Scribed by Pyrrhus
Spring 1315AD
We found ourselves effectively besieged in our own covenant with a single road connecting us to our needed supplies, the pagan spirit, the green man, also known as Jack in the green (I refuse to give it any noble title) has turned the wild wood against us and unless we assume the form of a wild animal attacks us if we wander into what it claims as its part of the forest. I would love to burn its forest back for with its growth the Jacks power waxes, the council however is scared of the consequences of direct confrontation, fearful that it would have some form of negative impact on our aura, they didn’t listen, even when I showed historical evidence that in 1103 a demon had corrupted the heart of the forest with no effect on the aura at Severn Temple, they are cowards who tremble at the thought of direct action and refuse to take a negligible risk, rather doing nothing or delaying the inevitable clash between church and wood which will lead to a crusade against our wood and probable destruction of the faerie forest and our covenant.
The council gathered in a sombre mood for we seemed to have no way forward to prevent the inevitable growth of the influence of the Jack in the green although Branwen seemed nonchalant at the prospect, maybe because she had done a deal with the devil in green already without telling us, or that twig she now had as a finger made her in some way part of the wild wood, I wonder if this is how Llandothwyn started with just a little bit of his soul sold for power and over the centuries he sold more and more turning into the non-human tree creature he later became.
We initially discussed the unfortunate death of the Abbot and what repercussions might occur, we concluded that with the death of such a ranking person the King might ask for an investigation by the order of hermetic scholars. With the sudden demise of Vasily in the winter, we decided to recall Kenneth from his position in the sheriff’s office to take on the mantle of spymaster and we mages would assist him as much as we could in the initial stages of his new role. We guessed that with the death of the Abbot the church would gather its forces and attempt to do something about the cursed wood. Branwen offered to go into the woods again to see what was occurring, and with her not being an enemy of the green man it seemed no one objected, I still believed the only solution was to take the war to Jack but my ideas were shouted down or called stupid, my sodales are cowards and would not take action even if one of our lives depended on it, “in case we damage the magic of the place” they said whilst harvesting vis from across the forest with gay abandon.
I reported my findings in the King's college in Gloucester and asked if Jari would help me at the new moon to scry on the master Peter. Some Vis and coins were distributed which were welcome.
Terentius went to Lydney to speak with the grandfather wolf about Jari being assaulted by the old one near Coleford even though he was in the guise of a fox. The grandfather was concerned as the Old ones should not have been that close to Lydney by their agreement, the old man also stated he was worried some of the men had trouble returning to human form and might have gotten caught up in the magic of the wild wood and could if it continues never return to human form. Terentius was given a rare honour (in the eyes of the werewolves) of consulting with the great wolf spirit. He partook of a bitter brew after lowering his magical defences that apparently opened his mind, probably some mild herbal poison. He had a vision or dream and in it learnt that three of the old ones had been corrupted by the magic of the wild wood and now served the spirit of the forest as guardians of the woods, a role also enjoyed by Terentius and Jari. It made us wonder if my sodales were still guardians as Jari’s assault indicated that they may no longer be considered as such. Terentius Informed us that there were possibly another dozen of the old ones in their regio not under the sway of the Jack at this time.
[Pyrrhus private Journal] It was obvious from his later actions that this vision swayed Terentius, broke his will and he thought that the green man could not be defeated so agreed to become his lapdog. Maybe that is the issue with Tremere, they are conditioned to follow orders no matter how heinous and so when something they consider precious is threatened they break and admit defeat.]
Three days into the season we scryed on the master Peter performing his clandestine meeting in the storeroom. The hair from his comb which I had obtained in winter allowed us to see and hear him. He and his co-conspirators finished their meal early and entered the flicked storeroom, then they descended to another locked door to a lower storeroom. They then proceeded to move some crates and sacks from the floor to reveal some occult symbols. I could not understand them but Jari said he might have recognised a few but that the light was so bad he could not make them out. The cultists then proceeded to put four bowls at the cardinal points of the drawing on the floor, filled one with oil and a wick and lit it, they left one empty and the other two were filled with soil and water using the four elements. They then proceeded to cut the palms of their hands and let a few drops of blood fall into each bowl. Once this was completed the master Anthony stepped forward and with a firm voice announced that he wished to be promoted to permanent master with a stipend. All in all the ritual took about one and a half hours.
Branwen went on a grand tour of the Dean again, to see what effects the green man’s magic and that of Hypathia’s had wrought on our forest. She went first to the Myrddyns stone and there met the spirit of the forest, a stag in appearance now covered in moss and wooden like antlers, this was the corrupting effect that the Jack was having on our land and its inhabitants both mundane and magical. The spirit informs her that none of her fellows has sworn to protect the forest and it now has three guardians referring to the old ones ensorceled by Jack. After her encounter with the spirit, she investigated the magic in the stone and became a boar. After experimenting with the new form for a while her progress through the forest continued, she visited the Dell and checked that the trees were still performing their dedicated task, she then visited Raegwulf’s cave and saw a small patch of smooth stone on the wall but did not investigate as she did not have the skills to do so. She then headed round on a big loop to Huntley hill, examining the effects the wild wood had had on our forest, because of her link with the wildwood she was not menaced in any way shape or form.
[Pyrrhus’ private Journal] I do worry that someone who seems so friendly with the green man is our source of intelligence on his activities and growth, can we trust her reports not to be coloured by her favouritism, but then again who else can go, Jari who was always in favour of the easy route, can we trust someone so quirky and Terentius who seems to have been broken to the green man's will by the threat on the wolves of the Dean.]
Terentius called an informal council meeting, to declare that he had been forced to change his mind, his discussions with the grandfather wolf had persuaded him that unless the unthinkable was done and the mundane was murdered to slake the thirst of the Jack we would lose more of the forest to the wild wood.
We were informed by Theoclea that the church had organised a procession from Monmouth to Coleford that was to take place in a week or so that would lead many of the clergy including the archbishop of Hereford up to the wood where they would call on the bones of St Cadfan to cleanse the wood. These bones cure blindness and blood disorders so I don't know what use they will be against the Jack apart from the fact that so many believe in their holiness, maybe that is what the dominion is, the belief of mundane people. We voted on whether to have the ritual or not and with Terentius’ defection to the “appease the Jack faction” the vote passed. Branwen unsurprisingly volunteered to perform the ritual, I now realise that her upbringing means I was wrong about her being a delicate flower of a girl and she is a thorny rose whose pricks are bigger than most.
Terentius searched for a condemned man and could not find one, eventually, his searches led him to Bristol and with the application of a lot of Mentem magics found an unconvicted murderer in the city watch. He accosted him, and shrunk him to enable the movement of the prisoner and took him into the wood, there Branwen murdered him by cutting his throat, ensuring the blood sprayed in the direction she wanted the wood to extend in. Branwen stayed at the site to detect any changes as she was not affected by the terror of the wild wood. She told us she felt it surge into the area she had defined in the ritual and the trees magically aged and grew and soon the wildness stretched before her and behind her.
During the season Gaines, the redcap arrived and informed Terentius that he had broken his oath and the primary code and would be tried at the tribunal.
[Pyrrhus’s private Journal] Gaines also informed me about my question of the refounding of Crannagh Tomb and that it contained 5 magi of house Ex miscellanea with the leader being a magus called Nectan.]
The Holy Ritual procession started from Monmouth, with the archbishop taking the lead with the bones of the long-dead martyr, It was an impressive affair which stretched for hundreds of yards and the distance of the clergy from the head showed their relative importance after the clergy came the commoners which included Theoclea as princess Eleanor with her bodyguards from Lydney who joined the train representing the crown. At the same time, the Procession was leaving Monmouth, Branwen flew to Coleford and negotiated with the spirit of the wood to avoid a massacre as the old ones would have ripped apart the clergy like a fox in a henhouse. She volunteered to become another guardian of the woods in exchange for the spirit allowing the clearances near Coleford and withdrawing the old ones. With the procession saved Jari went and told Theoclea the news as the guards recognized him from Lydney they let him in to see the princess.
I do believe Branwen had not considered the consequences of her actions as during the ceremony the Archbishop performed there was a token tree cut down, this felt to Branwen like someone punching her in the ribs, an effect that bypassed her parma, this was just a precursor of the beating she would receive when the clearances happened in force, meaning she just stayed in her sanctum nursing her bruises. Even though she doesn't like me it pains me to see one of my sodales hurt without the ability to punish the person or creature doing it. I suppose she brought the pain upon herself, a pagan witch trying to save the Christian procession by making a deal with the corrupted forest spirit, a strange turn of affairs that’s to be sure.
Summer
We met in a sour-tasting council, where we knew we had given in to Jack in the green, granted him who knows what power and took the first step in helping him destroy man. The first step is always the hardest but my council had made it rather than fight, rather than face the difficult path, the cowards way out, piling up who knows what problems for a later date
Branwen informed the council of her actions and their consequences at the end of the season. I hope each blow she feels will remind her why we do not deal with spirits or Fae where we do not know the results of that deal. Theoclea brought news of the king’s war in Hibernia, he seems to be following the age-old scheme of divide and conquer, offering local lords the choice of swearing fealty or die and then giving the new lands he captures to the ones who swear or to his English lords in his retinue. Terentius informed us that with the reestablishment of the iron extracting in the west of the forest our finances should soon be back to normal, He also informed us that Kenneth's replacement in the shire reeve’s office of Monmouth is good but not as effective as Kenneth and so we could expect some information but he would not risk himself or his position if we called on him to do so. Jari and I discussed the possibility that I would go to Gloucester with him and we could study there together, he is more learned than me in matters of the occult and if he could see the drawings on the floor of the storeroom where the ritual was held he might be able to understand the background of it and inform us if it poses a risk to us.
Being Summer, Jari girded his loins and put his brave trews on and had decided to visit the faerie forest to pay homage to the lord of the oaks. He took with him two Grogs, Eanfled the ridiculous faerie pretending to be a fox and his familiar rabbit. His recent timidness might be explained by his forming of bonds with his familiar as rabbits are famed for being timid creatures. They did not enter as many magi in the past had done but used the gift that the powerful being in Mynydd Myddyn had gifted Jari, using eyes to see something he has called a “trod”, I don't pretend to understand it but it appears to be like a river that takes you directly to a location in the faerie forest rather than having to traipse through the lower levels of the regio, I wonder if this is a magic that cuts through regios and could it be used to send message to one in a deeper regio, or do arcane connections work through it? Appearing from the “trod” just outside the summer glade the party held a silken cord and stepped as one across the boundary, their transit was successful and they were met by a sight of a beautiful summer glade with an abundance of vis rich fae and magical creatures present.
Soon after their arrival Yago the centaur approached Jari and his shield grogs bristled menacingly behind him to warn this huge entity that they would lay down their lives to protect the magus, a few moments of tension passed as Yago assessed the potential fight to come but then relaxed as he remembered the grove and the reason they were there. Yago stated that without the queen's peace being in place there was nothing to prevent him from getting revenge for the vandalism of the silver gate, to which Jari replied that although present he cast no spell that could have influenced the gate in any way. Yago looked disgusted at this paltry wordplay, casually mentioned that with the growth of the wild wood he could now visit those woods as he pleased and hoped that nothing would happen to Jari or his companions in those dangerous areas, the obvious threat cowed Jari and he retreated a few steps to where his grogs and animal companions waited. I wonder what sort of vis and where it is contained in Yago’s form.
The Silver gate opened as the Nynniaw arrived and one of the grogs, Jessop I think his name was, the fat one, started to walk towards the gateway to Arcadia if it was not for the rapid actions of the other grog he might have been lost forever to that deep regio where who knows what horrors might have befallen him and what he might have been mutated into (probably some form of boar). With the arrival of the Nynniaw, the Faeries started fawning themselves in front of the so-called lord of oaks and giving it crap which they considered precious, Hermetically this would not be influential but from what I have read this gifting of precious items as to a monarch is an attempt to garner favour with the powerful. Jari gave an expensive tapestry that he had commissioned, personally, from what I know this was a rubbish gift as it involved coin that Jari did not work for and thus considered worthless to the fae, effort of a craftsman paid with this ‘worthless coin’, the only work Jari did was bring the tapestry to the faerie regio so maybe the Nynniaw recognised that effort. The grogs gave baked good that Jessop had made, the rabbit familiar gave a carrot and the faerie fox gave a furball of all the disgusting things, I do not understand how this could be considered a gift, although it might have contained some essence of Eanfled who knows with faerie gifts. Jari was told that the grog who presented Jessop’s bread was not welcome again in the glade as he made no effort and carried a lot of iron, a stupid oversight by Jari, but then again maybe he was scared of a confrontation with Yago and cared not for the sensibilities of the host of the party.
After the giving of gifts, the Nynniaw summoned Jari over to dispense some wooden wisdom. It stated that Corruption was spreading in the mundane lands and to combat this he encourages a successor to claim the crown as without it there would be many fae who would be hurt, it said that it was hard to fight shadows in the dark and that the crown would shine a light in which shadows would be banished. With the rise of the old magic, we should be aware of more gifted children being born in the dean and be prepared to save them from the witch-hunting humans. It also said that the longer the crown is unclaimed the worse it will get and the Nynniaw did not care if it was the son or the daughter who was crowned, as long as there was someone soon. To my ears via Jari’s recollection of the conversation the Nynniaw wanted the peace back desperately, perhaps worried about the potential conflicts between the magi of Severn Temple and the Fae of its forest., or maybe when the crown was claimed the Fae gathered more power or more access to the mundane lands. Of the wild wood the Nynniaw stated that Jack’s influence did not extend to the faerie forest but in return, the Nynniaw cannot or will not fight Jack, which seemed very convenient, the machinations of these pagan and faerie creature always mystifies me, where do pagans end and fae begin, is the Jack an aspect of the wood just as the Nynniaw is and thus they cannot fight each other because they are the same entity at heart. The Nynniaw did give cryptic help however saying that there was a gift from the time when Llandoddwyn lived in a place defended by druids and wizards that would enable the Nynniaw to drive the Jack from the dean.
Examining that statement gave cause for concern, there is a magic item that druids and wizards defended centuries ago, could this already be in our possession as the green finger Branwen now seems to possess or is it some other druidic artefact. Also, driving Jack from the dean does not mean defeating him, it could just mean moving him on, what if he goes and inhabits the wood around Cad Gadu, would we be held up in front of the tribunal on a charge of breaking our oath? Better to defeat the Jack ourselves, hermetically where we will know the outcomes rather than trusting a pagan or faerie with an agenda of their own.
There was the typical music and feasting afterwards although Jari did state that he missed the goblin drums and lumbering ice giant dancing from the Erechwydd’s court, maybe he should visit the Tegid Foel in winter and gift him something valuable, I could have Marcellus repair the faerie knight Turold’s sword as a gift. But Jari only ventures into the Faerie forest infrequently now, I do believe it was eight years in the winter of 1307 since his last visit, so no rush I suppose.
I left on a cloudless day for my house meeting taking my shield grog, taking the boat from Chepstow down the Bristol Channel and then over the Irish sea to my destination.
[Pyrrhus’s private Journal]
House meeting
My shield grog Domnal and I made our way down via Lydney and the forest road to Chepstow, the road passed very close to the forest in many places and we were only too aware of what the consequences entering under the boughs of the cursed forest would mean, I would have to break my Certamen binding and burn the forest to protect myself. There were no incidents upon the road and entering Chepstow we saw the ship waiting for us. With the coming of the correct tide, we set sail, slowly navigating the Bristol channel past the small island of Flat Holm to our south and sticking close to the south coast of Wales eventually ended up in the port of Milford haven, there we rested for a day gathering water and supplies for the dash across the unpredictable Irish sea to Cliffheart. Whether due to our captains and crews skill, the enchantments put about the ship or pure luck we had no issues crossing the notoriously bad sea and within a day were putting onto the harbour at the fishing village at the foot of the Cliffheart covenant. I was recognised by the grogs on guard at the dock and was escorted to the gate of the covenant up the steep cliff path. Ricardus greeted me at the gate and it was like seeing an old friend, which I suppose we had become, we chatted for a while and I noticed an eyepatch on his face, when questioned about it he stated he had fought a mad melee with the queen of sticks who had jabbed him in the eye and a faerie poison or curse now prevented hermetic magic from curing it, he assured me though that the best way to remove a faerie curse was to remove the faerie that had cursed you and so it would not be long before he had hunted this queen down, destroyed her and then free himself and be cured. It pleased me greatly to see my friend again and hear his tales of daring-do. I was admitted to the covenant and entered the great hall where my bags were taken to my room and Domnal made himself, with my permission scarce, perhaps looking for some of his old companions as he had originally come from Cliffheart. In the great hall were many magi of my house present. I saw Numenius talking with Cassius, he was a tall man with white hair denoting his age, he wore leathers with some obvious Verditius runes on them. I saw Guido, his black beard hiding his lower face whilst his piercing eyes flicked around the room talking with a Magus I did not recognise, but came to learn was called Rebellious, pale countenance but black eyes and clothing indicative of someone of the Apromor tradition. As I had never met him I introduced myself to Rebellious and we chatted about the cult I was investigating. He advised me that in the Rome tribunal he had investigated many cults and found a good technique is to follow the money as influence must be bought and so money would flow from the tendrils of the cult to the heart. Alouicious then entered the hall and walked around shaking hands with all, when he got to me we chatted for a while and talked about Terentius changing his mind and helping in the ceremony that empowered the Jack in the green. Alouicious gently berated me for forgetting to remind him to burn out the Jack and was perturbed when I told him that that option was now off the table now that I had lost a Certamen to Terentius about bringing flame to the forest without councils permission.
With all apparently present we had a feast and during which tales of feats were told, Ricardus told of his epic duel with the queen of sticks and how a cold war between the two of them had turned hot. Guido and Cassius reported that on their journey to Cliffheart a fleet of six Barbary pirates had attacked their lone ship, they had sunk five captured one and had sailed that one to Cliffheart which explained the strange sailed ship I had spotted on the way into the harbour. Rebellious told a chilling tale of how he had destroyed a wight, a terrible type of undead creature I was led to believe, he had entered the tomb of the wight, hoping to find some vis and was assailed but the perdo magics at his disposal soon rid this world of the undead creature and his search was rewarded. Ladislaus now a Quaesitor of the house had gone up the coast of Hibernia to a fishing village called Killorglin where the people worshipped a pagan entity and had some regio which they entered and exited from, these people had harassed the vis collection of Cliffheart and although given the opportunity to refrain from doing so had eventually tried the patience of our Quaesitor to much and so he had destroyed the village and its inhabitants, I suppose if you play with fire you must expect to get burnt and I have little sympathy for such stupid people. I tell my tale of investigation in King's college and although nowhere near the excitement of any of the others I feel they realised my age and were sympathetic, applauding my attempts to root out infernalists. I must admit I got very drunk that night and many drinking games were played, I remember one where we shot at statues with fire in the courtyard, and although all his on the first round, someone started moving the statues with the unseen porter spell which caused many to miss and eventually we played blindfold which caused us all to miss, I think I won the game which impressed Cassius, and so we drank to celebrate my victory, the evening became very hazy at this point and I remember nought else.
I woke the next day not in my chamber as I expected but under a feasting table hugging a huge cushion. I staggered up and started to make my way towards my quarters when Ricardus came towards me and insisted I eat before I slept off the effects of the wine, to my horror he opened a pan and there lying in it surrounded by bacon grease were fried eggs, dozens of them, my stomach heaved and I managed to keep my dignity intact and sat hastily at the table reaching for some bread, but my friend Ricadus would have none of it and plopped down three slimy white, vomit-inducing, eggs on my plate and insisted I eat them all up. I must admit that after I had forced the first one down I started to feel better and at the end of my breakfast I felt a little better. I went back to my room to get a morning's sleep. I was awoken by Ricardus who called me to lunch, feeling a million times better than I had at my first rude awakening. I cleaned myself up and thence went to the hall again. There I noticed another maga had made an appearance and introduced myself, her name was Honoria and she had long black hair and wore scale armour and had a long sword at her belt. She also was now a refugee Magus based at Verdi covenant, she warned me that although the Templar knights were defeated another order based in the Rhine tribunal called the Teutonic knights were causing a lot of problems for any magi left in the north.
After lunch, we all met in the great hall for the house meeting. Aloucious invited Quaesitor Ladislaus to present his case before the house. He stood in his imposing robes, and in a strong voice declared that he had evidence to support a case that the covenant of Crannagh tomb were infernalists and potential supporters of the unnamed house. He quoted multiple incidents.
One that the leader of the covenant, a magus called Nectan was already accused of summoning infernal spirits and only through the block vote of the ex miscellaneans at tribunal did he escape justice at the tribunal.
Two that a member of house Mercere had met a grisly fate just outside the covenant, struck down by a dire curse.
Three rangers sent out by Cliffheart to help investigate the death were assaulted by ghouls and one ranger was killed by a dark shadow who cursed him.
Four on attempting to investigate the deaths of magus and men the Quaesitor were turned away from the covenant as they did not want to cooperate with the keepers of hermetic law.
Ladislaus continued to say individually these cases would not be enough to warrant the extreme measures but taken as a whole the pattern pointed to a fallen covenant and one that must be cleansed with fire. He demanded a wizards march by the house to rid Hibernia of this nest of devils in their midst.
There was much debate and Guido himself tried to convince me that one bad egg should not mean all were bad, but with the infernal how can you tell, Intellego magic’s would not work. Eventually, the vote was cast with Archimagus Numerius, Ricardus and myself voting for, Guido and Honoraria voting against and Rebellious and Cassius abstaining. With the vote passing, Primus Aloouicious stated that the house would march and that any present who did not would be putting their place in the house at risk. The next day dawned and it was not long before it was discovered that Guido had fled the covenant in the night, I do not understand his motives or his cowardice, maybe his extended stay in the east has warped his Flambeau training and he no longer felt he had to follow orders.
Ricardus, Domnal and I formed up with a small group of grogs and rangers and started the long walk north. We were to assault the demon-infested forest and act as a distraction to the main assault on the underground covenant. It took 3 long weeks of travel, but the rangers led us down roads and lanes and the journey blended into an unremarkable terrain of green rolling fields and forests. We arrived outside the haunted forest and waited for the signal to attack, a flare in the sky. A few days passed as we camped and I must admire the ranger's skill at catching game in this land. On the third night, a flare was seen and at dawn, we made our assault. Almost as soon as we crossed the threshold of the wood the demons came upon us, and although the trees masked their approach we spotted a few and I sent them back to hell via the medium of Astrius’ bolt of flame spell I had learnt from the library, they were tricky targets at forty or fifty yards through a thick forest but my practice, beaten into me by my pater Archimagus Laurius, paid off and I struck them down. The armoured grogs met the charge and held but some of the rangers fell quickly to the assault. It was then we realised our danger as our own men's corpses were transformed into more of the demons, and so we would have to defeat them and our fallen soldiers. Ricardus started to cleverly herd the undead employing great walls of fire, although some of our grogs were caught in the blaze as well, this seemed not to bother my elder colleague. One unfortunate event of note was that a ranger's arrow bounced off a branch and pierced poor Ricardus’ rear end, sticking out like a handle on a child's wooden puppet. They closed on us and using the flame spell I learnt at Cliffheart and my unerring aim I slaughtered the host of demons, Domnal acquitted himself well, indeed he sliced the head clean off the last demon as it tried to rip him to shreds. The woods went quiet and we took account of our forces, we had one ranger left and Ricardus stated that he and the ranger would go to the far end of the tomb and guard the exit and Domanl and myself would guard the near exit. We stood in the tree line not crossing the line of stones that might indicate an aegis boundary and hid. I must say Domnal is an excellent guard but hiding is not a skill he is good at, maybe all the armour hinders him. A lone figure came out of the Tomb a young girl with blue paint on her face, she espied Domnal and shouted that she surrendered, but under a wizards march there was no quarter to be given and I dispatched her with a bolt of flame that punched through the Aegis, her parma and fried her where she stood, her light dress vanishing in the blaze of flame leaving her vulgar naked blackened corpse for the ravens to feast on.
Eventually, we entered the covenant and assembled in the great hall waiting for our Sodales who had entered deeper and into a Regio known to be there. We decided to search the upper levels for stragglers and evidence of the infernal. I entered a sanctum, it was awash with herbs hanging from the roof but I did not find any obvious signs of the infernal, to be honest, I do not know what to look for and unless a demon was sitting there with horns on his head I would probably miss it. Eventually, the Primus, Archimagus and Quaesitor returned from the depths with smiles on their faces and they told us of the feats they had achieved defeating the infernalist Nectan. We gathered what loose vis we discovered and left walking back the same roads that had brought us here.
Back at Cliffheart, we feasted and I stayed until the boat came to collect me at the end of the season. During this time the Archimagus himself tattooed me with a flaming triangle to denote my first magus kill, and I look at it, wondering if I will catch the Illustrious Numerius in his total. We returned to Severn temple the same route we had come and I arrived back on the day before the autumn council.
Autumn
We met on a crisp Autumn morning and the leaves of the forest were starting to turn brown, when the sunrise or sunset caught them I thought of the blood sacrifice that Branwen had made to the Jack in the green and how that entity had blocked entry to our forest for the majority of magi in the covenant.
We discussed the previous season's news and I was asked about my house meeting which I rebuffed as my house business is my house business. Jari reported his news from the Faerie forest and we discussed our plans for the upcoming season. I did ask Jari about fixing Turold's sword and if there was another faerie smith apart from Gofinwe who might be up for the task. He said that there was a maga in Narwold called Druscilla whom he would write a letter to ask and I thanked him for his assistance.
Soon into the season, a report came to the covenant that two of our grogs had spotted a shape in the forest near Blakeney, like that of a huge wolf, Terentius flew down there and checked the wood for signs but saw none, we reiterated our rules to the Blakeney folk that no live wood should be taken from the old forest lest the forest guardians take their revenge. Terentius then went down to Lydney to converse with the miners there. He was told a troubling tale of a man called Kale who in the full moon had run as they often did in wolf form through the forest but that he had not returned. Terentius, concerned that we could lose more miners to the influence of the wildwood, searched the forest with his familiar Meliorax. After a few days, they found the naked corpse of Kale high up in a tree near the heart of the forest, it seemed obvious that when the wolf had changed back into a man the forest had attacked and killed him. Even though he was in animal form, or perhaps because of it, Terentius felt his parma pressured by Mentem magics and he heard the call of the wild trying to persuade him to go to the heart of the forest. He fled the scene to avoid a second magical assault overwhelming his defences. Terentius also checked on the magical state of Mynydd Merddyn and although too scared to enter, found that the power of the place was similar to how it was when last checked, which indicated to Terentius that entry might be very dangerous. Returning to the covenant he made his rapport over dinner one night.
Our spymaster Kenneth reported that there had been several mysterious ritualised murders in Bristol where the eyes of the victim were skilfully removed and the throat cut open into an unnatural smile from ear to ear.
We vowed to investigate next season as it sounded very infernal and if linked to the cult of broken mirrors could prove very worrying indeed.
Winter
A cold dark morning heralded the winter council we discussed the previous season's activities and during the discussions, I asked if claiming the crown would stop Jack in the greens aggressions as had been hinted at by the Niniaw, my thinking was he would have to respect the King or queen of the land. I was told by those learned in the lore of the pagan spirits however that Jack had no love of man and a queen or king would not necessarily garner his respect because of that. I reported Kenneth's findings and because I stumbled on a few words they summoned in our spymaster to repeat what I had just said. I swore that if I did not start getting more respect freely from this broken council I would force it out of them. The only extra information they got out of Kenneth was that all the victims were commoners and there had been some disappearances as well. We decided that Jari and myself would go and look for the occult circle in Gloucester and then he would return and go with Terentius to Bristol to see if they could find a source for those gruesome killings that had occurred.
Jari and I made our way down to Lydney and then caught a barge upriver to the docks at Gloucester, from there we walked through the cold streets to the swan tavern just on the side of the market square. Once there we obtained a room for a few nights and listened out for any rumours in the common room. I did not discern any, Jari with his better hearing and knowledge of such gossip, picked up a couple of facts. The king had returned from his invasion of Ireland to Winchester with a horde of gold, taken from the fallen Irish nobles properties. Closer to home, there had been a disappearance of Master Peter who had led the ritual the last time we observed it. He had disappeared just four short weeks before our trip to the city and people from the college had searched around Gloucester, including the very tavern we reposed in but to no avail. There were rumours that he had run off with a woman, but that made little sense, to give up his tenured position in a highly respected university for a roll in the hay with a probable whore.
After a few nights, we made ourselves invisible and went over the walls of the college using magics both learnt and from items. I then attempted to cast a spell on the lock but it went wrong and it caused a loud noise. A couple of bursars came to investigate but they found nothing wrong and soon passed by. Left alone I tried again and this time succeeded to thwart the locksmith's art. We rapidly moved inside and I pushed the door behind us closed. We descended and I opened the second door and once in the chamber I attempted to create a light, again however the magics went awry and instead of gentle light a burst of flame rose up, luckily nothing caught fire, although Jari said he thought for a moment he spotted a figure by the door but when we checked nothing was there. We uncovered the circle moving the sacks and crates hiding it from our gaze. Jari recognised the style of the script as written in a language used by diabolists whose revelation set our hearts pounding. Without warning I heard a voice in my head, I could tell I was the only one who could hear it as the normally perceptive Jari made no indication of not hearing it. In my head, I heard a soft, sophisticated voice say in a very mild way “you're barking up the wrong tree, I could tell you more if you want? If you would learn the voice of your enemy return here on the next night we can discuss a mutually beneficial deal.``. I instantly realised that the King's college urbane demon was in the room, invisible, trying to lure us into breaking our oaths, I informed Jari and we tried to exit the room, the door, however, would not open and so Jari parted the boards of the door and I went through, with Jari quickly moving behind me, we scampered up the stairs, I cast my spell to lock the door and we went back over the wall, back to the Swan tavern. Jari and I discussed the events of the night and I decided to stay in Gloucester to try and find out what had happened with master Peter and see if I could discover something about the cult. I approached the vice-chancellor and asked if I could teach for the season in exchange for access to the library which he agreed to.
A few nights later my candle snuffed itself out in my cell and I tried to relight it with flint and steel. Again I heard the voice in the dark say “here let me help you with that” and the candle relit. They're sitting beside my cot, was a tall, handsome well-dressed man, looking like a scholar, the demon had returned. He started to talk to me about the broken mirror cult I was investigating, he said it was traditional to advance in an infernal cult is to kill the person above you and master Anthony wishing to be a master may have killed master Peter, indeed with Peter missing that might have been the impetus for Anthony’s promotion to master as he had wished for at the ritual we had observed. The Demon went on to say that “The enemy is not I but was once close to you”, this reference eluded me and I deemed that when I returned to the covenant I should read the journal more thoroughly. The Demon went on to say “This is the beginning of a scheme to take back once what was lost” and that we should “Ask house Jerbiton of who had influence over the land” this last riddle confused me and I don’t know if he was saying members of house Jerbiton were in the cult or that they might have information that might help us destroy it. It was obvious at this point that the college demon was no friend of the demon who ran the cult and I believed he was mightily put out, that the cult was infringing on what it considered its territory.
At the end of the season, having discovered nothing about Peters disappearance I decided to break into master Anthonys rooms and take an arcane connection, however, he must have been quite fastidious or the cleaner had just been in for I could find nothing there, I did take an arcane connection to the desk and looked through some of his papers, when I felt a strange hidden compartment in the back of the big drawer, looking back on this discovery now I feel I was either very lucky or had some demonic help as I am not normally good at finding hidden items. When I opened the compartment I found six letters and quickly trying to scan them I saw they were written in code. Taking one from the middle, I returned the others to the compartment. I planned to copy the letter and return it secretly at the start of the next season, giving us a chance to decode the letter without Anthony becoming aware of the discovery. I exited the rooms, locked the door and
I left the college, wishing the bursar well as I went through the gates to the docks and a quick barge trip down the river to home.
Jari and Terentius went to Bristol to investigate the murders and returned later in the season, but I will let Terentius relay the tale in his journal.
Spring 1315AD
We found ourselves effectively besieged in our own covenant with a single road connecting us to our needed supplies, the pagan spirit, the green man, also known as Jack in the green (I refuse to give it any noble title) has turned the wild wood against us and unless we assume the form of a wild animal attacks us if we wander into what it claims as its part of the forest. I would love to burn its forest back for with its growth the Jacks power waxes, the council however is scared of the consequences of direct confrontation, fearful that it would have some form of negative impact on our aura, they didn’t listen, even when I showed historical evidence that in 1103 a demon had corrupted the heart of the forest with no effect on the aura at Severn Temple, they are cowards who tremble at the thought of direct action and refuse to take a negligible risk, rather doing nothing or delaying the inevitable clash between church and wood which will lead to a crusade against our wood and probable destruction of the faerie forest and our covenant.
The council gathered in a sombre mood for we seemed to have no way forward to prevent the inevitable growth of the influence of the Jack in the green although Branwen seemed nonchalant at the prospect, maybe because she had done a deal with the devil in green already without telling us, or that twig she now had as a finger made her in some way part of the wild wood, I wonder if this is how Llandothwyn started with just a little bit of his soul sold for power and over the centuries he sold more and more turning into the non-human tree creature he later became.
We initially discussed the unfortunate death of the Abbot and what repercussions might occur, we concluded that with the death of such a ranking person the King might ask for an investigation by the order of hermetic scholars. With the sudden demise of Vasily in the winter, we decided to recall Kenneth from his position in the sheriff’s office to take on the mantle of spymaster and we mages would assist him as much as we could in the initial stages of his new role. We guessed that with the death of the Abbot the church would gather its forces and attempt to do something about the cursed wood. Branwen offered to go into the woods again to see what was occurring, and with her not being an enemy of the green man it seemed no one objected, I still believed the only solution was to take the war to Jack but my ideas were shouted down or called stupid, my sodales are cowards and would not take action even if one of our lives depended on it, “in case we damage the magic of the place” they said whilst harvesting vis from across the forest with gay abandon.
I reported my findings in the King's college in Gloucester and asked if Jari would help me at the new moon to scry on the master Peter. Some Vis and coins were distributed which were welcome.
Terentius went to Lydney to speak with the grandfather wolf about Jari being assaulted by the old one near Coleford even though he was in the guise of a fox. The grandfather was concerned as the Old ones should not have been that close to Lydney by their agreement, the old man also stated he was worried some of the men had trouble returning to human form and might have gotten caught up in the magic of the wild wood and could if it continues never return to human form. Terentius was given a rare honour (in the eyes of the werewolves) of consulting with the great wolf spirit. He partook of a bitter brew after lowering his magical defences that apparently opened his mind, probably some mild herbal poison. He had a vision or dream and in it learnt that three of the old ones had been corrupted by the magic of the wild wood and now served the spirit of the forest as guardians of the woods, a role also enjoyed by Terentius and Jari. It made us wonder if my sodales were still guardians as Jari’s assault indicated that they may no longer be considered as such. Terentius Informed us that there were possibly another dozen of the old ones in their regio not under the sway of the Jack at this time.
[Pyrrhus private Journal] It was obvious from his later actions that this vision swayed Terentius, broke his will and he thought that the green man could not be defeated so agreed to become his lapdog. Maybe that is the issue with Tremere, they are conditioned to follow orders no matter how heinous and so when something they consider precious is threatened they break and admit defeat.]
Three days into the season we scryed on the master Peter performing his clandestine meeting in the storeroom. The hair from his comb which I had obtained in winter allowed us to see and hear him. He and his co-conspirators finished their meal early and entered the flicked storeroom, then they descended to another locked door to a lower storeroom. They then proceeded to move some crates and sacks from the floor to reveal some occult symbols. I could not understand them but Jari said he might have recognised a few but that the light was so bad he could not make them out. The cultists then proceeded to put four bowls at the cardinal points of the drawing on the floor, filled one with oil and a wick and lit it, they left one empty and the other two were filled with soil and water using the four elements. They then proceeded to cut the palms of their hands and let a few drops of blood fall into each bowl. Once this was completed the master Anthony stepped forward and with a firm voice announced that he wished to be promoted to permanent master with a stipend. All in all the ritual took about one and a half hours.
Branwen went on a grand tour of the Dean again, to see what effects the green man’s magic and that of Hypathia’s had wrought on our forest. She went first to the Myrddyns stone and there met the spirit of the forest, a stag in appearance now covered in moss and wooden like antlers, this was the corrupting effect that the Jack was having on our land and its inhabitants both mundane and magical. The spirit informs her that none of her fellows has sworn to protect the forest and it now has three guardians referring to the old ones ensorceled by Jack. After her encounter with the spirit, she investigated the magic in the stone and became a boar. After experimenting with the new form for a while her progress through the forest continued, she visited the Dell and checked that the trees were still performing their dedicated task, she then visited Raegwulf’s cave and saw a small patch of smooth stone on the wall but did not investigate as she did not have the skills to do so. She then headed round on a big loop to Huntley hill, examining the effects the wild wood had had on our forest, because of her link with the wildwood she was not menaced in any way shape or form.
[Pyrrhus’ private Journal] I do worry that someone who seems so friendly with the green man is our source of intelligence on his activities and growth, can we trust her reports not to be coloured by her favouritism, but then again who else can go, Jari who was always in favour of the easy route, can we trust someone so quirky and Terentius who seems to have been broken to the green man's will by the threat on the wolves of the Dean.]
Terentius called an informal council meeting, to declare that he had been forced to change his mind, his discussions with the grandfather wolf had persuaded him that unless the unthinkable was done and the mundane was murdered to slake the thirst of the Jack we would lose more of the forest to the wild wood.
We were informed by Theoclea that the church had organised a procession from Monmouth to Coleford that was to take place in a week or so that would lead many of the clergy including the archbishop of Hereford up to the wood where they would call on the bones of St Cadfan to cleanse the wood. These bones cure blindness and blood disorders so I don't know what use they will be against the Jack apart from the fact that so many believe in their holiness, maybe that is what the dominion is, the belief of mundane people. We voted on whether to have the ritual or not and with Terentius’ defection to the “appease the Jack faction” the vote passed. Branwen unsurprisingly volunteered to perform the ritual, I now realise that her upbringing means I was wrong about her being a delicate flower of a girl and she is a thorny rose whose pricks are bigger than most.
Terentius searched for a condemned man and could not find one, eventually, his searches led him to Bristol and with the application of a lot of Mentem magics found an unconvicted murderer in the city watch. He accosted him, and shrunk him to enable the movement of the prisoner and took him into the wood, there Branwen murdered him by cutting his throat, ensuring the blood sprayed in the direction she wanted the wood to extend in. Branwen stayed at the site to detect any changes as she was not affected by the terror of the wild wood. She told us she felt it surge into the area she had defined in the ritual and the trees magically aged and grew and soon the wildness stretched before her and behind her.
During the season Gaines, the redcap arrived and informed Terentius that he had broken his oath and the primary code and would be tried at the tribunal.
[Pyrrhus’s private Journal] Gaines also informed me about my question of the refounding of Crannagh Tomb and that it contained 5 magi of house Ex miscellanea with the leader being a magus called Nectan.]
The Holy Ritual procession started from Monmouth, with the archbishop taking the lead with the bones of the long-dead martyr, It was an impressive affair which stretched for hundreds of yards and the distance of the clergy from the head showed their relative importance after the clergy came the commoners which included Theoclea as princess Eleanor with her bodyguards from Lydney who joined the train representing the crown. At the same time, the Procession was leaving Monmouth, Branwen flew to Coleford and negotiated with the spirit of the wood to avoid a massacre as the old ones would have ripped apart the clergy like a fox in a henhouse. She volunteered to become another guardian of the woods in exchange for the spirit allowing the clearances near Coleford and withdrawing the old ones. With the procession saved Jari went and told Theoclea the news as the guards recognized him from Lydney they let him in to see the princess.
I do believe Branwen had not considered the consequences of her actions as during the ceremony the Archbishop performed there was a token tree cut down, this felt to Branwen like someone punching her in the ribs, an effect that bypassed her parma, this was just a precursor of the beating she would receive when the clearances happened in force, meaning she just stayed in her sanctum nursing her bruises. Even though she doesn't like me it pains me to see one of my sodales hurt without the ability to punish the person or creature doing it. I suppose she brought the pain upon herself, a pagan witch trying to save the Christian procession by making a deal with the corrupted forest spirit, a strange turn of affairs that’s to be sure.
Summer
We met in a sour-tasting council, where we knew we had given in to Jack in the green, granted him who knows what power and took the first step in helping him destroy man. The first step is always the hardest but my council had made it rather than fight, rather than face the difficult path, the cowards way out, piling up who knows what problems for a later date
Branwen informed the council of her actions and their consequences at the end of the season. I hope each blow she feels will remind her why we do not deal with spirits or Fae where we do not know the results of that deal. Theoclea brought news of the king’s war in Hibernia, he seems to be following the age-old scheme of divide and conquer, offering local lords the choice of swearing fealty or die and then giving the new lands he captures to the ones who swear or to his English lords in his retinue. Terentius informed us that with the reestablishment of the iron extracting in the west of the forest our finances should soon be back to normal, He also informed us that Kenneth's replacement in the shire reeve’s office of Monmouth is good but not as effective as Kenneth and so we could expect some information but he would not risk himself or his position if we called on him to do so. Jari and I discussed the possibility that I would go to Gloucester with him and we could study there together, he is more learned than me in matters of the occult and if he could see the drawings on the floor of the storeroom where the ritual was held he might be able to understand the background of it and inform us if it poses a risk to us.
Being Summer, Jari girded his loins and put his brave trews on and had decided to visit the faerie forest to pay homage to the lord of the oaks. He took with him two Grogs, Eanfled the ridiculous faerie pretending to be a fox and his familiar rabbit. His recent timidness might be explained by his forming of bonds with his familiar as rabbits are famed for being timid creatures. They did not enter as many magi in the past had done but used the gift that the powerful being in Mynydd Myddyn had gifted Jari, using eyes to see something he has called a “trod”, I don't pretend to understand it but it appears to be like a river that takes you directly to a location in the faerie forest rather than having to traipse through the lower levels of the regio, I wonder if this is a magic that cuts through regios and could it be used to send message to one in a deeper regio, or do arcane connections work through it? Appearing from the “trod” just outside the summer glade the party held a silken cord and stepped as one across the boundary, their transit was successful and they were met by a sight of a beautiful summer glade with an abundance of vis rich fae and magical creatures present.
Soon after their arrival Yago the centaur approached Jari and his shield grogs bristled menacingly behind him to warn this huge entity that they would lay down their lives to protect the magus, a few moments of tension passed as Yago assessed the potential fight to come but then relaxed as he remembered the grove and the reason they were there. Yago stated that without the queen's peace being in place there was nothing to prevent him from getting revenge for the vandalism of the silver gate, to which Jari replied that although present he cast no spell that could have influenced the gate in any way. Yago looked disgusted at this paltry wordplay, casually mentioned that with the growth of the wild wood he could now visit those woods as he pleased and hoped that nothing would happen to Jari or his companions in those dangerous areas, the obvious threat cowed Jari and he retreated a few steps to where his grogs and animal companions waited. I wonder what sort of vis and where it is contained in Yago’s form.
The Silver gate opened as the Nynniaw arrived and one of the grogs, Jessop I think his name was, the fat one, started to walk towards the gateway to Arcadia if it was not for the rapid actions of the other grog he might have been lost forever to that deep regio where who knows what horrors might have befallen him and what he might have been mutated into (probably some form of boar). With the arrival of the Nynniaw, the Faeries started fawning themselves in front of the so-called lord of oaks and giving it crap which they considered precious, Hermetically this would not be influential but from what I have read this gifting of precious items as to a monarch is an attempt to garner favour with the powerful. Jari gave an expensive tapestry that he had commissioned, personally, from what I know this was a rubbish gift as it involved coin that Jari did not work for and thus considered worthless to the fae, effort of a craftsman paid with this ‘worthless coin’, the only work Jari did was bring the tapestry to the faerie regio so maybe the Nynniaw recognised that effort. The grogs gave baked good that Jessop had made, the rabbit familiar gave a carrot and the faerie fox gave a furball of all the disgusting things, I do not understand how this could be considered a gift, although it might have contained some essence of Eanfled who knows with faerie gifts. Jari was told that the grog who presented Jessop’s bread was not welcome again in the glade as he made no effort and carried a lot of iron, a stupid oversight by Jari, but then again maybe he was scared of a confrontation with Yago and cared not for the sensibilities of the host of the party.
After the giving of gifts, the Nynniaw summoned Jari over to dispense some wooden wisdom. It stated that Corruption was spreading in the mundane lands and to combat this he encourages a successor to claim the crown as without it there would be many fae who would be hurt, it said that it was hard to fight shadows in the dark and that the crown would shine a light in which shadows would be banished. With the rise of the old magic, we should be aware of more gifted children being born in the dean and be prepared to save them from the witch-hunting humans. It also said that the longer the crown is unclaimed the worse it will get and the Nynniaw did not care if it was the son or the daughter who was crowned, as long as there was someone soon. To my ears via Jari’s recollection of the conversation the Nynniaw wanted the peace back desperately, perhaps worried about the potential conflicts between the magi of Severn Temple and the Fae of its forest., or maybe when the crown was claimed the Fae gathered more power or more access to the mundane lands. Of the wild wood the Nynniaw stated that Jack’s influence did not extend to the faerie forest but in return, the Nynniaw cannot or will not fight Jack, which seemed very convenient, the machinations of these pagan and faerie creature always mystifies me, where do pagans end and fae begin, is the Jack an aspect of the wood just as the Nynniaw is and thus they cannot fight each other because they are the same entity at heart. The Nynniaw did give cryptic help however saying that there was a gift from the time when Llandoddwyn lived in a place defended by druids and wizards that would enable the Nynniaw to drive the Jack from the dean.
Examining that statement gave cause for concern, there is a magic item that druids and wizards defended centuries ago, could this already be in our possession as the green finger Branwen now seems to possess or is it some other druidic artefact. Also, driving Jack from the dean does not mean defeating him, it could just mean moving him on, what if he goes and inhabits the wood around Cad Gadu, would we be held up in front of the tribunal on a charge of breaking our oath? Better to defeat the Jack ourselves, hermetically where we will know the outcomes rather than trusting a pagan or faerie with an agenda of their own.
There was the typical music and feasting afterwards although Jari did state that he missed the goblin drums and lumbering ice giant dancing from the Erechwydd’s court, maybe he should visit the Tegid Foel in winter and gift him something valuable, I could have Marcellus repair the faerie knight Turold’s sword as a gift. But Jari only ventures into the Faerie forest infrequently now, I do believe it was eight years in the winter of 1307 since his last visit, so no rush I suppose.
I left on a cloudless day for my house meeting taking my shield grog, taking the boat from Chepstow down the Bristol Channel and then over the Irish sea to my destination.
[Pyrrhus’s private Journal]
House meeting
My shield grog Domnal and I made our way down via Lydney and the forest road to Chepstow, the road passed very close to the forest in many places and we were only too aware of what the consequences entering under the boughs of the cursed forest would mean, I would have to break my Certamen binding and burn the forest to protect myself. There were no incidents upon the road and entering Chepstow we saw the ship waiting for us. With the coming of the correct tide, we set sail, slowly navigating the Bristol channel past the small island of Flat Holm to our south and sticking close to the south coast of Wales eventually ended up in the port of Milford haven, there we rested for a day gathering water and supplies for the dash across the unpredictable Irish sea to Cliffheart. Whether due to our captains and crews skill, the enchantments put about the ship or pure luck we had no issues crossing the notoriously bad sea and within a day were putting onto the harbour at the fishing village at the foot of the Cliffheart covenant. I was recognised by the grogs on guard at the dock and was escorted to the gate of the covenant up the steep cliff path. Ricardus greeted me at the gate and it was like seeing an old friend, which I suppose we had become, we chatted for a while and I noticed an eyepatch on his face, when questioned about it he stated he had fought a mad melee with the queen of sticks who had jabbed him in the eye and a faerie poison or curse now prevented hermetic magic from curing it, he assured me though that the best way to remove a faerie curse was to remove the faerie that had cursed you and so it would not be long before he had hunted this queen down, destroyed her and then free himself and be cured. It pleased me greatly to see my friend again and hear his tales of daring-do. I was admitted to the covenant and entered the great hall where my bags were taken to my room and Domnal made himself, with my permission scarce, perhaps looking for some of his old companions as he had originally come from Cliffheart. In the great hall were many magi of my house present. I saw Numenius talking with Cassius, he was a tall man with white hair denoting his age, he wore leathers with some obvious Verditius runes on them. I saw Guido, his black beard hiding his lower face whilst his piercing eyes flicked around the room talking with a Magus I did not recognise, but came to learn was called Rebellious, pale countenance but black eyes and clothing indicative of someone of the Apromor tradition. As I had never met him I introduced myself to Rebellious and we chatted about the cult I was investigating. He advised me that in the Rome tribunal he had investigated many cults and found a good technique is to follow the money as influence must be bought and so money would flow from the tendrils of the cult to the heart. Alouicious then entered the hall and walked around shaking hands with all, when he got to me we chatted for a while and talked about Terentius changing his mind and helping in the ceremony that empowered the Jack in the green. Alouicious gently berated me for forgetting to remind him to burn out the Jack and was perturbed when I told him that that option was now off the table now that I had lost a Certamen to Terentius about bringing flame to the forest without councils permission.
With all apparently present we had a feast and during which tales of feats were told, Ricardus told of his epic duel with the queen of sticks and how a cold war between the two of them had turned hot. Guido and Cassius reported that on their journey to Cliffheart a fleet of six Barbary pirates had attacked their lone ship, they had sunk five captured one and had sailed that one to Cliffheart which explained the strange sailed ship I had spotted on the way into the harbour. Rebellious told a chilling tale of how he had destroyed a wight, a terrible type of undead creature I was led to believe, he had entered the tomb of the wight, hoping to find some vis and was assailed but the perdo magics at his disposal soon rid this world of the undead creature and his search was rewarded. Ladislaus now a Quaesitor of the house had gone up the coast of Hibernia to a fishing village called Killorglin where the people worshipped a pagan entity and had some regio which they entered and exited from, these people had harassed the vis collection of Cliffheart and although given the opportunity to refrain from doing so had eventually tried the patience of our Quaesitor to much and so he had destroyed the village and its inhabitants, I suppose if you play with fire you must expect to get burnt and I have little sympathy for such stupid people. I tell my tale of investigation in King's college and although nowhere near the excitement of any of the others I feel they realised my age and were sympathetic, applauding my attempts to root out infernalists. I must admit I got very drunk that night and many drinking games were played, I remember one where we shot at statues with fire in the courtyard, and although all his on the first round, someone started moving the statues with the unseen porter spell which caused many to miss and eventually we played blindfold which caused us all to miss, I think I won the game which impressed Cassius, and so we drank to celebrate my victory, the evening became very hazy at this point and I remember nought else.
I woke the next day not in my chamber as I expected but under a feasting table hugging a huge cushion. I staggered up and started to make my way towards my quarters when Ricardus came towards me and insisted I eat before I slept off the effects of the wine, to my horror he opened a pan and there lying in it surrounded by bacon grease were fried eggs, dozens of them, my stomach heaved and I managed to keep my dignity intact and sat hastily at the table reaching for some bread, but my friend Ricadus would have none of it and plopped down three slimy white, vomit-inducing, eggs on my plate and insisted I eat them all up. I must admit that after I had forced the first one down I started to feel better and at the end of my breakfast I felt a little better. I went back to my room to get a morning's sleep. I was awoken by Ricardus who called me to lunch, feeling a million times better than I had at my first rude awakening. I cleaned myself up and thence went to the hall again. There I noticed another maga had made an appearance and introduced myself, her name was Honoria and she had long black hair and wore scale armour and had a long sword at her belt. She also was now a refugee Magus based at Verdi covenant, she warned me that although the Templar knights were defeated another order based in the Rhine tribunal called the Teutonic knights were causing a lot of problems for any magi left in the north.
After lunch, we all met in the great hall for the house meeting. Aloucious invited Quaesitor Ladislaus to present his case before the house. He stood in his imposing robes, and in a strong voice declared that he had evidence to support a case that the covenant of Crannagh tomb were infernalists and potential supporters of the unnamed house. He quoted multiple incidents.
One that the leader of the covenant, a magus called Nectan was already accused of summoning infernal spirits and only through the block vote of the ex miscellaneans at tribunal did he escape justice at the tribunal.
Two that a member of house Mercere had met a grisly fate just outside the covenant, struck down by a dire curse.
Three rangers sent out by Cliffheart to help investigate the death were assaulted by ghouls and one ranger was killed by a dark shadow who cursed him.
Four on attempting to investigate the deaths of magus and men the Quaesitor were turned away from the covenant as they did not want to cooperate with the keepers of hermetic law.
Ladislaus continued to say individually these cases would not be enough to warrant the extreme measures but taken as a whole the pattern pointed to a fallen covenant and one that must be cleansed with fire. He demanded a wizards march by the house to rid Hibernia of this nest of devils in their midst.
There was much debate and Guido himself tried to convince me that one bad egg should not mean all were bad, but with the infernal how can you tell, Intellego magic’s would not work. Eventually, the vote was cast with Archimagus Numerius, Ricardus and myself voting for, Guido and Honoraria voting against and Rebellious and Cassius abstaining. With the vote passing, Primus Aloouicious stated that the house would march and that any present who did not would be putting their place in the house at risk. The next day dawned and it was not long before it was discovered that Guido had fled the covenant in the night, I do not understand his motives or his cowardice, maybe his extended stay in the east has warped his Flambeau training and he no longer felt he had to follow orders.
Ricardus, Domnal and I formed up with a small group of grogs and rangers and started the long walk north. We were to assault the demon-infested forest and act as a distraction to the main assault on the underground covenant. It took 3 long weeks of travel, but the rangers led us down roads and lanes and the journey blended into an unremarkable terrain of green rolling fields and forests. We arrived outside the haunted forest and waited for the signal to attack, a flare in the sky. A few days passed as we camped and I must admire the ranger's skill at catching game in this land. On the third night, a flare was seen and at dawn, we made our assault. Almost as soon as we crossed the threshold of the wood the demons came upon us, and although the trees masked their approach we spotted a few and I sent them back to hell via the medium of Astrius’ bolt of flame spell I had learnt from the library, they were tricky targets at forty or fifty yards through a thick forest but my practice, beaten into me by my pater Archimagus Laurius, paid off and I struck them down. The armoured grogs met the charge and held but some of the rangers fell quickly to the assault. It was then we realised our danger as our own men's corpses were transformed into more of the demons, and so we would have to defeat them and our fallen soldiers. Ricardus started to cleverly herd the undead employing great walls of fire, although some of our grogs were caught in the blaze as well, this seemed not to bother my elder colleague. One unfortunate event of note was that a ranger's arrow bounced off a branch and pierced poor Ricardus’ rear end, sticking out like a handle on a child's wooden puppet. They closed on us and using the flame spell I learnt at Cliffheart and my unerring aim I slaughtered the host of demons, Domnal acquitted himself well, indeed he sliced the head clean off the last demon as it tried to rip him to shreds. The woods went quiet and we took account of our forces, we had one ranger left and Ricardus stated that he and the ranger would go to the far end of the tomb and guard the exit and Domanl and myself would guard the near exit. We stood in the tree line not crossing the line of stones that might indicate an aegis boundary and hid. I must say Domnal is an excellent guard but hiding is not a skill he is good at, maybe all the armour hinders him. A lone figure came out of the Tomb a young girl with blue paint on her face, she espied Domnal and shouted that she surrendered, but under a wizards march there was no quarter to be given and I dispatched her with a bolt of flame that punched through the Aegis, her parma and fried her where she stood, her light dress vanishing in the blaze of flame leaving her vulgar naked blackened corpse for the ravens to feast on.
Eventually, we entered the covenant and assembled in the great hall waiting for our Sodales who had entered deeper and into a Regio known to be there. We decided to search the upper levels for stragglers and evidence of the infernal. I entered a sanctum, it was awash with herbs hanging from the roof but I did not find any obvious signs of the infernal, to be honest, I do not know what to look for and unless a demon was sitting there with horns on his head I would probably miss it. Eventually, the Primus, Archimagus and Quaesitor returned from the depths with smiles on their faces and they told us of the feats they had achieved defeating the infernalist Nectan. We gathered what loose vis we discovered and left walking back the same roads that had brought us here.
Back at Cliffheart, we feasted and I stayed until the boat came to collect me at the end of the season. During this time the Archimagus himself tattooed me with a flaming triangle to denote my first magus kill, and I look at it, wondering if I will catch the Illustrious Numerius in his total. We returned to Severn temple the same route we had come and I arrived back on the day before the autumn council.
Autumn
We met on a crisp Autumn morning and the leaves of the forest were starting to turn brown, when the sunrise or sunset caught them I thought of the blood sacrifice that Branwen had made to the Jack in the green and how that entity had blocked entry to our forest for the majority of magi in the covenant.
We discussed the previous season's news and I was asked about my house meeting which I rebuffed as my house business is my house business. Jari reported his news from the Faerie forest and we discussed our plans for the upcoming season. I did ask Jari about fixing Turold's sword and if there was another faerie smith apart from Gofinwe who might be up for the task. He said that there was a maga in Narwold called Druscilla whom he would write a letter to ask and I thanked him for his assistance.
Soon into the season, a report came to the covenant that two of our grogs had spotted a shape in the forest near Blakeney, like that of a huge wolf, Terentius flew down there and checked the wood for signs but saw none, we reiterated our rules to the Blakeney folk that no live wood should be taken from the old forest lest the forest guardians take their revenge. Terentius then went down to Lydney to converse with the miners there. He was told a troubling tale of a man called Kale who in the full moon had run as they often did in wolf form through the forest but that he had not returned. Terentius, concerned that we could lose more miners to the influence of the wildwood, searched the forest with his familiar Meliorax. After a few days, they found the naked corpse of Kale high up in a tree near the heart of the forest, it seemed obvious that when the wolf had changed back into a man the forest had attacked and killed him. Even though he was in animal form, or perhaps because of it, Terentius felt his parma pressured by Mentem magics and he heard the call of the wild trying to persuade him to go to the heart of the forest. He fled the scene to avoid a second magical assault overwhelming his defences. Terentius also checked on the magical state of Mynydd Merddyn and although too scared to enter, found that the power of the place was similar to how it was when last checked, which indicated to Terentius that entry might be very dangerous. Returning to the covenant he made his rapport over dinner one night.
Our spymaster Kenneth reported that there had been several mysterious ritualised murders in Bristol where the eyes of the victim were skilfully removed and the throat cut open into an unnatural smile from ear to ear.
We vowed to investigate next season as it sounded very infernal and if linked to the cult of broken mirrors could prove very worrying indeed.
Winter
A cold dark morning heralded the winter council we discussed the previous season's activities and during the discussions, I asked if claiming the crown would stop Jack in the greens aggressions as had been hinted at by the Niniaw, my thinking was he would have to respect the King or queen of the land. I was told by those learned in the lore of the pagan spirits however that Jack had no love of man and a queen or king would not necessarily garner his respect because of that. I reported Kenneth's findings and because I stumbled on a few words they summoned in our spymaster to repeat what I had just said. I swore that if I did not start getting more respect freely from this broken council I would force it out of them. The only extra information they got out of Kenneth was that all the victims were commoners and there had been some disappearances as well. We decided that Jari and myself would go and look for the occult circle in Gloucester and then he would return and go with Terentius to Bristol to see if they could find a source for those gruesome killings that had occurred.
Jari and I made our way down to Lydney and then caught a barge upriver to the docks at Gloucester, from there we walked through the cold streets to the swan tavern just on the side of the market square. Once there we obtained a room for a few nights and listened out for any rumours in the common room. I did not discern any, Jari with his better hearing and knowledge of such gossip, picked up a couple of facts. The king had returned from his invasion of Ireland to Winchester with a horde of gold, taken from the fallen Irish nobles properties. Closer to home, there had been a disappearance of Master Peter who had led the ritual the last time we observed it. He had disappeared just four short weeks before our trip to the city and people from the college had searched around Gloucester, including the very tavern we reposed in but to no avail. There were rumours that he had run off with a woman, but that made little sense, to give up his tenured position in a highly respected university for a roll in the hay with a probable whore.
After a few nights, we made ourselves invisible and went over the walls of the college using magics both learnt and from items. I then attempted to cast a spell on the lock but it went wrong and it caused a loud noise. A couple of bursars came to investigate but they found nothing wrong and soon passed by. Left alone I tried again and this time succeeded to thwart the locksmith's art. We rapidly moved inside and I pushed the door behind us closed. We descended and I opened the second door and once in the chamber I attempted to create a light, again however the magics went awry and instead of gentle light a burst of flame rose up, luckily nothing caught fire, although Jari said he thought for a moment he spotted a figure by the door but when we checked nothing was there. We uncovered the circle moving the sacks and crates hiding it from our gaze. Jari recognised the style of the script as written in a language used by diabolists whose revelation set our hearts pounding. Without warning I heard a voice in my head, I could tell I was the only one who could hear it as the normally perceptive Jari made no indication of not hearing it. In my head, I heard a soft, sophisticated voice say in a very mild way “you're barking up the wrong tree, I could tell you more if you want? If you would learn the voice of your enemy return here on the next night we can discuss a mutually beneficial deal.``. I instantly realised that the King's college urbane demon was in the room, invisible, trying to lure us into breaking our oaths, I informed Jari and we tried to exit the room, the door, however, would not open and so Jari parted the boards of the door and I went through, with Jari quickly moving behind me, we scampered up the stairs, I cast my spell to lock the door and we went back over the wall, back to the Swan tavern. Jari and I discussed the events of the night and I decided to stay in Gloucester to try and find out what had happened with master Peter and see if I could discover something about the cult. I approached the vice-chancellor and asked if I could teach for the season in exchange for access to the library which he agreed to.
A few nights later my candle snuffed itself out in my cell and I tried to relight it with flint and steel. Again I heard the voice in the dark say “here let me help you with that” and the candle relit. They're sitting beside my cot, was a tall, handsome well-dressed man, looking like a scholar, the demon had returned. He started to talk to me about the broken mirror cult I was investigating, he said it was traditional to advance in an infernal cult is to kill the person above you and master Anthony wishing to be a master may have killed master Peter, indeed with Peter missing that might have been the impetus for Anthony’s promotion to master as he had wished for at the ritual we had observed. The Demon went on to say that “The enemy is not I but was once close to you”, this reference eluded me and I deemed that when I returned to the covenant I should read the journal more thoroughly. The Demon went on to say “This is the beginning of a scheme to take back once what was lost” and that we should “Ask house Jerbiton of who had influence over the land” this last riddle confused me and I don’t know if he was saying members of house Jerbiton were in the cult or that they might have information that might help us destroy it. It was obvious at this point that the college demon was no friend of the demon who ran the cult and I believed he was mightily put out, that the cult was infringing on what it considered its territory.
At the end of the season, having discovered nothing about Peters disappearance I decided to break into master Anthonys rooms and take an arcane connection, however, he must have been quite fastidious or the cleaner had just been in for I could find nothing there, I did take an arcane connection to the desk and looked through some of his papers, when I felt a strange hidden compartment in the back of the big drawer, looking back on this discovery now I feel I was either very lucky or had some demonic help as I am not normally good at finding hidden items. When I opened the compartment I found six letters and quickly trying to scan them I saw they were written in code. Taking one from the middle, I returned the others to the compartment. I planned to copy the letter and return it secretly at the start of the next season, giving us a chance to decode the letter without Anthony becoming aware of the discovery. I exited the rooms, locked the door and
I left the college, wishing the bursar well as I went through the gates to the docks and a quick barge trip down the river to home.
Jari and Terentius went to Bristol to investigate the murders and returned later in the season, but I will let Terentius relay the tale in his journal.