New Arrivals
Some time later, after the activity in camp has settled down and many of the servants have already began to retire for the night, Heinrich comes hurriedly back, holding his sheathed sword close to his body and running in the manner of an armored man trying to maintain some sense of silence. Seeking the masters, he first sees Gorgamesh and involuntarily flinches... hesitant to speak with that one. Then he sees Titus, and with a quick sigh of relief, he rushes over.
"Master Titus, strangers approach," he states in hushed tones, gesturing in the direction from which he came.
No sooner has he spoken these words than a dark shadow is seen entering the periphery of the campfire's light. A large, massive shadow of... a man? Yes, as the shadow nears - growing larger - it definitely begins to take on the outward shape of a man. But this is no ordinary man. As the figure approaches, it becomes evident that this is a man of massive proportions, standing heads above most men, and with breadth to match.
As the stranger enters the full illumination of the campfire, you can see he is cloaked. Even in the darkness it is easy to see that the material is of high quality. Beneath the cloak one glimpses a hint of chain armor. Beneath his hood, firelight reflects from another metallic surface. It can't possibly be a helm... who would wear a hood over a helm? The long shaft of a greatsword rises over his right shoulder.
The figure stops a respectful distance from the magi. He holds his hands outward, palms up, and slighty bows in a display of deference.
In very good Latin, he speaks.
"I am Volkmar, custos of Durenmar." Recovering from his bowed state, he gestures slighty behind him.
"I am charged to deliver unto Teneo the maga Valeria Libidia of House Verditius."
From behind the giant of a man another figure - more lithe and graceful - emerges from the darkness. The glow of firelight easily illuminates her beautiful face, which is starkly offset agaist her dark, flowing hair. She, too, is wearing a cloak of exquisite quality, though she has lifted back her hood. One must assume that beneath that cloak she wears robes of equal, if not greater, quality.
She approaches next to Volkmar, who towers over her, and lightly touches his arm as she passes in front of him. In deference, he bows slightly and steps back and away.
Valeria looks over the magi before her; a curious grin upon her face. She gives Titus but a cursory glance... her eyes look upon Gorgamesh with a flicker of recognition, but quickly move on... upon Gasparius, her eyes lock. Her smile changes to one of delightful amusement.
She doesn't take her eyes off of Gasparius as she speaks.
"Sodales," she says in a charming, though whimsical, voice,
"I bid you good tidings." She holds up her hand, in which is grasped a piece of rolled parchment. A seal bearing the mark of Durenmar is clearly visible.
She looks Gasparius up and down before she continues... almost absent-mindedly.
"It is the wish of the council of Durenmar that I join you in the establishment of the covenant of Teneo. Furthermore," she says,
"it is the will of the council that Volkmar remain at Teneo as advisor and servant." She finally lifts her eyes from Gasparius, though by this time her desires are clear.
**********
Gorgamesh, of course, recognizes Valeria. Like he, she just recently completed her Gauntlet. Though he has had little interaction with her, Valeria's reputation around Durenmar is well known. "The Whore of Durenmar" they call her. Judging by the way she is eyeing Gasparius, her reputation is well deserved. Still, he has heard that she is quite accomplished in the area of Hermetic theory, and her interests in Corpus and Mentem supposedly mimic his own.
Volkmar, too, he recognizes... and now knows that the metal glimpsed beneath the hood is indeed not a helm, but, in fact, a silver mask, beneath which is hidden flesh rumored to be burned beyond mortal endurance. Yes, he recalls that Vokmar was quite the subject off interest a few years back. Though always an excellent and faithful servant - a rising star, in fact... destined, perhaps, to one day command the turb of Durenmar - he suffered severe burns upon his entire body, reputedly at the whim of some infernal entity or another. This, of itself, was of little concern. It was remarkable that he had survived the attack, but more remarkable yet was that it was determined that the burns could not be healed with the current knowledge of Hermetic magic. This raised quite a stir amongst the Bonisagus magi, who held numerous debates regarding the fundamentals of essential nature. Still, like Gorgamesh, he bears a flesh burden which few - mundane and magus alike - can understand. Curious, however, that he goes to such lengths to hide his deformities.
Even more curious is that no one at Durenmar mentioned to Gorgamesh that another magus was being sent to Teneo.
