Theandric: Journeyman

[Nzld]

Valeria

"Yes," she says, in response to Gasparius's invitation, "I am thoroughly chilled. A warm fire is indeed welcome." She walks nearer the fire and, with no subtlety of discretion, goes out of her way to assume a place near the handsome magus.

She rubs her hands together and holds them toward the fire. "I would have arrived sooner, had the wagon with which we travelled not broken a wheel some miles back." She briefly glances toward Volkmar, who has not moved from where he stands. "I dispaired of leaving my books and equipment behind, and would have made camp there and waited til morning for repairs to be made, but Volkmar insisted on seeing me to Teneo tonight." She then looks directly at Volkmar; the orange of the firelight illuminating a wicked smirk. In an unnecessarily loud voice, as though he might be deaf, she says "Is that not so, Volkmar?"

The giant man slightly shifts his stance, seeming to avoid eye contact with her, though it is evidently out of disinterest, rather than unease, at her goading. "Yes, my lady," he responds, unperturbed by her peculiar outburst.

Valeria returns her attention to the fire, and her fellow magi. "I must say, the companionship is much improved." She flashes them a wide, mischievous smile.

 

[Nzld]

Volkmar and Heinrich discuss the Stag

For a length of time, Volkmar remains standing where he has stood since his arrival, while Valeria focuses her attention on her fellow magi. With only subtle glances and shifts in stance concealed behind his mask and the bulk of his cloak and robes, one might assume he has stood motionless the whole time. In fact, Volkmar has already began to evaluate the lay of the future covenant and to form an assessment of its defensibility. He casts a final glance toward the magi surrounding the main fire. Valeria seems not to have given him any further thought. Content that he is no longer the subject for her amusement, he shifts his attention to the armed grog standing near the magus Titus.

Heinrich is not oblivious to Volkmar's attention, though his own attention has been on the beautiful maga that now graces them all with her presence. His heart had begun to throb the moment she stepped forth from the darkness, and his loins have responded in kind, and Heinrich finds he must turn away to regain his composure.

Volkmar begins to edge his way around the fire, keeping his distance so as not to intrude upon the magi's conversation, though his eyes are locked upon the grog. As the massive man nears, Heinrich straightens himself and adopts a proud stance. He has not heard of this Volkmar, but he senses that the man should be afforded a degree of respect.

Volkmar stops several yards away and speaks just loud enough for Heinrich to hear, without disturbing the wizard's discussions. In German, he says, "You... grog... tell me of this stag."

Heinrich cautiously steps toward the hulking figure until he is but mere feet away. The top of his head barely reaches chest level with Volkmar, and he must tilt his head back to look directly at him... through the holes of the mask... into the depths of his eyes. Heinrich winces slightly as their eyes lock, and he stifles a momentary shudder that threatens to course through his body. There is danger here, but he preseveres.

He swallows hard before responding in Latin, as Volkmar had spoken to the magi. "My n-name is Heinrich, and I, too, am custos. I h-h-have been a loyal servant of Fengheld, and with that loyalty, so s-shall I s-serve Teneo." A silent sigh escapes his lips.

Volkmar remains silent a moment. He tilts his head and looks Heinrich over, as though reassessing the measure of the young man before him.

"Indeed," he says, this time in Latin, and Heinrich detects a slight hint of amusement in his voice. "Then answer me, custos of Fengheld, and tell me of this stag."

**********​

Heinrich and Volkmar step away from the main campfire, and Heinrich relays to him all that he knows of the beast and the redcap, which is little, as he only saw the devil deer for a few moments before it returned to the woods from whence it came. He recalls the words spoken by the magi to the stag as accurately as he can, hoping he has not missed some important detail. Finally, with a torch in hand, he directs Volkmar over to where the beast lefts its peculiar mark.

Volkmar listens quietly as Heinrich speaks, never interrupting, though his gaze constantly scans the surrounding woods, peering into the depths of the darkness, beyond the illumination of the campfires. As Heinrich kneels down next to the seven-scratch mark, hovering the torch above it to provide maximum light, Volkmar merely stands above him, his attention divided between studying the enigmatic mark and trying to discern some unfathomable presence.

OOC: Volkmar is using Second Sight and Magic Sensitivity to try and discern if their is any unseen presence or activity still occuring within the area of the camp, and to determine if there is more to the mark than meets the eye.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

So... Gorgamesh says to the other magi without looking to them.
We had a nice encounter with the fairy denizens of this forest, do you suspect they will interfere us from building the covenant ... he pauses and raise his eyes
...or maybe they came to size up our power and this redcap is a mere excuse he then take a sap from his cup of water and cough.
he then remmembers what the redcap said

She looks at you with big, frightened eyes. "You have to protect me! You have to... take care of this!"

wait...She told to take care of something...what ? Gorgamesh says to the others.

 

[Nzld]

"Indeed," Valeria adds, "I am most curious as to what business brings a redcap here. Teneo is not yet founded, so we are surely not already on House Mercere's normal circuits. This redcap's visit must be for something particular."

She fingers a mouthful of turkey brought to her by Rodolf, before continuing. "I shall take a look at her wounds, and utilize what magic is available to me to insure her swift recovery. I can, of course, perform rituals of healing, but I am hesistant to use precious vis unless her condition is truly grave." She bites on a piece of cheese. "Unless, of course, she has vis of her own," Valeria says, intending the statement as a question. "She is not Gifted, is she?"

"Still, what tribulation has this redcap brought upon us?" For a few moments, Valeria muses to herself as she enjoys another taste of turkey. "Perhaps we can seek recompense from House Mercere for our troubles?"

 

[Yair]

So... Gorgamesh says to the other magi without looking to them.
We had a nice encounter with the fairy denizens of this forest, do you suspect they will interfere us from building the covenant ... he pauses and raise his eyes
...or maybe they came to size up our power and this redcap is a mere excuse he then take a sap from his cup of water and cough.

"I wouldn't call our encounter 'nice'" replies Gasparius. "Dark and forboding, perhaps. Typical faerie, always playing with people's lives. Yes, I suspect they will interfere with the covenant. It is in their nature. I had thought I was out of their grasp, only to find myself in a new kind of game..." his hand mindlesslly goes to his missing ear. "The redcap was being punished for something, that much was clear. And that the stag relented indicates this something has something to do with us. A plea from an unconcerned party would never have been accepted.
What I can't understand is why it relented at all. It just doesn't make any sense. Yet antoher riddle. Gorgamesh, you examined the marks - did you manage to decipher them?"

 

[Yair]

OOC: Volkmar is using Second Sight and Magic Sensitivity to try and discern if their is any unseen presence or activity still occuring within the area of the camp, and to determine if there is more to the mark than meets the eye.

You cannot sense the telltale signs of magic, but that doesn't surprise you. By the description of the grog the beast seems aligned to Faerie, and you know your gifts do not allow you to sense their taint. You are able to sense the Magical aura of the covenant grounds, and how it fades away as the forest takes over.
The forest... there is a faint presence there, at the edge of your sight, but you can't focus on it. It is beyond, but you sense it permeating the forest, present in every leaf and every plant.

 

[Nzld]

As the magi continue their discussion, Old Magd completes her ministrations on the young redcap. After cleaning up, she grips her walking stick in her boney hands and begins to cross the short, though difficult, distance to the fire. As she nears, she is surprised to find the new arrival.

"Oh, my, my," she says, as she continues her approach, relying heavily upon the support of her walking stick. "Another pretty lass has come out of the woodwork." She chuckles to herself. "What strange bounty this forest bears. At this rate, I reckon all these young men won't endure many lonely nights." Old Magd begins to mumble for a moment, as though lost in some private reverie. "... oh, the pitter-patter of tiny feet..." she says, as her attention returns to the magi.

"I have done what can be done for the young lady... cleaned and dressed her wounds. Her wounds are dreadful, though not dire. There will be scarring, I fear." Once again, Magd mumbles to herself... "... and such a pretty girl..."

"She is sleeping peacefully, now."

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

"I wouldn't call our encounter 'nice'" replies Gasparius. "Dark and forboding, perhaps. Typical faerie, always playing with people's lives. Yes, I suspect they will interfere with the covenant. It is in their nature. I had thought I was out of their grasp, only to find myself in a new kind of game..." his hand mindlesslly goes to his missing ear. "The redcap was being punished for something, that much was clear. And that the stag relented indicates this something has something to do with us. A plea from an unconcerned party would never have been accepted.
What I can't understand is why it relented at all. It just doesn't make any sense. Yet antoher riddle. Gorgamesh, you examined the marks - did you manage to decipher them?"

I looked upon those carvings, As I told before Gasparius, my guess is that each line represent a day, seven days till the beast will come again to avenge
He drains the last drop of water down his throat and address the other magus
I suggest we build up our defences quickly, our interfere with the ritual may upset the fairy folk, better not to be cought with our robes down.

 

[MummyKitty]

Titus gets long winded again...

Lost in thought, Titus had silently listened to the campfire chit-chat as he ate his meal. His head was swimming, trying to unravel the mystery of the stag and the meaning behind the sudden appearance of another magus from Durenmar. As a journeyman he was not privy to the many deliberations about the formation of Teneo, but he was led to believe that the convent was to be weighted toward students of Fengheld as they had contributed the most resources to its founding...

Then there was the distraction of Lady Valeria. Of course, Titus found her comely, and had to restrain himself making his glances at her exposed ankles, her feminine hands and soft neck too obvious.

Finally, discussion turned to the details of their encounter with the stag which brought his thoughts back to the immediate needs of the convent. He waited patiently while others expressed their opinions, and finally took an opening to expound on the thoughts that had been racing through his mind.

"While I believe your conjecture is as good as any, Gorgamesh, and it could be seven days... it could just as well be seven moons, seven months, seven years before the stag returns. Maybe it requires seven sacrfices?" Titus stood and paced about close to the fire.

"I think we mustn't jump to any conclusions about the creature without some further investigation. There are several avenues we can pursue to get that information with little risk." He began holding up fingers for emphasis.

"First and foremost, as soon as she is fit, we should interrogate our redcap visitor and see what she knows. I'm not certain but I believe the stag was as surprised to see us as we were to see it. Second, when it is light, we should scout, in force, the nearby area-- including the village-- to get a lay of the land. Third, there may be information of legendary stags in our library, if it can be unpacked quickly we may find clues there. Finally, we have the stones here on the hilltop, they will speak if I ask. They must have witnessed much and while stones such as these have dull senses, they may at least tell us of recent passages, especially large beings with a strong spirit."

He sat back down and thrust a stick into the fire, holding one end. "The issue of our vis stores must be discussed.... certainly we must be careful and make wise use of these resources, however, vis is of no use to a dead mage. And, although I didn't ask for this posting, I intend to do my best to make this convent a success. Frankly, it's not the stag I am worried about-- it's what he represents."

With a gesture towards the dark treeline, he said, "I'm sure you've felt it, this forest is malign and dangerous. Taming these leagues of trees will be our greatest challenge."

He pulled the stick from the flames and held it up, its end lit like a small torch. "I believe the stag was most displeased when I mentioned fire to our woodsman. We must keep our bonfire bruning brightly until we have dealt with this problem."

Titus sighed and slumped slighly, realizing how tired he was. The prospects for a sound sleep tonight were not good.

 

[Yair]

"I have done what can be done for the young lady... cleaned and dressed her wounds. Her wounds are dreadful, though not dire. There will be scarring, I fear." Once again, Magd mumbles to herself... "... and such a pretty girl..."

"She is sleeping peacefully, now."

"Thank you, Old Magd" Gasparius smiles at her. "Please, have someone tell her us as soon as she awakens."

He looks at each magus in turn, contemplating. Strange. We meet as peers, without a covenant oath to bind us, yet we try to act as one. One without a head, one without order. Is this how human society usually functions, without structure, without knowing your place? It feels... Strange.