Dance of the Dead Seasons: Winter, 1221 to Winter, 1222 [From THE ROLLS OF DRAGONS RISE]: Full Members: Angus of Bonisagus Lab Worker (Don) Arturo of Mercere Protector (John) Demoror of Quaesitor Teacher (Billy) Dubius of Criamon Protector (Woo) Fabricatio of Verditius Head Lab Worker Flamma of Tremere Head Protector (Eric) Malcolm of Jerbiton Lab Worker (Matt) Meles of Criamon Protector Musculus of Quaesitor Protector (ChrisF) Nicholi of Jerbiton Teacher (John) Tolas of Tremere Leader Verdan the Seeker Lab Worker (Shannon) Associate Members: Adric of Jerbiton Chancellor (Kevin) Muris of Verditius Lab Worker (Donald) Selwyne of Merinita Faerie Envoy (ChrisV) Apprentices: Primus Apprentice of Tolas Mundane Leaders: Arkum the Fox Autocrat (Shannon) Luigi, Iron Grog Grog Captain Guardian of Flamma Mundanes: Abruzzo, Silver Grog Guardian of Selwyne Andre, Silver Grog Covenant Guardian (Matt) Beneletto, Silver Grog Guardian of Malcolm Faccio Woodsman Guiseppe, Copper Grog Guardian of Angus Iago, Copper Grog Guardian of Tolas Jocopo, Mercury Grog Guardian of Demoror Luke Son of Flamma & Tolas Samson, Mercury Grog Covenant Guardian Segunda Daughter of Flamma & Tolas Turelli, Iron Grog Guardian of Marlon Other Creatures: Tara Dragon * * * [Dramatis Personae]: David of Ex Miscellanea Seeker Francois of Merinita Magus Gaetano of Bonisagus Seeker Gustari of Ex Miscellanea Seeker Luke of Jerbiton Magus Quarere of Tremere Seeker Raul of Ex Miscellanea Seeker Shen Seelie Prince Toni Child Tofu Imp Tofu's Chicken Chicken Tomasso Werewolf Venaria of Bjornar Maga Viator Sage * * * [A Timeline of Seekers]: Summer, 1212 Drake, the Black Dragon, leaves an old poem at Vardian's Tomb, hinting at Seeker treasures, along with a key. -Vardian Log #47, "Tea with the Black Dragon" Spring, 1213 Raul of Ex Miscellanea demands the key that Drake left. Demoror destroys it. Luigi later journeys with these Seekers, for his travels provide them with a clue to the resting place of an Old One. -Vardian Log #48, "A Trip to Literatus" Winter, 1213 Luigi returns, telling of the great treasures that the Seekers found in their journeys. -Vardian Log #50, "Shining Steel" Fall, 1218 The Seeker, Gaetano of Bonisagus, causes the near destruction of a village in the South when he loots a grave. -Rise Log #2, "The Tides of Time" Spring, 1220 Reginald of Verditius, another Seeker, causes Dragon's Rise grief due to his associations with a vampire. At the conclusion of the episode, Verdan declares himself a Seeker, and begins to send out invitations, asking Seekers to come to Dragon's Rise. -Rise Log #7, "The Paper Chase" * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: Winter's council meeting was a short one. Vis was divided and Muris was made a Probationary Member. His position is Lab worker, and all of the magi of the covenant expect him to excel in that job. After the council meeting was ended, we all retired to the roof for a pleasant afternoon of tea and talk. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS]: In the new Spring of 1222, our covenant was blessed with a new joining. Flamma's daughter, Segunda, was married to the Merinita Selwyne. The ceremony, which Tolas performed, was a pleasant one. For a time, I was nearly overcome by sad memories of the past. That quickly passed, though, and I was able to join the others in feeling joy for the lucky couple. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: It seems that when the farmers were complaining about poor crops last year, they were not exaggerating. Spring is now upon us, and new crops are failing to grow, leaving us in a poor state. It is quite unfortunate that Flamma left last week for her grand tour of the Order. I hope that we are able to work our way through this crisis without her. Unfortunately, the crisis seems a large one, for the famine is not confined to our land alone. All of Sardinia seems plagued by poor harvests. Both Meles and the dragon Tara have left, each saying that they wish to help the people starving across Sardinia. As the situation across Sardinia has worsened, I have found myself plagued by visions on a nightly basis. They are always the same. I am sitting in my council chamber, at Dragon's Rise. Most oddly, a large number of trees at seated at the table. We are conversing of great matters that I can never recall when I awake. Then, the scene shifts. Before me is a field, filled with the dead. As I watch, they stand again and begin to work. As I see these scenes, I hear a poem being repeated again and again. It is now so deeply ingrained in my mind, that I am sure that I have every word correct. It reads as follows: In soul's lost land Beyond the realm of shattered bodies Lies a land Without nuance Without shadow Evil lies without rest Eternal sleep calls The earth beckons The island maker Inside the demiurges' worksop The eyes stare There are no eyes here Brave death rewarded I have spoken with the other magi about this rhyme, but they have been most unhelpful. It seems that somewhere, bodies are not being correctly buried. Beyond that, I can say little. I am deeply concerned about the situation in Sardinia, for my vision seems to point to some mystical cause. For now, though, I feel that I can only sit and wait. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS]: It was near two years ago that I first named myself a Seeker. It was then that I sent out an invitation to all Seekers in the Order. Now, that invitation has been responded to, not once, but twice. It has been a busy couple of days. Two days ago, I was sitting in lab, working, when I heard a knock upon my door. Looking up, I saw an old fellow, dressed all in black. He seemed distracted, musing over a clod of dirt, mumbling that it was bad. I politely waited for him to complete his ruminations, and then bid that he enter my lab. The man was named Viator. He had stopped by because he had heard of my request for information. He was simply passing through, but happy to spend a few hours chatting with me about the Seekers. I learned that Viator was simply a sage, not a Seeker or a Hermetic magus. Apparently, he had been told not to do magic when he refused to join the Order. Still, Viator was a great storehouse of knowledge. I was most unhappy to see him leave that evening. I do think, however, that I have convinced him to return some time soon, to teach the lore of the Seekers to all of us. That night, I was very pleased. I realized that I had been very lucky to actually have a Seeker respond to my queries. When a second Seeker showed up the next day, I was absolutely astounded. The second Seeker was named Raul, and I recognised him from back at Vardian's Tomb. He and Demoror had had some sort of altercation regarding a key. I was quite pleased with Raul, for not only did he want to teach me of the Seekers, but he also wanted to join Dragon's Rise. However, I was worried of conflicts that might arise between Demoror and Raul. So, we headed to Angus' lab, where Raul apologized profusely to Demoror. The Quaesitor was good enough to take that apology. With that matter out of the way, I called a Council Meeting. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: When Verdan called the second council meeting of Spring, 1222, I expect some irrelevent matter to be discussed. It seems that Verdan's mind easily latches upon the most inconsequential things. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when we were presented with a matter of genuine importance. With him, Verdan had a Seeker by the name of Raul. Raul wished to join our covenant, and offered to pay with knowledge. He claimed that he knew of some ancient magic theory, learned in the tomb of an Old One. If we would accept him as a member, he would pass on that knowledge to the rest of the covenant. To me, it seemed like a great trade, for such knowledge could be very good for our covenant. Raul has thus been accepted as an Associate Member of Dragon's Rise. He is currently in one of our guest labs, teaching Malcolm, and my son, Primus, while working upon some magic item. The towers of our Covenant, which once seemed so spacious, are now filled to overflowing. When Flamma returns next Spring, it will be time to create a third one. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: I should not be surprised by the fact that Verdan has once again caused me problems. Five weeks ago, he convinced me to accept a Seeker named Raul as an Associate Member. I had some misapprehensions, but I decided to listen to the Bonisagus. Today, Arturo brought me a letter from Magvillus. It said that Raul had been possessed by some creature while investigating the Old Ones. They wanted to know the location of the false Raul so that the real one could be restored to his proper body. I was quite upset, for if I had turned Raul over to Magvillus at once, five weeks of Primus' valuable apprenticeship would have been wasted. Even worse, the knowledge that Raul had been teaching him would have been lost. So, I engaged in a bit of subterfuge. I spent the entire afternoon writing letters. When I was done, there was a huge number of them. One of these letters was addressed to Magvillus, notifying them that Raul was with us. I instructed Arturo to deliver that particular letter last. Hopefully, enough time will be wasted that Primus may actually learn some of the secrets that the false Raul is teaching. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: It has been reported to me today, on the fortieth day of Spring, 1222 that the last of the werewolves upon Sardinia is continuing to cause us problems. It was Selwyne of Merinita who brought me the word. He had learned it by speaking with Faccio, one of our woodsmen. Faccio had been working in the woods near the Faerie Forest when he was accosted by the aforementioned silver wolf. After being knocked about a bit by the wolf, Faccio decided that resistance was useless. As, Faccio lay still upon the ground, the silver wolf deigned to speak. By Faccio's best recollection, the wolf said, quite simply: "The magi of the stone towers have killed the island. They will pay." And then, the wolf was gone. When Selwyne spoke with me, he espoused the idea that damage might have been done to the island last Fall, when we set upon the diabolic werewolves. This idea is clearly ludicrous, for crops had been bad for some time before that attack. Most clearly, I recall farmer complaints at the same meeting in which we organized the werewolf expedition. After receiving and noting Lysander's report, I sent official word to Tolas. He has sent an expedition to the Faerie Forest to examine the full scope of the calamity. The leader of the expedition is Selwyne. With him are the grogs Abruzzo, Luigi, Samson and Turelli. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: As we drearily trudged through the Northern forest, I once again cursed my luck. Sometimes, it is unfortunate to be the most competent of all the grogs. Because Tolas' son-in-law, Selwyne, had been named the leader of this expedition, Tolas thought that it was important to send competent warriors. And that, of course, meant me. So, I was stuck baby sitting an irritating Faerie lover on an expedition that was neither dangerous, or, even, exciting. When a blue speckled chicken came running at us as we marched Northwards, I thought, for an instant, that perhaps some true adventure might be headed our way after all. Memories of a foul creature named Drake and my first love, Becki, rushed through me mind. Then, I recognised the creature. It was the annoying mount of the imp known as Tofu. Selwyne flew up to the chicken, and for awhile, they squawked at each other. The ridiculousness of the scene was sufficient to keep us occupied until their conversation was done. When Selwyne returned, he told us, nearly crying as he did, that the chicken had said that Tofu was dead, lying in a ditch. At his insistance, we followed the chicken to his master. When we found Tofu, he was not quite dead, although the difference was not really noticible. Tofu lay weak and emmaciated, the life almost visibly ebbing from him. Before he died, Tofu managed to tell Selwyne that the forest was in great danger. Like we didn't know that already. Come to think of it though, Selwyne did seem somewhat surprised. As Selwyne prepared to move on, leaving Tofu's dead body behind, both Turelli and I pointed out to him that he should extract the vis from Tofu's body. For some silly Merinita reason, Selwyne insisted that that was not appropriate. Solely because Selwyne was Flamma's son-in-law, I decided to let the issue drop. Thus we headed on, towards Shen's abode. As we entered the Faerie Forest, our trip became even more dreary, for Selwyne began to whine about the state of the land. The forest was dying, he complained again and again. When I saw Shen's tower, through the woods, it was like a beacon of hope. Soon, our journey would be at an end. * * * [From Turelli's Personal Report to Tolas of Tremere]: When we arrived at Shen's tower, we were allowed in almost at once. We warriors sat and listened while Selwyne talked to Shen. Selwyne asked about why the forest was dying, but even Shen himself didn't seem to know. Then, Shen worried a bit about his Faeries dying. When the matter of Tofu got brought up, all of us warriors were thrown out the door. Apparently Shen was irritated at me and Luigi, because we tried to get Selwyne to take Tofu's magic. I knew you'd want a full report of what happened, so, I stood very near the tower, and tried to hear what was going on. You know those leaves Shen took back from us last year? Apparently, the faeries tried to do some ritual to put them back on the tree. Shen said it didn't work, and that worried him as much as all the other bad stuff that was going on. Selwyne asked Shen if he thought it might be because of us killing the werewolves, but Shen didn't think so. But, then, I don't think the faeries really liked the werewolves anyways. I was about to give up, thinking that neither Shen nor Selwyne were going to say anything interesting, when Shen suddenly gave a suggestion. He thought that we should cast some spell in the forest, to summon trees and ask then what was wrong. Afterwards, he went into some long discussion of a magus named Francois who knew that spell, but was dead. It wasn't really useful. Anyways, that was about what happened. Nothing more interesting was said and there weren't any troubles on the trip back. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: I am most annoyed by recent events. It looks like we are going to have to invent Calling the Council of the Trees, probably next season, so that we may truly find out what is wrong with the island. I expect that it will take an entire season of work for me, Verdan and Muris combined. Not only are there better uses to which we could put our time, but this particular course of action would require me to spend three whole months in a lab with Verdan. The very thought sends shudders up my spine. Pumilio and Selwyne have been sent off to the Rhine Tribunal to try and procure a copy of the spell from the maga named Venaria. If they are actually successful, I may be able to save us some work. I suspect, however, that the length of their trip shall be sufficient that we will have completed the spell ourselves before they return. If only Flamma, with her fantastic boots, were not gone. Then, she could have spent just a few days travelling to Rhine, and the problem would have been easily solved. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: The problem of Raul came to a conclusion today. Fortunately, the Spring season is nearly over, and thus Malcolm and Primus did learn much of his knowledge. I knew something was up when three magi appeared today. They were Quaerere of Tremere, and David and Gustari of Ex Miscellanea. I recognised every one of them as a Seeker, and immediately realized that that had probably come in regard to the Raul situation. At first, I tried to stall them, saying that it was a Quaesitor issue. However, when Quaerere stated that he and his associates had just come from Magvillus, in response to my message, I realized that I had few options left. I was not surprised when the Tremere, Quaerere, challenged me to a Certamen. His condition was that I would deliver the false Raul to him, bound. Thinking quickly, for I knew that Quaerere was older than me, and thus would win, I called Musculus to my aid. Cleverly, I laid the onus upon her, instructing her to see that Raul was imprisoned if I fell unconscious. Mere moments later, that was the precise state I found myself in. What happened next, I can only say from secondary reports. Apparently, Musculus was wise enough to at once find aid, in the form of her former master, Demoror. He decided that the false Raul should be lured out of our guest lab, and then set upon. Angus and his grog, Guiseppe, were to do the luring. Andre and Turelli would aid in the ambush. Unfortunately, Angus has all the tact of an angry Flambeau, and was unable to convince Raul to leave his lab. Thus, he and Guiseppe set upon Raul themselves, not waiting for reinforcements or any other aid. Disaster nearly followed. Beneletto and Guiseppe were almost killed, while Malcolm was reduced to brawling with the magus. It was only by great luck that Beneletto took Raul down before he killed them all. I shall have to remember to suggest to Musculus that she not depend upon slow thinkers such as Angus in the future. When I awoke, Quaerere and his associates were just beginning upon a ritual. As the others chanted, David held some type of crystal ball over Raul's body. Slowly, both the body and the Orb began to convulse. And then, Quaerere declared that the deed was done. Raul had been restored to his rightful body. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: It was just a few hours after the assault upon the Raul changeling that the last Council Meeting of Spring, 1222 was called. For a time, it was Raul who spoke, explaining fully the matter of Raul to the magi of Dragon's Rise. He said that some years ago, before the founding of Dragon's Rise, he and the others had explored an Old One's Tomb, in the Alps. This was the expedition that Luigi had accompanied them on. There, they found the Orb that had, of late, been used in their ritual. At the time, it had contained some odd creature, who had offered to teach the Seeker's great knowledge. Raul had offered his body to the creature, temporarily, so that this teaching could occur. After the creature entered Raul's body, it had fled. The magi of Dragon's Rise were very grateful to the Seekers, for they had saved us from a danger that none of us had even suspected. Thus, when they asked to use our library for a time, every one of the magi agreed. It was even declared that we would build our third tower well ahead of schedule, so that our guests would not be inconvenienced by cramped quarters. Even now, a grog is heading for Vardian's Tomb to borrow a copy of the spell that will allow us to raise that third mystical tower. When the book arrives, it shall be Quaerere who does the casting. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: The full force of Summer is now upon us, and across all of Sardinia, conditions have worsened. We are keeping our villagers alive by slowly selling off bits and pieces of Lysander's fortune, but the other Mundanes of Sardinia are not as lucky. Famine stalks the entire land. Some of our grogs, Luigi notable among them have gone on half rations, in some sort of misguided nobility. It is now apparent that sending Pumilio and Selwyne to the Rhine Tribunal was a waste of time. The season is nearly half over, and they have just now sent word that they have gained a copy of Calling the Council of the Trees. I am glad that I had the good sense to start Muris, Verdan and myself upon the task of inventing the spell already. I expect we shall be done several weeks before Selwyne returns. Even better, the spell shall be of sufficient rank to count towards my Arch Magus status. I would feel bad about gaining personal status out of so much suffering, if anyone but Mundanes were being hurt. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM] The council meeting of Fall, 1222 was a time of planning and discussion. Preparations were made for the future of the covenant, both near and far. The first to speak at the council meeting, were are three esteemed visitors, the Seekers Quaerere, David and Gustari. They thanked us greatly for our hospitality, which we had been happy to provide, and told us that they were now ready to leave. Malcolm, who had studied with the creature from the Orb, will be going with them for a time. He hopes to learn more of the Technique-less magic that that creature taught him. As soon as the Seekers are gone, some of our magi will be moving into our newly built third tower. This shall allow us all more room, in a covenant which had become slightly crowded. Arturo, Nicholi, Fabricatio, Meles and Dubius are the ones who have decided to move to the third tower. Musculus was going to too, until Quaerere mentioned that it was infested with mice. After discussion of new living arrangements was complete, Tolas announced that he had finished the spell which would allow him to speak with the trees of the Faerie Forest. Originally, he had planned to leave for the forest at once, but Selwyne had sent word that he would be home within just a few scant weeks. Thus, it was decided that the expedition should wait for his arrival. Before the meeting could come to an end, the magi had to vote on their two young associates, Selwyne and Adric. It was unanimously decided that both should become Probationary Members of Dragon's Rise. Adric was named the new Chancellor, taking the place of the late, lamented Lysander. Due to his expertise, Selwyne superseded Dubius as the Faerie Envoy. Dubius is now officially a Protector, although he has not yet noticed this change. * * * [From THE JOURNAL OF ADRIC OF HOUSE JERBITON]: My year as an associate member is finally over and I'm now a probationary member of Dragon's Rise. So much for a tedious year of making vim vis twenty-four hours a day. After another year, I will become a full member and I'll finally be able to relax. I have been appointed Chancellor to replace the late Lysander of Jerbiton. I did not know Lysander well, although I was there when he died. We were fighting a non-hermetic magus and he sacrificed himself to save us. I hope I can do as good of a job as Chancellor as he did. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: Knowing the Council of Trees would be most effective in Shen's forest, I gathered several of the competant grogs together, along with Selwyne, and made for it with great haste. I had thought Dubius would have been interested enough to accompany us, but all he did was mumble about death and potions. He refused to come along. I guess Meles finally convinced him to make that longevity potion. The state of the forest shook me more than I dared admit to the others. The sounds and smells that had once accompanied our occasional trips there had been replaced by an eerie silence and the dusty, dry odor of death. Even Selwyne stopped his incessant chatter in this depressing environment. I was still contemplating the serious meaning of the situation when we can upon Shen's tower, or, more correctly, Shen's ramshakle hut. Shen himself looked gaunt and worried. The other faeries drifted about aimlessly without their once constant aura of gaity. For the first time since I met him, Shen was not wearing his crown of arrogance. Shen's first words to me were, "Thank you for coming, Magus. We fear for our existance and know not what to do. You may be our only hope. Is there anything you need from us?" Of course, I took that opportunity to mention the need for vis for the ritual as I knew he still had the Herbam we had once collected. His unflinching and immediate granting of my request, without strings attached, frightened me even more than that horrid trip through the dying wood. I grateful took the herbam and began the ritual to summon the Council of the Trees. Once my ritual was completed, the forest took on a new, more enigmatic look. Strange visions and noises came from nowhere, and even the bushes that once seemed dead appeared to stir slightly. Over the next week, we were joined in Shen's clearing by dozens of mobile trees. My magics enabled me to join in their conversations and ask them for the answers to save my island. These folk were not quick to respond though, for they have had so much existence and experience in life that they do not feel the pressure of time we Magi feel so often. One of these folk remembered a conversation with Tremere himself! I spent almost the entire time listening with awe to the tales these trees told. Their breadth of experience and wisdom has given me some new perspectives on life. I even had moments when I thought I could glimpse where Flamma's feelings about the sanctity of life came from. I emerged from the council a better Magus. Also of great note during the council was the appearance of Tomasso, the silver-haired Werewolf leader. Keeping Iago with me for protection, I had several long discussions with him about the problems of the island. I had thought at first that all he would want was vengeance for our slaying of his friends, but he never brought the issue up. We talked instead of the state of the island, and how beautiful it had once been. I grew melancholy during these talks, for I remembered the long walks Flamma and I had often taken in the woods. As we talked, I grew more and more resolved to do all within my power to save my, that is, our island. When last I talked with Tomasso, I apologized for my past actions, but he said there was no need, for I did not understand then. I do now. Had we not interfered with the werewolves, they would have been able to prevent the destruction that has occurred. The problem facing Sardinia stems from the creation of this land so long ago. Whatever great power raised this island and saved the inhabitants from the apocalypse of the collapsing sea bound the life-force of the island to a small group of residents living on the southern tip of the island. The area was once know as Tellast. A dark chill ran down my spine as I recalled that this place was now known as Catarine. Catarine, where my Magi had failed to stop a monster that was destroying the village. I feared we had once again done great harm by our interference. I learned that the source of the problem was indeed some great evil, and that death, or the appearance of death, was at the heart of the problem. We returned to the covenant a rather grim group. The others seemed as affected by the council as I had been. Only Selwyne seemed truly unchanged by the experience. Samson, who spent weeks simply rolling about on the forest floor, still reeks of the woods. Fortunately, it is a rather pleasant smell. Andre spent most of his time hugging trees and mumbling to them. I believe he has gone a bit crazy, for he insists that the trees all talk back to him. Perhaps he should replace Dubius's current grog; they would make a good pair My personal grog Iago asked me for permission to spend time with Tomasso. I willingly granted it, for I know Iago has never been comfortable with the wolf within himself. When he returned, it was with more confidence than I had ever seen in him. Saving the island might just take the tremendous effort that the look of impassioned determination reflected on Iago's face implied. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: When Tolas' motley band returned from the Faerie Forest, I was quite amazed by forethought that they showed. Somehow, without my help, they had managed to come up with an intelligent plan. Upon arriving back at the Covenant, Tolas announced that the problems were centered in Catarine, a Southern village that we had once visited, shortly after our arrival in Sardinia. By his ritual, Tolas had learned that some evil dead was at the heart of our problems. Tolas' plan for dealing with the matter involved, quite simply, choosing the correct people for the task. I was quite astounded by this simple ingenuity from a magus. To the party that Tolas had taken to the Faerie Forest, he added Demoror, Angus, their grogs, and, of course, myself. Demoror would be able to deal with intelligent creatures, and Angus with mindless ones. I, of course, was selected to manage the grogs, a class of beast somewhere in between those two extremes. In Cagliari, as we waited for The Seabird to arrive, we heard tales of the dead walking across the South of the island, causing great troubles. It was clear from that that Tolas had learned truth in his ritual. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: As we sailed South, we soon learned that the tales of the dead told in Cagliari were not exaggerated. On our way to Catarine, we stopped briefly in a village about halfway down the coast. We found it deserted. When Selwyne scouted about a bit, we learned that the walking dead were indeed nearby, chasing the survivors of this village. We considering interceding for a bit, perhaps saving one or two worthless lives. Once, I might have stopped, eager to please Flamma with such a deed. Now, though, I am able to look at the larger picture. In saving a few, we might have wasted valuable time that would have inevitably doomed all of Sardinia. Grimly, we pressed onwards to Catarine, leaving the Sardinian villagers to deal with the dead on their own. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: While the magi lounged about aboard the Seabird, wasting their time in wanton slothfulness, I made the best use of the resources I had available. I knew that Angus had been to Catarine before, so I collected from him what information I could. It took quite some time. When Angus had last visited Catarine, the village had been terrorized by some dead revenant. Marlon, the idiotic leader of the expedition, was not overly concerned about such a beast being upon our island. Thus the matter was largely ignored, despite the fact that a Hermetic magus was the cause of it. I was sure that this same creature was at the heart of our current problems, a theory that would later be confirmed. Thus, I spent the time aboardship trying to learn what I could of the beast. When we arrived in Catarine, it was clear that the place was near deserted. As we wandered about the village, trying to find some sign of life, we found the last survivor of Catarine, Toni. He had a sad tale to tell. According to Toni, every other inhabitant of Catarine, over a hundred people, had been killed by the undead beast which the magi had ignored four years before. Even worse, they had not then been allowed to rest. When night came, the dead would rise again, marching out into the lands, helping the undead beast to bring even more into his unholy brotherhood. Briefly I comforted Toni, thinking of the son that I would never have. Then, I turned to the magi, ready to help them come up with a plan. Unfortunately, I had spent too much time upon other matters, and thus the magi had already come up with a plan of their own. When Angus had last been in Catarine, the villagers had dealt with the beast by sitting upon their roofs and attacking it from there. Thinking that this was a good plan, the magi decided to do the same. Of course, this ignored the fact that all of the villagers but one were now dead, but I didn't particularly want to try and explain this little matter to the magi. As night approached, we were sitting upon the top of a house, looking like nothing more than a bunch of gossipping birds. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: As dusk slowly faded into full night, my carefully laid plan met the first of several obstacles. Suddenly, a great wash of magic engulfed us, stripping us of all spells that we had cast. Selwyne was the worst affected of all of us. He had been flying, and nearly fell to his death. I ran over to him at once, worried that Flamma would kill me if he were dead. As the others futilely tried to restore their Parmas, Iago shouted that the beast was coming. My warriors scrambled off the roof, each eager to be the first to kill it. Toni, the last survivor of Catarine, and thus the last hope for all of Sardinia wisely fled. Again and again, my warriors struck at the hulking undead creature, failing each time to harm it. Then it was past them, heading for the fleeing Toni, moving so fast that I was dreadfully afraid. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: My grogs were already charging after the undead creature when Tolas shouted at us to follow us. I suppose he was simply trying to feel useful, since he and the other magi were all entirely helpless without their spells to back them up. When we next found the creature, it was digging vainly, for Toni had fled into the tunnels that catacomb yCatarine. Realizing that the monster would be distracted for a bit, I took the time to formulate a plan. Heading out to the forests that surround Catarine, my grogs and I found a large tree which we quickly cut down. It was a huge tree, that could just barely be hefted by my six grogs. It seemed like the perfect weapon to use against the monster that we faced. Returning to the village, we found the creature still single mindedly digging at the earth. My grogs carefully lined their ram up, and then charged towards the dead beast with all of their force. I was quite discouraged when the creature was not even knocked from his feet. Looking curiously at my warriors, the beast snatched the ram from their hands. With one blow from that massive log, he nearly killed Iago. Somehow, all six of my warriors got beyond the creature's reach. By this time, the magi had again joined the battle. Unfortunately, they proved extremely ineffective, unable to cast even a single spell against the beast. It was clear that we were outclassed, but I was determined not to give up. Shouting new commands, I ordered by grogs to overbear the beast, sure that he could not resist all of us. To show that I had no fear, I led this new charge. But again, our attack did no good. We might as well have been ants assaulting him, for all the good we did. Andre had already been hurt badly when Tolas shouted the retreat. It seemed like an excellent time to regroup, so I led my warriors away from the beast. Still, that awful night was not over. While we sat upon a house, trying to come up with some plan to deal with the beast, the creature continually dug. He was till trying to get to Toni, hidden in secret catacombs. Eventually though, the creature grew tired of his unfruitful search for the boy. Looking around, he spotted us, and began to run towards us at full speed. When Tolas saw the creature coming towards us, he began to yell and scream. I thought that he was overreacting, since we were safe upon the roof, until I realized that the creature was not planning to stop. The undead beast hit the house that we rested upon at a huge speed, tearing it all apart. Before we knew what was happening, we were plummeting to the ground, mere feet from the awesome beast. The next moments were frenzied. Tolas began to shout that we should retreat to the ship, and we all began to follow his lead. I think that the beast would have taken us all down, as panicked as we were if it had not been for brave Iago. He stood against the beast, practically throwing himself at it to give us the time that we needed to escape. The next morning, we were unable to find Iago's body, although a huge splotch of blood marked his passing. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: After our disastrous first assault upon the monster, I decided that more careful preparations would be needed before we faced it again. In the bright light of the next day, it was clear that the creature was no longer abroad, thus I deemed it safe for us to once more set out into the ruins of Catarine. First, we located Toni, who had left his hiding place when the safety of dawn had come. I clasped him to me, pleased that he was safe, for if he had been killed, all would have been lost. With Toni's permission, we looked through his mind, searching for clues that he might have forgotten to tell us. Demoror learned two vital things. First, he found that the creature had become more powerful as it had killed more people. For a moment, I cursed Marlon, for his ineptness had led us to this juncture. Second, Demoror learned that the undead creature never killed more than one in a night. I felt much safer, realizing that if the beast ever came too near to Toni, I had to sacrifice but one other. After questioning Toni, Demoror searched the village a bit, looking for magic. After a bit, he stated that the entire area was magic. This was no surprise to me, based upon what Tomasso had said, but I kept quiet and let Demoror think he was being useful. Having almost extinguished all avenues of explorations, I decided to speak with the trees a bit. Surprisingly, they knew a little about the beast we had faced. The trees seemed to think that the creature was not truly killing people, but rather trapping their souls in another realm. This was why their bodies still walked the land, terrorizing folk all across my island. I found this somewhat encouraging. When I first saw the devastation in Catarine, the loss of all the villagers but one, I wondered if the entire island was doomed with rapid extinction. If, however, there is someway to reunite the villager's lost souls with their undead bodies, perhaps the island might still be restored. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: As the sun began to descend through the heavens, I started to worry about our coming confrontation. Still, the magi continued with their useless investigations, and they were putting us no closer to a solution. So, I took the initiative. Since we were unable to hurt the creature that stalked Catarine, I decided that we would trap it. Soon, I had the magi digging me a pit. When dusk descended upon us, we were as prepared as we could be. The child, the grogs and my magi were all waiting beside the pit, opposite the forest which we knew the beast would come from. Next to the pit, we had a huge boulder. It would be used to further entrap the creature. As full night came, we heard a roar from the forest, and the creature was charging towards us. Thus was begun our final battle. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: Despite all of my careful planning, still disaster struck. When Toni saw the great undead beast heading straight towards us, he panicked. It was a reasonable reaction, considering the fact that he had watched the creature slaughter his entire village, but not one which we had expected. Toni seemed to have lost all track of where he was. As he turned to flee, his foot went over the edge of our recently created pit. And then, he fell. Seconds later, the creature fell into our pit too. Suddenly, a crazed fervor fell upon all of us. I was even more mad then the rest, for I understood the repercusions of what was happening. By his own word, Toni was the last survivor of Catarine. If he died, I was sure the entire island would too, irrevocably. And now, Toni was just feet from death at the undead creature's hands. Doomsday, it seemed, was upon us. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: Cursing the magi for letting Toni away from them, I began to shout orders at once. Selwyne fled to the ship, seeking a rope, while Andre, Guiseppe and Samson all plunged into the pit, facing near certain death in a valiant attempt to save the boy. While mindless valor is good, it is rarely enough to entirely salvage a situation. Fortunately, I was still present to offer careful consideration. Abruzzo lowered himself into the pit, while I held his ankles. Then, I began to shout for my grogs to hand Toni up. Andre and Samson both leaped at the beast, determined to hold it off at any cost. Guiseppe, meanwhile, lifted Toni up, trying to free him from the pit. But still, the distance was too great. As Andre fell to the ground, bleeding, perhaps dead, I thought for a moment that all was lost. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: It was our darkest hour. Samson stood alone against the great undead creature while the grogs tried, in vain, to rescue Toni from the pit that we had made just a little bit too deep. Our magic was useless anywhere near the beast. In seconds, Samson would be cut down, and Toni would be next. And then the island would die. I was ready to plunge into the pit myself, for all the good it would do. And then, our salvation appeared. From out of nowhere came Viator, the sage who had earlier visited our covenant. At once, he realized our dire straights, and began to gesture his hands, manipulating a magic that was clearly extremely powerful. As he shouted 'Creo Auram' powerful winds buffetted us all, but no where were they as concentrated as upon the undead creature within the pit. I was amazed to see the beast fall. Viator too collapsed to the ground. For an instant, we were all shocked. A victory had been snatched from the jaws of defeat. Then, regaining our composure, we set to work. When Selwyne returned with ropes, Toni and the warriors were lifted from the pit. Meanwhile, Viator had regained consciousness. When I began to question him, he was able to confirm what the trees had earlier said. The once villagers of Catarine were not truly dead. Their bodies and souls had simply been seperated. Viator possessed an ancient ritual which he believed would restore them. Despite the fact that we now had a way to repair the damage done by the undead creature, still the danger was not over. Viator revealed that the creature was not dead, simply stunned. He thought that it might be out for a week, no more. Though taking the souls from the beast would weaken it greatly, we would still be faced with a problem. A final resolution was needed. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: When Viator arrived, things came to a very quick conclusion. He took down the beast which had befuddled our magi without even raising a sweat. Then, he began to offer valid suggestions, so unlike the ones we had dealt with for the last days. He said that to finally put the beast to rest, we had to retrieve the artifacts that the Seeker Gaetano had stolen several years before. I quietly cursed the magi for not offering this plan either. So, we ran off to Palermo, which is where Gaetano was staying. He was a quite reasonable fellow, willing to give the magi the items that they requested when they revealed the troubles that had been caused. Tolas also extorted a large amount of vis from Gaetano. Apparently, Viator had a ritual that could restore the villagers of Sardinia, but it would have to be cast over a hundred times, once for each villager, making it very costly. When we returned to Catarine, we found the creature still thankfully unconscious. Burying the body with the sword and amulet seemed somewhat anticlimatic, but Viator assured us that it was all that was necessary to keep the great undead beast from returning yet again. * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM]: At the Winter Council of 1222, Muris Infestus was named a Full Member of Dragon's Rise. He has replaced Fabricatio as the Head Lab Worker. Fabricatio seemed quite pleased to be free of that burden. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: Winter has descended upon Sardinia. Usually a season of death and decay, this year, Winter is a time of new life and new hope for the island. Angus and Demoror spent much of Fall rounding up the walking dead of Catarine. Slowly, we have begun to apply Viator's ritual to them. It is costly, with vis being expended for every villager, but it is quite necessary. Only as these villagers return life will the island live again. Iago is one of the ones that we have already restored with Viator's ritual, for none that the beast killed truly died. He has been commended for his bravery. Still, nearly a hundred more pawns of Corporem vis are needed before the island will be fully restored. Fortunately, at the winter council meeting, I convinced the magi of the necessity of this. During the next year, all of the magi will spend time making vis specifically marked for this purpose. Even Gaetano, one of the original causes of this problem is doing what he can. He will be spending the next two seasons in our covenant, adding to our vis pools. I have emptied the covenant supply of Corporem vis and am planning to make another trip to Catarine in a few weeks to restore as many as I can. Hopefully, we will be able to restore the Covenant Corporem from what the magi will be making before longevity potions are needed again. Still, it will be a time before the island is truly restored. Even using all of the Covenant's Corporem, scores of villagers will still be left for a time, neither dead nor alive, waiting until we have enough vis to restore them. Looking back upon the past year, I shudder at how close we came to utter destruction. Safe in our great stone towers, we ignored the decay about us. We were oblivious to the fact that our world was dying. We were uncaring of the fact that the cause was ultimately ourselves. If it had not been for one brave young child, all would have been lost. All would have been lost, and the blame would have been our own. This time, we have faced our apocalypse and won, but it was a near thing, so very near. I dearly hope that we have learned enough that never again shall we come so close to the edge.