Ars Magica 5e, Rhine Tribunal, 1220

[ArghMark]

Unfortunately, Thomas has no Faerie Lore to speak of, and so having that information already is beyond him.

By the time you have read the diary in its fullest extent, the sun begins to dawn and a cockerel sounds outside the gates. Soon after the castle begins its morning rituals, with few people the wiser. As the day dawns, the stench and oppressive atmosphere fades; the sun shines, and hope beams through you.

(Dominion Aura 1).

However, you have all been up all night long. You are quite tired. (Everyone gets 1 long term fatigue level.)

 

[ArghMark]

What are your plans, or do you head strait down below?

 

[Yair]

It appears that the latter...

 

[Walking Dad]

ooc: Any typical spells a mage would cast before going into something like this? Like in D&D where they cast shield, or mage, with the various armor rotes.

 

[Yair]

ooc: Any typical spells a mage would cast before going into something like this? Like in D&D where they cast shield, or mage, with the various armor rotes.

Well... not quite a spell, but every magus will be casting his Parma Magica every dawn and sunset, to erect a Magic Resistance.

Beyond that - it depends on the magus, but generally combat-mages have defensive and buffing spells that they cast on themselves before battle. The specific spells cast depend on the magus. Your magus doesn't really have much; from your list of spells, I'd cast Shriek of the Impending Shaft, providing you very good protecting from missiles and most thrown weapons. A more questionable choice is Eyes of the Cat, which you can cast if you think we'll be in dakness, but it's unlikely. Another consideration is when to cast the spells - right now we're at a Divine aura providing -5 to casting, and we'll get back to an Infernal aura providing (perhaps) -2 to casting, so it might be more efficient to cast things once we get there - but we might also have no time, and botches tend to be more dangerous in an infernal aura.

More generally, typical defensive and buffing spells for magi include -
Wizard's Sidestep ReIm 10 (this is the spell Leo will cast on himself before we descend)
Veil of Invisibility PeIm 20
Gift of the Bear's Fortitude MuCo 25
Endurance of the Berserkers ReCo 15 [but usually at increased duration]
Circling Winds of Protection CrAu 20 [often at increased duration]

Other spells are of course relevant, depending on circumstances and the magus at hand, but the above are the most typical, I feel.

 

[ArghMark]

Will post this evening, sorry for the wait.

 

[Shayuri]

Ilshana yawns widely and closes a tattered manuscript. Dipping a quill in some ink, she starts scribbling and doodling on a blank roll of parchment, free-associating to let the facts she absorbed collide with what she already knew, and form new insights.

"That'd explain the chain," she murmurs. "Iron to bind...wow, a circle AND an iron chain. They -really- didn't want that thing getting out..."

(Ilsh has Faerie Lore, I believe. Using that, she will try to discern the most likely situation that these events represent (ie - is this really a 'mother' fae acting out in protection/revenge of her 'daughter'? Or is there some reason in the lore that suggests an alternative possibility?))

Finally she stands up and stretches.

"All right. Lets head back down."

 

[ArghMark]

Shayuri: I had a look at Illshana's character sheet. While you have the ability to take Faerie Lore, you don't actually seem to have it; in this case, no particular information is available to you.

All of you leave the room where you spent the night. There is a feel of early-morning solitude about the place, as sleepy eyed servants and guards move about, their wits somewhat dull; a brisk chill air pervades the castle. Avoiding any further entanglements, you make your way down the staircase and back into the once sealed covenant, and into the room; but not before seeing that the portal into the infernal place seems to have sealed; in fact where that place once stood lies a corridor to some stairs.

In the room itself, things are exactly the same; at the center of the circle wrapped with the floating chain stands the pretty girl with the strangely animal eyes; she yawns and examines her nails.

What are your actions?

 

[Yair]

Leo sniffs the air hesitantly. "Well, the mother is clearly not here, and the portal isn't either. That rather puts a damp in our plan, but let's take advantage of it and explore the stairs. Perhaps we'll get more clues on how to resolve this problem well and quickly."


OOC: Leo (back in lion form) casts his Wizard's Sidestep. Assuming that there is a chance for botch in any hostile aura, he'll do it in the Infernal one. The roll is 1d10=5+14 casting bonus = 19, with spell level 10 I assume he makes it.

I say we investigate this new room that opened up, and if it isn't there we'll face the child.

 

[Walking Dad]

Thomas follows Leo cautiously.