Saverio and Orella

Saverio's Tale (Spring 803)

You began your preparations for the trip to Rome thinking it would be good to get out of the covenant for awhile. After the whole situation with the Dragon, and binding it; the loss of Bernardo; the efforts of finding and then performing the magic, you could use a break. You and Orella start out in high spirits on your way to Perpignan to catch a boat. Things went sour almost immediately.

You woke up the first morning, not even in Perpignan yet, and one of your boots had a hole in it. You are sure it was fine the night before, so you don't know what happened. You thought maybe Orella was having a little fun at your expense.

Things continued in that vein. In Perpignan, while bargaining for passage, part of the dock gave out underneath you, and you were dropped into the drink. After negotiating a (now more expensive) passage (amid mumblings of “cursed”, “albatross” and such) the first day at sea was no better. A storm kicked up, and your bed seems to be the only one on the boat to have a leak that drips right on to it. Your clothes and gear were gnawed by mice or rats (you can't be sure which) and droppings were left in all the food you were carrying. Your wine tasted suspiciously of piss. You decided at this point, this was not some joke Orella was having at your expense.

The rest of the voyage became even less fun. A couple of days out, one of the booms on the boat broke loose and nearly knocked you overboard. Later, a deck railing gave way while you were leaning on it. And, worst of all, about a day out of Rome, the boat sprang a leak of monstrous proportion. It took both you and Orella working hard and fast to get the ship into port without losing all hands.

You hoped, with docking, things would get better. They did not. The captain demanded more payment for passage and the damage to his ship (which he seems to have blamed you for). You tried to reason with him, but he was having none of it. Finally, to prevent something really untoward from happening, you just walked away. That, evidently, was a mistake. He has filed with the local constabulary to have you fined and held. Not really the way you wanted to arrive. Worse, as you were leaving the wharves, a bale of linens from Egypt fell and almost crushed you. The rope that was holding it gave way (or was cut...).

Things have continued in that vein and you are always on edge, keeping a close eye on everything around you lest a stone should “accidentally” fall (which has happened; twice) and kill you (which has not happened; yet). This has made your service to the Bishop difficult. You are quite distracted and have a hard time focusing on the business at hand. You have become certain someone (or something) is trying to kill you. You are fairly sure that some kind of magic must be involved. You are just not sure who it is or how to catch them.

Your initial meeting with the Bishop (who, by the way, is not the Bishop of Rome, but rather Bishop of the Suburbicarian See of Albano) was complicated by your troubles with the law. The local constabulary wanted to incarcerate you, and, ultimately, the Bishop had to intercede and vouch for your status as a brother (disallowing the constabulary to bring charges against you). The captain was furious and immediately demanded to have his grievance heard by the Bishop. As far as you know, the oaf is still waiting.

The meeting was also disturbing. The Bishop asked his favor of you, and you did not feel you could refuse, but you are not sure how you can perform your duty either. The Bishop had learned of Calor Novus and its war against the hedge wizards. He questioned you deeply (and frighteningly throughly) about what you knew of the hedge wizard world, their doings, powers, and what you knew of finding them. He then told you he wanted you to acquire one for his court. This was flabbergasting, and you are not sure yet what to do. Giving one over to the church (rather than the Order; and he was quite clear on this point: his wizard, not their wizard) seems to violate your oath, or might, but you will be forsworn if you fail to deliver. Quite a conundrum.

The end result is that you have spent most of your season searching in the wilds of the Italian peninsula for a hedge wizard of appropriate power who is willing to work for the Bishop (and, of course, dodging the attempts on your life). You have, finally, located a user of magic that you believe will fit the bill, but now you have to decide where your loyalties lie...

Orella's Tale (Spring and Summer 803)

Your trip to Rome started out amusingly enough. Saverio suffered a number of small inconveniences and embarrassments. Little things like his boot laces getting caught up with one another or the shrubbery beneath the log you were resting on and him doing a full-on face plant into the mud. Or his wine sack leaking down his leg. You laughed out loud at a few of his antics, and that seemed to set him off. Before you knew it, he was accusing you of being the source of his clumsiness and misfortune.

By the time you two reached Perpignan, you were barely speaking (him from sulking, you from insult), and you left the arrangements to him. Once on board, he was as whiny as ever, assuming every bit of bad luck he had was your fault. He managed to get the crew and the captain annoyed with him as well, and began to have something more than just bad luck. A few things happened which you would attribute to someone's malice. Probably someone on the crew who had grown tired of the bad luck he seemed to have brought with him.

Things got really bad right before the end of the journey when the boat sprung a leak of gigantic proportion, and the two of you had to work diligently to seal the leak, pump the water out, and keep the ship together long enough to reach port. On top of it all, the captain, rather than being grateful, was angered at the damage to his ship and tried to get the money from you and Saverio. Hah! That will be the day!

You left Saverio in Rome (thankfully!) and journeyed north to Literatus. The Criamon met you and escorted you directly to the lab. He wanted to waste no time (or so you assumed). He kept you busy with preparations day and night for weeks, having meals sent to the lab, and a pallet installed for you to sleep on. He did not offer you a token (so casting is difficult, but not impossible). All in all, not the sort of warm welcome you had hoped for.

The work has taken its toll on you. It is, at least, blissfully warm here. But the hours the Criamon demands are long and unceasing. You have begun dreaming heavily. The dreams are all disturbing, but you can never quite remember them when you are awake. Something to do with betrayal by a loyal friend, and some hint of Infernal powers involved. Monstrous faces behind friendly masks. That kind of thing.

About halfway through Spring the Criamon is late arriving (he has always been in the lab 5 minutes after dawn with some gruel for your breakfast). About an hour after dawn, he arrives in the lab, and he seems worried. When you ask, he snaps at you, telling you to mind your own business. He also did not bring you any breakfast.

Over the next week, he seems more and more agitated. Finally, about a week later, he does not show up in the lab. You continue the work he has laid out for you (a massive amount, really), but sometime after noon you become concerned and are quite hungry, so decide to go to the kitchen for some food. As you come down to the main hall, you overhear voices arguing. They are sort of hushed whispers, but the tone is unmistakable, even if you cannot make out the words. As you enter the hall, the Criamon and one of the other covenant members immediately fall silent and look at you. The Criamon demands to know what you are doing “shirking your duties”. You try to be polite, even though it is grating to be called on the carpet in that fashion. You explain that you are hungry and seeking food. You barely get two words out before he orders you back to the lab and tells you he will bring food shortly. You comply.

He arrives in the lab an hour or so later, and drops some cold meat and cheese on the table, and then turns on you. He tells you that you were remarkably stupid to come out of the lab. He kept you here for a reason. You begin to ask why, but he just tells you to be about your work and not to leave the lab, ever, for any reason. Seems like you are back to being an apprentice!

The next night, you are awakened by some sort of chanting. It is deep, low, and grinds at your very bones. You try to ignore it and get back to sleep, but then there is a scream. You get up immediately and head toward the sound. It leads you to the undercroft (an area under the covenant proper). There is a door slightly ajar, and an eerie purplish light is coming out from the room beyond. You peer into the room, and see a large, muscular, naked figure with two curved horns on it head (much like a bull's horns) and a tail which ends in a barb like an arrow head. The creature has shaggy fur at its ankles, and cloven hooves for feet. Its skin is a deep red, and it seems to be the source of the purple glow. It turns its head toward you...

And you awaken. That was a really disturbing dream. The Criamon arrives shortly with your gruel. You do not mention the dream to him. Somehow it seems wrong or dangerous to do so. You begin your work with trembling hands. You make mistakes, spill powders, break vials. The Criamon ends shouting at you. All in all, a very bad day. Finally he asks whether you are trying to disrupt his work. You explain about the dream. He listens intently, then tells you to get some rest. He leaves.

He returns the next day, and you begin work as usual. He is chanting over some powders. You realize a moment too late that the chanting is a spell. You begin a defense, but to no avail.

You awaken on a boat. Based on the position of the sun, you are probably headed toward the west. It is a very warm day, so you deduce it is Summer. You are standing on the deck, and that is when and how you awakened, so you are unsure what exactly has happened.

Biding your time, you eventually learn the boat is headed to Perpignan and that it is the very end of Summer. You remember nothing of the Summer, nor of the late Spring. You do find that your back is quite sore and stings when you lean against things or lie down. You figure you are a couple of days out from the covenant, and you note there is a full moon in the sky.