1124

YEAR 1124

Scribed by Ruaridh

Spring 1124AD

Following the successful bindingof her familiar, Edith attended the meeting of Severn Temple’s councilfor the first time in a year. There was a striking physical change about her,for her eyes were now a strange translucent green, split with a deep blackline, much like those of a cat. I wonder whether the process has wrought asgreat a change on her personality as it has on her appearance. After providingEdith with an overview of recent events, we moved on to the issue of whatto do about the Pybaw. Edith volunteered to spend the season searching theforest for signs of its presence, and Turold agreed to venture into the faerieregio to discuss the situation with Gofynwy, the faerie smith who was currentlydwelling in the realm of the King of the Mountain, Gofannon.

Several weeks into the season,Turold returned with news that his expedition had not gone well. He had apparentlyventured into the Welsh mountains without properly preparing for the terrainor the elements, and the result was a near disaster. Having left without aproper Welsh speaker or guide, the party were attacked by a group of ravenouswolves in a deep forest. Two grogs were slain by the beasts, and Turold andCyrgig were lucky to escape with their lives. Having replaced the grogs andtheir foodstocks, Turold and Cyrgig made a second attempt to reach the peakof the mountain where they believed the regio boundary to be. Unfortunately,Cyrgig suffered a bad fall during the ascent, breaking the bones in one ofhis legs. Turold was therefore forced to fly back to Severn Temple to seekmy aid. I accompanied him back to the mountain, and I managed to treat Cyrgig’sinjury so that he could walk again. As I bid the party farewell, I could nothelp but notice that the two new grogs he had drafted in to replace theirfallen comrades looked less than pleased with the prospect of scaling therest of the peak. Indeed, they returned alone a few weeks later with the newsthat Turold and Cyrgig had apparently disappeared, most probably through aregio boundary, leaving them shivering on the exposed mountainside withoutproper supplies.

Summer

Edith brought us news of her travelsaround the Dean. Now sharing something of her familiar’s ability to seespirits, she had noticed several such creatures in the south of the forest.She also encountered the powerful spirit that protects the faerie crown inthe magical regio between the Dell and the source of our Muto vis. Furthernorth, near Huntley Hill, she spied a large crack high up on a cliff thatseemed like a possible lair for the spider. She discovered the body of a wolfwith two puncture marks in its neck a few hundred paces from the cave, whichlends further credence to her claim. Even if we have located the lair of thebeast, we are at something of a loss when it comes to dealing with it. Thecave is inaccessible to those who cannot fly, and I for one do not relishthe thought of entering such a place if the occupant is at home.

Antonius also had news for us,though it concerned the events in mundane circles. There was some talk ofnobles that I did not entirely follow, but I did pick up that the Knight ofRed Morley rumoured to be in financial difficulties despite the funds we believethat he has received from the diabolists in Gloucester. His wife is also rumouredto have several lovers, a fact that Antonius thinks may be of use to us inthe future.

Later in the season, Antoniusaccompanied the occultist Bledwyn into Gloucester to retrieve his belongings.While they were searching his house, Bledwyn claimed that he sensed a spiritwatching him, which he surmised had been sent by the diabolists. Using whateverarcane art he possesses, he apparently took control of the spirit and boundit to his will. After the party returned to the covenant, Bledwyn bade thespirit stay just outside the aegis as he feared that the magical boundarywould interfere with his control. I must say that I have grave misgivingsabout this fellow, and I am not convinced that it is our best interests toallow him to remain here. Antonius says that he does not appear to have liedto us, but he has yet to use any scrying spells to verify this as Bledwynclaims he has enchantments that would detect this.

At midsummer, I travelled northto Blackthorn for the meeting with Primus Guernicus and the other Quaesitori.I shall not record the details of the discussions that took place, but sufficeit to say that my authority as a Quaesitor was confirmed, albeit with a warningnot to become involved in political machinations again. The investigationinto the attempt to assassinate Primus Llanoddwyn will now be taken over byQuaesitori better suited to pursuing the matter.

Autumn

Turold returned just before thecouncil meeting, and he recounted the details of his journey into the heartof Gofannon’s kingdom. He successfully located Gofynwy, who confirmedthat the creature dwelling in the woods was almost certainly the Pybaw., whichhe described as a mixture of spider and wolf. Gofynwy said that he believedthat the Pybaw, having gorged on so much mortal blood, was now a most fearsomecreature, and its power probably now exceeded that of the Ruadan herself.Turold then returned to the covenant with this chilling news. He also broughtwith him the archer Ranulf, who had been carried off by Gofannon several yearsearlier, but the man fled his company once back in mortal lands. Antoniusand I tracked him down several weeks later, and, in return for a few hundredpennies, we retrieved the gift of three golden coins, containing a goodlyquantity of Terram vis, that he had been given by Gofannon for his services.

Kaelestes made a presentationto the council about his ideas for the forthcoming magical forum. There wasmerit in his idea of exploring how Hermetic and non-Hermetic magic can worktogether for the benefit of both, but I fear that he still has some way togo to finalise his plans. The discussion degenerated at one point into anargument over why the tides of the sea go in and out. I found my self in agreementwith Turold, who proposed that the weight of the sun and moon pushed the waterabout when they sank into the sea, as the other solutions seemed so ludicrous.Indeed, I do not which of the two other proposals (that it was the ‘Godof the Sea breathing in and out’ or ‘the world being round’)was more ridiculous! The discussion ended with agreement that Kaelestes wouldwrite to members of each of the Houses in the Tribunal to request their ideasfor the forum.

Edith made the suggestion thatwe test Bledwyn’s claim that he could detect attempts to scry on him.We duly did so, and, lo and behold, he could not. With the aid of magic, Antoniusquestioned him thoroughly, and we learned that he had been lying to us. Hewas indeed fleeing the diabolists, but it was the fact that he had been invitedto join their number, as a Master no less, and refused rather than a unsuccessfulbusiness deal that had earned him their wrath. He knew much more about thediabolists than he had revealed to us, including the names of several of theirmembers and the fact that a powerful infernal creature dwelt in the cavesbeneath Gloucester castle. Edith reported that the spirit he claimed to havebound outside the covenant was no longer there, and Bledwyn was forced toadmit that it might have returned to its true masters in Gloucester. I couldscarcely believe that, despite Bledwyn’s obvious duplicity, the councilagreed to let him remain in the covenant! I argued that this was an extremelydangerous course of action and it would be far safer to end his life, butI was outvoted by those who wished to use Bledwyn’s knowledge to strikeat the diabolists. I fear we may come to rue this decision in the future.

Mathus arrived a little laterwith news of events elsewhere in the kingdom. The activities of moneyers anda shortage of grain meant that a penny could be used to buy only a twelfthas much grain as it had in previous years. A new King had taken the thronein Scotland, and a new Pope had been elected by the cardinals. In Leicester,bloody assizes had resulted in over forty men hanged and six blinded and castrated.

The most shocking news of allconcerned Llanoddwyn, who had agreed to stand down from his position as Primusof House ex Miscellanea following discussions with Primus Guernicus! I cannotfor the life of my fathom why he would do this, but it must have somethingto do with recent political events. A new Primus will be elected at the meetingof the House next year. I am not looking forward to this at all. Elsewherein the Order, Primus Merinita has written to Primus Bjornaer to request thatthe two Houses work together to resolve their differences. No response hasbeen received yet. Before he left, we asked Mathus to deliver a message announcingthat we would welcome applications from any Merinitans who wished to jointhe covenant.

Winter

Early in the season, I travelledto Blackthorn to speak with Serenea. I had received a letter from Primus McGraine,in which he complained that Darius of Holy Isle had suggested that he declareWizard’s War on Jordael, his likely rival for the position of Primus.We both agreed that, although no law had been broken, Darius’ actionsreflected badly on the dedicated covenant, which was supposed to remain alooffrom politics. Serenea agreed to convey this information to Dionysus. I failto see how the Tremere can complain about the Ex Miscellaneans getting involvedin politics when they make suggestions like this. A Wizard’s War betweentwo Praeci might also have terrible implications for the two Tribunals.

A few days later, I received amessage from Llanoddwyn. He requested that I meet him in a regio deep in Wales.Intrigued, I travelled there, and he explained that Primus Flambeau had declaredWizard’s War on him. He had decided to step down to avoid the Primi oftwo Houses fighting, which might lead to a full-blown schism. Although hisreasons for doing so are sensible, I still regard it as a terrible shame that,once again, the Latin Houses have got their way by removing an unpalatableEx Miscellanean. Given the likely complications over the succession, I decidedto spend the rest of the season investigating the House’s history atCad Gadu to see if I could ascertain the best way to resolve the coming problem.

While I was away, one of the grogswas attacked by a shadowy spirit in Blackney. Antonius and Bledwyn investigatedthe matter, and Bledwyn managed to locate and capture the spirit. He learntthat it had bee summoned by the diabolists in Gloucester and sent to spy onus. Using the ritual Eyes of the Past, Antonius saw an image of the man whobound it here. He resembled Francis of Stent Priory, who we suspect to beone of the Masters of the Gloucester coven. Knowing from the spirit that Francisintended to Blackney return in three nights time, we sent a man to watch outfor him, equipping him with a potion imbued with the Leap of Homecoming sothat he could bring news to us quickly. However, the man did not return onthe appointed night, so we assume that Francis did not turn up.