Vardian Log #28: Dry Bones -- "Our plan worked." --Acutus [just before the magi got jumped and almost killed] "A bone of him shall not be broken." --John 19:36 -- Season: Summer, 1206 Dramatis Personae: Acutus of Ex. Misc. Magus (DougO) Antonio Warrior (Chris) Antony Grog Arridere of Jerbiton Magus (Dave) Avisis Warrior Bolo Warrior Calios of Bonisagus Magus Certus of Bonisagus Magus Delera of Tytalus Maga (Donald) Demoror of Quaesitor Magus (Billy) Dominick Crazy (Billy) Domita Maga (DougL) Felix Companion (Shannon) Flamma of Flambeau Maga (Eric) Irena Grog Captain Jonathan Mole Jonathan de Cantere Dandy Mediocris Grog Rupes of Bjornaer Magus (Shannon) Samo Grog Tarim Apprentice Taron of Bonisagus Magus Vates of Criamon Magus (Chris) Vezzini Bard Vicious Glowing Sphere Warm Fuzzy ** ** From Rupes' Book After our expedition up to Rome last season, things became quiet in the Covenant. I have been studying my arts, in preparation to gain an apprentice, and thus am somewhat pleased with the calm. However, today's Council Meeting fortells grave times ahead for our Covenant. As I entered the Council Room this morning, I had to push my way through the wall of chairs that blocked the path to the table. Over the last season, more and more Tremere have come to our Covenant. Now, there are over a score of them. When the Meeting opened, seventeen of these Tremere asked for admittance to our Covenant. Lost in the crowd were a Tytalus named Delera and a Criamon named Vates, who also wished to become members of the Tomb. Unlike the Tremere, I suspect that they actually wish to join the Covenant for an extended time, which is unfortunate, for we really do not need either a hot headed Tytalus or another crazy Criamon. Flamma and Acutus got into some silly fight over her tea while the nineteen new members were being admitted, and they fought yet another pointless Certamen. And then, just as I was starting to doze off, sure that this Council Meeting would be exactly like every other one at Vardian's Tomb, the main doors slammed open, and Certus strode in. Certus had been gone for over a year, looking for his pieces of the skull of Vardian, which had disappeared back in 1204, and we were all quite surprised by his abrupt return. Certus seemed quite astounded too, as he looked around a Council Room that was jammed full of magi that he had never seen before. But then, as he claimed Arridere's chair, a sly smile appeared on his face. Certus told of how he had spent the last year searching for the two pieces of the skull of Vardian which it seemed Arridere had stolen, and described how his journey had eventually taken him to the Middle Marches, a dark doppelganger of our own Europe. There, he said that Vardian was marshalling his forces to crush our Covenant once and for all. However, Certus went on to say that Vardian did not know of our many new recruits, speaking of the Tremere who I have caused to come to this Covenant. Still holding everyone's attention, Certus went on to outline a plan. A small group of people would cross over to the Middle Marches as Vardian made his attack, and they would retrieve the stolen bits of the skull, and in any other way that they could, distract Vardian. Meanwhile, the rest of us would hold off Vardian's hordes. Instead of taking volunteers, Certus named the people who would go to the Middle Marches. Acutus was to lead them, and the magi Arridere, Calios, Domita and Vates would all be members of the group. Antonio, Antony, Avisis, Dominick, Felix, Irena, Mediocris and Samo were all to go along to protect the magi. It seems that Certus is a shrewder leader than I had ever realized, for he carefully picked the most useless magi to go to the Middle Marches. Doubtless, he thinks the mission an impossible one, and does not want to hurt our fighting strength, but is unwilling to give up the attempt entirely. Or maybe, he simply hopes that not all of the magi make it back from the Marches. As Certus talked, the Tremere had slowly been trying to edge out of the room, doubtless wanting no part in our war. Seeing this, Certus became quite angry, and began to challenge them to Certamen. Certus managed to hold off about twenty of them, and as a condition on each, he demanded that they do all they can to defend the Covenant. With that matter dealt with, Certus returned to the group going to the Middle Marches, and told them of an island which allowed easier access to the Middle Marches than the cave below Verdi, which some of our numbers used during Vardian's last attack. He also mentioned that the skull of Vardian should be in the Council Room of the Covenant in the Marches. After several questions were answered, and preparations completed, Certus finally let the others at the meeting speak. Despite the grave issues that were about, Demoror began to ramble on about various unimportant matters. He warned people going to the Middle Marches not to talk to the Pope, and then demanded that a new magus be chosen as the head of the younger magi, since Flamma was no longer a member of that group. Taron quickly named Acutus the new head of the younger magi, and the meeting came to an end. Now, I simply need to seal up my lab, in preparation for the attack, and then I will return to Certus, to do my part in protecting the Covenant. ** ** From the Charred Remains of Felix's Diary After the huge Council Meeting, Certus took me aside, and gave me a neat magical quill that writes whatever you tell to it to, and asked me to go along on the expedition to the Middle Marches, to make sure that no one got in trouble. I would have gone anyways, because I heard that we were going to recover some bits of the skull of Vardian, which is a really powerful magic item, but I wasn't about to turn down that magic quill, so I took it, and decided that Certus was really a nice guy, despite what Taron and Fortunatus say. Before we left, Demoror came up to our group, and told us about a strange vision that he had about a Unicorn and a Frog, and everyone got really confused, and someone mumbled 'Criamon' under their breath. Fortunately, we managed to get away before he could tell us any more stories. When we got up to Rome, Acutus, who was the leader of our expedition, got some supplies, and we headed off to the fishing village that Certus said was right next to the island that would get us to the Middle Marches. It was about a two day trip. When we got to the village, we went to where all of the boats were moored, and looked around for someone to take us out to the Magical Island. And, while we were looking, a raven with blue speckles dived at Arridere, and that mage Calios tried to kill it with a rock. He was fortunate that he missed it, because everyone knows that it is really bad luck to hurt a bird of ill omen. But anyways, after we looked around a bit, we decided that we wouldn't be able to get a ride to the Magical Island until Sunrise, and so we camped for the night. In the morning, we got two boats to carry us out to the island. When we got there, we walked around a bit, and fog started to come in, and suddenly, one of the wizards said that we were in an infernal place. That was it, we were in the Middle Marches. It was really disappointing; I was hoping for lightning bolts and such to herald our entrance. Anyways, since we were now in the Middle Marches, we needed to get back to the mainland, and so we lit a fire, and waited for a boat to come and pick us up. Pretty soon, someone did, and I helped them fish on the way back, and caught lots and lots of fish. It was really lucky. The people were really pleased that they had rescued us from that island. We then returned to Rome, heading for the Covenant of the Middle Marches, because Certus had said that the skull of Vardian would be in the Council Room of that place. In Rome, Antonio disappeared. We looked around for him for a bit, but finally had to give up. I hope he's all right. Anyways, we headed down into the caves then, which really do look a lot like ours, with only small differences. After we had walked a ways, we heard someone coming towards us, whistling, and I got this really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and all of the magi started casting spells. The guy who was approaching us was called Jonathan de Cantere, and he was dressed really silly. His clothes were really gaudy, and he had this hat that was almost as ugly as the magic hat that I keep hidden in my secret panel, right above my table, at home. He offered to help us, and the wizards started questioning him about Vardian. Jonathan said that Vardian was off to recover something, and we all knew that he meant the last piece of the skull of Vardian, which was still in Certus' lab. When we continued to question him, he said that there were a few guards still around this Covenant, guarding Vardian's remains. After we had gotten this information from Jonathan, I told everyone about my bad feeling, and we decided not to trust him. Domita tried to throw a magical web at him, to capture him, but he disappeared before we could catch him. While we were investigating Jonathan's disappearance, I found this cute little mole that was stuck in Domita's web. I rescued it, and am going to make it my pet. I decided to name it Jonathan. We made it the rest of the way to the Council Room, and we're right outside it now, discussing how to storm it. While the mages are making plans, I am writing down about this whole magic item hunt with my magic quill. I still have that bad feeling in my stomach. I hope that Jonathan isn't doing something really evil, and betraying us or some such. ** ** From the Journals of Taron It seems that Certus' plan has been more effective than I believed it could possibly have been. Quite unfortunate. I was hoping so much that it would fail horribly, and that I would thus have to save the whole Covenant, showing once and for all who the true leader was. But somehow, his bumbling expedition managed to lure Vardian away. The hordes were attacking, and the battle seemed more violent than either of Vardian's other excursions against us. We were losing Tremere left and right, when suddenly, the hordes retreated, and all was at peace again. It seems what happened is this: The group of fools that Certus sent to the Middle Marches actually made it to that Council Room with little trouble. After making noise for a long time outside the room, they finally came up with an elaborate plan, and burst in, thinking that they would actually surprise everyone. The room seemed empty, and so they began to search it. And then, the shades attacked. As before, Vardian had managed to bind the ghosts of some of those closely associated with our Covenant. Since some of these shades were magi, they had no problem in fooling the fools that we had sent until they were off guard, and then attacking them. Our group of people managed to banish the shades of Medicus, Donus, Myrta and all of the others whom Vardian had summoned, but it was a very near thing. The companion Felix was slain, and most of the others were very badly wounded. And then, it seems that a mad man caused Certus' plan to succeed. In the room was a huge golden chair, with a bear skin over it, and for some reason, the crazy warrior Dominick, recently arrived at our Covenant, decided to grab it. The bearskin was an illusion, protecting what seemed to be the entire skeleton of Vardian, painstakingly reconstructed. As Dominick grabbed it, it fell apart, and Vardian sensed that his bones were being desecrated, and thus was forced to withdraw his troops, and return to the Middle Marches, where he could deal with the culprits. At the least, the fools were unable to return the entire skeleton to Certus, for which I am glad, for it could have increased his power considerably. Apparently, they realized that Vardian knew that his bones had been desecrated, and began to wildly flee, heading for the surface as fast as they could. Between them, they managed to grab the skull and an armbone in their wild flight, but they did not keep them long. Domita, who was holding the bones, says that shortly after they left the Rome of the Middle Marches, a minotaur-like creature appeared, and claimed to be Vardian. It told her that it would slay her if she did not return his bones, and thus she did. Thus, while Certus' basic plan did suceed, he did not manage to regain the magic items that he had lost. On their way back to the island, which would bring them back to the real world, the fools actually managed to do something else useful. It seems that Antonio, who had gone with the group and disappeared, reappeared, and told of evil glowing spheres. The magi were curious enough to investigate them, and found that these spheres were some type of divine creature. I seem to recall hearing of them long ago, and know that they are supposed to ward off demons. To protect these spheres from the people of the Middle Marches, the magi brought them back to the Covenant. They are now located deep below our Covenant, near the Lake, where the younger ones should be able to mature in safety. One question still troubles me over the whole affair. Why was it so easy for the magi, and Certus for that matter, to return from the Middle Marches via the island? Everything I have read of the Middle Marches says that all manners of exit are heavily guarded. So, how were they able to return so easily? ** ** From the Journals of Certus I was somewhat reluctant to suggest that the magi going to the Middle Marches go via the island, for when I passed through the island, suddenly I felt that I could have my greatest desire, knowledge, and since I have returned, I have realized that I do know many new things. I am almost afraid to think of what those who I sent may desire for, and what would happen if they actually got those wishes. But, time was crucial, and thus I had no time for other routes of attack. ** ** From the Journals of Certus Some time after Mediocris came to the Covenant, I managed to learn his real name. Since that time, I have promised that I would give it to him when he had earned it. Lately, I have thought of all of the good things that he has done for the Covenant, the most recent of which was travelling to the Middle Marches, and I have come to the conclusion that he is now worthy. This afternoon, I gave to him his true name, Guido. ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore Although we have succesfully fought off Vardian once again, it was not without cost. The warrior Felix was killed on the expedition to recover the skull, and the warrior Antonio disappeared somewhere in the Middle Marches, and has not returned. In the Covenant, five Tremere were killed while holding off the hordes. Additionally, it seems that we are to lose our grog captain. No sooner had Irena returned from the Middle Marches than she got word that an Uncle had died, and left her a large plot of land to the North. Marcelo has been named as her replacement. Still, life goes on in the Tomb.