Posted this in the Almanac as well, but below is the sum of your pooled knowledge

The last true strongholds of paganism in Europe run from Pomerania east until Lake Chudskoe in Russia.  The area between are lushly forested, dotted with deep swamps, and blessed with very bitter winters.

The people who live in these lands aren't well known to their western and southern neighbors, though the Byzantines traded with them through the Russian river system.  You have heard the names of the major tribes as Livs, Letts, and Estonians.

The Church turned it's attention to the area around 1170.  They sent missionaries and established small churches.  They began working on converting the various tribes in the area.  They met with little success.

Then a new bishop, Bishop Alfred, founded a bishopric in the town of Riga. He also invited crusading orders to enter the area.

Currently, an independent crusading order named The Knights of the Sword has established a headquarters in Riga near Alfred's under construction cathedral.  They began operations 15 or so years ago.  Word is the Knights of the Sword have stabilized a good amount of the area around Riga.  But that the Church's influence is still rather dim.

Riga has grown in importance however.  The crusades brought traders, and the traders have discovered how handy it is to have a functioning port on the voyage to Lake Chudskoe and Novgorod.

There are rumors of some internal conflict between Bishop Alfred and the officer corp of the Knights/Sword (KOTS going forward).  But the source of the conflict, if a conflict even exists, is unknown.  It is known that the KOTS seem to be struggling.  Their recruiters are scouring every major port in the north, trying to drum up recruits.  And word on the street is a couple of the larger merchant houses have cancelled some contracts with KOTS.  But this is just gossip.

Emrys relays what he knows and adds, "Gustav isn't likely going to be too friendly talking to another magi given how things were left between him and Amis.  I'd appreciate if you could ask him what happened and where Amis may have gone Alfred."

Returning his attention to Calliope the magus adds, "Well as I said you are welcome to travel with us as we are sure to deal with other magi in our journey.  I can't promise they'll be helpful but if you don't find answers during this quest I am planning on setting up a covenant in the near future that you'd be more than welcome to stay at.  Just have to find the right spot and while the work won't be easy as it is at Fengheld the offer is open to all of you."

Vellum regards you Calliope, then shrugs...which is apparently something talking cats can do.

"Any who aid me in finding my errant human can take part in the reward.  I am not choosy about who gets the job done as long as it gets done.

"Now.  When we find Gustav, I think it may be best if he not know I am about.  He and I did not get along well.  Do you have any questions about him?  If I can answer them, I will."

---

Two days later, you are all on deck, blinking in the dawn of an overcast day.  A cold, wet drizzle is dousing the ship.  But while the sailors grumble, they move with speed and accuracy.  Port is just ahead.

The ship has been hugging the coast for the most part.  But a while ago, the lookout cried out that he spotted Riga.

It's not Hamburg.  Either in size or depth.  A wooden palisade surrounds the town, but it appears that it's slowly being replaced with a stone wall.  A hillside is dotted with peasant shacks.  Farther up the hill, the buildings become more cosmopolitan looking, though they seem painfully new.  You'd guess the fancier buildings had only been built within the past five years.

At the top of the hill, it looks like a cathedral is being built.  It has come quite a ways.  If the weather is good this summer, it should be completed by the fall.  It won't be grandiose.  Germany is full of much more ornate houses of worship.  But it looks like it will be fancier than a town of this size probably needs.

The captain walks up to Affare, doing his best to ignore Emrys and Calliope.  "We should be docking within an hour.  I ask you get all your gear.  It'll be best if you deport as quick as you can.  If any of your things are missing, let me know and I'll settle with you before we dock."

And with that he turns away, barking out orders before any of you have a chance to ask him anything.

The sailors have given you and your things a wide berth.  So there is nothing missing.

You can stop one of the sailors if you want to ask them anything.  But the questions best be short.  Even if they are avoiding you, they are busy.

I'll let you flag a sailor if you have any questions about Riga.  If not, we will move forward on Thursday.  Thanks

Emrys gets his things together and checks with the others.

You gather your luggage quickly.  Everything seems to be there...

Affare settles with the Captain while the sailors bring the ship into harbor.

You notice a larger number of ships in port than the town size would suggest.  As you pull closer, you can see the other ships are mostly filled with soldiers.  Commoners in poor armor and knights in shiny metal boxes.  The armed forces seem to be boarding rather than deboarding.

At last, the ship comes to rest and the gangplank is thrown down.  The Captain eyes you, willing you to move quickly.  You do.

The first thing all of you notice about Riga is the smell.  It's crisp and clean.  Hamburg smelled like every other city.  Piss and shit and decaying meat.  But Riga smells like the ocean wind.  It's very pleasant for most of you.

Most of you.

The area of Riga you are in has a Divine Aura of 1.  Please make note of it when using magic

A few words with some passersby gain you some information.

First, the Knights of the Sword are based in an area near the new cathedral being built on top of the hill.

Second, a small army is being sent east to Estonia.  Some of the missions established there have had some trouble.  And the Knights are going that way to secure the missions.

Lastly, the name "Gustav" meets with shrugs, shakes of the head, or someone saying, "Oh yeah.  I know him!"  When, from their description, they don't seem to know him at all.

Need a game plan.  Finding some lodging first?  Heading up to the cathedral?  Hanging out in the market place?

"Let's secure a place to stay first," Emrys thinks a bit, "Alfred can check with the knights for Gustav then."

The Emrys Conversation:

Calliope nodded.

"I don't necessarily expect you to wave a magic wand right away to be able to help me. This was a curse laid on me by a god, that as you say may have altered my essential nature as you put it." she replied. "If your theory is true, then that explains why my spirit seems to reject outside magic, since the divine shard within me takes up all that spiritual space instead." she continued.

"I suppose we can leave the blessing and curse thing for now, but I figured you needed to know about my lineage if you'd have any possible chance of either helping me or at least giving me additional information about it later. It gives you a good reference point, anyway." she said.

She then considered.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to talk to you more about my prophecy about you. Namely, if you happened to know what the "boar that was never sated" is? I believe it is someone or something on your side though, not that of your fire-wielding unknown enemy. And why there would be tunnels in your head that connected you to the cave of thunder of the enemy? Those, besides your identity of course, are the most vivid parts of the prophecy. So I'd like to try and identify the boar next. The tunnels too, if you know something about them, or perhaps if they are some sort of metaphor or something from your magical order? Or could it be a spell, like the spears from the earth?"

To GM/Vellum:

Greetings, Vellum." she said, giving him pets if he wanted them but otherwise trying to restrain herself otherwise, although she could not totally conceal the fact she thought he was kind of cute.

"Can you tell me more about this Gustav fellow that we're going to Riga to look for? I know you said you didn't have the best relationship with him, but it seems you care about him to some degree anyway. I figure the more I know, the more I can potentially prophesize about him later. No guarantees, but if I meet him I can try to actively scrutinize him with my prophecy, but it usually mainly only works when elements of danger or risk are involved but it might still give you more information than you had before. But the more you can tell me, Vellum, the better." she said, giving him more pets if he had let her earlier (and not otherwise).

OOC: Because every crazy lady needs a lapcat, right? :P

In the Present, Arriving in Riga:

Calliope nods at Emrys.

"Yes, we need to secure accommodations first. It might also lead us to more places to find Gustav. I'll also see if there's anything I can do to help find him too, but I'm not actually a dowsing rod. But I'll try." she said.

She then whispered lower to Emrys.

"By the way...you know how I told you that sometimes I sense...some sort of power or aura or influence near Christian churches? I feel it here too, all throughout Riga, although its very faint. I don't actually understand how it all works though. Does your order have theories on it? Perhaps it has something to do with the influence of the Church in the area somehow, but the mechanism is fathomless to me. I didn't feel this in Hamburg, though, oddly."

"Holy sites and certain people tap into the realm of the divine," Emrys replies, "Like crusaders and cathedrals."

He struggles to think of how hermetic magic theory explains it and comes up short, "Place auras are aligned to one of four realms.  Magic, faerie, the divine, and infernal realms.  Magic is primordial and is tied to beings like the titans.  Faerie is more story-like and tied to dreams of men I think.  Gods like Zeus come from the realm of faerie I think.  The Divine is from God and virtue... the soul I think?"

Alfred looks at the city, considering if heading straight to the knights' headquarters is the best course of action.

"I'll go consult with the knights. Maybe they know something about Gustav?" he wonders.

"You won't know where to find the rest of us afterward Alfred," Emrys replies, "Hopefully we can find a place we can stay quickly then you and maybe some of the others can go see the knights and we can met up latter."

Emrys Conversation:

She nodded.

"That makes sense then. At least I'm not seeing things." she replied.

"I'm not so sure that the gods are the same as faeries, though. I mean you yourself said the titans were more from the magic realm, and the gods are descendants of the titans, yes? And you also said you believe Apollo's Gifts were also magic-realm-related too, yes?" she replied. "The gods and Titans certainly didn't need man to dream them up, nor did they just spring from a Forest mushroom circle or something."

"But that aside...I'd like you to tell me your thoughts on the Boar, like I just mentioned. This is important, Emrys." ask asked, suddenly firm.

To GM/Vallum: See the above post (just don't want you to lose sight of it in the conversation flow)

Emrys thinks a bit and shakes his head, "I don't recall anyone with boar heraldry, boar-like qualities, a literal magic boar, or a metaphysical one.  Maybe we haven't met the boar yet?"

Vellum's whiskers and tail twitch when you ask him about Gustav, Calliope.  "You shouldn't make assumptions O Seer.  I am not fond of Gustav at all.  But he was useful."  The tail settles down.  "But you are correct.  Information is a fair request.  Gustav looks a bit like our friend Alfred here.  They are brothers.  Gustav is slightly shorter but a bit broader across the shoulders.  He has a scar running across his nose to under his right eye.  He was cut across the face defending Amis from a goblin once.  It's a long story.

"His hair is maybe a shade darker than Ser Alfred's, but is a bit grayer and thinner on top.  He was starting to bald.  He has several scars, but aside from the one across his nose, the most prominent is one down his left arm, from shoulder the knuckle.

"He is not able to eat yogurt.  Cheese is pretty tough on him as well.  What else would you like to know?"

---

Riga is large enough to have an inn.  The Sainted Miss.  It's rather drab, but the inside is at least warm and doesn't smell too bad.

I'm going to handwave things along a bit

Affare negotiates two rooms in the Inn for Emrys and himself and one for Calliope.  The common room has ample space for the rest to bunk down.

Alfred, you notice that there are a number of soldiers in the Inn and in the market.  A couple of knights are hanging around a smithy, waiting for their horses to be reshoed.  One of them has the livery you believe belongs to the Knights of the Sword.

You overhear some of their conversation.

"So nothing at all from them?"

"Not a damn word.  Fucking heathens won't give up a bit of Tarbatu.  It's the third time now we've lost it to them."

The first one shakes his head.  "Damn.  Sounds like sweeping mud with a broom.  How many have been lost?"

The second one spits on the ground.  "That's the damn of it.  From what they say, the heathen took some hostage.  We aren't sure how many.  But we expect it's a third of the garrison."

"As far as old gods and new," Emrys pushes the limits of his magic theory, "I'm not sure entirely.  Titans are more like primordial forces, not just 'titans' but it could be the spirit of a place like a volcano or well.  Objective where faerie is subjective as the dreams and stories of men.  Maybe like... um....the Plato's allegory of the cave that we only see the shadows of the true thing?"

He thinks a bit longer and adds, "Faeries are more reactive to men and live in their stories.  Men didn't need uncaring primordial gods so they invented stories to replace them, put them in their place, imprisoned them.  And the Divine, God, seeks the betterment of man and salvation of souls, it stands above primordial forces and the glamour of the fae."

Alfred, you move past the two knights awaiting the shoeing and head up the hill the town is built on.  From what you can overhear, the Order of the Sword's base is near the top, near where the cathedral is under construction.

When you arrive, you see a line of long, low halls set off to the side of a square.  There's a lot of activity over there.

A queue of soldiers is lined up before a table.  Apparently that's the recruitment queue, as none of the soldiers wear livery or are well equipped. Most look like second or third sons who just stumbled off the farm.

You seem three men, standing in a circle talking amongst themselves.  Each has livery of a red cross suspended above a red sword on a field of white.

This



The Knights of the Sword.  You've found them.

There are several men around you can approach...

Need to know what you will ask them please.  Thanks

---

Emrys and Calliope, you are in one of your shared rooms, chatting about the mystic.  Affare and Wulfgang, you are sorting through your luggage, making a list of any supplies you might want to pick up.

Karl comes limping along, knocking on both doors quietly to get your attention.

"Begging the pardon Masters.  There's some kind of business going on.  Some of the sailors from the ship were asking after us in the front room.  They saw me, and they all beat it out of here on the quick.  I didn't like it an' thought I'd better say something to you."

"You think they mean to cause us trouble Karl?" Emrys looks for confirmation and then back to Calliope, "Maybe we should relocate and get a message to Alfred?"

To GM/Vellum:

Calliope nods, and gives him more pets as she responds.

"Hmmm...that is a very good description of him. I suspect that, given the level of detail you provided me, that if I see him in a vision that I'll have a good chance at recognizing him now. Thank you, Vellum." she said.

She considered.

"By the way...I've been meaning to ask, but um...where do you come from, exactly? Like you're obviously a magical talking cat with at least human-level intelligence. And not only that, but you're well-spoken and eloquent. A puuuurfect gentleman, if you'll forgive my saying..." she continued, followed with a chuckle.

"But seriously? I've been so curious about you since we first met. Not only are you an eloquent talking cat, but you don't seem affected by by um...aura for lack of better term, same as Emrys. Which just makes me want to learn about you even more."

---

To Emrys/Mystic Conversation:

She considers.

"Well...I suppose the moral of the story here is that despite the fact we both have a connection to some greater magical force of some kind, that it doesn't mean either of us fully understands how it all works. Gods and titans, titans and talking cats. They are a greater mystery to us it seems, but  that doesn't mean it's not good that we're comparing notes like this, or trying to use dialectic method to figure things out." she said.

"So we'll agree to disagree about the nature of the gods, since if Apollo's divine gift registers as magical rather than faery to you, then in my mind that means the gods are closer to the titans rather than being fae. Although that certainly doesn't mean there aren't fae who may try and trick mortals into thinking they are gods. Or perhaps not purposefully trick, but perhaps are accidentally viewed that way by some humans? And don't get me started on demons. Nasty things. But that's another conversation." she continued.

She then considered about the boar.

"Well let's focus more on what we do know more of. The boar, in this case. In this case, if you're unfamiliar with who or what it is then perhaps it is a person or beast that you will be encountering sometime soon-ish in your journey. On the plus side, it means your impending doom is not immediately upon us since the vision cannot come true without the boar and others I saw first coming into your circle. But note that it isn't the boar's fault. On the contrary, it felt like an ally to you. So don't push the boar away when you meet it." she said.

"And then there's the other vivid parts. Like the bad man, who I now wonder might not be some sort of enemy mage or something now that I think about it, was burying a hand or something in sand. Like in a large sandy area, like a field or beach or something but that part is unclear. And then he was in a cave, that had a lightning storm in it while he was hurling fire in the same way you hurl spears from the earth. But there were tunnels in your heads and the boars, and the bad man was somehow using them to devour you. So I think a key to staving off your demise is to figure out what tunnels in your head mean, and how you can close or seal those tunnels." she said.

"Above and beyond being on the lookout for the boar. I saw others with you in the vision, but they were vague and indistinct. Not important, like you and the boar were. The boar was as clear as you were, and it was fighting by your side."

---

To Everyone/Recent Warning from Karl:

Calliope was going over various miscellaneous travel details with Emrys. Things like supplies, and orders and tasks to delegate to the Grogs, and so on. She also was chit chatting with him about the knights of the sword a bit - she didn't know much but what she did glean from her knowledge of canon law she contributed to the group's collective knowledge.

And then Karl knocked on the door, and gave them warning about the suspicious behavior he saw from the sailors.

Calliope frowned.

"Emrys? I don't like that. It seems a bit fishy, no pun intended since they are sailors." she said.

"Let me try something. Sometimes, I can actively channel my powers, especially if I'm personally in danger but not only. But since I'm involved heavily in this trip of yours now, it may work better. Let's see..." she said as she closed her eyes, and muttered to herself faintly in Greek, to try and focus herself. Something about Apollo, and danger, and gift of sight. It was hard to make out, as she was mumbling under her breath, but her eyes seemed to suddenly move and twitch back and forth unnaturally under her closed eyelids as she did so...

OOC: She is making a premonitions attempt. The roll factors in her specialty of herself potentially being in danger as she is travelling with the troupe. But she's trying to divine for dangers and inconveniences regarding their trip and especially the sailors and their boarding that ship the next day. Because it's so close to when they'd board the ship, the difficulty is probably lower than normal too. If it's mortal peril that is immanent the difficulty is like 3, and the difficulty increases with a reduction of peril and an increase of time if I'm reading the rules right. I'm hoping that, due to the time being only within a day or two most likely at most, that even if it's lower peril the difficulty will be reduced enough to be manageable.

23:44, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 11 using 1d10+9.  Premonitions. – 11