Vardian Log #30: Irena's Story Season: Spring, 1207 Dramatis Personae: Aaron Spirit Abrogo Grog Alletia Fay Antenio Fay Antony Grog Cardinal Alfonso Cardinal Certus of Bonisagus Magus Delera of Tytalus Maga (Donald) Demoror of Quaesitor Magus (Billy) Domita of Ex. Misc. Maga (DougL) Elegans of Mercere Magus Father Rafael Priest Felipe of Tremere Magus Flamma of Flambeau Maga (Eric) Irena Lady Marcelo Grog Pietro Grog Rantella Spirit Master Sagino of Tremere Magus Sophia Malatestos Wife Tavio of Criamon Magus Turelli Grog ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore The Council Meeting of Spring, 1207 began when Antony da Padua came forward to make an announcement. Both he and his new wife have sickened since their return from Padua, and Antony felt responsible for the entire situation. He stated that he would be leaving the Covenant to go to Padua. There, he will be entering the service of Antony Malatestos. Antony said that he wished to make ammends for the troubles that he had caused. Flamma of Flambeau threatened Antony when this announcement was made, but his resolve to leave was strong. After Antony had spoken, Elegans of Mercere was brought forward. He carried a message from Verdi for Demoror. Another guest, one Tavio of Criamon, was introduced after Elegans had left. He declared that he had brought a prophecy, and was immediately Certamened by the score Tremere who now reside at our Covenant. Sagino of Tremere was finally chosen to fight the Certamen, and he quickly dispatched Tavio. After reading the prophecy, he declared it garbage, and passed it on to Demoror, who Tavio had originally brought it for. After the visitors had been dealt with, the Council Meeting moved on to internal affairs. Felipe of Tremere brought up the matter of Mendem, who had disappeared a year before. At the time that Mendem disappeared, he owed two seasons of service to Felipe due to a Certamen. After hearing the case, Demoror declared that whoever caught Mendem could extract two seasons of service from him. The final matter of the Council Meeting of Spring, 1207, was brought forward by Certus of Bonisagus. He said that Irena, our former grog captain, was having problems in the land that she had recently inherited. Irena had stated that she needed magi to help, and he had promised her that aid. Shortly, Demoror, Delera, Domita and Flamma had all volunteered to look into the matter. The Council Meeting was brought to an end when Demoror of Quaesitor began to chant Criamon mantras concerning the significance of the number four. ** ** From the Adventures of Pietro It was just a few weeks after our trip to Padua that once more I became embroiled in an adventure at the Tomb. Truly, it was an busy time for one as adventurous as I. It seems that Irena, our former grog captain, was having troubles with the village that she had recently inherited. Thus, she had asked for our help. We were, of course, happy to aid her. Setting off for Irena's village, we numbered four magi and four grogs. For some reason, Demoror saw great significance in this number, and insisted upon it. The mages were Demoror, Flamma, Delera and Domita, while the grogs were myself, Marcelo, Abrogo and Turelli. Clearly, it had been decided that our most skilled would go to help Irena. While passing through Rome, we ran into Cardinal Alfonso, one of our many friends in Rome. He wished to talk with us. Thus, we retired to the Inn of the Holy Statue, got some good drink, and then spoke with the priest for a time. Alfonso began to tell of how strange things were going on within the church. He warned of the Cardinal-Bishop of Austia, saying that when he was here several years ago, he had tried to get an investigation opened into the Mage's Order. He also said that Father Anton, another dangerous churchman, had recently arrived in Rome from Champagne, and that he was causing problems as well. We thanked Alfonso for his warnings, had a few more drinks, and then once more set off for Irena's village. As we approached the village, we began to understand the nature of the problems that Irena faced. It seems that Faeries were running rampant. Gnomes tried to trick us into pits, and a goblin tried to run us down with a cow as we walked towards the village, but both times, we succeded in valiantly fighting them off. Finally, we arrived. That night we had an excellent dinner, which complemented some extremely fine wine. It was bliss. After several bottles, we finally moved to the quarters that Irena had prepared for us. The next morning, Flamma seemed pleased. In the past, she had fought with the Gnomes which had lived in the Faerie Forest to the Southeast of Rome. Apparently, those same Gnomes have moved to Irena's forests due to the recent cold in their former home. During the night, they had returned to Flamma an arrow that they had stolen from her long ago, and given an offer of friendship. So that morning, when we set out to solve Irena's Faerie problem, we decided to try and be nice to the Faeries, and to deal with the problem in a rational way. We hiked around the woods for a while until we finally coaxed a Brownie to speak with us. We soon convinced it that we wanted to be friendly, and we were brought to a very beautiful grove, where Alletia, the faerie queen of this forest, lived. Alletia said that she did not like Irena because she wasn't nearly as nice as the old Lord of this land. However, with a bit of talk, we were able to convince her to stop playing jokes upon Irena and her people. In return, we had to do four things for the Faeries. First, we had to make Irena promise to regularly put out milk for the little folks. Second, we had to rescue Antenio, Alletia's brother, who had been buried below a church. Third, we had to chase off Rantella, an evil sorceress who hid behind a ring of iron, and caused great mischief for the faeries. Last, we had to drive off Father Rafael, the village priest, whom the faeries all disliked. To some, the tasks might have seemed daunting, but we were heroes, and prepared to fulfill these tasks to free Irena's land. The first task was easy enough to complete. When we returned to the village, we simply told Irena that she needed to leave milk out for the faeries, and she promised that she would. Next, we decided to deal with Father Rafael, for he too was in the village. While Flamma distracted him, Demoror threw spells at him, manipulating his mind. Suddenly, the father jumped up, speaking of a vision that he had had, of God asking him to go to the holy lands. As he made his preparations to leave, we proceeded on to our final two tasks. We choose to face the evil sorceress, Rantella, next, and so we went out into the woods, towards the cave which Alletia had described. As we neared the cave, we were approached first by a squirrel, and then an owl. Each warned us of the evil woman who lived in the cave, and of the corrupt wolves that guarded her. Shortly thereafter, when three wolves ambushed us, we were prepared. We fought like demons, and soon one wolf lay dead before us, and the other two were in full retreat. Congratulating ourselves on our easy victory, we proceeded on to the cave itself, unhindered. At the cave, we found Rantella, just as we had expected. With her, were the two wolves which had earlier escaped us. However, utterly unexpected was Rantella's companion. Standing next to Rantella was Marlon, a magus who had disappeared a year ago, at the same time as some of the mage's books. When we spoke with Rantella, she told of how her spirit, Aaron, had possesed Marlon, as part of a plan to get revenge upon Mendem. As she spoke more, we learned that she was the apprentice of Sanzen, the Spirit Master who, several years before, had tried to disrupt my wedding. We had caused Sanzen to be slain, and this was the reason for Rantella's attempt at vengeance. Satisfied that Rantella was not a member of their Order, the magi began to attack her. Somehow, however, she had laid protections about her cavern, and they were unable to affect her. Thus, it was up to us warriors to vanquish this foul sorceress. We bravely attacked, and as we did, lured the wolves out of the cavern. A flurry of magic followed, as the mages attacked the wolves, and Rantella tried to defend herself. Several times in the next minutes, my life was in grave danger, but each time, I vanquished my foe. Finally, the wolves were slain. As the last one fell, Delera managed to overcome the defenses of Rantella's cavern with a lightning bolt, and Rantella was slain. Marlon still stood, as he had throughout the fight, possessed by the spirit. Aaron threatened to slay Marlon's body if he was not released, and for a time, there was a stand off. Finally, we agreed to give Aaron a new body if he would release Marlon. Domita summoned a wolf, and Aaron jumped over to this new body, leaving behind a befuddled Marlon. However, before we could explain what had happened to Marlon, we had to deal with the wolf, for we had already decided that we would not allow Aaron to keep his new body. Several spells were cast, but it was Delera who finally brought this beast down. Having completed our third task, we moved on to Rome, with a still confused Marlon in tow. When we arrived in the city, we sent Marlon and Marcelo down to the Tomb. The rest of us searched for the faerie's body that we had to rescue, to complete our fourth mission for Alletia. The task was a relatively easy one, and with little work, we were able to extract the body from the crypt where it had been buried. After the mages extracted magic stuff from the body, we warriors brought it back to the forest. Alletia seemed pleased that we had completed her tasks, and promised that she would cause no more problems for Irena. Thus, Irena should now have a peaceful village to lord over, as she deserves.