Paddesham: After Hygwald's disasterous encounter with King Robigus, and Lucas's suspicions as to the affliliation of Hygelac, Calum and Lucas decide to go down to Paddesham and have a bit of a snoop. It is possible that there might be some lingering signs of the Covenant of Holy Oak - if indeed it was at the site of the village. Starting at the Green Oak, Calum and Rocas fly in opposite directions to scout out the woodlands, while Lucas remains in the village to look for auras. Despite testing a number of places with InVi, the only aura he finds is a weakly magical one in the Green Oak itself. The two rooks find nothing of particular interest, and they fail to attract the attention of anyone or anything at the Hill of Mushrooms. Lucas hears from Brun (the blacksmith) that his dad found four large stones, like gravestones, beneath the floor of his shop; these now make up the well surround. Calum investigates and uses his magic to enhance the carvings on them - they all have the same symbol (four lines, one horizonal above / | \), a name, and then another symbol (which are all too badly eroded to read). The names are RONABVVI, HVCELA_(missing letter), ASCLINN and BOCCA.
Returning to the Green Oak, they discover that a group from Fire's Heart have arrived - Felix, Roger of Arran, and three grogs. Lucas and Felix exchange a few terse words, and Felix reveals he intends to take the vis contained in the Mother Oak back to Fire's Heart with him. Lucas challenges him to certamen, and they retreat outside the village to fight. The terms are that Fire's Heart will relinquish all claim to the vis, or that Lucas will not stop them from taking it. Unfortunately for Felix, Lorris (owner of the Green Oak), suspecting a fight, has grabbed his sword and set out to help Lucas, and he sees everything (including Felix gradually turning into stone as he enters Twilight). Lucas tries to wipe Lorris's memory, but to no avail. It turns out that the relic in his sword's hilt (from his Crusading days) probably disrupted the certamen as well as granting him resistance to magic.
Next morning, Lorris disappears. While the magi are investigating the blacksmith's shop, he received a visitor (who sounds a lot like Candidus), and wasn't seen again. His young wife is distraught, and demands that Lucas finds him again. They learn that the name Hygelac is associated with a local hero-figure, who killed a giant and performed all sorts of other tricks, including making a pact with the wolves. Hygelac is said to help star-crossed lovers, because he himself had a wife who he could not be with, and her grave is in the forest. Johanna Marianne shows them back to the grave (the barrow that Lucas found when looking for the wolf). Here, they meet Hygelac again. He tells them some information about Candidus's character, how he is a creature that is fed by oaths and contracts he makes with mortals. He guesses that Lorris had one such oath, which he's now broken. Finally, Hygelac tells them how to find Candidus, at the Chillingham Fayre (on May Day).
Fire's Heart: Richard, in the meantime, has visited Fire's Heart to find out anything they know about the destruction of Holy Oak. He comes back fuming, because he was told that if Vidua Vasta wanted a trade, they should come themselves rather than sending a lackey. They've also named their price - the Token of the Star.
Lucas and Calum make the decision (with Richard's agreement), that the Token is currently useless to them, so Calum takes it and the Grim brothers to Fire's Heart to make the trade. Things go quite smoothly; he meets with Robert Gero, who provides a diary of Fuger, the magus who destroyed Holy Oak, as well as a (locked) chest containing some of his personal effects. On the return journey, Calum wisely keeps an eye on the terrain ahead and discovers that Felix and Augustus are trying to ambush them with 4 grogs. The day turns into a cat-and-mouse; Calum changes the weather to make things miserable for Fire's Heart, allowing them to choose the ground where they face the ambushers. Despite being outnumbered, the Grims are far superior warriors, and they manage to kill two of the grogs and seriously wound a third. However, during the fight, Augustus suddenly lets rip with several direct spells, in clear contravention of the Pact of Crun Clach. Felix is already in retreat, and is seen to have loud words with his sodalis, who then flies off.
Calum finds it difficult to leave the seriously injured man behind, so he binds his wounds magically. In uneasy truce, Felix asks for assistance. He swears that Augustus was not in control of himself, and says that the person who cast those spells was not his sodalis - the eyes were the wrong colour. He asks if Calum will help him track him down. Calum agrees, and they decide to start looking in the Devil's Hole, a notable feature (and one of Fire's Heart's vis sources, as it turns out). Augustus is indeed there, and immediately lets rip with some chilling spells (his speciality is winter). Halfgrim nearly gets frozen solid. Calum decides to erect a defensive Wall of Thorns, but the magic goes awry, and it grows beneath his feet, trapping all the grogs and both himself and Felix within. However, he manages to free Grim, and between the two of them they manage to subdue Augustus and bind him hand and foot. Calum then takes his leave of them, leaving Felix to deal with his sodalis. He made no promises about whether he would press charges against Augustus at Tribunal.
Back at the covenant, the chest is carefully opened. It contains for plaques of wood bearing symbols, which the diaries reveal are the voting sigils of the four members of Holy Oak which were slain there (they bear the symbols of a trilithion, a knot, a horse and a wolf's head). It also contains ashes, a broken staff, and a torc which has been disenchanted. The diary of Fulger Flambonis seems to have been written specifically for study, and will contain a lot of useful information, once studied properly).
Hygwald sends off the vis he owes in fines - 2 He to Prelum and 3 He to Natasha Gyongy
Are You Going To Chillingham Fayre?:On May Day, Calum, Hygwald and Francis bead off to Chillingham Fair to seek out Lorris and Candidus. They first enter the noble's compound to locate Lord Aethelbald, who is in attendance. They get short shrift from their surly liege, who insists that they bear his own arms on their shields. Francis searches the fair for Old Marie, who will show them to the Other Side of the Fair, and discover that she is the mother of the blacksmith. Francis goes to have his fortune told by her, and ends up stepping through to the Other Side. After discovering that there is a faerie regio here, but lacking the power to force their way into it, Hygwald and Calum manage to find Old Marie by themselves an hour or so later. The Other Side is similar, but different. The fair's patrons and vendors are faeries and anthropomorphised animals. Francis is in deep discussion with a guillemot, who is trying to sell him dried fish - who won't stop complaining.
They are here to find Maud, and after some initial difficulty, whilst Hygwald learns the rules of the fair, they do so. Following Hygelac's last instruction, they enter negotiations with Maud for a black cloak which will enable them to find Lorris. The price of the cloak is the colour of Hygwald's eyes. Hygwald wants assurances that his sight will not be affected, but those assurances have their own price. After an hour of vacillation and wrangling, he eventually agrees. Maud takes him out back, removes his eyes, extracts their colour, then replaces them - and his vision seems unaffected. She then learns that she has dealt with Lady Hygwald (re: The Relative Merits of Twilight and Gloaming), and is most deferential.
They eventually realise that the cloak is made of Lorris's hair. They use it as an arcane connection to get a bearing on his position; and can see him, at a distance, apparently trapped in a small cage to the east of the fair itself, so they mark the direction, resolving to set off the next day. Meanwhile, the grogs have grown concerned about their missing masters, so enter the tent to speak with Old Marie. They are told that the Other Side of the Fair is closed, and will only open again next year. Remarkably unconcerned, the grogs go and get drunk.
The next morning, Hygwald is approached at dawn by a furious Maud. She claims that Hygwald has defrauded her, in that the colour of his eyes were mere glamour, nothing more (Hygwald was employing Mask of the Man Changed when he made the deal). Maud drags Hygwald off to the Office of Faerie Trading (sorry!) to meet with The Inspector - Candidus. Once again, the court runs by rules which Hygwald has to learn the hard way. Reputation is everything here, and Maud has had many years of fair trading, whereas Hygwald is unknown - her word therefore holds more legal merit (Francis is appalled at the whole concept!) Maud is demanding compensation as well as reimbursment, as she claims that she has lost a valuable customer who she had lined up to take the colour of Hygwald's eyes - seven years of Hygwald's life. In disbelief, Hygwald demands that she produces this customer as a witness, which Maud does with a great deal of relish. Lady Cierella of the Mists is clearly an important local faerie - even Candidus bows to her. Asking for a recess, Hygwald approaches Candidus. He asks what deal Candidus would strike in order to make this case go away, knowing the route of that faerie's power. Agreeing to the price ("the breath of a stone", to be paid in a year's time), Candidus dismisses the accusation as a case of 'caveat vendor'. Hygwald is free to go about his business.
They resume the hunt for Lorris. Hygwald's constant scrying has left him with a blinding headache, so they stop for lunch at a shepherd's hut. The shepherd is somewhat perturbed to find six strangers (including two with The Gift) in his hovel, particularly seeing that the grogs (who have now been fetched) are busy cooking one of his lord's sheep. The shepherd complains that between them and the troll, he'll probably be hanged for losing all his master's sheep...the troll has recently begun to steal two sheep every night, for the past week or so. Calum decides to wait for night fall and talk with the troll. When it arrives, it is more giant than troll, easily 20' tall. He also seems to be inordinately cheerful; apparently the troll is in love, and has been composing pretty dreadful poetry in honour of his beautiful woman. He used to get by on eating the 'hairy piggies' he could catch in the nearby woods, but since his Love has appeared on the scene, he needs two 'fluffy piggies' a night to satisfy her appetite. With Calum being unable to stop him, he grabs two sheep and returns to his cave. Hygwald determines that Lorris is inside the troll's cave. He sends in Furcula to have a look; she describes the troll's Love as a small hideous woman (for someone without scales) - in fact she is startlingly beautiful, but a quarter of the troll's height. She is seated on a crate that contains the hairless Lorris. Hygwald checks the details himself with some Perdo Imaginem magic, and then he and Calum formulate a plan.
Calum casts Wreathes of Foul Smoke on the cave entrance, then creates a gentle breeze to waft the choking fumes into the cave. This forces the troll and his Love out of the cave, but the woman sends Jack (the troll) back into the cave for her chest. While they are recovering from the choking, Calum casts Call to Slumber (failing to penetrate, initially); this puts the troll to sleep. As soon as he is unconscious, his Love transforms herself (with a certain amount of relief) into what is apparently her natural form, which is as tall and as ugly as Jack himself. She then gorges herself on the remaining mutton. Hygwald lures her away from the crate with an illusion of Lorris running away from her; she is not fooled for long - but long enough for Reynard to get to the crate and free Lorris. The she-troll charges back up the hill towards the characters, and Hygwald lets rip with a Crest of the Earth Wave, knocking her off her feet, but also waking up her boyfriend. The she-troll immediately metamorphoses back into the beautiful maiden, and calls for Jack to defend her. The Grogs enter combat; Calum separates the two trolls with a Wall of Thorns while Hygwald lets loose with an ineffective battery of Crystal Darts. Finally, Confusion of the Numbed Will slows the troll down enough, but not before inflicting a heavy wound to Reynard. Hygwald orders a retreat and they escape the danger, but the severe effort involved in running worsens Reynard's condition, and by the time that Francis shows up, he is incapacitated with the pain. Calum manages to hold him together with some medical magic until they can get him home to Fariq.
On the way home, Lorris reveals the details of his bargain with Candidus - in return for dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, Lorris agreed to leave Paddesham for seven years, so joined Baron de Ros on Crusade. He was also told not to speak of this; which is why Candidus snatched him; because he broke this contract by speaking to Lucas about it. Hygwald develops an unhealthy interest in beer, when he discovers that the Mother Oak in Lorris's pub produces a small number of red acorns every year with which he flavours his famous beer. Hygwald starts to consider ways in which he can manufacture the same taste, without the need for the acorns; because he suspects that they are vis. In the meanwhile, Lorris, in gratitude for saving his life, has granted the covenant free board and lodgings at the Green Oak, whenever they need it. This should assist greatly in relationships with the village.
The Wreckers:
Lord Athelbald,
Magister Franics De Villeray Steward Manor Head
???: Midway through the season, Calum has an odd dream; he sees a very tall hooded man (later identified as having the face of Horgrim Vetustus of Sapienta Antiquua) burning the sigils of various magi in the tribunal. Francis and Paedella had very similar dreams, although their figures wore the faces of Lucas and Hygwald.
Richard headed for Teachdair Tigh as part of his usual duties; there he discovered that the redcap house was on fire, although (unfortunately) Bricis and Mazain were unharmed. Helping extinguish the flames was Egrid Ex Miscellanea of Sapienta Antiquua, and Rhiannon, a redcap of the Stonehenge Tribunal. Egrid was on his way to Vidua Vasta to ask for their help on a matter; whereas Rhiannon was delivering a notice of Wizard's War to Mazain. Richard was able to read the details of the declaration before they were handed to Mazain; in them, the aggressor Niah Frigidia was claiming that Mazain was actually Stelios Ex Miscellanea in disguise. Richard sent Fearg Aile to Horsingas to fetch Whitburh, and invited the temporarily homeless redcaps to Vidua Vasta until their house could be prepared. Snug under Vidua Vasta's aegis, Whitburh interrogated Mazain magically, and determined to her satisfaction that he was not Stelios. With this matter sorted (for now), Vidua Vasta turned its attention to the proposed business with Egrid.
Sapienta Antiquua wanted two things. They desired a private harbour to bring some goods ashore; a coffin which they had 'liberated' from the Russian Church. It contained a corpse wearing a magical suit of armour and bearing a magical sword. This coffin could only be opened by seven keys, six of which they had secured. The seventh was the subject of the second favour. Phillippe de Lyon was the bastard son of the Duke de Lyon, and he had recently failed to secure that duchy for himself when the old duke died. He had retreated to a camp outside Berwick to lick his wounds, apparently cashing in some favours from the Baron de Ros. He was in possession of the seventh key. The problem with this is that the key was attached to a magical amethyst with great destructive powers, which Phillippe had access to thanks to the help of his court wizard. Vidua Vasta agreed to help secure the key, and provide safe harbour for the shipment, in return for two seasons of work within the next three years from Sapienta Antiquua's Verditius magus.
Richard, Calum and Egrid headed for Berwick. They stopped off at the town beforehand to ask Badda if she had any information about the duke's bastard. They got some information, but were followed all the time they were in Berwick. Calum made sure that the watchers were deeply miserable camped outside the tavern, with an unseasonal storm. The next morning the three magi headed for Phillippe's camp. Richard posed as a minstrel here to entertain the troops; Calum watched from the air. The first thing to note was that the encampment was surrounded by an Aegis-like effect. Richard became very rich in a short period of time with his magical music of generosity, and also picked up the lay of the land from a helpful mercenary. The court wizard was generally reviled; the nobleman was an effete hedonist whose tastes ran to both men and women. At the banquet that evening, with Richard providing entertainment, he was surprised to see Edwin of Hexham in attendance. Talking later, Edwin revealed that Phillippe was trying to muster support amongst the local natives; he had no idea that Phillippe was maintaining a court wizard. He also revealed that Jehan had had the same dream experienced by Calum, Francis and Paedella, although the face he saw was that of Solomon of Arbroath.
Deciding to waste no more time, the magi (now four of them) decided to confront the court wizard. He refused to give his name and Tribunal when asked, in fact he immediately tried to escape. He was no match for four magi, and was quickly subdued. Using a ruse as a servant bringing wine, Calum gained entrance into the lord's tent, and found himself in the middle of an orgy. He tried to put the lord to sleep to steal the key (worn around the neck on a chain), but Phillippe seemed to have Magic Resistance. Egrid went back later under the cover of invisibility, and stole the key. They all then escaped back to Vidua Vasta before dawn, carrying the sleeping body of the court wizard.
Back at the covenant, when he came to, the court wizard was quite indignant. He inisited that he was Lucientas of the Covenant of Shifting Sands in the Stonehenge Tribunal. Given this claim, there seemed to be no legal way to hold him against his wishes, and he was let free. Grim and Halfgrim followed him back to Berwick, and witnessed him dying at the hands of a spell suspiciously similar to Lucas's Evisceration of a Thousand Knives. Oddly, Lucas was absent from the covenant at the time on an errand, and could have easily been culpable (alhough no-one suspected him). 'Lucientas' had not been aware that Calum had 'liberated' some books from his lab; these included some lab texts (such as a rater odd variant of the Aegis), and a Tractatus on Loch Leglean Lore. This last tome contained an up-to-date listing of all the magi in all covenants. Richard asked Rhiannon to confirm that the Covenant of Shifting Sands did not exist, and to look for details of a failed apprentice called Lucienatus (although this court wizard seemed to know more - such as a working parma - than would be expected from a failed apprentice). Egrid, having got what he came for, departed with the key.
Orchis arrives
Hygwald and the Oaktree
Hygwald and Coquet Island
Very harsh winter