Chapter: Preparations

Cast: King Aegir of the Gypsies, Masters Bansl, Galan, Tito, and van Zaar, and Toadface of the Great Woods. Also, as NPCs: Queen Ylvana of the Terema, Mistress Severa Septimus, Master Octavian Arbalestus.


The following takes place between 23 Novium and 28 Novium, YE 1022.


After the naming ceremony of Gryff's daughter, the heroes start planning their assault on the Redlands, first by discussing the situation with their allies, then they undertake a complex ritual so as to scry the city of Zalburg; the whole thing is delayed by heated negotiations over the new members's status within the cabal.




Galan first contacted Mistress Severa, a feat made easy by his new connection to Master Arachnidus's tower -- Severa used to be his apprentice, and is now his chief agent in the World of Man. The beautiful Hermetic gave the cabal all she knew about the Redlands and the zombies, and again implored them to either shit or get out of the kitchen.


Before the magicians were ready to leave the realm of the Terema, Yolander insisted on reaming Arkon All-father out. Queen Ylvana, the captain's wife, advised them to hold a blót in his honour. A bull was slaughtered, and the cabal drank and feasted for a day, during which van Zaar got up and delivered a lengthy harangue telling the Forefather exactly what his job was. Thereafter they left the Far North.


As they still had preparations to make, they decided to set up their forward base with Master Octavian in his flagship, and here they were met by Aegir. The Hermetic fleet still patrols the Erian Gap, and from there the magicians started their deliberations. Galan started with scrying the city of Zalburg, but found his efforts thwarted by his lack of understanding of the Arcanum of Spirits -- the cathedral seemed to be on the other side of the Gauntlet. He would not maintain the connection long enough to attempt a different technique, as his mind was assaulted by the same horrible screaming; this he had earlier encountered when scrying the OUT bases on the Western Isles. After talking to the other magicians, a few plans were laid out for how they could discover what secrets the cathedral held.


Before they got that far however, an argument erupted over the rights and demands of the two newest members of the cabal, Master Velimir and Journeyman Toadface. During the planning of the ritual to scry Zalburg, Master van Zaar discovered that neither were at all familiar with the Arcana of Mind and Space. The main point of contention was to be Mind, and since neither of the freshmen were particularly interested in what they deemed a redundant field of study, the lines were drawn. After days of intense debate, full membership of the Pius Cabal was extended to the two, and Yolander informed the captain that he was to hold a lecture in the Arts of the Mind. 


Thereafter the cabal gathered, and Master Galan created an Arcane bridge, allowing the other wizards to use his magical connection to the city to cast their spells. This was not entirely without risk, as all were now exposed to the Abyssal assault on their minds. Still, they managed to retrieve several useful pieces of information before the captain broke the spell.


The following is now known by the heroes:

• The Gauntlet has engulfed the cathedral, and the Shadow lies very close to the Abyss.
• Mekelrad, the Plague Demon, is held in some sort of force-field in the centre of the cathedral by the Thulists.
• There are more than a thousand living in a walled quarter South West in the city.

Cathedral of the Soul Ascended

Storyteller's note:  Now we are ready for this weekend's  great battle, and if we're really lucky, we might get to see the OUT base on the moon as well. 


I have a few posts already written, and if the gods of technology are kind, I might be able to put them up over the next couple of days -- I've been holding them back since they contain spoilers and information not intended for the players's eyes just yet.


Have a good weekend, people, and good gaming.


[Picture source: 1 Shane Henderson on Flickr; 2 Oprah.com]