Vardian Log #35: Magi Hunting

Season: Winter, 1208

Dramatis Personae:

Angus of Bonisagus				Magus		(Don)
Berzaque of Flambeau				Magus
Bolo						Warrior
Christophono					Grog
Cratus of Bjornaer				Magus
Delera of Tytalus				Maga		(Donald)
Demoror of Quaesitor				Magus		(Billy)
Father Anton					Priest
Fidel of Ex. Misc.				Magus
Flamma of Tremere				Maga		(Eric)
Jason of Tytalus				Magus
Marco Paulo					Noble
Samo						Grog
Velox of Mercere				Magus
Verdan of Bonisagus				Magus		(Shannon)

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore
** Summer, 1208

At the Council Meeting of Summer, 1208, a vote was taken to make Demoror
of Quaesitor a non-voting elder of Vardian's Tomb.  After much discussion,
votes were cast, and Demoror attained a majority of six votes.  Those who
voted for Demoror were Certus, Flamma, Luke, Rupes (whose sigil has been
held by Tractare for the last year), Tolas and Tractare.  Henceforth,
Demoror shall have all powers of an elder of Vardian's Tomb, as outlined
in the Charter, except for that of voting.

**
** From the Journals of Fortunatus

Again, word from within the Church disturbs me.  Recently, I have heard
that the Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia is investigating rumors of evil magi,
this time in Northern Europe.  According to other sources, he has already
spoken with the pope on this matter, and I can only see ill coming out of
it.  Worrying me even more is the fact that political maneuvering seems to
be going on.  Cardinal Alfonso, who has been our friend in the past, has
been sent to Constantinople to convert the Idoliters.  I hope that they
have not simply sent him away so that they could create mischief for us
without his interference.

**
** From the Journals of Certus

Due to the end of the Crusade, the Myrtans have finally returned to Italy.
According to rumors, they are now in Ostia, because of the fact that it
has been made clear by the pope that they will not be welcome in Rome.
This is indeed fortunate, for they may know enough about us to be
dangerous, due to their connections with our former grog captain, Myrta.
If they ever are welcomed into our city, they could be an extreme threat
indeed.

**
** From the Lab Notes of Verdan of Bonisagus
** Fall, 1208

I must note the Summer of 1208 as a wasted season.  Originally, I had
planned to make a Charm Against Magic during this coming season, and thus
I spent the last three months in my lab extracting the Vim Vis that I
would require.

When I arrived at the Council Meeting, Velox of Mercere was speaking of a
Magus named Cratus.  According to Velox, this magus had killed his master,
and had thus been Wizard Marched.  Velox had brought arcane connections so
that we could aid in the hunt if we wanted.  I, of course, wanted nothing
to do with the whole matter, and so I made my excuses.  When I did this,
Demoror flew into a mad rage, screaming about how I had no respect for the
Code.  With a Certamen, he tried to demand that I go to the Alps, and help
in this hunt.  So, I took the nine pawns of vis that I had made in the
last season in hand, and I fought the Certamen.  I won it, but now have to
return to my lab, to again construct the vis that I will need.

For a bit, I was quite angry at Demoror, but I have recovered myself.  For
the season of service that he owes me, I have asked only that he scribe
Hermes Law into the Library.  I have even allowed it to count towards his
time for library use.  With luck, there should be no hard feelings between
the Quaesitor and myself.

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore
** Winter, 1208

The Council Meeting of Winter, 1208, began when Fidel of Ex. Misc. was
brought into the Council Room.  He seemed quite disturbed at first, and
looked around the room for some time before he finally decided to speak.
When he spoke, he warned the magi of a priest named Father Anton.  It
seems that Anton, who had before caused problems at the Fair of Champagne,
was now causing problems in Rome above.  Apparently, he was suggesting
loudly that the Church destroy the Order of Hermes, and people were
actually listening to him.  Even worse was the fact that two magi,
Berzaque of Flambeau, and Jason of Tytalus, had allied with Anton, and
they were using their Hermetic knowledge to help the Church.

Demoror of Quaesitor for a time probed the mind of Fidel.  After he was
satisfied that what Fidel had said was true, a Wizard's March was called
upon Berzaque and Jason.  The Council Meeting ended shortly afterwards
when Angus, Delera, Demoror and Flamma, along with Bolo, Christophono and
Samo headed up towards Rome, to quickly deal with the March on those magi.

**
** From the Personal Journals of Marco Paulo

In early winter of the twelve hundredth and eighth year of our lord, I got
a request from Fortunatus.  He asked that I help several of his magi find
and deal with a certain priest while they were in Rome.  Due to certain
embarassing facts that Fortunatus knows, I was of course happy to help
him.

So, I met the magi at the usual place, and I took them to Roscetti's, one
of the finest places to eat in all of Rome.  As we enjoyed an excellent
meal, the entire story of this Father Anton was explained to me.  I
quickly asserted that simply killing the fellow would do no good, for it
would simply add credulence to his stories.  Instead, I suggested that we
malign the priest's name, so that his stories would mean nothing.  The
magi quickly agreed, so I spread a bit of money through the city, seeking
leads on this Anton.

Soon, I learned that the priest was staying at the Roman estate of the
Cardinal-Biship of Ostia, and so I set the second phase of my plan into
action.  I sought out some prostitutes, and payed them a good sum of
money, and then sent them to the house where Anton was saying.  Shortly
afterwards, I convinced a good friend of mine in the clergy to visit Anton
with his full retinue.  Although Anton himself was not caught in the act,
I believe that he was embarassed somewhat.

The next day, I began to spread the tales of Anton's exploits,
embellishing them a bit.  I had little doubt that he lost more credibility
every time I spoke.

The magi were a bit impatient, and so while I did this, one of their
number, named Angus, did some exploration of his own.  When we all
regrouped at the house that I had rented, just across from Anton's
residence, he had quite a tale to tell.

He said that he had gone into the house while I was out spreading rumors,
and searched until he had found the rooms of the two magi who were helping
Anton.  There, he had found a book case full of their magical learnings,
and after several trials, had finally managed to extract the books.  Just
as he was carrying the books off, the two magi had returned, and Angus had
tried to kill them and failed.  After that, he had retreated to my house.
The other magi seemed quite pleased about the books that Angus had taken.

At about that time, Anton,and the wizards came up to the house, and
described Angus, and asked if he was here.  The wizard Flamma asked them
to leave, and they quickly did, but not without a few suspicious glances
over their shoulders.

After a bit of talk, the magi decided that their warrior, Bolo, and
Delera, another mage, would carry the books back to the Covenant, so that
they would be safe.  However, as they were leaving, we noticed Anton and
the two magi shadowing them, clearly bent upon ambushing our associates.
So, we circled around the whole lot of them, and set an ambush of our own,
and waited for Anton to pass by.

Unfortunately, we made a slight miscalculation, and Bolo and Delera were
ambushed well before they got to us.  When they didn't show up, we began
to get suspicious, and followed our track backwards.  We came upon the
three leaving the site where the ambush had occured.  Delera was dead on
the ground, while Bolo was no where to be seen.  Angus and Flamma both
cast spells, and almost before I could breath, Berzaque and Jason had
joined Delera in the nether realms.  The priest was gone, but the magi
considered the mission concluded.

Overall, I would rate the expedition a success.  Bolo was found, for he
had simply fled, and thus Fortunatus' people suffered but one casualty.
The two magi who the Covenant was hunting are dead, and although Anton is
still at large, I believe that his reputation has been sufficiently
sullied that he should no longer be a threat.

**
** From the Journals of Certus

That fool Christophono managed to get thrown into jail again, this time
while he was collecting pickles for Flamma.  I shall really have to teach
him a bit about being subtle.  I did not enjoy having to waste several
days to go up to Rome and free him.

**
** From the Diary of Luke

On January the twenty-second, in the twelve hundredth and ninth year of
our Lord, Flamma and Tolas of Tremere had their second child.  It is a
girl who they have named Segunda.  Although she does not have the gift for
magic, she more than makes up for it with her beautiful eyes and bright
smile.