Vardian Log #33: The Laughter of Carthage -- "We're wandering architects." --Tolas "I don't think we should just rub them out." --Angus -- Season: Fall, 1207 Dramatis Personae: Alan of Flambeau Magus Angus of Bonisagus Magus (Don) Arridere of Jerbiton Magus (Dave) Christophono Grog Delera of Tytalus Magus (Donald) Demoror of Quaesitor Magus (Billy) Eleri of Jerbiton Magus Ferramentum of Verditius Magus Frederick Grog Guido Grog Giovanni Grog Mercutio Grog Parins Tall Man Quippe Grog Roj Grog Prince Sandolus Prince Sergio Captain Tolas of Tremere Magus Vates of Criamon Magus (Chris) Wanio of Ex. Misc. Magus ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore Ferramentum of Verditius has left the Covenant of Vardian's Tomb, to return to his home Covenant of Verdi. He has given up his position as an elder magus here, saying that he does not expect to return in the near future, if ever. Ferramentum gave no reason for his abrupt departure. ** ** From the Secret Diary of Tolas of Tremere It was when the magi returned from the Tribunal of 1207 that I first heard of Magvillus' offer of vis in exchange for exploring Carthage. I scoffed at it, for only a fool would risk his life in such a way. Already, three Quaesitors had disappeared there. Now, for a few pawns of vis, Arliandus thought he could convince other idiots to risk their own lives. Thus, I was much disturbed when I got word from Postestas. They wished to know what was going on in Northern Africa, and I had been chosen to investigate for them. I was quite fretful at leaving Flamma, with her being pregnant and all, but I had little choice. At that time, I praised myself for coming to a Covenant so full of fools. Already, four others had decided that they would risk Carthage for the vis. With Angus, Arridere, Delera and Demoror along, I knew that there would be many bodies to put between myself and danger. I was quite pleased. Even more fortunate was the fact that we were able to requisition a large number of grogs to further protect ourselves. Thus, fully equipped, we set off for Austia. There, Captain Sergio would meet us, with the Covenant's ship, The Vicious Ballerina. Then, we would go on to the ruins of Carthage, where we would investigate the Covenant of Sansaron Travelling to the Vicious Ballerina was a bit of a chore, for Austia has become quite unfriendly to those who are thought to be magi. Thus, we forced to sneak through at night, like common thieves. Thanks to that precaution, however, we had no problems in the city. When we arrived at the boat, we found Vates, who had been gone for over a season, waiting for us. He gave no explanations, but simply said that he wished to go with us. Although the Criamon will be useless, another body is another body. We had travelled for perhaps a day when we spotted another ship coming towards us. It was very brightly colored, and as it approached, we realized that a song was coming from the ship itself. It was quite irritating. The other magi seemed to enjoy the tune, and smiled when they saw that the ship's name was The Salty Songstress. When we saw the Captain of the ship, one Prince Sandolus, it became clear that the boat was an elven vessel. I would have liked to kill the faeries aboard the ship, and take their vis and their boat, but the other magi were afraid to. The Prince had uttered some vague threats about us being way off course, and the other fools swallowed it whole. So, we somehow ended up in the middle of a party on the Faerie Ship. The dumb grogs were drinking a Faerie beverage called Nurtz, and most of the fools lost control of of themselves. Quippe fed some Nurtz to his pet mongoose, and the beast turned a bright orange. I have promised to help fix the creature with a bit of magic when I get home. According to Flamma, this should get me a loyal grog, who will protect me with his life. Finally, the party ended, and for a time, the Prince led us through the waters of the Mediteranean. Suddenly, the coast of Africa was before us. We could just see the ruins of Carthage over the horizon. Soon, we had all ferried to the mainland, and began to look for the Covenant in the ruins. Our sources had been accurate, and so it was easy to find the entrance to the Covenant of Sansaron. In the ruins of a temple, we came upon a passage leading under the ground. Thus, we entered what was left of the African Covenant. I began to cast Intellego spells, searching for life and magic, while Demoror and Guido decided to explore the Covenant. I was quite happy to let them, for it meant that they would spring any traps that could have harmed me. After a bit, they managed to find the Covenant's only inhabitant. Demoror started yelling when the iron dog lept at him. However, the fool was somehow able to control it, which probably saved his life. The grogs then attacked the helpless beast, but they were unable to hurt it with their Mundane weapons. Finally, Arridere walked up to, and destroyed it with a spell. Looking around a bit more, we decided that the magical beast had been left behind solely to guard the Covenant. All other signs said that the place was utterly abandoned, and had been for some time. In our search, we had managed to obtain arcane connections to some of those who had lived in this place. Using these, I was able to determine that those who had once lived in this Covenant were now in the Modern city of Carthage, just a short distance away from the destroyed ruins that we were in. However, before moving on to Carthage, we decided to investigate the main vis source of this Covenant. Just a day off in the desert, we knew that there was a small oasis which provided Sansaron with several rooks of vis every year. When we journeyed there, we found that the vis was still being collected. Clearly, the magi were still about. So, we moved on to Modern Carthage, quite sure that the missing magi from the Covenant of Sansaron were hiding there. Before we arrived in Carthage, we experimented a bit with the hair we had collected in Sansaron. Demoror cast some spells, and determined that it had come from a grog. Some Imagonem spell were then cast, and soon Arridere looked like that grog's brother. A definite improvement. As we were walking the streets of Carthage, we abruptly bumped into the man that we had been tracking. Arridere approached him as a long lost brother, and soon, we had convinced him to return to a tavern and have a drink with us. In the bar, that fool Demoror loudly cast several Mentem spells, trying to read the grog's mind. Frederick, which is what the grog was called, became quite suspicious and prepared to attack us. Thinking quickly, I picked up my drink and threw it across the inn, shouting insults. In no time at all, a brawl had started, and I was able to make a quick escape. Angus and Arridere were intelligent enough to follow me, but some of the other fools joined in the brawl. Our idiot grog, Christophono, ended up being arrested, and thrown into jail. As we retreated from the inn, Demoror showed an uncharacteristic amount of intelligence. He stopped by the house that we had seen Frederick leaving, and asked for Alan, Eleri and Wano, the three magi from Sansaron. He was told that they were not there presently, and so we left. Still, we now knew where the magi were dwelling in that city. After we had all regrouped, Demoror and Angus decided to go to the jail and rescue Christophono. I guess they do not understand that the truly stupid should be allowed to reap the benefits of their foolishness. The other magi and I returned to the inn room that we had rented, wanting to lie low. Remarkably, the two magi managed to gain some interesting information, and actually be useful while they were about their task. It seems that while they were extracting Christophono, they saw a grog named Roj, who had come to retrieve Frederick. They followed the two grogs, and thanks to the judicious use of some spells, were able to ambush them. Then, they questioned the warriors. They learned of a tall man named Parins who, several years before, had come to Sansaron. It seems that he led the magi into many dark acts. Eventually, the three magi decided to abandon their Covenant, and move to Modern Carthage instead. When the Quaesitors had come, they had taken them captive, and now they were almost certainly all dead, sacrificed to some diabolical beast. After learning these facts, Angus killed the two grogs, and he and Demoror brought the information to us. We discussed it for a bit, and I convinced the other magi that we would be crazy to attack three elder magi. Thus, we returned to the Vicious Ballerina, certain that we had gained enough information to please Magvillus (and Postestas, for that matter). We were correct, for twenty pawns of vis were given to us after we notified Magvillus of our findings. Thankfully, the matter is now out of our hands. What is done to the three corrupted magi shall be decided upon by the Quaesitors, as it should be.