The expedition to Lascaux was hastily assembled, with William of Jerbiton, Aureus Ex Miscellanea, and Melita of Bonisagus leading Thomas, Balthasar, Madoc, Phillipe and Sabine to the enigmatic cave. A cold rain plagued them for their entire journey, and when they arrived at Lascaux, they were surprised to find a wild-looking giant nearby with a bear companion.

This individual was apparently a man, although towering above everyone else there, and he seemed a menacing presence. The grogs nervously placed themselves between him and the magi as tense (and terse) exchanges were made: the giant told them to leave, while William insisted that the caves were their property. Aureus made some quips about the giant’s parentage as well, and it seemed like the groups would come to blows. Then William got the notion that this man might be a Bjornaer magus, and queried him in Hermetic Latin. It turned out his assumption was correct: the giant proclaimed himself Gaston of House Bjornaer. Gaston indicated he had traveled to many similar caves, and was interested in what they might teach him about his ancestors – apparently believing himself to be descended from a union of cave bears and humans. He expressed no interest in the cave as a vis source, but wished to explore the cavern with others. The magi of Crypta Venatus hesitantly acquiesced.

Once inside, all was as before, and Melita led them once more into the powerful magical regio, finding the same snowy landscape. Gaston noticed human-like tracks leading away from the cave, and the group followed these for some distance. The tracks led uphill to a cave of some sort, and the party heard strange voices coming from within. Melita used Intellego magic to discern the number of creatures inside, but before they could act upon this information, the group was spotted by the cave denizens. Feral-looking men in pelts poured out of the cave, menacingly wielding stone-tipped weapons.

Before they could act, Aureus held one of them fast with his Hands of the Grasping Earth spell, but the creatures were very fast. They launched a volley of javelins, inflicting several serious wounds on the grogs (particularly the lightly-armored longbowman Madoc), and another group stabbed Gaston and his bear several times. Aureus erected a Wall of Protecting Stone before the javelin throwers, William blinded two with Flash of Scarlet Flames, while Gaston seemingly went berserk. The beastmen were no match for the giant and bear, crossbows and longbows…nor even for Melita’s again surprisingly-effective Shower of Needles spell. Soon all of the creatures had fled, been captured, or killed.

Entering the creatures’ cave, little of interest was found, save another of the creatures lying insensate on the floor. He was alive but did not react to prodding; next to him was the Venus “stolen” from Melita’s sanctum. William attempted to read his mind, and gained a Warping point for his trouble. When the grogs made to bind the prostrate creature, however, they turned him over and he convulsed once and died. It was decided his spirit might be interrogated back at the covenant, but William wanted to ensure the creature could not return to plague the covenant. So Thomas was given the unenviable task of beheading the corpse, and the head and Venus were taken back to Crypta Venatus.

Cast: Aureus and Balthasar (Nick), William and Thomas (Bob), Gaston (Guillaume) and Melita (Patrick).

Alpha Storyguide: Patrick

Experience: Source Quality 5 or 6 (if participated in both sessions)