Theandric: Journeyman

[Nzld]

Valeria

Valeria concurs with Titus. "Yes, perhaps this redcap will hold all the answers we seek. At any rate, there is little to be done for it tonight. We should rest, and allow her to rest, and pursue the matter most diligently come morning."

"Tomorrow, I dare say, shall be a busy day for us all. We must, as you say, Titus, know more of the areas that surround us. Certainly Volkmar can organize such an expedition. And we must begin to establish more comfortable shelter for our persons and our labs. Our first priority must be to build a suitable shelter, if only temporary, for our books and scrolls. We must also make an accounting of our vis stocks, as well as the mundane resources at our disposal. But more importantly, we must consider the expediency of raising the Aegis of the Hearth."


OOC: Valeria is aware that casting the Aegis ritual on or after the Winter Solstice would provide the greatest return on investment for the vis expenditure, but the situation may demand an alternative casting. Yair, how long until the Winter Solstice, or has it already come and gone?

 

[MummyKitty]

"Well spoken, Lady Valeria. Gorgamesh has mentioned other wards that could protect us as well." He glanced at the hunchback but his face was hidden in the shadow of his cloak.

"I trust the grogs have made what arrangements are possible for our accomodation by now, so perhaps we should retire soon to get what rest we can." Titus stifled a yawn. "Let us unite and use our knowledge and abilities to bring light to this dark land, and raise Teneo to its rightful prominence in the order. By the Oath of Hermes we must not molest the faeries, but we are also allowed to defend ourselves against those that would harm us." He paused to measure any agreement or nodding of assent.

"Are there any other topics we should address before we retire for the night? Gasparius? Gorgamesh?"

 

[Nzld]

Valeria retires for the night...

Valeria stands and archs her back to stretch her muscles. The provacative nature of her movements is lost on no one. With a feigned yawn, she turns to address her fellow magi.

"Sodales, the day has been long and tiring. I will welcome sweet Morpheus' embrace. Until morning, I bid thee adieu." She looks toward the spot where she had left Volkmar standing, and seems surprised to not find him there, as though oblivious to his movements this whole time. Quickly glancing around the campsite, she catches site of him amongst the grogs. "Volkmar, attend me!" she commands.

She gathers her cloak about her and turns away from the magi as she begins to walk toward the assemblage of wasted buildings. As she moves away, she can be heard to say to herself, "Now where shall I sleep tonight?" It is clear her attention is on the covenfolk, however, and not on the accomodations.

**********​

Valeria finds an appropriate building with which to pass the night. Moments later, Volkmar disappears into the building behind her. After some time, he returns, whereupon he orders a grog to fetch more blankets from the wagons. After insuring Valeria's comfort, he returns to the warrior grogs to reevaluate the watch schedule. Eventually, he assumes a guard position near the standing stones, central to the buildings in which the magi choose to rest. When they awake in the morning, they will find him there still. It is unclear whether he slept at all.

It is more unclear whether anyone other than Volkmar is aware of the visit young Heinrich pays to Valeria's bed later in the night.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

I bid you good night says Gorgamesh and struggles to stand, he grasp his walking stick and gets up. his feet and entire body will remember the difficult climbing to the cliff for at least a week. now where did I put my special goose feathered filled pillow he tries to remember. he bids one of the grogs to search it for him.
he limps to find a spot to sleep, cleans himself and massage his feet to ease the pain.

Ohh.... the days that I ran in the fields and was well in the covenant when I was a child. He remembers, there were times his body was fine, although his face was deformed and ugly, the sickness captured his body only when he was a teenager, his body twisted like a Roman spaghetti and he got this limp and hunchback.
he cover himself with the gray blanket the grog gave him and gives his body the rest he needs.

 

[Yair]

The next morning, as soon as the redcap awakens she gets out of bed (ignoring Old Magd's protests), and arranges to meet you all. By mid morning, you have assembled in council once more.

"Sodales, I first want to thank you for rescuing me last night. I was... well, thank you." shae takes a long pause, and seems fairly embarrassed.
"I was requested to deliver certain tidings to you upon your first council as a new covenant. It seems I have missed your first council, yet I've been told you took no binding oath as covenant so perhaps I am not late. At any case, I think this is a good occasion to present you with these messeges."

She reaches out to her satchel, and produces two large writs. The first is a letter from Fengheld congradulating you on founding this new covenant, proclaiming the support of Fengheld to its establishment, and cautioning you to tread carefully and not upset the powers that control the land, both in mundane and magical matters. It also informs you that Instantus of Tremere, fillius of Stentorius (leader of Fengheld) intends to pay you a visit in three months; the letter (Stentonius himself) urges you to make sure his accomodations as a pregeneritores will be acceptable.

The second letter is more formal. It is sent by Henri, leader of Ocularum and the Apple Gild. It congradulates you on the interest you show in Pomerania, and urges you to seek the council of Ocularum before making any mistakes. It specifically warns you that the pagans in Pomerania are numerous, and that you should not be tempted to support them in return for promises of magical powers for "these are but the temptations of Avarice, that will lead you away from God righteousness". The letter hints that the Knights of the Sword might show interest in any defensible fortification and any pagan revival, and warns you to stay well away from their holy path. It ends by reminding you that Ocularum owns several raw vis sources throughout Pomerania, and that you must take care not to impinge on its rights.

Deitrich, the Redcap, adds that she is in charge of delivering messeges to Teneo as part of her route, but that she will be doing no such thing until you can convince her that it is safe. "No redcap will visit you if you can't maintain safe acess to the covenant. Correspondance can be left at Ocularum or elsewhere, if you wish, until such time as we are made to feel safe."

 

[Nzld]

Valeria chastises Deitrich...

Valeria is incensed by the Redcap's bold statement, but she presents a calm composure... at least for the time being.

"We, of course, thank you for delivering these messages, but I fail to see their urgency with regard to whether we have taken our oath of covenant... unless there is more yet unspoken."

Valeria pauses momentarily while she contemplates her next statement.

"Of more immediate concern to us is the danger you allude to, and thus, the exact details of what transpired last night. How came you upon this Faerie beast? And how did you earn its ire? You have the audacity to announce you will not fulfill your duties and deliver messages to Teneo unless safe access can be assured, yet the only danger we are aware of may very well be one that you have brought upon us yourself."

Valeria eyes the Redcap coldly.

"Deitrich, I warn you... just as the Code recognizes you as a full magus of the Order, with all the rights and protections such recognition entitles - despite your lack of the Gift - so too are you subject to all of its laws and punishments. If we find that the danger that has befallen Teneo is in any way attributable to actions on your part that might be construed as molestation of the fey, we will surely seek the maximum possible recompense at Tribunal!"

Valeria returns to a more gentile demeanor.

"It amuses me that you speak so of safety. Here we stand upon the ground that will be Teneo, with a well-travelled road at our doorstep, local villages not a day's journey away, and important cities just beyond the horizon. Surely there is no more danger here than at Durenmar, in the very depths of the Black Forest itself. Surely the streets of Lubeck, in which resides Ocularum, requires more caution, lest one fall victim to cutpurses and murderers. Surely the fey near Irencillia pose a more dire threat than this stag. Shall House Mercere stop visiting these covenants as well. Shall the social structure of the Order collapse because a mere Redcap was attacked by a deer?"

With feigned sympathy, Valeria soothes Deitrich, "You poor girl, I can understand your fear, as you have suffered horribly at the whim of this stag. Perhaps, if you no longer have the resolve to perform your assigned duties, you might petition for a place at your Domus Magnus, and cloister yourself behind the safety of its walls."

 

[MummyKitty]

Titus's Speech

"Ladies..." Titus begins, but clears his throat to start again... "Sodales... please, let us remember our oath. We must all work together to support and protect one another. You both bring up some excellent points, which should definitely be addressed."

Gesturing to the recap, Titus says: "Lady Deitrich, as your wounds attest, the creature that attacked you was no mere deer, no, it was clearly a figure of faerie might, an enormous black stag and most unnatural. It is a creature to fear, especially as a lone messenger. Your bravery is to be commended."

Now, looking toward Valeria: "And your caution is well founded, Lady Valeria. A healthy dose of paranoia can be of use in situations such as this. However, since the Lady Deitrich carried messages for us, which were evidently despatched shortly after our departure, I for one am convinced that she was merely an innocent victim who got caught by chance in the fell creature's fury."

Gesturing to include the assembled magus, Titus continues. "It is absolutely essential that we recite the oath to found this convenant of Teneo, for it cannot truly be founded until then. We were remiss in taking this long to do so, although given our circumstances last night, I believe there is no harm in the delay, and we can perform the ceremony presently, with Lady Deitrich as our witness."

Titus extracts a letter from tucked within his shirt. "We were fortunate indeed that Lady Deitrich was able to deliver the two messages she has just delivered to us, as well as this one," Titus holds the letter aloft and continues, "...a personal letter to me from our master Stentorius. By following the sage advice contained herein, and by putting our assembled minds to it, I believe we can settle on a wise course for the future of Teneo."

"I shan't read the entire text to you, but merely relay the key points that may be most of interest. In this letter, master Stentorius describes the Teneo of old, a Teneo of mighty magic. Would you believe that these stones," he points to the small, rounded boulders thrusting from the grass, "... were once mighty pillars of power, encompassing a source of magic that served as a beacon to magus for miles around? 'Tis true, and thus the concern for this place. Yes, the magic is fading. Perhaps your parens have told you tales of old when vim and vis were not things to be hoarded with concern that they cannot be replenished. The decline is happening everywhere, and we have been sent here, to Teneo to study this phenonmemon. At worst to witness it in detail and make a record; at best, to find a way to reverse this process."

Titus pauses and looks at the assembly and at the stones, hardly believing himself what he has read in Stentorius's letter. "Now, to the two writs that Lady Deitrich brought us. In the first, we are warned to use caution in dealing with the local mundane population and against molesting the faeries. In the second, we are warned by our jealous neighbors not to overstep our bounds. As an independent covenant, we must we very wary of the machinations of our surroundings. Solades," he nods and again gestures to the standing stones, "it appears we are between a rock, and a hard place."

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gorgamesh

Not paying attention to the argue between Valeria and Deitrich and the negotiator Titus.
Gorgamesh focus his mind on the letters.
fellow magi he says and cough.
If we want that fillius of Stentorius, Instantus of Tremere shall pay a worthy visit at our place we must take care for the safety around our covenant, our safety and the safety of others are above all. we shall leave the fate of our relationship in the hands of the powers that control the land, in this I mean that we shall do nothing to upset the fairy or the mundane and keep a low profile for now.
he raise his head and eyes the other magus.
But.. we must keep this holy magical place safe....at any cost
he refers to the comment Titus said regarding the letter he read from his master.
about the letter from Henri, leader of Ocularum , we must discuss it either, what is our political attitude to our neighbors?

 

[Nzld]

Valeria continues to consider the Redcap a moment, then redirects her attention to Titus and Gorgamesh, acknowledging the importance of their words.

"Might I suggest, for expedience sake, a simple oath, binding us as equals to this covenant, with one vote each on all matters, with the stipulation that the oath shall only stand for one year, let us say till the next Winter Solstice, where upon we shall take a new oath, one with rights, priviledges, and responsibilities backed by a full charter. Shall we further say that all decisions of importance to the covenant, including the provisions of said charter, shall require a three-fourths majority vote with all resident magi, or their chosen proxy, in attendance."

Valeria pauses momentarily to allow the others to contemplate her words. As an afterthought, she adds:

"As to Henri of Ocularum's bold letter, I shall have our scribe Gottfried pen a response advising him that Teneo appreciates any council Ocularum chooses to bestow, and we hope that our two covenants shall always enjoy amiable relations. Further, we shall ask that Ocularum apprise us specifically as to the nature and location of each vis source they claim, lest we, in our ignorance, inadvertently infringe upon their rights."

"As to our political attitude toward our neighbors," she says, looking to Gorgamesh, "such discussions should come only after we have bound ourselves together in oath, and," this time she gives a sideways glance towards the Dietrich, "should be discussed in the privacy of council. At any rate, we must understand our situation fully before long term diplomacy can progress."

"However, we should also have Gottfried pen letters of introduction to our neighbors and any other covenants to whom we wish to establish a dialogue."

 

[Yair]

The redcap is at first infuriated by Valeria's words, but as Titus and Gorgamesh weigh in she calms down and lets go of the subject, though she still occasionally throws Valeria a menacing glare.
Gasparius listens to the procedings, paying special attention to Titus's words. He makes no comment, however, until Valeria's reply.
"I am no expert in Hermetic politics. I'm only glad so many covenants seem to counsel us - Ocularum, and of course Fenghled. So many who wish to aid us, so powerful." You can't quite make out if he is being sarcastic.
"At any rate, I agree with Gorgamesh that the fey threat must be dealt with with haste; we must ensure our protection and safety. Titus, my knowledge of Hermetic law is ... lacking. Will such an ad hoc oath" he nods towards Vleria "suffice? I can think of one problem, surely - without a leader, how shall we decide on a deadlock vote?"

OOC: I figure Gasparius will stick to the leader-led structure he knows, and to the nearest familiar "authority figure" - Titus.
I do love reading your dialogues.