1378AA Visit to Calebais story
...the three Magi, Teuthras, Phoca and Idonia, have just Leapt to an arcane connection using Rego Corpus...
Idonia arrives. She packs her bells back into her case, and fatigued from casting she lets Teuthras do the talking.
There is a sturdy stone cottage on the edge of a large wood. The cottage looks quite defensible. A small, narrow faced man is sitting sunning himself on a bench outside the cottage. He pulls a rope leading to a small hole in the wall, then stand, bows and says, in Latin, ''Welcome my Lord and Ladies, if you would take refreshment, please enter. Elseways we will proceed to the covenant immediately. Please give me a moment to retrieve my gear and then I will lead you through the forest myself.''
Phoca requests to sit for a couple of minutes while the man gets his stuff - "admiring the view" (although really getting her breath back after a poorly executed spell).
Teuthras gives the forest a careful glance for a moment or so. Need we anticipate any difficulties on the journey?
''It is unlikely my Lord, as long as you stay close to me. Do not stray nor tarry, for you _will_ get lost. The Satyrs are normally quiet in this season and in any case have long learnt not to bother us in this part of the woods.'' He goes into the building and comes back out with a pack, a shortsword buckled around his waist and an iron tipped spear and a small rod.
Teuthras expends a moment on the man's equipment. Faerie-creatures then. We have similar inconveniences in our forests. He then stares into space intently for a few moments; in fact asking Euandros to watch for illusions and invisible observers with his second sight.
The small man nods, smiling. When you are ready Ladies, we shall preceed.
Teuthras tilts an eyebrow at an alarming angle as the man speaks, and glances curiously at Euandros who is seen to shrug slightly.
He leads the magi into the forest. The path appears to wind randomly though a reasonably clear woodland and is quite clear enough to follow. parma rolls vs CrIm? please
Teuthras: 28+aura; T. and E. have Second Sight which can be useful against illusions (ArM? p67) although only Euandros has been asked to pay active attention T.: 13+aura E.: 13+aura - these are Magic flavoured.
I'll have to check the second sight rules - I can't see any reference to an Aura bonus? Neither T nor E can see the path they are following either on front or behind them by more than about 5 paces.
[Room for more actions or discourse, here or at any other place]
Teuthras, staff in hand as he walks, glances around at the trees and undergrowth with the air of an exceedingly grave site-seer; despite the stillness his grey robe is stirred slightly by several curious breezes. Euandros strolls next to him, in a vaguely visible form, and pays slightly more attention to the surroundings.
The pace is, if anything, languid as the small group walks through the forest. These are, after all, magi, not huntsmen.
[The forest is quite clearly enchanted and those with second sight may catch the odd glimpse of small and relatively harmless type fae.]
After several hours of walking the forest abruptly ends and the path widens into a broad and fertile meadow. There is a clear fused-stone foot path running in either direction around the edge of the meadow. Goats and sheep roam over a large portion of the meadow and there are smaller areas surrounded by neat stone fences. The visitors are unable to see what is kept inside the fences. At the centre of the meadow, still some distance away is a large round well-wall. There is also another small guard hut similar to the one outside the woods just on the edge of the forest very close by where the visitors have emerged.
The taciturn guide heads straight for this hut calling out in Languedoc does anyone understand Languedoc? or even Languedoil? Another man, similarly equipped comes out and the guide gives him his small cap. The guide then returns to the visitors and motions for them to follow him as head heads toward the central well. The other guard doffs the cap and head off into the forest.
There are a small number of peasants in sight working inside the fences or tending the flocks. Curiously, there also seem to be a number of giant (3 feet high or thereabouts) rodents among them, walking about on their hind feet, some with instruments in their front paws.
As the visitors near the well another guard leans out and tugs a string which rings a small bell that is suspended over the centre of the very wide well mouth.
An woman rises from a bench beside the guard and slowly comes forward to greet them. She appears to be well past her 60th year and walks slightly hunched, though still with a sprightly manner.
Greetings Magi she says with a smile, in flawless Latin. Welcome to Calebais. My name is Kate, though I oft answer to Bob. Magus Ul-Haq and Maga Helena have been notified of your arrival and will meet with you in the main chambers. Some of the other Magi may also meet you there, depending upon what they are doing at the moment. Please, come this way.
Kate leads the visitors around the well-wall to a gap where a wide and well worn track spirals down around the inside of the well. In places there are arrow slits, which appear to be well maitained. Obviously there is an extensive underground complex here, and it appears to be well fortified.
Phoca leans carefully to look into the well: "It looks rather narrow down there. I expect it widens out a bit at the bottom?" She pulls a small black cloth out of her robe, studys it a moment, and tucks it back into her sleeve.