[CLOSED] Spring 1221 - Arrivals (Bran Fhithich)

[Keehnelf]

Vestius is silent for a few moments as he considers Bran's story.

"Thank you. I agree that they were wise to send you here, and Juvenus was wise to make an offer of his master's notes to aid you. Salvatus was always canny with spirits and other beings of the realm of Deep Magic--thus the focus of his research. To your other question: the reason for our presence within this lowest layer of the regio has somewhat to do with protection, but it is more correct to say that it has to do with consonance. The presence of magic that suffuses everything here enhances our work. It makes difficult experiments easier. It makes confident magic stronger.

"Why I fear tumult? Salvatus traded off much of our most valuable possessions to fuel the obsession of his latter years. Little remains to us..." he waves lazily at the half-empty bookshelves. "And I do not know who else might come calling seeking promised payment. On the other hand, it is clear from the appearance of the gryphon that the former Master's efforts were causing something of a disturbance deeper within the regio. It has been some weeks without additional incident, but it is hard to imagine that we have heard the last of these matters."

[Keehnelf]

Vestius is here alluding to the fact that this layer of the regio has a Magic aura strength of 3, meaning all skill test totals involving magical arts get a +3 bonus within its bounds.

[AleBelly]

Vestius is here alluding to the fact that this layer of the regio has a Magic aura strength of 3, meaning all skill test totals involving magical arts get a +3 bonus within its bounds.

Sweet!

Bran appears mildly troubled. "So Salvatus had the power to give away the covenant's materials himself? I am not well versed in these matters, but restocking the shelves with appropriate tomes must take no small effort!"

But he nods his head. "But I shall focus on what you, er...we, have. Juvenus offered me a place to practice my craft, but I assume that decision rests with you, Vestius. I would be honored to be a part of this covenant and help you weather whatever storm may come our way."

[Keehnelf]

Vestius smiles brightly. "Well, we didn't know about much of it until it was already done, unfortunately--and there are few ways for Magi to constrain one another apart from a sense of shared responsibility, which our former master seems to have sadly lost in his waning years. It will take time, but we will recover. You are correct that it will be a work of years and perhaps generations to undo the damage that his obsession has wrought."

He stands and smooths his fine ermine-trimmed black-and-silver robe, more lustrous in the firelight than the travelers had thought at first. "You understand that despite my sentimentality, my feelings as the Master responsible for the welfare of the Covenant are a bit mixed in these odd days. Needless to say, should you find yourself disposed to aid us in the recovery of our resources, we are able to compensate somewhat. For substantial additions to our library, we can offer some of the vis that our garden produces to aid the provider.

Now, it grows late, and I must return to my work before I sleep. Allow me to guide you to your accommodations."

Vestius then brings the visitors to their new, minimally-furnished places of repose, and shows Bran the semi-cleared laboratory of Salvatus Leclerc that is available for his personalization and use. After some exploration, he discovers that some of the equipment that had been here, and for which space had been made, has been relocated or removed--whether sold or moved to another laboratory in the Covenant is unclear. He also finds a stack of three thick journals, filled with scrawls of various kinds in an untidy and disorganized hand. With care, he could begin to decipher the texts and learn their secrets, if he wished.

Following this scene, the following things happen:

Bran receives:
Laboratory space (+1 quality--was once +3 but much of the more specialized equipment is missing)
Salvatus Notebook #1 - with a Tree inscribed on the cover
Salvatus Notebook #2 - with a fang inscribed on the cover
Salvatus Notebook #3 - with a strange tangle of knotwork or vines inscribed on the cover
Residence and membership in the Covenant of the Verdant Springs

Cugel receives:
Lodging at the Covenant on demand so long as he remains in good standing with its members. This lodging can be either inside the regio or in the mundane realm. Lodging in the regio will not cause magical warping over time--the aura isn't strong enough to do that--but for many mundane folk the experience can be unsettling and stressful over time, so he's given the choice

Note that non-Magi typically need to be "occupied" two seasons per year in order to stay alive--this is basically them doing their "day jobs" of being finders, nobility, knights, farmers, etc. It doesn't provide any XP but it does keep them supplied with what they need and allow them the freedom to come and go for the other two seasons. Basically, folks like Cugel don't just hang around the Covenant all the time waiting for something to come up--they're actively off living their usual lives in the background of the Covenant's story too.

I am also adding an "open quest" to the Covenant related to restoring the library--see the Open Quests & Tasks thread for more details.


If there is nothing more needed from this exchange or a follow-up to the conversation, this will bring the story thread for Spring 1221 to a close and we'll move on to the next season. I'll give it a few days here follow your lead if you have stuff to pursue.

[Grognardsw]

Cugel was intrigued with the notion that the regio made one a better version of oneself. To live in such a place…

The rogue wondered how well Vestius’ magical insights were if he saw in Cugel’s heart “such honesty as can be found from unlooked-for visitors.” If that was the case, then the Regio must be affecting him already!

At mention of Salvatus’ trading of the covenant’s valuable books, Cugel avoided eye contact with Vestius and peered at the shelves. “Hmm, a shame,” he mumbled.

Cugel’s embarrassment prevented him from saying he was aware of where several such books were, having been a middleman in one such transaction. It was only now he connected the dots on provenance.

“I would be happy to assist in recovery of your books and paraphernalia,” offered Cugel to Vestius.

While being escorted to their quarters, Cugel eyed the more refined surroundings in the regio-realm version of the Covenant. As the dining hall was luxurious compared to the earth-bound version, so to were the halls, courtyards, and rooms he glimpsed while walking with Vestius and Bran. At one point, Cugel heard an enrapturing lute echoing from somewhere.

Cugel stood at the doorway while Bran was shown his new laboratory. “I wouldn’t mind paging through those journals,” he said casually to Bran.

At Cugel’s own room, he was glad to have a window to view a courtyard garden. “Thank you Vestius, this is quite adequate. When the time is right let me know if I can help with any of your problems. And Vestius, I…”

Cugel hesitated, looking down, scratching his neck, making perhaps too much of a show of it.

“Well with his passing, its not a client betrayal to say that Salvatus communicated to me by bird, once by a dream, and through a middleman in nearby Basel. He could have leads on your missing books, that he may reveal with the proper persuasion.”

In the fourth paragraph above, Cugel’s involvement as a middleman in a books trade is tossed out in case that is a seed for an adventure. Or it can be ignored and never revealed by the embarrassed Cugel.

[Keehnelf]

I LOVE that addition!

[Keehnelf]

If Bran were to share the notebooks with Cugel, the procurer would quickly realize that the few words he could decipher from the bizarre script are in Latin! Perhaps with time he could learn it--but he doesn't know it yet...

[Keehnelf]

It sounds like there is no other business to be done here, so Bran can apply 5xp to any combination of abilities that would have been relevant to his journey from Ireland, and any of the following Arts (assuming he would have begun perusing the notebooks while it was still Spring): Animal, Herbam, Intellego. AleBelly, feel free to use the OOC channel to indicate where you decided to allocate those points.

This thread is now closed.

[AleBelly]

Bran thanks Vestius heartily. "These accommodations are quite nice, thank you. And thank you also for the warm welcome. I look forward to many seasons together."

Cugel stood at the doorway while Bran was shown his new laboratory. “I wouldn’t mind paging through those journals,” he said casually to Bran.

Bran thumbs open the tome with the fang-inscribed cover. He is not at all surprised to see the text is in Latin. He looks up, slightly embarrassed, to Cugel. "Friend, I am afraid it is written in Latin. I would be happy to share its contents with you, but alas, I fear you do not speak the language. And..." he scratches the back of his neck tentatively "I am afraid it would be too disruptive of my studies to translate for you. Perhaps there is a Latin scholar elsewhere in the covenant?"

"Or..." he hastens to add "perhaps I can describe my learnings to you if I should have the pleasure of your company on another voyage...perhaps...to retrieve some of the items Salvatus squandered."

I have a couple questions I'll put in ooc. Ready to close this thread. Thanks!

[Keehnelf]

One of the Covenant's grogs, Shabsai Weil, is a scribe who is able to provide tutelage up to one season per year in either Latin or Hebrew, to an interested party. His skill in both is 5.