1235, Summer 2
We are back to our Ars Magica saga, returning to the village of Crawick which has been suffering from random fires. Some people think it’s because the blessed cup has been taken from their holy statue. We investigate because, well, odd things seem to be going on. At the end of the previous session, one of the Grogs, Blane, got selected to go and talk to some of the ne’er-do-wells in the village.
He managed to befriend them, and got given a job offer. So for, I think, the first time in this campaign, I decided to write things from the perspective of one of the grogs.
Blane – Summer, 1235
I’ve been asked to meet with Ewan and Jackie later tonight, so head back to the magi to let them know what’s happening. Maedbh for some reason offers me a shilling, so I ask for three. No reason why I’d need it for the mission, but no reason to turn down an opportunity for coins.
The magi want to tag along, but they are going to make it so that nobody can seem them. I don’t like to tell them that we can still hear them when they think they’re sneaking around.
Pisciculus ex Criamon
I cast Veil of Invisibility on myself and Maebdh. Allistor skulks around at the back, wreathed in shadow. Maedbh and I hold hands so we know where each other is. Being invisible allows us to trail behind Blane and his new found friends, and keep an eye on what is going on.
Blane
I head back to the inn to meet up with Ewan and Jackie. Bob is outside, and seems impatient. He leads me out of the village for about 30 or 40 yards down the road. There others of the group are waiting in a copse of trees. There is a cart and donkey here.
They explain that we are heading off to burn down a place. The plan is to take the stuff out of it first though. In the cart is a small wooden chest, and apparently it is dangerous for anyone other than Jackie to touch it. They want me to help keep an eye out whilst they do their breaking and entering.
The others head back towards the village, with Jackie very carefully carrying the chest. I follow, and we turn up at a building. There is no light coming from the building or sounds of anyone inside.
The other three break into the house and head inside, whilst Jackie and I stay outside. One person wanders buy, and I warn them to keep quiet.
After about 20 minutes, they come out with sacks full of stuff. They head back towards the cart, whilst Jackie puts the box down on the ground and opens it. It’s dark, but inside the box are about half a dozen small things recessed into material to keep them stable. They seem to be small jars.
He pulls one out, and asks me to take the box and move away. Carefully. Meanwhile Jackie starts smearing a waxy substance on the building.
He throws the contents of the vial at the building, and we both hurriedly move away from the building. It starts to smoulder and burn, though there isn’t the giant explosion which I was imagining. Given that this is Scotland though, getting anything to burn is an impressive feat in itself.
As we get back to the cart location, there is a flare of light from the house.
They say they are paid to do it every couple of weeks. When they run out of the vials, they are given another delivery. The theft is just a bonus, not part of the deal. They don’t know why they do what they do – other than that they get paid to do it.
They head off down the road with their cart, and I head back to the inn.
Pisciculus ex Criamon
The next day we get hot porridge for breakfast. The inn keeper apologies that our stay here has been upset by the fire last night, and asks us whether we are willing to go looking for the cup to help protect the village from the fire. The cup is said to be buried in a nearby mound.
I warn the inn keeper that sometimes digging things up causes more trouble than it solves.
Later in the morning, we leave the village and follow the cart tracks, which are in roughly the same direction as where the mound is meant to be. The tracks lead to some woods, where a gap in the trees is covered by some false bushes.
Lifting up the cover and going into the woods, the cart isn’t too hard to find. It is covered over by a cloth, and the fancy box is there as well.
The vials are in the box, and contain a cloudy liquid which doesn’t appear to be magical. The substance that was spread on the walls seems to be some waxy material that contains iron.
I use The Inexorable Search on the waxy substance to try and trace the maker of the item. If it turns out to be a magus of the Order than I’ll be breaking Hermetic Law by scrying on them, but my guess is that it’s a hedge wizard or an alchemist rather than a true magus. My finger hovers over the map of Scotland I’ve scribed in the mud, and my finger stabs down into the eastern border region. Near Galashiels, about 60 miles from us.
Allistor drops a tree on the wagon, which sets off the flasks and causes a fire. The rest of us vacate the area before the blaze grows, but Allistor remains behind to try and contain the spread. This includes summoning a small rain storm.
A few hundred yards away is the mound that is said to contain the cup. It doesn’t look natural, but it is just a mound a couple of yards tall with grass growing on it. Knox takes a look around the mound, and says that it hasn’t been disturbed recently. Not even by animals. In fact, he feels very uncomfortable and wants to leave.
When Allistor suggests that someone should go back to the village to see if anyone has noticed the fire, Knox quickly volunteers. So we send him back to the village. We then set about discussing what to do about the mound.
