Culann nodded acceptingly thankful they didn't think she was running away To clarify my suggestion which was to circumvent the chaotic manner which the skirmish was executed. Suggest we work out a series of co-ordinated responses. She peered at the dead creature for several seconds before glancing at the others Does any of you know how to skin and tan a hide, which could be used to make magic resistant shields.she suggested, Perhaps its blood could be applied to something providing the same effect.she thought.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:56, Mon 10 June 2013.

Scrumff laughed, which sounded horrible if you did not know he was laughing. "I think that for now my mistress is in love with her new spear. The boy she was sleeping with during the winter made it for her. Fine craftsmanship if you ask me. She also seems to like jumping down from high places. Its likely a fad. She will move on to the next crazy stunt when she tires of this one."

He scampers up into her lap, making sure to have Culaan's attention. "What sorts of maneuvers did you have in mind?"

In reply to Bryon (msg # 87):

Not sure I was hoping the warrior or battle mage would suggest some. Culann squeaked in reply to the ferret  The squeeking prompted Cathassa to peeked out from her mobile nest, looking about she adroitly scrambled out. Reaching the ground she sniffed at the smelly thing before greeting her distant cousin.

Culann is very familiar with the staff at Academy and their skills.

Unfortunately, Culann also knows that the hide of a spellwarped creature may not be something you would want to make a magic item out of.  And there is no way to find out but to test it, at the Academy.  To a book-dwelling wizardess like Culann, it's an obvious application of the law of Thaumaturgic Entropic Non-Circularity, the very same law that makes it impossible to Wish for More Wishes.


Simply put, the Spellwarped Creature may be the product of a spell.  If it was spelled into being what it is, and not "born that way" it can't serve as the source of additional magic.  One would have to find a creature with a "natural" resistance to magic.

Still, the creature might have research value even if it can't be used.

Stannos is against lugging it or anything taken from it on the mission, though.

"It's big, it's ugly, it's going to stink.  Kyriel, if you really want it, we should pick it up on the way back.  We can hide it in one of those rooms, it won't go anywhere."

He looks over at Bryon and adds, "And then, I can get washed up.  And let's eat something, too."

Then he adds for the others, "besides, if all the stories are true, we're going to find crazier things than this.  What'd Kyriel call them?  Hooters?"

Kyriel relaxes a bit when Culann settles down. She does bring up some valid points about planning . . . "I agree that if we know about an opponent ahead of time we need to plan a bit. However, for fights like this I'm not sure just how much we can plan in advance. Things worked out pretty well this time."

Stannos gets a nod. "I'd pretty much figured that taking anything now would be detrimental. I typically want to avoid detection, and taking anything from that beast now would mean that I'd be detectable a long way off." She holds her nose. "Thanks, but I don't plan on passing this way again unless I have to."

"Hoppers." she corrects absent mindedly. "You'll know what they are when you see them. They only have one eye and foot. They hop and they sniff out magic. They seemed to home in on people who have access to magic. If you have a spell, they'll eat it. At least arcane spells. I don't know about spells from the gods. We didn't have anyone with us who could use divine magic then."

She roots through the buildings to see if Culann missed anything; otherwise she'll get ready for her shift at guard duty late at night.

Bryon, with her typical sideways thinking pipes up. "May I posit a conundrum? If the wizard with the pink bunny feet...I still want pink bunnies for my feet..." She stops looking distant for only a moment as she wishes for foot bunnies. Returning to the now, "Sorry, yes. The Foot Bunny Wizard if he made all these monstrosities, where are the new ones coming from? Could there be a new wizard in the tower? Perhaps, and this is based on something Mr. Foot Bunnies said, perhaps there always was another wizard, or even something more sinister here? I for one am glad we have a priestess with us."

Bryon hugs her friend in gratitude for the healing. Then to Stannos, "Don't keep me waiting too long."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Wed 12 June 2013.

They settle in for an evening here, and after cleaning and tending to injuries, they give the place a look-see.

The dwellings in this region are all abandoned, but there is a range of conditions from burnt out remnants to nearly intact.  This farm is towards the high end.  Many doors have been smashed in, and there is nothing small and valuable (at least, nothing obvious) but neither the people who left this place nor any looters who showed up afterwards bothered to take large things, except, maybe, some of the best of the furniture.  Thus, there are some usable furnishings still here- chairs, tables, even a couple of couches, and some large cisterns for rain water collection.

There are harnesses for four oxen in the barn, but no oxen.

In the main house, they find a musical instrument of a kind- a very large one.  It is a set of metal chimes on a large rack.  The chimes, little bars and tubes made of metal, hang down on slim wires.  Apparently no one could remove it and carry it away easily enough.

Once he's clean and rested and confident that things are safe, Stannos does not keep Bryon waiting very long.  Her familiar trots around outside with a bothered look on his whiskered face.

Bryon meets Stannos at the door, less aggressively than she would have given his seeming distaste for her aggression. She had her fill on the field of battle anyway. She spends as much time as he likes and dutifully follows his directions, enjoying his attention.

When they are done she rejoins the others by the fire. She volunteers to take whatever shift they have open and/or to keep others company while they keep watch (in a platonic way). She brings up her point again about their being another mage often, hoping that someone will at last listen and acknowledge her.

Despite her earlier shenanigans she is willing to listen to talk of tactics especially if others are willing to listen to her multiple mage theory.

Kyriel looks over the items they found in the building. One of the horses could easily carry the harnesses, and they might actually be useful helping the villagers move. The musical instrument is an interesting conundrum. It's large, but comes apart in segments. Does it fit in her bag?

By the fire, she listens to Byron pose her question. "I'm not sure. I wasn't there when Scolo packed up, but from what he said there wasn't much time to do very much. It's entirely possible that someone has come and taken over the tower, but Rory and I spoke with some fey nearby on our last trip out. They haven't seen Scolo in a while and I think that they'd be aware of anyone new taking over.

He has a portal of some kind in the tower that he uses to get things from other places. The creatures could just be a result of his opening portals to other places. Some I'm sure he's summoned intentionally, but I'm not sure about others.  I'm not sure he takes the proper precautions to keep unintended things from coming through."

She's glad that people are willing to talk about things, so she gives them a rough idea of what she's capable of. Making sure that nobody gets hurt is a good thing!

Even though they're not likely to take the time to do so right now, she figures that she has to mention something. "Mater, there are some temples in a place called Gisacum that are having some trouble with griffons or some other flying monsters. It's a bit out of our way though."

OOC: Ben, about how long would the trip to Gisacum be?

Stannos does not rejoin them that night.  He’s had quite a day, and only mumbles something about about “I’ll take the last watch… they come pre-dawn, anyway,” before turning in for the night.

Kyriel tries to work out distance to Gisacum, with what she remembers from other trips.  One fortunate thing: the Romans were obsessed with organization, and when they built roads, always equipped them with stone “mile markers” showing just how far to the next town.

But… how far back was that last marker… but that last marker was for Carnotum… at least that’s in the right direction.  But then there is the fact that part of the trip, as she recalls, is off road.  So all Kyriel has is an educated guess of 4-5 days.

Riordeg listens to Kyriel’s description of  Griffons troubling a temple complex.  He looks over at Rita.  He knows how she thinks.  If there is badness afoot, Rita will want to set things right.  He wonders if he will have to do what Theoderic used to do- set down priorities to make sure she doesn’t stray from “That which must be done Now” to “Things we really ought to do sooner or later.” But he keeps silent on the subject.

He observes, though, “From what we saw of Scolo, I don’t think he was the type to summon creatures like that.  I think that’s Huns, and their own magic.”

The evening passes uneventfully- there are no more attacks, not even sounds of local wildlife- one good Mutated Worg  Thing is all it takes to clear them all away.

On a cool and misty early spring morning, they set out.

They know that sooner or later, they have to turn off the road, and head north- before the empty, abandoned “wasteland” gives way to the farms and woods (and patrols!) around Carnotum.

Kyriel and Culann have been here, and they find the land marks.

By late afternoon, they are in the woods, and the woods thicken as they travel northwards.  This is the Yvelines forest, a thick forest that makes an arc around the west of Lutetia Parisiorum.  Mestenon is in the same forest, so between here and there, they will not leave the forest.  They know that soon, they will come across the Carnotum-Lutetia Road, which is a well traveled road in Hun hands.  Fortunately, they don’t have to take it, just cross it- and once across, they will be back in forest.

Bryon follows Kryiel's lead. She is unfamiliar with the territory and unfamiliar with woods in general she hangs back. She stays behind, not too far, but not getting in the way either.

Since nobody comments on the temples and that Riordeg got a gloomy look in his eye when she brought up the subject of going slightly off target for a few days, Kyriel keeps them on track to get to Mestenon as quickly as they can while avoiding the hun patrols.

She gives Stannos' comment about the twisted creature a nod. "Yeah, that would be just like the huns. Especially around here. Use a mage's magic against them. We'll have to warn the academy as soon as we can."

She remembers that Rita was very interested in the old prison camp and tries to find it. As she recalls, the camp was about 15 miles from Carnotum.

The dead at Beda were restless, these must be just as restless. Maybe they can help lay them to rest.

Within about a mile of the road on either side, most of the cleared agricultural land is slowly going wild again. There are shrubs and saplings growing amidst open meadows.  In some places there are fruit and nut trees, but nothing is in season yet.  Further from the road the cleared area gives way to forest.

Kyriel does her best to find the landmarks she remembers.   Except for a few close to where the party spent the night, there are no more abandoned homes- there are the burnt remains of them.  A few walls still stand.  Twice, they pass ruins of less flammable structures, large homes built of brick.  Where they couldn't be burned, they were knocked down.

As they travel along through deserted farmland, Riordeg asks, "Are you sure it was fifteen miles from Carnotum?  We should be..."

They see one of the mile markers.

It says: "Carnotum: 15 miles."

And there is the prison fort once used by the Huns.
It is how Kyriel remembers it.  It looks like a walled village.  The land around it is cleared, but empty of movement.

Closer in, the walled village looks a little strange.  The wall is a hastily built, recent one- recent meaning within the past decade.  It's an earth mound with a stout log fence on top.  Like most log walls of its kind, at the corner locations, towers have been built (also log structures) to allow a better view, and to aim weapons downwards at attackers.

And then there's the gate, with the heavy crossbar... also on the outside.

"If it is a prison," Stannos says, "they have no need to use it any more.  There is no one left here to imprison."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:46, Tue 25 June 2013.

Kyriel leads the way along. It's been a few months and the season was different, so she's not exactly sure where they are in relation to the camp. A few times she slows down and checks things out, but always returns to going forward.

Finally Riordeg starts to ask her about the distance. In response she merely points to the sign and dryly says "Quite certain."

The roman mile markers do have their uses..

The prison is exactly as she remembers it. Ugly and nasty. "Here it is. We didn't stop to do anything here last time because there weren't that many of us and none of us had a direct link to the gods. It troubled me that we weren't able to do anything then, especially after I saw what the Huns did to Beda."

She waits for the others to come to a decision on what to do, but she shakes her head at Stannos comment. "I don't think so. One of the times we went by here we encountered a bone worm. It was big and covered with bones from the dead. I guess it may have come from here.

I think something went wrong here and forced the huns to abandon it. Why else would the huns barricade it?"

When they pass the road sign and Kyriel points it out to Rita's boyfriend, Bryon snickers. She then pats his shoulder. "It will be ok. Men are not suppose to see these things. They are suppose to be busy looking at women."

"I resent that remark mistress," Scrumff peaked out to remark, "besides, men are superior in every way."

Bryon laughed out loud at this. "If men were really superior, they would not get lost on the way to their goals. If men would ask women for directions they would get there more quickly and with a greater degree of satisfaction."

Scrumff opened his mouth as if to reply but then realized what his mistress was actually talking about. He ducked back into her bag without further comment.

Later as they reached the citadel, Bryon whistles. "Impressive. I thought Romans build well." She hands her spear and bag to Stannow, "Hold these for me sweety, I'm going to have a look-see." She pulls Scrumff out and wraps him around her shoulders. "I'll need your eyes, love."

She uses her spider climb ability to go up the closest tower and have a better look at the top.

Backtracking a little:

Rita casts a detect magic on the large musical instrument in the farmstead, on the off chance that it may be magical.

"Did Scolo say whether he closed the portal in the tower? If he didn't, monsters could be coming through from all sorts of places even if there isn't any new wizard there. And there is no one in the tower to stop them."

If the party stops by the prison, Rita wants to take a look inside. She pauses, trying to sense if there are troubled spirits nearby.

"I need to go in there. If there are restless spirits, I can help set them free. They need to know they do not have to stay here anymore."

She focuses her mind on how she might help these spirits, and for a time is quiet, distracted, and deep in thought. Then she hears Kyriel talk about disturbed temples in Gisacum.

"Where is Gisacum, and when did you find this out? Why didn't you mention this sooner? Griffons--it seems strange that they would cause trouble at a temple. Perhaps the Huns did something to alter the griffons and make them demonic. Do you know to which gods these temples are dedicated? I cannot ignore this; it has to be checked out as soon as possible, maybe even before we go to Mestenon."

Restless spirits must be attended too as soon as possible, but as soon as that is done, the temple issue demands attention.

"The Romans do build well," she says, taking care to use present tense. "But if something went wrong here, we definitely need to check it out and be prepared for the unexpected. Did you kill the bone worm?" She shudders at the thought of the bone worm, which they may soon have to fight. A creature composed of the bones of dead people? The very idea is horrific. How does one put the spirits of those people to rest? She prays to Pluto silently for guidance.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:46, Sat 22 June 2013.

In reply to Rita (msg # 101):

Culann passes the prison continuing on towards their intended target.

Rita found no magic with with the chimes.
Rita seeks guidance at the old walled village, and prays.

Bryon scurries up the wall.

Stannos watches Byron go one way and Culann another.

He is bothered by the fact that he understands neither of them.  Bryon... well, she definitely has her charms, but... she is nuts.  Clearly.  The kind that pokes at things that shouldn't be poked at, just because.

Culann, on the other hand, is the bookworm sort.  There are a few at the academy, both male and female.  Wizardry attracts people like that.  Though they can be annoyingly resistant to the Social Rules that are supposedly governing male-female interactions at the Academy and Aurelianorum in general, they also have another equally annoying trait:  They are usually right.  When the bookworm says "this is an application of Euclid's Theorem of Transmorgrification", or "the answer is obviously six" or "don't drink that" they are almost always right.

Bryon, on the other hand, is the sort that would drink it anyway, burp, and then ask why.

But now, with Culann apparently not interested in anything but continuing the mission, Stannos knows.... she's right.  She's absolutely right.  Tharus would kill him if Stannos returned to the academy with the mission a failure, and his explanation started with "well, there was this old place to check out, and..."

He calls out to Bryon.

"Hey, Bree?  We should get our mission done first.  Culann's right.  This place will still be there, but we told the others we would get to Mestenon."

Meanwhile, Bryon gets to the top of the wall.  It seemed a much harder climb than it should have been, even with the magic. There is something "wrong" about this place.

Inside, there are tile roofed stucco buildings in neat rows.  There is a field of soil that looks broken and uneven, as if the earth was churned up there.  While spring vegetation is growing plentifully everywhere else, from that rectangle, only white flowers grow.  She feels a strange chill from this place.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:38, Mon 24 June 2013.

Kyriel stays near Rita as Byron climbs up the tower. She passed by this place before and it still has the creepy feeling from before; back then she let the idea of the mission keep her from doing anything here. It seems that they'll always have another mission that's more important than others, but there are those that do need to be done that never seem to get put on any list. Helping the dead rest, helping the brain sick in Scolo's village, other things like that. It's on her list by the gods, and she isn't sure when she's going to pass this way again.

As for Rita's questions? "It's about 5 days out of our way each way. We'd have to cut through the fey forest to get there, otherwise we'd have to go to Lutetia Parisiorum. I'm sorry Mater, we didn't go there. I think there were temples to Jupiter, Apollo, Ceres,   Fortuna,  Vesta, Pluto, and  Mars there. I've mentioned it several times, but not in your presence."

She nods in response to the question of the bone worm. "Yes we did."

The feel of the place is getting to her, and she readies her bow. "Last time, nobody climbed any of the towers. We noted the place and left."

At the top Bryon feels that the place is cursed. Its just in her bones and blood. Even though she cannot really surmise all the clues, she knows it still. She climbs back down, relating what she learned and then, "Its cursed. I'd bet the farm on it."

She sees Culaan walking off and asks, "Where is miss stick up her hind end going? I thought we were going to explore this place. I am more for it now. Cursed places are always intriguing."

Stannos was obviously about leaving. She glared, thinking he was picking that weird girl over the woman he was sleeping with. "Go then, and I hope she keeps you as warm at night as I do." She took her things...well snatched them really...from Stannos and went strait for the open gate to the prison...

In reply to Bryon (msg # 105):

Cunnan ignores the strumpets innate screeching and continues heading towards their destination.

ooc This is why I suggested we establish operational procedures.

I am going to assume this group is splitting up, then.

I will post two new threads, one for those continuing to Mestenon, one for those choosing to investigate the old prison-village.

It is, from Stannos’s point of view, the worst of possible situations.  He’s not the brightest of wizards by far… no one in the “battle mage” program is.  But they are like hedgehogs- they may not know a lot, but they know important things, and they them know well.  They have a mission.  Other things might pop up of interest, sure… but Bryon seems perfectly happy to divide the group to indulge curiosity, and one never, splits the group over an issue like that.

One last time, he tells Byron that this kind of thing can lead to getting tossed out of the academy.  They do not like unruly wizards.  And Stannos is not an unruly wizard.

“We have to go to Mestenon,” he says.

Then he turns and heads off in the direction of Culann.

Riordeg waits to see what Rita would do.  They are not Academy members, but they too were here with Mestenon as the objective.

Bryon goes to the gate of the village, and sees that it is not open at all, it is in fact secured with a very large, very heavy crossbar.  From the outside.

She also goes to a new thread, along with anyone else doing the “village” thing:  The Prison Camp

Those that continue go to a different thread, Mestenon, Spring 513
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:08, Tue 25 June 2013.

Bryon tries to convince her lover to stay. "I have every intention of going there. Rita has told us of her duty to put the souls of this place at rest. I want to explore and find out what secrets it holds. Do not let one spoiled petulant little girl draw you away. If you stay she will have no choice but to stay or go it alone."

She waits only a moment for his reply before turning back to the open gate.

"Bryon, no! Don't do that. There are spirits here, but horrific things were done to them. They are angry and may not be able to distinguish ordinary visitors from those who harmed them. I think the place needs to be consecrated. The ghosts should be set free, but we need more than one priest to do that. I don't think I alone can do it."

If there is a way for her to determine additional information about the nature of these ghosts and whether there are any undead among them, she will attempt to do it. If there is a means of communicating with the ghosts and explaining that they come as friends, she will try that too.

"Let me see if I can make contact from here, without going in. If that does not work, I can cast an augury to determine whether it would be best to deal with them now or to wait until we can get a group of clerics together to deal with this area. Lord Pluto most certainly would want these people freed to go to their rest, but the task may need more resources than we have. Bryon, I advise you to come back down here. I don't think the area is cursed, but these ghosts may be beyond our efforts to help, at least without a larger group of priests. At least don't do anything until I try to make contact or, if that fails, cast an augury. Yes, there is a duty to help, but not necessarily this minute, not if we will do more harm than good by putting ourselves at risk. We can always come back with a larger party."

This nonsense between Bryon and Culann is starting to annoy her, but she says nothing at this point. There are other, far more important matters at stake than who gets to be with Stannos. Inwardly, she is horrified that in the face of such tragedy, anyone would even be thinking about rivalry over a man.

Rita does not climb the wall. She should be able to address the spirits from this distance. If that doesn't work, she will cast augury to determine whether they should address the prison situation now or wait until a larger, more appropriate group can be organized and sent on a specific mission here.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:49, Wed 26 June 2013.