Vardian Log #14: The Mage's Daughter

Season: Summer, 1201

Baron Nulf					Baron
Bolo						Warrior		(Dave)
Gotho						Grog
Jenny						Maiden
Keith the Soldier				Barbarian
Luigi						Grog Captain
Luigi						Guard
Luke of Jerbiton				Magus
Marius of Tytalus				Magus		(Phillip)
Meles of Criamon				Magus		(Dave)
Otto						Uncle
Rupes of Bjornaer				Magus		(Shannon)
Veritus of Mercere				Redcap		(DougL)
Voluptas					Cook		(Eric)

** From Rupes' Book

It seems that this Covenant is quite a lively one.  Unfortunate to some
degree, for I am not able to savor the peace of solitude, yet the
situations into which we seem to be constantly thrown shall provide the
true way to gain power, I am sure, whether it be through a few pawns of
vis, or something greater.

The escapade which I am writing of began in Summer of 1201.  Luke of
Jerbiton approached me, and asked a favor.  I have much respect for Luke,
for not only is he my elder, but he also seems to be the most reasonable
elder at the tomb, with the possible exception of Terra Natus.  Thus, I
was quite prepared to say that I would be very happy to help him out.
However, before I was able to express this feeling, Luke began offering me
rewards for undertaking this venture.  I am afraid that my baser instincts
took ahold of me, and I accepted the offering, even though I would have
undertaken the task for the mere asking.  I suppose that in this way, both
Luke and I will benefit, or at least I may justify my decision in that
manner.

Luke said that he had asked me to help him because he needed an expedition
of magi to head up to Germany, where I had been raised.  He said that he
had a daughter there, named Jenny, and that her uncle, Otto, had sent word
that she was in danger.  After again assuring Luke that I would do all in
my power to help his daughter, I set out to get a few others of the
younger magi to aid me.

While doing so, I was first introduced to the fool Meles.  Usually, I try
not to speak ill of others, but Meles is the one person at the Covenant
who seems to have no redeeming qualities.  He insisted up a useless and
meaningless Certamen, which I was forced to fight before moving on to the
important task of collecting magi to actually help on the expedition.

Marius and Veritus were the only two magi who were willing to go along and
help in this task, and Veritus is not truly a magus, except by tradition.
Surely, more respect for one's elders needs to be taught in the other
houses.  I also collected a number of warriors, in case we were forced to
drag Jenny away by brute force.  Bolo, Gotho and Luigi all seem to be
competant warriors.  Just as we were finishing our preparations to leave,
Voluptas, the Covenant Cook arrived.  She insisted on going with us for
reasons that I still do not understand.  Perhaps she simply wanted to see
Germany.  It is a beautiful land.

After I had gathered together those who would help me rescue Jenny, Luke
introduced me to Keith, the soldier who had brought the word of Jenny's
danger.  He would lead us to the Castle in Germany where Jenny resided.
As we journeyed, we learned more information of the situation.  Jenny's
father (or the man who thought he was Jenny's father, at the least), was
Baron Nulf, and he controlled the land to which we were travelling.  Her
Uncle was Otto, a bishop.  He seemed to know the truth of Jenny's
heritage, for it was he who had sent Keith to ask for help.

As we neared the town where Jenny resided, we were set upon by a group of
peasants.  They claimed that they rightfully held the road, and demanded a
toll.  I was prepared to drop the group of them into the Earth, crushing
them to death, but the other magi were very stubborn and insisted upon
paying the toll.  I can understand the redcap's reaction, but that the
Tytalus would feel this way utterly confounds me.

Finally, we came upon a small town.  It had both a cathedral and a keep,
as is common in many towns, and it was to that cathedral that we were
brought, to be introduced to the Bishop.  At once, we learned that we had
been dropped into the middle of a rather silly faerie tale.  It seemed
that the Baron had decided that Jenny was to marry another Baron to the
South.  However, Jenny loved a guard by the name of Luigi (no relation to
our grog captain), and did not want to marry the Baron.  Even worse was
the fact that the guard Luigi was a very honorable man, and he would not
think of taking Jenny away from her rightful marriage.  Although this did
not tell us who was threatening Jenny, it did give us many possibilities.
As well, it made the situation much more difficult, for we could not
simply move Jenny to safety in Rome as we had originalyl planned, for she
claimed that she would die if seperated from Luigi.

After learning of the situation, I came up with a plan.  I spoke with
Jenny, and convinced her to a write a note to the guard Luigi, proclaiming
her true love, and swearing to forever stay by his side.  Having heard
that Luigi was very honorable, I realized that Luigi would read this
letter, at once make a similar oath, and then be bound to it.  Thus, if we
took Jenny to Rome, where she would be safe from whatever evil threatened
her, he would have to follow.  Then, Jenny would be happy, for her love
would be with her, and we would have removed her from whatever danger
existed.

Jenny was sick that evening, and we had some trouble collecting the note
that she had written for us.  Finally, with the help of Voluptas, who
nicely distracted those around us by spilling a bowl of soup, I managed to
grab it.  As I returned to my comrades, Voluptas told me that she thought
that Jenny was ill because she had been poisoned.  Indeed, it seemed that
the word that Keith had brought on Jenny's endagerment had been true.

The next morning, we learned that the guard Luigi had left the castle with
a force of twenty men to track down some bandits.  We decided to follow
him out, under the cover of hunting for herbs, so that we could give him
the note that Jenny had written.  We found him rather easily, and I
learned that he was as stupid as I had heard, for he swore an oath to stay
by Jenny's side forever at once.  We all returned to the castle, and Luigi
went at once to see Jenny, and her health seemed to improve from his
presence alone.

As we ate dinner that night, Voluptas, who had stayed at the castle when
we sought out Luigi said that she thought that Jenny was being manipulated
by a witch, who lived just outside the walls of the keep.  We determined
that the next morning we would speak with this witch, and hopefully at
last determine why Jenny was in danger, and from who.

However, the next morning, we learned that our situation had worsened.
The Baron, apparently wary of the guard Luigi's affection for his
daughter, had had her locked in one of the keep's towers, along with three
nuns.  We all began to hope that we could simply eliminate the threat to
Jenny, so that we did not have to move her to Rome to protect her, as we
had earlier planned to do.  Thus, we went to speak with the witch who we
suspected might tell us much about the plots against the daughter of Luke.

When we went to her cottage, which lay just below the tower that Jenny had
been imprisoned in, she invited us in for tea.  I was prepared to speak
pleasantly with her on the issue, until I felt a spell bounce off of my
Parma.  At that point, I asked the warrior, Bolo, to restrain her.  We
soon terrified her into telling us all.  Apparently Jenny had poisoned
herself, and the witch had healed her upon Luigi's return.  It was all
part of a plot by Jenny to gain Luigi's love.  It seemed that there had
never been any danger to her.  She had made it all up, so that she would
have help in assuring that she married Luigi, and not some Baron who she
did not love.  I was a bit upset at this, and my first response was that
we should manipulate her mind, giving her memories of actually loving the
Baron that her father said that she was to marry.  Unfortunately neither
Marlon nor I was skilled at Mentem spells, and thus this was not an
option.

So, we decided to return to our old plan.  We would steal Jenny away, and
take her to Rome, knowing that Luigi would follow, due to his oath.
There, they would be happy, and the dangers that Jenny was generating
would be gone.

At midnight, Marlon and I prepared to make our assault on the tower that
Jenny was held in, along with the grog Gotho, who we had brought along to
help us.  Quickly, the two of us managed to extend vines up to wall, so
that we could climb to the window.  Gotho quickly ascended the vines, and
reported back that a nun was in the room with Jenny.  I created a rock
ledge under the window, and Marlon and I climbed up the vines.  From this
position, we could cast spells, and Marlon began to slowly put the nun to
sleep.

Just as we had put the nun to sleep, the inner door opened.  We all ducked
below the window, but the fool Gotho proved to be much clumsier than we
had suspected.  As he ducked below the window, he kicked me right off of
the ledge that I had made.

I changed into my heart beast as I fell, knowing that I would not be
damaged.  I was somewhat consoled by the fact that the witches' hut was
right below me.  I did not manage to hit her, but at least I left a large
hole in her roof when my rock form smashed through it.

Returning to my animate form, I brushed myself off and returned to my
quarters.  When Marlon and Gotho returned, I learned that our troubles had
been caused by a lack of cooperation.  Quite typical of the Tomb, it
seems.  While Marlon, Gotho and I had prepared to climb the castle wall,
Bolo and our grog captain, Luigi, had drank many of the guards in the
castle into a stupor.  Thus, Veritus had been able to walk straight up to
the tower, through the unguarded door into Jenny's room.  It was he who
had given us all a fright by opening the door.  Marlon told me that Jenny
and the guard Luigi were both on their way to Rome.

The next morning, the Baron was in a fury.  He was quite sure that we had
stolen away his daughter due to the fact that the witch was accusing us of
all kinds of evil things.  Bolo was thrown into irons, and the rest of us
put under house arrest.  Twenty guards were sent south to recover Jenny
and Luigi, but they came back empty-handed.  The Baron was thus forced to
release us, but he took some of arms and armour as a tax, in order to gain
some vengeance upon us.  Some day I shall have to return and show the
baron and his pet witch the true power of a Bjornaer.

When we finally returned to Rome, Jenny and the guard Luigi were married.
It was Fall, by the time, and we had spent a whole season on the trip to
Germany.  Yet, Luke was quite pleased, and thus it was worthwhile.  As
promised, Luke gave me ten pawns of Vim vis.  It was more than enough to
start enchanting my friend, Calculus, which I had planned to do for some
time.  Thus, I sealed myself in my lab, and managed to miss out on a
meeting with one of the founders, and a war.  But, when I was done,
Calculus could speak with all living rock, and pass on their knowledge to
me.