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Chapter 9 |  |
The Magi approached Midsummer's day with anticipation, encouraged by local tales conveyed by the Merchant Bertrand, and by the Premonitions of Jehan the Vilicus, who waked to Midsummer's Eve with his grey mood greyer than ever. Maga Saskia determined that this would be an excellent time to search for Vis…
Midsummer: a time for fun and play. I knew some Men and Hermetics had newly moved into The Old Man's glade in the Forêt de Lorge, so methought to visit the Old Man, and his new Mortals. I put on my best gossamer wings (they were very gorgeous today), wrapped up a Veiling Glamour then flew through the Forest to the Glade. As I was arriving I saw twin Pigs leave the clearing, saluted on their way by the Soldier Men: "Methinks these be no Mundane Pigs!"(and my seeing eye shows one to be rather a Human Girl bent over and running).Seeing they both be Sows, I glamoured up a handsome Boar, with a powerful dash of Air-de-Passion for the young Girl-Pig, and had the Boar lead them a merry chase down the paths of the Forêt. Ah, but the other pig, that I Saw as a Pig, chased the first and proved herself a Sister to the Girl-Pig by Spelling her to stop. Since they spurned my Romantic Glamour, I made the Plants spring forth Truffles to my Tinkling call - 'tho perhaps I overdid the Quantity that day. Sure enough, they found my treat irresistible, although I was impressed by will-power of the Spelling Pig to stop and study the truffles - perhaps she hoped they be Magic?
I left the Pigs, Girl and Speller alike, to their feast and returned to their Glade, where they have Conjured themselves a Handsome Tower of Stone, to dominate and shadow the Old Man. I was cautious in my approach for surely they would have raised an Hermetic Aegis to shield them - and they had, but being new it was a modest one, and not enough to overly trouble me.
After Saskia and Beate had been gone for some while, and with the Vilicus still hopping around preaching Dire Comings, a powerful smell of Truffles drifted down the wind into the clearing. The Centurion, realising that this might prove irresistible to the Pigs, approached the Defensor with his concerns. Magus Joach, realising that such a quantity of truffles might yield Raw Vis, and that Saskia might keep it to herself - or, worse, eat it - declared that a Covenant Mission would set forth to investigate, led by himself...
Those Truffles had sent their Arôme to follow me, all the way from the woods, so that even the Men were smelling them. A Grey-skinned Man, who must surely have spent too many years with Magi, declared that the Pigs would surely have gone to (my) Truffles, and that he was sure there would be trouble arising. He was so sure of this, I felt I had to make sure he was right...Down the path, ahead of the Soldier men, casting aside the Veiling Glamour, I took on myself the Glamour of a Crone, and brought out from the Air a Glamour of a Maiden to accompany me, and she was so pretty as to melt a Soldier's heart. I had that Maiden greet the Men and plead for their Aid - two of them spoke the Breton, and gladly offered their aid, while the others stood jaw-dropped and tongue-tied. The one who was largest and ugliest held out a crust of Bread for my maiden (C'est toujours comme ça, n'est-ce pas?), but I had her ignore him and speak to the other (and so found that they called each other Garth-the-Troll, and Caspar-the-Green). The Hunchback who led the party insisted on speaking in French, by way of Caspar, so I continued to talk solely to him. I was sure by now that the Hunchback was a Magus (if nothing else, by the animated puppets peering out of his satchels and pouches). They would have sent me back to the Glade, but I would have that we two were frighted and must stay with the Men. The Puppet Mage would pursue the Truffles, which seemed splendid!
Since they made comment on the Tinkling Bells that sound out my magics, I thought to confirm their thoughts, and Tinkled up a Glamour of small ones flittering through the Woods around them. The Puppeteer Joach pronounced that "This be Færie Magics", and directed that his Men should not believe any that they saw or heard, nor to place trust in Strangers (which made me merry!). Since this made the Girl-Boy with her dangerous looking cross-bow so very edgy and wary, I Changed the Wood of the bow and bolt so that they were One... and let Garth-the-Troll "protect" the Maiden. The Puppeteer bade one who had The Sight to look around, while he drew forth Puppets for his Magic, so I made the Maiden turn, to run into the Woods, but Garth-the-Troll reached out to enfold her protectively, and so staggered through her Airy form. Taking my cue from this lapse, and their inattention to my real form, I Veiled myself again and backed into the Woods myself; then took up again my Gossamer Wings and up into the Air myself. The Sighted one pointed and the Boy-Girl Elli fired - and I laughed aloud as the cross-bow failed.
While they peered at the Bow to determine its problem, I Glamoured up a pair of Real Trolls, lumbering down the path towards the group. The Magus spelled the Glamours, but with spells-of-the-body, not of Glamour, making them seem Invulnerable to the Men. Since the Man-Troll stood up to the Glamour-Trolls, I filled his mind with Fears, so that he was torn and twisted and wished to flee. The puppeteer surprised me by using a Mundane thrown pebble to Disprove the Glamour and brought his Grogs back to the leash.
I again Glamoured the voice of the Maiden, from the Woods, and some still sought to follow and protect, so charmed were they; but the Puppet-Mage dangled his puppets, and Garth-the-Troll was Dangling too, and forced to follow their return to the Covenant. I followed, Veiled, at a distance, keeping out of the Sight of the Gifted one. I thought perhaps to spy some other, and to take his place, by personation.
Saskia and Beate ate their fill of Truffles, and then took a trot around other likely holes, to snout out Vis, if any could be found. They were surprised to find that the Beasts of the forest had started to Speak, seemingly in Breton. While the Maga Saskia was unaffected, her shield-pig could now speak aloud without the use of magic, in both her native German, and in her halting Latin; further, that Beate as Pig could comprehend the Breton spoken by the Beasts, but not in her man-form. Suspecting Færie magics, and not trusting to drop her Parma to investigate further, Maga and Grog returned to the Covenant.
Magus Speculor, specialist in Imaginem magics, had found that the Shadows of the Forest were coming to life, but were held back by the Aegis. Suspecting maleficient intent in such activity, he commenced casting Perdo Imaginem to destroy them, and observing their slow return. While Speculor tamed the Shadows, Saskia demonstrated to the other magi her Amazing Talking Pig.
Sensing an opportunity to investigate, both Iuris Perita and Speculor offered their Intellego expertise to sense what Fæ influence was upon her, but could find none. Yet again, they hauled out the Library books, and read out Divine The Nature Of The Hex, but neither did this reveal anything (within its realm).
Determined to master this strangeness, they went out to lure back a Talking Beast, but none would cross the Aegis. A trap was laid outside the Aegis, and a rabbit captured, but showed no sign of talking. Magus Joach worked persuasive magics upon it, and was rewarded with one small word (which none of the Magic could translate), and a small dropping. [The grogs might have been observed sniggering in the background had not the magi been concentrating on their Captive.]
Requiring a more Intelligent beast to interrogate, it was suggested that Saskia should go hunting Badgers. She cast her Heart-Beast of Outlandish Size so as to enter a badgers' Set, but was still too large a Pig [Size -2] for the entrance. A spontaneous Creo Auram (Animal) Scent of Foreign Badgers, caused the local badgers to sally forth to see off the invaders, and one was summoned back to the Covenant. This badger Talked, but had nothing useful to say...
By now, our Magi had discovered that there were traces of Vis in the droppings of the Talking Animals, so the Grogs were sent out into the Forest searching for any animal they saw talking and ermmm... "dropping", and to gather the precious substance for the magi. Speculor would lead the party, and Perdo any shadows which threatened them(?). The animals in turn revealed a very low opinion of Humans who would collect turds, and called out insults of a crude and scatological nature. The grogs were forced to endure this to collect the precious materiel.
I saw that the Magi were now out hunting Vis in earnest, so bethought myself to help them. Surely they would be delighted by a Færie Ring, so I Grew some Mushrumps for them, and since they would be looking for the extra Magical Air about them, I added some of that too. And, in truth, they were most pleased at their finding, and harvested all the little champignons, so I allowed myself a small pat on the back for my kindness.
When they returned and crossed the boundary of the Clearing's Aura, Zane (of the Second Sight) Saw that more had changed, and that the entire Forest around the Covenant had moved into a Regio, and that he could see the Shadow of the Mundane Forest beneath him. The Covenant had shifted along with the Forest, and was now an island within the Regio. As the rays of the setting sun picked out the carvings on the menhir, they seemed to sharpen, so the magi rushed to gather charcoal and parchment, to copy the carvings, and also stepped through into the inner-realm of the menhir itself and trace its carvings too. The Magi were still engaged in their investigations when the short night ended and Dawn ushered in Midsummer's Day.
Zane, from within the Covenant, and Speculor, from within the inner Regio, were then witness to the expansion of the inner Regio to cover an area over the whole clearing, and that the Menhir now bore an animate face, as did the five large trees, also become part of the Regio. The Face spoke, in a basso rumble, some Ancient Tongue not unlike the Breton of the local Grogs, so Speculor went for a Grog who spoke both French and Breton. He returned with the Vilicus (blasé about strange Regiones), and one Gilles - frightened at the change in his world. The stone faced Vilicus quite took to the Stone Face, and to his request for tales of the doings of the Little People in the Mundane World: it transpired that long ago people regularly visited him, but had not done so for very many years. The other grog, Gilles, who had been avoiding the talking pillar, was now startled to be addressed by one of the Trees, which rambled on in a ponderous manner before indicating that it would appreciate having its beard trimmed (for it could not reach it, with its lack of Hands).
Magus Speculor, sensing that this activity might be interesting attempted to use his Intellego skills to interpret what was happening (especially to see if any Raw Vis might be gathered, as they hoped). Unfortunately his magic leapt out of control, and he collapsed, to remain unconscious until the following day (barely missing entering Twilight). Maga Saskia and her shield-pig entered the Regio around this moment, and observed his near-Twilight, and summoned assistance for Speculor.
As Midsummer's Day dawned and the Magics spread across the world, the Magi of the new Covenant became frenziedly active, and rushed in and out of the Old Man's Place. I peered across into that place, and thought it more interesting to enter the Shadow World than the mundane, the better to hear what took place in their rushing.It seemed they were going to trim the Beards on the Trees and the Old Man, so I thought I might help them, and could gather some of the trimmings to myself, for my pains. Unfortunately the little one with the Sight kept babbling about "Færies talking to Trees", and I was forced to keep moving around to stay out of their clutching hands - although it was a merry chase as they rushed blindly from one tree to another as the Sighted one called out: "over there, no, no, over there".
Unfortunately as I was talking to North Tree, the She-Pig, the one whose disguise I could not penetrate, charged me from behind and caught me by surprise. Such was the force of her strike that she also slew me! I took to the air just to escape, labouring and trailing blood, and struggling to keep above the ferocious Pig, I fled the Glade, and the Covenant and off into the Woods to seek sanctuary with the local Fæ.
When I had chance to patch my wounds, then to catch my breath and take stock, I found I had also dropped my pouch with the Vis trimmings. I also realised that they would be trying to use my lost Blood as a link for their magics, although I was safe inside with the Fæ, so I used my own magic ritual to sever that particular connection.
With the intruder dispatched, the Magi took stock, and made sure to gather all the wood and stone beard-trimmings, despite being uncertain of their value - the interest the færie winged visitor showed in the trimmings made them suspect Vis, although they dared not cast spells again after Speculor's dramatic failure. Later when thy took stock they confirmed that the trimmings constituted Raw Vis, and were most pleased with the addition to their small stock, but were most disappointed that the Færie Mushrooms they gather had been but a Glamour. When they compared notes, the were able to piece together the old rituals where the local people must have come to visit the Glade and serve its inhabitants, and gather the magical substances in return.
They also gathered some drops of drying blood fallen from the intruder's wounds, and attempted Intellego Corpus magics to learn more of her. They confirmed her as having human-like færie form, as a pretty maid with the gossamer wings of a damsel-fly, but had no magics to determine more about her before they lost contact.
They continued to study the changes in the Aura and Regio levels around their Covenant until Midsummer came to an end at Sunset on the day after Midsummer, when all returned to "normal".
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