Prospectus Logs #30: Fire on the Mountain +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of prophetic fish, angry fire elementals, and the need for vengeance. | | How a volcano in Mantiun might cause certain problems, and how a trip | | to Aquil's castle might reap certain rewards. | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Frangere Magus of Tremere (Eric Fulton) Fraxima the Faerie Flambeau Maga of Flambeau (Donald Kubasak) Lorum Magus of Merinita (Bill Filios) Risus Magus of Criamon (Dave Woo) Viator the Villainous Magus of Jerbiton (Dave Pickering) Xanti Magus Ex. Misc. (John Tomasetti) Aubrin Magus of Merinita Forticulus Magus of Flambeau Lucindia Seneschal (Chris Van Horn) Pietro Viator's Apprentice Francis Grog Hufar Grog Jean-Claude Grog Jean-Patrice Grog Julian Grog Michelle Grog Rodrigo Grog Roger-Tien Grog Vincent Grog Anna Friendly Sea Faerie Dux Aquil Faerie Lord of the Beaches & Shores Char Big Fire Elemental Eduardo Small Sea Turtle Gorka Magical Cod Gundof Selkie Pirate Oriche Mantiun Peasant Samson Growing Kraken Sue Mermaid Chamberlain Zelipe Lord of Mantiun Story Guide: Shannon Appel - * - The Council Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal March 1, 1218 In attendence: Aubrin, Berengarius, Catorse, Drake, Fabricarious, Forticulus, Frangere, Fraxima, Larissa, Lorum, Risus, Viator, and Xanti; also myself, Lucindia the Seneschal. Absent: Albus, at Estancia-es-Karida. Points of Information: * AUBRIN announced that Fraxima had completed her season of study of Moorish culture. She was acclaimed as a full member. Points of Debate: * FABRICARIOUS suggested that the covenant build an icehouse so that the magi could enjoy fresh, unrotten meat. This will require some constant maintenance costs, totaling aproximately a pound of silver a year. This resolution was accepted. - * - Albus' Dialogues April 20, 1218 Early Evening Viator was kind enough to remember to pick me up from Estancia. We should be back home in a few days. - * - Fire on the Mountain, Part One A Tale in Prose GORKA (Fish) -- May 1, 1218 =========================== Something was wrong. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. Gorka circled three times around his pool, then leaped into the air. He saw garden-grog still there, watching entranced; but garden-grog made no move toward Gorka's bucket. What good was an escape route if it steadfastly refused to help provide a route of escape? Again, Gorka began to circle around his pool, but his hope were nearly gone; he was trapped, just as he had feared. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. As Gorka leapt again, he saw that pietro-teacher was approaching the pool. Finally, someone with sense! Maybe he could get pietro. "Hallo!" Gorka shouted. Viator smiled at the fish as he glided forward and nodded his head. "There's something wrong," said Gorka. "There's something wrong. There's something wrong." "What is it?" asked Viator. He looked around, and Gorka knew that pietro-teacher was looking for one of Gorka's enemies: the-lions-in-camouflage, the-many-armed-sea-monster, or, worst of all, the-man-who-is-duck. Of course, none of them were there. "I don't know," said Gorka. "Don't know. Don't. It's just bad. Get me my bucket!" Viator nodded toward garden-grog, who stood there smiling. Then he said, "The bucket. Bucket!" Garden-grog smiled one more time, but this time reached down, picked up the bucket, and then scooped Gorka out of his pool. Gorka relaxed as garden-grog began to carry the bucket toward the big-water. Then, the water in Gorka's bucket began to slosh about, and he was knocked up against first one side then another; for a moment Gorka prepared to berate garden-grog, but when he looked up, he saw that everything was moving about him. Mortar and stones tumbled from some of the buildings. Various men-folk fell to the ground. "It's just an earthquake," Viator shouted. As soon as it had begun, it ended. Sticking his head up out of the water, Gorka shouted, "I feel much better! I'm ready to go back to my pool now!" As he dropped back into the water, Gorka began to consider what had happened. This mysterious-earth-shaking was clearly the doing of the evil man-who-is-duck. What to do? What to do? What to do? MICHELLE (Grog) -- May 1, 1218 ============================== Michelle looked up at the sky in concern. It was almost entirely dark now, soot covering everything, and the sky was the blackest toward the northwest. The earthquake had brought only passing concern. It was when the first trace of smoke from Mantiun was spotted that Viator had told Michelle to gather together a team of a half-score grogs to investigate and render assistance. Now they were halfway toward Mantiun, and every minute things looked worse. Michelle's hand went to his war maul when he heard the unmistakeable sounds of someone approaching. Behind him, his men lined up in formation; Michelle did not even have to look to know their discipline was perfect. A single man rounded the bend in front of them: a runner by all appearances, panting hard but running on. Michelle relaxed, and at his signal his men did as well. "What word bring you of ze city?" Michelle bellowed. The runner stopped short and began to stammer out his message. "Mantiun, I come from Mantiun. Running to Prospectus Locus to warn the lords there. To ask them for aid. To ask aid of the lord's son-in-law. "A great mountain rose. Rose up near our city. Began to spew smoke. Rivers of fire burned down from it. And worse, a monster. A monster of flames came forth and attacked our city. Burning, it's all burning." The runner slowly collapsed to the ground as he spoke. "We shall take ze matter from here," Michelle stated. "Francis, you carry zis message to ze lords. The rest of us will proceed, triple time." As Michelle drove his men on, his mind was full of misgivings. Mantiun had become Hell by the man's account, and a demon rampaged through it. It was beyond the means of his men to deal with, though they would give it their best try. The lords were truly needed, with their magical powers. "Sir!" Vincent shouted. When Michelle turned, he saw that Vincent's arm was raised skyward, pointing. Through the sky three figures grew ever closer, riding the clouds. Michelle recognized them at once, two lords and a lady: Viator, Risus, and Fraxima. Though he believed in no benevolent god upon Earth, Michelle's prayers had been answered. RODRIGO (Grog) -- May 1, 1218 ============================= Rodrigo watched as the magi again took flight. Michelle had explained the situation to them, and argued carefully that the magi should await the grogs' arrival before fighting against the beast of fire, but it had been in vain. The magi went off to face the monster alone, while the grogs continued their quick trudge up the road. Still, Rodrigo was unperturbed. The magi would be able to face the beast and defeat it; they always did. ORICHE (Peasant) -- May 1, 1218 =============================== When he heard the voices, Oriche pushed aside the rough-cut hide that blocked his window. With fire scorching a quarter of the city and a burning demon ambling its way through the rest, Oriche should have fled long before. But, Oriche was unwilling to give up his home, and, more importantly, unwilling to give up the almost full cask of fine wine hidden in his cellar, a cask of somewhat dubious origins. So he remained in his home, a single pitiful pail of water of his feet. But now there were voices, and this was something new. Looking out, Oriche saw three figures marching down the rode. In the forefront was a woman, small in frame, with pale skin and bright-red hair. A red scarf concealed much of her face. Behind her strode a man with lordly bearing; his face too was covered, hidden by a green strip of cloth. Bringing up the rear was a man who Oriche thought he recognized. He bore a strange similarity to the young scholar who had unsucessfully courted the lord's daughter before Lord Paulo had won her away. But, that scholar had not possessed such a fine mustache as this stranger possessed. Oriche watched as the three fearlessly approached the demon of fire. It threw flames at the woman, but she seemed unharmed. The noble leader thrust his hands into the demon's body several times, speaking strange words as he did, and miraculously he was not hurt either. The mustached man waved his hands and chanted too, and when he did water miraculously poured out of the sky ont o the other two. Oriche gasped as he watched; was he watching demons battle demons? With a shout the leader thrust his hand into the demon one last time, and as he did he screamed out; even from his distant vantage point, Oriche could smell the roasting flesh. It was then that the demon began to float, up and away from the city. The three began to march away and Oriche slumped to the side of his window, suddenly terrified. Please, he begged, do not let these new demons see me. Seconds passed, and the only sound was the crackling of flames. MICHELLE (Grog) -- May 1, 1218 ============================== With a swipe of his sooty hand, Michelle wiped the sweat away from his brow. Though his men had arrived too late to aid the lords in their battle against the demon, they had already proven instrumental in fighting the fire. Perhaps a quarter of Mantiun was lost, but the rest would be saved. As Michelle directed his men, he idly wondered about the fate of his lords. Again they had flown of, all three, refusing the aid andpr protection of Michelle's men. It annoyed Michelle--made him feel useless. Viator was en route to Prospectus Locus, seeking Forticulus' aid to destroy the fire elemental that he had lifted away from Mantiun. Risus and Fraxima had descended into the volcano that loomed over Mantiun. Michelle did not know who he feared for more: Risus and Fraxima, who faced the unknown dangers deep within the volcano; or Viator, who must entreat with the mad flame mage--Forticulus. FORTICULUS (Magus) -- May 1, 1218 ================================= Forticulus only smiled as the flames washed over him again. The fire elemental could not hurt him. Fortunately, the converse was not true. "Perdo Ignem," Forticulus incanted, and he smiled even more broadly as the elemental reeled back, shrinking as it did. At first Forticulus had made light of Viator's plea for aid. A fire elemental floating west on the winds seemed to fit clearly into the classification of SEP--someone else's problem. But then Viator had pointed out that the elemental doubtless contained vis, and, almost in the same breath, had given up any claim on it. That was all Forticulus needed. Within minutes he was riding the winds with Viator's aid. The fact that he was probably saving the lives of a number of innocent peasants meant nothing to Forticulus, but he knew it meant everything to the young Jerbiton. "Perdo Ignem," Forticulus shouted one last time. Giving off a final gout of flame, the elemental fell the ground, leaving behind only a glittering red residue. "Our work here is done," Forticulus said, as he scooped up the vis. CHAR (Fire Elemental) -- May 1, 1218 ==================================== In the crater at the center of his volcano, Char idly floated in a pool of lava. He watched the entrance with curiosity; as he had expected, two figures momentarily emerged from one of the many tunnels that honeycombed the area: a small, fiery-haired woman and a finely-mustached young scholar. "Greetings," Char said. The flames that made up his body burned merrily as Char leaned forward to view his new arrivals. As Char looked at the twain, a memory suddenly burned brightly in his mind. "Are any of you Xanti?" he said. - * - The Council Records as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal May 1, 1218 In attendence: Albus, Aubrin, Berengarius, Catorse, Drake, Fabricarious, Forticulus, Frangere, Fraxima, Larissa, Lorum, Risus, Viator, and Xanti; also myself, Lucindia the Seneschal. Points of Information: * VIATOR offered a report on recent events in Mantiun. He stated that a volcano has risen in Mantiun and that a fire elemental had ravaged the town. Viator was able to drive off the fire elemental, and then with the aid of Forticulus destroy it. Risus and Fraxima meanwhile entered the volcano. They found a second, larger fire elemental there by the name of Char. He admitted that he had raised the volcano and said that it was done by the request of Vulcan; he claimed no knowledge of the reason for this raising. Char suggested that he should be brought a present--preferably gems and gold--and Risus and Fraxima took this opportunity to make an exit. In addition, Char claimed that he knew Xanti and bore hin enmity. * XANTI admitted that he knew Char, and said that Char was responsible for the burns that Xanti even now bears. * VIATOR stepped outside with Xanti for a time and returned with knowledge--from an unknown source--of a vision. He said that the vision showed two things: the Water of Neptune, which Char seemed to fear, and the Fire of Apollo, which Char seemed to desire. After discussion it was determined that Viator would lead an expedition to Dux Aquil's castle in the hope that he might know of the Water of Neptune, and that this might be used to banish Char. Frangere, Fraxima, Risus, and Lorum have agreed to join in the expedition. Xanti left to barricade his lab. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Personally, I'm tired of bailing Xanti's ass out." | | -Fraxima, on friendship | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - * - Fire on the Mountain, Part Two A Tale in Prose ANNA (Water Faerie) -- May 2, 1218 ================================== The rose petals fell upon the water, and as they did Anna rose up. For once, she hoped that there were be no question of divided loyalties, no question of friends at war. Aquil and Aubrin were two forces at odds, yet she loved them both. Anna smiled when she saw Lorum; he was of the blood. But then she saw that Fraxima was there as well--the faerie mage who had won Aubrin's heart away. Still, Anna was sworn to offer aid to the magi of Prospectus Locus. She would not let her jealousy stand before her duty. "We seek passage to Aquil's realm," Viator said. Anna nodded her head. It was the simplest boon that she could grant. Gathering up soda rose petals, Anna breathed upon them, then returned them, handing five to the magi and the sixth to young Pietro, Viator's apprentice. "We go seeking information on the Water of Neptune," Viator continued. Anna frowned and realized that, as ever, things would not be as simple as she wished. "You should be very careful with that request," Anna said, "for Aquil will be suspicious when he hears it." The magi looked confused. "I can say no more, for I owe fealty to Aquil," Anna said. "I would not confirm that he actually possessed the Water. Surprise was obvious on the faces of the magi. Anna took the opportunity to make a statement of her own. "I have a request as well," she said. "Lately a tentacled monster has taken up residence in these parts. It is planting... a garden." Suddenly, Anna let out a scream as the tentacled monster burst from the water. SAMSON (Kraken) -- May 2, 1218 ============================== "Howdy, howdy," said Samson. The magi quickly moved to quiet Anna while Samson offered his greetings. "Going to Aquil's lair?" said Samson. "I've been meaning to meet with that lord myself. May I join you?" Samson waited idly while the lords began to discuss the issue. Turning to Anna, he tried to offer his hand to her, then his hand, then his hand, then his hand, but she only shrank away. The magi's council broke, and Lorum turned to speak to Samson. "You should not offer your loyalty to Aquil. Perhaps the May Queen instead. I hear she takes all comers." Samson shook his head and the magi again went into consultation. "We have another possibility," Fraxima said after a minute. "Perhaps if I named myself a faerie lord--lady--you could swear loyalty to me. I am thinking, perhaps, I could be the Lady of Fire on the High Seas." "I would swear allegiance to you," Samson offered. "Surely." The magi consulted again, then Fraxima went running back to the covenant. "We need to consult with Aubrin," Viator said. Samson leaned back and dreamed of his garden under the sea. GUNDOF (Selkie) -- May 2, 1218 =============================== At first Gundof could not believe his eyes. Blinking, he looked again, and saw it was indeed Fraxima who swam into Aquil's court; four men and a boy trailed behind her. Neither Gundof nor the other selkies had seen Fraxima since their abortive raid on that ship to the north. She looked the same, but somehow differently; now Fraxima seemed to carry herself with lordly grace. As Gundof watched, the six were intercepted by Eduardo, the young and frantic turtle who had taken the position of chamberlain for Aquil--since that position had been left vacant by the abrupt departure of his traitorous uncle. Fraxima looked displeased at the slip of paper she was presented with. "Fraxima!" Gundof shouted. The other selkies turned to look, then began to gather around their old companion. "We wish to speak with Aquil," said Fraxima. "We have a number...." Fraxima looked bleakly at the scores of people arrayed before her and then directed a frown at the baby turtle Eduardo. "We will trade numbers with you, of course," Gundof said. "You will still have days to wait. But, we do not mind. We stay here mainly for the drink and food." Fraxima frowned, but then brightened as a young mermaid began to swim toward her, a slip of paper fluttering in her hand. SUE (Mermaid) -- May 3, 1218 ============================ Sue smiled as she made the change in the contract. When she had given the visiting humans her number, reducing their wait to but a day, she would never have believed the benefits it would bring. She had asked that they praise her, that they speak of her beauty and her administrative skills, and she had hoped to perhaps catch Aquil's eye. She had dreamed of becoming his chamberlain--replacing young Eduardo--and perhaps of becoming something more. But, those had been only dreams; she had never expected them to come true. When Aquil had summoned her to his chambers this afternoon, Sue's breath had caught in her throat. Now, she sat at Aquil's side, scribing a contract that might serve to confirm her position for a hundred years. "It is so stated," said Sue, reading the final version of the contract, "that Viator of Prospectus Locus and the Dux Aquil shall enter into a three-part agreement as outlined here. "First, Viator of Prospectus Locus shall take in Eduardo, heir to the position of chamberlain at Dux Aquil's court, and provide him with appropriate training for the next hundred years. If any harm comes to Eduardo, Viator shall face serious consequences. "Second, Viator of Prospectus Locus shall take possession of the Water of Neptune in order to defeat the fire elemental Char and shall return it promptly to Dux Aquil after. If any harm comes to the Water, Viator shall face very grave consequences." "Third, Viator of Prospectus Locus' apprentice, Pietro, shall remain at Dux Aquil's castle until such a time as the Water of Neptune is returned." Finishing her reading, Sue presented the contract to Viator and her Dux, who each proceeded to sign. Afterward Sue entered her own notarization, "Sue, Mermaid, Aquil's New Chamberlain." CHAR (Fire Elemental) -- May 4, 1218 ==================================== Char was luxuriating in the lava, concentrating upon summoning up a new elemental, when his visitors returned. He was not surprised by their appearance; he had been expecting them. Slowly he opened his eyes a slit and look at them. There were five this time, his visitors from before and three more. As far as Char could tell, there were no cartloads full of gems and gold. A young, noble-looking man stepped forward to the edge of Char's lava pool. "Greetings," he said. "I am Viator." Char slowly swam to the side of the pool to better see the man. "We come to offer welcome," said Viator. "I would give more if I knew what would please you. What gift could we give to you?" "I like gold and gems," Char said, his voice crackling. "Yes," said Viator, "but is there anything of special note that we could find for you?" "There is something... It is called the Fire of Apollo." Char stopped for a moment, confused by the momentary smirk that had crossed Viator's face. "Yes," said Viator, "and where is it?" Char leaned over and began to etch a map into the dark rock that covered the floor of the crater. "Here it is," he said, pointing to the westernmost of the Balaeric Islands. "It is guarded by magicians on this island." "I see," said Viator, and as he did he reached into his vest to remove a flask. "I have a little something for you here." Viator removed the stopped from the flask and threw it straight into Char's face. Char screamed as the Water of Neptune burned into him, banishing him from the human's world. "Xanti!" he shouted as he faded back into whatever world magical beings come from. He would be back. Around the magi, the volcano began to shake. LUCINDIA. May 5, 1218 ===================== Lucindia writes into the chronicle of Prospectus Locus. She hates this work; her memory is perfect and she has no need of props such as this tome. But, the magi insist, and so she writes. "The magi have returned from Mantiun. They report that the fire elemental Char has been banished and his volcano has collapsed in on itself. Life should return to normal in the city, though it bore extensive damage. "Before he banished Char, Viator learned of the Fire of Apollo. It is apparently the heart of the magical fountain that is said to lie at the covenant of Hamus Acerbus. Viator has expressed interest in learning more of this in the future. "Viator now heads off to retrieve his young apprentice from Dux Aquil; meanwhile, we have a young sea turtle that we must train, a task that will doubtless fall on me. "As for Xanti, he has not yet left his lab." Looking up and across the courtyard, Lucindia sees the wooded boards that cover the windows of Xanti's lab. "Boards burn," Lucindia says under her breath as she closes the chronicle of Prospectus Locus.