The four magi--Kykna of Bjornaer, Tereysa of Flambeau, Gergo of Guernicus, and Ilius of Verditius—were introduced to Conrad Baker, an English Redcap charged with escorting the young magi to the Isle of Man. Conrad is a friendly, broad-shouldered man in full mail and armed with a sword, but revealed himself as not being especially bright. Nevertheless, he had already arranged for passage aboard the Blanche Mains, a cog captained by a Flemish merchant named Folpert. The journey would take a month, with stops in Lisbon and La Rochelle in Aquitaine to resupply, and each magi paid 1£ for transport of themselves and their retinue. Before setting sail, they sold one or two pawns of vis and used the proceeds to buy excellent lab equipment for their future covenant.
For eight days the Blanche Mains sailed west, towards the Pillars of Hercules, and passing this strait was the first obstacle of the journey. Captain Flopert admitted that, on his way t Rome, his magus passenger had simply cast a spell to make the entire boat invisible, and he was somewhat alarmed that the four wizards could not do the same. As they neared Gibraltar, their ship was spotted, and three smaller boats—one packed with almost a hundred marines—set out to intercept. Tereysa used spontaneous magic to summon a wind to fill the ship’s sails, while Kykna used Charge of the Angry Winds to blow enemy sailors into the water. This proved very effective; one of the Saracen captains tried to turn away from the wind, only for his sail to catch the storm and his whole boat to capsize. The remaining vessel, frightened by the prospect of attacking a ship of wizards, turned back to rescue survivors.
The journey was cramped and boring, and Tereysa’s Andalusian stallion suffered on the journey. But after two weeks they reached Lisbon and docked to unload some of Captain Flopert’s cargo of olive oil and wine, to buy provisions, and to stretch their legs.
It quickly became apparent that something terrible was happening in Lisbon. The dockworkers were charging twice as much money for their labor, only to do half as much work. Tempers were on edge and there was brawling in the streets. Half the women in town appeared to have become prostitutes, and all the men seemed to be buying. There were outbursts of plague and sickness, with houses cordoned off in quarantine. Gergo spotted some priests shouting at the citizens and, although he did not speak the native Spanish, he was able to infer from the occasional Latin quote that the Pope had placed Lisbon under interdiction. Tereysa, who is Spanish and had been to Lisbon as an apprentice, was able to glean more information.
Eight years ago, in 1212, Alphonso II rose to the throne and he instituted a series of taxes, but he did not pay his share of this tax to the Church. For this, the Pope placed all of Portugal under interdiction. In the ensuing eight years, divine auras throughout the kingdom have withered, and infernal auras have risen. Eight years is an unnaturally long time for an interdiction, and even cathedrals and churches would have no divine aura after so long a period cut off from God. In their place, infernal auras had overcome the city, and their pervasive influence was manifest in the behavior of the people all around.
The magi decided to take precautions, and used Rego Vim magic to create a ward against demons around the entire ship, but it proved extremely weak. Meanwhile, Kykna’s attention was drawn to the sound of raucous laughter, and she spotted a Spaniard mocking and laughing at a local Muslim who was lying on the ground with his leg broken at a terrible angle. She noticed the Spaniard had a snake around his shoulders, hidden beneath his cloak, and was protected by a heavily armed man. She suspected this was a wizard, but how to tell? So she sent Tereysa back for help while she followed the man from the air, as a swan.
Conrad, Gergo, and Tereysa found the injured man, and after Tereysa spoke with him (for he did not speak Latin, but knew Spanish), they learned the Spaniard had simply pointed at the poor man, and his leg had broken. He begged for help, and Conrad scooped him up and took him home. Meanwhile, Kykna had watched the mysterious stranger go into a brothel. The magi met and while they were considering what to do, a raven landed nearby and began speaking to them in Latin! “Ave, sodales” it said, and haltingly it told them that someone named “Vincent” was in danger, and needed help. When they asked where Vincent was, the bird flew off, and they followed… to the Se, Lisbon’s cathedral.
It was nearly dark by the time everyone arrived, and after a cautious exploration around the cathedral, they entered to find two priests who urged them to depart. But Conrad was able to charm them, and they told him that, as a visitor to Lisbon, he should leave as fast as possible, for the city was given over to sin and to evil. They themselves did not remain in the cathedral by night, but instead hid till dawn. When Conrad asked if they knew anyone named Vincent, they laughed and said no, unless of course you meant Saint Vincent, whose bones lie buried beneath the altar! Quickly, Kykna went back for reinforcements.
Stained glass windows above the altar told the story of Vincent’s torture and martyrdom as a saint, the protection of his body by ravens and other animals, and Alphonso’s journey to bring the remains to Lisbon for the cathedral. The divine ravens were still guarding the body, and their powers allowed them to drive off demons, but against a wizard such as the mysterious Spaniard, there was nothing they could do. They had been warned in a vision that Vincent was in peril, and only the magi could help. The priests fled as the sun set, and the magi took the advice of the ravens to hide in the church and wait. Soon, Ilius arrived with the grogs.
Eventually, the mysterious Spaniard arrived, and almost at once, Tereysa recognized Tordus of Flambeau, a member of Jefirya covenant, made up entirely of Flambeau and located in Portugal. She had met the Flambeau of Jefirya several years ago in a Flambeau tournament, and Tordus had been a young wizard, without the snake familiar he had now. Tordus left his shield grog, Carlo, to guard the door and approached the altar, taking some holy objects from the walls of the church, incliuding a crucifix and a votive candle. Curiously, he spat upon this candle, and cast a spell upon it to Sense the Nature of Vis, before putting it in a bag at his waist.
The magi struggled to remain silent and hidden as Tordus began his plan. First, he pushed the altar away with Unseen Porter. Then, using a ranged version of Rock of Viscid Clay, he pushed away the stone flooring that covered the interred relics of St. Vincent. Then, after failing to lift the reliquary out of the hole with magic, he took a pick and crowbar and hopped down into the hole to do it himself. Once he had the relic exposed, Tordus began to defile it … by dropping his trousers and urinating on it. This is when the magi attacked.
Conrad and Orban engaged the shield grog at the door, and a long, grueling battle began that would end with the enemy incapacitated and bleeding to death on the church floor, but Orban heavily wounded. Tordus’s own magic was impressive, but failed to harm. Tereysa managed to shrug off his Pilum of Fire and her Parma deflected a Ball of Abyssal Flame. But the real peril came when Tordus’s snake familiar slithered into view, for its dazzling display of brilliant scales instantly entranced almost everyone who gazed at it. Only Ilius and Gergo, with their knowledge of Animal and Mentem, were able to resist. But these two magi had no spells that could harm the Flambeau.
It was Gergo who acted, removing his cloak and bravely charging Tordus in an attempt to cover up the snake. Tordus struck him with Ball of Abyssal Flame, and it was only the divine aura around St. Vincent’s bones that kept the young Guernicus from death. Ilius used magic to tie the snake up in the cloak, and this freed Tereysa, who was able to get to the altar and cut off Tordus’s head.
The battle was over, and the magi survived, though Orban was grievously hurt. But what would happen now?