Shortly after planting the magical pine cones in the nearby forest of La Bessede, Loefwen returned from Lapis Crudis covenant with two letters: one from Eglantine of Jerbiton for William de Bonville, and another from Verim of Guernicus – the senior Quaesitor of the Normandy Tribunal – for Vindicatus.

Verim’s letter indicated that Radko of Bjornaer, pater of one Petrus, had reported the latter missing after visiting the manor of Villars near Lyon. An unliked man, there was some concern that he had met with foul play, perhaps at the hand of one of his numerous enemies. Loefwen agreed to lead Vindicatus and William on the lengthy journey – eight days in either direction. They were accompanied by several shield grogs, the mysterious Nicodemus, and the towering Montagne.

Upon reaching Villars, Loefwen interviewed the peasants about the area, and learned of the local legend of St. Guinefort: the great-grandfather of the current Lord of Villars had returned home to find his newborn son missing, his crib overturned, and his greyhound’s maw soaked with blood. Drawing his sword, he hacked the creature to death, and only then found his son under the bed, safe and sound. The remains of a nearby snake told the tale: the greyhound had faithfully defended the babe against the serpent, and it was the blood of this battle that the master had mistaken for that of his son. Buried in the nearby “Old Well,” the beast had since been venerated as a guardian of children, and the simple folk of Villars took their own children there to seek her blessing. While the idea of a dog being treated as a saint was strange enough, it was said that one of the villagers – Marie – had recently seen the saint.

Interviewing Marie, she described what was clearly a robed man, albeit one who seemed disoriented. “I would protect the child,” was all he said, and then disappeared. Thinking this could well have been Petrus, the group went on to interview Sir Michel, Lord of Villars, at his manor house.

Sir Michel was evasive, and said only that Petrus had stopped at the manor and left. Vindicatus’ Posing the Silent Question spells provided little extra information, although whether this was because there was nothing to find, or the wrong questions had been asked, it was hard to say. The magi and Nicodemus supped with the lord that night, and indicated they would leave upon the morrow.

Sir Michel’s son, Daniel, was of interest to the group. He was described as “plagued by faeries,” and “strange things” were said to happen around him. When interviewed, he confessed that “animals did not like him,” and that Petrus had asked him similar questions. The magi suspected he had the Gift, and began to understand Petrus’ interest in Villars.

Guessing that Petrus had threatened to take Daniel away and that Sir Michel had killed him to prevent it, the magi directly challenged the Lord of Villars. Yet the story that came forth, reinforced by Vindicatus’ Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie spell, was not quite what they expected: indeed, Petrus had broached the subject of training Daniel with Sir Michel. But Petrus had returned later to the son’s bedroom in the form of a snake (his Heartbeast). The shrieks of the handmaid summoned Sir Michel, who, much like his great-grandfather before him, hacked away at the “threat” to his son and heir. But when the snake turned to a dying man, he was petrified that the Petrus he had met with was a warlock. Secreting him to the Old Well, he dropped Petrus inside and then threw rocks down inside to cover him up. The magi were stunned that Petrus had died in this way, but now understood the whole affair to have been a tragic mistake and a fatal miscalculation on the part of Petrus.

At the Old Well, the hapless grogs were set to retrieving the body of Petrus from the well. Nicodemus’ Second Sight enabled him to see the nearby form of Petrus standing watch, muttering his dying words again, just as Marie had seen. Once the badly decomposed corpse was brought forth, Vindicatus used his Whispers Through the Black Gate spell to interrogate a more lucid spirit. Petrus confirmed what had happened, made it clear he could rest by finding a way to train Daniel in the Arts, and requested that his remains find their way to Crintera. The magi agreed to this, and then set about convincing Sir Michel that Daniel must be trained as a magus.

Obviously reluctant, he was ultimately swayed by the arguments that Daniel might one day return to his inheritance, and that his strange nature could be a detriment here. Properly trained, he might become more powerful than Sir Michel might imagine, and need not fear snakes, dogs, or superstitious peasants. Nicodemus agreed to begin his education immediately, and Sir Michel accompanied the magi back to Crypta Venatus to see that Daniel was properly installed there – although the question of his ultimate destination within the Order remained unanswered.

Cast: Loefwen (Val), Nicodemus (Josh), Vindicatus and Montagne (Grady), William de Bonville (Bob).

Alpha Storyguide: Patrick

Experience: Source Quality 6