1237, Summer
In our Ars Magica campaign, it is now Summer 1237. It has been suggested that we go and find Brude Deathless to seek information on the Spider. As his name suggests, he is an ancient Gruagach from legend, who has his soul hidden somewhere outside his body so he can’t be killed.
It turns out that like Tithonus, he has immortality, but not eternal youth.
Pisciculus ex Criamon – Summer, 1237
It is Summer 1237, and we are talking about whether to go and find Brude Deathless. Maedbh seems unwilling to go see Brude, but I think he might be interesting to talk to and know a lot about the world. According to our own Gruagach, Ewan, he might also be dangerous and grumpy, and we will need to take gifts in order to placate him.
Ewan recommends skin cream, and tasty meats. Maybe some high quality leathers might be a good idea as well.
After obtaining some suitable gifts, we put our goods on a boat and arrange for Knox and Blane to help us get up to the north west coast of Scotland. Myself, Maedbh and Allistor head off to find Brude Deathless.
We arrive at Kearvaig Cove. It is sunny, but windy and the waves are most energetic. However, we make it ashore with all of our stuff intact thanks to our boatsman. Whilst the rest of us seek a place to camp, Allistor does a flying survey of the local area and spots a small cottage in a copse of trees on the other side of a hill. It’s probably Brude’s place, since there is little else here other than desolate moorland.
We decide to settle down for the night, put up magical protections against midges, and get some sleep.
The next morning, we are all still alive. There aren’t people here, it’s all rather desolate. We head into a gully where there are a few trees, and see that there is a thin plume of smoke rising above the trees ahead of us from the direction of the cottage that Allistor found last night.
As we approach, Blane notices a rank smell coming from up ahead. He looks a bit green, saying it smells like an unbathed wet dog. Knox starts to smell something as well. Maedbh casts a spell to keep unpleasant smells away from herself, but I don’t smell anything. The advantage of having the senses of a dead rock.
As we approach the trees, we see a small hut, surrounded by boxes and other debris outside of it. Allistor calls out to try and let Brude know that we are here.
“Who the hell are you?” A shape moves out of the shadows, much larger than we expected. We see a twisted old, wrinkled, figure, possibly larger than our trow. He is clothed in tattered pieces of leather, and long hair hanging from his head. He has large hands, and seems to be hunched and limping.
We present him some gifts, and he doesn’t immediately kill us. He seems most interested in the quality leather that we brought. Maedbh explains that it came from some magic cows from the Isle of Arran. He also seems to like the skin cream, rubbing it onto his skin whilst we talk to him, but he refuses to admit it.
He only speaks Gaelic, which means that I can only understand about half of what he’s saying and have to leave the conversation to my Sodalis.
We mention the Spider, and he suddenly gives us his full attention. Maedbh and Allistor quickly explain what we know, and he goes from dangerous to interested.
“It looks like you lot are right in the middle of this. Looks like I might have to do something”
There were deals done, geasa laid he says, the world is formed by the old stories. Those bloody newcomers decided that they’d keep up the old traditions. That was a long time ago. Then ‘your’ lot (pointing at Maedbh)…. he never finishes what he’s about to say. I guess by newcomers he refers to the Order, though he may mean others. Maybe the Druids that became House Diedne?
He suggests we find who is messing things up and kill them.
On a more useful note, he goes on to say that the spider was dead, but he doesn’t stay dead. He is more sleeping. He is imprisoned in a dream essentially. There is a fair chance… he uses people’s magic against them, and he learned a lot about dream magic. So if someone is using dream magic, then he may be taking advantage of that.
He stole some blood sacrifice magic from those on the continent. We know that the Spider was in Brittany at some point and took some things from there, so that’s probably where he leaned the blood magic.
Maedbh shows him her sword, and he says it’s a treasure, guessing that someone is trying to gather them together. They are part of the stories, and the links between them. The mirror is for scrying the paths – it will show you what is, and the ways to what is.
Our best bet is to not let the idiots get hold of the item, or even let them know about them. Personally, he would just kill them all.
He’ll stay here and keep watch, as long as people bring him leather, meat and ointment.
If these fools do manage to do something, and the Spider does start waking, then he will feel it. If so, he will come and find us, and seek our help in putting the Spider back down. We very much get the impression that it’s not an offer, or a request, simply a statement of what will happen.
He thanks us for having been good guests, which seems to hint that being guests is something that should now be in the past. He looks behind us, and we notice a massive dog watching us. It is made very clear that we are to allow the dog to escort us back to our boat.
So, we’ve met with Brude Deathless and managed to not upset him. We return to the covenant, and begin to discuss what we know and what we’re going to do about it.
Something that occurs to me, is that the mystic path that I am following will eventually allow me to tell the histories of items. Possibly that may be useful in our future.
