1082

YEAR 1082

Scribed by Petrus

Spring 1082AD

I will continueto write the Vim books, Ruaridh will develop another spell, Jean will travelto the covenants of Blackthorn, Scarfell, Borri-Tor, and Solis Castle andIdris will study from some Herbam vis. Idris intends to exchange Corporemfor Herbam vis with Scarfell, partially for his studies but it will also bea gesture of goodwill. Our scribe will copy up the Legend Lore books.

There is a faminein the region, caused no doubt by a combination of the Kings army and thebitter Winter. We have had to expend an extra 60d to purchase food, whichhas hammered out fiscal resources. We have urgently requested Oscytel to findsome covenfolk who can sucessfully tend the gardens.

We have had adisturbing sighting of Radulfus. He has raized the village of Lydney and slaughteredall of the people therein. Idris, Ruaridh and many of the grogs went to investigateand saw what remained of the carnage. Idris scouted close to the village whilethe diabolic magus was still wrecking bloodshed. He witnessed, through hisgifted sight, the spirit of some devil within the magus and observed him throwingfire and making mayhem. Ruaridh attempted to rescue a child trapped in oneof the burning homes, but was forced to leave as the house collapsed aroundhim - the child dying also. For fear that the local nobles will think thatit was our doing, we had some of the men shoot welsh arrows into the bodiesand cut some of the bodies with swords to make it appear as if there had beena bandit raid. The truth however continues to haunt us. We are not yet powerfulenough to confront Radulfus - but we have sent word of his presence in thehope that others will assist us.

Jean's visit tothe other covenants has been sucessful. He decided however not to visit SolisCastle lest they demand the Herbam vis from him as payment - which, althoughsuch an act would be lawfully questionable, was probably wise. It appearsthat we are the first covenant to have responded to Scarfell's plea, whichshould help us foster good relations with this other spring covenant. Jeandescribes Borri-Tor as immensly impressive and a worthy model for the developmentof our covenant. It appears that the Tremere there, Pontus, is concerned thatDarius' politiking will destable the tribunal. Jean was aided on the roadby a herb woman who healed him, she asked him to carry a message to her sisterwho lives nearby. He has also brought back a new grog, Gyrth, who had ledJean and his grogs to the healer. However, Gyrth is a shapechanger - a lycanthrope- and as such cannot be allowed to remain inside the covenant.

Pierre has sucessfullycopied the Legend lore texts without causing them to be lost like the faerielore books that Jean destroyed. With any luck our library will grow so thatwe are able to safely study the mundane texts without such destroying theknowledge therein.

Summer

I shall studythe Rego books and prepare for my long journey to Durenmar next season. Ruaridhshall study some of the Imagonem vis, and Jean will study the new Vim books.Idris will perform his covenant service by investigating the Faerie regioand searching for the Auram vis. Ruaridh has offered to spend his first tendays accompanying Idris to examine the deeper regio. Pierre the scribe shallfinish copying up the Legend lore books and begin on the Humanities texts.

Idris and Ruaridhhad been away for nearly half of the season. Jean and I were outside preparingthe mid-summer feast when the faerie that Jean met in the deeper regio appearedby our stockade. She easily breached the Aegis and urgently warned us thatIdris and Ruaridh were about to bring some great harm to the fae, and thatthey were in great danger. Jean gathered a few men and entered the forest.It appears that Idris and Ruaridh had visited the Cave of Snakes and successfullyrecovered some Perdo vis. On their way out however, Idris heard a voice callingthem, warning them that the way Eanfled (our faerie fox) was taking wouldget them lost. They made the unfortunate decision to trust these strange voicesand follow them. They were led to a deeper glade (a deeper regio still?) wherethey found a standing stone with strange designs upon a small hillock. Idrisrecognised some of the designs to be of the 'Morrigan' a dark pagan goddessof death. They were accosted by a dark fae, whose black billowing robe hadmany of the small bright fae ensnared. She appeared angry at their presenceand demanded that they deal with her in order to leave. She insisted thatIdris carry a 'present' to 'Nynniaw' (apparently the fae lord of the forest).Perhaps using magics she convinced Idris to take the present; a small 'Y'shaped black twig.

Although theyhad spent only a short time in the glade, nearly half a season had passedbefore they came out. It was mid-summer's night and the night that Nynniawcame to collect offerings from the fae folk. Eanfled couldn't tell them whereNynniaw would appear, but knew of a strange stone faerie who crafts artifactsfrom the very rock. Idris and Ruaridh accompanied this fae to a hollow gladewherein they saw a great oak tree in the centre. After some time many otherfaerie folk began to appear; the tree-men or 'Bwbachod' and the bright faeries.The large faerie also arrived and requested that they show her (?) what theyhad brought for Nynniaw. Upon revealing the gift she shrunk back in horrorand fled the glade [leaving the regio to fetch us].

However, the magic that this darkfae had cast upon Idris's mind made him determined to press on with the giving.Ruaridh waited until it was obvious that Idris would not turn back and leftthe glade. Nynniaw appeared, the tree transforming (?) to create a gatewaythrough which Nynniaw came. Each of the faerie folk gave him a gift of silvery'Y' shaped twigs, except for the stone fae, who gave him a sword he had manufactured.

Jean caught up with Idris in theglade and sent Eanfled to find him a gift to give to Nynniaw. Eanfled returnedwith a twiglet of silver birch which Jean gave away on his behalf. Then Idrishanded the fae the dark gift. It appears that the gift was some kind of trap,as Nynniaw's presence changed from light to darkness. It appears that thisdark fae had been trying to ensnare him for a long time (which for fae couldbe forever) and had succeeded. Fortunately, Jean had not given a gift, soEanfled raced off to find another twig of silver birch. The faerie fox waslucky to find another, and Jean delivered the gift to Nynniaw before the lordfae disappeared. The second twig appeared to reverse the charm, and Nynniawwas returned to his former being. The magi then returned to the covenant safely.Later Idris was successful in discovering one of the faerie birds whose tailcontained ten pawns of Auram.

With so much of the season wasted,Ruaridh opted to take the message to the Healer's sister and collect the Ignemvis. He returned not only with the vis but also the sister, another healercalled Cyneswith. It appears that he found her being charged with witchcraftand driven from her home. We noted that it was an odd coincidence that Ruaridhshould arrive just in time to save her; particularly as Cyneswith was alreadyaware of where her sister lived (which was the message). It appears that Cyneswithis a skilled healer in her own right, and we have made her welcome here atthe covenant.

Now I shall pass this chronicleover to Jean as I am leaving on the morrow for Blackthorn and then on to Durenmar.I take with me 25d for expenditure (although I hope that by travelling withmy Pater I shall not have to spend much). I cannot help but feel that I haveforgotten something, a natural enough feeling before such a long voyage Isuppose, but I can't help feeling that it's important.

Scribed byJean

Autumn

On the whole it seems that outfirst season with Petrus away has been a good one. Ruaridh and Idris bothspent their time extracting vis from the aura, the former as a covenant serviceand the latter for his personal use. I was granted three pawns of Ignem visto study and I believe I have learnt much.

Sylvester chose this period tovisit us with news of the mine, and indeed we took the opportunity to seefor ourselves how it was going. Apart from a hole in the ground and the peasantsworking away there was little to see, but both the forman and Sylvester seemvery happy with progress and it seems as if we shall start earning withinthe schedule set. It is as well because after paying Sylvester what we owedhim, our treasury seems somewhat depleted. Over dinner, Sylvester indicatedthat he was aware that we were more than we had revealed. It came as no realsurprise for he seems an intelligent man and the only shock was that he namedus alchemists rather than Magi. I must confess that I was tempted to correcthim but in the end I decided that it would be best to bide my time. Needlessto say, he was immediately looking for commercial value from his discovery(though I must say the idea of spending months turning lead to gold most certainlydoes not appeal), but was I mistaken when I thought I saw a great personalinterest in longevity potions?

All seems well with the grogs.Oscytel is, I feel sure, happy with his new position as captain, and I believefinally beginning to delegate. I must ensure that he is made castellan soon,and that he is aware of my aid. Two of the grogs were involved in a fracaswith Pierre, apparently over the woman Cyneswith. Needless to say, they werepunished as a warning to the others, but perhaps an eye should be kept onPierre. His work is very good, but the abbot was never that specific aboutwhy he did not fit in at the monastery. I hope that he is not a source oftrouble. I look forward to winter and the New Year even more than twelve monthsago.

Winter

Disaster! It is all I can do tokeep my hand steady as I think of the past three months, particularly givenmy weakened state. I still find it hard to believe that we could have beenso stupid. By 'we' I mean Petrus, Ruaridh and myself, for while Idris seemsto be of very little use to the covenant (Petrus' assessment of his intellectseems ever more accurate), shares no blame for our mistake. How could he knowthat the only one of us able to cast Aegis of the Hearth is Petrus? Petruswho is across the sea with the other of his House.

What could we do? It was givento me to spend the season inventing my own version of the spell to protectthe covenant in his absence, a matter which began promisingly but was laterto collapse. Idris would continue his Latin studies, and Ruaridh his magicalresearch. We would spend the rest of the season in hope, and bring the grogsinside on mid-winter's night. Idris spent some time performing pagan riteswhich he claimed would protect the covenant, hanging horseshoes and hollyaround the buildings to ward off the fae.

I have written that my effortscollapsed. The plague visited our covenant and I was one of those struck down.Even now I am not fully recovered and it seems that I was once very near death.For a great while I was in a fever and thus those events that I write of noware told as I have picked them up over the past few days.

As well a myself, several of thegrogs and Cyneswith were struck down. All of them were tended in the infirmaryas only one man with any knowledge of disease was able to stand. It seemsfor a great period of time Ruaridh worked tirelessly, casting holding spellson us all to halt the spread of the disease. Even this would have not beenenough had not one of the grogs, Cadog, ridden into the mountains during theheight of the winter cold to fetch Cyneswith's sister. Her powers were ableto bring those who were ill back to health.

During the time when I was stillunconscious, the fae hag who had attempted to take over the faerie regio throughIdris decided to seek revenge for my part in foiling her plans. I have heardlittle detail of the night when she came, but what I do know is enough tofill me with dread at the thought of having no Aegis for at least anotherseason. She came through Idris' petty defences with barely a pause and ledour grogs a merry chase. On reaching me, she accelerated the spread of infectionwith her magic. Her depature was as easy as her entrance. I must sleep nowand pray to the Lord God that spring brings better reward for our endeavours.