Pulse: Winter 1221

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==Declared Actions==
Declared actions for Winter	Declared actions for Winter
Ambrosius 	
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There is a great deal that needs to be done to set up the covenant, and Ambrosius is convinced that the best thing he can do to help that along, is to provide the tools to the grogs to make it that much easier. This season, Ambrosius will spend setting up a basic lab in his tower so that he can start working on tools for the grogs post haste.
: Hooray! Good man that. --Corbonjnl 06:42, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
With the arrival of the redcap, Ambrosius will be seeking to do the following:
# Send a message to Harco regarding his desire to help Llewys become a Red Cap, seeking guidance. The message will be detailed int he Correspondence section of the library.
# Ask the Red Cap if he knows where I might find a book or two on elementals, specifically auram and aquam. If he does not know, I'll ask him to investigate for me, and let me know upon his, or another Red Cap's return.
# Ask the Red Cap's advice on other magi in the region of Britannia, and what they might be interested in that we might offer, and what they might have to offer in trade.
--Tim 18:24, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
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Warren 	
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While travelling with Marcus, Warren will be paying particular interest to gathering any rumors about activities on the Mynd, related to the covenant or not. Additionally, he'll buy a meal for the old poacher and see about improving that relationship - perhaps the old geezer can keep an eye out for our interests.
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Llewys 	
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The time has come that Llewys needs to start learning a trade, and he and Ambrosius had a long discussion regarding the options. Llewys would like to remain in the magical community, but as he does not appear to be gifted, that left him a number of job choices as coven folk. As the discussion wore on, it became increasingly clear that Llewys's skills and desires were not lining up with any one job. Near midnight, Ambrosius presented him with another option: Become a Redcap. After a short description of the little that Ambrosius knew about house Mercere, Llewys latched onto the idea of travel and adventure. Ambrosius will seek two things: First, if Longinus would be willing to instruct Llewys in Mercere Lore for a season, and; If the other founders would allow that to serve as a season of service to the covenant, should Longinus desire it to be so.
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Bedo 	
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The structure for a laboratory having been built last season, Bedo will start on fitting out his laboratory this season. He needs a laboratory to feel happy, and will be painstakingly detailed and precise in making sure that everything is right - even if only simple in designs and fittings so far.
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Longinus 	
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The 'formal' bulk of the season will be teaching the scribe MT. 
: If I understand p164 correctly, Longinus ought to be able to use the scribe as hands while teaching him basic MT, he'd get 6exp, instead of 13, but that should be enough? --Samuel<Talk> 00:24, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
How much vis has been recovered? Enough for an Aegis yet? And/or a 'proper' wizards tower? These structures we've been able to put up so far are all very well, but we don't really have the skills to do a really impressive job the way a proper magical tower ought to be. 
If no other requirements, reading in the library...
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Geoffrey 	
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Organise the shield Grogs to Train together as a fighting unit whenever they can be spared from other duties.
Explore the local area, particularly the approaches to the Mynd away from Little Stretton.
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Marcus 	
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A lot of this stuff depends on how far we've progressed in getting the covenant structure in place, but ...
*work hard to arrange supplies for the upcoming winter.
*try to move ahead quickly with getting the mundane structure in place by (mostly) mundane means, so we have a point of contact that seems reasonable to the mundanes nearby.
*As winter approaches, start to work on setting up his lab -- if the structure is in place.
*Attend Mass at least once/week in Church Stretton. Write some music and flog it to the choir. Is there a choir? Any good? Do they need a choirmaster?
*Suggest keeping most of our livestock in the lowest regio level so we aren't competing with the mundanes for pasturage. 
*Blathmac will spend a good deal of time trying to talk/make friends with the magical goats. Are they at all amenable to "domestication?" Can we milk them? If so, want do they want in exchange? 
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Phaedrus 	
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What needs to be done?
As before, Phaedrus will read anything he gets his hands on.
As before, Studying the Rego summa is Phaedrus personal priority.
As before, Phaedrus will be using his Rego skills to handle mundane troubles, eg;
* tilling earth
* distilling/cleaning any liquid ought to be a non-fatiguing spont.
* separating earth and stone of different kinds if needed should also be non-fatiguing sponts
* Splitting logs into useful pieces ought to be non-fatiguing sponts in the 3:rd lvl regio, or cermonicaly in the 2:nd regio level. (But should not be neccessary since the carpenter should have some excelent saws by now.)
Depending on what the surveys of the area have turned up by now, there ought to be something money making to invest some rego ideas in. From what I saw of pigments most of the trouble with producing them was in pulverizing them, digging them up or distilling them, all of which should be within Phaedrus skill set. (Neither should have to take too much of Phaedrus time, trouble ought rather to be selling them w.o. dumping the market. Remember, Phaedrus has some bargaining skills, so he should know what is reasonable.)
Studying the Animal summa for a third of a seasson should give him lvl 5 non-fatiguing sponts in the first regio level and thus is a priority.
(Would be usefull eg. for setting up magical "fences" for mundane livestock.)
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Mnemosyne 	
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Mnemosyne will begin setting up her lab on the top level of her tower, which should net her a basic lab at the end of season, with all it's -3 glory.
Gruffydd will be training his Merry Munchkin - Lleufer, in the arts of the bow. Training Source Quality: 10. Gruffydd himself should earn Exposure XP during this time. Gruffydd insists that the rest of his Merry Munchkins do something productive and sees that there is ample opportunity to get them a grounding in some cover skills. Bright Meryl is put to work assisting Gertrude the Seamstress in setting up her looms, preparing wool or whatever and helping here and there: Training Source Quality: 13 (good teacher). Gertrude earns exposure XP. Just Rhys is put to work helping Edwyn the carpenter, in whatever duties he is doing that season, carpentry or wood turning. Edwyn earns exposure XP. Training Source Quality: 7. Nenya the cook is given Rhianwen as an extra pair of hands and she is forced to practice her craft under a number of critical eyes, or rather tongues. Practice Source Quality: 5. Arvel and Anest are put to the task of helping Emma with her pigs whenever needed, Blathmac in the stables (but not up on the 3rd layer of the regio), or generally running errands and fetching carrying for the kitchens or wherever else they can make themselves semi-useful. Being the youngest two, and both rather strong minded, both would rather goof off - so Exposure XP is more than enough for these two.
Nenya, apart from being assisted by Rhianwen, an extra pair of hands settles down to train Wirt the Kitchen Boy how to do something useful about cooking, more than just how to scrub pots. Training Source Quality: 12 (apt student). Nenya should earn exposure XP during this time.
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==Results==
Declared actions for Winter
The winter season is rather quiet all told, for few are on the road, and even fewer labour without in the cold. The fields lie untended, while hunters and woodsmen go about their work.
At the start of the season, before the weather worsens too much, a young and bright eyed redcap, following directions sent by Longinus, arrives at Church Stretton, and makes himself known to Brother Marcus. It is clear by the look on his face when he enters the regio that he rather hoped the magi were enjoying somewhat more clement weather within their little bubble world. Instead, he found himself faced with rather exemplary winter weather.
He is much pleased to meet Longinus, and the two converse at length. By and by he tries to take a moment with each of the magi, and even spends a little time with Llewys, telling him some fantastically tall tales about the life of a redcap. Eventually, it transpires that his reason for favouring their spring covenant at such a time of year was partly hopes about warmer weather, partly about meeting Longinus, but mostly because there was a little favour he desired of Mnemosyne.
In a short ceremony, Mnemosyne bestowed upon the redcap a note 
In addition, the members of the covenant have a number of other matters they must attend to. The newly notarised redcap then witnesses that the covenant has a charter which has been duly signed by all present. A further contract is produced by the young Mercere which requires the covenant to give hospitality to any member of the order who visits them for at least three days per year, and once this has also been signed, formally accepts the covenant's registration with House Mercere.
The rest of the season sees most of the magi closetted away. Ambrosius, Bedo, and Mnemosyne work hard assembling the beginnings of their laboratories, while Phaedrus sits by the window and pores over the text of the Rego Summa. Longinus has a far more social time of it, spending the month teaching young Bartleby the fundamentals of magic theory. In his spare moments, he nips outside to help struggling peasants deal with the sudden rush in demand for firewood, and idly ponders ways to use his abilities to earn the covenant a bit more silver.
Geoffrey rides out with a couple of grogs and explores Botte Street, the Portway, and the various other means of rapidly negotiating the local countryside. He also engages in a bit of grog training, and tries to batter some martial discipline into them.
Of the magi, Marcus alone ventures out, with Warren in tow. He undertakes a season of service for the covenant attending to the rather critical task of ensuring that the covenant has everthing it needs to survive the winter months, while maintaining his identity as a friar. The very depths of winter find Marcus back at the covenant, pottering around in the room that shall become his laboratory. During this time, he gets around a third of laboratory set up.
Warren keeps his ear to the ground as he travels with Marcus, and hears a few strange rumours. Apparently, a lord has been seen riding about the area who doesn't seem to hark from any of the local hundreds, and there has been a bit of a rise in crime in the area. The covenants purchases of diverse things seem to have made the peasants a bit more optimistic about their lot and dreading the next tithe far less.
On the morning of the Winter Solstice, the magi gather to erect the Aegis of the Hearth ritual, and find three small wooden pawns containing vim vis tucked into the jacket of the laboratory text bearing the ritual. The unanticipated find means that the magi can cast the aegis without resorting to using any of their store of rego vis. Five chilly magi wrapped up in Nenya's woollen creations step forth into the snow and at length raise a magical defence over the covenant.
At some point Blathmac heads off along the Mynd to chat with some goats. Gruffyd's little band disperse for the winter. The children variously make themselves useful around the covenant, while Gruffyd takes Lleufer aside and begins to teach him the finer points of hunting with a bow.