbaru's lair. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: After we were satisfied that our advance agents had learned all that they could, we made preparation for the rest of us to enter the lair of the villain. When we sure that all was ready and in place, we slowly climbed down the ladder, passing through the rooms that Lysander had so meticulously described. Arriving in the dining room, we found, most unfortunately, that it was empty. Its former denizens had abandonded the room, allowing us no opportunity to speak with them before hostilities were forced upon us. Past the dining room, we entered a maze of twisty passages, all alike, or so it seemed. It is lucky that we had Flamma's arrow, or we might have been entirely lost. In Rumbaru's catacombs, we soon came upon a room. There, we were having a discussion upon which of several doors to take when Lysander presented us with some interesting information. Through adroit casting of spells, he had learned that some fifteen people were hidden behind one door. It was our brave grog captain, Luigi, who took the responsibility of opening the door. It is truly fine to see a leader so worried about the safety of his followers. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: When my stupid grogs all proved too cowardly to open a simple wooden door, I got quite irritated. Already, we had wasted many hours with Lysander's incompetence, and I had no real desire to compound that fact. So, I strode forward, determined to open the door on my own. Somehow, despite the magi's loud bickering, we managed to surprise the people within. The warriors inside, clearly Rumbaru's personal guard, began to grab their weapons when I burst through the door. If I had been their superior, I would have chastised them severely for their laxity. I leaped into the room, flailing about with my sword. Behind me, I heard the magi casting many spells. As I smited the first warrior, the room was filled with fire. Nearly half of my opponent's dropped thanks to Flamma's mighty arc of flames. I was unharmed, of course, thanks to the tasty drake's heart that I ate so long ago. A truly hectic battle followed. The new mage, Adric proved himself somewhat useful by creating a phantasm which drew some attacks away from my own warriors. I was worried for a moment when a handful of additional warriors attacked us from behind, but that anxiety was uncalled for. Many of my grogs had stayed with their magi, just as I had asked them too. Though they were outnumbered, they were able to hold the warriors off. As I cut down the last of our opponents, I claimed the land in the name of Lord Rupes of the Rupes Valley. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: Although we were now deep within the lair of Rumbaru, Luigi still showed a fanatic loyalty to the plan that the magi had constructed some weeks before. To the idle observer, it might have seemed ludicrous to continue the subterfuge that we had earlier begun, acting as emissaries of a mythical Rupes. I am sure Luigi knew this, though, but was willing to continue with it for one reason. It had been what the magi ordered. I looked on with awe, seeing Luigi in a new light. I hope that his grogs may learn from his example. When the battle had ended, we examined our forces. Thanks to Luigi's excellent leadership, our side had taken no casualties, while Rumbaru's forces had been utterly routed. Satisfied that we were still able, we set off once more, still following Flamma's magic arrow. As we left behind the scene of our battle, it seemed that we too left behind our normal reality. The next room we entered was filled with blood. The ruby pool looked great; I believe I would have drowned in it. It was like nightmarish scene, and for a moment, we all stood there stunned, overwhelmed by the sight and the smell. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: After I opened the door, everyone got this real weird look on their faces. It was like they'd never seen blood before or something. Finally, growing board, I nudged Flamma, and quietly suggested that she create a bridge, so that we could cross the room. She did so, and I marched forward, once again leading the expedition. Beyond the first room of blood, there was a second one. Again, Flamma cast her spells. If the blood had been meant as some obstacle, it had been a terribly inefficient one. On the other side of the room, there was once more a door. As Samson advanced forward and opened it, I had a brief moment of forboding. For a single prophetic moment, it was clear to me that the end of our quest lay just beyond. When Samson threw open the door, we saw our final six enemies within. To the rear, in a litter was one that we could not see. Clearly, that was Rumbaru. Slightly in front of him, there was a cowled man. He matched Lysander's description of the man who had spoken with him in the dining room. Finally, there were four warriors as well. As Samson fired his cross bow, I bravely marched in the room, ready to confront all six of them. As I did so, I got my first good view of Rumbaru, in his litter. I must say the sight disgusted even myself, a veteran of a huge number of battles. Apparently, Rumbaru used his own body for his magic. Every spell, every incantation had used a bit of himself. Thus, the visage that confronted me was ghastly. He had only one arm and one leg and both of his feet were missing. Various bits and pieces were missing from his torso, as if a mad Criamon had taken him apart, and forgotten how to put him back together. His face was the worst to look upon of all, for the skin was entirely missing. For a moment, even I was at a loss. And then, from behind me the spells began. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: Faced with our final foe, the enemy whom we had spent many weeks searching for, the magi were quick to take actions. It was Flamma who cast the first spell, arcing fiery flames towards Rumbaru himself. But then, disaster struck. As our brave warriors charged forward, ready to meet the guardians of Rumbaru in battle, suddenly a great spell was cast at all of us. The warriors, and myself, that is to say, those of us without arcane protection, were all paralyzed. But, even worse was the fact that Lysander too was adversely affected by Rumbaru's spell. However, where the mundanes had been simply paralyzed, Lysander burst into action, possessed by an evil intellect. When Lysander turned and began to throw flames at Flamma, it was clear that his mind was not his own. The next moments were both tense and sad. Ahmed and Flamma turned upon Lysander, and, at first, tried to gently remove him from the battle. But, the fight was going badly, for the Hermetic magi faced a battle on two fronts, with Rumbaru before them, and Lysander behind. To save themselves, and complete the mission, Flamma and Ahmed attacked Lysander with their full force. It was Ahmed who struck the last blow. Unfortunately, Lysander did not survive Ahmed's flames. The entire trip back, Ahmed mourned that loss. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: When the traitor in our midst had been removed, the rest of the battle was a simple one. Still, my warriors and I were unable to move, but Flamma was able to finish the job. The incompetents, Adric, Ahmed and Horridus, did little to help. As Flamma struck again and again, our foes fell. First, the cowled man fell, then Rumbaru's four warriors. Rumbaru was the last of the six to die. Against Flamma's spells, they had no defenses. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: Returning from my undesired visit to Greece, I found that my lovely Flamma had already left for Africa, with a group of magi. I knew that they were off to face Rumbaru, a powerful hedge wizard who had caused us problems before, and thus I spent several weeks worrying. When the group returned, with only Lysander dead, I was overjoyed. A council meeting was called at once. First, we discussed Lysander. It was clear to us all that he had been controlled when he had attacked Flamma. I believe that this was a result of that ritual that Lysander took part in just before our battle with the crusaders two years ago. Since Lysander was guilty of no crime other than stupidity, we decided to do what we could for him. Not surprisingly, Lysander had gone straight to the nether realms, and was quite displeased with his new home. Flamma, showing her usual compassion, spent several hours working the Criamon, casting spells to throw Lysander's shade into a final twilight. Whether he is truly free of hell now, I can not say. After Lysander was gone, we talked to his former grog, Samson, for a while. Samson told us where Lysander's will was. I was quite disgusted to find that he had left everything to his wife. So, I had Arkum dictate a new will, which leaves everything to us. I believe Lysander's money will do much good for our covenant. After Lysander's finances were dealt with, and Horridus had been dismissed, we turned to other covenant matters. That dumb imp, Tofu, turned up, with a signed letter from Shen. We were forced to turn some Herbam vis over to him. Farmers were also present, giving complaints of their own. They whined, yet again, that their crops were bad. Hopefully, next year will be a better agricultural one, for I have grown tired of having to listen to our serfs complain. Finally, all of the magi gave reports of covenant service that they were working on. Only Muris' comments were of note. He and Fabricatio have been working on a magical table. When it is done, it will hold arcane connections to all of our magi. The table, which will hold a map of all of Europe, shall show images of our magi, allowing us to always track them. The project is a big one that is not nearly complete, but Muris said that by the end of the season, it would be progressed far enough along so that we could see, to some extent, where our members were. And thus was the final meeting of Fall, 1221 called to an end. To all of us, it seemed as if a great weight had been lifted, for we had completed the two great tasks laid upon us by the Tribunal.