1181

YEAR 1181

Scribed by Astrius

Spring 1181 AD

The first council meeting of the year beganwith an address from Dialectica's apprentice, Aeddyn, who wished to speakto us concerning his desire to call a "King's Council". Althoughhis mater deems this unwise, she was nevertheless prepared to let him speakto the concillium on the matter. Aeddyn is now fully aware of the significanceof his position as Theo's heir and he wishes to resolve the ongoing issueof the Crown of Math before undertaking his gauntlet. The very real risk ofa war between the court of water and those of stone and wood concerns himgreatly, especially given the likelihood that it will draw in magi from HouseMerinita. While I have little sympathy for magi who would swear allegianceto such fickle and untrustworthy creatures as faeries, clearly such a conflictshould be avoided if at all possible. Aeddyn's plan is to seize the initiativeby convening a King's Council at which he will command Llyr to keep the crownsafe from all mortal hands and enemies of Aeddyn until someone whom he judgesto be just and true of heart comes to claim it. This Aeddyn believes willundercut any claims from the courts of stone and wood that Llyr is denyingthe "King" his rightful possession, as well as ensuring that thisextremely powerful magic item remains beyond the reach of those who wouldmisuse it. The particular reason that Aeddyn needed to address our councilis that the Spring here is by far the most convenient place to hold the King'sCouncil. If it cannot be held here, then it may take much time to find anotherappropriate site and with Aeddyn's gauntlet likely to be held next year andhis knightly responsibilities in Powys only just beginning, if we refuse hisrequest it may be years before Aeddyn is able to find another suitable site.

On a side matter, but nevertheless worthy ofnote, it seems that Aeddyn's gauntlet will be held at Valnastium covenantin Provence, Domus Magnus of House Jerbiton. Given his background and trainingat the Prince of Powys's court, it seems like a most reasonable choice ofhouse for the lad. I suspect Theo would have approved.

Once Aeddyn had finished speaking and takenhis leave of us, we began our deliberations. Unsurprisingly, Carwyn thoughtthat it was an excellent idea which would solve matters once and for all.Dialectica was less convinced and is greatly concerned that by standing forthas Theo's heir and issuing commands Aeddyn will merely confirm to the waitingfey that he is indeed the King and thus lay himself open to all sorts of potentialproblems and threats. Although admitting that inaction would likely resultin war and heavy casualties amongst the fey and maybe the Merinitans too,Dialectica's natural concern for her filius means that she cannot supportsuch a plan. This sparked a fairly lengthy debate between Carwyn and Dialecticaabout just how dangerous the council would be for Aeddyn and what the likelylong-term consequences were.

Cormoran and I both expressed broadly similarviews, namely that seizing the initiative and not risking one of the fey takingmatters into their own hands was probably the best course of action. Mediusvacillated, torn between the rights of a maga to control her apprentice'sdestiny and the need to stop the war. In the end he decided to let Dialecticamake his mind up for him by asking her whether she would stop Aeddyn callingthe council if she was able. She seemed a little uncertain, but agreed thatshe probably would. Thus, with Medius's mind made up, we moved to a vote.Cormoran, Carwyn and I voted in favour of granting Aeddyn's request, whileMedius and Dialectica voted nay. Thus Aeddyn shall call a King's Council atthe end of Spring.

Following this weighty matter, Cormoran madean announcement that he had been able to brew some cider that boosted men'sbravery. There were a couple of barely suppressed snickers at this point,before Cormoran hastily pointed out that this was due to a minor magical propertyin the brew rather than the usual mundane consequences of drinking alcoholto excess. Apparently one pint of the cider will have the desired effect.Whether this is worth a season of a magus's time I am not sure, but clearlyit will have some value for the men before a major fight and I am sure thatthey will raise no objection to such a potion!

Medius then awarded those who had performedcovenant services in the past year tithes of vis in reward, granting fourpawns of vis per season's service. Giraldus and I had both done two, withCarwyn, Cormoran and Dialectica having done one each. He also awarded us thesum of 150d each.

The meeting concluded with a discussion ofour plans for Spring. Of note, Giraldus will perform a service by presentinghimself formally to the Earl and seeking to infiltrate Tintern Abbey in adisguise, to see if he can learn aught else of the christian cult that webelieve to have influence there. Meanwhile Cormoran and I will travel to MynyddMyrrdyn on the covenant's behalf to harvest what vis we can from that place.

The journey there was uncomplicated, the roadnow being well known to both of us and it was not long before we were presentedwith the usual obstacle of the steep slope that leads from the white stonesthat mark the regio boundary up to the rolling hills of Mynydd Myrrdyn proper.With a noticeable lack of enthusiasm amongst the assembled men to be the firstto scramble up the slope, and thus do so without the safety of a rope, I tookon the role myself. This time thankfully there were no mishaps on the climb,though I was once again reminded of the benefits that installing a chain andstakes on the slope would bring. However, 'tis a relatively minor matter.

Disappointingly, it seems that the Brood havelearnt from their previous two attacks and subsequent massacres, and we werenot assailed upon entering the woods near the slope's peak. A deeper searchof those woods revealed no signs of the Brood's presence, save for a long-decayedold log trap. We thus took the decision to cut across to the woods that lieto the West of the Celt's village, where we believe they hunt and thus theBrood might do also.

On the way I determined to investigate thespring that provides the source of the river that flows down the slope andout of the regio. After some searching, Diarmuid's keen eyes caught sightof a smallish copse of trees with small statues in the surrounding undergrowth.Closer investigation revealed that these were small figurines made of woodor grass, the most recent of which was no more than a week old. Judging bythe condition of the others it seems probable that they are placed here withsome degree of regularity and that these acts of dedication have been donefor some considerable time. There is a faint track leading from the springoff to the Northwest where the celtic village lies. To my otherworldly visionthe trees seemed strongly present and I thought I glimpsed a woman's figuremoving amidst them. Drudwhil believes that the place is most probably dedicatedto the Anu and may be a place of healing. I was naturally resolved to go inand investigate further, but to my surprise Cormoran was firmly set againstsuch a course of action. He stated implacably that entering the trees wouldlikely upset the Celts, whose goodwill we need if we are to set up a permanentbase within the regio. While his concern was perhaps valid, assuming thatthe celts do regard this as some sort of holy place, quite what additionalharm a quick investigation of the site would do, given that we were alreadypresent, was unclear to me. So, after a quick and ultimately indecisive argument,I pressed on into the copse without him.

To my slight surprise, there was a regio presentwithin the trees, though both Drudwhil and I passed through without any difficulty.In this deeper level the grass and stick figures were gone, replaced withmuch older, lichen-encrusted stone ones. Drudwhil spotted the female spiritonce more and I hailed her in Welsh, hoping that she might speak the ancientcymric tongue of the celts and thus be able to understand something of themodern-day welsh, as the celts can. However, although I saw her mouth moveas though speaking, I heard naught but a faint rustling of a wind stirringthe branches of the trees.

We pressed on, eager to find the spring itselfand after a little while came across a small, steep hollow at the base ofwhich was a small pool. It was fed by a spring that flowed from a crack inthe rockface on one side of the depression. The pool was encircled by moreof the figures, mostly made from an earthy clay and were clearly some sortof pagan earth mother in design. Climbing carefully down, I filled my waterskinfrom the small waterfall and collected some of the damp, verdant moss thatgrew thickly about the rockface. As I turned to look back I saw the femalespirit standing close by, legs apart and arms crossed, clearly unhappy. Aftera hasty conversation with Drudwhil we decided that she was probably angeredby my failure to leave a statuette as an offering to her or her mistress.Thus, marshalling my spontaneous magics I used an effect akin to the 'Rockof Viscid Clay' to mould a figurine from a fistful of rock that I gouged fromthe rockface. The long hours I have spent honing my fine control of magicsso that I can accurately hit my foes with bolts of fire and lightning borefruit here, for I was able to mould it into a fair likeness of the other statuettes.Happily, this did indeed mollify the spirit and Drudwhil and I departed unmolested.

As we re-emerged from the regio, we espiedCormoran striding down towards the woods. Apparently we had been gone threedays from their perspective. Aware of just how quickly time passes in theoutside world relative to that in Mynydd Myrddyn, we hurried on. Judging fromour previous expeditions, one season will pass in the real world while onlya fortnight will go by in here. We soon came into sight of the village andapproached carefully, taking care not to stray into range of their bows. There,we left behind the goodwill offerings of small iron tools, nails and the like,as well as one of Cormoran's barrels of cider, that we had brought as partof our efforts to restore good relations with the Celts. Until we speak withthem it is impossible to tell whether any alliance can be reforged, I suspectit will hinge on how much time has passed in the regio since the magi of HolyIsle slew their chief and abducted their druid.

We did not tarry to see if the goods were collectedbut instead marched on into the woods that lie to the west of the village.There we found clear indications that the celts were regular hunters withinthis part of the great forest but again there were no traces of the Brood.So we marched on again, this time cutting across the open rolling hills thatlie in the midst of the main lower level of the regio and into the AwakenedForest. Recalling clearly the route we had taken previously, we made goodtime beneath the heavily shaded boughs of the ancient trees that dwell here.The men were all warned to take no action if they espied any of the golden-eyeddeer that live here, Ruaridh's encounter with the great bear that appearsto protect them is still all too vivid in my mind. I suspect that Cormoranmight be able to best it in hand-to-hand combat, but its reported habit ofappearing without warning in the midst of groups leads me to bide my timefor now, though I shall not forget that a potential source of animal vis awaitscollection. Such musings were however moot as there was no sign of any deeror bears and we reached the Great Oak without incident. After tapping thesap that yields up herbam vis, we decided that there was likely not enoughtime left in the season to enter the deeper regio where the lichen-coveredstanding stones lie. Our assessment was correct, for as we exited past thewhite stones that mark the regio's entranceway the blossom had gone from thetrees and there was the unmistakable promise of summer's warmth in the air.

We arrived safely back at the covenant justbefore the King's Council. I did not attend but was given good account ofwhat went on by Dialectica. As he had stated, Aeddyn took control of the councilin his role as "King" and, after telling the council that he wasgoing to dissolve it at the end of the meeting, gave each council member atask to perform. He asked Dialectica to watch over him and ensure that hestayed true to his oaths, the Prince of Powys was requested to provide himwith good mundane council, Emyr, Theo's magical owl, was sent to find thereborn soul of Theo and keep an eye on him, giving periodic report to Aeddynand Mynyddor was tasked with preventing the cauldron from being ever usedas a weapon by the King's enemies again. Of the faerie creatures there present,Iago was told to tell Nynniaw of the Court of Wood that the forest shouldwatch over the Severn Temple, Turold was given message to take to Gofannonthat Aeddyn wished him to protect him from his enemies and provide him withsafe paths when needed, Llyr was told to guard the crown from all mortal handsuntil one who was just and true of heart came along, and Carwyn was askedto continue was Aeddyn's ambassador to the faerie courts and the Order ofHermes. With all seemingly content, he then disbanded the council. No badthing in my opinion.

Summer

After a discussion of various intentions forsummer, the only one of any note being Medius's proposed trip to London tofurther investigate the mundane dealings of the Fells and Christian cult,Dialectica raised a troubling matter. Ever since Petrus erected the gatewayin the wall at the head of the great hall she has felt strangely uncomfortablewhen sitting near it. Carwyn claims to share her discomfort and Dialecticanoted that even in the frigid depths of winter the servants would rather sitand shiver than sit close to the fire and thus the doorway. With our Bonisagus'sknowledge of mentem and her unique insights into passions and emotions, herdescription of such a feeling as being troubling on a deep level needs tobe taken seriously, though for myself it feels no more uncomfortable thanthe vague sense of feeling exposed you get when camping out in open ground.Cormoran suggested that it could something of the essence of the otherworldseeping through the crack that I saw with my spiritual sight when Petrus triedto dismantle the archway. While all this is troubling, there was little thatanyone could think of that can easily be done about it. After all, Petrusspent a season thinking on just this before departing without coming to anyconclusion as to what the crack signified or how it could be fixed. The onlysuggestion came from Carwyn, who will speak with Fergus of Narwold to seeif that magus's knowledge of spirits can shed any light on the issue.

Despite such concerns the season passed withoutincident and Medius returned hale from his journey to England's capital. Hereported that he had seen no sign of the christian cult, but had learned thatthe new King is a very religious man and is inspiring a rise in christianity,especially amongst the nobility. Clearly this alarming trend must be watchedcarefully and, if at all possible, action taken.

Autumn

To my great surprise Medius announced to the council that he "had"to go away to Iberia the next morning and would be away until the Spring of1183. Although his house is assembling in Magvillus in the Rome tribunal ina year's time, he was not forthcoming about what his business in Iberia was.Of course a magus is entitled to his privacy, but Medius has a heavy responsibilityas Pontifex here and my concerns were not helped when he refused to addressthe issue that I raised about Mynydd Myrddyn. Given that he would be awayfor the next six or seven seasons, with me as Ministrator and Cormoran asImperator, we cannot both journey abroad at the same time. Given that ourexpeditions to Mynydd Myrddyn have been shown to be much safer and more effectivewhen we both go, I had hoped that as we had just begun harvesting that siteproperly we could continue to do so, especially as in our last visit we haduncovered not just one but two new sources of vis and I am sure that thereare many more just waiting to be revealed. Yet although this problem was pointedout to him Medius simply shrugged and moved on with the agenda. If we needto contact him urgently Medius will journey first to Cordoba covenant whichlies in the South of the Iberian tribunal, in those lands which are stillheld by the moors.

I can only assume that he journeys to Iberiaon some business of the Kabbalah. Given my own experiences in that tribunalI am sure that the jews there have much to debate. I worry that Medius islosing the impartiality and good judgement that he has become widely respectedfor and is getting drawn ever deeper into the webs of his religion. How manygood magi have lost sight of their responsibilities to the Order whilst followingone of the One True Gods or bending their knee to one of the many pagan so-calleddeities? The danger of religions is that they almost always require followersto give them their primary loyalty, something that a magus surely cannot give.Sadly it seems many are prepared to do so. Of course, I am sure that Mediushas stayed true to his Oath, but the signs are getting clearer that he istaking a path that will inevitably at some point force him to choose betweenhis faith and his Oath. I hope he makes the right decision.

The first half of the season was uneventful,but on the night of the equinox, after a long day's reading, I retired tomy cot early. My slumber was fitful and uneasy and my dreams disturbing, fullof an unshakable feeling of an impending threat. I dreamt that I was standingin front of an entranceway to a ruined old fort, with the smell of death allabout me. I moved on into the darkness that lay within the tower and caughtsight of a tarnished bronze bowl sitting on a plinth at the far end of theroom, lit by moonlight streaming down from holes in the cracked roof. Insidethe bowl, which was clearly of great antiquity, I could espy designs of intertwinedbeasts and men in a celtic style, engraved in the silver that lined the bowl'sinterior. I felt a great sense of relief as I looked upon the bowl and foundthat it was still there. Suddenly I felt my relief turn to alarm as a shadowloomed up in front of me, its broad-shouldered back to mine. As I watched,the shadow reached forwards and grasped the bowl. As he did so, for it wasunmistakably the shadow of a man, the moonlight turned blood red and I heardthe squawk of an enraged raven. The shadow merely laughed, a guttural andunpleasant sound, and put the bowl into his cloak. The pedestal where it hadstood was now bathed in thick, red blood.

At this the dream broke and I found myselfawake and back in the warm confines of my sanctum. I threw aside my blanketand stumbled quickly to my feet, reaching instinctively for my sword-belt.I saw plainly in the dim light that Drudwhil had had a similar sending, forhis eyes were glowing with the preternatural blue hue that signifies he ison the hunt. He told me that the Morrigan had called such as our enemies thatlurk within the dark tower in the North are abroad once more. Taking my dreamto indicate that Dionysus was again out hunting one of the ancient treasuresof Britain, I did not need to be persuaded and quickly gathered my gear. Unfortunately,Drudwhil did not know where the fort that I had seen in my dreams was, sowe were briefly stymied. I drew my Morrigan blade and asked the spirit withinif it knew where Dionysus might be found. Unfortunately it did not, but toldme that if I journeyed to the Morrigan's glade in the faerie forest then sheshould be able to help guide my way. With no obvious alternative, I informedCormoran of what I planned, warning him to stand ready lest Dionysus makea further attack upon the covenant and then I set off.

The faerie forest was still very much in summerand resplendent with many shades of green as I walked past the site wherethe creature called the Palug once dwelt. For a while I could see why Carwynis so fond of the place, but before long I was reminded of the true deviousnature of the faerie. Despite our best efforts to follow the path it twistedand turned so much that after a while we were forced to admit we were lost.I drew the morrigan blade again and asked it to guide us to its mistress'shill. It agreed and we set off in a straighter line. This time the summerwoods slowly became darker and more sinister, with wolves lurking in the shadowsand yellow eyes peering down at us from the darkness of the canopy. I strodeas boldly as I was able up the long slope that leads to the Morrigan's sacredstanding stone at the top of the hill. After a short while I sensed a dreadpresence approaching. I steeled myself to ignore the small voice inside methat begged me to turn and flee rather than stand and face the terrible shadowof a woman that walked towards me, a human skull in one hand and an evil-lookingsword in the other.

Her voice was cold and pitiless, "theenemy moves" she told me and said that she would guide me to him. Theplace that Dionysus, for it is indeed he, seeks a long-hidden place in NorthWales. It is a dark place where the dead walk, including one of great ageand considerable power. The Morrigan told me that to defeat this ancient spiritof a long-dead warrior would leave me in no fit state to be able to face Dionysus.She proposed that I first seek out an ally, a man who lived a long time agoyet breathes still. He guards the grave of his commander and has done so formany centuries. There he continues until one comes along who will take upthe mantle that his commander once wore and thus enable him to perform suchservice as will allow him to complete the oath that he once swore. It seemsthat he was oathsworn to protect the standard of a King of the Cyrmric peoplesagainst their enemies, the savage overseas warriors who came after the Romans.However, he failed in this task and is thus compelled to await the chanceto redeem himself.

She gave me two warnings about this man. Firstly,while he was valorous and loyal, he will suffer in the realms of the dominionor infernal, though he is fine in such places that are under magical or faerie'fluence. Secondly, and most importantly, I must ask him no question concerninghis past, lest he remember his dishonour and lose his hope of redemption.

The place where this warrior can be found liesdeep in the north welsh countryside. The Morrigan will instruct her witchBethwyn to guide me along a secret mystical path to a point just south ofthe Hafsen forest, from where I must make my own journey. Drudwhil and I musthead west to the coast and then follow the coast to the north as far as Dolgellau.From there we should strike east up through the narrow valley that bisectsthe two mountains that overlook the bay. Then I will see a single high tor,with a forest at its base. The place that I seek lies within a regio atopthe hill. Once I have picked up my companion we should quickly seek out theruined fort which should lie somewhere nearby. The Morrigan could not tellme exactly where it is, though she knew its name, Talardd.

So it was that Drudwhil and I set off, guidedalong a strange path by the Bethwyn until we found ourselves standing in thedrizzle with the great forest of Hafsen on our right. After three days walking,we reached the coast and turned north. The road improved enough for me tobe able to conjure a horse and ride, speeding up our progress significantly.Although the locals were understandably nervous and suspicious of me, theywere happy enough to sell me provisions for our journey when I made it clearthat I would not be dallying. I rarely have any cause to speak with the commonfolk of my own land, but it was heartening to see that they will treat fairlywith a stranger bearing the Gift, even if their fare was simple.

After two damp days travel we reached the greatbay that the Morrigan had spoken of. Across the short stretch of sea, half-hiddenby the mist that blanketed the far shore we could make out the town of Dolgellau.Not wanting to push my luck with the local mundanes, we skirted past the townand headed up into the mountains. A day and a half later Drudwhil and I stoodat the base of the tor. Despite our close proximity to our objective, progressfrom there quickly became frustrating. The forest clearly had some sort ofmagic to it that constantly sought to guide us away from the top of the hilland it was only after I cast the 'Intuition of the Forest' that we were ableto make any headway. We made camp about two-thirds of the way up the hilland that night as I lay huddled beneath the sparse shelter of a large oaktree I had another dream.

I saw dark clouds gathering to the North, coalescingabove the black stone tower that stands at the heart of Holy Isle. From therea great storm built and spread out quickly, racing over the surrounding countryside.I had the distinct feeling that there was a foulness in the air that blewall abouts. This ill wind caused leaves to wither on the trees and I senseda malevolent intelligence behind it, a black-cloaked, broad-shouldered figure,the Renounced Magus Dionysus.

I awoke just before dawn, shivering slightlywith the cold and damp. I could only assume from the dream that time was runningout and we had to move quickly. After cutting through the second of the tworegio boundaries that we encountered as we hurried up the steep upper slope,the summit finally came into sight. Here though it was night and there wasan eerie howling coming from the hilltop, along with the unmistakable soundof steel on steel. We rushed up to find a lone soldier bearing a great towershield desperately fending off a baying throng of mail-clad undead warriors.The battle that ensued was fierce and at times desperate, for the fell magicanimated their corpses meant that they were entirely unaffected by any injuries,even when gravely wounded. However, thanks largely to Drudwhil's efforts,we were victorious.

With our foes finally lying unmoving on theground, I was able to claim the wolfshead mantle that lay on the sole gravestoneatop the tor. As I placed it upon my head, Marcus bowed his head and pledgedto serve me. Anxious to leave behind the upper regio in case there were anyfurther dead which might be animated and sent against us, we headed down tothe mid-regio where, battered and tired almost to the point of collapse, Isank down to the ground, conjuring naught but a few furs before falling intoa fitful but dreamless sleep.

Next morning, bruised but rested, I brieflyreturned to the hilltop to claim the helms of the fallen corpse warriors,having discovered that they contained corporem vis. Using these helmets Iattempted to heal my wounds before we pressed on to Talardd. In my haste toget moving, I lost control the magic and, with the vis I was using to makethe healing permanent, the magic spiralled so badly out of control that Isensed the threat of twilight looming. I managed to wrest back control ofmy magics just in time, but the errant magic still made the wound worsen insteadof healing it. I took a long moment to compose myself again and then attemptedto recast the spell. Fortunately my concentration held good this time andmy wounds were eased.

With that we pressed on. Marcus recognisedthe name "Talardd" and while he could not quite remember its exactlocation he knew the rough area where the fort of Talardd once stood and saidthat he would know it if he saw it.

In the end it took two days before at lastwe crested a rise and espied a mist-clad forest that lay on the hillside onthe far side of the shallow valley that lay below us. Marcus recognised theplace and said that the fort of Talardd lay at the heart of the forest. Wehurried down, fording a small brook that flowed through the valley's baseand up into the dark woods. The place was not dissimilar to the forest thatsurrounded the tor where we found Marcus and once again I was forced to castthe 'Intuition of the Forest' to enable us to pick a way through the gnarled,moss-covered trees. However, where the woods about the tor were alive withthe sounds of bird and other woodland creatures, these were eerily silent,with no sign of animal life at all. We had not gone far before Drudwhil pickedup the scent of graves and I began to see ghosts of warriors clad in a strangearchaic uniform that I did not recognise, though it bore some similaritiesto that which Marcus wears.

Despite these signs that we were drawing close,it was nearly night when Marcus said that we were almost there. Taking careto move silently, lest Dionysus was somewhere near, we crept forwards. Aheadthe trees thinned out and I saw the ruined fort that I had seen in my dream.It was a low stone tower, the upper level of which appeared to have largelycollapsed, though the ground floor seemed whole enough still. It was builton top of a man-made earthen rise, the side and rear slopes of which wereso steep as to be almost impassable. We snuck carefully around the edge ofthe clearing until we were almost level with the entrance to the fort andthen, taking a deep breath, crossed the open ground leading to the doorway.

The darkness inside the tower was mirroredin the spirit world and I could sense a presence within it. Whatever it was,was old, powerful and it knew we were here. I confess I quailed slightly atthe thought of walking into that blackness to face it and in an effort tolure it out I issued a challenge, my voice echoing round the clearing, breakingthe unnatural silence of the place. The spirit refused to be drawn out andso I attempted to conjure light within the tower. To my disquiet, insteadof illuminating the room as brightly as though it were bathed in sunlight,whatever power generated the darkness counteracted my spell to a large degree.It did however provide a little light, perhaps that akin to starlight, enoughat least to see by with the 'Eyes of the Cat'.

Now I could see my opponent. It was a tallfigure with a ragged plumed helmet and rusty chain hauberk worn over fleshthat was clearly no longer living. Part of its jawbone was visible throughan old gaping wound in what remained of the leathery grey flesh and elsewhereexposed bone glinted through gaps in its once-fine clothing. In its handswas a fearsome great axe, which, unlike the rest of it, appeared entirelyundiminished by age. Summoning my courage, I stepped inside to engage it incombat. Almost immediately I did so, four more ghosts materialised outside,two on each side of the fort, each bearing cruelly sharp shortswords. Drudwhilvaliantly took on the two to the left, while Marcus held off the remainingpair from within the tower as I battled the undead champion.

It was a hard fight. To my alarm, when I struckthe creature a firm blow on the leg and called upon the power of the Morriganto cleave through its iron greave, the spirit resisted the magic and my blowwent skittering harmlessly off its armour. I wondered for a moment if I wouldsurvive this fight, let alone the one to come against Dionysus, but if mysword could not pierce its protections, perhaps my magics could. Shuttingout the signs of combat from outside, I focussed on my foe with a fierce concentration,parrying his axe with my blade, while incanting lightning to strike him down.It took three bolts before he finally fell, at which point all the other ghostsevaporated, their swords clattering to the ground. I scarcely had time toregister Drudwhil slumping unconscious outside when I heard Dionysus's voiceshout "Now!"

Two winged demons charged into the tower. Marcusengaged one but the second leapt at me, bearing me down to the ground as Ifrantically sought to restore my parma, which had been ablated by the backwashfrom my lightning. Although I felt the demon's claws scrabbling for my throatI kept a cool head and once again called upon the arts of creo and auram,the lightning blowing the top of the creature's head off. I rolled to my feet,urgently trying to reforge my parma. As I did so, I felt it blown down againand I heard Dionysus's voice again, this time from somewhere in or near thedoorway. With honeyed words he told Marcus and I to lay down our swords andsave ourselves. Clearly he had cast a mentem spell of some sort, somethingakin to the 'Trust of Childlike Faith' at a guess, for despite the demon infront of him Marcus dropped his blade, though he held on to enough wit tokeep his shield. I too could sense a compulsion behind the words but was ableto resist and desperately peered into realm of spirits to seek out my enemy.

I caught a glimpse of a man-shaped void thatI knew only too well standing in the doorway and charged. Screaming out invocationsto the Morrigan to power the blade I held I lunged forwards. I caught Dionysuswith a vicious blow, cutting deeply into his torso. He fell to the ground,desperately reaching into his bag for an item of some sort, but whatever itwas nothing happened and I brought the Morrigan blade down in a brutal overheadsweep, once more calling out to her. My aim was true and Dionysus's head wassevered from his neck. Still filled with a furious rage and burning vengeanceI dismembered the corpse to ensure that, no matter how powerful the enchantmentsof lichdom were, his body would never rise again.

Once my temper had cooled a little, I suddenlyremembered my fallen familiar and rushed over to him. To my great relief hewas bloodied and bruised by not gravely injured. Satisfied that he was goingto be alright, I looked back towards Dionysus's body and saw to my horrorthat it had vanished. Looking frantically about, I caught a glimpse of a shadowrapidly moving towards the trees. Realising that my bitter foe was escapingI charged after it but I was too late as it reached the woods and the darknessthat lay within. As I stood just inside the tree-line trying futilely to makeout Dionysus's spirit amidst the myriad of other shadows that lay within,all I could hear was the sound of mocking laughter. Bitterly disappointedI returned to where he had fallen to see what remained. Although his fleshwas gone, his clothes and equipment were still there and I caught sight ofa black skull lying in the grass. I immediately recognised it as that whichhad blinded me before and probably also claimed the life of Aelfwin, alongwith countless others over the years. It took a couple of blows but I shatteredit in two. Dionysus might have escaped in some form, but at least it had costhim dearly. There was also a copper dagger with an ill feel to it that I bentout of true, as well as a not inconsiderable quantity of vis, on which notaint was visible.

I gathered up Dionysus's possessions, includingthe pieces of the skull, and instructed Marcus to collect up the weapons thatremained when the ghosts that had borne them had vanished. Then, I carefullyapproached the pedestal where the bronze bowl still sat and gingerly pickedit up. Somewhat encumbered and carrying my still unconscious familiar, Marcusand I got as far from Talarrd as we could before we were forced to rest.

Next morning, Drudwhil was thankfully muchrecovered and we set off back home. The journey was uneventful and just undera week later we stood beneath the boughs of the Hafren forest once more. There,in the shadows of the trees lurked Bethwyn. She told us that, despite theescape of Dionysus's shadow, we had done him great harm as his physical formwould be hard to replace and we should consider it a victory. She then ledus back to the Morrigan's glade, from where we were able to make it throughthe faerie regio without mishap and back to the covenant. After letting Cormoranknow that I was returned safely, I made the short journey to Blackthorn tomake report of what had happened to Senior Quaesitor Serenia. After listeningintently to my tale, she took possession of the broken remnants of his items,telling me that the vis was mine to keep. My duty done, I returned once moreto the covenant, where I am glad to report the remainder of autumn passedpeacefully.

Winter

Giraldus began our winter meeting by telling us the news he had, which wasnot good. Arcturus is still not returned to Narwold and his gravely concernedsodales have requested a quaesitorial investigation into his disappearance.I told the council of my fight with Dionysus, the bitter feeling of frustrationthat his spirit had evaded my vengeance still raw. With the aid of a temporaryloan of 5 pawns of vim vis from Dialectica, we acquired sufficient vis torecast the Aegis. Carwyn agreed to extract such vis from the aura as covenantservice this season to help ensure that next year the council is not forcedto beg loans from its members. The casting and indeed the season and thusthe remainder of the year eleven hundred and eighty one passed peacefully,with naught of note to record here. Although Dionysus and our infernal enemieshave been struck a heavy blow, they yet live, if their state can be calledsuch, and while they must now regard us with much greater caution I have littledoubt that the war is far from over. While we can now have hope that theycan be bested, we must not drop our guard lest we too suffer the same fateas poor Aelfwin.