1171

YEAR 1171

Scribed by Cormoran

Spring 1171 AD

We met in the cold dawn of thefirst day of spring to discuss the important issues that had befallen ourcovenant in the previous season. It has again fallen to me, Cormoran, to scribein the journal and I do my duty with honour.

The first person to report was Astrius and his news was gloomy and bitter.He told his tale of the events at Narwold covenant and we were all aghastwhen we learnt of the deaths of Fulgaria, a powerful Flambeau, and De Camp,a friend to this covenant of many years.

The news that a spirit creature killed them brought Theo's specialty intothe discussion. He reported that he had met this creature in the underworld,which he was in for an adventure of sorts, along with two companions. Theyoffered him help in return for his 'peace' (which we then questioned him about;he told us that the crown he wore was the reason he could give them 'peace'- indicating that it is a powerful magical artefact). He went on to explainthat through discourse with the Morrigan he had learnt that these creaturesare cursed and deadly in the pagan world and obviously in ours as well. Theothen admitted some of the crowns powers and said the reason he is able towield them is because he is king! This came as a shock to many of us, butI noticed not to all at the council.

Theo went on to say one of these evil spirit creatures has sworn fealty tohim and has been set the task of finding a way to remove the curse. Theo hasbeen told that one way is by this spirit dying in saving the King's life or,alternatively, by being destroyed physically and spiritually (at the sametime), receiving the King's curse as they die. This final method does notkill them, but entraps them in the otherworld again. King Arthur caught, slewand cursed them by this method, to trap them the first time.

After much discussion I decided that more information was needed, as all theinformation received so far was from the mouth of one of these evil creatures.I broached the subject of using the Nectan's water. I thought it might provideus with some insight into the methods of capturing and killing these creatures,but no one was forthcoming to drink of the pagan waters of knowledge.

At this point in our council, Theo admitted to being of the bloodline of bards,which I feel means he is somehow descended from Taliesin the great bard ofhistory. I questioned him about Stephen, the bard, who was a known associateof the unnamed house, and if he was descended from him. Theo mumbled somethingand rapidly moved on to tell us he occasionally had 'visions' or 'memories'of these bards long past.

Theo then stated Narwold or Carrion Moor would charge him at tribunal forthe deaths of the magi. This revelation made me consider whether, if Theowas King and the only way to capture or kill these creatures was some complicatedritual involving the King, then if the King was killed they would be freeto do whatever mischief they wished. I offered the theory that they were tryingto get Theo killed by the Order; perhaps even the attack on Narwold covenantwas a ploy - knowing that the story would get out and Theo would be blamed.The rest of the council dismissed the idea, that anyone could plot like this,as outlandish, but I am wary of these creatures that can slay two powerfulMagi in the blink of an eye! Theo then informed us that we should keep ourknowledge of the crown secret; but he has already told so many people - sucha request simply seems foolish. Is he thus the king of fools?

He told us the name of the three spirit monsters that he had released: Mona,a sorceress (it is she who has most cruelly slain De Camp and Fulgaria); Cordol,a bard (who was the one under his command) and Barroc, a warrior who was onthe continent (wreaking havoc! With no one in the Order warned!). I eventuallyconvinced Theo that he should drink the Nectan's potion as he is the onlyone who could understand the vision (as he is very knowledgeable in paganmatters). I further suggested that he should have this information first-hand,to present to Tribunal for his defence.

Kai tried to cheer the magi up at this point, but the council's dark moodcould not be lifted. Theo drank the potion and rapidly he fell into a deathlike trance, from which he later reported this vision:

He saw the three spirit creatures fleeing. They tried to escape by sinkingthough the earth, then through the water and even through the air, but werecaught magically in some manner and could not flee. Many mounted knights arrivedand (showing the coward in his soul) Cordol fled on foot, in the meantimeMona prepared spells and Barroc prepared weapons. However, more mounted menarrived including the King. As horses came forward and the knights began tocharge, waiting in the other world was Merlin; ready to strike. Cordol beggedfor mercy like a coward, but Barroc fought and was lanced down. At the samemoment he was hit by the lance, he was struck in the spirit world by the King'swizard. The same happened to Mona as she realized that her magic's had fledand she had no defence against the lances of the knights. Finally, Cordolwas slain; his pleas for mercy sadly denied by the King. Merlin returned fromthe otherworld and the King cursed the three to eternal torment.

After Theo awoke from his trance we discussed the knowledge won and it becameobvious that the spirits change into elements to flee or move; and with thatavenue closed to them, they were trapped. We decided that Theo should travelto Cad Gadu to learn from an elementalist whether we can block these entitiesentry to the elements.

I stated that I would learn a spell to freeze a person in their tracks, asI would have to face Jack the giant killer soon; for either myself or my fathercould be hurt by the faerie assassin. Aelfwin said that he would learn howto make more antidotes for the 'curse of waiting death' potion. Medius wasunder instruction to help in the investigation into the Kabala (at the requestof the other quaesitor). Tiarnan volunteered (eventually) to go to Carrionmoor to take the news of De Camp's death. This news may be badly received,but the role of messenger suits this Fae touched magus (He is not much usein the faerie realm, after all! If he was I would not be being hunted by them.He shows no intention of going into the regio to try and solve this problem).Astrius volunteered his time to go back to Narwold to assist them, as theylacked a martial magus to man the defences.

Finally some good news was brokered, William, Aelfwin's apprentice, had hisgauntlet set (which was brewing a potion to see true form of a man). Thiswould combine arts non-Hermetic and Hermetic, to brew an efficacious potion.

The rest of the season passed peacefully in the covenant; which is lucky asnext season will prove to be a troublesome one for our 'King' in residence.

Summer

The council started well with Aelfwin reporting that William had passed hisgauntlet and was looking for other covenants to join. I hope he stays in thisTribunal, but I did hear him say something about Iberia and excitement.

Theo reported that Geddyn, the elementalist, did not know about stopping thespirit creatures travelling through the elements, so he travelled to LochLeglean to talk to an older elementalist. This man knew of a ritual, whichwas apparently costly, but could be done. It involves the summoning of fourpowerful elementals and the giving of life essence; which all sounded verydangerous to me. Two costs were mentioned; firstly a potion of longevity wouldbe needed, which will have to be fully efficacious (special ingredients wouldbe added to increase its effectiveness) and secondly that Theo pay some ofthe life price. We all sat and considered this pronouncement and I personallyfelt sorry for 'King Theo', mayhaps he has taken on more than he thought!

Close to the end of last season I had spoken with my father about the magicalrabbits and he had become very angry with my sodales. But, it was still ashock when our council was suddenly interrupted by my father breaching theAegis to argue with the council. He swore and shouted at the council and Astriuswas quite brave in standing up to him, but in the end he left (after throwingone rabbit at their feet and renouncing his status as amicus).

We returned to council and discussed the problem of a potentially hostilegiant in the locale; now that he no longer had any protection under the code.After a long and heated discussion, I agreed to leave the covenant with myfather to learn his hunting techniques. With great sorrow in my heart I realisedthat I might not ever come back to Severn Temple.

Just then there was a knock on the door. The Castellan entered and statedthat a grog upon the road had espied my father being accosted by Jack thegiant killer. Apparently, Jack slew him by dancing around untouched by myfathers heavy but slow blows. At this news I became enraged and flew out ofthe covenant with Astrius in attendance. He tried to slow me down and convinceme to use tactics instead of rage, but when I arrived at my father's corpsemy soul was twisted! Thinking that the Palug might have gone back to his glade,I charged off with Astrius to slay Jack and steal his sword. We arrived andthe Palug set about me in much the same way that he must have set about myfather; even when I used an apportation spell to give me some range the blowsrained down on me and I did not have a chance to cast my spell of freezing.Then Astrius saved me by casting webs at Palug. This froze him on the spotand with a single blow I cleaved him in two.

I took the giant killing sword that had been made by Gofynwy, but left thecorpse knowing full well that after a time the Palug would come back (butthis time unarmed). I returned to the covenant via my father's corpse; takinghim back to the hill and building him a pyre. Theo shocked me by stating thathe had taken some of my fathers blood for Geddyn's longevity potion, but Iwas angered by this and demanded its return. Later at sunset I burnt the bodyand cried out in anguish at my loss.

(Private journal: - Father you were the one who kept me on the path ofhumanity but what has that done for me? I know you would be angry but I havetaken your heart and on the day I burnt your corpse I ate some, just a fewslices, hoping your strength and spirit will enter me so I might go on tobecome a true giant one day).

Shortly after the council meetingAstrius approached me with respect to a few issues he had regarding the spoilsof our victory over the Palug, after a short discussion I gifted Astrius 5pawns of Vis from the sword that slew my father. I considered this paymentin full for his assistance in the defeating of Palug or jack whichever theFay wish to call him. He also asked permission to chastise Dermot my scoutunless I wished to take him as a consor, as I did not he determined to punishthe man for insubordination as was his right as Imperator, after his punishmentDermot approached me on the matter but I his whining complaints.

A few days later we journeyedto the tribunal and the first night Theo called us together to say he wasgoing to be accused under the code of dealing with demons because of his dealwith the powerful spirits he met in the other world. Arcturus of Narwold covenantwanted vengeance for the damage done to his sodalis by the enchantress spiritand he thought them to be demons, and to be truthful who could say one wayor the other what these creatures truly were. After much discussion and panicI offered the solution that he summons Candolo the bard spirit over whichhe had power to be tested by the tribunal and as no other had a better planhe decided to act upon this one. He also decided to approach Fenriata andthe Prima about presenting a character reference at the trial but I don'tthink that will impress the massed magi. Theo returned from his meetings andhis demeanor was gloomy, apparently he felt doomed, and told us that the crownof men should not go to holy isle under any circumstances, by telling us thishe was obviously under the impression that he had been informed that he hadlittle chance in the trial.. We went to sleep with heavy hearts knowing thatTheo was in fro a very tough time in the morning.

The next day after the other magihad eaten we went down to the chamber where the tribunal was being held. ThePrima made her grand entrance and spoke of the peace in the mundane worldand then turned to the matter of a covenant who has apparently broken allthe rules possible to break in the tribunal, at this point my eyes narrowedas I realized that we were going to be tarred with the brush that sought outTheo. She then mentioned Severn Temple by name and at that point I realizedthat it would not just be Theo on trial at this tribunal. Soon after thisleading tirade against the covenant the charges were read out, they were Theohad done a deal with infernal spirit and thus broken the primary code, Thestirring of the werewolves had brought danger to the covenant of Blackthornwithout any warning of such and that Dialectica's disappearance needed moreinvestigation. How the last one could be considered a charge I knew not butwho was to argue with the Prima.

After this news we were told ofsome mundane news, which threw us as we thought the trail, would commenceimmediately but it was not to be. King Henry now rules with an iron hand andno one opposes his claim to the crown anymore. There was talk of refoundingBorri Tor but nothing came of that discussion and there was a petition fromhouse Tremere for assistance with help of investigation of pagans which fellon fairly deaf ears as members of that house are not trusted by the majorityof Stonehenge tribunal because of the actions of a few of there members fromholy isle covenant.

There was a break in the proceedingswhere we magi of Severn Temple met for a discussion of the events and whatwe should do to help bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion. We discussedthe ramifications of the Prima's statement and decided that she was playinga game with us and unless we relinquished something of value we would loseboth her first two accusations, with this in mind it was proposed that e giveto the covenant the Vis site of mynyth myrthyn to pay for not warning themof the werewolves, I voted yes as did Astrius and Aelfwin. Tiarnan's votewas cast by Theo against the motion as did Medius, Theo incredibly abstainedseeing as giving the Vis site we never used to blackthorn might save his neck,but he claimed he could not vote for the motion as he felt bed, but obviouslynot bad enough to vote against.

The Trial of Theo

The story of the attacks on Narwoldcovenant was retold for the whole tribunal to hear. The mood was black indeedwhen Theo then stood up to retell his story of his journey into the underworld;he described it as a magical regio for some reason maybe trying to appealto the latin magi in the tribunal. He talked of how he released these creaturesfrom the power that entrapped them for some minor assistance and it turnedout that because of his status of king they were bound to him in some way,he then explained that he went on to talk to anwyn a pagan spirit who explainedthat an old king had bound them there and so he realized he had freed somecreatures that the previous king had bound. But obviously this did not worryhim much as it was not until many years later that he met one, which pledgedhis service to him, having a servant now he tasked it with discovering themethod of destruction. Theo then went on to say how he was busy with the werewolvesof mynyth mythyn and we know how well that went, I sometimes think Theo iscursed to always to leave jobs half done. This distraction caused him to notthink of Narwold's problem until to late. He does not mention the kingshipspecifically probably hoping that one of the many people he had mentionedit to would not bring it up but this was not to be as Arcturus held a biggrudge and wanted to see Theo burn for his misjudgment. Ponrius then crossexamined Theo then and thus ensured that Theo's story was robust, which itwas for he did not lie I think. After Ponrius had finished his questioningUrsula of holy isle asked about the nature of the deal as if that mattered,for if they were demons it did not matter what the manner of the deal andif they were not then it was none of her business. Theo said the deal wasthat he should not move against them which, as he was the only one able tobind them again as crown wearer made them invincible. Arcturus then twistedthe knife by bringing up the matter of Theo's kingship and the fact he hasnot mentioned it. Theo explained in more detail the circumstances of the deal,he also stated that Candalo has been set the task of seeking out informationabout the other two malign spirits, H then went on to state that other magihave seen the spirit Candalo although I didn't see where this was line ofdefence was going. Gilda came forward and described her rescue by Candalofrom Gloucester but she did not know whether it was a demon or not and sodid not clear the murky waters that Theo had found himself in. Medius describedhow he used the tincture of observing the infernal on Candalo and did notobserve the taint of the infernal on the spirit but what this proved was debatableas a non-hermetic method was used. I however felt that the conviction of Medius'statement swayed far more people than any argument brought forth so far inTheo's defence. Yania then steped forward and described the similarity betweenthe spirits and the Morrigan and as the Morrigan was not a demon then neitherwere the spirits that Theo had let loose on the world. During the summingup speech Sylvania arrived and Theo asked Sylvania to summon a powerful Faelord to determine the nature of these spirits. Eloria stated that they cannotbe summoned within the covenant but Sylvania said that she has a method tosummon Candalo which was strange as I was led to believe that it only cameto Theo's command, what sort of deal had Theo done with the powerful Merinitanor had she fallen under the belief that he was a king? . The Quasitor wentinto a huddle to discuss the possibility that Sylvania might summon a demonand break the code herself but they agree to summon both creatures and invitedwitnesses to view. Several people went out to witness the summoning althoughI did not go because of my relations with the court of stone. Candalo andGoffanon are summoned and then Goffanon is questioned about Candalo and statedthat although the spirit might be trying to corrupt Theo it was not a devilor demon. Theo was then brought back in and questioned about the Regio andif it was the pagan's equivalent of hell but he stated that it is neitherheaven nor hell but as a denial of the summer lands of the otherworld whatever that means. We broke for lunch and Theo went off in deep discussion withhis patronis. We reconvened and Eloria pronounced the finale of the trial.Theo stated that he was slow and stupid and contrite for his actions at Narwoldbut that he was not a diabolist. The vote was cast and a dead heat of voteswas reached and Eloria cast the casting vote, and so it was lucky we boughther approval with the Vis site, which she had lusted over for a long time.She deliberated but finally chose for Theo and so he escaped death but hispunishment of excordis, 7 seasons punishment and a report on the destructionon the demons will be performed, as that was his suggested punishment.

After the trial various statementswere made to the Tribunal, The Bonisagus from Blackthorn wanted to start upa forum of magic again and lets hope he is more successful than his infernallytainted colleague Caelestis. Holy isle charged 4 pawns per Magus to continuethere work of persecuting members of my house. The 3 spirits were declaredenemies of the tribunal and we all voted for this motion except Theo and theMerenitan's who abstain so mayhaps he has the entire house of the Fae in hispocket. Dialectica's whereabouts were discussed and it was decided that ifno sight of her has been seen before the next tribunal an investigation intothe apprentice Aedan's location will be commenced as he should have been presentedby then and is not protected by the oath until he has sworn it although ifyou know someone is the companion of a magus and scry upon them to determinethere location is that not also in effect scrying upon the magus?. I leavesuch judgments to the elder magi of the tribunal and voted for along witheveryone else. The rest of the season passed without event which I am sureTheo was grateful for, I had some success in my fishing as well and so I amable to feed myself again.

Autumn

At the council meeting of AutumnMedius told us about the cooperation that was occurring between some magiabout the infernal investigation. And asked if it would be possible for themto have access to our libraries which as we are all obviously enemies of theinfernal we agreed to unanimously. Theo applied excordis to himself and everyonevoted for except for myself as I abstained as I felt I should not vote asI was also under excordis. After the council meeting I went off to learn thelongbow for the season to broaden my skills and give me a ranged weapon ifneed be while Medius and Astrius went off to investigate the fells. Theo askedpermission to deal with his mundane holdings, which the council agreed to,and Tiarnan went off on some sort of Fae business with Sylvania.

A few days after the council Astriusand Medius returned with astonishing news. The quest to the tower was verysuccessful as they captured three men working for the fells with demon likehorses, as the Jews dispatched the horses with the kabala magic's, Mediusinterrogated the men and discovered that they had stolen the tax monies fromthe Earl to help rebuild the fell network. He went onto reveal that Yvonneis their leader and that they watch Snigs End to protect it from intruders.Apparently Yvonne visited them every new moon to keep check on the templeat Snigs End. It was then he revealed that the temple was being used to resummonGuyere from hell to walk upon the earth once more. They have been there 3years guarding the tower and the task of resummoning the spirit of the masterwas all but complete. Guyere spirit had returned two seasons past but it wasstill recuperating at the temple after its torments in hell in preparationto wreak vengeance upon the world and the order. In preparation for an assaultthey quizzed the man about the powers that Yvonne might array against us andhis mind revealed that she can curse age a man, give pain, crush a mans heartand bind and summon demons. These magic's worried Medius as he thought thatshe might be hermetically trained and thus have possession of the Parma Magica,but the man revealed that she used no hermetical actions to do these spellsand so it was probably infernal magic. Apparently Edwin a noble member ofthe Fells is now an enemy of Yvonne's and now does not assist her but becausehe fears her he will not oppose her.

With this new being told Loretiuisthe redcap arrived and gave us scant news of the goings on in the world, althoughto be fair we had been told at tribunal most of the news we needed to know.The mundane news was that an uneasy peacehad continued in England but that there were rebellions in France that hadcaused the king some problems. More guards were upon the road to stop thebanditry, which would be reduced anyway after the three rogues from the towerwere dispatched. Apparently those known associated of the covenant who hadhelped in the killing of Guyere the first time had been systematically soughtout and murdered by him. Hermetic news was also same with the news that theBlackthorn magical forum would be in 2 years time.

After the news we discussed whatto do about Snigs end and after a short decisive meeting we decided to moveon Guyere strike before the new moon. I left quickly to find Theo as his spiritpowers and howling sword would be of great use in a fight with the infernal.I was lucky to find him at his land holding in Skinfrith within a single dayand I presented him with a potion of home coming to get him back to the covenantquickly. We equipped for the battle ahead and decided that the Jews be given3 leap of homecoming potions to assist in there escape if needed.

We camped close to Snigs End andspent a restless night watching out for spirits and demons, but none cameand in the morning we entered the woods. Were accompanied by the three Jewsof Medius acquaintance and a multitude of grogs to protect the weaker magifrom harm. A seal was placed by a Jew on the forehead of each of the grogsto protect them from possession, this was using Kabalistic magic and althoughI did not understand it Medius seemed quite happy with the situation. We setoff into the woods with William the grog being our man in front; unfortunatelyfor him he set off a flame trap of some sort and was injured. Astrius andmyself moved forward to assist him and remove the trap via hermetic magic'sin case it fired again. At that moment abominations from the pit materializedand attacked our group. They were fierce demons that would have ripped anynormal mundanes to shreds in seconds but after we had erected wards we dispatchedthem quickly but not without loses, Baldwin and William both were killed inthe fight. After a quick rest to allow wounds to be bound we continued withmyself leading, as I was obviously the strongest physically. We spotted somemore of the statues that spat fire but before they had the opportunity todo so Astrius blasted them to bits from long distance which impressed me withhis accuracy. We reached the boundaries of the temple and it looked like aruined church, here The Jew's made a point of saying that the grogs shouldnot go on but I disagreed and insisted we go in as one, I think the kabbalistswere not used to so many armed men and how useful they might be in battle.To ensure we all entered at the same time we cut open the Regio boundary usingPetrus' dagger and enter a very dark corridor. We followed carefully downthe corridor until we came to a junction we decided to keep turning left tosee if this was real or if this was some form of infernal trick. Eventuallywe came back to where we should have started but the corridor was of differentdimensions and so we realized we were being tricked. We discover the wallsare illusion and by using a kabalistic seal we dispelled the walls. Almostinstantly we were attacked by five demons with snake bodies. The Jews withtheir holy magic fry one almost instantly but by that stage I was in closecombat with one by that stage and can only recount what I discovered aboutthe creatures. They were amazingly tough of skin and I found myself injuredby a mighty blow, eventually I beat it down and slew the creature but whenI turned round the senior Jew Gedovar has been killed and Edgert the grogwas killed as well this boded badly for it was Gedovar's magic's that hadslain these demons so easily. From behind the party was then assailed by aghost like demon that aged all who come near but my Parma was strong and soI advanced and struck the creature a mighty blow, which to my amazement passedstraight through it, it was obvious that I would not be much use in this fightbut I determined that I was doing a service to protect the weaker magi allowingthem to slay the demon via there magic's whilst I held it up. The combinedpower of the hermetic magic's and kabalistic magic's hurled at the creaturesoon dispatched it and we thought our fight ended but we were wrong. The spiritof Guyere then appeared and cast a mighty sleep spell that causes all butMedius, Aaron Caedmon, Owain, Astrius, Zedakiah and myself to fall unconscious.We turned to face this final and deadly threat and started to advance butthen a mighty wash of fear flowed from the spirit, already assailed my Parmafinally failed and my mind was filled with fear and along with Owain and Caedmonwe turned from Guyere and fled to the other end of the temple. Behind me Icould here various spells being cast but to no effect and it seemed we weredoomed until Astrius had a moment of clarity and rushed past the demon toa summoning circle where he destroyed the corpse of Guyere which was obviouslythe anchor which bound the spirit to this plane. The spiritual Guyere dispersedand with Astrius casting a light spell we all congregated on the summoningcircle, we picked up the remains and the corpses of our friends and triedto exit the regio. Medius opened the regio boundary with the dagger and Astriusand myself advance quickly through incase of ambush, which was fortuitousas suddenly a hail of crossbow bolts hit us, luckily they were turned asideby my mighty magic's and Astrius was protected by a potion of gift of bearsfortitude I had crafted many seasons ago. I felt my Parma being attacked andwarned of a hidden magus using Corporem magic's against me, I quickly reasonedthis could be but one person , Yvonne. The grogs exited next to provide coverfor the weaker magi and it was at this point that Ine took a crossbow boltin the chest that incapacitated him. I charged the line of crossbowmen tryingto act as a target for all our assailants, this worked only too well and althoughthe mundane attacks just rattled off my armor and skin the magic's penetratedmy Parma and wounds opened on my body which bled profusely. Because of thenature of my wounds I decided that the time had come for me to retreat andso I used my boots to apport back to the covenant where Aelfwin could bindmy bleeding cuts. Back at the clearing Theo spotted Yvonne through secondsight even though she was cloaked invisibly via some infernal magic and advancedon her to slay the witch. As I was no longer there to act as a target moreof our men were now being hurt and unfortunately Alfred took a bolt in theleg but managed heroically to stay standing and protect his magus. Then thesun set, this did not effect the mundanes but the Magi had to hurriedly raisethere protections again. Yvonne cast a spell that blinded Astrius and beingthe stubborn and loyal man he is he refused to flee by drinking a potion butfought on guided by a loyal shield grog called Eanhild he cast walls of fireto block the line of sight of the crossbow men. Theo advancing quickly afterraising his Parma and drinking another potion of gift of bears fortitude strikesYvonne at the same time as Medius snapped her leg like a twig via his PerdoCorporem magic's. She fell dead at Theo's feet becoming visible and as shedid so a demon protector struck at Theo nearly frying him to a crisp but throughsome method I don't have knowledge of he regenerated the wounds quickly. Nowin a fight with a Demon Theo and Medius coordinate there attacks and throughskill and determination they defeat and destroy the demon sending back tothe nether reaches of hell. The remains of the group then returned to thecovenant via the barge where in an emergency council meeting we agreed tomake a longevity potion for Arron as he was badly affected by the spirit thatassailed us before Guyere appeared. The rest of the season amazingly passedpeacefully.

Winter

We received a message from theEarl who sent his thanks for the return of taxes and we organized a midwintercelebration feast and medals for grogs that survived the ordeal at Snigs End.It was a mild if wet winter and it passed peaceably enough allowing us tostudy our arts without interruption.