Rise Log #15: Blood Games Season: Winter, 1223 [From THE ROLLS OF DRAGONS RISE]: Full Members: Ahmed of Flambeau Hunter (Scott) Angus of Bonisagus Lab Worker (Don) Arturo of Mercere Protector (John) Demoror of Quaesitor Teacher (Billy) Dubius of Criamon Protector (Woo) Flamma of Tremere Head Protector (Eric) Muris of Verditius Head Lab Worker (Donald) Musculus of Quaesitor Protector (ChrisF) Pumilio of Erimor Hunter (Dave) Tolas of Tremere Leader (Hated NPC) Verdan of Bonisagus Lab Worker (Shannon) Head Mundanes: Lamneth Head Chirurgeon Luigi Grog Captain Guardian of Flamma Mundanes: Antonia Village Person Arthur Guardian of Verdan Bartolini Guardian of Dubius Iago Guardian of Tolas Jocopo Guardian of Demoror Luchino Guardian of Pumilio Palatzo Guardian of Muris Turati Guardian of Ahmed Pets: Glowing Ball Familiar of Demoror Lucky Familiar of Verdan Mouse Familiar of Dubius Snake Snake * * * [Dramatis Personae]: Auramen of Flambeau Magus Aueren Magus Auric of Flambeau Magus Aurin of Flambeau Magus Aurilea Magus Aurileus of Quaesitor Magus Aurius Magus Culwyn Diabolist Ignacious Magus Old Vampire Vampire Olmar of Verditius Magus * * * [A Timeline of Vampires]: Spring, 1210 First encounter with vampires, when the Ventrue Gustare blackmails the Tomb. -Vardian Log #38, "Rome by Night" Spring, 1219 Gustare tries to turn the magi of Sardinia against the Garou. -Rise Log #4, "Rage Across Sardinia" Spring, 1220 A vampire attacks Verdan, and a mysterious coffin is unearthed. -Rise Log #7, "The Paper Chase" * * * [From THE DICTATIONS OF ARKUM : Winter, 1223]: The Council meeting of Winter, 1223 was quite a busy one. No sooner had all of the magi sat in their places then Flamma began to talk strongly of the need for a more powerful Aegis. It was a matter which had been discussed several years before, but has been put off many times. It was determined that Flamma was indeed correct, and that our Aegis should be strengthened. Muris and Angus shall spend the next two seasons working together to create this new ritual. It is expected that the resultant spell will be between ninth and tenth rank. Since we had already begun making assignments for the coming season, Tolas brought up the matter of the two magical amulets recently recovered from the temple of air off of Sicily. It was soon agreed that he would examine one in the coming season, and Verdan would investigate the other. We were still discussing the interesting discoveries made at the temple of air when a knock was heard upon our council room door. None of us were surprised, for our council meetings have become like the great Pentecost feasts that I have heard of, when bards sing of the Briton King Arthur. When our meeting is done, and the important issues resolved, we sent and chat amiably, waiting for the season's miracle to occur. Unfortunately, the miracle of Winter, 1223, was a sad one. It was the powerful grog Samson who had knocked upon the door, and he brought with him Antonia, an old woman from our village. Poor Antonia was quite distraught, near to the point of tears, and it took Flamma several moments to calm her down. Eventually, we were able to learn why she come to us. Her baby had disappeared during the night. Almost at once, the magi stood, each pledging to do what they could to discover the lost child. As grogs ran to collect maps, the magi rushed out to search the woman's house, looking for arcane connections to the baby. They were easily found, and soon, Demoror had returned to the Council Room, and was casting a spell to locate the baby. Adroitly manipulating his magic, Demoror was able to locate the babe very quickly. Soon, all of the magi were headed to the field where Demoror said the child lay. Unfortunately, they would find nothing but death, death which would lead to much pain and suffering for the poor covenant of Dragon's Rise. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: Despite the coming of winter and the cooling of the air, still that day, the first day of Winter, had seemed a good one. And then, that poor woman entered our council room, weeping for her poor lost babe, and we began down a dark road of death and despair. When we finally located the child, a gruesome sight greeted us. The child lay dead upon the cold dirt of our fields. His chest had been ripped open, blood splattered across the field, clearly the result of some dark, diabolic ritual. The Winter Solstice was just a few hours gone, but we were still left to deal with the bitter fruit of that dark eve. At first we stood over the awful scene, shocked. Finally, we were brought back to brutal reality by the wailing of Antonia. We pushed ourselves into action, doing all we could to discover the perpetrators of this heinous crime. While Tolas began to search for arcane connections to our diabolists, and Dubius ran back to Tolas' lab, to collect Imagonem vis, Angus took Antonia to the side. After a few subtle Perdo Mentem spells, Antonia no longer remembered her poor baby, which had been so hideously slain. I still can not decide if this action was one of utter cruelty or true compassion. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE : Winter, 1223]: Although the possibility of diabolism worried me, to be honest, I really couldn't have cared less about the death of some brat. Unfortunately, Flamma was right there, her eyes red, her temper flaring, and thus I was forced to throw myself utterly into the expedition. That was how I found myself grubbing in the dirt for arcane connections to our hypothetical diabolists. It was most undignified. By the time Dubius had returned from my lab with four pawns of Imagonem vis, I had found nothing. Although I was unhappy about wasting the vis, I bid Dubius to go on, and so he began casting his Eyes into the Past. Soon, an image appeared in front of us. We watched, mind-numbingly bored, as the empty night passed before us. After many hours, there was action. We saw the baby, not yet slain, floating into the clearing. Clearly, that which carried it was invisible to our eyes. I began to look at Dubius suspiciously, for every time he had cast this spell, those who we had wished to see had been invisible. Perhaps it was all some Criamon trick? * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: I shuddered when I saw that the murderers were invisible. It reminded me of that awful night over three years ago when my faithful guard, Vicent, was slain. With the tactics of deceit being so similar, I wondered if perhaps the villain behind that old massacre had returned. We killed a vampire that night that I avenged Vicent, but the actual murderer had gone free. Now, I have begun to wonder if perhaps the vampire had been but an underling for the other. As my anger and need for vengeance once again grew, I wracked my mind for any means to discover these hidden assailants. Then, it came to me. The most simple spells of concealment did not protect a person's reflections. In the late night, the grass in the field was covered with dew, and each drop of dew reflected all about it. Calling up Imagonem magics, I magnified the image of one of the drops of dew in Dubius' picture. And, my reasoning had been correct. In the dew, we could see the two diabolists, unobscured. Unfortunately, the reflection was imperfect, and I could not magnify it much. Thus, while most of us squinted, we could make out nothing beyond the black robes that the two wore. Luigi, however, as he pointed to one of the figures, proclaimed that he was sure that it was our own magus, Ahmed. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI : Winter, 1223]: I was sure that I would get to kill a magus that day. There was no doubt that it was Ahmed that I saw in the drop of water. The hesitant sneer, the darting eyes, the slight slouch, they were all there. So, when I announced that Ahmed was one of our two diabolists, I had my hand upon my sword, ready to cut him down when he began encanting a spell. As I spoke, I watched Ahmed carefully. I was quite disappointed when I had spoken the last words, for a confused look had never left Ahmed's face. Still, my observation was soon confirmed, for after I had spoken, several of the magi began to agree, saying that the diabolist did indeed resemble Ahmed. Demoror insisted that he be allowed to look through Ahmed's mind. As was expected, he found nothing. Then came that awful time when the magi began to randomly strike out all around them. Verdan began saying that surely Ahmed had been possessed. He whined until more competent magi began to look for spirits. To all of our surprise, there indeed were spirits about our covenant, the shades of the crusaders the magi had murdered four years before. However, they were as ineffective in death as they had been in life. It was clear that they had not been behind the alledged possession, since they could not even cross into our puny Aegis. To prove themselves useful, Angus and Demoror began meandering about, banishing the ghosts. Next, the magi wandered into the first tower, where the two intruders had come from. For a time, they wandered up and down, examining every niche in the place. They got distracted along the way, however, and began to accuse Dubius of disguising himself as Ahmed. He too was innocent, of course. Finally, Tolas struck upon a novel idea. He decided to use magic to aid in the investigation. Soon, he had found an area of floor in his bedroom which contained a small amount of metal. Not wanting to harm the floor, Pumilio simply turned it to mud, and then began groping about. This particular act of stupidity nearly killed him. There was a small hollow a short distance below the floor. It contained two diabolic knives, two black cloaks and a highly venomous snake. After the snake had been stunned, and the items recovered, the next round of accusations began. Since arcane connections from Tolas and Flamma were in the hollow, Verdan demanded that they be checked as well. After yet more time had been wasted, Demoror declared them clean as well. I was quite bored by then. I only managed to keep myself awake by imagining the idiotic things which the magi might do next. They did not disappoint me. After declaring that the black cloaks were magical, the magi demanded that Turati put one on. Suddenly, he was gone from the room. Seconds later, blood spurted from Demoror, as if he had been hit by an unseen weapon. Clearly, the cloak had both turned Turati invisible and taken over his mind. Now, he was trying to kill the magi. Several moments of chaos followed before Flamma finally encased Turati in stone. If she had not been there, Turati might well have slain them all. Afterwards, the magi all watched the stone for several minutes, clearly expecting Turati to burst forth. When the sounds from within ended, the magi finally became curious, and Verdan made part of the stone wall invisible. Turati was gone. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE : Winter, 1223]: When I saw that Turati had vanished, I began to curse. Then, I ran from the room, nearly smashing into Demoror as I went. My destination was Turati's quarters. I wanted to recover arcane connections to Turati before overzealous diabolists destroyed them from afar. I was almost too late. As I charged into Turati's room, his possessions were blinking out of existance. I dived upon a pile of clothes, and thankfully, they were protected by my Magical Charm. As the other magi slowly entered into the room, I passed the arcane connections about, wanting to disperse them in case of future spells. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: I shudder to think of what happened next. We were sitting in Tolas' lab, trying to locate Turati. In the middle of the room, the majority of the magi were crouched around a map. Tolas, Demoror and Dubius were taking turns casting spells, each trying to find our missing grog. They failed again and again. Clearly, some powerful diabolic agent was protecting Turati. I, meanwhile, was sitting upon a lab table, with Lucky in my lap. I was a bit paranoid about snakes in Tolas' lab, and thus loath to sit upon the floor. And that was probably what saved my familiar's life. As Dubius worked again across the map of Europe, Demoror suddenly stood and began to gesture. Demoror had seen what we all had missed. An intangible tunnel had opened in the middle of Tolas' lab. As Demoror completed his spell, a glowing ball appeared in the middle of the room. It exploded into an inferno of flames. Somehow, the magi all survived the blast. Two others were not so lucky, however; both Demoror's and Dubius' familiars were consumed in the burning flames. For a brief second, as the afterimage of the blast slowly faded from my vision, I could see a circular outline in the middle of the room. Beyond it, I could make out people. It was from there that the Ball of Abysmal Flame had come. But, before I could react, it was gone. Lamneth was called to heal the wounded. However, e could do nothing for the great loss that Demoror and Dubius must have felt. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI : Winter, 1223]: After the attack, I could feel a great sense of anger in all of the magi. And, this was a good thing, for somehow, it made them effective. Dubius cast his spell of location but once more. With ease, he located Turati in far away Hibernia. Soon, Dubius, Verdan, Demoror, Pumilio, Flamma, Ahmed and I were all upon the Seabird, journeying to that far away land. I was not surprised when Tolas declared that he would be continuing the investigation from the covenant. He has always been a coward. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: Even with Pumilio's winds driving us across the sea, it was still almost a week and a half before we came to the place where Dubius had located Turati. They had been quiet days, for we were each afraid to infringe upon the sorrows of the others. Finally, though, after several days of hiking across Stonehenge, we came upon a town, utterly destroyed. As we wandered about, we saw many corpses. Many of them were horribly burned. Then, Demoror began to shout. He had discovered Turati's corpse among the dead. We all felt terrible, for Turati had died because we had not been careful enough. However, we did not let our guilt interfere with the investigation which was necessary. Demoror called up Turati's shade, and we began to speak with him. We were as quick as we could be, so that Turati could return to Purgatory. Poor Turati said that when he was brought to Hibernia, he had been met by eight diabolists. For a time, they had spoken to him of evil, satanic things. Then, there had been a great panic, when a magus atop a gryphon appeared. The magus had thrown lightning bolts right and left, slaying all of the diabolists who stood. When they were all dead, he landed, collected many of the bodies and left. And thus was the sad tale of Turati's end. Flamma recognised the magus as a member of the Auram Flambeau from the covenant of Auerlum. And so, we headed off again, now moving towards this new goal. Many questions still weighed heavily upon our minds. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI : Winter, 1223]: And so began another long, weary walk, made even worse by Verdan's constant whining about Turati's death. Eventually, Flamma announced that Auerlum was very near. I was quite grateful. It seems that England is a much harsher land than my native Italy, for once more we were greeted with a scene of gruesome death. Near to the covenant of Auerlum, there was a hill, and upon the hill were eight men, clearly the diabolists who had been taken by the mage of air. Each of the men had been impaled upon a spike. The magi quickly ran up the hill. I remember smirking at Demoror as he ran, for he was almost gleeful in his approach. Realizing that another futile session of questioning was about to begin, I found a large rock to lean against, and began to eat lunch. I remember glancing up once when I heard a magus encanting a spell. However, it was just Demoror, destroying the body of the diabolist who had killed his familiar. I smiled againt, this time at his petty need for vengeance, and returned to my rations. As the magi sat there, interogating the corpses, a large group approached us from the covenant. After I had carefully put away the remains of my meal, I stood, and went with the magi to greet these people. Not surprisingly, they were the magi from Auerlum. For a few moments, there was tension between my magi and the Auerlum spellcasters. However, that Code that magi speak so highly of again prevented violence from erupting. Eventually, at Demoror's insistance, the Flambeau of air conceded to tell the story of the diabolists which had so recently been slain. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: The story that the Flambeau told was a chilling one. It began, as I knew it would, upon that expedition, three years ago, where we had searched for Vicent's killer. My hand trembles as I write the story here, for though it is at least partially about me, every moment seems alien. I can not help but wonder if my mind is still my own. The story began with the Verditius, Jonathon, and a discovery. We had all been in that temple, myself, Ahmed, and a group of Seekers. We had been searching, for something, and we made a great discovery. Such is written in my diary of the time, although it all seems so wrong now. The Auram Flambeau took the story from there. They said that the creature unearthed had been an ancient vampire. When he was taken from the earth, a bloody orgy of death began. Both Reginald and Edward, two of the Maltan Seekers had been killed, and all the rest of us entranced. That was where Ahmed and I had left the story, while the rest travelled on with the ancient evil which they had pulled from the depths of the Earth. Now, the vampire is plotting with two corrupted magi, Jonathon of Verditius, and the arch-mage Stephios. The diabolists had been part of that plot. A Quaesitor named Aurileus is investigating the matter, and it was she who had asked the covenant of Auerlum to kill the diabolists. Now, she has moved on, to the heart of the infernal plot. She seeks the lackeys and allies of the ancient vampire. She seeks the magi of Dragon's Rise. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE : Winter, 1223]: It was just days after Flamma and the rest had left that Aurileus and her lackeys showed up. At first, I offered them the fine hospitality of our friendly covenant. However, when the accusations of diabolism began to fly, my patience became quite strained, and my usual friendly demeanor suffered for it. Very shortly, Arturo was carrying a message to Magvillus, while Musculus was befuddling our unwelcome intruders with the finer points of Hermetic Law. I'd be damned rather than giving in to these pushy idiots from the North. Although I had things well under control, I was still very happy when Flamma returned. When I saw Flamma, it was obvious that she was in a rare fit of rage, her smouldering temper barely contained. Clearly, she was already aware of the current situation. So, I stepped to the side, and let her light into Aurileus. It was quite amusing to watch. At once, Flamma began yelling at Aurileus and her grandfather, Olmar of Verditius. Apparently, they had come to investigate Dragon's Rise upon the word of a diabolist. I must admit that the depths of their stupidity amazed even me. After Flamma had thoroughly put Aurileus into her place, I expected her to strip the impudent Tytalus of her Quaesitor status. After all, the girl had already showed once her willingness to put her own House above the law, three years ago. Instead, Flamma disappointed me. Her wrath vented, she invited the magi from Auerlum to tea. Surprisingly, the tea was an informative affair. Flamma probed Olmar, an ArchMage, about the various tests of the ArchMagi of the Order. She and I both took careful notes, for the time of our ascension is now quite near. Afterwards, we resolved to make no further moves until the rest of my magi return from England. The Auerlum magi now seem reasonably confident that we are free from blame in this diabolist issue, so, after they talk with the magi who are now in England, they plan to continue their expedition by hunting down Stephios, and Jonathon, two magi who were corrupted by the vampire who is at the heart of our current problems. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI : Winter, 1223]: There is really little to tell about our last few days in England. After Flamma blinked out, saying the most unladylike things about the Quaesitor Aurileus, the rest of the magi decided to join the Air magi in their covenant. They wanted to painstakingly straighten out any misunderstandings about magi of Dragon's Rise associating with demons. I don't really understand why they were so concerned. Anyways, we headed to their covenant, a dreary, paranoid place, protected by all means of unneeded wards. The Rise magi wasted lots of time talking with the fools there. Demoror gushed on about how happy he was that the Air Flambeau had killed the silly diabolists, while Pumilio flitted back and forth trying to make clever deals with the British mages. Finally, though, their politicking done, the magi were ready to return home. * * * [From THE DIARY OF VERDAN OF BONISAGUS : Winter, 1223]: It has been a month since I have picked up this book. I am still shocked by what has occured, and it has been hard to write. Now, though, I believe that I am willing to accept what has happened. When we returned to Dragon's Rise in mid-February, we thought that our task was at an end. The diabolists who had attacked our covenant were dead, and thus we thought that the issue of the dead child had also been dealt with. It is true that there was still the vampire who had been at the heart of the plot, as well as the two corrupted magi, Stephios and Jonathon. However, the archmage Olmar, and the three Air Flambeau who had come with him had headed to the East, following the fleeing magi with the help of Flamma's magic arrow. We were sure that the vampire was with them, and thus were ready to consider the matter closed. But then, the night after Olmar and his fellows left, the final disaster struck. The Quaesitor Aurileus, who had stayed behind to watch our covenant, was murdered in the night, her throat cut. When we began to investigate that matter, an even more disturbing fact surfaced. Many of our villagers were quite sick. Lamneth diagnosed them as being weak from loss of blood. I nearly panicked when I realized that the great and ancient vampire, the beast that we had inadvertantly freed from its century long sleep was alive, nearby. As the night began to descend, a night now filled with terrors unimaginable, the magi of Dragon's Rise filled the village, hiding in huts and waiting for the creature which preyed upon our villagers. Very soon, our wait was rewarded. The battle that night was a long one. When the vampire came to our village, he seemed to realize at once that we were waiting for him. And so, he took the offensive. Dubius nearly killed before we realized that the vampire was among us. Only Flamma's power was able to drive him back. Very quickly, however, the vampire realized that he was massively outmatched, and so he turned to flee. Great spells of flame hit him again and again. At least twice, we were sure that the creature was dead. Somehow, though, the vampire still escaped. We took no casualties that night, but neither had our battle been successful. Our foe was gone, and we had nothing to show for it. We were all infuriated by the beast that had dared to attack us in our home, and so we were determined not to let it go free. As soon as the sun rose, Pumilio began to fly across the island, scouring it for magic. In this way, we were sure that he would find the place that the vampire had buried itself when dawn had come. The rest of us all stood about our magical table which tracks the movements of all of members. Eagerly, we watched Pumilio's progress as he moved across the lands of Sardinia. By dusk, though, it appeared that the search was in vain. Nearly everyone had returned to their labs. Only Flamma and I still stood vigil over the magical table. And then, the figure representing Pumilio stopped, though he had been moving near constantly for the entire day. When a minute had gone by, and Pumilio's position still did not change, we knew that something was very wrong. Quickly calling upon the power of her boots, Flamma disappeared. Seconds later, her picture appeared upon the table next to Pumilio's. Pumilio had indeed come upon the vampire, and they had fought an extremely fierce battle. When Flamma appeared, both of the opponents were very near to death. Without Flamma's interference, I do not know who would have won the fight. But, Flamma was able to turn the balance. With but one quickly cast spell, and a handful of vis, the vampire was nothing but a smouldering pile of ashes. That night, I woke screaming, as a flood of memories returned to me. The Air Flambeau had been right when they said that the vampire had been the creature unearthed in that ancient Maltan Temple. He had released Ahmed and myself only after dominating us, bringing us deep into his power. And, since then, we had been his awful agents, enacting diabolic rituals to increase his power, and the power of evil. Luigi had been quite correct when he spotted Ahmed in that dew. It had been Ahmed who had killed that child. It had been Ahmed who killed Aurileus. And the whole time, I had been his willing accomplice. When the murder of that child was revealed, the vampire had clearly been forced to act more directly. If he had not been too greedy, trying to extend his power too quickly, I can not bear to think what might have come. When all was clear to me, I went to Demoror. I hoped that he would kill me for what I had done. But, he did not blame me, for I had been possessed. Instead, he freed me of all Hermetic guild. A more Mundane guilt still stayed with me, and has for over a month. Once, I placed a great belief in the sanctity of a life, but it has become clear that that road is not the one that I am meant to walk. If I must be an agent of death in this dark world, than so be it. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE : Spring, 1224]: Despite the many trials and tribulations of the past season, we have still been able to complete some of the tasks that we set out for ourselves at the last Council Meeting. In our investigations of magic items from the Temple of Air, both Verdan and I have been successful. One amulet is a power charm against magics of the air, while the other is a device which may be used to control gryphons. I believe that they shall both be useful in the future. When Muris heard of the powers of the devices, he began to speak at once of making powerful magic items of his own to face the dragon of air. I have encouraged him in this matter, for I would much prefer that he test the true power of air dragon than I. In the last season, the element of air has been much upon my mind. Because of this, I several times found myself looking out the window at the two gryphons that we took from Sicily. They are great, powerful beasts, and the one seems to have taken a great liking to me. I can not think of a much more appropriate familiar for myself. To take a lesser beast would be unfitting for a Primus of a House. As soon as time allows, I will begin enchanting the Gryphon to be my familiar.