Three Songs: Eric receives an invitation from Baron d'Umfraville to join him for the Lenten feasts. He and Hygwald accept, and on the first night are treated to a sumptious feast of roast swan. Even the grogs that accompanied them are treated to a decent meal within the lord's hall. Eric makes friends with the baron's chaplain, and engaging him in conservation regarding the baron's lack of an heir. Eric's plan is to use the d'Umfravilles as breeding stock for an apprentice, given the fact that the current baron's great-grandmother was a member of the Order (and Horsingas). The entertainment for the evening was provided by a stranger wearing a copper bracelet, whose mournful and poignant song enthralled the whole audience, and left many weeping in their cups.
The next day, there was a stag hunt, at which Eric provided the coup and was marked for his first hunt. At the feast that night, enjoying the roast venison, the baron's minstrel plays a song that was the twin of the previous night, sweet and sorrowful, and provoking strong emotions. It was noticed that he was wearing a copper bracelet. The stranger from the previous evening complements the minstrel on his song, and offers to play another, more suitable for a feast. He plays a merry jig which gets everyone laughing with joy and dancing, almost to exhaustion. He is wearing a silver bracelet.
On the second day, Eric plays the baron at chess while Hygwald searches the library for the family's history. The third feast began, unsuprisingly, with the baron's minstrel playing the song of joy, wearing a silver bracelet. The stranger slips in during the song, and Hygwald gets to speak to him, though he learns very little except for his alias, Carmenus. There is a glint of gold at his wrist, and when the minstrel finishes, the stranger takes the floor. Only a few notes are heard before everyone is asleep. When they awake, the stranger and the minstrel are gone. Hygwald and Eric, following local stories, trace the faerie back to his hill. They are allowed in after stripping off their iron, and speak to Carmenus and see Caedda the minstrel, his captive. Hygwald offers them a story (enhanced by his magic), and is granted a boon in return. Recognising that Caedda has stolen from the fae, and thus they have the right to justice, Hygwald asks for a song of enchantment. When he leaves, he finds a copper bracelet in the heather, which he thanks the fae for.
Black Death: Hygwald wrote a report on the fall of Doire Druidhan to Whitburh, Loch Leglean's quaesitor; this report can be found here. This adventure leaves all the magi infected with the Plague, although kept stable by doses of Bitter Cane. The book they retrieved, the Liber Morbus Mortui, contains detains of how to cure the plague, by taking bitter cane and infusing it with Vim vis, much like opening an item for enchantment. The grogs are not so lucky, and Abba the Cook suffers heavily from the plague's debilitating effects.
The last event this season occurs when Hugwald opens the box they obtained from Aramin. It is trapped, and blinds him for the rest of the season. within is a magical item referred to as the Token of the Star.
Plague from the Past: Ælfhere returns from Norham with some disturbing news. Francis d'Alsante has died, but before he did so he made a confession to his family's priest, naming both Eric and Hygwald and the Order of Hermes. The priest, Father Bregowine, has made no secret about the contents of the death-bed confession, and an inquisition is threatened. Hygwald, Ælfhere and Æthelbald head off for Faverloch, Bregowine's home parish, to investigate. When they arrive, they discover that the priest, along with a few other prominent villagers, have been killed by a mob led by a couple of friars. The group spend time searching around the village and its environs for reasons, visiting a farm where they discover a blind girl with visions, and eventually kidnap the innkeeper Cumbra, who seems to have been somewhat of a ringleader. He shows them where the friars are staying, in a gatehouse that guards the only entrance up to Manor Head. They go and speak with the friars, finding them very unlike any holy men they've met before: one is huge in stature, another is grossly deformed; the third is obviously their bodyguard. Hygwald decides that they should lie in wait until they leave, and then rifle through their belongings. In doing this, he discovers spell components and a book in encrypted Latin that is definitely NOT religious in nature. They proceed up Manor Head and investigate the house there. Æthelbald meets with Lady Cospatric who lives there, quickly realising that she is the ghost of a woman who was abandoned on her wedding day many years ago. Hygwald investigates the circle of stones, and at dawn is hit with an yellow beam of light, reflected off something on Beacon Isle, a mile or so offshore. This light makes him experience the cold chill of Twilight, although he does not succumb. Returning to Faverloch to find a boat, he meets up with an old friend of his from Blackthorn, now a magus of House Flambeau, Lucas von Beck. They row out to the isle together and determine that the light came from a piece of amber held in the hand of a statue on top of the beacon tower, but removing this stone sets off a series of earthquakes. It is only when they row back to the mainland that they realise that the earthquakes are caused by the waking up of a giant, who has been laying across the mouth of the bay for many years, until revived by the 'friars'. The giant is over sixty foot tall, and misshapen, with staring eyes and fish-like scales. Its first action upon waking is to kill the human who had the impudence to try to control it. The other 'friar' escapes, leaving the bodyguard to return for their belongings - he is captured and later agrees to join the covenant. The giant seems to have gone, and Hygwald thinks that this area would make an excellent location for setting up a covenant.
The season's activities are interrupted by the arrival of Severine, a senior quaesitor (and the mater of both Whitburh and Stratus Enor). The bishop has heard about Hygwald's and Eric's involvement with Francis d'Alsante afterall, and has ordered that the matter is investigated. Severine is furious that these two have endangered the Code, and gives them a very tough questioning. Hygwald ends up admitting that they acted without regard to the Code in the whole affair with Azenis and Francis, and that it was not wise to allow Æthelbald to compete in the lists against Christopher d'Alsante. Severine pronounces her summary judgement: Hygwald and Eric are to be thrown out of Horsingas, deprived of their sancta and access to its resources. Rather unfairly, she condemns Hachim and Lucas to the same fate, declaring them guilty by association.
Once Severine has gone, the Council of Horsingas allow the magi to remain in the covenant at least until the winter has passed. They also grant them a gift of the vis source on Inner Farne. However, Jehan does call in the debt of vis they owe to Horsingas, which amounts to quite a lot of pawns...
Hachim, who had been in communication with Julia Textrix, late of Doire Druidhan, suggested that she joined the new covenant when it was formed. The other magi agreed to this.