Theandric: Journeyman

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

We should take a quick oath to bound ourselves to teneo now and we shall perform Aegis of the Hearth immideatly. therefore I vote Aye for both this votes.
He looks at Valeria
We must not risk our vis and take them to the deep of the forest, the vis should stay here in the covenant. In this matter I vote Nay.
He turns to the others
As for my self, I'll stay here with Gasparius and research for protection wards.
And watch over Hans and the others as they progress in building our defences.

 

[Nzld]

Valeria takes an oath

"Very well," Valeria says, "the council has spoken." She seems disappointed by the vote against the allotment of vis, but not overly concerned with it. "We must now attend to the other matters set upon our agenda. Let me be the first to make my oath:"

"I, Valeria Libidia, of House Verditius, filia Gudrun Tigurina, hereby swear my loyalty and my life to the covenant of Teneo. I do so of my own free will, under no external influences, magical or mundane. I renounce all ties, oaths, and loyalties, binding or otherwise, to my parens and the covenant of my apprenticeship. From this day forward, Teneo shall be my home. Teneo’s goals shall be my own, its allies my own, its enemies my own, its riches my own, and its hardships my own. I swear never, by action or inaction, to allow the covenant to come to harm, in the physical, magical, spiritual, or personal sense. In all respects I will uphold the reputation and honor of Teneo and consider its welfare above my own. I will respect the voices of my sodales in the governance of the covenant and the drafting of its charter."

"This is my solemn oath. Teneo's life is now mine own. I ask that my life be forfeit should my oath be found false."

 

[MummyKitty]

Titus takes his oath

"Let it be known among the assembled that I am truthfully Titus Creperius, of the ancient equestrian family, of house Jerbiton, filius of Peter vin Werzburg. I reaffirm my Hermetic Oath in front of you. In addition, of my own free will I hereby swear my eternal loyalty to the covenant we now pledge to form in this spot, Teneo. I hereby sever all ties and obligations to my covenant of apprenticeship and place myself exclusively in the service of Teneo. I do swear to make Teneo my sole residence and to ever strive for its greatness. I promise to tie my fate to this covenant: to share in its hardships and success. May its allies be mine and may its enemies be mine as well. I shall defend this place against all threats, magical, spritual and mundane. I will forever uphold the reputation and honor of Teneo even above my own. I do swear to work with the other members here assembled to devise a charter that holds us all as equals and further binds our fates to this place and each other. May my work at this covenant reflect the glory of the art of magic upon this place and my fellows.

"This is my oath. May my life be forfeit if I do not uphold every word that I have spoken with my actions."

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

"I, Gorgamesh of House Criamon, filius of Master Cato takes this oath before you, this forest, those holy stones and the haven."
He looks up to the sky and takes a ritual Criamon tatoo knife to carve a sign on his arm.
An oath that shall bind my life, body, fate and soul to Teneo. I swear Loyalty to this place and to the other magi, Teneo's allies and enemies shall be mine, I shall defend this place as long as there is breath in this body, against all threats, magical, spritual and mundane, I shall honor this covenant and the holy stones it guards above me and all other.
He makes a small cut on his arm, close his eyes and raise his voice.
This is my oath. May The hordes of the abyss shall be on my door step, if I do not uphold every word I said.

He lower his voice and open his eyes, then he looks at his friends.
Now I need a new Tatoo

 

[Nzld]

After the oaths are taken, Valeria turns her attention towards preparing for the mission. With no display of modesty, she changes into an outfit more suitable for travelling in these forests and amongst the mundane villagers in the area. Onlookers may be surprised to discover that her robes are less elaborate than they first appear, and and she is able to don and remove them with both quickly and easily. They may be even more surprised to discover she wears no undergarments beneath.

After changing less outstanding apparel, she joins Titus and Volkmar to discuss the current arrangements of the expedition.

**********​

Volkmar advises that he, Malloc, Mattihus, Lukas, Puck, and Pavel will be embarking on the expedition. Hakon, Baldermar, Old Magd, Heinrich, and Frank will remain behind, along with the specialists and laborers from Fengheld.


OOC: Prior to departing, Valeria will try and find something that may serve as an arcane connection to the stag. She will search the area around the markings for lost hairs, etc., or see if there are any antler splinters amongst the bandages and rags used in cleaning the Redcap's wounds. Worse case, could snow from amidst the marks themselves be used as an AC?

 

[Yair]

Gasparius Makes His Oath

Gasparius, having heared all the other’s oaths, rises uncomfortably. He thinks for a moment, and then with an apologetic smile makes his own oath, clearly dervivd from the Hermetic Oath.
“I, Gasparius, hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to the covenant of Teneo and its members.
I shall abide by its charter, and by the decisions made by fair vote at Council. I will not endager Teneo through my actions. The enemies of Teneo are my enemies, the friends of Teneo are my friends, the allies of Teneo are my allies. Let us work together as one and grow hale and strong.”
He hesitates for one more moment, and adds “Teneo is the covenant my covenant, I shall have no covenant before it. This oath I hereby swear, I, Gasparius filius Abius Ex Miscellenea, of my own free will. Woe to they who try to tempt me to break this oath, and woe to me if I succumb to the temptation.”

 

[Yair]

Nothing to see here, move along...

The cold wind blows softly over the plateau as the characters prepare for their journey, and black clouds gahter at the horizon.

 

[Nzld]

Volkmar confers with the magi

After the wizards have taken their oaths, Volkmar waits patiently while they gather their personal belongings for the trip and change into more appropriate travelling clothes, and then waits patiently more while they go about casting their ritual of protection. Though he does not understand what exactly it is that this Aegis of the Hearth does, he is well aware of the faith that magi place in it.

When Valeria and Titus finally assemble amongst the departing troop, Volkmar calls Lukas and Mattihus over.

"Master Titus, Mistress Valeria," he starts, "tell us how you wish to proceed. Lukas has examined the prints left by the stag-beast and should have little difficulty in tracking the creature, if you wish to begin pursuing it immediately. Matthius, however, has indicated there is a certain vilage on the forest's edge that may be worthwhile to investigate. Perhaps these heathens, as he calls them, would be able to shed some light on the nature of this stag."

**********​

Valeria considers a moment what Volkmar has said, and then turns to confer with Titus.

"Dear Titus, you had hoped to garner some research on this animal, did you not? In lieu of books and libraries, perhaps these locals can give us the insight we need to deal with the threat. If it is not too far out of the way to significantly hinder our primary concern, I think it would be wise to speak with these peasants first."

 

[MummyKitty]

Titus returns to his quarters and gathers a new travelling cloak, combs his hair and trims his beard. "I simply must arrange for a valet once we are established... I'm sure the others will want a servant as well..." He thinks about gathering some reference materials about the old Celtic religions, but the library is well packed for the journey and it would take far to long to find what he is looking for. Before leaving, he makes sure he has any spell components that he needs as well as his dagger and walking staff.

Returning to the group he listens to Volkmar's summary of the expedition plans and Valeria's suggestion.

"Lady Valeria, I concur, let us meet our mundane neighbors and see what they can tell us of the stag. Living in the forest, surely they have knowledge of it."

Turning to Mattihus, he asks, "How far away is this village? Can we make it there before nightfall?"

Mattihus looks for the sun and nods, although it is clear he is not completely sure. "I think so, master."

He looks at the assembled party for the expedition, trying to recall who each of them are, and what their talents are... "I'm confident that you've chosen well the members of our expedition, Volkmar. I just hope that everyone can keep up as we must make haste."

"What a motley crew we have..." he thinks.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Mallok - Bard & Lukas - Hunter

The bard stands near by and hears the conversation. he come closer and say
I heard Volkmar suggestion, I recommend that we go to the village either, and I'll try to gather information from the locals, maybe you can escort me to the village and you'll come to pick me up the day after, I'll sniff around a little bit.
he smiles and says directly to Valeria
You can't imagine how much influence I have on people when I begin to play with my flute, they will spoil their darkest secrets to me ...
He laugh quietly to himself .
***********************************************
I hope the footprints wont fade
Lukas express his concern before the magi, Volkamr and Mallok
If we go to the village we risk in losing those footprints, the Stag is already got a day advantage before us.