1231 AD: More Fae Trickery

 1231 Adventure Oracle

Cabal Legacy—10% (44, no adventure)

Seeker—10% (50, no adventure)

Regional Produce—10% (5, adventure!)

Multiple Sites—10% (60, no adventure)

Road—10% (10, adventure!)

Tribunal Border—30% (50, no adventure)

Unsafe—10% (21, no adventure)

Regio—30% (58, no adventure)

Two adventures this year. I LOVE Regional Produce as a hook so I’m very excited for that one. Road is very cool as well. 

1 is Regional Produce, 2 is Road.

Difficulty—5, average, EF 12 (1), 7, hard, EF 15 (2)

Origin—68, Supernatural (1), 18, Faerie (2). Now this is interesting! At this EF, we’re looking at a ghost and a fae lord, respectively, although I don’t know that I’ll stick to that first recommendation. 

Timing—10, my choice (1), and 8, Winter (2), so the EF becomes 16. I think I’ll choose Autumn, so Jabril has maximum time to pursue his studies before his adventures this year. 

Complexity—6, complex, 2 challenges (1), 4, complex (2). Pretty middling. 

Type—51, Magic (I’m shocked, shocked I tell you), and 83, Thriller/Wilderness (1). 36, Combat, and 8, Social. That feels quite fae (2). 

Opting in, of course!

Omens—2 (1) and 6 (2). This last adventure is going to be something for sure.

Spring 1231

Jabril continued to work his way through his books this season, also making a note to trade out his Muto tractatus for another one. He spent the season at the now-Aegised Spring of the Sun, reading his Vim summa by the shore of this incredible magical pool. 

Study xp: 15+2=17 xp to Vim, bringing it to 6.

Summer 1231

Although he considered learning the level 10 Demon’s Eternal Oblivion spell among his lab texts, his PeVi was still too weak to have a hope of piercing the resistance of the ghuls without perfect luck (Narrator: he would need a 7 on the d10 to meet penetration), so he continued his study of Vim. 

In addition, now that the Spring of the Sun and the Hill of the Dead were protected by his Aegis (in addition to Siwa town and his in-use laboratories), Jabril felt it was time to expand the turb again, considering that 12 men were hardly enough to cover the great swathe of the valley he now claimed. Drawing on the zaggaleh, he hired eighteen more men, assigning them in groups of six to Alexander’s Camp, the Jabal al-Mawta, and the Spring and designating one each as sub-captain. He followed this up by formally cementing Ahmad’s authority as full turb captain, with Daoud and the other team captains reporting to him directly, strengthening the militiocratic structure of the covenfolk. 

In addition, he invested in eighteen well-trained camels and a stablemaster to manage them, as well as refurbishing Aghurmi’s ancient, ruined stables to house them. Six would go to the camp turb, six to Bilad al-Rum, and six to the main site at Aghurmi. Being so far spread out, this would allow his most distant sites to alert him if need be. This population expansion required a corresponding increase in the amount of servants needed to twelve, most of whom were kitchen staff and stable helpers. Tents were purchased for the camp turb, as well as the spring turb, given that they were out in the open. 

Altogether, this great expansion cost Jabril about 550 Mythic Pounds, but was well worth it in his opinion: if he remembered to use his turb. The population of the covenant now stood at a healthy fifty-three. With so many relying on him, Jabril was beginning to feel like one of the Iqtadars, the Egyptian equivalent to a baron, in the service of the Ayyubids, and suffered a spate of boring, yet horrifying nightmares in which he was summoned to Cairo to explain his expenses in excruciating detail to the Sultan. 

Study xp: 15+2=17 xp to Vim, bringing it to 8. 

Autumn 1231

Death of a Salesman

Of course, the reality is often worse than the nightmare, as Jabril discovered in autumn. It had become a covenant tradition since his invention of the jameed spell that the full covenant staff bid farewell to Siwa’s chief merchant, an older man by the name of Matta, and his teamsters as well as their mounts on the eve of their travel to Alexandria. Matta had made a show of it in the last few years, touring each of Jabril’s claimed lands with a grandiose aplomb, camels laden with pearls and jameed. This year was no different, though the route was far more circuitous, looping over to Bilad al-Rum from Aghurmi before proceeding past the Jabal al-Mawta, the Spring of the Sun, and finally, Alexander’s Camp before at last ascending up the dunes to the Alexandrian road. Jabril had found himself tickled by the tradition, and this year accompanied the caravan atop his flying hyena pelt, to the general enthusiasm of the visited turb. He parted ways with Matta at the Camp, wishing the old man good fortune in his journey. Little did he know as he watched the caravan leave Siwa that it was the last time he would see the old man alive. 

Four days later, Jabril was awoken with a start in the night by a strangled scream, that sounded in his sleeping state as though it had come nearly from within his head. Awakening, he beheld a terrible sight: the form of Matta, white and translucent, standing at the base of his bed. His body was marred by terrible injuries, and his eyes seemed to gleam with fury. Raising a crooked finger, the specter called out Jabril’s name and demanded succor, for lo, it was the wealth the magus had laden the caravan with that caused his death. A pulse of magic followed this proclamation, but, weakened by the Aegis and Jabril’s Parma—as well as an ignoble but fast roll to the floor on his part—the spirit had no hope of affecting him. 

Seeing this, the spirit descended into a sitting position in the center of the room and began to sob. Jabril watched curiously, and then with growing sorrow, as his friend’s shade quietly sobbed. He was dead—that much Jabril could tell. This was a ghost, not some false spirit. A potent one, too, as Matta seemed horribly aware of his own demise, and cognizant of his current existence. Thinking back to his training, and his experience with poor Simon some years ago, he recalled that a spirit of this nature likely needed whatever business held it in the mortal world resolved before it could pass on. 

He stood, then sat, carefully, and quietly, at Matta’s side, hoping a kind presence would help. As the sobs slowed, he delicately broached the subject of what precisely had happened: the spirit spoke haltingly of a pack of bandits on the road who had attacked the caravan, having memorized its route year after year. It seemed word of Siwa’s treasures, sold so freely in the markets of Egypt, had spread among the nomads, and some had cashed in. 

Absorbing this, Jabril nodded, and asked the spirit to lead him to the place it had happened, that he might help put Matta to rest. After summoning Ahmad to accompany them, the ghost and the magus began their journey. For days they traveled, the sun often making it hard to make out the spirit, while it stood restlessly and bitterly while Jabril camped. But his able eyes kept Matta in his sight, and soon he held a bend in the road, a blind curve: perfect for an ambush. 

First challenge: Qik+Parma Magica (specialty, rolled 3+0+4=7, spent 2 confidence to succeed), Int+Magic Theory (rolled 6+2+5=13, success), Per+Awareness (specialty, rolled 3+0+4=7, spent 2 confidence to succeed). 3 successes. 

Hunting the Cache

As they reached this bend, Matta seemed to disappear, but that was fine with Jabril. He had served his purpose here. There was a clear trail along the side of the road here: marks of a fight, then spatters of blood along the sand that indicated the trail of someone injured. Following it, he found the bodies of the teamsters, as well as a further trail that eventually led him and Ahmad to a well-hidden cave nearby, covered by a large rock. 

Some feats of strength by Ahmad later, and they had entered a long and winding passageway. The cave system below was complex and dark, and he could feel Ahmad growing nervous. Summoning the power of flight into his pelt to project an aura of power, he explained soothingly that Egypt was full of old mines like this, and that they were as safe as when the ancients built them. This sort of reassurance he kept up in a running stream as the two moved, even as the hours began to slip by. At last, they found where the bandits had hidden their loot, deep within the caverns, and a host of ancient gold relics to boot, though the raiders were nowhere to be found. Jabril spent the journey back instructing Ahmad how to survive in the desert, and found with pleasure that his turb captain listened with rapt attention. 

Upon returning, it seemed that the ghost had been put to rest with the recovery of the goods, and it and the coins were traded to passing caravans to hire a new trader and teamsters, as well as provide income for the year. Jabril felt ill at ease after the whole affair, though. It felt too easy. 

Second challenge: Ahmad rolled Str+Athletics (used Reserves of Strength, rolled 8+1+4+3=16, success), Sta+Area Lore (Egypt) (specialty, rolled 4+2+3=9, cast Woolen Steed of Araby to add mag 3 and succeed), Com+Survival (specialty, rolled 6+1+3=10, spent 1 confidence to succeed). 3 successes. 

Result: Success! The spirit is put to rest and the pearls are sold, securing our income for the year. Jabril gains 2 rewards +4 exp for his successes, in addition to 8 confidence and 8 xp from difficulty (becoming 15 xp exactly). As we have been doing, the rewards are banked for now, while 5 xp goes to Parma, 5 xp goes to Magic Theory, and 5 goes to Area Lore (Egypt). The adventure takes 14 days overall.

Winter 1231

Battle at Bilad al-Rum

As winter approached, the traffic along the roads leading in every direction increased. Caravans from Ghat came up along the Garamantian Road, carrying their unusual cargos of gold, unusual artifacts, and, most unpleasantly, slaves. Jabril had heard many curious tales about the source of all these goods, as it certainly did not lie within the Maghrebi desert, but across it. Some in Siwa said there was a great Muslim empire on the other side of the Sand Sea: some within the Cult of Mercury were more skeptical, arguing that surely such wonders came from Arcadia or one of the sub-regions of Magic. 

Regardless of their origin, though, he had made it his business not to interfere in their passage. While he despised the slave trade, turning his hatred into a crusade would surely draw the attention of the mundane authorities, and, more pragmatically, if he were able to halt the flow of slaves through the Oasis, they would surely reroute somewhere else, making his efforts meaningless. These justifications sat uneasy in his heart each year as he watched the cage-carts pass by from his fortress atop Aghurmi, filled with dark-skinned men and women with lifeless eyes and whip-scarred flesh. 

This year, however, he was called into action when winter began. A camel-riding grog from Bilad al-Rum, having ridden hard to Aghurmi, reported a caravan under assault south of the old western temple, locked in pitched battle in the swamps with a raiding band of the Zenata. Seeing his opportunity to perhaps free some of the enslaved without issue, Jabril mounted his flying pelt and commanded the turb to follow him on camelback, moving quickly to the west. 

He was faster than the camels atop his woolen steed, and so moved as quickly and quietly as possible to reconnoiter the site before his forces arrived in detail. Unfortunately, a man on a flying pelt is quite visible in the day, and the Zenata had grown wise to his tricks, so as he approached the beleaguered caravan, he found himself having to withdraw under a hail of arrows. Luckily, the turb soon arrived and, taking to the earth, he led them  forward against the Berbers, who had taken to foot themselves, battling the caravan guards hand-to-hand. It was a long, difficult fight, and he found himself beginning to grow tired as he dodged blade and arrow, having to will himself to go on. Two of his grogs fell back, injured by spears, but the Zenata were taking the worst of it, and attempted a final, desperate assault, attempting to reposition rapidly atop their camels and force their way past him. He saw what they were doing, though, and with a combination of physical strength and his skill at animal control, sowed chaos among their line, with the Berber cameliers being hurled to the ground and quickly dispatched by the turb. 

Although the caravan had taken losses, the majority survived, including the caged slaves, and the caravan master, a curious-looking man with dark skin and amber eyes, fell upon him in gratitude. Taken aback a bit by the strangeness of the caravaneers, he invited them to Aghurmi to recuperate, hoping to make a deal to free their cargo there.

First challenge: Qik+Stealth (specialty, rolled 0, botch threatened! Botch dice 0, 1, 5, 6, 7, 3, botched!), Sta+Brawl (specialty, rolled 1, reroll 8 for a total of 18+2+3=23, success), Str+Awareness (specialty, rolled 2+0+4=6, cast Starry Harness of Khonsu to add mag 7 and spent one confidence to succeed). 2 successes, 1 botch. 

The Cunning Caravaneers

It was quite a bit too late, once they were already at Aghurmi, that Jabril realized the caravan was not made up of men, but of fae. On the journey back, the caravan master had engaged him in a game of riddles, and without realizing what he had agreed to—and being fairly poor at riddles besides—Jabril found himself bound to house the caravan for more than a week in his lands. Once they arrived, he and the turb were treated to a host of stranger and stranger sights as a coterie of bizarre creatures exited the caravan. Tall, thin, spider-like twins introduced themselves as the Slavetakers of the caravan, while a humanoid creature in a blue veil with skin seemingly cerulean called itself the Blue Man of the Desert. A third, squat grouping of giggling caravan guards Jabril recognized as bouda. 

He had invited a strange bunch to his keep to be sure, but he knew the rules of faerie well enough to know that he must now play his part as generous host and secret liberator. Concocting an elaborate lie painting himself as the benevolent lord of the valley, beholden only to the great Caliph, he bade his turb bring food and drink, and entertained the fae caravan late into the night. Once they had their fill and passed out, exhausted, in a pile in the courtyard, he and the turb snuck one of the slaves from the cage-cart, and told them to make for Siwa, and introduce themselves as an ally of the sorcerer of Aghurmi, which would guarantee hospitality. In their place was left a sack, crudely painted and decorated to resemble a person. For days they did this, stuffing full the caravan by day and freeing the slaves by night, leaving decoys behind. 

At last, the cage was empty of real people—at least Jabril believed them to not be fae—and the caravan was none the wiser, and yet they showed no signs of leaving. It was here that Jabril used his strongest card: the generous host asking the visitor for minor favors. Politely, and with a firm gentleness, Jabril pressed the caravan master to contribute towards his quarter and towards the constant repairs of the covenant. Within two days, the fae caravan had left rather than be pestered by gentle demands, and as he watched them go, Jabril was sure that this time, he had outwitted the faeries. 

That was, until the next day, when he found his treasury significantly lightened. 

Second challenge: Int+Folk Ken (rolled 0, botch threatened! Botch dice 0, 4, 5, 8, 6, 4, botched!), Com+Guile (specialty, rolled 9+1+4-3=11, spent 2 confidence to succeed), Pre+Etiquette (rolled 1, reroll 5 for a total of 12+0+2-3=11, spent 2 confidence to succeed). Two successes, one botch. 

Results: Mixed success. I was having bad, bad luck on those first rolls, and confirmed botches on the first of both botch die as well. Jabril gains 2 rewards, but takes 2 losses as well, also gaining 10 confidence and 10 xp (increased to 13) from difficulty and number of challenges. 5 xp goes to Brawl, 5 to Etiquette, and 3 to Animal. The rewards are, of course, banked. 

Rolling twice on the loss table, I get a 4, and 5, both Build Points, meaning Jabril loses a total of 16 BP! 32 Mythic Pounds are stolen by the fae. With all of his recruitment and needing to replace losses this year, the covenant spends more than double its income, and the stores are heavily depleted, though not quite empty. 

Aging roll: Rolled 8+4-1-5=6. Jabril’s apparent age increases by a year.