Vardian Log #43: Truth and Consequences -- "I'm not a vis bank." --Angus -- Season: Summer, 1211 Dramatis Personae: Abrogo Grog Angus of Bonisagus Magus (Don) Antionne of Quaesitor Magus Arundel of Merinita Magus Beris of Tremere Magus Calios of Bonisagus Magus (Scott) Certus of Bonisagus Magus Constantine of Tremere Magus Dolcino of Bonisagus Magus Domita of Ex. Misc. Maga (DougL) Durus Ghost Flamma of Flambeau Magus (Eric) Guido Grog Guiseppe of Bonisagus Magus Hildinc of Flambeau Magus Iago of Flambeau Magus Iago Grog Luigi Grog Inimicus of Tremere Magus Irena Grog Captain Karantia of Tremere Magus Kater Bug Demon Marlon of Tremere Magus (Phillip) Milano Grog Muris Infestus of Verditius Magus (Donald) Parins Dark Man Silva Ambages of Merinita Maga Spica of Mercere Magus Tolas of Tremere Magus Valoren of Flambeau Magus Vates of Criamon Magus (Chris) ** ** From the Journals of Certus ** Late Fall, 1210 It seems that the upcoming Fair shall be mine to run. Just today, Demoror got called away to Magvillus on unexpected business. Additionally, half of those who Demoror had put in charge of various aspects of the Fair are still gone, hunting a Dragon in Sardinia. Thus, as leader of the Tomb, it falls upon me to run the upcoming event. I have sent out word, to make it quite clear that I shall be running the fair, so that nothing unfortunate occurs. It was obvious at the Tribunal that Postestas was trying to set Demoror up when they charged him with running the fair, and now that Demoror shall not be running the event, I do not want to get caught in the crossfire. ** ** From the Diary of Verdan of Bonisagus Having completed my preparations, I am now ready to head off to Literatus, to spend a year there. I really would prefer to spend the year learning the arts necessary to teach an apprentice, but I know that at least for the next season, I would have gotten nothing done, due to the fair. So, the time to go to Literatus seemed right. ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore The primary issued discussed at the Council Meeting of Winter, 1210, was the upcoming Fair. Certus of Bonisagus announced that Demoror of Quaesitor had been called away to Magvillus, and that he would thus be running the Fair. For a time, various matters of organization were then talked of. After that, the grog Irena was welcomed back to the Covenant. She had been the Lord of a Village to the North, but had finally returned to the Tomb because it had seemed as if her village was cursed. She mentioned troubles with fairies, diabolists, a dragon, a giant lizard and a vampire all contributing to her decision to leave. At Marcelo's suggestion, Irena was once more made the Grog Captain, as she had been before she left the Covenant. The last matter discussed was Luigi, who has recently returned to his Castle in the North. Certus mentioned continued worries over the possible diabolic matter of Luigi's valley, and stated that when the magi still away on the Vicious Ballerina had returned, some investigation would be done into the matter. He suggested that the Infitas Futuras, which held a great ritual supposed to see into the future, could be used to help clarify the matter. With no further matters to discuss, the Council Meeting of Winter, 1210 was ended. ** ** From the Journals of Certus ** Early Winter, 1210 Fortunately, there was about a week between Demoror's departure and the start of the fair, and thus I did have time to make sure that things were organized appropriately. There has been a careful assignment of all of the caverns, with each one being set aside for the sale of a certain type of book or item. One cavern has been set aside for gambling, and Flamma's lab is to be the site of all Certamens. I believe things should go very smoothly. ** ** From the Notes of Spica of Mercere While at the Tomb Fair, I found some very interesting glowing spheres in the caves. I decided to take one, having heard stories about such spheres that warded off demons. If nothing else, I figured I could bring some magi to the other globes, and sell them. While making my plans, I ran into Vates and Domita, both members of the Tomb, and they revealed to me that the spheres were really demonic. I got a bit scared after that, and tried to get rid of the damned thing. Unfortunately, it keeps following me around, and just won't leave me alone. Magi with Demon's Eternal Oblivion can't even get rid of it, so it must be powerful indeed. If I don't get rid of it before some Quaesitor finds out, I think I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. ** ** From the Memorandum of Dolcino of Bonisagus While at the Tomb Fair, using my dice to win some vis, one Muris Infestus of Verditius accosted me, and demanded a cut of what I won. I do admire his spirit, but I don't appreciate it. I'm sure there will be an eventual righting of wrongs in this matter. ** ** From the Secret Diary of Tolas of Tremere While collecting fees for use of the Certamen Room at the fair, I happened to run into Antionne, one of the Quaesitors who had been held captive in Carthage. He seemed pleased to see me, and at once thanked me for helping the Quaesitors to rescue him (as if I had done it for altruistic reasons). He went on to explain what had happened, and I carefully filed the information away, certain that it could be useful to Postestas. Apparently, the magi of Carthage had been corrupted by a demon, just as we had heard from their grog. They had worshipped some great Bug Demon, and given sacrifices to it, in return for diabolic gifts. It seems that Antionne's two associates, who had gone with him to Carthage, had perished in this way. After we had told Magvillus of what we had learned, they had sent an expedition of powerful magi to free Antionne. Two of the three corrupt members of Sansaron were killed, while the last, one Alan of Flambeau managed to escape. Apparently, we had not heard of the matter because Magvillus was keeping it quiet; they did not want to admit such diabolism had existed within the Order. I thanked Antionne for giving this information on to me, and shall have to pass it on to Postestas soon. ** ** From the Journals of Certus ** Late Winter, 1210 The fair is finally over, and despite small problems, it was very successful. We did much better than those fools in Champagne, who let a single Mundane befuddle all of their efforts. Still, there were a few events that we shall have to try and avoid if we ever do this again. First of all, someone was walking around in my guise, telling people to move their goods to other places, causing many thing to be sold in the wrong places. According to some, Taron was the one impersonating me, but I do not believe that he has the courage for such a bold move; I suspect that it was a Merinita, but it is not worth the vis to determine for sure. In any case, the problem can be dealt with in future outings by building magic detectors, and spreading them about the Covenant. Perhaps I shall have Muris do this for me. Second, the apprentice of one Arundel of Merinita went missing, and was never recovered. I suspect that she was lost in the Caverns and perished, but I can not say for sure. At the next fair, we shall have to require an arcane connection from each of those who enter, so that they can be located if they get lost in our caves. Third, Constantine of Tremere was captured when he docked in Ostia, and Karantia and Inimicus, along with a band of Flambeau and Tytalus, were forced to recover him. It was quite unfortunate, even more so because force had to be exerted so close to Rome. I am not sure that there is a good solution to this problem, other than the total destruction of the Church. I shall have to speak with the fool, Fortunatus, and see if there is anything that can be done. Fourth, there were some problems with our personal belongs. One Beris of Tremere, a member of our Tomb during the time of Rupes' idiocy, if I remember correctly, tried to steal some items from Terra Natus' lab. Vates caught him, and convinced Hadrian to declare Wizard's War against him. I believe that we shall never see that Tremere around here again. Clearly, I should have appointed a Protector of the Covenant, but with Flamma and the others all still gone on the Vicious Ballerina, there seemed no good choices. An oversight. In any case, these four incidents were all small, and I believe overall, the fair shall reflect well upon our Covenant. ** ** From the Journals of Certus Just as the fair was ending, the magi who had gone to Sardinia finally returned. Angus, who has proven himself a fool in the past, came to me at once, and actually apologized for his past behavior. Clearly, he had learned something in Sardinia. To make ammends, Angus offered me the two clay jars which he had recovered in Sicily. Unfortunately, when he went back to his lab to retrieve them, he ran into a problem. His lab had been utterly destroyed during his absense, and the two clay pots stolen. Burn marks about the lab made the source of this problem obvious. During the fair, Valoren of Flambeau, and his two associates, Hildinc and Iago had approached me, demanding the items that we had taken from Sicily. I refused them, of course. Clearly, they decided to take the ones belonging to Angus at that time. It is unfortunate that they did not take try to steal from me as well. If they had, I believe the problem would have been dealt with once and for all. Although I am displeased at the loss of the clay pots, at the least Angus has learned proper respect, or at least learned to feign it. ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore ** Spring, 1211 The Council Meeting of Spring, 1211 began when Certus began to speak of the redcap, Velox, who had been kidnapped a year before. He reported that the two magic items had been given to Mario, in Rome, and that the Mercere had been returned unharmed. Next, Certus brought up the matter of the Infitas Futuras. He said that now that there were sufficient magi present at the Tomb, the ritual was to be performed, along with the help of the magi of Postestas. Hopefully, this should close the subject of Luigi's valley once and for all. ** ** From the Journals of Certus The ritual of the Infitas Futuras seems to have once more shown the diabolic nature of Luigi's valley, although not precisely in the matter that I had expected. I had hoped that it might show us whether the demons would return to the Valley or not, but I neglected the fact that the Infitas Futuras had come from the Valley itself. It seems to be yet another deception. When the magi of Postestas and the Tomb came together to conduct the ritual, we each saw a vision. In it, we stood before Luigi's castle, facing a great army, led by Arridere and several members of the Church. As the army advanced, we cast spells at them, but each of them failed. Finally, the army closed, and each of the other magi were killed. Only Flamma, Demoror, Taron and myself escaped. However, the vision was quite strange. All of the participants looked as they had perhaps five years ago. Flamma was bald, and all the others were younger. Clearly, something about the ritual was very bizarre. I believe that the ritual was truly some type of set illusion. If we had cast the spell five years ago, when we had first found it, it could have led us into many wrong choices. I suspect strongly that that was exactly what it was meant to do. In any case, this false view into the future worried me enough that I went and talked with the four who had gone to Luigi's valley and declared it free of demons. Each told me that they were not really sure that the demons were truly gone. Thus, I have sent out some grogs to reclaim Luigi once and for all. There shall be no more of this foolishness of him manipulating the magi into returning him to his valley. The entire area has been declared off-limits, and if any magi go there, they shall be expelled from the Tomb. ** ** From the Diary of Verdan of Bonisagus ** Late Spring, 1211 For two seasons, I have been at Literatus, teaching. The time has been quite pleasant, for I have been lecturing on Magic Theory, a task which I have found most pleasant. Flamma of Tremere arrived at Literatus at the start of Spring, and she took the Magic Theory class that I was teaching. I have talked with her often during the last season (usually reiterating things I had explained in class), and I have come to believe that she is not the heartless magus that she first appeared to be. It seems that in the Alps, when she killed all of those peasants, she was as distraught as I, and has done all she could since to make ammends. I have been notified that next season I will be taking a class in Church Knowledge, which is not precisely what I had hoped to learn here. At the least, Flamma will be taking the class as well. Flamma seems less distressed than I am at the prospect of a class in Church Knowledge, saying that she plans to find the locations of wooden churches during her studies. ** ** From the Chronicles of Salvadore ** Summer, 1211 After Certus announced the new restrictions upon Luigi's Valley at the Council Meeting of Summer, 1211, Foder was brought forward. He told an interesting story of his recent journeys within the Caverns. Apparently, while Foder had been doing some excavations, he had come across an old map of the Covenant. Foder was greatly puzzled by the map because it showed a great cavern just half a mile from the Council Room, and he knew that no such Cavern was there. Curious, Foder decided to investigate. As he headed towards the Cavern, he became turned about several times, but finally, he stumbled upon the Cavern that his map showed. Within the Cavern was a great tower, formed from a single block of stone. At once, Foder had returned to tell us what he had found. When Foder had finished speaking, Certus began telling another story, of Guiseppe of Bonisagus. He told how Guiseppe had been one of the founders, along with himself, Taron, Fortunatus and Luke. Guiseppe had been older than the other four, and in many ways, he had been the diplomat. It the early years of the Tomb, it was he who had kept the others together, as friends rather than adversaries. Certus went on to say that Guiseppe had enjoyed his privacy, and had had some place out in the caverns where he went off to enjoy it. Certus was quite sure, that this magical tower, guarded by a Shrouded Glen ritual, was that place. After he had finished discussing his suspicions about the Tower, Certus asked that several of the younger magi investigate it. He briefly mentioned that there was something strange about the Cavern in which it resided, for his golden globe had refused to enter it. Shortly thereafter, an expedition consisting of Angus, Calios, Domita, Marlon, Muris and Vates set off for the tower, along with the warriors Abrogo, Guido, Iago, Luigo and Milano. Thus, the Council Meeting of Summer, 1211 was ended. ** ** From the Accounts of Tractare This revelation about Guiseppe has brought an unfortunate new friendship to the Tomb. After they heard of Foder's discovery, Certus and Fortunatus began showing a like of each other that I have not seen since I first came to the Tomb, and the rest of the elders fell into line behind them. I am disturbed of the implications of this new friendship, for it could be dangerous to Tremere power within the Tomb. Something shall have to be done. ** ** From the Epic of Luigi After all of the magi finally got together, we set off to the Tower that Foder had found. However, before we could even get there, they started acting as stupidly as usual. We disturbing some bats while passing through the Caverns, which isn't unusual at all in the Tomb. But then, Calios saw that one of them had blue speckles, and he went absolutely mad. He threw a rock at the creature, knocked it to the ground, and then ran up and beat it until it was dead. When we decided that Calios was not going to attack the rest of us as well, we warily headed on. We kept getting lost as we tried to head to the Tower, and the magi all seemed very distressed. I finally pointed out to them that Foder had gotten lost before finding the Tower, and therefore we were on the right path. Just as I had predicted, we soon came upon the Cavern with the Tower. The Cavern was truly huge and magnificent, and for a second I was astounded that magi could create such beauty. In the middle of the Cavern stood a huge tower, perhaps eighty feet tall, surrounded on all sides by scores of mushrooms. I am tempted to take that Tower as my own, now that Certus has forbidden me my own valley. When we entered the Cavern, Angus started looking around as if he were even more confused than usual. Then, he began shouting to Durus, the ghost that has haunted him for the last twelve years. After wandering around, apparently looking for the ghost for a while, Angus finally rejoined the rest of us. I truly thought he would have been happy to lose an annoying, dead magus. Just outside the entrance to the Tower was a fountain, constantly jetting forth a stream of water. Rather than going in the Tower that we had come to investigate, the magi decided to play in the water for a while. It seemed to show visions of some sort, and the magi, easily amused by that type of thing, were quickly entranced. Vates looked first, and a vision of a tall man causing four dragons to slay each other formed in the water. He seemed greatly impressed, although I am sure I could have slain those dragons without resorting to spells, as the man who Vates called Parins did. Calios moved up next, and saw a vision of himself, Certus, Taron, Angus and Verdan sitting around some boring lab, talking. Then, Marlon moved up to the fountain, apparently having decided that the fountain wasn't dangerous. He saw a vision of himself banishing some entity from a grog. Muris and Domita both became engrossed by the fountain as they watched the others, and so they both moved up as well. Muris saw himself working in lab, with Certus looking over his shoulder, while Domita saw herself enchanting a blue speckled raven, like those that Calios keeps slaying. Finally, Iago and Milano each insisted on looking into the fountain, even though I suggested otherwise. They saw themselves fighting lots of different things. I wasn't too surprised, since I didn't expect much more of them. Finally, the magi decided that enough was enough, and we were able to head to the Tower that we had come to investigate. The Tower had a huge stone door, and it seemed to be jammed shut. Iago, Milano and I charged the door to try to open it. Milano chickened out at the last minute, and then Iago hurt himself. It was quite clear that they were just simple grogs, as the fountain had shown. Finally, the magi showed a little initiative, and Vates melted part of the door, and then Angus blew the rest of it up. Inside the Tower were some peasants who had taken up residence there. When Angus blew up the door, he killed one, and badly hurt another. The peasants got really mad, and started picking up their weapons. The magi looked really confused, and I had to save their lives. I pulled out the sword that Nasan made for me, and convinced all of the peasants that I was their leader. I got them to put down their weapons, and then Angus started putting them all to sleep. Meanwhile, Domita and Abrogo had gotten really interested in this statue in the back of the room. It was of a big bug thing. What interested Domita was that it was covered in gold. She started using spells to peel it off, while Abrogo helped to harvest it. Truly, it was one of the few times that I have seen magic used well. While Domita was playing with the demon statue, Muris went up the stairs in the rear of the tower. He started shouting about getting hit with spells, and so Domita and Vates run up the stairs to join him. Angus eventually followed them. At about the same time, Calios and Marlon started playing with a trap door that they had found. Apparently, they were a bit worried, because a marking had shown that it led to Guiseppe's lab. So, the two of them dropped one of the peasants that Angus had put to sleep down the hole. A big lightning bolt came out and blew the peasant up. Seeing that these magi didn't have any compunctions, I started offering to get Nasan to make them weapons. They simply ignored me as they grabbed another peasant and threw her down the hole. This second one was incinerated as well. About that time, Domita stomped down the stairs and left the Tower without saying a word. Later on, I learned that the magi had met a demon up on the third floor of the Tower. It was the same Bug Demon whose image the peasants had been worshipping. Apparently, the demon had offered dinner to the magi, and the other three were still upstairs, pleasantly eating and chatting with the demon. Domita had not wanted any part of it, and had thus left. Calios and Marlon decided at about that time that the trap door they were investigating was going to keep zapping people. So, they moved to another place in the tower, and put a hole in the floor. They dropped another peasant down this new hole, and when he didn't die, they both lowered themselves down the hole. As they began to investigate the lab, the rest of the magi came down to join them. Eventually, the magi came back up from the lab, hands full of books, magical equipment and potions. They seemed quite pleased with themselves, and not one of them seemed to mind the fact that two peasants had been killed to procure the items. Quite interesting. Afterwards, Angus decided to run back upstairs. When he had been gone for a few minutes, someone finally mentioned that there was a demon upstairs. I went running up the stairs, wanting to talk with the fellow, and ran into Angus coming back down. He proudly proclaimed that he had slain the demon with one spell. I was a bit upset at the missed opportunity for discussion. With him, Angus carried a large sword. He called it Truth, and mentioned that it had been hanging on the wall behind the Bug Demon. A bunch of the magi seemed disturbed when he carried it by them, and had to do their silly rituals to put their magic shields back up. Finally, we returned to the Covenant. I shall truly have to consider returning to that Tower soon. If I could grab those peasants who the magi took from the Tower, I would have my own staff and the making of a new Lordship. Maybe Certus would not try to take me from that place. ** ** From Magic Items of the Order by Varaten of Verditius Ubertino of Verditius would have been a member of House Jerbiton if it had been for great understanding of the making of magic items. Due to that understanding, he instead became a member of Verditius, and brought many Jerbiton learnings to those around him. Late in his life, Ubertino made three great swords. Yet, these were not simply tools of destruction, as most weapons are. Rather they were items that were meant to bring out what Ubertinto saw as the three greatest emotions in the human psyche. The first of these swords was called Faith, the second Love, and the last Truth. Through Hermetic magic, each of these items brought those around them closer to what Ubertino had seen as three of the pillars of humanity. Since Ubertino's time, the three swords have been lost. However, those of House Jerbiton still hold them up as examples of what Hermetic magic can do. ** ** From the Accounts of Tractare When the young mai returned from Guiseppe's tower, satisfied with the successful accomplishment of their mission, they brought with them a book which they revealed to be the Diary of Guiseppe. I was excited at first, thinking that it might hold the dark secrets of Certus, Taron, Fortunatus and Luke. Instead, it was a collection of emotional tripe which described the friendship of the five who had founded the Tomb. Now, Certus, Taron, Fortunatus and Luke are even more gripped by their emotions than they were before. Their returned friendship has grown even worse. The danger to my Tremere is even greater than I had before thought.