Hide... And Seek

There is some trouble at the terb with one of Claudio’s daughters being of marriageable age and Terrin has failed his last aging roll and is moaning and wailing all the time. Adrian arrives with a letter that he picked up at the coven in the mist. This letter is from the "garden house" a covenant at Barcelona.   This letter says: To the Sodalis of Calor Novus, From far off Barcelona do we the Magi of Ortus Domus send greetings and felicitations to our warlike brethren of House Flambeau at Calor Novus. Though separated by mountains and barbarians we have heard great things of you and send our congratulations and thanks to you for all that you have done and continue to do for the Order and our safety. Please view this missive as an invitation for you to come and experience the hospitality of our home if ever fate and duty take you to the south side of the mountains. We have been told that it was your efforts last year that thwarted the Moorish pirates and have driven them from these coasts. Indeed it is due to this heroism on part of the redoubtable Magi of Calor Novus that we have had our first “hedgewizard” of Moorish extraction approach us requesting to join the Order. If it is convenient for you, who we have also heard have had a great many such recruits, we would like this Magus to be, named Jalil, to travel first to Calor Novus and thence to Durenmar with whatever number of applicants you have accumulated. Jalil is a very amiable fellow who possesses a gentle version of the gift and I have hopes that, once he is fully trained and a member in good standing in the Order, he will become a bridge between the Order and those few Moorish wizards, or “shigun” as they are occasionally called, that inhabit the unhappy southern portions of fair Iberia. I have sent this letter via a merchant acquaintance of ours named Desmond and hope that it will find its way to you or to a Red Cap who may see it safely into your hands. Yours in the service of the Order, Iago of Bonisagus For The Magi of Ortus Domus The gang heads south to find Robert so that he can come back to kill his father and to discover if this Jalil guy is on the up and up.  They find a hill top village of Basques and due to the presence of father Raymond they're invited in.  Adrian nearly gets the village destroyed by playing with a village hottie but, sadly for Filius, there is no burning to be done. The head out and get caught in the first storm of the year but they get through it with out difficulties. They arrive at the garden house and its nicer than anyplace they can remember.  Surrounded by a 5-6 foot tall wall and obscured by trees and other vegetation it is an island of tranquility in the city. The house is smaller than it would appear obscured as it is by the gardens with the entire size being about as big as the barn at Calor Novus. The met a Jerbiton named Inego who invites them in and they have nice snacks.  While waiting for dinner Adrian goes exploring and meets a Tytalus named Phillippe who demands a red cap for their covenant.   He also meets another Jerbiton named Pedro and Jalil, introduces himself and tells them that THE Filius Ignis is here too. As a side note the head of the covenant is named Iago and he's off investigating a mysterious site and isn't around with his stores of Intellego magics. There is much talking at dinner but Jalil never appears.  Suspicions abound, the body of the servant that was last in Jalils room (and there by presumably the last person to see him) is found, questions are asked and the answers being to no ones likings a mass interrogation of all the coven folk is decided upon.  This starts with the major domo Albrecht who makes a stuttering sweaty mess of his answers. A HA! Everyone thinks until the eagle eyed Francois sees a different servant sneaking out of the room. Filius, Francois and Adrian give chase (no one else notices for some reason) and a fight ensues in which Margo’s whimsy’s played a major role.  The presumed Jalil summons a demon from the earth to battle the team.  Filius ignores the monster to hit Jalil three times with pilums of fire.  Jalil is saved by magical means (some sort of Djinn In A Pot protects him) than another monster shows up and nearly kills Adrian. Filius casts Brief Vision of Heats Light and goes into Twilight (in addition to making it so everyone can see him through the walls of the Covenant building! Such powerful magics has the Student of Flambeau that he can cast such spells and not have to penetrate anyone’s Parma!) Jalil starts to fly away propelled by some sort of Arabic fire elemental.  Filius uses the Forbidden Art (Perdo) to kill or drive off the elemental who drops Jalil to his doom.  Seeing Filius obviously casting spells through the walls of the building (such POWER!) the Garden House mages come piling out and the monsters are defeated. The body is brought back to the covenant and Father Raymond manages to summon the shade of the unholy magi who berates everyone in Arabic. There is no chance that this skin shifter Jalil is the same guy as Mouis, their voices are totally different. Another search is called for and another body, identical to the one that Jalil died in, is found in the dung heap out back.  Jalil’s body never changes shape again… Iago returns and is brought up to speed.  The decisions made are: 1) For the good of the order Iago will investigate the remaining items found on the dead Jalil. 2) For the copying of the spells of Filius they will investigate the carven staff that the Calor Novans brought with them. 3) The garden house guys will investigate these Arabic mages and let everyone know what they find out. 4).They tell Filius that they knows that the pirates assemble in the Balearic islands but that their "locus of power" is in "old Carthage". The team returns and is accosted by an Arabic divine intervention of ill weather.  Father Raymond’s god in more powerful and they return to Calor Novus along with Robert who kills Terrin in fulfillment of prophesy. Oh and the oldest daughter of Claudio has vanished presumably with a strapping young lad from the village who also vanished that same night.

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