In the spring of the Year of Our Lord, 1220, Matheus the Vintner came to Sir William filled with excitement about a possibility for great profit and renown. It seemed the Sieur Brun d’Argen, who was responsible for supplying his Majesty King Henry’s court with wine, had heard tales of the delicacy and flavor of that made by Commarque. He wished to sample some, and if he liked it, to purchase 500 barrels.

Delighted with the prospect of sampling Sieur Brun’s wines and possibly establishing a profitable partnership, William determined to join Matheus. The newly arrived foreigner, Giovani, as well, detected the possibility of profit for himself, and attached himself to the travelling group. He traveled always with his bodyguards, who were most welcome on the journey, since the recent battle with mad wolves was still fairly fresh in everyone’s mind. Brandon Macheth and his faithful hound, along with Thierry and Gerard, accompanied them, as well, for protection.

At first the journey through a cold and damp spring was uncomfortable, though Sir William was at least able to conjure the water away from himself. However, on the sixth day, the group descended a hilltop to find the sun brightly shining and the small village of St. Emilion lying below them like a jewel in the valley.

All was not well in the village, however; the men of the village were thrashing the underbrush and calling for three lost children: friends, who had all left together to play the day before. After speaking with the mother of one of these, whose name was Philipe, Sir William was struck with sympathy for her plight and announced that he and his comrades would find the children. Many in the village suspected two foreigners, somewhat dark-complected, who had asked about children while passing through the previous day.

Sir William, Brandon, Gerard and Thierry set off in the direction of a meadow the children often used as a playground, while Giovani and his men stayed behind to rest their feet and watch the pretty young women of the village go about their spring chores. Using a cap of Philipe’s, Brandon set his wolfhound on the trail of the children, which ended at a stream. Though he found evidence of some sort of movement on the other side, the hound was confused, and Brandon could not tell whether man, animal or cart had taken the children away. Once he climbed up a tree, however, a trail of some sort became evident, leading off into the woods. He and Sir William and the others followed the trail until it seemed to end in a sparse section of wood by the side of a hill.

The hound perched himself at the base of the hill, whimpering, and attempted to dig. Sir William concluded the children must, regardless of the absurdity of it, be within the hill. He exhausted himself and used vis to cast a spontaneous spell and blow away a portion of the hillside, only to find the central part of this hole remained intact. Quite sensibly, Brandon stuck his hand into the central portion and found it went straight through – this was an illusion.

At this point, Sir William and Brandon began to feel the atmosphere of the place work upon them, though they did not know it. After exhausting himself further attempting to determine the nature of the aura they were in, William became convinced that there lay a great magical treasure or relic within the hole, and nothing would do but that he must get to it before anyone else did. Brandon could clearly see the magus huffing and puffing with fatigue, and attempted to talk sense into him. The two began to argue and even came to blows, each in his own way; finally, in disgust, Brandon abandoned William to the cave and began his return to the village.

Along the way he encountered Giovani and his men, who were following their trail. Brandon attempted to explain what they had found, but the language barrier combined with the fantastical nature of their discovery made clarity difficult. They all returned to the hillside together, to find that Sir William had entered and was rifling through a pile of bones and rotting flesh in the back of a cave, still convinced there was treasure to be found. It seems however, that one live person was within, for the boy Philipe began to whimper and call for his mother. He was alive, but could not move, for some strange reason. William, utterly exhausted at this point, picked up the boy and took him outside in order to silence his whining.

Soon a strange slithering and thumping sound in the underbrush announced the return of the cairn’s inhabitant. The strange creature had a woman’s head and upper torso, but a snake’s lower body and fierce-looking fangs. With an enraged hiss, she hurled herself at the men with terrifying speed, and began to claw them. A great battle ensued, during which it seemed likely at many points that all of them might succumb to the creature’s claws and enchanted singing. At one point, she bit Giovani, who then gradually over the next few moments became unable to move.

However, just as the men feared that one or all of them might be killed, the beast was distracted by the movements of Philipe, who was regaining his strength, and began crooning to him and slithering up to him, ignoring the men. Sir William croaked out a spell to confuse her, and it worked—she began to circle aimlessly, and was unable to return their blows. The men, entranced and sleepy from her singing, nonetheless finally managed to kill her after several mighty strikes. When the battle was over, another child, paralyzed, was discovered in the underbrush. However, since Philipe was regaining his strength, it seemed likely that this child and Giovani would, as well.

Disturbed by the encounter and the effect the area had had on him, Sir William apologized to Brandon and decided that perhaps he didn’t need to sample any new wine, after all. He returned to Commarque with Giovani’s prostrate form and his men, leaving Brandon, Gerard, and Thierry to escort Matheus the additional day’s journey to Libourne. While Philipe’s mother was overjoyed at his safe return, the other parents were not so happy to learn that their children had been killed by a “witch”. The decapitated head was showed for evidence, then taken to Commarque so that the two pawns of Imaginem vis that William had discovered in it could be extracted.

Cast: William of Jerbiton (Bob), Brandon Macheth (Nick), Giovani (Guillaume).

Delta Storyguide: Val

While the large wolf caught by the magi struggled in a stony grasp, Gaston of Bjornaer could see that this was not the wolf he had scried previously. As the sun rose, the wolf turned into a very large man. Questioning of the man revealed him to be Allard, a local farmer. Upon their return to the castrum, Aureus ex Miscellanea imprisoned Allard in the stone beneath Commarque.

Waiting for the magi in Commarque Castle was Emma, Lady d’Aubec, who had heard about the soldiers from the north hunting for Cathars. Emma, whose swollen belly indicated an advanced stage of pregnancy, apologized for the absence of her husband, Sir Gaidon d’Aubec, who was away in England securing his position with the new Regent of the King. Melita of Bonisagus noticed that Emma had started to go into labor, and spent the next several hours assisting in the delivery of Gaidon’s first-born (a daughter) with the help of Corpus magic.

Meanwhile, the others crafted another letter, this time from Crecin de Abassart, commanding the crusaders to meet him in Toulouse. Sir Balleray was easily fooled by the forgery and led the other knights and men-at-arms away. The lycanthrope Allard was released after an agreement was forged to research and remove his curse.

Over the next two weeks, news of a huge black wolf terrorizing the countryside made its way to the residents of the castrum. The savaged corpses of sheep were left at doorsteps, and children woke in the middle of the night to see a monstrous wolf with glinting yellow eyes gazing at them from outside. Other than an old man who suffered a stroke after being chased for miles, the wolf seemed content to terrify rather than harm.

The hands of the magi were forced, however, after Giovanni Dimatti discovered the dead body of the redcap of Lapis Crudus in a field east of the castrum. The redcap bore a letter from William of Jerbiton saying that he and Fortis would be staying at Lapis Crudus for the duration of the season. His corpse had a look of horror on its face. Melita used Corpus magic to speak to the corpse, which told of being attacked by a horrific black wolf that chased the redcap for hours until his heart burst.

Giovanni’s guards returned to the castrum later with the redcap’s horse, which bore a wound from a creature’s claw on its flank. Melita and Gaston used the horse’s wound to locate the wolf in the vineyards south of the castrum. A force was quickly assembled and sent out to confront the wolf.

Sir Jehans des Escars, Loefwen Brand, and Brandon Macheth, all on horseback, were the first to encounter the wolf. Loefwen managed to put an arrow into its shoulder , but when the wolf bared its teeth and growled at its attackers, fear gripped the hearts of Jehans and Brandon, and they could not press the attack. Loefwen was not affected by the wolf’s glamor, and she dismounted to face it. The monster charged and bore her to the ground, and she used her Boots of Homecoming to avoid being savaged by the beast. At that point, Gaston in the form of a bear – his Heartbeast – arrived and immediately attacked the wolf. After a furious exchange, Gaston struck the wolf a blow that sent it flying. The wounded wolf turned and fled, but Brandon, having recovered both his courage and control of his mount, caught up to the wolf and cleaved its spine with one stroke of his sword.

The wolf spoke before dying and its dying words and Melilta’s postmortem examination gave clues as to its nature and motivation. This wolf was a creature of the Faerie Realm that subsisted on fear, and thus had followed the marauding soldiers from the north as they struck fear in the populace wherever they traveled. Melita recovered 3 pawns of Intellego vis from the eyes and nose of the creature.

Cast: Melita of Bonisagus and Loefwen Brand (Val), Giovanni Dimatti, Gaston of Bjornaer, Griou, and Jehans des Escars (Guillaume), Aureus ex Miscellanea, Montagne, and Brandon Macheth (Nick).

Gamma Storyguide: Bob

Experience: Source Quality 5 (Brandon, Jehans and Montagne), 8 (Melita, Aureus, Gaston), or 6 (Loefwen)
[5 was also assigned to Griou, but she subtracts her Magic Might of 7 from all Source Qualities]

By December of 1219, the campaign against the Cathar heretics in Languedoc was going poorly, with many fortifications re-taken by the forces of Count Raymond of Toulouse. More knights and men-at-arms in the north were encouraged to join the crusade. Giovanni Dimatti, a banker from Lombardy, ended up traveling south with one of these knights, Sir Balleray.

Upon arriving at Commarque, Sir Balleray delivered a message to Sir Roger of Commarque, informing Roger of a visiting force of crusaders on their way to Toulouse led by Lord Crecin de Abassart, a favorite of King Phillip Augustus. With William de Bonville of Jerbiton and Fortis of Flambeau away at Lapus Crudis on a trading mission, Sir Roger hurriedly summoned Aureus Ex Miscellanea and Melita of Bonisagus to inquire if any of the scholars at Commarque were Cathars. Melita assured Roger that none of their number followed the Cathar heresy.

Roger then met with Giovanni the banker, who won an offer from Roger to stay at Commarque indefinitely using words of honey and a gift of a jeweled ring recovered from the severed hand of one of the Muslim defenders of Acre, which was taken by crusaders in 1191.

A couple of days later, Crecin de Abassart arrived at Commarque with a handful of knights and a score of men-at-arms, demanding that all within the castrum provide food and lodgings to “the army of your liege-lord, King Phillip Augustus”. Abassart, a short, arrogant, and thoroughly unpleasant and ill-tempered noble, demanded access to the building housing the laboratories of the magi. He was dissuaded from using the laboratories when the quick-thinking Aureus used Imaginem magicks and several pawns of Creo vis to make the laboratories smell awful.

Later that night, the residents of the castrum were awakened by a clamoring from Abassart’s soldiers, who discovered that two of their number had been attacked in the woods. The surviving soldier told of a stranger wearing the yellow cross of the Cathars, who attacked one with his own polearm, then changed into an enormous wolf and killed the other.

Earlier that day, Gaston of Bjornaer happened upon a deer in the forest that had been killed by a predator. Examination of the dead deer and the tracks surrounding it indicated that the predator was likely a unnaturally large wolf. Given the full moon of the previous night, Gaston suspected that a lycanthrope was near and traveled to Commarque to warn the other magi.

Abassart was furious that a Cathar had attacked his men. He set out from the castrum to root out Cathars in the nearby villages and hamlets, taking with him both his soldiers and the men-at-arms of the castrum’s nobles and scholars. Before he left, Abassart declared that he intended to draft the Welsh archers and take them with him when he left for Toulouse.

The magi resolved that the arrogant noble must be dealt with. They forged a letter to lure Abassart to a copse of trees that included the magic pines planted from an earlier adventure – pines that claimed people as their own, transforming them into trees. Loefwen Brand (disguised with her Ring of Obfuscation) rode to Abassart to deliver the letter, and found the noble angrily lecturing a crowd of frightened villagers and peasants on the evils of heresy. In the background, a handful of their number (including a priest, a village idiot, and others who were lame or deformed) hung by their necks from trees.

Abassart was convinced by the forgery, and traveled to the copse of trees that night. As Loefwen watched, a scream echoed from the copse, and Abassart’s horse emerged from the treeline sans rider.

Meanwhile, Gaston used the wounds of the dead soldier as an arcane connection to cast Image of the Beast, and received a vision of a man-sized black wolf with glinting yellow eyes. Gaston, Aureus, Melita, and Montagne set a trap for the wolf, using urine from Gaston’s bear companion Griou which had been transmuted to wolf urine with Muto magic. With the aid of Aureus’ Hands of the Grasping Earth spell, the party caught a man-sized wolf as the full moon filled the sky…

Cast: Melita of Bonisagus and Loefwen (Val), Giovanni Dimatti, Gaston of Bjornaer and Griou (Guillaume), Aureus Ex Miscellanea and Montagne (Nick).

Gamma Storyguide: Bob

In the autumn of 1219, Fortis of Flambeau, William of Jerbiton and Melita of Bonisagus were returning from the covenant of Atramentum Renatus, where they had been invited to set up vis and text exchanges. Stopping at an inn to rest for the night, the group noticed three soldiers in the common room with livery bearing three horses argent on a field of vert. Speaking to these soldiers, Fortis learned that they were employed by one Gille de Roche – a French Nobleman from the Vale de Sombre – and were participating in the crusade against the Cathars to the south; specifically, at the town of Lalanne.

As the night wore on, a flood of refugees appeared at the inn, claiming to be from Lalanne. Two of the refugees stood out: Avram ben Schlomo, a Jewish scholar, and Martin, a tradesman. They informed the magi that they have been pursued by the soldiery which sacked Lalanne, and also that the soldiers had been searching for a book in the town. William noticed that the three soldiers in the inn left as soon as the refugees arrived. Martin gave Fortis uncannily precise directions when questioned on the way the refugees had traveled.

Deciding to further pursue the mystery of what the soldiers sought in Lalanne upon the morrow, the magi retired for the night. Fortis and Melita were awakened by an attack upon their parmae, while William and the mundanes in the inn were afflicted with bad dreams of being hunted through a forest. Martin was the only person not affected by such dreams and indeed had joyous dreams of running with his “family.”

Deciding that Avram might prove useful to the covenant due to his skills as an architect and mason, the magi sent him and his family on to Commarque; meanwhile, they arranged to take Avram’s son Mikha’el and the mysterious Martin with them to research the sacking of Lalanne. Along the way, the magi ran into a small army with the livery of Gille de Roche, including a large number of priests. Posing as pilgrims, William and Fortis approached to parlay with the head priest, Father Chrétien. Father Chrétien loudly denounced the heretics of Lalanne, seemingly supernaturally enraging the army and Fortis, but failing to penetrate the William’s magic resistance. Sensing that Fortis was now poised to harm Martin, William prevented him by casting a spell upon him to break the incitement to violence. Attributing Chrétien’s power to diabolism (the smell of brimstone was detected), Fortis conceived a plan to disguise themselves as soldiers, infiltrate the army, and gather more information, while William suggested they might kill the false priest. Fortis was well pleased with this suggestion and assented. Meanwhile, Martin exhibited more animalistic behavior, adding to the suspicions that he might be a werewolf, and William again came to the group’s rescue with Mentem magics, calming the tradesman.

Disguised as common mercenaries, Fortis, William, and Eadwyn joined the army. That night, Fortis was given guard duty outside Father Chrétien’s tent, along with another soldier, and the Flambeau overheard Father Chrétien carrying on a conversation, seemingly with himself. Later in the evening, William approached the tent and put the guard to sleep with his Call to Slumber spell. Fortis then quickly slit the guard’s throat, and the men proceeded inside. There, Fortis grievously wounded the priest, and Eadwyn was aghast when Fortis then decapitated the “holy man.” Taking Father Chrétien’s journal, a demonic Bible, and a tainted torc, the magi made their escape back to Commarque.

Upon having Bernard the scribe and Avram read the journal, it was discovered that Chrétien had been after something called Υιοσ λυκαον, κυον σωτερ.

Cast: Melita of Bonisagus and Eadwyn (Val), William of Jerbiton (Bob), Fortis of Flambeau (Patrick).

Beta Storyguide: Nick

Experience: Source Quality 5

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)

With the approach of Imbolc in 1219, Melita of Bonisagus prepared to journey to the caves of Lascaux in order to collect its Animal vis, and once again study the cave paintings that she was sure would lead her to insight into Fertility Magic. Fortis of Flambeau agreed to accompany her, as he had never seen the caves, as did Brandon Macheth and Gaidon d’Aubec (in case of brigandage, but in an attempt to keep the party small).

Upon their arrival, Fortis discovered one of the mysterious stone “Venuses” prevalent throughout the caves, but Melita was shocked to see that the cave paintings seemed less lustrous than in the past. Looking throughout the caves to see the extent of the damage, Melita used her magics to detect a powerful Magic regio, and began leading the group into it. A botch brought her alone into a strange vista, blanketed by snow and unfamiliar landforms. Melita feared she might have entered the realm of the mysterious magic pines (see the story Amid the Veil of Pines). Fortis managed to lead the rest of the group to her shortly thereafter, and they spent a short time exploring their immediate surroundings. Brandon tried his luck at shooting an enormous elk that happened nearby, but his arrow barely stuck in the thing’s thick hide before it trotted off.

Returning to the mundane world, Melita collected the vis as usual the next morning, but was dismayed to find that the amount of vis collected was less than it had been in previous years. Although Fortis wanted to return to the regio and explore it further, no one else shared his enthusiasm, and Melita was primarily interested in reporting the distressing news to the other magi.

A council meeting was called, and the ramifications of their discoveries debated. The specter of Temeritus was – as always – raised, especially since he was the original discoverer of the caves. Concern was voiced for the many other caves in the area featuring the mysterious art, as well. It was decided that at the very least, the cave at Lascaux should be sealed magically, so as to hopefully prevent any easy intrusion into one of the covenant’s vis sources, and Melita recruited her sodales Aureus of Ex Miscellanea for this purpose.

During this council meeting, however, the grogs standing watch stood stunned as an odd-looking horse came right up to the walls, sniffed a bit, and then jumped through the walls and into the courtyard. Despite chasing it, and summoning the magi to attend to the matter, the horse quickly disappeared as it entered the casse bour. Afterward, it was discovered that the Venus Fortis had found had disappeared. More worrisome than the apparent theft of the Venus was the knowledge that this creature had somehow walked unhindered through the covenant’s Aegis of the Hearth! An expedition back to Lascaux was hastily mounted.

Cast: Aureus Ex Miscellanea, Balthasar and Brandon (Nick), Fortis of Flambeau (Guillaume), Gaidon d’Aubec and William of Jerbiton (Rob), Melita of Bonisagus (Val).

Alpha Stroyguide: Patrick.

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

Roger de Commarque received an invitation to attend Count Achambaud II of Périgord’s May Day feast of 1218, and surprised the magi by informing them that they had been invited as well. Accompanied by Sir Etienne and Lady Agatha, Loefwen of Mercere, Vindicatus of Guernicus and William de Bonville of Jerbiton journeyed to La Cité, and the Castle Barrier, seat of the Count’s power.

After watching the peasants’ pagan celebrations, the group dined with the Count and his three guests: a young knight errant named Sir Aubry, a beautiful young noblewoman named Lady Anne de Burgh, and Bertran de Born lo Filhs, son of the famous troubadour Bertran de Born, and himself a troubadour of no small ability.

In an attempt to impress Lady Anne and Loefwen, Sir Aubry produced a vial of liquid of purportedly miraculous qualities. He related how he was hunting a large boar, and stopped to resin his bow with sap from a nearby pine tree. Upon returning to his camp, however, the liquid within had magically turned to something that looked like water. He attributed this to some protective magic that the “faerie” boar must have used.

Vindicatus used his magics to examine the liquid, and determined that it was, in fact, composed of human tears. Unable to attribute much imagination to the young knight, the magi became intrigued by this tale, and asked him to take them to the site of this miracle. Lady Agatha elected to remain behind and be entertained by Sir Bertran, but the charming Lady Anne invited herself along. She showed them some of the impressive sights of La Cité on the way out of town, including the ruins of the Gaulish temple of Vesunna and a massive Roman amphitheater.

Sir Aubry was not entirely successful finding the spot where the sap had been collected, but Vindicatus used the tears as an arcane connection to lead them to the spot. Nicodemus, with his ability to see beyond the mortal coil, spied a young peasant trapped within the tree.

When a wreath of pine cones was found nearby. Vindicatus tried to use his magics upon it, and while he determined that its creators were immediately behind him, this also seemed to send the group into a regio: heavy snows now blanketed the forest, as far as could be seen, in all directions. Soon thereafter, all of the mundanes were turned to trees…with the notable exception of “Lady Anne.” When the flabbergasted William noted her resistance to the effect, she coyly noted that she was probably “protected by her parma magica” and revealed herself to be a maga of House Jerbiton. Nicodemus set off with Balthasar to see if he could find the boundaries of a regio. Not long thereafter, the morose Balthasar became oddly silent, and Nicodemus found he, too, had been turned into a tree. His challenges to the powers of the forest went unanswered, and while investigating the spot where the first peasant had been found, William’s parma magica withstood an assault.

Terse negotiations ensued. Loefwen used her Leap of the Homecoming to return to the covenant, and Vindicatus intimated that their entire Order was now alerted to the threat of the trees and would come to destroy them unless their companions were freed. The trees then released all of the mundanes except Sir Aubry, Nicodemus and Balthasar, and said they would release them when their seeds were planted: a pile of pinecones full of vis. The magi agreed, and returned home to discuss their options. After some back and forth, the magi agreed to plant the pine cones in the depths of the nearby forest of La Bessede, hoping to discharge their part of the bargain, and establish a is source in the process. Almost two months later, having been freed, Nicodemus and Balthasar returned to Commarque.

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

Alpha Storyguide: Patrick

Experience: Source Quality 7

Early in the fall of 1217, the constable appointed by the regent of Henry III, Duke of Aquitaine and King of England, Sir Gaidon d’Aubec, arrived with another knight to discuss their recent encounter with Lobar the Wolf. This brigand had become too much trouble to be ignored, so Sir Guidon was charged to bring him to justice. The magi told him what they knew – which was little – but used their arcane connection to Matteus to locate a probable hideout. To their surprise, the ruffian with Sir Gaidon was a Hermetic magus, Fortis filius William Fireheart of House Flambeau, seeking to join their covenant. Apparently a follower of the School of Ramius, his specialty was protective spells that allowed him to wade into melee…explaining his outward appearance as a regular knight.

Sir Gaidon retrieved his friend Sir Étienne de Cendrieux, and Sir Roger de Commarque agreed to accompany them. Brandon Macheth, the mountainous Montagne, and Captain Ivor’s team of longbowmen joined the force, and Fortis, Melita, Vindicatus and William came as well. It was decided that as their expedition must travel south, and close to the covenant of Belinor, they should pay their respects there before engaging Lobar. A mysterious man named Nicodemus, a Magister in Artibus of the University of Paris, arrived just before they set off and asked to join them, trying to make sense of visions of a charging white horse.

Three days to the south, the band was intercepted by self-important knights of Lord Garmond, and escorted to the village closest to the “scholars” of Belinor. The villagers seemed cowed by the covenant’s reputation, yet a young man was found to lead them to the squat tower in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The magi of Crypta Venatus were challenged by a man named Marcus, and two seemingly robotic grogs. Shortly thereafter, the magi were brought before two of the members of Belinor: Celera of House Ex Miscellanea and ??? of House Bjornaer.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and more wooden servants brought refreshments for the guests. However, Belinor’s magi seemingly lost interest in the visit upon learning of Crypta Venatus’ reason for journeying this far south. The magi left with the promise of correspondence and vis trade.

Their hounds picked up the scent of Lobar’s men soon after leaving the village, and though Lobar’s men kept a careful watch, they were first lulled into letting their guard down when Fortis took on the appearance of their captured companion, and when flights of longbow arrows were followed by a fearsome cavalry charge, even the hardened Brabaçon mercenaries were cut down quickly. Sir Gaidon eviscerated one with his lance, Brandon Macheth lopped the head clean off of another, and Lobar himself died when Melita hit him full in the face with her Shower of Needles spell.

Although all of the men were killed or captured, the only sign of the mysterious hedge wizard Rene were the magical grenades some of the mercenaries employed in the battle. Flush with the thrill of victory, but anxious to put the matter with Rene to rest, the group marched back towards Périgord, and home.

Cast: Sir Gaidon and William of Jerbiton (Bob), Nicodemus and Balthasar (Josh), Brandon Macheth (Nick), Melita of Bonisagus (Val), Vindicatus of Guernicus and Montagne (Grady).

Alpha Storyguide: Patrick

Experience: Source Quality 8

Two Sword Brothers of the Hospitallers arrived at the covenant in the summer of 1217, asking to speak to Sir Roger de Commarque. The magi arrived to find that they had produced a letter from the Grand Master of the Order of Saint-Jean, which caused Sir Roger to faint upon reading. Loefwen of Mercere stole a glimpse of the letter, which requested that Sir Roger hand over the property of the Order promised by his ancestor Sir Geraud; Aureus Ex Miscellanea noted that the Brothers’ armor was serviceable, but inexpensive, and their tabards seemingly newly made. William of Jerbiton made excuses for the lord and took the Brothers off to drink at the buttress house before they met again at dinner.

Vindicatus of Guernicus acquired an Arcane Connection for one of them from their horses, and attempted to eavesdrop on their conversation that night. While they spoke in a language he did not know, he did note the significance of one of the Brothers pulling out a piece of cloth that could only have come from William’s cloak!

Suspecting that the Brothers were impostors, and knowing they had gathered at least one Arcane Connection to one of their number, speculation began as to their real intention. Suspicion immediately fell upon Temeritus of Tremere, thought to be plotting his revenge on Commarque and Vindicatus in particular. Could one of the men in fact be a magus? It was decided to shoot first and ask questions later, and the grogs were set in motion. The longbowmen occupied the guard tower, their weapons trained on the buttress house, while Montagne led the melee grogs to the narrow passage between the buttress and oven houses. Loefwen mounted one of the “Brothers’” horses and made a racket so they would come out to investigate.

The first of the men did, and when Montagne and his men tried to sieze him from behind, they were surprised by how adeptly he avoided their attempts. However, as he fled toward the tower, Melita of Bonisagus gave the order to fire, and he was dropped by a flight of longbow arrows. Storming inside the tower, Montagne faced a defiant (and now armed) “Sir Martijn”, but as the doughty warrior moved to attack, he slipped on a piece of furniture, fell, and disarmed himself. He grudgingly was taken into custody and interrogated.

Apparently this man – Matheus – and his companion were Brabacon bandits in the employ of the infamous Lobar the Wolf, who had sent them to acquire Sir Roger’s inheritance. They admitted to having magical help, but the magician they described – a man named Rene who gave them magical charms – sounded more like a hedge wizard than the feared Temeritus. The magi sent him on his way with a letter to Rene, describing the Order and suggesting he must join…or else.

Finally, the magi persuaded Sir Roger to show them his inheritance. Gold, a chalice, and a shroud from the Holy Land were dazzling, but not magical. Sir Roger sheepishly admitted spending part of the money on building the castrum, which had, in fact, been pledged to the Hospitallers, and all were left to wonder how Lobar and Rene found out about it.

Cast: William (Bob), Aureus (Nick), Vindicatus and Montagne (Grady), Melita (Val).

Alpha Storyguide: Patrick

Experience: Source Quality 7