Vincent negotiates a casting of Touch of Midas at the end of Autumn 1225. to allow him to commission a ship at Visby, and he toddles off to set that in motion.
at the end of Autumn 1226, Aoide get word of the desires of various Magi in the Hibernian Tribunal, as filtered through Qui Sonant and Vincent:
The main desires are Tractatus on Spell Mastery, Magic Theory, Philosophy, Artes Liberales, Enigmatic Wisdom, Verditius Lore, Craft skills, as well as any Tractatus on Techniques.
Tethys is prevailed on again to get out her quill, and she dashes off two Tractatus (both q15) on Spell Mastery. The first on Leap of Homecomming, and the second on Aegis of the Hearth. This sets of ructions as they didn't know that she knew Leap of homecomming. Gunter Pens a treatise on Muto, and then either Karl or Vincent (who ever it is: set it up in the Lab history and tell me what quality they all end up as) quickly copies these three. Along with Orlaith's perfect copy of their prized MT tractaus, they are read to set off to Qui Sonant just after the Summer solstice.
Before setting off to Ireland, Vincent relays Pumillius's Question to the Galdramen:
"what kind of Ond do you wish to look for?"
and back came the reply
"Ond has different types?"
Whereupon Pumillius whoops internally.
He then sends Vincent back with his terms: He (Pumillius) will craft a device to detect Vis at a cost of 6 pawns of Ond (since he needs specifically Imaginem or Intellego Vis to craft the item, he will borrow this from covenant stores and repay after he is paid). He also asks for Vincent to set up an exchange whereby the covenant will give up 12 pawns of Ond, and receive 10 back from the Galdramen of the Magi's choosing (Vincent actually negotiates an 11 to 10 exchange rate unbeknowst to the Magi. One wonders how he is going to pull this off, as someone needs to be present who can detect the different types of Vis.
Autumn 1227:
Arriving at Qui Sonant, the Magi are going through the normal pleasantries when a grog calls away the Host Magi.
After much too-ing and fro-ing, Turlough and Lewis introduce the delegation from Aoide to Duncan the Scot, a trader living in the nearby town of Begorrah*.
Duncan formally presents hismelf and states that he is here to demand aid from the Covenenant of Qui Sonant under the ancient Treaty with the Covenant of Vindolanda. It emerges that the (until now thought extinct) covennat of Vindolanda in North Umbria was one of the original sponsors of the Covenant of Qui Sonant, and that Duncan posesses all relevant documentation. Iain's home has been torched, his father left at death's door, and his daughter, (brigit) kidnapped. Also taken was a stone lintel, property of Vindolanda, and this is what he requests aid in recovering. After some negotiations, Turlogh and Lewis persuade the Aoide Magi to take up the cause, as they (the Qui Sonant Magi) are needed to maintain the songs of slumber and are loathe to leave the covenant for any extended period of time.
Investigations are made a the docks and a lead is picked up to an english ship heading to Exeter. They give chase and upon arriving at Exeter discover that the man in question was a "lord Peter" with holdings on the fringes of Exmoor. Whilst interrogating Vincent manages to get his foot under the table with the captain of the (hired) ship with a bit of judicious intimidation. he now has a share in a shipping business....
The give chase to the manor house, finding it deserted, except for a few servants locked in an upstairs room. The crypt is investigated, and the lintel is found in a murky room. Duncan is immediately desolate, and cries that it must have been activated. He mutters a few inaudible words and the space underneath the lintel suddenly falls away to reveal a different room. Duncan urges them through and follows soon after.
They find themselves in a well constructed stone complex. Heading towards the sound of chanting they discover two crystalline bubbles and a man (Lord Peter) chanting over them. Through the translucent bubbles they see in one a man in Roman Military Dress, in the other a hideous hound. Brigit is tried up on the far side. Th bubbles are connected by streams of silver, but black streaks are beginning to form on their surfaces
They dispatch lord peter and his raven familiar (which tries to peck out their eyes) but it seems that they were too late to stop the ritual as the blacknes spreads faar enough that the bubble enclosing the dog pops, the streamers vanish, and the dog leaps *into* Brigit. The Transformed Brigit, vanishes at impossible speed down a tunnel. One of the Streamers, flailing wildly hits Valeri and he falls unconscious.
Valeri wakes up but speaks with a very different voice "after it, it cannot be allowed to get away!" and starts chasing the hound.
After Vincent snaggs a rather snazzy cloak from the corpse, they scrabble up the tunnel, and after much running emerge...
In the Mudpool in the Centre of Aoide.
*named by one of my players with close Irish Ancestry after my mind went blank about the name of the place