Journal for 1191
Spring
Laertes and myself set out with three of the champions to try and locate some Rego vis to help power the aegis of the hearth. Over the course of the season we were successful, locating a rook of the copper coloured oak leaves. During one of the nights I heard a noise in the forest and had a glimpse of some movement as if we were being spied upon. I quietly followed in that direction and with my second sight was able to see a man who seemed to have a wolf mask on the top of his head. As he had aroused my suspicion I wove a perdo corpus enchantment but it had no effect upon him and I lost him in the chase that ensued. Laertes was not happy about my decision to pursue the intruder without waking him first and demanded that I never do so again. I had to decline him as I will be bound to the will of none save myself and he did not press the matter. Later three bowmen assailed us, and I was struck in the first volley. Zvonimir took four arrow strikes and was stabbed as he tried to close on our attackers but even with such injury he swiftly slew one of the men. Another of them escaped us but we captured the third. We decided that I should take a lock of his hair and Laertes some of his blood before we left him unconscious in the woods. It would be useful to trace where he came from at some time in the future.
At the end of spring we journeyed to the ghost village once more to see whether there were any further signs of disturbance. There were some tracks that Milko found and he believed people had been moving around in the last year. We also found one spirit and destroyed it before exhuming and cremating its corpse.
Summer
I had agreed at the winter council that I would accompany Lucca and Loquellamedes to the strange island off the coast of Constantinople that the redcap Mycaelis told us of last summer. In turn Lucca had agreed to accompany me in my journey to Herakea to aid that covenant against hedge wizards and investigate the silver lake. We also took two of the champions with us, Yevgeny and Boyko. The journey to Varna took a week and there were a number of rough watchtowers erected along the road. It is a big city with a well-fortified harbour so there was not great fear about the war but it was clear that taking a ship to Constantinople would not be easy. Yevgeny went to speak with the merchant Leonidas who we have had business with before and he arranged a meeting with Lucca. I understand that this did not go so well, as the man reacted badly to Lucca's gift, and an eventual price of 8 solidii for a place on a Pisan ship was the result. The champions were bought new clothes and shaved so they would not look so clearly like Bulgars when we reached that Greek city. For the week long journey we were confined to the hold and the conditions were clearly not considered comfortable by my sodales who eventually cast spells to raise a breeze within the confines.
Constantinople is larger than I could have imagined and all manner of men and goods can be found there. We managed to locate a room in a tavern although the price was steep. It seems that the innkeepers are not the only thieves as Lucca was robbed of a ring by a small child but with the aid of Boyko was able to recover it with little difficulty. Loquellamedes made journey to the covenant of Constantinople where his Pater resides in order to gain us a guide, and was accompanied by Lucca. Each of the magi at that covenant has their own entrance and Izekuus' is made up of some haunted cisterns where spirits assail any whose face they can see. Wearing a mask my sodales passed through unmolested although I understand that in doing so Lucca broke some vow that he had made in the past. Loquellamedes met with Izekuus and was granted the service of a young man named Peter. Lucca met with Maga Zaffronia of House Tytalus and was granted exit along her own path.
Peter was sent out into the city to locate a ship for the journey and some gem dealers and jewellers who might be interested in buying the covenant gems that we were carrying. These we managed to sell for 61 solidii. Peter did locate a man who had seen the island, an old sailor from the emperor's fleet who said that the song they heard as they approached was so mournful they all had to turn away. Whilst this man said he would never return, plied with ale he did give directions. Peter managed to secure us passage on a small boat whose captain was greedy for coin. The weather was good and the journey took just a few hours. Most of us stopped our ears with waxed cloth but Lucca and Loquellamedes did not. The song that Loquellamedes heard was enough for him to demand that we turn away from our endeavour and there was some fierce argument between he and Lucca. Eventually a resolution was reached and we pressed on again.
The island on this side was made up of cliffs and rocks with no place to land. As we began to circle we spied, high in the rocks, a golden woman with bronze hair. On the southern side there was a broad sandy beach, empty save for a small, rotted boat. As we scanned for any sign of danger we saw a glint in the sand that when observed through a spyglass could be seen to be a part of a man's skeleton. Boyko and myself stepped off our boat and walked up the beach. Neither of us saw the disturbance in the sand that was spotted by our companions and were taken by surprise when a giant crab, perhaps the size of a bear, sprang from the sand and grasped Boyko in one of it's pincers, doing him great damage. I stabbed at it to no avail but Lucca cast a crystal dart at it and forced the creature to release Boyko. By now Yevgeny had rushed to our aid and stabbed it firmly with his spear forcing the monster back beneath the sand. We did not linger and hurriedly pulled Boyko back to the boat. Yevgeny used his skills in chirurgy on his friend aided by a potion that I had. As we rowed the vessel away from the island my two sodales once more listened to the song although it certainly seemed to move Loquellamedes more than Lucca.
As we returned towards Constantinople a customs vessel intercepted us, and the combination of my appearance and the presence of the gift aboard our boat, not to mention a badly injured man, meant that they chose to detain us within a cell on their ship. Reasoning that we would be in grave danger if we were taken before a magistrate I decided that we must make our escape whilst still far beyond the dominion. It was a simple task to destroy our bindings and the door to our prison. My sodales had spells that could call a man to slumber and shrink an opponent to the size of a child. Coupled with my own magic this was sufficient to enable us to reach the deck although Yevgeny took a heinous injury whilst engaged in close combat. A dozen men had been bested below decks and we had to deal with perhaps the same number again above, several as they attempted to flee in our own small boat. I could not allow any survivors to take word of what had happened and so I took the necessary action. The crew of our own vessel were initially reluctant to aid us but it did not take a great deal of persuasion to show them the safest path. I sunk the customs ship as we boarded our own boat, having liberated a number of official seals beforehand. This was useful as we were stopped once more on our approach but the seal saw us swiftly through. We were able, with the aid of Constantinople covenant, to stabilise both of the champions and arrange a ship back to Varna, although we did not return until the beginning of the winter.
Whilst we were away in summer I understand that there were many arguments in the village, with several items going missing, a goat poisoned and stones throne at children. Laertes made an investigation with the aid of Mestitia. While in the village stones were cast at them, but they could identify no person responsible. A ward against demons was raised and instantly the stones fell away. They later found a woman whose body had been drained dry of her blood and theorised that these were the actions of a fell creature called a Vampyr. These creatures drink blood and when bloated return to the grave in which they hide. With the aid of Ionna they were able to locate this creature during the day and following legend destroyed it by cutting off its head and burning the body.
After some tedious wrangling with Lucca's merchant contact we were finally able to reach the glorious city that is Constantinople, home of the covenant where I was trained as a magus. My pater Izekuus was most helpful and with the aid of a guide provided by him we were able to find one of the sailors who had discovered the island we sought. He reported hearing a mournful lament of such great sadness that he and his fellow crewmen resolved to disobey the Emperor's direct command, despite the possibly fatal consequences of such an act. The man said that he had felt strongly that it would be a crime to disturb the singer. Encouragingly, he reported that the isle was only a couple of days sail from the city, so we hired a small ship and crew to take us there.
After a day's sail across the clear blue waters, we caught sight of the island on the horizon and I instructed the sailors, using my limited greek, to stop up their ears with the waxed cloth that we had prepared specially. Gelidus also chose to seal his ears, but Lucca and I did not. As we neared the island we espied a bronze-skinned woman on the rocks by the northern shore and heard music. While it appears Lucca's parma was strong enough to keep out any supernatural influence from the song, mine did not. The song that I heard was in Arabic and told the sad tale of a kindly peasant man who lived in a village not far from Constantinople covenant. He was renowned in his community as a very wise man who was always willing to help others less fortunate than himself and so was much loved and respected. One day he came across a gravely injured man lying by the roadside and carried him back to his house. There, over a long period of time, he nursed the stranger back to health only to have his kindness repaid with evil as the newly recovered man slew him and ransacked his hut for valuables. It later transpired that the man was a brigand who had been struck down by officers of the law. The song concluded by telling how the man's shade now dwells on the island, shunning all contact, and wishing only to be left alone.
This seemed to me at that time to be the saddest song that I had ever heard and I ordered the captain to turn back, so that the privacy of this unlucky man's shade could be respected, for had he not earned his solitude after all his charitable works? Lucca, whose parma had kept out the supernatural elements of the song, did not share my desire to turn back and attempted to countermand my order, as Gelidus, with his ears still blocked, attempted to make sense of what was going on. The poor captain, whose ears were also plugged, grew quite confused at this point, but eventually we agreed to have him take the boat out of earshot of the island and its mysterious singer. It was not overly long before the magic of the song wore off and I was once again master of my own emotions. After a short discussion with Lucca and Gelidus we agreed to return to the island, this time with all our ears blocked. Unfortunately Boyko was sorely wounded by a crab of unusually large size shortly after landing so we were forced to turn back. However, as we left, I unstopped my ears and listened to the song once more. The lyrics and their effect were the same as before and I was left with tears in my eyes as the boat sailed away.
As we passed back through Constantinople, I visited with my pater once more and told him of the tale that the singer had spun. Intriguingly he confirmed that it was indeed a true tale and that the murdered man had been known to him, though he would add no interpretation of his own. There is much still to be learned from this island, though at least we have confirmed that it and the singer exist, and also have direct experience of her song. I shall have to return as soon as is possible to try and unravel some more of the mystery that surrounds this place.
Autumn
I have not heard of any event of note happening during the autumn.
Winter
Hristo was still away but the remainder of the magi attended the council meeting. Laertes was interested in the tale we told of our journey and I would not be surprised if he accompanies us on our next trip for we will certainly return to the mysterious island. The harvest was bad again but we have sufficient reserves to remain not overly concerned at this time. We discussed the activities that we would perform over the forthcoming year and I agreed to once again spend my winter within the village, this remaining a service to the covenant.
The chilled winter wind gusts over the keep walls, carrying with it a fresh deluge of snow. The winters here are bitterly cold as ever, but as I sit here scribing the events of the last few months, it strikes me how much this settlement on the lake shores has become a home to Anna and myself. I believe it first dawned on me upon seeing the Tower Curtis, after returning from my harrowing journey to Constantinople. The other thing that has become apparent is that Anna is growing up so quickly, it galls me that I have to travel so much and leave her alone for so long, it is not fair on her and knowing that it is probably not for the last time is of little comfort. Still perhaps in a few years time she will be interested in travelling abroad with me and seeing something of the world. However I digress...
With the council meeting and the casting of the Aegis out of the way, most of us took refuge from the icy winds in our sanctums. I found myself in the warm surroundings of the covenant forge, producing an enchantment "The Bracer of Primal Defence" for Magus Laertes. I did not envy Magus Gelidus, who once again had volunteered to patrol the village as a covenant service. It was during one of these patrols that Gelidus was approached by a farmer living on the outskirts of the village. He reported seeing a strange flame moving upon the hills near his home. I understand that Gelidus sent word back to alert the covenant and headed off to investigate further. Venturing out to the area it was last seen, he observed a large flame moving around of its own accord. Rendering himself invisible, he travelled up the hill to gain a better vantage. Espying there a large moving body of flame, he later reported that with his second sight he was able to make out a humanoid form within the blazing inferno. The flaming being made no aggressive action and gave no indication it had sensed Gelidus's presence. After sometime the creature slowly moved off into the wilderness and was soon lost from sight.
In the mean time word had reached the covenant of the sighting, Loquellamedes and Ioanna elected to venture out and catch up with Gelidus. Upon their return we all entered into a discussion about the nature of these elementals, it seemed there were reports of encounters with these elemental forces in previous journal entries. Ioanna related that there were also rumours of tribal shaman being able to control such creatures. Once again mention was made of the deep mountain regio's being weaker in winter and that many strange creatures are often blown out of their natural habitats by the strong winds. Having seen some of the beasts that make the mountains their home, I am in no great rush to venture into Kolyada's realm.
Thankfully the remainder of the season past uneventfully
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