Date - 2/5/95 (8th Session)
... the Magi embrace the council of a spirit, and enact an ancient pagan ritual
In the middle of summer (1201), the spirit Guthre, first discovered at Florian's Knob, appeared to Gustav in his laboratory, and insisted that an important ritual be held at the Covenant (which he called 'drunemeton') to ensure its fertility and prosperity. In the absence of the cautious Bonisagus Merento and the paranoid Melnik, who had journeyed to Venice in search of information about the history of Roman presence in the Mür valley, a quorum of three Magi debated the issue. Gustav and Capra defeated the wishes of Lassitor regarding the matter, and agreed to do the spirit's bidding. A bull was purchased at market in Leoben, and sacrificed (and eaten) on August 1st according to the spirit's instructions, for what Guthre called the festival of 'Lughnasadh'. Convinced that the occasion somehow paid homage to the Celtic god Lugus of the Long Hand (to whom the temple of Grazerkogel was dedicated), Gustav fell into a deep trance upon drinking the bull's blood, and the captain Erik, much to the amazement of everyone, ate the balls of the roast bull.
Cast: Lassitor and Erik von Mälmo (Chris Blake), Capra (Dallas Perry), Gustav (Christian Young)
Date - 2/12/95 (9th Session)
... In which bandits kidnap and murder Andrea
Travelling the path along the Mür River from Rabenstein northto Bruck-an-der-Mür (a jaunt of merely 10 miles), the Magus Lassitor and his custos Andrea were confronted by a band of ruffians. Their leader, Thomas, seized his custos (and Covenant sentry) Andrea when they refused to pay their 'tax' for treading the path. Demanding a ransom for her return, the bandits named nearby Chanoine's Knob as a rendezvous site. The grogs hastened to the site quickly to engage the brigands, only to find Andrea's raped and murdered body. Desperate searches for the bandits proved fruitless as the woods were too dense, and the patrols of Rabenstein too sparse. The first casualty since Rabenstein's founding, Andrea's demise lowered morale and set a grim tone at the fortress. After this incident (September of 1201), the wizard's council decreed that no expeditions from the Covenant should consist of fewer than 2 armed soldiers.
Cast: Lassitor (Chris Blake), Andrea and Capra (Dallas Perry), Uri (Christian Young)
Date - 2/19, 2/28 (10th and 11th Sessions)
... A favor to the Castellan leads the covenant into the wilds of Hungary
Otto, the Castellan of Graz, summoned the scholars of Rabenstein to the majestic Schlossberg overlooking the town, and there he discussed a matter of some consternation to his family. Apparantly, peasant fishermen along the Neusiedler See (under the protection of his cousin, Marshall Meinhart of Norbisch) had been plagued by mysterious water foul, often vanishing with the coming of the gulls over the lake, leaving naught but their empty boats, never to return. Incursions and inquiries into neighboring Hungary proved futile, but discerned that Hungarian peasants were similarly afflicted by the mystical birds. Taking two knights of the Castellan, Klaus and Bernard, an expedition from Rabenstein set off for the lake region to investigate in the depths of winter (1201). Assisted by the authority of Marshall Meinhart, the expedition headed east in pursuit of a missing peasant, using a lock of his hair as an arcane connection to find him. In the Hungarian village of Kobol-Weiler, a mystical Magyar named Tibor shed some light on a neighboring clan, the Majos, who might be responsible for the abductions. Although Capra befriended Tibor, the German knight Klaus took offense at what he deemed a rather pagan goat skin (because it was elaborately decorated), and nearly killed the village Istvan (representative of the King) in a duel over his defacing of the skin. This resulted in the expulsion of the group from the village. Continuing their quest (now for the Majos clan), the expedition succeeded in rescuing several German peasants from captivity in what appeared to be a Byzantine slave trade. However, during the rescue they stumbled into a Hermetic Magus and in the confusion, slew him (examination suggested the Magyar lad was naught but an apprentice). Bearing the Magi's body back to the village of Rust they elicited a Christian burial for it to protect themselves from scrying from the unknown apprentice's home Covenant.
A later session involving the visit of the Magus Naor of Criamon (of Andernach Covenant) revealed that the unknown Hermetic apprentice (whose Covenant symbol the expedition had copied from his emblazoned cloak before his burial) was affiliated with Valcum Covenant, a Tremere stronghold near Lake Balaton, not far from the Hungarian expedition's culmination.
Cast: Capra (Dallas Perry), Merento and Polu (Clint Buss), Melnik (Mike Provenzano), Uri and Gustav (ChristianYoung)
This page last modified on 11/5/97.
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