1226 AD: Mercurial Matters
1226 Adventure Oracle
Cabal Legacy—10% (2, adventure!)
Seeker—10% (81, no adventure)
Regional Produce—10% (22, no adventure)
Multiple Sites—10% (59, no adventure)
Road—10% (81, no adventure)
Tribunal Border—30% (45, no adventure)
Unsafe—10% (59, no adventure)
Regio—30% (9, adventure!)
Another year of two adventures, which is a little tough because I really need to round out my Arts and especially study Corpus for Jabril’s longevity ritual. That’s okay, though. I am excited that Cabal Legacy is finally producing an adventure, because I really like the Neo-Mercurians. Which reminds me that Jabril’s Neo-Mercurian Lore has been renamed to Neo-Mercurian Magic, which is their specific Org Lore ability.
Cabal rolls
Difficulty—2, easy. EF 9.
Origin—76, Infernal. Ooh, this might be another interconnected set of adventures, given the infernal nature of our regio.
Timing—1, Spring.
Complexity—8, very complex, three challenges.
Type—54, Magic, apropos, 70, Legal/Diplomatic, and 16, Social.
I’m opting in, I have a very cool idea for the story.
Omens—10! This could go very poorly.
Regio rolls
Difficulty—2, easy again. EF 9.
Origin—79, Infernal again. Unsurprising.
Timing—3, Summer. The dice have a story they wish to tell, and I am merely their agent.
Complexity—8, another very complex adventure with three challenges.
Type—91, my choice, 42, Magic, and 63, Legal/Diplomatic. I think I’ll go for Thriller/Wilderness, as it fits the specific story idea I have.
Omens—8, not as punishing as the first one but still tough.
Spring 1226
A Meeting at Mercuralia
At the beginning of the year, a missive arrived at the Oasis, courtesy of Venti Rosa. After the usual pleasantries—which he noted with satisfaction included a mention of his accomplishments as a Seeker—he found that the letter was from Heliobus Magister, master of the Pyramids and his mentor in the Neo-Mercurian Cult. With the usual indirectness of Egyptian magi (imitating no doubt the mundane customs of the country), Heliobus intimated that his presence had been missed at Mercuralia the past few years, and it would be most pleasing to see him this year. Jabril understood that despite being couched in vague, pleasant eloquence, this was a command from his superior, and so he prepared to travel.
Mercuralia was an ancient festival, and perhaps the most important time of the year for the Cult of Mercury. In ancient times, once the Ides of May came, merchants would flock to Rome to sprinkle themselves and their goods and gear with water drawn from a sacred well, while Mercurian priests intoned blessings over them. In the modern day, magi could not reasonably be expected to make the Roman pilgrimage each year, nor did they require blessings of trade, their craft being altogether more mystical.
And so the custom had become a more localized one, with each Priest—the regional leadership of the Cult—organizing a meeting of the Congregants—the Cult’s Gifted initiates—at one of a network of hidden temples across Europe on May 15. There, the congregation was led through mystic rites and services in honor of their deity, and sprinkled with potent enchanted water intended to bless their magical efforts. Each Congregant was expected to come barring unusual circumstances, but Jabril had been given a great deal of leeway thanks to his intrepid exploration of pagan histories within the Oasis and his unique status as an eremite. Still, one must make an appearance eventually, and so he set off towards his local temple.
Although the Neo-Mercurians are often secretive even amongst their own ranks, Jabril was aware that there were at least two active temples within the Levant. The first was the one in Syria to which he had travelled for his first initiation: though ruined, it was still a site of great mystic power, and saw use in Tribunal years. The second was in far more well-loved condition, and lay on the outskirts of Alexandria, and so it was to Alexandria he traveled.
Eight days later, he beheld the great city laying before him. In his times visiting Alexandria—although the overpowering stench of the Dominion turned his stomach—he could scarce believe the stories that it had been an even greater city in ancient times. Commerce poured into the city from every direction, as did the beneficence of the Ayyubid Sultan. It was said that his men gave away two thousand loaves of bread a day in the market, and always the ten thousand mosques of the city were expanding thanks to his generous donations. Curiosities and wonders from every corner of the world could be found in the markets, and the great lighthouse, built over a thousand years ago, still ruled the city’s skyline, the proud Grecian matriarch of this now-Arab and Coptic metropolis.
After finding lodging in a tavern lying within a well-known lacuna in the city’s Dominion aura, Jabril made his way to the temple, lying on the western coast beyond the outskirts. Though there had never been a true covenant in Alexandria, the cult of Mercury owned a plot of land here in the coast, staffed by the unGifted Messengers, the servants and soldiers of the cult. An unassuming but well-kept home sat there, but the true temple lay beneath, through a tunnel found in that home’s kitchen. After a short traversal of dark tunnels, one came to a wide, open cave, the distant wall of which broke open to reveal an expansive view of Alexandria’s harbor, and the waters of the benevolent Mediterranean, which had welded together European commerce since the first days. With the backdrop of ships entering and leaving port day and night, the Mercurians paid unspoken homage to their god’s role as the patron of trade and post, even while centering his role as the god of magic.
By the time he arrived in the early morning of the 15th, the central temple space was already occupied by a dozen magi from all across the Levant. Here, the martial Hector ex Flambeau from Para Belli stood resplendent in plate inscribed with Mercurian symbology: there, the skeletally-thin, tattooed Spiral ex Criamon from the Embassy in Baghdad had cornered young Theodore ex Jerbiton from Urania, raving at him about the secrets of Muslim magics. Both pro- and anti-Crusade magi existed harmoniously in this space: Mercury could unite them if no one else could. Conspicuously, if unsurprisingly absent were the Ra priests and priestesses of the pyramids, save one: Nebet, Jabril’s old enemy, come to observe the proceedings. Though upon seeing the older magus, he feared a challenge, Jabril’s worries were quickly ameliorated as the old man approached him with a smile and insisted they put their past in the past, where it belonged. He was happy to do so, although he was a bit unsettled by how Nebet’s eyes seemed to gleam as he did.
These conversations halted as Heliobus entered and began the rite. It was a transcendent experience and thus—not worth writing about. Such things are diminished in the retelling. But afterwards, as Jabril recovered from such a spiritual experience, he was brought forth by Heliobus to the altar, asked to introduce himself to the congregation, and to explain and describe what he had found in Siwa’s regio. Here, he realized that this had not just been an invitation, but a test of his ability: and so summoning up all of his knowledge and eloquence, he described that other place as best he could—its properties, inhabitants, and nature. Indeed, with a few minutes to summon his ceremonial magic, he carved a miniature map of the place as far as he had explored it into a large cow skull provided for the purpose, greatly impressing his fellows.
After he had done this, Heliobus acknowledged his skill and thanked him for the demonstration, then revealed at last his true purpose. In the days of old, the Oracle of Ammon and its followers had been allies to the Cult of Mercury—a reliable local group of pagans who were friendly enough and possessed powerful divinatory abilities. With his establishment in the temple, Jabril had spiritually assumed the mantle of the old cult as far as the Mercurians were concerned, drawing it fully into the fold, and thus it was his responsibility to cleanse the regio and reclaim every holy site within the oasis. To this end, the Neo-Mercurians were willing to grant him aid: the library was open to him, to find any scrap of lore or wisdom that might aid him, and, not being experts on the Egyptian Infernal, they were willing to make introductions to the Order of Suleiman, quietly, that he might hopefully draw on their knowledge as well.
To this end, he was greatly thankful, and spent much of the next few days searching for scraps of lore in the books of the library. There, he found some interesting truths. Ammon, which he had long believed to be either a Carthaginian god or a local version of the Egyptian Amun, was in truth a Libyan god, the “lord of good counsel” favored by the Garamantes. His cult had only ever been superficially Egyptianized, and so much of its rituals, rites, and rules had been lost in the rise of Islam and Christianity. Still, what was known was that there had been three temples in the valley at Siwa, one for each of the three villages that had once stood, and that the god took a personal interest in his temples, appearing at the request of the Siwan Oracle. This brought more questions, one above all.
Where was Ammon, and why had he abandoned his temples?
First challenge: Com+Magic Theory (rolled 4+1+4+1 (reputation)=10, success), Dex+Finesse (specialty, 5+0+3=8, used spontaneous ReAn to add mag 1 for a success), Int+Awareness (rolled 7+2+3=12, success). Three successes (with our first official use of spont magic).
The Summit with the Sahirs
But that question would not be answered without delving into the regio again, and so instead Jabril began to prepare himself to meet with the Suleimanite sahirs. The preeminent sahir of Egypt, a man named Yahya—purportedly an assumed name drawn from the original founder of the Order—had agreed to send a delegation to meet with Heliobus and Jabril after a flurry of complimentary missives from the Bonisagus priest.
And so, a few days later, the Neo-Mercurians and their servants travelled to a prearranged spot outside of Alexandria to the southwest: a patch of desert marked by a great palm, where they set up a host of luxurious tents as a meeting-hall, kept cool by Hermetic magic. The sahirs were polite in the Egyptian style, but kept themselves subtly aloof. Heliobus had pushed Jabril to lead the talks, as a way of testing his capabilities.
Unfortunately, the Beast Master was still dogged by his lineage’s unusual practices, and he stumbled over his Arabic while attempting a complex welcome to the affair. Quiet, dismissive laughter spread across the group of sahirs, and as Heliobus looked at him with disappointment, Jabril could feel his wrath rising, and leaned into it. Holding up an imperious hand for silence, he held himself high, cutting a formidable figure as he reminded the sahirs of the many victories of Hermeric magi: the Schism War, the battles against the sahirs of Iberia, even listing some of the Crusader magi’s victories. This did not mollify the sahirs, but it did force them to a sullen silence.
This gave Jabril time to weave a quick and elaborate lie: that the shadow side of Siwa was interconnected with the health of all Egypt, or so he had supposedly discovered. If not dealt with quickly, its growing corruption could damage the entire country. This, at least, had the effect of convincing them to deliberate on the matter, and so the two sides parted for the evening, with Heliobus congratulating Jabril on his quick thinking.
Second challenge: Pre+Artes Liberales (rolled 0, botch threatened, botch dice 4, 0, 6, 8, 4, 8, 8, 7, 3, 9, botch!) Str+Order of Hermes Lore (specialty, rolled 9+0+2-3=8, spent 1 confidence for success), Qik+Guile (specialty, rolled 6+0+3-3=6, spent 1 confidence to succeed). 2 successes, 1 botch.
A Midnight Meeting
That night, as the deliberants rested, a visitor appeared at Jabril’s tent. A fire-eyed thing of smoke and power—a jinn, sent to him by one of the Sahirs, a powerful man by the name of Ali ibn Rashid. The jinn bade him follow into the desert, away from the temporary meeting site, to meet his master and perhaps gain a powerful ally. Although suspicious of this invitation, Jabril examined what he could see of the creature’s features, and discerned no lies. And so, he followed.
It was only a short distance from camp: far enough to not be seen or heard well, close enough that it was not suicide in the cold night air. As he approached behind the tame jinn, Jabril saw a figure emerge from the sands, as if he had been buried in them. It was a short man, robed in fine clothes, with a bushy, greying beard and eyes that twinkled with the stars. This man, presumably Ali, called out the year of his own graduation from apprenticeship. Sensing an odd challenge here, Jabril responded with his own, only to be met with a snort of scorn. His opponent responded with the date of the establishment of the Order of Suleiman, and Jabril responded with that of the Hermetic Order.
On and on they went, competing in ever more esoteric, obscure categories for whose was the older order, whose the wiser magi. Jabril found himself drawing more on the cult of Mercury, citing dates and victories even from the days of Nero. At these, his challenger grew silent—then, with a smile, acknowledged that whatever else was true, the Mercurians were the senior tradition. Jabril was bemused by this odd challenge, but nevertheless took his victory in stride, and spoke eloquently of the virtues of the Order of Suleiman, insofar as he had seen them.
Ali seemed greatly impressed by this sudden burst of generous politeness, and warmed to Jabril, even acknowledging the magical skill of his opposite number. Then, however, his face grew dark and he explained that the Suleimanites were not willing to aid him or the Hermetic Order.
The elder sahirs still saw the Hermetics as invaders, and the younger ones held their secrets too precious to give up to a rival. But some few of those with wisdom in their hearts, said he, were willing to offer aid. Here he produced a book, written in an old handwriting on ancient papyrus, in Arabic. Going over it with Jabril, Ali explained that this was the sum total of their knowledge of Siwa: that the third lesser temple lay in Bilad al-Rum, and held a permanent entrance to the other place, and that on that side, at one time, the other versions of the temples held eternal flames sacred to Ammon, which supposedly warded away the darkness.
At this, Jabril began to understand the shape of what he would need to do, and thanked Ali profusely before returning to camp. Once he did so, he went to Heliobus’s tent, where he told him all that transpired and informed him he would be leaving to prepare another journey into the regio. Heliobus gave his assent, and intimated that should he succeed, more mysteries might open to the Beast Master at Tribunal.
Third challenge: Per+Folk Ken (rolled 6+0+4-3=7, spent 1 confidence to succeed), Sta+Neo-Mercurian Magic (rolled 8+2+1-3=8, spent 1 confidence to succeed), Int+Etiquette (untrained, rolled 1, reroll 6 for a total of 14+2+0-6=10 for a success). Three successes (amazingly).
Results: Partial success. With one botch, we gain 3 rewards and one loss, +4 xp for great successes and 7 xp (14 xp overall for Independent Study) and confidence points. 5 goes into Etiquette (we desperately need another social skill), 5 into Finesse, and 4 into Neo-Mercurian Magic. All 12 BP are spent on the services of a Mystagogue with Cult Lore 4 for next year at Tribunal. I roll 5 on the loss table, meaning the covenant loses 5 BP. I rule that Jabril spends 5 Corpus vis bribing the sahirs.
While the Mercurians and some individual sahirs are convinced of the need to cleanse the Siwa regio, the Order of Suleiman overall stands aloof, and Jabril is forced to bribe his opposite numbers among the sahirs in order to avoid insulting them. Nevertheless, he has the assistance of some of the order’s knowledge in his coming work. Overall, his adventure takes an inauspicious 13 days, and he returns to Siwa to prepare.
Summer 1226
Seeking the Third Temple
As spring rolled into a hot, dry summer, Jabril found himself primarily concerned with the location of Bilad al-Rum and the third temple of Ammon. While the records of the Order of Suleiman had confirmed its existence, the location was only described in vague terms: "rock-hewn", "well-watered", among other such vagaries. That being said, studying his maps of Siwa Oasis, he believed he had pinpointed the location. Most of his properties and interests were in the mid-to-east section of the valley, with Alexander's Camp lying in the far east, and Siwa itself just a few miles from the center, which Aghurmi sat just beside.
In the west, though, the valley narrowed and became quite rocky and shaded, allowing the waters of the oasis to create something akin to wetlands in places, although still hot, humid, insect-infested ones. At the beginning of this territory, if one was coming from the east, lay the ruins of Khamisah, just after the walls of the valley began to narrow and sharpen into cliffs. Southwest of Khamisah lay a bitter salt marsh, inhospitable but verdant. To the northwest, a sharp cliff, with a narrow path zigzagging up to meet the Garamantian Road. In some of the documents he found, there were mentions of tombs in this cliff, just to the northeast of the Road, and it was here, he believed, that he would find Bilad al-Rum.
And so, gathering his supplies, he set off into the west of Siwa Oasis. In this high summer, the Zenata were out in force, their own supplies having dwindled with the great heat. Though Siwa remained safe, guarded from magic by his Aegis, as well as his properties to the east, he himself needed to rely on stealth and cunning to make his way carefully through the unprotected lands of the oasis. It took a few days of slow, careful movement to the west before he finally passed the narrowing of the cliffside and beheld the ruins of Khamisah. In its time, it had been a prosperous town, like the other two that had lingered here, but now it was barely an afterthought: a few stone piles that were once buildings, the dusty Garamantian Road passing through its outskirts. He moved on without much more than a curious glance.
It took only a few more hours to reach the base of the great cliff and its path. Once he reached it, he began following the cliff northeast, steadying himself along the stone walls and keeping his eyes trained on the cliffside for any sign of entry. It was his feet, however, not his eyes, that discovered the place. He stumbled as he struck a large, shaped sandstone rock with his foot, and, examining it, discovered that it served as part of a low wall. Like a mirage, Bilad al-Rum appeared before him beyond the wall. A large, rectangular temple, still in good condition despite years of neglect, sat cunningly sheltered and hidden by the overhanging cliff, with a honeycomb of tunnels beyond into the cliff--perhaps the tombs he had read of, although at least one was clearly a quarry.
Entering the temple, he found three great halls, dusty with age, surrounding a central fane with a great altar. Unfortunately, much of the ceiling had collapsed, with large piles of rock here and there blocking easy passage through the fane. It was only with great difficulty that he was able to shift the stones and reveal the altar itself after more than a day of work. Once he had done so, though, the cleared space revealed a new secret: a golden door, buried in the rock behind the altar, standing ever so slightly ajar. From it seemed to drift grey particles of a sort--the air of that other place leaking through, perhaps, to color Jabril's native atmosphere. With a heavy push, he forced the door fully open, and stared through, feeling apprehension at what was to come.
First challenge: Int+Area Lore (Egypt) (rolled 8+2+2=12, success), Dex+Stealth (specialty, 1, reroll 8 for a total of 18+0+3=21 for a powerful success), Str+Athletics (specialty, rolled 0, botch threatened! Botch dice 2, 1, 9, 5, 6, 5, 5, 9, no botch. With a result of 3 overall, we spend 2 confidence to succeed). 3 successes.
Through the Gateway
Before he stepped through, Jabril wisely thought ahead and summoned a host of squirming asps, and sent them through before him, commanding them to assault any creature they saw and clear the way for him. As he followed his serpents, he watched as they swarmed and tore apart a small band of minor demons that seemed to have been drawn to the noise of his entry. Still, this place, unlike the others, seemed veritably swarming with the creatures, and no sooner had he arrived at the altar on the other side than two mighty ghuls crawled from the shadow and accosted him.
Jabril was unprepared, and his Parma too weak to resist the flames that ignited along their claws. He took a heavy stroke to the chest before his serpents were able to overwhelm the creatures and give him some breathing room. Staggering from the pain of the injury and having difficulty standing, it was only through gritted teeth that he was able to summon up some measure of strength, enough to work some spontaneous CrIg magic, carefully manipulated to create a long-burning flame.
The minutes he needed to cast ceremonially seemed to pass like hours, and with every moment he could hear more noises distant in the shadow-temple, more creatures coming, drawn like moths to the flame. At last, the magic between his fingers burst into flame, and he quickly ignited a stretch of wool he carried and tossed it into the great basin at the center of the altar. As the magical flame began to burn, it brought with it sublime light and color, oranges, reds, purples springing out of it like dancers and filling the room with brightness. The noises distant seemed to cease, a nd though he could still see the world beginning to grow grey again at the doorway to the temple, he knew he had discovered the way to renew this regio, if he had but time and energy.
But the pain of his wound struck him again, and he knew that he would not finish his work this day. Commanding his serpents to flee with him, he stumbled back through the doorway into his world, and, upon closing the door, fell into a deep sleep atop the altar at Bilad al-Rum, exhausted by his trial. It was only minutes later that the shadows of several forms fell over him, and a heated conversation began.
Second challenge: Pre+Summon Animals (specialty, rolled 1, reroll 6 for a total of 14+0+5=19 for a success), Sta+Parma Magica (rolled 0, botch threatened! Botch dice 1, 7, 5, 8, 9, 7, 8, 0, botch!, Per+Finesse (rolled 7+0+2=9, success). 2 successes, 1 botch.
Serpent as Peacemaker
Jabril awoke not long after he had fallen asleep to the sounds of arguing in mixed Arabic and Latin. The first voice was familiar: gravelly, older, male, with the overweening gravitas of an elder magus. The other was chirpy and grating, but had a lilting tone to it that called to mind the soft court speech of the Egyptian bureaucracy. His sight clarified after a moment, and he found himself gazing upon Heliobus and Ali, both of whom stood before the altar. A moment after he noticed them, they noticed him, and Heliobus fell quickly to tending to him. Scrabbling for pawns of vis in his pack, Jabril gave the elder magus the vis needed to heal him, perhaps more, he was not sure, and sighed in relief as Heliobus began to work a healing ritual upon him.
Once the needed time had passed and Jabril could sit up again, he regarded the two with a critical eye, and asked why and how they had found him. The story--told through bickering--was long and winding, but could be summarized in this manner: Heliobus had chosen to follow him out of concern for his young pupil, while Ali had sought to understand the mysteries of Siwa more fully. Once Jabril had arrived at the Bilad al-Rum, they had not followed inside the regio, but watched and waited, only to encounter each other here and fall to argument and suspicion as neither trusted the other.
For once, Jabril found himself in the position of peacemaker. With some eloquent rhetoric--and help from his bracelet--he convinced the two that neither was here to stir up trouble. This quieted their argument, though he could still sense the simmering tension between the two. Ali began to subtly probe him for information about the regio, and although he liked the sahir, Jabril thought it wise not to tell the full truth, and quickly spun an elaborate tale of a demon-haunted wasteland scoured of any sign of temples and life, and that his work had been stymied by the need to create a shrine in such a place and bless it properly before lighting the flame. The work would take much time, he said, and more if he was not left in peace to do it.
Ali did not seem to like this answer, but accepted it with the dignity common to Muslim magi, and after a few more questions, bid the two good luck and goodbye. Left alone in the temple, Heliobus now turned to Jabril, and began to question him in the same manner. However, Jabril had known the old man for some years, and felt he knew his heart and that there was no malign intent or desire for the stealing of secrets behind his questions, only the concern of a superior for his colleague. And so, he answered Heliobus honestly, and told him what he had found behind that golden door, and how, once he had prepared again and was able to work on his Vim, he would again pass through and seek the other temples and their flames.
For now, this seemed to satisfy Heliobus, and so, the two returned to Aghurmi, their bond strengthened.
Third challenge: Com+Artes Liberales (rolled 5+1+2-3=5, used Bracelet of Trust to ignore gift penalty and add Mag 3 for a final result of 11, success), Qik+Guile (specialty, rolled 5+0+3-3=5, spent two confidence to succeed), Int+Folk Ken (rolled 2+2+4-3=5, spent two confidence to succeed). 3 successes.
Result: Another partial success. This year has been tough with the 0s. Still, we gain 3 rewards and 14 xp overall, including Independent Study, and we only take 1 loss. 5 xp goes to Summon Animals, 5 to Finesse, bringing it to 4, and 4 to Guile. 7 confidence as well. I roll an 8 on the loss table, meaning another wound for Jabril. Unfortunately, I then roll a 1 and then a 10 on the damage stress die, meaning a total of 31 damage! With his armor, Jabril has a soak of 10, so with a rolled 6, he’s able to reduce that to 15 damage, just barely avoiding an Incapacitating Wound. Still, a Heavy Wound is nothing to sneeze at, so he spends 10 Corpus vis to get Heliobus to heal him.
Our 3 rewards are spent, along with 76 Mythic Pounds from the stocks, on forming a permanent political alliance with Heliobus (the pounds are spent on rich new furnishings for the Pyramids covenant). While the senior magus was already friendly to Jabril, solidifying this relationship now allows us to have permanently good relations with the Pyramids as long as Heliobus is in charge, and political backing should Jabril decide to make moves at Tribunal. Our adventure again takes 13 days, and Jabril gladly returns to Aghurmi to rest and relax. We have also discovered our final unknown boon, Important Building, the much more expansive Lesser Temple at Bilad al-Rum. In addition, Jabril now understands potentially how to solve the issue of the regio, although I argue it will take a great deal of rewards and a difficult adventure to fully return it to its magical nature.
Comments
Post a Comment