Vardian Log #37: Green Magic

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Season: Fall, 1209

Dramatis Personae:

Angus of Bonisagus				Magus		(Don)
Bolo						Warrior		(Dave)
Carlo						Animal Handler
Certus of Bonisagus				Magus
Chavin of Tytalus				Magus
Flamma of Tremere				Maga		(Eric)
Geraldo						Shapeshifter	(DougL)
King Crutalous					Faerie
Muris of Verditius				Magus		(Donald)
Samo						Grog
Tractare of Tremere				Magus
Valoren of Flambeau				Magus
Verdan of Bonisagus				Magus		(Shannon)

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore
** Late Summer, 1209

Valoren of Flambeau and Tractare of Tremere returned to the Covenant
today.  Valoren seemed quite displeased, and for a time screamed of a
bitter betrayal.  After upsetting the magi and grogs for a bit, he finally
set off for the Covenant of Verdi, swearing vows of vengeance.

**
** From the Lab Notes of Verdan of Bonisagus

After returning from Sicily, I decided to spend the rest of my season
creating a new spell.  While searching for magic items, I had come across
a situation where a companion of the Tomb was almost killed by a spell.  I
had tried to spontaneously cast a Muto Vim spell to reduce the effect, but
found that my magic was too weak.  It was that spell, a sort of
anti-Wizard's Boost that I spent the remainder of the season working on.

It was just a week before the end of the season, when my new spell was
almost finished, that disaster nearly struck.  Working in lab, I suddenly
heard a growling behind me, and when I turned around, a huge green lizard
jumped at me.  It was much larger than I, and it walked like a man.  It's
sharp teeth and claws glittered dangerously.  At once, I turned to run.

The lizard managed to bite me as I dodged around a table, and I was hurt
badly.  Fortunately, it was both slow and dumb, and thus after it chased
me around the table, I managed to make a break for the door.  Wildly, I
ran through the Caverns, heading for the Council Room, nearly a mile away.
The whole time, the giant lizard was snapping at my heels.  Fortunately, I
ran into Bolo and Geraldo, who were on guard duty in the caverns.  I ran
behind them, and then turned to make a stand.  I threw green flames, and
both of the warriors struck the beast hard.  Thankfully, it fell.

Yet, that was not the end of the story, for when I returned to my lab, I
found another lizard thrashing around.  Once again, I ran for Bolo and
Geraldo.  They wrestled this beast to the ground, and Bolo asked if he
could make it his pet.  I had discovered that the first beast had
contained magical essence, and I would have liked to extract the same from
this second creature.  However, I knew that I owed Bolo my life, and so I
agreed.  Thus, he and Geraldo took the lizard back to Bolo's room.  I was
still a bit worried about the whole affair, so I had Samo sent back to my
lab.  He stood guard the rest of the season, which was uneventful.

With no further activity, I was able to successfully complete my spell.
It reduces the effectiveness of magic, just as I wished it to, but it has
an interesting side effect.  The extra power, rather than being lost, is
converted into some form of Imagonem effect.  Thus, while the spell that
my new spell hits becomes weaker, it looks much more powerful.  I have
named my spell The Wizard's Weakening Flare, and I plan to enter it into
the Covenant Libraries some time in the next couple of years.

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore

Angus of Bonisagus has recently begun breeding dogs in his quarters.  He
has even gone so far as to hire an animal trainer named Carlo, to help him
in raising the awful beasts.  I really wish that he would not keep some
creatures in our caves, but have no real say in the matter.  At least they
are not as bad as Bolo's new found pet.

**
** From the Diary of Verdan of Bonisagus
** Fall, 1209

Just as I was preparing to go to the Council Meeting of Fall, 1209, Bolo
ran into my lab, telling of a dead magus that he had found in the Caverns.
Quite distressed, I went at once to investigate.  Bolo brought me straight
to the body of a Mercere, half eaten by a lizard, by the look of it.  On
the body was a letter, and although it was addressed to Imanitosi of
Verdi, I could not resist reading it.  It told of an item that the Mercere
had been carrying, and then spoke of keys and cats and other strange
things.  I could not understand all of the letter, but it was clear that
this item that the Mercere had carried had been the vis source of
Portaclara, a small Covenant in Germany.  Turning to Bolo, I asked if the
Mercere had carried anything else, and a bit abashed, he produced a box
that he had hidden away.  I thanked him, and we set off for the Council
Meeting, bringing with us a good deal of puzzlement.

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore

The Council Meeting of Fall, 1209 was begun when Verdan of Bonisagus and
the Warrior Bolo entered, carrying the body of a Mercere.  It seems that
the Mercere had been killed in the Caverns by a lizard, and had been found
by Bolo on his way back from Rome.  More interesting was the fact that the
redcap had carried a box with him which was alledged to contain a source
of vis.  After a bit of discussion, that box was opened, and a key and an
ornate lantern were found.  Several of the magi recognised the lantern as
a Faerie Magic Item, and it was decided that Muris of Verditius would
investigate the item.

After that issue was dealt with, Certus of Bonisagus brought up the issue
of the lizards that had recently been bothering Verdan, and seem to have
killed the unfortunate Mercere as well.  Certus and several of the other
magi blamed Verdan, saying he had accidentally created them, for it is
well known that his magic is green, just as the mysterious lizards are.
Finally, it was decided that several of the magi would go and investigate
the problem.  The magi who went are Angus of Bonisagus, Flamma of Tremere,
Muris of Verditius and Verdan of Bonisagus.  The warriors Bolo and
Geraldo, who had successfully dealt with the lizards before, went along to
aid the magi, and thus was the Council Meeting of Fall, 1209 concluded.

**
** From the Diary of Verdan of Bonisagus

After the Council Meeting, we all walked back to my lab, hoping to
discover there where the lizards were coming from.  When we got there,
Geraldo, who is a shapechanger besides a warrior, proved again his
usefulness.  He turned into a cat, and at once began to track the lizards.

After a bit of a walk, we realized that we were closer to their lair, for
we heard roaring.  Flamma quickly created some walls of stone, and so we
were protected when the first beast charged.  Soon, several of the giant
lizards had appeared, but thanks to Flamma, we were protected from all of
them.

It was at about this time that I decided that Flamma was schizophrenic.
One of the first things that I saw her do, shortly after my arrival here,
was kill a score helpless villagers, who had been bound in a magical net.
Now, I wished to slay the lizards that were threatening us behind their
stone walls, and she refused.  I tried to explain to her that they were
just animals, not people, and she became even angrier.  She insisted that
she would have no part in the business, and that was the end of the
matter.  I was so confused that my whole head throbbed.

Avoiding the walled up lizards, we searched around a bit, and finally
noticed a weird grinding sound, as if metal were rubbing against metal.
After we had located the wall where the sound was coming from, Flamma
destroyed a bit of it.  Suddenly, there was an elven face in that hole,
and it began to throw spells at it.  Twice, my Charm against Magic bounced
these spells before I was able to close the opening.  Thankfully, no one
was hurt.

However, Flamma insisted upon investigating the matter, and so she again
opened the hole in the wall, and began to enlarge it.  Thankfully, the elf
had fled, and so we were not forced to ward him off as we worked.
Finally, the hole was large enough, and we all climbed through.

The room that we found ourself in was quite marvelous.  It was full of
gears and pedals and levers and all forms of miraculous devices.  However,
we had drilled our way straight into this machine, and thus we had done a
considerable amount of damage to it.  I do not think it will ever work
again, and that is sad, for I am sure that it could have taught us much.

The function of the machine was quickly apparent, for in one part of the
room was half of a lizard.  It looked as if it was being grown, and so it
became obvious to all of us that this machine was what had been causing
our problems.  The elves had been using it to grow lizards, and then set
them lose upon our poor Covenant.

I was satisfied and ready to return home, but the other magi wanted to
continue their investigation.  I went with them, hoping to keep them from
killing the poor faeries when we finally caught up with them.

We tracked the Fay all the way to the surface, and from there to a faerie
forest that lies a day to the southeast of Rome.  Shortly, we came upon a
camp fire, and sure enough, there were the trouble makers.  Before, they
became aware of our presence, we quickly set upon them.  I buried one in
clothing, while Geraldo scared a second into surrending.  Angus knocked
out the third, and that quickly, our fight was ended.  I was quite
impressed, for the other magi had not killed any of them.  There may be
hope for the place after all.

We then began to question the elves, and they said that they had been sent
by King Crutalous, a faerie who the Tomb had made problems for a decade
before.  When speaking of the lizards, they convinced Flamma that they
were simply golems made by the faeries out of the earth itself, and so she
finally decided that we could kill them after all.  Before we returned to
the caves, we sternly warned the Faeries to cause us no more problems.
And then, we let them go.

We searched around the caverns for the lizards a bit more, but didn't have
any luck, so we finally all returned to our labs, our mission for Certus
completed.

**
** From the Lab Notes of Verdan of Bonisagus
** Late Fall, 1209

It has been a very successful season in lab.  Not wanting to dare another
charm against magic, I decided to turn to another magic item that I had
been considering, a magic coffee pot.  I have always preferred the stuff
to tea, but it is so rare and expensive that it is very hard to get.
Thus, I thought my coffee pot would be an excellent item all around.  The
work was almost flawless, and the item has just one minor side effect.  It
seems that the coffee that the pot produces is somewhat intoxicating, just
like ale.  This has proved to be somewhat of a benefit, for the grogs have
been around my lab much recently, to partake of my magical coffee.  Thus,
if any other lizards show up, I am protected.  I am quite pleased.

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore
** Winter, 1209

At the Council Meeting of Winter, 1209, the matter of the magical lantern
that Bolo had discovered in Fall was brought up.  Muris had been studying
it, and was able to report on it's properties.  He said that the lantern
provided an entrance to the fairy realm, and that a faerie named Geegah
lived in that place.  It seems that in exchange for a cat, Geegah would
provide Perdo vis, at the rate of five pawns a season.  There was much
discussion after these revelations, but it was finally decided that the
lantern would be given to Verdi, where it had originally been intended
for.

**
** From the Lab Notes of Verdan of Bonisagus
** Late Winter, 1209

I have just experienced the most unpleasant thing.  I have been working in
lab for the last season upon a third Charm against Magic, planning once
again to give this it to Flamma's Daughter.  However, somewhere in my
work, I made a horrible mistake.  There was some manner of explosion, and
the next thing I knew, I was in a very deep Twilight.  For weeks, I
floated in between life and death, before I was finally returned to this
world.  Somehow, I returned with a greater degree of Magic Theory than I
have ever possessed before, but the price was much too high.

This experience has led me to three conclusions.  First, Charms Against
Magic are much too dangerous.  Thrice, I have tried to make one, and not
once was I entirely succesfully.  Clearly, they, like the Parma Magica,
are something that the Order does not truly understand yet.  Second, Magic
Items are much too dangerous to work with.  I feel that I could learn just
as much inventing new spells, and that is what I will turn to, when I am
again willing to experiment.  Third, I believe this was some time of sign
for me.  I am being negligent in some of Bonisagus duties by not preparing
myself to take an apprentice, and I believe that that is where I will now
turn.  When I have gained the skills to teach, and have taken an
apprentice, as I should, then I will again experiment, trying to expand
the sphere of Hermetic knowledge.  Then, I believe I shall be successful,
as I was not now.

**
** From the Chronicles of Salvadore

At the Elder's Meeting of Spring, 1209, a new declaration was added to the
Charter of the Tomb.  It was unanimously decided that the possessions of
the elder magi of the Covenant would be strongly protected.  If any of
them are ever taken by another elder, all of the elders shall move against
that one.  This decision was proposed by Certus of Bonisagus to stop a
possible conflict brewing between Chavin of Tytalus and Flamma of Tremere.