Scribed by Pyrrhus
Spring 1330 AD
Another turn at the wheel of writing the events of our covenant has fallen to me, I will scribe to the best of my ability the happenings and adventures of the souls that live here. It is a tense time, with many people waiting to see what the new regent will bring to the country and the inevitable power grab that follows a coup.
We met on the first morning of spring and all were in attendance. We discussed our spymaster's longevity potion and Naveus stated he would prepare it this season for him. I agreed with this decision as he has proved very competent in his role. Theoclea proposed an experiment whereby Jari would cast the spell of his mystical anchor and then she would use the crystal to review a memory, this she hoped would prevent her being lost in the memory whilst it was being watched and allow her to end the magic when she wanted. Branwyn said she had learned that Llandothwyn had previously called a council of the trees at the halls of the forest before and that she is preparing to call one herself there. I stated that the halls of the forest were once claimed by the unnamed house at which point Branwyn screamed at me accusing her of being a member of that house. I do not know if she was trying to provoke me to do something violent or that she had no control or whether she was afraid of some connection coming out into the light. I told her to stop being a stupid woman at which point Naveus sided with her and accused me of being rude. I assured him I was not.
Private Journal (written in code)
She is either stupid or unable to control the powers she has been given by her studies of the pagan arts and the finger of wood attached to her. She is fickle and just as her face switches with the seasons her moods shift also. The finger is slowly influencing her I feel and the sooner it is burnt the better for all of us here in the covenant. I care not a jot if it was still attached when I burn it.
Jari reported that his attempt to create a spell to see the end of the leyline produced no results, experimentation is always dangerous but Magi should not shy away from risks when it comes to new discoveries.
The Vis was divided and as the journal writer I had the first choice, I took three pawns of the quicksilver holding Imagonem vis and seven pawns of Ignem.
We discussed our seasonal activity and Branwen was learning from the Vim books, Jari would continue to experiment on his spell I would go to Kings College to study medicine, Terentius studied from perdo vis i think Naviuis was producing Staphan the spymaster’s longevity potion and Theoclea continued to stare into the crystal gleaned from the crystal caves.
Terentius scribed a letter of introduction for me. I am pretending to be William Vine, son of George Vine, a wine merchant from Southwark.
I took a barge to King's College Gloucester and paid ninety pennies to study there for a season. Apart from learning a new blood-letting technique, nothing of interest happened to me, and I returned at the end of a quiet season.
Private Journal (written in code)
Alone in my cell one night I was awakened by a familiar presence. The devil of King's College appeared to me and we started a pleasant conversation I opened both bottles of Gascon wine that Jari had gifted me. We discussed the happenings of the world and he renewed his offer to me so I would become one of his servants in hell rather than a tortured soul, I again delayed agreeing to this bargain as I hoped to avoid the fate altogether but both the devil and myself know that I had become doubtful of a good outcome for the calamity approaching. I did mention my hatred and desire for revenge towards those who killed my friends at Cliffheart Covenant and the Devil offered me a deal. It would manipulate these houses already teetering on the edge of conflict to all-out war, I stated that leaving the heads who hated each other alive would make this easier but if somehow Quaestor Pravia of house Tremere could be killed or hurt by apparently Ex-Miscellanea then that would be the spark that started the flame and my revenge would begin. The price was a pint of my blood, I considered my options. I thought about how likely the war would start by itself, but Pravia deserved to die for what she did at Cliffheart Covenant and I knew she would be very hard to kill, the devil also offered me some pennies he knew of in a stash in the riverbank of the Severn near Gloucester to “sweeten the deal” he said and so I agreed. He took the blood and said he would not see me again that season as he now had a lot to do.
Back at the covenant Theoclea and Jari experimented with their combined magic and it was a success, in reviewing the memory Theoclea stated she had full control and awareness of her surroundings, unlike the previous times. She had concentrated on a memory of when Myrrddin had summoned a mist to protect his King's army from detection, in the real world fire had belched from Theoclea’s mouth and mist had filled the surrounding area which could not be penetrated by the clear sight of the air, indicating its magical nature and power.
Summer
The Sun was already beaming brightly through the council chambers windows when I arrived to greet my sodales at the summer council. Our first order of business was discussing the council of trees that Branwen had suggested as a method of learning solutions to the deathly magic from the east. I can sort of understand that the trees are connected in some way to the magic of the land and those groves and magical forests often have Regios in them but calling a council of magical entities in tree shape and asking them for help seems to me like desperation, we have Theocleas direct studies of the old magic and Jartis exploration of the old methods of ley lines and the concentrations of the powers of the land in the stones and circles. Still, I guess Branwen wanted to talk with the trees and see if she could glean any wisdom from them, which she might or might not share with us. I suggested that there might be a chance that the Jack in the Green might turn up at the council and offer my services as a hoplite, as far from his place of power he might be vulnerable but Branwen was swift to turn down my offer of assistance, I hoped at the time nothing nasty would happen to her whilst she was defenceless. Theoclea then went on to discuss her discoveries and learnings from the old magic, Now I'm no judge of character and am often the worst at picking up subtle clues of a person's emotional state but it was obvious that she was excited about the prophecy of Telesin’s she had learnt from the memory stone and was working hard to decipher the lines, of which she said some were hard and some were easy, although I suspected that knowing the trickery of Merthyn it would be the other way round and that which seemed essay had hidden meanings and that which seemed obscure would in the fullness of time become obvious. Theoclea stated she would study from the stone to learn the ancient Cymric to better decipher the puzzles within, Jari, and Branwen stated they would go to the Halls of the Forest and try to perform the Council of Trees. I decided to learn Auram from our library and Navius learned Vim and declared that he was interested in autonomous magical items as mentioned in our voluminous magical theory texts. Terentius as covenant service decided to create some powders of demons eternal oblivion.
A few days later Theoclea called an emergency council after confiding her secrets with Terentius, she had decided to tell us her translation of the Prophecy, which turned out she felt that the Unnamed house might have something to do with the council of trees that Branwen planned on doing, I again offered my support but it was rebuffed, in fact, Branwen strangely gave herself a title saying something like “The Daughter of the first forest is not scared of the trees”, I wonder if this is why Jack of the Green does not resist her passage through the wildwood. Maybe in accepting the wooden finger, it has made her one with the wood, part human, part tree neither wholly both. The Council decided to keep Theoclea’s musings secret and we voted four for and two against with Terentius and myself voting against.
Terentius, Jari, Branwen and a grog called Gavan went to the Halls of Forest and camped nearby, that night on watch Jari spotted a misty area near their campsite and in the morning Terentius flew above it and with his amazing senses (of which I am jealous) spotted an old campfire which on closer inspection appeared months old. Jari did some scrying through the use of “Sense of the lingering Magic” and “Sight of the Active Magic ” on the standing stone and nearby. There was a sigil present on the stone, partially hermetic, with components similar to Rego and Vim which had the “Whistling gently in the trees” Sigi, and he declared it might have been a scrying spell of some sort. It appeared that the Diviner of the Unnamed house had been allowed out to cast some strange magic. Another sigil found close by of a Mentem flavour was cast by the necromancer of the Unnamed house which was “Green flickering flames”. Using his link to the old magics Jari also discovered that the magic in the ley lines was increased and reinforced in the direction of the Halls of the forest. A few hours later after much intense scrutiny and reflection Jari admitted he might have been wrong about it being a scrying spell. Branwen remembered other stones around the Halls of the forest and they went next to investigate the northwest one. There were three shin-high stones at that point and Terentius in wolf form sniffed out another campsite from last year.
Jari cast “Sight of the active magics” and “Sense the lingering magic” and determined that there was a Rego Vimi Mentem spell that was to rouse the spirits of the land. Then with his ancient sight, he saw several ley lines but one was enhanced and it led to the Halls of the forest. Yari calculated the location of the last standing stone and upon investigation, it was a single lichen-covered stone atop a long barrow. Jari again cast his magic and that time it was a Corporem spell that roused the body of the land.
The Magi then prepared to investigate the Halls of the forest and gave Gavan the grog a letter and told him that if they were not back within the same day he was to take it to magus Navius back at the covenant.
They went into the covenant grounds and found a hut and fresh tracks. They spotted an old man and attempted to sneak away without being noticed, however, Branwen stood on a branch and made a noise causing the man to turn and call out “Is someone there”. Then a young man appeared from the wood and said something unintelligible but possibly in an old dialect of Welsh. The Magi then stood and the old man approached slowly apologising as he did so for his weak knees. The old man was called Geraint and the younger one Crianog and the Magi sat with them and talked. From their conversation, it appears that they are druids and originally there were twelve of them to tend the trees of the Halls of the Forest Sanctuary. Branwen informed Geraint that he was a spirit made flesh and he understood as he remembered being murdered by members of house Tremere and Flambeau during the Schism. With the old man's permission, they investigated the central dolmen and with his old sight Jari saw three ley lines and that two were cloaked in the old magic. The old man said there are spiritual protections on the Dolmen. In a small grove nearby an old tree that Branwen stated was the remains of Llandothwyn was found and I am surprised she did not have a chat with the old wood wizard with magic to speak to plants. The old man at some point mentioned that he was a member of house Diedne, but no one there struck him down, which might be hard to explain to a Quaesitor. Branwen eschewing Llandothwyns tree chatted to an old Oak she had talked to on a previous visit. When she finished her long chat she was strangely reticent and would not say what was discussed, although she looked worried so I would imagine the news the tree spoke was not exactly good.
They returned to the covenant and Navius called an emergency tribunal to discuss the happenings at the Halls of the Forest. Branwen had decided not to call a council as apparently, the Unnamed house had already called one there! Although what knowledge she had gleaned from the oak there she refused to say. It was decided that Jari and I would return so Jari could learn from the spells cast and perhaps recreate them or at least improve his knowledge of the ancient magics through study with his portable laboratory. I would bodyguard him in case of any interruptions.
We went to the Halls and studied for several weeks and during that time Cyrillus, Tiberius and Sebiya tremere turned up from Holy Isle to investigate the activities of the Unnamed house. Sebiya questioned Jari about what investigations had been done so far and he explained all his findings, they said before they ventured into the Regio that they would kill the undead creatures inside and would see us on their return. During the rest of the season, we broke camp a few times to go to Clun to collect supplies but there was no action to speak of, I think Jari learnt something useful however so it was not a wasted season.
On the last day of the season, magus Gaines the redcap arrived at the Covenant with news both hermetic and mundane. He reported that the letter was delivered to Holy Isle to warn them of the activity at Halls of the Forest, but there was no news as they were in a Regio. It had been a damp summer and across Stonehenge, food was scarce although apparently, the southern areas of the continent were much worse. Earl Mortimer attended Gloucester but the worrying news is that queen regent Isabella wants to increase her revenue for an attempted claim on the French throne, apparently her son has some form of convoluted claim on it. One of her measures to increase the treasury is that she will end the rights of freemining, this will affect our finances and could be troublesome. There was a message for me to meet Magus Cassius at Blackthorn Covenant and I informed Navius that I would be going that day to talk with him.
Autumn
We met in the Council chamber at dawn, I was in a thoughtful mood due to my interaction with Cassius and, to be honest, was not paying that much attention to what was being said. I informed the council that I would be taking the barge to Chepstow later that day as house Flambeau had requested a seasonal activity to pay off my debt. As Branwen was going to Cad Gadu, to ask about the “Council of Trees” spell, via the ship there I offered to share the trip down the Severn with her but she petulantly refused to say I should travel alone and send the barge back for her, She hates me and that is obvious, I don't hate her, just in the way you don't hate the shit on your boot you discover when taking them off. Jari stated he would be experimenting in his lab with the findings our expedition the previous season had wrought. Theoclea continued to learn Cymric to further her understanding of the ancient magics Merddyn possessed. Terentiius did some private study, and Navius extracted Vim for the covenant.
After I had returned from my adventure north on house Flambeau business I discovered it had been a very quiet season in the covenant, and Branwen was tight-lipped about her expedition to Cad Gadu. It was interesting that she claims covenant service but we didn’t get a report on her actions or findings, if I were a suspicious magus I would say there was a large opportunity for getting free Vis from the covenant whilst gaining knowledge for personal advancement. Jari was very forthcoming about his research in the Halls of the Forest, and it's almost impossible to stop Theoclea from talking about her experiences using the fragment of the crystal.
Winter
We met on the cold, frosty morning at the start of winter, the fire in the council chamber a welcome retreat from the chill of the stairs. Branwen said she had studied at the library of Cad Gadu, apparently searching for suitable places for her Council of Trees to be called. She stated that her prima Luthwin had been informed of the unnamed house's activities and that she would go to Holy Isle and Blackthorn to discuss with them this disturbing news. Branwen then informed us she would go to Blackthorn herself to study the tribunal records looking for suitable groves of trees.
We were told that at Lydney 9 men at arms had taken up residence and a man called DeGroot had been installed at the manor to look after the queen regent’s possessions. We were informed that the ancient right of free mining had been revoked and that all miners could continue to extract the iron ore but would be paid for their work rather than paid for the ore. The “men” at Blackney were warned of this change in the law and somberly took the news. This season I decided to learn some spells that would have been useful in Iceland from the library. Theoclea continued her work with the shard. Jari, Terentius and Navius were all ensconced in their laboratories working hard to advance their art.
It was a cold and quiet season until one night, we had experienced storms at Severn Temple before but none on the scale of this one. The winds had been blowing up the Bristol Channel for a few days and the clouds scudded across the sky laden with rain. At sunset, the winds picked up in speed although this was nothing unusual and no one thought anything of it, although there was a report of a grog being worried and informed the captain. Some of our grogs have premonitions of events. I think it comes from living in such a powerful magical aura for so long.
At about midnight, the wind started to howl up the valley whipping the men standing on the flimsy platforms attached to the trees. The trees themselves started to sway and crack as small twigs were knocked from sturdy branches by their clashing together. The relentless wind battered them, and they moved backwards and forwards, swaying with the gusts as if they were trying to pull themselves up from the ground. Jeremiah one of our grogs fell from his perch on the platform attached tree to the ground but luckily at a soft landing in the mud below. Terentius and I rushed into the courtyard to see if we could be of any use. I looked around and saw there was not much I could do, but Terentius called his magical power upon himself of the Perdo and Auram and through some manner cast a spell which dispelled the storm, he incredibly held it at bay for five hours before releasing his magics but by that time it had abated naturally.
We were not free of casualties however and one of the trees of the circle that encompasses our covenant had been ripped from its roots and lay prostrate leaving a gap in our defenses. My simple suggestion was we could move the other trees, reducing our perimeter a tiny bit as we had the spells to move trees. But this idea was not good enough for Branwen the daughter of the first forest and so she pulled magic around herself magic, magic that none of us knew she possessed, and touching the tree caused it to slowly self-right then incredibly the roots touched, merged and healed. This amazing act of healing a tree had cost Branwen though and she looked haggard and drawn, even more so than she normally did in winter.
We had the men pack some Earth around the roots that its fall had shifted and in the morning an assessment was made of the damage that the storm had done. In total, repairs of something like a hundred silver pennies would need to be done but it could have been a lot worse without Terentius’s prompt action in banishing that storm and I suppose Branwen did stop us from reducing the perimeter of our wall by one tree so congratulations to her.
The rest of the season passed without incident.
Spring 1330 AD
Another turn at the wheel of writing the events of our covenant has fallen to me, I will scribe to the best of my ability the happenings and adventures of the souls that live here. It is a tense time, with many people waiting to see what the new regent will bring to the country and the inevitable power grab that follows a coup.
We met on the first morning of spring and all were in attendance. We discussed our spymaster's longevity potion and Naveus stated he would prepare it this season for him. I agreed with this decision as he has proved very competent in his role. Theoclea proposed an experiment whereby Jari would cast the spell of his mystical anchor and then she would use the crystal to review a memory, this she hoped would prevent her being lost in the memory whilst it was being watched and allow her to end the magic when she wanted. Branwyn said she had learned that Llandothwyn had previously called a council of the trees at the halls of the forest before and that she is preparing to call one herself there. I stated that the halls of the forest were once claimed by the unnamed house at which point Branwyn screamed at me accusing her of being a member of that house. I do not know if she was trying to provoke me to do something violent or that she had no control or whether she was afraid of some connection coming out into the light. I told her to stop being a stupid woman at which point Naveus sided with her and accused me of being rude. I assured him I was not.
Private Journal (written in code)
She is either stupid or unable to control the powers she has been given by her studies of the pagan arts and the finger of wood attached to her. She is fickle and just as her face switches with the seasons her moods shift also. The finger is slowly influencing her I feel and the sooner it is burnt the better for all of us here in the covenant. I care not a jot if it was still attached when I burn it.
Jari reported that his attempt to create a spell to see the end of the leyline produced no results, experimentation is always dangerous but Magi should not shy away from risks when it comes to new discoveries.
The Vis was divided and as the journal writer I had the first choice, I took three pawns of the quicksilver holding Imagonem vis and seven pawns of Ignem.
We discussed our seasonal activity and Branwen was learning from the Vim books, Jari would continue to experiment on his spell I would go to Kings College to study medicine, Terentius studied from perdo vis i think Naviuis was producing Staphan the spymaster’s longevity potion and Theoclea continued to stare into the crystal gleaned from the crystal caves.
Terentius scribed a letter of introduction for me. I am pretending to be William Vine, son of George Vine, a wine merchant from Southwark.
I took a barge to King's College Gloucester and paid ninety pennies to study there for a season. Apart from learning a new blood-letting technique, nothing of interest happened to me, and I returned at the end of a quiet season.
Private Journal (written in code)
Alone in my cell one night I was awakened by a familiar presence. The devil of King's College appeared to me and we started a pleasant conversation I opened both bottles of Gascon wine that Jari had gifted me. We discussed the happenings of the world and he renewed his offer to me so I would become one of his servants in hell rather than a tortured soul, I again delayed agreeing to this bargain as I hoped to avoid the fate altogether but both the devil and myself know that I had become doubtful of a good outcome for the calamity approaching. I did mention my hatred and desire for revenge towards those who killed my friends at Cliffheart Covenant and the Devil offered me a deal. It would manipulate these houses already teetering on the edge of conflict to all-out war, I stated that leaving the heads who hated each other alive would make this easier but if somehow Quaestor Pravia of house Tremere could be killed or hurt by apparently Ex-Miscellanea then that would be the spark that started the flame and my revenge would begin. The price was a pint of my blood, I considered my options. I thought about how likely the war would start by itself, but Pravia deserved to die for what she did at Cliffheart Covenant and I knew she would be very hard to kill, the devil also offered me some pennies he knew of in a stash in the riverbank of the Severn near Gloucester to “sweeten the deal” he said and so I agreed. He took the blood and said he would not see me again that season as he now had a lot to do.
Back at the covenant Theoclea and Jari experimented with their combined magic and it was a success, in reviewing the memory Theoclea stated she had full control and awareness of her surroundings, unlike the previous times. She had concentrated on a memory of when Myrrddin had summoned a mist to protect his King's army from detection, in the real world fire had belched from Theoclea’s mouth and mist had filled the surrounding area which could not be penetrated by the clear sight of the air, indicating its magical nature and power.
Summer
The Sun was already beaming brightly through the council chambers windows when I arrived to greet my sodales at the summer council. Our first order of business was discussing the council of trees that Branwen had suggested as a method of learning solutions to the deathly magic from the east. I can sort of understand that the trees are connected in some way to the magic of the land and those groves and magical forests often have Regios in them but calling a council of magical entities in tree shape and asking them for help seems to me like desperation, we have Theocleas direct studies of the old magic and Jartis exploration of the old methods of ley lines and the concentrations of the powers of the land in the stones and circles. Still, I guess Branwen wanted to talk with the trees and see if she could glean any wisdom from them, which she might or might not share with us. I suggested that there might be a chance that the Jack in the Green might turn up at the council and offer my services as a hoplite, as far from his place of power he might be vulnerable but Branwen was swift to turn down my offer of assistance, I hoped at the time nothing nasty would happen to her whilst she was defenceless. Theoclea then went on to discuss her discoveries and learnings from the old magic, Now I'm no judge of character and am often the worst at picking up subtle clues of a person's emotional state but it was obvious that she was excited about the prophecy of Telesin’s she had learnt from the memory stone and was working hard to decipher the lines, of which she said some were hard and some were easy, although I suspected that knowing the trickery of Merthyn it would be the other way round and that which seemed essay had hidden meanings and that which seemed obscure would in the fullness of time become obvious. Theoclea stated she would study from the stone to learn the ancient Cymric to better decipher the puzzles within, Jari, and Branwen stated they would go to the Halls of the Forest and try to perform the Council of Trees. I decided to learn Auram from our library and Navius learned Vim and declared that he was interested in autonomous magical items as mentioned in our voluminous magical theory texts. Terentius as covenant service decided to create some powders of demons eternal oblivion.
A few days later Theoclea called an emergency council after confiding her secrets with Terentius, she had decided to tell us her translation of the Prophecy, which turned out she felt that the Unnamed house might have something to do with the council of trees that Branwen planned on doing, I again offered my support but it was rebuffed, in fact, Branwen strangely gave herself a title saying something like “The Daughter of the first forest is not scared of the trees”, I wonder if this is why Jack of the Green does not resist her passage through the wildwood. Maybe in accepting the wooden finger, it has made her one with the wood, part human, part tree neither wholly both. The Council decided to keep Theoclea’s musings secret and we voted four for and two against with Terentius and myself voting against.
Terentius, Jari, Branwen and a grog called Gavan went to the Halls of Forest and camped nearby, that night on watch Jari spotted a misty area near their campsite and in the morning Terentius flew above it and with his amazing senses (of which I am jealous) spotted an old campfire which on closer inspection appeared months old. Jari did some scrying through the use of “Sense of the lingering Magic” and “Sight of the Active Magic ” on the standing stone and nearby. There was a sigil present on the stone, partially hermetic, with components similar to Rego and Vim which had the “Whistling gently in the trees” Sigi, and he declared it might have been a scrying spell of some sort. It appeared that the Diviner of the Unnamed house had been allowed out to cast some strange magic. Another sigil found close by of a Mentem flavour was cast by the necromancer of the Unnamed house which was “Green flickering flames”. Using his link to the old magics Jari also discovered that the magic in the ley lines was increased and reinforced in the direction of the Halls of the forest. A few hours later after much intense scrutiny and reflection Jari admitted he might have been wrong about it being a scrying spell. Branwen remembered other stones around the Halls of the forest and they went next to investigate the northwest one. There were three shin-high stones at that point and Terentius in wolf form sniffed out another campsite from last year.
Jari cast “Sight of the active magics” and “Sense the lingering magic” and determined that there was a Rego Vimi Mentem spell that was to rouse the spirits of the land. Then with his ancient sight, he saw several ley lines but one was enhanced and it led to the Halls of the forest. Yari calculated the location of the last standing stone and upon investigation, it was a single lichen-covered stone atop a long barrow. Jari again cast his magic and that time it was a Corporem spell that roused the body of the land.
The Magi then prepared to investigate the Halls of the forest and gave Gavan the grog a letter and told him that if they were not back within the same day he was to take it to magus Navius back at the covenant.
They went into the covenant grounds and found a hut and fresh tracks. They spotted an old man and attempted to sneak away without being noticed, however, Branwen stood on a branch and made a noise causing the man to turn and call out “Is someone there”. Then a young man appeared from the wood and said something unintelligible but possibly in an old dialect of Welsh. The Magi then stood and the old man approached slowly apologising as he did so for his weak knees. The old man was called Geraint and the younger one Crianog and the Magi sat with them and talked. From their conversation, it appears that they are druids and originally there were twelve of them to tend the trees of the Halls of the Forest Sanctuary. Branwen informed Geraint that he was a spirit made flesh and he understood as he remembered being murdered by members of house Tremere and Flambeau during the Schism. With the old man's permission, they investigated the central dolmen and with his old sight Jari saw three ley lines and that two were cloaked in the old magic. The old man said there are spiritual protections on the Dolmen. In a small grove nearby an old tree that Branwen stated was the remains of Llandothwyn was found and I am surprised she did not have a chat with the old wood wizard with magic to speak to plants. The old man at some point mentioned that he was a member of house Diedne, but no one there struck him down, which might be hard to explain to a Quaesitor. Branwen eschewing Llandothwyns tree chatted to an old Oak she had talked to on a previous visit. When she finished her long chat she was strangely reticent and would not say what was discussed, although she looked worried so I would imagine the news the tree spoke was not exactly good.
They returned to the covenant and Navius called an emergency tribunal to discuss the happenings at the Halls of the Forest. Branwen had decided not to call a council as apparently, the Unnamed house had already called one there! Although what knowledge she had gleaned from the oak there she refused to say. It was decided that Jari and I would return so Jari could learn from the spells cast and perhaps recreate them or at least improve his knowledge of the ancient magics through study with his portable laboratory. I would bodyguard him in case of any interruptions.
We went to the Halls and studied for several weeks and during that time Cyrillus, Tiberius and Sebiya tremere turned up from Holy Isle to investigate the activities of the Unnamed house. Sebiya questioned Jari about what investigations had been done so far and he explained all his findings, they said before they ventured into the Regio that they would kill the undead creatures inside and would see us on their return. During the rest of the season, we broke camp a few times to go to Clun to collect supplies but there was no action to speak of, I think Jari learnt something useful however so it was not a wasted season.
On the last day of the season, magus Gaines the redcap arrived at the Covenant with news both hermetic and mundane. He reported that the letter was delivered to Holy Isle to warn them of the activity at Halls of the Forest, but there was no news as they were in a Regio. It had been a damp summer and across Stonehenge, food was scarce although apparently, the southern areas of the continent were much worse. Earl Mortimer attended Gloucester but the worrying news is that queen regent Isabella wants to increase her revenue for an attempted claim on the French throne, apparently her son has some form of convoluted claim on it. One of her measures to increase the treasury is that she will end the rights of freemining, this will affect our finances and could be troublesome. There was a message for me to meet Magus Cassius at Blackthorn Covenant and I informed Navius that I would be going that day to talk with him.
Autumn
We met in the Council chamber at dawn, I was in a thoughtful mood due to my interaction with Cassius and, to be honest, was not paying that much attention to what was being said. I informed the council that I would be taking the barge to Chepstow later that day as house Flambeau had requested a seasonal activity to pay off my debt. As Branwen was going to Cad Gadu, to ask about the “Council of Trees” spell, via the ship there I offered to share the trip down the Severn with her but she petulantly refused to say I should travel alone and send the barge back for her, She hates me and that is obvious, I don't hate her, just in the way you don't hate the shit on your boot you discover when taking them off. Jari stated he would be experimenting in his lab with the findings our expedition the previous season had wrought. Theoclea continued to learn Cymric to further her understanding of the ancient magics Merddyn possessed. Terentiius did some private study, and Navius extracted Vim for the covenant.
After I had returned from my adventure north on house Flambeau business I discovered it had been a very quiet season in the covenant, and Branwen was tight-lipped about her expedition to Cad Gadu. It was interesting that she claims covenant service but we didn’t get a report on her actions or findings, if I were a suspicious magus I would say there was a large opportunity for getting free Vis from the covenant whilst gaining knowledge for personal advancement. Jari was very forthcoming about his research in the Halls of the Forest, and it's almost impossible to stop Theoclea from talking about her experiences using the fragment of the crystal.
Winter
We met on the cold, frosty morning at the start of winter, the fire in the council chamber a welcome retreat from the chill of the stairs. Branwen said she had studied at the library of Cad Gadu, apparently searching for suitable places for her Council of Trees to be called. She stated that her prima Luthwin had been informed of the unnamed house's activities and that she would go to Holy Isle and Blackthorn to discuss with them this disturbing news. Branwen then informed us she would go to Blackthorn herself to study the tribunal records looking for suitable groves of trees.
We were told that at Lydney 9 men at arms had taken up residence and a man called DeGroot had been installed at the manor to look after the queen regent’s possessions. We were informed that the ancient right of free mining had been revoked and that all miners could continue to extract the iron ore but would be paid for their work rather than paid for the ore. The “men” at Blackney were warned of this change in the law and somberly took the news. This season I decided to learn some spells that would have been useful in Iceland from the library. Theoclea continued her work with the shard. Jari, Terentius and Navius were all ensconced in their laboratories working hard to advance their art.
It was a cold and quiet season until one night, we had experienced storms at Severn Temple before but none on the scale of this one. The winds had been blowing up the Bristol Channel for a few days and the clouds scudded across the sky laden with rain. At sunset, the winds picked up in speed although this was nothing unusual and no one thought anything of it, although there was a report of a grog being worried and informed the captain. Some of our grogs have premonitions of events. I think it comes from living in such a powerful magical aura for so long.
At about midnight, the wind started to howl up the valley whipping the men standing on the flimsy platforms attached to the trees. The trees themselves started to sway and crack as small twigs were knocked from sturdy branches by their clashing together. The relentless wind battered them, and they moved backwards and forwards, swaying with the gusts as if they were trying to pull themselves up from the ground. Jeremiah one of our grogs fell from his perch on the platform attached tree to the ground but luckily at a soft landing in the mud below. Terentius and I rushed into the courtyard to see if we could be of any use. I looked around and saw there was not much I could do, but Terentius called his magical power upon himself of the Perdo and Auram and through some manner cast a spell which dispelled the storm, he incredibly held it at bay for five hours before releasing his magics but by that time it had abated naturally.
We were not free of casualties however and one of the trees of the circle that encompasses our covenant had been ripped from its roots and lay prostrate leaving a gap in our defenses. My simple suggestion was we could move the other trees, reducing our perimeter a tiny bit as we had the spells to move trees. But this idea was not good enough for Branwen the daughter of the first forest and so she pulled magic around herself magic, magic that none of us knew she possessed, and touching the tree caused it to slowly self-right then incredibly the roots touched, merged and healed. This amazing act of healing a tree had cost Branwen though and she looked haggard and drawn, even more so than she normally did in winter.
We had the men pack some Earth around the roots that its fall had shifted and in the morning an assessment was made of the damage that the storm had done. In total, repairs of something like a hundred silver pennies would need to be done but it could have been a lot worse without Terentius’s prompt action in banishing that storm and I suppose Branwen did stop us from reducing the perimeter of our wall by one tree so congratulations to her.
The rest of the season passed without incident.