Four of the covenant's five magi set off to Glen Lyon this season for the 58th meeting of the Loch Leglean Tribunal. On the road north of Edinburgh they are besiet by bandits just as they settle down for the night; these raiders carry white shields with a red cross symbol, which is later identified as the sigil of Fire's Heart. After the fight, Eric uses a bit of necromancy to discover that the men were employed by a man called Domongart. Proceding to Callender, Vidua Vasta travel northwards from the trade town with a group of monks who turn out to be two magi from the covenant of Arbroath.
On the second night of being at Glen Lyon, Hygwald gets invited to a party. There he meets a number of young magi from the tribunal, who seemed to be co-conspirators in some plot. After some initial ribbing, Hygwald is let in on the plot - to abduct Aine, the praeco's daughter, just for the sheer hell of it. He is teamed up with a magus called Ban Gairdean and asked to figure out some scheme to create a distraction. This is all a big joke on Hygwald - they seem to be testing his temperment rather than actually planning some prank, especially as his partner in this scheme is actually Aine herself! The real purpose of the meeting is to suggest an unofficial pact between the younger magi of the tribunal who feel that the age-old rivalries of the tribunal are only kept alive by the older members of the covenants. They suggest that when votes are cast, as long as prior alliances don't stand in the way, that these younger magi should perhaps stick together. Hygwald is last seen heading off into the night with Aine.
The next morning a redcap by the name of Richard Caespuus introduces himself. He is to be 'their' redcap, and asks for the details that they want announced about the founding of their covenant to the tribunal. He also hands over 9 pawns of Creo vis that he has collected from Lombard.
The tribunal begins with the Aegis ritual, followed by the arrival of the praeco and praetor quaesitorius and their opening speeches. Old business is dealt with first by Whitburh - as Hygwald has failed to pay the fine levied on him at the last tribunal, the original fine is tripled. He now owes 9 magical charms to House Mercere, at least three of which must be Charms against Magic. News follows; of particular relevance to Vidua Vasta are the reports that four magi have been thrown out of Horsingas by Severine for endangering the Order (that is, the four player magi); and the destruction of Doire Druidhan and Lux ex Tenebris. Next order of business is the initiation of new magi, which includes Aine Ban Gairdan ("Aine of the White Arms"). Two new covenants are also announced - Vidua Vasta and Fergal's Rest; the latter was formed last year by three magi who were just initiated into the Order - Aine, a Flambeau from Fire's Heart and a gruagach from Clan Mac Gruagach. They are joined by a Jerbiton from the Rhine tribunal. It is clear that the gruagach does not join Fergas Rest with the approval of his master or his clan.
The final order of business for the first night are Breaches of the Code. The first two are the retrospective Marching of Damon le Mont, and the formulaic accusation against the three magi who Marched him. The third breach of the Code was committed by Hygwald of Tremere, and he is called to answer his crime. Stratus Enor accuses him of summoning a demon and then annoucing himself to be its master. This crime was reported to him by Lucas. Stratus Enor is satisfied that the answers that Hygwald gives before the tribunal are truthful and complete, and indicates to the tribunal that the hand of Azenis is in this affair - he was present at the casting of the Aegis that summoned the demon, he supplied some of the vis used and he penned the copy of the Aegis ritual that is in Vidua Vasta's library. The Tribunal votes and acquits Hygwald. Fire's Heart and Arbroath vote against Hygwald, but most others vote for him.
The second night of the tribunal is occupied mainly by personal conflicts, and is always the busiest night. This night was dominated by conflicts between Turmaris and Eilean Beg, but Vidua Vasta was not left out. Firstly, Crun Clach, in the form of Alexander the Lame, requested the return of the Token of the Star, an item which belonged rightly to them. Hygwald did not help matters by insulting the aged magus. He was challenged to Certamen and swiftly beaten, given the head of a pig for the rest of the Tribunal. Lucas and Eric took his place in the arena. Then Thomas Vann also laid a claim to the item, as the last survivor of Doire Druidhan, but his claim was dismissed by a tribunal vote. The matter was decided by a certamen between Eric and Seamus an Cat, which lasted some time until the latter made a horrific mistake and forfeited the fight.
Domongart of Fire's Heart brought a charge against Vidua Vasta, accusing them of breaking the Pact of Crun Clach. He was present when the characters were attacked before the tribunal, and both Eric and Lucas used magic in the battle, despite the clear use of the covenant symbol on the shields of the grogs. This, by common practice, fulfills the requirement of a magus to identify himself. Lucas fought certamen with Domongart and won; prompting the manifestation of Lucas's Automatic Magic, leaving him naked as his clothes rotted away. Praeco Caitlin was seen giving his bare physique admiring glances for the rest of the evening. Nevertheless, Eric and Lucas are fined 5 pawns of vis each for their contravention of the Pact.
A formal agreement of mutual assistance is made between Crun Clach and Fergal's Rest. This enrages Clan MacGruagach, and Fearghus Mac Mungan from that covenant engages Roscaidh mac Donnadh of Fergal's Rest in a shapeshifting duel.
During the next day, Lucas received a visitation from Robert Gero of Fire's Heart and Sgaine Cridhe Aonaran. They are aware of the reputation of his master as a hoplite (although this was many years ago; Talion Sicarius is now Stonehenge's Praeco), and wanted to test Lucas's abilities. These tests leave him horribly burnt. However, a second visitor is more gentle to him, and he is next seen when the third night of the Tribunal begins, escorting Caitlin Suil Aine into the tribunal hall before taking his place in the audience.
Hachim also receives a visitor, Radislav am Polonach, one of the few other Criamon in Loch Leglean. Radislav is concerned that Hachim has not solved the riddle given him at his Gauntlet, and the two debate the issue. Happy with Hachim's answers, the Polish Criamon applies a new tattoo to Hachim's withered leg, and sets him a new riddle.
The third night is taken up with conflicts over lands and resources. Once again, Turmaris and Eilean Beg have several tussles (all of which are adjudicated in favour of Eilean Beg), and there is also a pyrrhic victory for Cnoc Nathair over Clan MacGruagach. The big surprise of the night was the return of Bricis Devontis, former Magus Proctor of Doire Druidhan. Still clad in his burial shroud, at first he appeared to be some form of apparition, and was imprisoned by the spells of the hoplites soon after he lurched into the tribunal building. However, once he was recognised, he was released and he told his tale. He had not died of a heart attack; instead he was bound into a magical sleep by Somnifer. The two suspected that something was going on in Doire Druidhan, and they decided to uncover it by faking Bricis's death. Unfortunately, Somnifer was burnt at the stake, and he was the only one who knew of Bricis's predicament. The old Tremere watched, unable to move or cast magics, as his beir became a site for themeeting of conspirators. He was well aware of the coming of the magi now at Vidua Vasta, and was finally rescued by Mazain, who he names as his amicus.
Very little business took place on the fourth night of the tribunal, mainly due to the stance that Loch Leglean takes regarding affairs with mundanes. Solomon of Arbroath warns the tribunal that he has been visited by Dominican Frairs in search for heresy. The other business of this last night was the choosing of representatives to send to the Grand Tribunal meeting next year. Hygwald puts himself forward as a candidate, and gets one vote. Ian Mac Gabhan of Crun Clach, Domhnall Beg of MacGruagach and Bricis Devontis are chosen by majority vote.
Finally, the tribunal is validated by vote of all the magi. As usual, Clan MacGruagach vote for redoing the tribunal, but virtually everyone else votes nay.
Vidua Vasta came out of the Tribunal reasonably well. They managed to trade vis with Arbroath, Horsingas and MacGruagach, and arranged a vis exchange with Fergal's Rest - one pawn of Herbam and one other pawn of vis will be exchanged for a pawn of Imaginem vis by them every year.
There are a few correspondances this season. Firstly, a somewhat insulting letter from Aine to Hygwald, which she asks to be read out at the council meeting. Father Calum receives a letter from his bishop, hand-delivered by an Augustinian Canon. Apparantly Bishop Guillet has been mindful of Calum's reports about the strange goings-on in Faverloch and its environs, and to lend spiritual support, has decided to establish a priory on St Abb's Head. The chosen spot is a few miles north east of the village, past Leaper's Bluff, and it is to be tenanted by five black canons from Guillet's own cathedral chapter.
Julia points out signs of decay in the covenant. Part of the building between Lucas's and Azenis's labs is crumbling, and will need a hefty expenditure to prevent its inevitable decline. More disturbingly, some of the books in the library have started to develop black streaks, which has obliterated some of the text. The worst affected are those that have been used by Lucas recently, and the Council see a link with this and Lucas's automatic magic. It is deemed best that Lucas goes to Norway with Eric this season.
Deadly Legacy: Eric and Lucas, along with Bjorn, Aelric, Aaron, Assa, Grim and Ogmund head off for Bergen in the Golden Ship. There they leave the boat and trek overland north to Sogne Fjord, where the Beogarts have their main stronghold. First, however, the group end up on the other side of the fjord as a guest of the Odd-Karnors. The current leader of the clan, Otrygg, is young and inexperienced, with his father and brother freshly dead and his eldest brother a captive of the Beogarts. Otrygg has resorted to desparate measures; his sister has summoned an ancient undead sorceress to their aid, and her corrupting influence has affected the whole settlement. While this Helga Helsdottir has helped them in battle, everyone is in fear of her powers, raising the dead to fight again, and summoning werewolves to assist her. A group of grogs try to leave the settlement to check out the Beogart settlement, but they are harried by the wolf-beasts and are forced to return. Eric and Lucas investigate Helga's barrow, and discover one of the horrible creatures that spawns the werewolves.
By the light of day, the group head for Hersvik, stronghold of the Beogarts. On the way there, two trolls make the mistake of standing up, and they are attacked by the group. One is severely wounded by Lucas; the other turns out to be Gyfja, the beloved of Idda, the ancient runemaster that Eric met in Driffield so long ago. Bjorn heads out for Hersvik, and manages to insult Jarl Beogart, nevertheless the group is invited to speak with him. However, a warding rune on the gates to the stronghold causes a few problems for Eric and Lucas, and they have to wait for Leif Beogart, the jarl's brother, to manufacture a counter-charm. The magi have a long talk with the Beogart's magician. They agree that he will tell them where to find his ancestor's barrow on two conditions. First, they deal with Helga (and he tells them her weakness for light). Second, the ancient Beogart must not be allowed to escape from his burial place. Leif knows him to be evil, and fueling the feud through supernatural means.
The group return to the Odd-Karnors and lay in wait for Helga. She is obviously aware of the character's intentions, and attacks them with her werewolves and her magic. Between them, Lucas and Eric deal with Helga and the grogs sort out the werewolves. Before she dies, Helga curses Eric with a cryptically-worded curse, and he finds himself unable to use Creo Ignem magics. Within Helga's chest, Lucas finds a shard of ice in place of her heart, which proves to contain a lot of Perdo and Vim vis. While they prepare to burn Helga's body, it disappears.
The group return to Bergen and set off northwards, following an ancient sun-compass given them by Leif Beogart. They continue to travel until the sun no longer sets, and eventually they see land, just as an unnaturally fierce storm blows up. Most of the characters end up in the icy water when the ship hits an iceflow and starts taking on water. In the freezing water all looks grim, but Eric summons an immense watery spirit, gives it an immense quantity of vis as a bribe, and it takes them all to land. Despite being on dry land, all is not well. Many of the group have hypothermia, especially Lucas who is drifting in and out of unconciousness. Fortunately, some human live in this frozen waste, and despite an inability to talk to them, they provide the group with warmth, food, and directions to the Beogart's barrow. Once they reach the barrow they need to climb it and break into the top. Within they find a large chamber set out like a lord's hall. In a large chair at the end of the barrow is the Beogart, who looks like a jarl exccept for his four arms. After engaging them in conversation, the Beogart eventually attacks. In the ensuing battle, the characters seem outclassed, until Lucas uses the vis in the heart of Helga to destroy the Beogart in a blast of magic. The looting then begins.
Hygwald hands over 2 magical items to Richard Caespuus as part of his debt to House Mercere.
Beorhtric and Paedella are married, after a year-long engagement.
Prior Matthew asks to see Beohtric at the priory. It seems that one of the labourers has absconded with the priory's strongbox. The box contained the wages for the labourers, but more importantly, their relic, the Hand of St Marcellus. The thief, a lad by the name of Gerwas, was a quiet man, easily recognised because of the warts on his nose. Beorhtric fetches Aeddi and Scrob, the covenant's best trackers, and they trace the thief to a traveller's inn just outside Eyemouth. Within, Aeddi finds Gerwas, quite drunk and overcome with sorrow. He stole the hand for his lady Isobella, to prove his love for her. She told him that it was a family relic that had been stolen by some greedy monks. Just then, Aeddi is attacked (apparently for no reason) by three mercenaries who were also staying in the tavern. Aeddi manages to pummel one into unconsciousness, which was just as well, as Beorhtric's opponent escaped and Scrob's was killed.
Questioning the captive, Beorhtric discovered that they were hired by a Sir Steffan in Berwick. He told them to meet a man called Gerwas there, and tell him that they were sent by Isobelle. They were to take whatever he was carrying. They could keep the money but had to throw the hand into the sea. They were also to attack anyone looking for Gerwas. Fortunately for the canons, the mercenaries were too lazy to go to the sea to dispose of the hand, so Gerwas had to make a trip into the tavern's midden to retrieve it. Beorhtric went to Berwick but could find nothing out about Sir Steffan or Isobelle.
At the Autumn council meeting plans were discussed to isolate Vidua vasta further from the mundanes. Lucas resolved to make an enchanted pick which would destroy stone, and a grog would be set to work creating a trench across the promontary which connected Manor Head to the mainland. It was estimated it would take a full season for a grog to create this trench, 100 paces wide.
Azenis asks Hygwald for a large quantity of money for some expensive improvements to his laboratory. Surprised at how poor the covenant is, Azenis offers a solution. While researching at Blackthorn he came across a map which located an old Roman hoard of silver on the isle of Wight, near the village of Gatcombe. He is pretty sure that the magi of Blackthorn are blissfully unaware of its location. Hygwald gathers together some grogs, along with Bjorn, and heads for Wight in the Golden Ship. Instead of entering Gatcombe, having been warned about their unfriendliness to strangers, Hygwald finds a nearby farm, owned by a prosperous farmer called Ufic. This farmer knows about the existence of the cavem, having already guided someone there about ten years ago; tall and thin with incredibly boney hands (i.e. Azenis). He agrees to take Hygwald there on the next day. Bjorn notices the lack of children at the farm, and finds that it is under a curse: no person or animal has conceived young for some time. Ufic blames the local witches, and hygwald, interested at the chance of meeting some non-hermetics, agrees to visit their leader and perhaps negotiate with her. She turns out to be a local goose-breeder, and claims to know nothing about Ufic's curse. Bjorn gets overly obsessed about goose-eggs.
Ufic takes them to the cave after a lunch of goose-egg omelettes. The cliff is 40' tall, with the cave entrance at the top. Hygwald goes first, using Rego Corpus to lift himself up to the top. Unfortunately at the crucial moment he loses concentration, and plummets back down to earth, breaking several ribs. He binds himself up with Rego Corpus again to keep active. They decide to do things the hard way, and scale the cliff. XX tries first, and falls, but fortunately Hygwald is able to use spontaneous magic to cushion his fall. Eventually Aelric makes it to the top, and throws a rope down for everyone else. Bjorn, with his fear of heights, stays at the bottom. Hygwald enters the cave to find a pile of silver and ancient treasure. However, like all good piles of treasure, this one is guarded by a dragon...
After some preliminaries, the dragon, whose name is Wiht, proposes a way in which Hygwald can earn some of her treasure. She is concerned about her three children, who also live on the Isle of Wight. If Hygwald brings her news, he will be rewarded. Hygwald is followed to the location of Wiht's children by Ufic - it turns out he was being paid by the dragon to care for her eggs, but with the troubles on his farm, has not been able to. He shows them what has happened to them - one is clearly dead, the other is badly diseased whereas the third seems healthy for now. Hygwald finds himself able to see huge flies, which seem to originate from six lead discs which he finds scattered around the eggs. A nearby makeshift laboratory indicates a Hermetic magus is involved. Hygwald returns to Wiht and tells her that Azenis is responsible for the death of one of her children. He is allowed to take as much silver as he can carry (which isn't very much, given his current state), and he returns to Vidua Vasta. Along with the silver and the lead tablets, Hygwald also brings Ufic's cat; based on the theory that this cat is linked to the huge cat that he saw attacking the flies - but bear in mind that only Hygwald saw the cat or the flies.
Upon his return, Hygwald confronts Azenis, asking him to leave the covenant. Azenis refuses, denying all knowledge of the curse tablets. He is also furious that Hygwald has intimated to a dragon that he is responsible. It is only afterwards that Hygwald invistigates the debris he retrieved from the makeshift laboratory and discovers that a magus called Berenguer is named.
Badda has managed to sell the silver jewellry on behalf of the covenant, getting 125 shillings for it, of which he pockets a surprisingly small 5 shillings.
Gerwas gets to work with the magical pick, digging a trench from north to south across the peninsula of land east of Manor Head. Other workmen clear away the rubble, meaning the trench will be finished by the beginning of Spring.
Hachim and Eric send some vis to Horsingas to pay off their debts; Hachim sends 2 Forms, Eric 23 Forms and 2 Techniques.
A messenger from Guilleme de Fontnevoy arrived to deliver the first installment of his ransom to Aethelbald (100s). As he left, the gatehouse crumbled and fell, burying the unfortunate soldier under a pile of rubble. The labourers who were working on the gatehouse at the time cleared the debris, but the man was dead. Amongst the ruins of the gatehouse was found a tunnel, which lead up to the kitchens of the manor house. In the wall of the tunnel, right near the entrance, a niche was discovered. Within the niche was the virtually mummified body of a man, wrapped in a linen sheet. His hands were clasping an ancient book, which proved to be his day-book. With a certain amount of difficulty the book was read (the langage is archaic and the parchment degraded), stating that it belonged to Gerdic of Wales, magus of House Diedne. The notes in the back of the book revealed his tale: He came here in 846 from his covenant (Holy Oak) along with a consors by the name of Cospatric. He slew the giant with Cospatric's help, but gave up his life to protect the thegn. He was buried at the site so he could thenceforth guard Cospatric and his family, who took up residence on Manor Head. The rest of the book described Gerdic's research into the stone circle on Manor Head. The book has been left with Hachim to peruse.