101 "Presentation"

Synopsis: A group of children are brought deep into the Alps where they are presented to a band of wizards for apprenticeship. But the "wizards" are rogue magicians who are trying to steal the children, who must first realize their own danger then somehow escape.

For a few years now, a Redcap named Arnulf has been working with mundane merchants throughout Europe to gather Gifted children who might be brought to the Alps and presented to magi for apprenticeship. But a band of rogue magi have learned of the plan and have moved to intercept the children, stealing them for themselves. Impersonating a Redcap, they meet with Arnulf and his guards escorting the children, then lead the children away and murder Arnulf.

The Gifted children first need to realize their own danger. Then, they need to find a way to escape or signal the real Redcaps and magi, who are searching the mountains for them. The outlaw band might be turned against itself, some of them might be sympathetic to the children's plight, or there might be a way to draw attention to the outlaw camp.

Scenes

Escorted through the Mountain Passes

Arnulf and his two burly Grogs lead the children through the pass. Everyone got a good breakfast at a town at the base of the pass; the biggest children (Rene, Tomas) are helping the smallest (especially Eva, but all the other PCs are Size -2). Arnulf keeps a jovial tone to keep up morale, and is conscientious and kind, though eager to keep the group moving as they have a long way to go in one day. We see all the children, and each child is doing something that tells us something about him or her.

• • Garcette, who is blonde at the moment, is struggling through the snow with her Str -4 and Sta -3. One of Arnulf's companions tries to help her up, but she is resentful and struggles against him.

  • Marie stays near Rene, following behind him, occasionally taking his hand and praying.

  • Ilsa can't talk to the other PCs except for Eva; she seems to pick Tomas as a potential friend, because he is pretty strong for a child and, like her, he speaks Latin.

  • Kallisto is invisible to everyone except Akakios himself, floating alongside him with a hand on his back. She knows Greek and only a few words of Latin, so cannot really help with the translation in this episode.

  • Cassandra follows the group from afar, watching Gustov, and has already spotted Gero, who is burrowing through the stone.

Meet the Redcap

Arnulf's assistant spots the Redcap as night is falling, and we see the group outlined on a mountain ridge: The Redcap is tall, broad shouldered, with a full dark beard and carrying a staff. He wears a soft red cap with a golden pin in it but seems vaguely untrustworthy, as do most of the new arrivals. He is accompanied by a beautiful dark-haired woman who seems friendlier than the others (Gentle Gift). They are guided through the snow by an enormous dark-haired man wearing a wolf skin over scale armor and carrying a longaxe. A strangely frightening raven circles the group and flies overhead. And, finally, a young man goes with them; notably, his clothing is light, though it includes metal-reinforced leather armor, and he wears it open, as if untouched by the cold. He has a short sword at his side. The group has a pack mule for supplies.

As the pass grows dark, the two groups meet beneath an overhanging stone and a fire is quickly started. The Redcap is pleasantly surprised by any child who speaks Latin (Breandan and Tomas). Everyone is sociable, but the newcomers seem up to no good, except for the dark haired woman, who adopts a protective attitude towards the children and tries to talk to them in Italian and German. There is some brief haggling between the Redcap and Arnulf, in Latin, before the bearded man happily agrees to Arnulf's price and asks that the money chest be brought forward.

The woman and the young man begin leading the children away from the area. To keep the children distracted, Hermia appears from raven form and introduces herself. She, Gideon and Caterina extend their Parma over the children so as to eliminate the negative effects of the Gift, beginning with children who speak Latin, then the others through translation or, eventually, pantomime.

• • Kallisto insists she still does not trust these people. They do seem to be Hermetic magi, but she thinks they are lying about something.

After the group is out of sight, Magni uses Pit of the Gaping Earth (with quiet speech and subtle gestures) to catch Arnulf and his men, then Grigori uses Infernal Smoke of Death to turn the smoke from the fire into a corrosive which sinks into the pit and consumes everyone within. His two-headed dog familiar, Cerberus, pads up out of the darkness.

When Magni and Grigori return with Cerberus, the rest of the children are also protected by Parma. Cerberus snarls at the children. It is likely that, at this point, at least some of the PCs will know something is seriously wrong. Akakios or Kallisto will suspect the dog is corrupted by the Devil. Kallisto (who can leave Akakios' side for half an hour each day) or Cassandra may have seen Arnulf and his men be murdered. Gero has certainly seen it, since he is following out of sight. But he does not think he can risk exposing himself to Eva unless it is life or death.

Having been welcomed, and with most of the children believing their escorts are magi of the Order, the group heads slowly off through the snow.

Something's Not Right

Grigori removes his red cap and, after pinning the brooch under his robes, replaces the cap in his pack. The various outlaws eye the children and try to claim their favorites.

• • Gideon picks Beatrice, the prettiest girl close to his age. She is unsure how to respond to his interest; he is relatively handsome, but she doesn't really speak Latin (having only learned some songs in church) and cannot communicate with him. She senses his interest is sexual, however, and is eager for a way out of that.

  • Magni is interested Rene, the biggest and the strongest. Again, communication is a problem, but he tries to get Rene to walk with him, eyeing his strength and stamina.

  • Hermia will wait to take the one no one else wants, perhaps picking a child who has been quiet and isolated (Akakios), or who has a talent for animals (Gustov).

  • Grigori keenly picks out the two which will have the highest natural intelligence: Akakios and Garcette. His interest in Garcette does not appear to be entirely academic.

  • Caterina wants a girl she can groom as her daughter and heir: this also leads her to want Garcette.

There is some bickering as Grigori refuses Gideon's claim of Beatrice, insisting he needs a young apprentice since it will be years before he will be ready to train someone of his own. He suggests Gustov, but this angers Hermia, who picked Gustov because no one else wanted him. She yields, however, picking one of the unclaimed PCs, Tomas or Breandan. Caterina and Grigori quarrel over an Garcette, with Grigori's lusts becoming more noticeable. This causes Caterina and Hermia to become suspicious, for different reasons: Hermia would spare the girl, if she could, while Caterina is jealous of a future rival. Only Magni seems to stay out of it all, pausing only when he finds a good spot to camp: an empty cave.

Attempts to Escape

Everyone piles into the cave and prepares to camp for the night. A fire is made near the entrance; Grigori makes a circle around the fire and works spontaneous Rego Imaginem magic to imprison its light within the circle. He instructs the Latin-speaking children (Tomas and Breandan) that the circle must not be tampered with and he assigns Magni, Gideon and Hermia to guard duty while he retires to the back of the cave with Caterina.

While they are back there having sex, Hermia and Gideon decide to get some sleep, presuming Magni will wake them up for a second watch eventually. Cerberus remains on guard duty, watching the children closely. Occasionally hounds are heard, and Magni is on alert. Cerberus whines in fear.

This is the open time, when the PCs can figure out how to get away, send a signal, or otherwise be rescued.

• • Break the Circle: The most obvious way is to somehow break the circle controlling the fire, but this must be done in such a way that the outlaws do not perceive it, because it will require time for the firelight to be seen.

  • Companion NPCs: If a child has a faerie friend, a ghost companion, or anything of that sort, such an NPC might be used to find help and deliver directions. The children may need to make a distraction so the companion can get away.

  • Foment Rebellion: A PC might be able to get the outlaws squabbling with one another, or even willing to betray each other. This probably requires a PC to have a language the NPC knows, like Latin or Italian, but it might be possible to do this with body language, especially if the PC is overly affectionate. Gideon might be prompted to leave the group if he got the eldest non-ugly girl to go with him. Hermia is unlikely to betray anyone; she just doesn't care that much about the kids. But that also means she is least likely to pursue them and more likely to try to persuade Gideon that the plan cannot succeed. Magni will only get aggressive if his choice of apprentice -- the strongest boy -- is also claimed by Grigori. A smart PC might try to arrange this, and such a confrontation might force Grigori to smack Magni down in front of everyone, to establish his mastery.

  • Just Sneak Away: Children are small and hiding is easier for them. While they are being watched, the most vigilant guard is actually Cerberus. To increase their chances of getting away, they must somehow account for the two-headed dog. One head will be sleeping while the other keeps its eyes open. The children might try to drug it, poison it, or lure it away from the camp, perhaps towards Grigori. Cerberus is frightened of the Faerie Hounds it can hear in the mountain passes, so a child who can duplicate this noise will frighten the dog off -- this could be done easily with magic, but without it, is probably Guile or an act of Turbulence.

Turbulence

Turbulence effects make good distractions, but they will not harm any of the Black Magi or Cerberus, all of whom have magic resistance. Turbulence can affect children who do not have Parma. See page 23 of Apprentices for more.

• • Botches on magical activities cause Turbulence. Since the children cannot work magic, they would have to botch a supernatural ability to risk this.

  • Spend Confidence: Otherwise, characters must spend a point of Confidence to try and initiate Turbulence. The PC rolls a stress die + Int. The GM rolls a stress die. The PC must beat both the GM's roll and the PC age for Turbulence to occur.

  • Control It: Turbulent Prone characters always have bad Turbulence. Otherwise, the PC rolls a stress die + Sta and must beat the GM's stress die, to control it. Take the difference between the two rolls; that is the magnitude of the effect, controlled or uncontrolled.

Saved!

Perhaps the fire is spotted, or the companion NPC finds help, or the PCs are trying to get away and are spotted. At a moment of tension, the sound of Faerie Hounds can be heard. Everyone mostly panics. Grigori realizes what the children have done. Magni grabs his axe and looks to Grigori for instructions; Gideon readies his sword and grabs Beatrice by the arm. Caterina chastises Grigori for his failure and uses Clouds of Rain and Thunder to cover their escape. Grigori conjures a Wizard's Steed. Hermia turns into a raven and flies away.

There is a round for the children to take actions; someone may want to rescue Beatrice. Then Kentigern appears on the horizon with his pack. He is riding a horse through the air, surrounded by a furiously barking pack of Faerie Hounds. Caterina climbs atop Grigori's horse. Grigori casts Veil of Invisibility on Gideon and tells he and Magni to flee into the wild, they shall meet "at the old temple!" Magni takes off in a long loping stride in one direction, Gideon in another, his footprints barely visible in the snow and the storm. Grigori and Caterina ride off in a third direction.

Kentigern and his hounds arrive and the children are saved.

The Liberalia

The next scene is at the covenant of Tarragon Vale. It is a three story tall, long stone building with a ring of rooms on the top floor, but otherwise empty space. There is much feasting and revelry, and everyone is catching up with old friends they have not seen all winter. The children are welcomed with plenty of food and warmth.

• • Kentigern and Athena are approached by a group of magi who debate with them in Latin. These are descendants of the magi of Tarragon Vale pressing their case to inherit.

  • The letters concerning all the apprentices are collected and the magi begin to pore over them.

  • It has been a long day for the children. They are put to bed after supper and the magi begin debating their claims.

Presentation and Selection

The next morning as the children awaken and prepare to leave, they are each named and given to one of the magi present:

• • Garcette is given to Athena Alpina, follower of Guernicus.

  • Rene de la Croix is given to Hugh of Flambeau.

  • Gustov is given to Kentigern Ex Miscellanea.

  • Eva is given to Balbina, follower of Verditius.

  • Breandan is given to Diana filia Telemachus, follower of Tremere.

  • And, finally, Tomas and Akakios are both given to Sabastien filius Luise, follower of Tytalus.

Before they go their own ways, Athena relates that, for his service to the Order, Arnulf is granted a longevity potion and a comfortable pension. Since he has perished, this reward shall be held in trust for a rightful heir.