Ars Magica 5e, Rhine Tribunal, 1220

[Shayuri]

Ilshana notices the boy and quickly motions to him, calling out softly.

"You there, boy! Don't be afraid. We're here to help the castle in its time of need."

If he doesn't run, she'll approach him slowly, hands out to show the lack of weapons, and a gentle smile on her angelic countenance.

"Will you show us inside, so we may have audience with the Baron?"

 

[ArghMark]

The boy is beyond stunned. Frightened and confused, and now in the presense of a woman more beautiful than any in his village, his tongue is a little tied. He doesn't seem to be the sharpest sword in the smithy.

'muh-muh....Mistress... I can take you to th..the castle. B-b-but, I can only get in through the servants gate.'

Assuming you all agree, the boy tries to stay as near to Illshana as he can, and as far from Gorgamesh as possible. Regardless, he leads you up to the castle gate. You see both of the guards are asleep; they seem to be choking in their sleep ever so slightly. The muddy ground here is churned up from the days passage, and the guards are lying full tilt in the mud. The wall surrounds the castle itself, and a smaller collection of buildings, tents tied to the walls and so on lie inside, along with the keep itself.

The boy gestures for you to follow him around to the kitchen, but you can do as you please.

 

[Yair]

Leo remains silent through the events, letting the others talk to the mundanes and domesticated animals. When the boy motions them towards the kitchen, he speaks sharply "No. We need to reach the center of this problem, somehow. Boy - is there any man here that will know the history of the place and tell us where these nightmares begun? We need to go to the source - where it all started."

OOC: Leo casts the InVi spell, to feel the aura of the place, before leaving the wood. InVi 4 [B2+2 Sun], "Detect the Power of Magic"; with a Casting Total of +11 [1 In+4 Vi+3 Sta+3 wood], he rolls 1d10=3 for a success. If we leave the forest before sunset, he'll cast the spell before entering the castle - and then he'll fail to pull it off.

Anyone has any idea on how to actually see this spirit, or confront it?

 

[ArghMark]

The boy's eyes widen when you address him, and his stutter grows more pronounced. He tells you that his best guess would be the Baron.

You left the forest after sunset, so your spell works fine. However, it doesn't tell you of any magic in the area.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh do not want the others to suffer due to his not-friendly presence. He consider a changing spell (Mu+Co like Disguise of the new visage) and will place an ordinary well-figured presence instead of his disfigured one.

Leo, I doubt if someone will give a complete stranger a red carpet to the baron.
If my instinct is correct, we’ll have to carve our way through consolers first.

 

[Yair]

Gorgamesh do not want the others to suffer due to his not-friendly presence. He consider a changing spell (Mu+Co like Disguise of the new visage) and will place an ordinary well-figured presence instead of his disfigured one.

Leo, I doubt if someone will give a complete stranger a red carpet to the baron.
If my instinct is correct, we’ll have to carve our way through consolers first.

Leo shrugs. "Perhaps. But the baron's sleep is restless. Perhaps there is a courtyard near his quarters, that he may wander to flee sleep?" He looks at the boy expectantly.

OOC: IIRC, you can use your Flexible Formulaic Magic to change the target of Disguise of the Transformed Visage to Individual. That would allow you to change your whole appearance with the formulaic spell. If FFM doesn't allow that (working without books here), you can ask Argh to change the spell in your grimoire to Target:Individual (bringing it to level 5); you'll generally want to chagne your whole appearance. Otherwise, you'll need to cast a spontaneous level 5 MuCo spell, which should be no problem (you roll die+10, and must reach 10 or above).

 

[Shayuri]

"Hang on, hold on, lets not overwhelm the boy," Ilshana says with gentle reproof. "He's been very nice to us by letting us in after all."

She hunkers down a bit to get to eye level with him.

"The castle's under a curse, isn't it...we can see that much. Do you know where the Baron is, so we can talk to him about ending the curse and making everything here go back to normal? That's all we want."

(OOC - Hee, sorry if it seems like I'm asking the same things you guys are, but I figured with my Gentle Gift, among other things, I might have better luck with getting him to talk. )

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

OOC: I do lack some rule’s knowledge, so I must thank Yair for helping me. I will try what he was suggesting.

 

[ArghMark]

Gorgamesh: Flexible formulaic magic lets you do that. Cast away, using formulaic magic for a level 10 spell. You are at a -3 to your casting roll due to the aura. What are you transforming into?

Ilshana:

The boy nods at you. You realize that his nervous stutter seems to be a more permanent fixture. 'Yes, M-m-m-miss. P-p-p-people call me stupid, but I know the Baron, he d-d-doesn't sleep. Th-this way.'

The dog-boy takes you around and you find yourselves wandering the outside of the Bromserburg. A number of smaller stone buildings have been built on the inside of the walls, but you go past them. Guards, people up at night, all are asleep. Eventually you get to the training grounds out the back of the castle. A single man is here, making passes with his longsword. He is wearing a simple tunic. He hasn't noticed you.

 

[Yair]

Leo, preferring to rely on Ilshana to speak with mundanes, leans over and whispers in her ear. "Ask him how it all started - but make sure he understand it's a favor". He leans back to let Ilshana do her thing

OOC: Leo will stand back, looking regally over the conversation. He doesn't like talking to mundanes, certainly not Christians, and besides Ilshana seems to have a way with males...

We're at a Divine aura?! Ick!