Events:
The Bloody Lung: Fariq goes down to Faverloch since someone (Berta) has contracted a terrible disease and is coughing up blood. He is unable to diagnose the disease, but sets up a hospital to care for her. Since he is staying in the village, a number of others come to him with various complaints, the most serious of which is Mena, who has contracted gangrene. He amputates, but after a few days it is clear that the infection has already spread too far, and she is going to die.
When Fariq returns to the covenant he hears Coll cough, and it appears he has the same disease as Berta. Fariq makes himself a great annoyance by insisting on inspecting everyone in the covenant, but only Coll appears to be ill. He reported encountering a terrible smell recently, but its source could not be found. Fariq badgers Lucas for some healing spells. Two days later, Fariq hears of a case in Berwick of the same disease, and he and Orsinio go to investigate (Fariq is disguised by magic). Greta is the wife of Patrice, the ironmonger attached to Aelfhere's former business. Her mother blames the disease on a fiery demon that Greta encountered; its description sounds chillingly familiar to Fariq. While Fariq tends to Greta, a priest turns up to pray for her, unfortunately he has brought his church's relic, and Fariq's magical disguise is dispelled. A hue-and-cry results in the Moor being captured as a demon and put into Berwick's gaol. He breaks out with the assistance of Istafa, the jinni who haunts him, but the creature sets fire to the town in the process. Orsinio does a remarkable job putting out the fire by flinging it into the air with his magic.
Back at the covenant, the council discusses the plague, and smells a terrible stench. Elaine tracks it down and finds Flatus's ghost, unaware he is dead. All the victims have two things in common — the death of a loved one and contact with VV's grogs (not passed on due to Interdict). Flatus is infecting the ghosts, and the ghosts are passing on the disease. Flatus is eased on to the Otherworld by Sir Aline, who fulfils his unfinished task by re-promoting him and Oswin back to serjeant. The other ghosts also have to be laid to rest. Werta is lingering due to a debt he owes Cumbra; once paid he leaves. Greta's son Richard has a secret son which his mother has never met; his mother was a noblewoman. When Orsinio finds the boy being worked hard in the fort's kitchen it is clear he has The Gift, and the Mercere buys the child (called Jocelyn) from the cook. Once he is introduced to Greta, Richard is able to pass onwards, but Greta dies a little later. Jocelyn becomes Lucas's neophyte, starts training under Francis.
Halfgrim marries Anne, Hygwald's servant
Actions:
Elaine: Installing a Virtue into her lab
Hygwald: Studying Te from Summa
Lucas: Study In
Orsinio: Study Te from Summa
Vis: 1 Aq (Inner Farne), 1 Vi (Giant's Heart), 1 Au (Eildon Hills)
Events:
A magus approaches the covenant. He names himself Sarimarcus of House Merinita, and asks to speak with the council (description p34 MSND). He explains to the characters that he wishes to study a festival at a village in the Selkirk Forest called Stonybrook, which lies reasonably close to their declared vis source on Eildon hill. He plans to live incognito with the villagers to find out more about the faeries believed to dwell near them. He tells the characters this so they are not offended should they later encounter him operating near their vis source without permission; he assures them he has no intention of stealing their vis. In fact, he asks them their advice about the faeries in the area.
If the characters are offended by Sarimarcus's plan or otherwise refuse to allow him to settle in Stonybrook, he'll try to bribe them. He offers to share whatever information he learns about the faeries, and even offers up any vis supplies he might find. Sarimarcus is more interested in the enigma of the faeries than any material gain. If the characters still refuse, he goes ahead anyway.
Francis asks for a longevity ritual, offers to write Artes Liberales and/or Philosophiae books, or to teach those same Abilities. They require four seasons of his time. Covenant agrees the same for Fariq.
The Waimie is at Year 3 let him get away
Actions:
Elaine: Shield for Aline (Lesser Enchantment) - deflect wooden weapon (ReHe 21, base 4, +1 Touch, +1 Conc; +5 maintains conc, +3 restricted to Aline, Grim, Oswin, Halfgrim, Branoic, Aescwynn, Lochlann, +3 6/day)
Hygwald: Teaching Andreas
Lucas: Study Mu
Orsinio: Study He
Vis: 1 Cr or An (Oak or Waimie) , 1 He (Llawen's Heart)
Events:
Actions:
Elaine: Study Intellego
Hygwald: Teaching Andreas
Lucas: re-assemble the longevity lab (CW)
Orsinio: Studying Perdo
Vis: 1 Vi (Giant's Heart), 1–3 Pe (Basilisk Tree)
Aegis
Ageing
Events:
Hygwald takes Andreas off on a vis hunt; visits, Traprain Law (where the Barghest was), Simonside Hills, Longwitton, Prudhoe, Vindolanda. Taking Lochlann, Cufel, Bathild, Reynard.
On the Holy Mountain near to Coquet Island, Hygwald discovers the bones of a man scattered across the countryside before withstanding an attack from a barghuest who comes in with the sea-fog. The massive creature is almost a match for the grogs, but between them they eventually manage to slay it. However Reynard is sorely injured, and, patched up with one of Lucas's magical bandages, he is sent back to the covenant with Bathild. She is instructed to meet Hygwald in Hexham at Christmas with another grog.
Lochlann kills the duergar with a single shot to the head (28 points of damage)
Hygwald makes fantastic impression on the people of Longwitton.
Midsummer Night's Dream — the Arrival of Captain Hagen: The grogs of the covenant are invited to Paddesham for the midwinter feast. They hear complaints from the locals that livestock has gone missing. Orsinio, Elaine, Oswin and Emeric attend. They hear the following story:
There was a woman who lived in these parts about eighty years ago. She was an excellent midwife, and one night a group of very ugly faeries came to call, asking her to help birth one of their own in exchange for some gifts. Wisely she consented, and was led into the woods. The labour was long and strenuous, and when sunrise came, the mother faerie had not yet given birth. All the other faeries went underground leaving the mother-to-be alone with the midwife, who now realised that she had been dealing with the dark faeries of the night. When the babe was born she grabbed him and ran away, leaving the mother behind. She laid the child by a pool where she hoped a good faerie of the day would come and find it, to take it as her own; and then she fled the forest altogether, fearful of being trapped there for eternity.
Oswin and Emeric go with Jehan (Oswin's father) to investigate a poacher in the woods. They track him deep into the forest, but are caught along with him by a foreign noble on horseback in the company of soldiers. He accuses them all of poaching the bishop's deer, and drags them all off to his home at Etal Castle. They spend three days in a tiny cell until they are dragged — starving, dehydrated, and chilled to the bone — before Captain William of Hagen. He sentences the poacher first to have both hands chopped off, but his 'mother' intervenes (she appears too young to be the mother of the captain), and he has a single hand removed, and fire put to the wound. He is about to apply the same punishment to Oswin, but once again the mother intervenes. She orders that the scarred grog be taken to her chambers, and Hagen suspends the hearings, taking the rest back to the cell. The lady feeds and bathes Oswin whilst asking about his employment and origins; once he is clean and fed she drags him to her bed. Oswin is able to secure his own release and that of his friends and father. The lady gives him a keepsake, and asks him to return.
All the time they have been missing, Orsinio has been searching for the missing grogs, and eventually catches up with them on the road. Hagen is apparently in the employ of Berwick's bishop to enforce the interdict.
Christmas at Hexham: Encourage Hygwald to visit Prudhoe. Hexham will be closed; all residents of the liberty are guests of the Bishop of York. Gilbert II Umfraville is the current baron of Prudhoe, and also the Earl of Angus (through his mother). He is the nephew of Richard, the baron with whom Hygwald and Erik made friends. If Hygwald wants to re-establish a relationship with Aethelbald's liege he must schmooze.
If Hygwald visits the baron, he'll be asked who he is. Gilbert has heard stories from his uncle about the remarkable goings-on — such as at Aethelbald's wedding — and is intrigued by 'Sir Hugh'. Of course Gilbert has the full force of The Gift to contend with, and Hygwald must struggle to make a good impression. Guest laws will still oblige the baron to invite Hygwald to stay for the twelve days of Christmas.
An Int + Etiquette roll will reveal what is expected of him. Along with the feasting and dancing, there will be a hunt, and an exchange of gifts on the Feast of the Circumcision.
[25th] Feast of the Nativity of Christ
[26th] Feast of St Stephen
[27th] Childermas - ritual beating of young children in commemoration of the massacre of the Innocents
[28th] - dancing. Maidens and bachelors are expected to dance: bransles (brawls) which are circle dances, and pavanes, which are pair dances. Excelling in circle dances betrays one's peasant roots, but the pavanes are harder to execute with grace, and require extended rolls.
[31st] - hunt.
[1st] Feast of the Circumcision - exchange of gifts between lords and guests
[3rd] - group of dogs tear apart a fox tied to a pole. However, there is something unusual about the fox — it keeps staring at Hygwald as it is being tied up, and does not seem to be acting like a fox should - straining and pulling at the rope. It is actually the familiar of Focus Flambonis of Burnham, who will have located his companion at about the time the dogs are set loose, and break in to the castle to retrieve her.
Hygwald will be aware of an argument at the gate. The baron's soldiers are refusing admittance to a youth. Hygwald happens to be near the gate, and can hear the man's cultured tones. He appears to be in his early 20s, with a large round face and thin pale hair. He's well-dressed, but the guards are treating him harshly, calling him a beggar and a scoundrel. The sharp-eyed might notice the hour-glass motif on his tunic and make inferences. He has no legitimate reason to be let in, and the guards are not inclined to do so — meaning he will probably have to use force to rescue his familiar.
Focus: 50 years from apprenticeship. Using a magical disguise. He's an astrologist and has a penchant for lunar-flavoured spells
Hygwald fixes this by shouting (magically) that the fox was the king of the faeries.
[6th] Epiphany - King of the Bean and Queen of the Pea. Responsible for entertainment, marking rafters with crucifixes, pay for everyone's drinks, then get ducked in the pond.
Covenant votes to distribute vis from the abundant stores, but rejects Hygwald's original proposal (everyone gets 1 pawn per tribunal attended, with Hygwald picking his share first) since it favours himself. Instead, each magus claims one pawn of vis in turn until their allotment is used up — this stops Hygwald taking the choicest Arts in his first pick. 2 pawns of Auram are set aside for Calum.
Lochlann promoted to serjeant for killing the duergar.
Actions:
Elaine: Learn Ward against Faeries of the Mountain from book
Hygwald: Off on a vis hunt
Lucas: Make longevity ritual for Francis (8 vis paid) CW
Orsinio: Study Ignem
Vis: