1222, Spring

It is now spring 1222, and a group of magi and companions from Druids’ Dale head back down to Horsingas, ready to join in the raid against the abbey at Hexam.

• Maedbh ex Merinita
• Euan ex Miscellanea
• Allistor ex Miscellanea
• Jack, a mercenary

One question that came up between sessions was whether there were any covenants in Stonehenge that would be annoyed by the raid at Hexam. Fortunately the answer was no.

We arrived at Horsingas as they were finishing their preparations to head south. Euan decided that he didn’t want to head into the covenant, so changed into a raven and spent the night outside.

We got to have a meal, and in the morning headed down towards Hexam. We arrived there just after midnight, as the monks were finishing their final mass. Giving them time to settle down and go to sleep, we discussed ways of getting inside.

Multiple options were discussed, from asking for shelter and then opening the gate from the inside, to getting a Magus to levitate someone over the wall. Maedbh spent a lot of time discussing the various laws of hospitality and how they were somehow important – something that Jack didn’t quite understand. We’d all forgotten that Euan was with us and could shapechange until he pointed this out to us.

So a few moments later, Euan and changed into a raven and flown up over the wall, then changed back so he could unbar the gate. Except being a physically weak mage, he was unable to life the bar.

Eventually he just changed himself into a bear, and the gate was opened. Sir Edwin led the way inside, along with Jack, Maedbh and Allistor. Most of the turb stayed outside in case the alarm was raised, with a few following us in to pacify anyone who woke up.

The monks were mostly asleep, though there was one commotion as we made our way across the courtyard. We waited carefully, and things eventually subsided.

Our plan was to preferably kill as few people as possible, and not cause damage. Just take what we could in order to embarrass the nobles but not stir things up too much that they have to do something about it. We knew that the abbey had arcane items taken from the body of the mage Cardwen ex Miscellanea when they had buried him here, and guessed that these items were probably in the Abbot’s quarters.

The Abbot’s quarters had a lock on the door – but hoping for some luck Jack gave it a try and it was unlocked. Inside were some plush quarters, with a large bed in which were sleeping the abbot and a much younger woman. Sir Edwin and Jack quietly woke them both and ensured that they were securely tied and gagged. We then proceeded to rob the place whilst Sir Edwin monologues at the abbot about his faults – perceived and real.

It took a few hours, but we soon had what we came for. By this time the rest of the monks had also been pacified, and nobody had been seriously hurt. Well, nothing more than a few bruises at any rate. We loaded the goods onto the horses and headed off, taking the abbot with us as temporary hostage. We also closed and barred the door to the gatehouse. With everyone inside tied up, they’d have to bash down the door to get back inside.

Once we were outside of the town, we stripped the abbot, dressed him in his whore’s dress, and let him go. It didn’t take too long to get back to Horsingas where we could divide up the loot after a successful raid.

• A summa on Corpus (level 6, quality 16)
• A summa on Herbam (level 5, quality 14)
• £15 in silver

After that the season passed reasonably quickly. Pisciculus did some reading of the summa on Imagonem, and Jack spent some time in the towns near the covenant, making friends.

Next season we plan on investigating the caverns beneath Druids’ Dale.

Next session: 1222, Summer