The Vision

Right, the main thing is the vis hunt. However, there are minor things first.

Juliette finds the Sisterhood, and may speak to them. I have a feeling that this will be kept secret.

Colette finds faerie places that are abandoned: a spring on Oxnop Beck, just below High Oxnop, to the SE, a pile of stones on White Beacon Hill to the south, an earthwork enclosure on Cringley Hill, and a glade of trees at Shaw Beck. There is also a sense of fay presence, but nothing definite.

Rogan sends Lucia dreams demanding that she have the church in Keld removed.

Jacob summons Gideon home for Passover.

Those are all dealt with. Now, the vis hunt. The source is actually a store held by a magus who fled from Malkurrag last time around. It contains a dozen pawns of IntŽllego vis. There is also a book containing Demon's Eternal Oblivion 60. Possibly also a second one with Circular Ward vs Demons 60. Otherwise, nothing but bones and ghosts.

There are three ghosts: the magus, Haimeric, Julia, his lover, and Matthew, their son. Haimeric fled with them, in an attempt to save their lives. He hid in a cave, and cast Circular Ward from a text, thus protecting them. Yes, we do want the text to survive. Minor demons attacked, and ultimately Malkurrag himself, and he was able to overwhelm the defences, but not to touch the books. The IntŽllego vis survives due to being lost in the fight, although it is now visible, after a small rock fall, in a bronze flask.

No, only one ghost, that of Haimeric. He will ensnare the magi, and enspell them. They will then re-experience Malkurrag's assault, and die in the process. The recreation of Malkurrag is not entirely accurate, but good enough. Those who die during the vision find themselves raised as ghosts until the vision ends, at which point everyone is unharmed, and facing the ghost of Haimeric.

Haimeric is a magus of House Jerbiton. He is reluctant to say where he came from, as he robbed his home covenant (Rosa Aurea). He is short, only five four, and wears practical robes which come down to his knees only: they seem to have been hacked off at that level. His hair is black, and he looks young, vigorous, and scared. Julia is a mundane, but clearly knows all about magic. She is also beautiful, with long blonde hair and all the sign of cosmetic magic. She seems to be in her late twenties, although she looks younger. She is wearing masculine clothes, obviously for convenience, and has a fine gold necklace which she frequently grasps. It has magical abilities of defence, which become obvious. Matthew is about seven years old, and is wearing clothes encrusted with gold thread. These are also enchanted as armour. They are all frightened.

The first demonic assault is a minor demon. Might 20, Soak +10, OK 0/-3/Incap. It attacks with a stench that requires everyone to roll Stm 9+ or spend all their time vomiting (no actions for three rounds after it stops). Corpus resistance stops it, as does being inside the ward. It is bright, vivid green, and drips slime from all over its vaguely humanoid, vaguely frog-like body.

The second assault is three substantial demons, Might 35. Each has Soak +15, Def +10.

OK 0/0 -1/-1, -3, -5, Incap

1 is shaped like a horse, black with red eyes and burning hooves. It breathes fire and smoke which do no damage, but give opponents -3 to hit, and attacks with its hooves. 2 per round.

1St +5 Atk +12 Dam +20

2 appears to be an old woman with long hair, all white and reaching to the ground. Her body, occasionally visible within, is chalk-white and wasted. Mist flows down from her hair, and frost is left on the ground where she walks. Her hideous face has blue lips and black pits for eyes, and she breathes freezing mist (1 point per assault) which does +30 damage. She can also grab, revealing that her arms end in hooks, and draw the victim into her hair. This attack does +30 per round, if successful, and can only be broken out of by an opposed Str roll.

Str +6 Atk +4 Dam Spec. Always attacks last.

3 appears as a commanding man with swarthy skin and black hair. A black band sits on his brow, and he wears chain armour that has been blackened, apparently by soot. His large sword glows a dull red, and heat shimmers off it. Each hand has six fingers, and black claws instead of fingernails. He can command people to fight for him at a cost of three points per attempt. Magic resistance only. Those who succumb fight for him until dead. He also has two attacks per round with his sword, the first and last blow of the round.

Atk +10 Dam +18

When they are defeated, Malkurrag himself appears. He flies in from the south, and lands in front of the cave. Malkurrag is roughly humanoid, with bat-like wings and a third arm that extends from the centre of his chest. Parts of his skin are furred, parts scaled, and parts look like human skin. They are a revolting mix of colours: sickly greens, violent reds, rotten browns and greens. Each arm ends in a clawed hand, and a smoking liquid drips constantly from each claw. His head is humanoid, with flashing green eyes glowing from within, and a normal mouth. Around the top of his head are fifteen horns, in groups of three. One of each group curves down, one sticks straight out, and one curves up. His legs end in shining bronze hooves, which leave footprints in the rock. He is also twenty feet tall.

Haimeric immediately begins casting the spell. Malkurrag has a Might of 75 for the vision (lower than really), and Haimeric uses the name Malkurrag in the casting. Malkurrag waits for him to finish, then laughs at him, mocking him with thinking that the true name of a demon was so easy to discover. He offers those there a last chance to sell their souls, and then attacks. He attacks purely physically. He has six attacks per round, a horn gouge, three claws, and two stomps.

Horn: Atk +10 Dam +25

Claw: Atk +18 Dam +15, +5 on following round.

Stomp: Atk +13 Dam +20

Def +14 Soak +30 OK 0/0/0/0/0 -1/-1/-1/-1 -3/-3/-3 -5/-5 Incap

In the attack, it is obvious that he cannot touch the spell books, a fact which enrages him. He ignores Haimeric at first, going for Matthew and Julia. Matthew survives a direct stomp, which shows that the clothes are magical. Julia grips the necklace firmly, and Malkurrag's first attacks strike against an invisible barrier. These defences are soon defeated, however, and the two are brutally killed, Matthew ripped in half and Julia crushed into the ground. Then Haimeric is impaled on the horns, and held aloft, struggling, for a couple of rounds.

When everyone is dead, they find themselves back in the cave. Haimeric tells them that Malkurrag was only banished, not destroyed, and warns them to beware. He also shows them the books and the vis that remains. Each book is enchanted with 120 protection from demons, which is how come they survived.