Vardian Log #13: The Master Strikes Season: Spring, 1201 The People: Acutus of Ex. Misc. Magus (Doug) Angus of Bonisagus Magus (Don) Aquilonius of Elementus Magus (Shannon) Bolo the Large Warrior (Dave) Calculus Pebble (Shannon) Certus of Bonisagus Magus Circe Diabolist Crassus Diabolist Demorar of Guernicus Magus (Billy) Donus of Ex. Misc. Magus (Donald) Frederick Diabolist Giovanni Grog Jonus the Carpenter Peasant Luigi Grog Lupa Diabolist Marcus Diabolist Maria Diabolist Marius of Tytalus Magus (Phillip) The Master Diabolist Media Diabolist Medicus of Jerbiton Magus (Doug) Myrta the Mad Grog Captain (Dave) Persophena Diabolist Pluto Diabolist Provocator of Tremere Magus (Henry) Rupes of Bjornaer Magus (Shannon) Sabina Diabolist Segundo Warrior (Billy) Sir Stefan Diabolist Valdictus Diabolist Voluptas Cook (Eric) ** ** From the Diary of Aquilonius Things have been quiet, and I thought that at last, I could study in peace, unbothered by the stupid Bonisagus, and the ungrateful Mundanes. Two full seasons of rest, I got, before that fool Certus started screaming again. Apparently, someone bored a tunnel straight to his lab, all the way from the surface, and stole one of his fragments of the Skull of Vardian. And now, he wants us to go and fix his problem for him. Another dumb mission for Certus. I swear, the fool will be the death of me. ** ** From the Journal of Certus Sometimes, I am sure that I am utterly surrounded by incompetants and fools. Indeed, most of the time. Someone stole one of my fragments of the Skull of Vardian, and I sent a few magi to deal with it. It was a routine task, and a lot of people went along. Aquilonius, Acutus and Provocatar, a newly arrived Tremere all headed up to Rome, along with a bunch of warriors, including Luigi, Myrta and Segundo. It was such a routine chore that our cook, Voluptas, even went along so that she can stock the kitchens. And still, they managed to utterly screw things up. Apparently, the idiots tracked the thief up through the cleanly hewn tunnel that appeared right next to my lab. They found tracks near the top of the hole which led to a Peasant's hut. So, the cretin Myrta started killing the people he found inside, starting with the mother of the family. At that time, Luigi started insulting him in order to stop the senseless killings, so Myrta began throwing Pilums of Flame at Luigi from his sword. I knew we should have taken that damned demon sword from him, but that fool Taron didn't want to deal with it unless it became a problem. So, the hut burned down, and the magi managed to save the peasant and his children from Myrta, while Luigi came running straight back to the Covenant. Of course, the Jerbiton didn't want to kill the peasant, and we couldn't let him go at that point, so now Jonus, a carpenter by trade, and his four children are being kept as covenfolk if they like it or not. Deciding that they hadn't done enough damage yet, the Magi advanced into Rome, and took a room for the night at the Ravaging Boar. Deciding that the inn would be a dull place, Acutus, Myrta and Provocator set out looking for trouble. Shortly, they found some, when they were attacked by a small band of people led by a man with no left hand, who blamed Myrta for his problems. Apparently, they killed a large number of people, and shortly had half of the city looking for them. The guards began sieging the Ravaging Boar, while Segundo and Acutus managed to sneak off. Voluptas, thankfully, was away getting spices. I'd really hate to lose such a good cook. From the confused reports that I heard, Myrta, fully controlled by his demonic blade, killed Aquilonius and several guards before he was finally slain. Provocator was taken off by the guards for questioning, and never returned. Now, the few survivors, those bright enough not to fall over dead while innocently walking through the streets of Rome, have crawled back to me, pleading that it wasn't their fault, and I'm not a single step closer to retrieving my artifact. Idiots! ** ** From the Journals of Certus Yet another Magus has begged entrance to my Covenant. He's a Bjornaer with the heart beast of a rock. My god, how useless can you be!? ** ** From Rupes' Book This new Covenant seems a nice place, if a bit busy. You really can't get much more pleasant than caverns miles under the surface, I suppose. Calculus agrees, so I suppose we shall stay. When we arrived, things were quite lively. I had just entered the Council Room when a Certamen broke out between a Tytalus named Marius and a Quaesitor named Demorar. Still, I have not been able to discover the reason, but Certamens seem quite common in this place. No sooner was I accepted into the Covenant then I was thrown together with several of the other young magi to help on a mission. Scanning my fellows, they all seemed to be somewhat reasonable beings. Angus of Bonisagus understands power, and is not afraid to use it. Acutus seems a swordsman first, and a magus second. A nice person, but with such an attitude, he will never rise above the common warriors. Marius is of Tytalus, and although a good fellow, he has too little control, and I am sure that this will eventually kill him. The final magus going with us was Donus of Ex Misc. He deals with illusions, and is a quiet magus. Still, beneath his restraint, he seems to have a hidden might. I think he might be further upon the path to true strength than any of them. With us came three guards. There was Bolo, a man that is even larger than I, and a great warrior in battle, Luigi, now the grog captain of this Covenant, and Giovanni, a seemingly reluctant fighter. The warriors all seemed trustworthy and stout; their only problem was that they were a bit over anxious. Eventually, they will learn that the best things are patiently waited for. I soon learned that a thief had invaded the Covenant and stolen an artifact from the elder, Certus. Upon hearing this, I was even more pleased to help on this mission. Several of the others seemed somewhat disgruntled and unwilling. I can only think that their houses must not teach the proper respect for their elders. Investigating the tunnel that had been created, to aid in stealing the artifact, it was quite easy to see that the rock had been melted away. This seemed new information to the others. Calculus agrees that they must not truly understand rock, if they could not see that. After we had climbed to the top of the tunnel, I coaxed the Earth about it's entrance to cover the hole, so that no one would accidentally wander into our Covenant, and finally, we entered Rome. As soon as we got into Rome, we stopped in The Hog's Breath Inn to have a bite to eat. I was prepared to sit back and wait while several of the other sought out rumors in the city. If they understood patience a bit more, they would have waited for rumors to come to them, but, I suppose, they have much to learn. As I waited for their return, I heard of a fiasco that the Covenant had lately been involved in, when several of their members had been sieged in another Inn nearby. One of them, called Myrta, had apparently revealed himself as a diabolist and had slain many with his demonic sword before he was killed. According to the rumors, that foul sword had since disappeared. Gradually, the others straggled back in with various stories. They were the typical tales of walking dead menacing the city and people turning up missing, but still, we had to start somewhere. As we neared The Charity Cemetary, where the mysterious events had been ocurring, sure enough, we spotted several of the living dead dragging a woman away. Quickly, we returned the dead to their eternal rest, and I captured the one who had led them. We offered him his life, in exchange for information, and he was quick to talk. He called himself Pluto, and said that he was a member of a Coven of Diabolists, and that the woman was to be sacrified the next day, under the new moon. Pluto knew nothing of Certus' artifact, but did tell us where two other members of his Coven lived. They were named Valdictus and Marcus. Finally, he told us that there were thirteen members in his Coven in all, and was able to name The Master, who was their leader, and Persophena, who he was to meet in the grave yard for the sacrifice on the new moon. Still, we had nothing that said that these demon worshippers were involved with the theft, but, there seemed little better to do. After we had gotten all of Pluto's information, we killed him, and let the girl that he had captured go free. The other magi were in a considerable hurry, and we were forced to head straight over to Valdictus' house, rather than waiting a few days, and considering the events that had occurred. As we smashed in his front door, he fled out the rear, where Angus was waiting, and he was quickly dispatched. His shade was unable to provide us with any useful information, and thus we were forced to move on. >From there, we went on to Marcus' house, in what seemed a mad spree of movement and action. There, Marcus managed to call upon some infernal power, and commanded Giovanni to attack us, which stopped us all long enough for him to escape. Finally, my allies came to the realization that it was time to stop and think, and we called it a night. I slept like a rock. The next day we had little to do, for we were waiting for the evening, when we could confront Persophena. However, it quickly became obvious that the others were not as used to waiting as I. Some only paced and complained, but it was Luigi and Bolo who were the most high strung. In fact, the two of them invented there own form of Certamen while they were waiting. Their contest, in belching and finger pulling, was one that I shall never forget. As patient as I usually am, I was quite pleased when evening came. Before we set out towards The Charity Cemetary, the Magus Donus cast a few spells to alter our appearances, so that we would not be recognised. When we arrived in the grave yard, we set down to another pleasant wait. Some time near the middle of the night, our waiting paid off. A cluster of seven people neared us, and, as they closed, it soon became apparent that six of them were the walking dead. Angus began to quickly dispose of them, while Acutus and I closed in on the woman that they had been protecting. It became apparent that luck was on our side that evening, for the foolish diabolist ran straight into a tombstone, and while she recovered Acutus and I were able to secure her. Persophena knew little more information that the previous diabolists had. However, we were able to learn that she contacted the Master by leaving a message at a nearby inn. Additionally, she said that the Master had been asking about a piece of a skull about a month ago. We were pleased to learn that we were on the correct track. Finally, sure that we would learn no more, we slew the diabolist, and appropriated her house, which fronted the grave yard, where we slept the night. The next morning, Donus disguised me as Persophena, Calculus as a bit of charcoal and himself as Valdictus, and we left a message with the inn keeper. We simply said that we had some important information about the Skull of Vardian, and needed to give it to someone in person. Although the rest of us returned to Persophena's house, to await a reply, Angus remained at the inn, hoping to track whomever received the message. Shortly, a man appeared, and took the message from the inn keeper, acting as if he had already known that it would be there. Angus set out after him for a few moments, but the messenger soon disappeared, leaving behind the faint smell of brimstone. Balked, Angus decided to return and wait, as the rest of us had been patiently doing. We were eventually rewarded, for when we woke the next morning, we found a note giving a location in a villa just outside of Rome, and the name Circe. Clearly, we were being pointed towards another diabolist, and moving closer towards Certus' artifact. Once more, Calculus and I were disguised by Donus, and my rock and I went off to meet this new diabolist. When I met Circe, I quickly learned that my assumptions were correct. I spoke briefly with her, and told her a few fake messages that she promised to pass on to The Master. Finally, I left, determined to return later for a more intimate discussion. We decided to post a few guards near Circe's house, in case she tried to leave, and resolved to return that night. The day was a relaxing one. We wandered around Rome, knowing we would not have to worry of our mission until that night. Finally, we returned to the villa where Circe lived for our final confrontation with her. Upon our arrival, we were at once set upon by a pig. He was making a bit of noise, and I was preparing to kill the beast, when suddenly he began writing Latin in the dust with his foot. After several attempts, the pig finally managed to convey the fact that he was Marius. Both he and Luigi, who had been on guard, had been abruptly turned into swine. Thus, we stormed the house, ready to bring the witch to justice. Circe managed to hit Bolo and myself with her curse before Acutus slew her with a sword blow. I was quickly able to resume my human form, but the rest of the victims of Circe's Curse remained as pigs while Donus raised Circe's spirit, to question her. Circe knew a great amount of information, and by promising to bind her spirit to her house, so that she would be saved from the fires of hell, we were able to extract it. She knew of all of the diabolists, and was quick to name them. The head of their Coven was one known simply as The Master. She said that he had pacts with many diabolic entities. Three initiates ruled the Coven for him. There was Persophena, who we had already slain, Sir Stefan, who had been given some form of immortality, and Maria, a rich woman with many guards. Finally, she told us of the eight other members of the Coven. First, she spoke of Pluto and Valdictus, both already slain, and of Marcus, who had fled from us several nights before. Then, she mentioned five who we had not yet encountered, named Frederick, Crassus, Sabina, Lupa and Media. Circe went on to tell us some of the powers that each fiend posessed. Media was an alchemist, while Lupa was a werewolf. Crassus could start fires, and Frederick could posess people with the aid of his familiar demon. Finally, Sabina was simply a thief, but apparently a good one. In fact, Circe told us that she had heard that Sabina had stolen something from Marcus a few days before. This was pleasant news, for we were all quite sure that it was Certus' artifact that she spoke of. As I prepared to leave, with several pigs in tow, Donus began working to cast a spell to bind Circe's spirit to the house. I was quite astounded that he would keep his promise to one as foul as her. He suceeded very quickly, and the spell seemed to be a very powerful one. Still, no raw vis was used in casting the spell, so Circe may have perhaps a moon of respite before she is plunged into the eternal suffering that is her reward. Thus, we returned to the Covenant, where Medicus of Jerbiton returned the transformed people to their human forms. When we returned once more to Rome, we began to systematically visit the homes of the Diabolists, based upon the information that Circe had given us. Soon, we learned that Lupa and Crassus had both fled the city, due to our attacks. Sir Stefan, fortunately, was too confident to flee his residence, and we would gain some vital information from him. When we barged into his house, we were at once confronted by him and two guards. Bolo and Giovanni made short work of the Mundanes, but Sir Stefan was a much more proficient warrior. He took Giovanni down with a blow that nearly slew him, while holding Luigi off. Finally, as Bolo, Acutus and Luigi all closed in on him, he over extended himself while trying to strike at Luigi, and his sword went flying away. However, as we began to restrain him, someone peeked in the door. It was a young woman, and we all realized that she had to be taken out, lest news of our activities escape. Bolo at once tried to smash her, but neglected to take into account the door frame that she stood under. As shards of his sword flew through the room, Donus stopped her with a spell, and we quickly dragged her into the house. The woman was Sabina, and she provided us with information after making us swear by God that we would not kill her. She knew of the artifact that we sought, and said that it had originally been taken from our Covenant by The Master, and that Marcus had stolen it from him. She had stolen it from Marcus, and gave it to Frederick, who she thought still had it. I was somewhat humored by her tale of deceit and treachery among the diabolists, and although we killed Sir Stefan, we left her alive, as we had promised to. She betrayed our trust by trying to warn Frederick, but fortunately the warning did not come until we were already sieging him. We smashed into Frederick's house, and while Donus immobolized the woman who had answered the door, Bolo and Acutus searched for Frederick. We found him cowering in the cellar. Sabina did not lie, for he did indeed have the artifact stolen from Certus. After we retrieved it, we killed him. Finally, we turned to the woman who had answered the door, for we had learned that she was possessed by Frederick's familiar demon. We drove the beast from the girl, and Donus was able to quickly slay it. The girl said that her name was Teresa, and she seemed quite thankful of our aid. Thus, we returned to my new Covenant, finally succesful in our mission. Certus once more had his fragment of the skull of Vardian, and he was happy. Still, up in Rome there are the remains of a cult of diabolists, and I can only wonder if they will rise again to cause us problems. Even worse, there is still the sinister Master, who we never met. What was his reason for stealing the fragment of the skull, and will he try again? ** ** From Rupes' Book Thinking back upon the war with those diabolists, I can not remember Acutus ever casting a spell. It seems that my initial assessment of him was a correct one.