Nova Semitae Loose Ends

Ars Magica: Nova Semitae Saga
GM
Mark
Game Start
Anno Domini MCCXX, hiems A.D. 1220, winter 5 Neanne 1, Hiems
Game Year
Anno Domini MCCXXXV, aestas A.D. 1236, summer 7 Aulus 2, Aestas
Magi of Nova Semitae
Geoffroy de Dreux of Jerbiton Joshua Levi of Verditius Magni of Flambeau Obscurus Ignis of Flambeau NPC Magi Aulus · Neanne · Fr. Thomas · Vitria Apprentices Ysabelo discipulus Aulus Esyllt discipula Geoffrey Sigrun discipula Magni Hermetic Status
Companions
Lady Angharad ferch Madog, Princess of Powys Fadog Ritter Sigmund, German ex-Crusader Sir Daniele d'Audrieu, Norman merchant Sir William Cornwell, English ex-Crusader
Other Characters
Covenfolk · Agents The Redcaps · Notable NPCs Chart of Languages Spoken Notable Animals
Guests
Hortense of House Bonisagus
The Covenant
Hermetic Covenant Charter · Membership Record Record of Offices · Covenant Service Council Voting Records · Hermetic Politics Stonehenge Tribunal Mundane Mundane Geography · Mundane Politics Village of Melverley · Melverley Castle Village Laws · Village Rumors Medieval Farming
Covenant Resources
Covenant Library · Varana's Tomb Hospital · Hospital Library Vis Sources and Stores Covenant Magical Items · Mundane Wealth Classes and Training · Covenant Experts Covenant Mechanics
Other
Ars Magica House Rules Ars Magica Expanded Notes Campaign Log · Loose Ends Ars Magica PC Reference
Player Resources (PDFs)
Experience Point Worksheet Character Sheet (Variant 1) Character Sheet (Variant 2) Experience Point Chart

This page lists on-going unresolved plot hooks.

Vis Hunting

The covenant's vis expenditures are at or over its vis income. It should locate some new sources.

Two main ways to do this include:

• Using the Magic Lore skill, magi can trace down rumours of vis sources out of stories and legends of the area. Good rolls can include time of year, and specifics to indicate when and how to harvest it.
• Using Tribunal Records, vis sources registered or fought over by covenants that no longer exist can be recovered.

The War with Loch Leglean

Magni and Obscurus Ignis have received notice that the war start date will be in 1226, a year before the next Tribunal. Obscurus Ignis attempted to argue for an attack in March, but was unsuccessful in persuading Aduro that this was a good idea.

Missing Magi

As the PC magi know, the entirety of the covenant Founders are missing, as are a number of more recent members. The covenant is developing a reputation for being cursed. Being the only Jewish-majority covenant is only fueling the rumors.

What is happening to all the magi of Nova Semitae?

No information: Aislinn, Justen, Litha

Julissa:

• Journal and notes discovered in her lab once the guardian was dealt with. She noted that her grandfather (Maribus) was last seen headed upriver to Lake Vyrnwy

Maribus:

• At Lake Vyrnwy, the 'King of the Lake', a faerie/elemental beast confirmed that it sank the boat Maribus was riding and that it has him, or at least can return him. He demanded blood from one of his line, or one years' harvest of his Aquam vis from his underwater lab.
• After collecting the vis, the King of the Lake reported that Maribus had wandered away from the pool and transported covenant members to an abandoned roman town where Maribus was discovered missing much of his memories. He has been returned to House Mercere.

The Abandoned Roman Town

While searching for Maribus, the magi were transported to a hilltop town featuring a Roman town that was apparently abandoned. The foliage suggests a location somewhere in Europe as opposed to the Middle East or North Africa, but the magi did not stay and explore for very long.

Currently the only way there is via the King of Lake Vyrnwy, though two flagstones from the road have been retrieved. They do not allow transport to the regio, however, as Geoffrey made the attempt.

Chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Fr. Thomas raised this without permission from the local bishop, particularly as there was no defined 'local bishop'. Due to a realignment of the covenant towards Wales, this is now more certain. The chapel could become a full church, but as it lacks a full-time priest it is only a chapel. (Fr. Thomas celebrates mass when he can, but is often very busy.) Bartolomeo del Imola, already an acolyte and follower of Fr. Thomas, is an ideal candidate. However, he is a foreigner, and does not speak any of the local languages well. The bishop may very well decide to assign a priest of his own choosing, perhaps to keep an eye on the strangers.

Bishop Reiner died in 1224, however, and the Cathedral deans will vote in Bishop Abraham in 1225. The covenant will now need to forge a relationship with him in order to select a priest for the Chapel.

Once a proper priest is assign, the Chapel will be upgraded to a full Church.

Sir William and Lady Martha

In 1221, Sir William intervened in a local matter involving a widow and two more powerful knights pressing in on her, hoping to acquire the land she is holding on her own to add to their own wealth. The two rival knights are Lord Michael of Pontesbury, and Lord Roger of Ratlinghope. To stave off their claim attempts, they arranged for Sir William to become betrothed to her Lady Martha's daughter, Catherine, who was only 13 at the time.

In 1223, Catherine is 15 and rapidly approaching the age where she would become properly married. This remains an outstanding issue for Sir William. Catherine is sent to the newly formed court of Princess Angharad, where she serves as a lady-in-waiting. This delays any decision involving her marriage to Sir William (or anyone else for that matter) for a little while.

The Reliquary from Constantinople

In 1222, the covenant investigated a rumor of a village starting to act 'weird'. Through various investigations, it was discovered that diabolists were stalking the town looking for a additional human sacrifices. They rescued a teenage girl from the cultists, and discovered that the reliquary in the village church was actually crafted by a Verditius and houses a demon. They have managed to convince the local priest to release it for study.

Neanne studied this early in 1223 and announced a number of discoveries. It remains in the covenant awaiting final disposition by the magi.

Early in 1224, Joshua spent time recreating the relic to give a convincing fake back to the village so that they wouldn't miss it. The actual relic with the resident demon is being stored in the covenant's secured room along with its Parma Magica tomes for safety and to keep the demon suppressed and trapped.

As of 1225, the reliquary is still residing at the covenant awaiting Aulus' duties in Rome, where he will take the reliquary to be gifted to St. Peter's Basilica, where it is hoped the demon will be trapped until Judgement Day.

Khras-Nagar

Early in 1223 while returning from a visit to Angharad, some covenant members discovered a small regio on top of a hill. What appeared simply as a monolith in the mundane world, was a humanoid statue rooted to the hill in the regio. This turned out to be Khras-Nagar, a man of ancient history, cursed to be in his current form by the 'old gods'. He will remain in statue form until his curse is broken -- begging forgiveness for his hubris (a story he is forced to recite) from a descendant of the tribe he is from.

He dates to pre-Roman Britain, so the covenant will need to be creative in recovering information about where his people dispersed to.

A visit to the Isle of Man with a powerful fae creature that they had previously encounter revealed that a particular trip into the faerie realm may allow the magi to 'replay' his story and see where the descendants may be.

Visits to two faerie courts have yielded some clues. The nearby faerie court featuring the musical competitions have offered some help in finding their way into the faerie realm, suggesting that the magi prepare and return in a station of transition.

Angharad's Kidnapping

While Angharad was successfully rescued and married to off to Geoffrey, the question remains: who were the kidnappers, and why did they kidnap her in the first place?

Some clues found in pursuing them:

• The main opponent was a Hermetic magus
• He spoke latin with a slight french (Norman) accent
• His name is Francis
• He was overheard speaking to someone else

Angharad would know the following additional details:

• They were planning something large
• They intimated that they were going to kill her
• The magus Francis had a headband that allowed him to speak to a distant third party; it sounded like they were plotting something. She is not sure if Francis was a minion, co-plotter, or mastermind.
• They seemed not to be too surprised at being followed, but were not expecting as large a party

The Hospital

Lady Angharad has commissioned a hospital and has asked the covenant to found it and administer it. They will get to keep its proceeds with the stipulation that all are welcome at the hospital; that it not be restricted to those with means. She has offered a location on her lands, some 30 acres, and initial funds to begin.

The Council has voted to accept the offer in Spring 1225. They have sent some people to southern France to seek out doctors, apothecaries, and books on Medicine to establish a solid foundation for care. Sir Daniele, Louis, and Jeanne de Dreux are leading a party to network and seek out what's needed.

The Council has also voted to use covenant vis for raising the building itself once the time comes.