To the Dark Tower

Above, the sky is filled to the horizon with wrinkled gray clouds that race overhead like the mottled underbelly of a great beast swimming through the heavens; endlessly, blindly, searching for food, oblivious to the tiny dramas crawling beneath.

Looking downwards, down the sheer face of the tall stone tower, a small group of figures is seen dismounting from their horses at its base. One figure holds the reins of his companions' horses, as the others stride purposefully across the broken ground toward the tower gate. The horses' nervous whinnies spiral up into the gray sky, and carry up to those watching from the parapets above.

It is the end of day and the men's long shadows, faint and ghostly, stretch out to touch the tower gate long before the men reach it. The shadows dance as the men draw swords and throw off their traveling cloaks. Beneath are emblazoned tabards — bright yellows, greens, and blues, embroidered with furled leaves, fierce beasts, and crazed geometries. All proud signs proclaiming ownership and descent, glorious deeds done, and threats of deeds yet to come. Deeper still, beneath the tabards, there are glimpses of the darker, solid, glistening patina of armor. The lead figure reaches forward with a gauntleted fist and bashes at the tower gates.

Those watching from the tower heights, above, exchange glances. The younger sentinel races downstairs to the laboratories…

Sir Erwan and his companions have arrived at the player characters' covenant. Sir Erwan is a noble, the younger son of Henry II of Avagnor, Count of Penthièvre.

Sir Erwan had a vision which revealed to him that this towering wizard's fortress — the covenant — on the border of his father's

lands is a terrible evil. His vision revealed that the sorcery and rituals cast in the equinox dawn by these wizards will bring death and devastation to his father's lands and peoples. Being a direct man, and a highly trained and skilled warrior, Sir Erwan has resolved to solve this problem in the most straight-forward manner he can think of. He has left his father's court and traveled on a quest to the wizard's tower. He intends to challenge and defeat the magi in single combat.

The magi need to respond, somehow, to this challenge. The significance of this story is not really whether the magi can slay Sir Erwan (they almost certainly can), but about whether they choose to slay a major local noble and deal with the consequences, or find some other way to solve the problem. Whatever the magi do, Sir Erwan's quest to their tower embroils them in the noble courts. This hook thus serves to introduce the Lords of Men to the saga.

Sir Erwan has been guided to the covenant, to challenge the magi to combat, by the terrible vision he has seen that prophesies the destruction of his father's lands due to the arcane meddling of the magi.

The exact source of Sir Erwan's vision is left to your troupe to decide. It may not be true. It may even be that the magi's response to Sir Erwan fulfills the prophecy. There could be a Divine or Infernal source for the vision. Another possibility is that Hermetic enemies of the covenant have sent the vision. The visions might also be the result of spells cast by court wizards, either hedge wizards from Sir Erwan's father's court or from a foreign court.

Regardless of its source, Sir Erwan's vision is accurate at least in the sense that if the covenant is normally hidden somehow from the mundane world (perhaps within a regio), then the vision reveals the covenant's existence and guides him to the correct location.

Sir Erwan is a respected member of his father's court. He gets on well with his father and wider family, and he is noted for his chivalry and noble demeanor. Sir Erwan also has a reputation for being wildly confident of his own abilities as a warrior — on the other hand, it seems that his confidence is usually very well placed.

Sir Erwan has a wife, Lady Danielle, and two infant sons, Alain and Roland.

As Sir Erwan is himself a younger son he will not inherit his father's lands (unless his elder brothers are killed). However, Sir Erwan does live on his own manor and collects taxes and rents from a cluster of coastal villages within his father's lands. These taxes are collected in his father's name, and Sir Erwan dutifully forwards a proportion of these taxes to his father. Sir Erwan uses the remaining taxes to support his own household. Sir Erwan expects that when his brother inherits this situation will continue. However, he is not particularly interested in the detail of his manorial lands, preferring to engage in fighting, hunting, feasting and other noble pursuits, and so devolves much of the administration to his servants. Sir Erwan's peasants admire his prowess as a hunter but otherwise have nothing particularly good or bad to say about him.

Penthièvre is a county along the northern coast of Brittany (in the Normandy Tribunal; see The Lion and the Lily, page 38). The coast is rugged and broken by numerous islands, and the county extends inland into thickly forested hills. Sir Erwan's father, Henry II of Avagnor inherited the county in 1212, when Sir Erwan's grandfather Alain killed himself by leaping off a cliff.

Sir Erwan's family is a minor branch of the Duke of Brittany's family, and were granted the county in the early 11th century.

For this story, Sir Erwan is the son of the ruler of the county,

barony, or some similar feudal unit that the covenant is either in or neighboring. Sir Erwan's father does not need to be the feudal overlord of the covenant (although he can be). The only criteria is that Sir Erwan's family owns land geographically near the covenant, so that the "evil" inhabitants (the player characters) are a plausible threat.

Even if the covenant was constructed with "permission" from Sir Erwan's father, an ancestor, or another noble, Sir Erwan still considers the magi a threat. The magi may need to re-assert any such rights in a court and still need to deal with the immediate problem of angry knights at the covenant gate. Of course, the covenant's legal rights might be revoked in the light of either their actions or Sir Erwan's visions.

Change the details of Sir Erwan's family to whatever is suitable for your saga. There is no difficulty with moving Sir Erwan and his companions to any other place in Mythic Europe — just replace Area Lore and Language Abilities, names, and family backgrounds as appropriate.

Sir Erwan has a Greater Malediction of Hereditary Madness. This curse has affected all the male members of his family for the last three generations. This Greater Malediction has no real effect in

Characteristics: Int +1, Per 0, Pre +1, Com 0, Str +1, Sta +1, Dex +2, Qik +2

Size: 0 Age: 34 (34)

Confidence Score: 2 (5)

Virtues and Flaws: Knight; Wealthy; Affinity with Single Weapon, Educated, Improved Characteristics, Self-Confident, Tough, Warrior; Greater Malediction (hereditary madness), Oath of Fealty, Overconfident; Visions

Personality Traits: Confident +6, Chivalrous +3

Reputations: Valiant Knight +5 (nobles), Huntsman +3 (local) Combat:

Gauntlet: Init +2, Attack +5, Defense +6, Damage +3

Long Sword: Init +4, Attack +15, Defense +12, Damage +7

Heater Shield: Init -, Attack -, Defense +3, Damage -

Great Sword: Init +4, Attack +12, Defense +9, Damage +10

Short Bow: Init +1, Attack +11, Defense +8, Damage +7

Soak: +13 (Sta + Tough + Full Chain)

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6– 10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 2 (falconry), Area Lore: Brittany 3 (Penthièvre), Artes Liberales 1 (rhetoric), Athletics 3 (racing), Awareness 3 (spotting prey), Bows 5 (short bow), Brawl 3 (fist), Carouse 1 (courtly), Charm 1 (courtly love), Chirurgy 1 (binding wounds), Dead Language: Latin 4 (clerical), Etiquette 2 (heraldry), Folk Ken 2 (nobles), Great Weapon 4 (great sword), Guile 1 (disguise), Hunt 4 (deer), Leadership 4 (battle), Living Language: Breton 5 (courtly), Living Language: French 2 (Orleannais), Ride 5 (battle), Single Weapon 8 (sword), Stealth 2 (forest), Survival 2 (forest), Swim 1 (rivers), Thrown Weapons 2 (throwing axe)

Equipment: Long sword, heater shield, full chain armor, warhorse, great sword, short bow and arrows

Encumbrance: 3 (4; armor + long sword + heater shield)

Appearance: A tall man with black hair, strong arms, and dark eyes, Sir Erwan rides like a descendant of the centaur, hunts like a soaring bird-ofprey, and fights like a grinning yellow-toothed wolf. He is the incarnation of nobility: strong, violent, and entitled. Sir Erwan does not routinely carry a lance (although he can use one).

Sir Erwan is heavily armed and rides a magnificent warhorse; reputedly, a descendant of Charlemagne's steed. Over his armor, Sir Erwan wears a vibrant, expensively embroidered tabard. This heraldry proudly reveals his family's lineage and lands and status as a branch of the ducal family.

Characteristics: Int 0, Per 0, Pre +1, Com 0, Str +2, Sta +1, Dex +1, Qik +1

Size: 0 Age: 28 (28)

Confidence Score: 0 (0)

Virtues and Flaws: Knight; True Friend, Warrior; Ability Block (Academic), Afflicted Tongue (Louis only), Missing Eye (Rudolph only), Vow (Code of Chivalry)

Personality Traits: Brave +3, Chivalrous +2, Loyal +2

Reputations: Twin Valiant Knights +2 (nobles), Vicious Brawlers +1 (local)

Combat:

Gauntlet: Init +1, Attack +4*, Defense +5, Damage +4 Long Sword: Init +3, Attack +11*, Defense +8, Damage +8 Heater Shield: Init -, Attack -, Defense +3, Damage - Lance: Init +3, Attack +13*, Defense +9, Damage +7

Long Spear: Init +4, Attack +10*,

Defense +8, Damage +9 * Sir Rudolph's Attack values have a penalty of –1 due to his Missing Eye.

Soak: +10 (Sta + Full Chain) Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 2 (hunting dogs), Area Lore: Brittany 3 (Penthièvre), Athletics 2 (racing), Awareness 2 (battlefield), Brawl 3 (wrestling), Carouse 2 (soldiers), Chirurgy 1 (brawling injuries), Concentration 1 (vigil), Etiquette 1 (heraldry), Great Weapon 5 (spear), Hunt 3 (tracking), Leadership 2 (men-at-arms), Living Language: Breton 5 (courtly), Ride 5 (battle), Single Weapon 5 (sword), Stealth 3 (forest), Survival 1 (forest) Equipment: Long sword, heat-

er shield, full chain armor, warhorse, lance, long spear. Encumbrance: 2 (4; armor + long sword + heater shield)

Appearance: The twins Louis and Rudolph are heavily armed and wear virtually identical heraldry, such that only the most skilled heralds can distinguish them from each other on the battlefield. Even their warhorses appear to be twins.

When they remove their helms, both brothers reveal long mustaches, and blue eyes set in nearly identical faces, albeit both somewhat beaten and weathered by a brutal career of hunting, drinking, and fighting. Stripped of the anonymity of his steel helm, Rudolph is easily identifiable by a large, long-healed, scar that cuts through the entire left-side of his face.

this scenario, but if Sir Erwan remains in the saga it may become a source of further stories.

The curse means that every time Sir Erwan's Decrepitude Score increases he gains a Minor Personality Flaw, in addition to any other aging effects (see ArM5, page 17).

To determine the Personality Flaw roll a simple die + Decrepitude Score and compare to the list that follows. If he already has that Minor Flaw then the Flaw becomes Major instead. There is no additional effect if he already has the corresponding Major Personality Flaw.

Roll Effect

1-3 Gains Compulsion Flaw

4-6 Gains Delusion Flaw

7-9 Gains Short Attention Span Flaw

10-12 Gains Poor Memory Flaw

12+ Gains Depressed Flaw

Sir Erwan has three companions: the twin vassal knights, Sir Louis and Sir Rudolph, and a young squire named Andru.

All the characters, including Sir Erwan, are mounted on warhorses. If you need game statistics for a warhorse these can be found in the Book of Mundane Beasts (see Realms of

Power: Magic). Alternative horse statistics are available in Lords of Men, page 55.

Sir Erwan may also be accompanied by a dozen or more lesser retainers (use The Standard Soldier template; ArM5, page 22). If he needs to stay in the field for a long time he can recruit more such men from either from his home or from a local manor.

The twins Sir Louis and Sir Rudolph are vassal knights of Sir Erwan. They are several years younger than Sir Erwan, but the trio were brought up together. In their childhood Sir Erwan acted like an older brother to the young knights.

Sir Louis and Sir Rudolph are loyal to Sir Erwan. However, the twins have a much stronger bond to each other (represented by the True Friend Virtue). The twins feel a tremendous psychic emptiness when they are apart, but their love for each other gives them bonuses to Personality Trait rolls (and, at the storyguide's discretion, to other rolls); see ArM5, page 50.

Sir Louis and Sir Rudolph are identical twins. However, they can be easily told apart, as Sir Rudolph has a terrible scar that crosses from the left-hand corner of his mouth, through his left eye-socket, and up into his hair-line. This injury destroyed his left eye, and he usually wears an eye-patch to hide the empty socket. Sir Rudolph's scar was inflicted in a vicious knife-fight that the twins were embroiled in as teenagers. After the brawl, Sir Louis tracked down and slit the throat of Sir Rudolph's assailant in retaliation. To this day, the twins are still paying the fines consequently imposed on them by the town magistrates.

Sir Louis has a stutter (Afflicted Tongue). He was born with this impediment, and so he usually lets Sir Rudolph speak for him.

As the twins are identical a single set of character statistics is given for the pair (note the modification to combat statistics due to Rudolph's missing eye).

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +3, Pre +1, Com –2, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex +1, Qik +1

Size: 0

Age: 21 (21)

Confidence Score: 0 (0)

Virtues and Flaws: Custos (squire); Premonitions (Magic Supernatural Ability), Warrior; Poor Student, Social Handicap, Weakness (solving social mysteries)

Personality Traits: Curious +3, Loyal +3

Reputations: Interfering +3 (local) Combat:

Gauntlet: Init +1, Attack +5, Defense +6, Damage +3

Long Sword: Init +3, Attack +11, Defense +8, Damage +6

Heater Shield: Init -, Attack -, Defense +3, Damage -

Soak: +9 (Sta + Full Chain)

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6– 10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 3 (horses), Area Lore: Brittany 2 (towns), Athletics 2 (grace), Awareness 2 (things out of place), Bows 1 (short bow), Brawl 3 (gauntlet), Carouse 1 (courtly), Chirurgy 1 (light wounds), Etiquette 1 (courtly), Folk Ken 3 (social problems), Great Weapon 1 (spear), Hunt 3 (falconry), Leadership 1 (battle), Living Language: Breton 5 (courtly), Premonitions 3 (domestic problems), Ride 3 (racing), Single Weapon 5 (sword), Stealth 1 (urban), Survival 1 (forest)

Equipment: Long sword, heater shield, full chain armor, warhorse.

Encumbrance: 4 (4; armor + long sword + heater shield)

Appearance: A young, clean shaven man with short unruly, curly brown hair, Andru is a keen observer of how others interact socially. Andru is particularly adroit at spotting unresolved social tensions, which he often then attempts to resolve, despite the anger his interference usually provokes.

Like the others he is heavily armed and armored. He wears a simpler tabard than the others, which reveals to those with suitable heraldic knowledge that he is a retainer of Sir Erwan.

Andru is Sir Erwan's squire.

The squire is an intelligent and perceptive young man. In fact, he is supernaturally perceptive (represented by the Premonitions Supernatural Ability), but he is not well liked within Sir Erwan's household. This is because he has a particular weakness for using his enhanced perception to try to unravel the social problems of others, and unfortunately, he is not quite perceptive enough to realize when others do not want to hear his so very perceptive insights into their lives. Although he makes a reasonable first impression, Andru's inability to keep his counsel to himself usually leads to others growing to dislike him. However, Sir Erwan is very tolerant of (and in fact encourages) Andru's social bluntness.

Andru has had a premonition, which increases with urgency as the knights approach the covenant, that Erwan's plan to challenge the magi will lead to Sir Erwan's death. Andru has done his best to dissuade Sir Erwan, and, fearing for his master's life, attempts to negotiate a compromise between the magi and Sir Erwan.

Sir Erwan and his companions may fight together as a trained group if needed, with Sir Erwan normally taking on role of leader and vanguard. However, if Sir Erwan is heavily injured one of the twin knights will be the vanguard. In any case, the members of the group provide a combat bonus of +15 to the vanguard (see ArM5, page 172-173).

Also remember that if Sir Erwan and his companions fight mounted (either as a group or individually) they each receive a +3 bonus to their Attack and Defense Totals.

Sir Erwan is expecting the magi to appear as clerical, middle-aged men. He is confident that he can beat such opponents in combat, whatever sorcery they may be able to conjure. If some (or all) of the magi appear to actually be proficient warriors, or even knights, Sir Erwan is not put off. Indeed, engaging in combat with such worthy foes is an unexpected, but preferable and glorious outcome of his quest.

What will discomfort Sir Erwan is if he discovers that the magi are women or very old men.

Putting an apparent convent (the covenant) filled with women and elderly men to the sword is not exactly what Sir Erwan envisaged when he left for his quest. So, he proposes that such non-combatants nominate champions from among their younger and male colleagues and retainers. When he has defeated a maga's champion Sir Erwan expects the maga to flee into exile either far away or possibly into a nearby convent (or monastery).

On the other hand, if elderly or female magi do demonstrate proficiency in either weaponry or battle worthy magic, then they are no longer considered non-combatant by Sir Erwan. He subsequently has no problem in attacking such diabolical sorcerers, however frail or womanly a mortal guise they take.

The magi can respond to Sir Erwan's challenge by rising to it, ignoring it, attempting to use magic to solve the problem, or trying to use mundane contacts to defuse the situation. It is possible that the player characters will devise another strategy, which your troupe has to judge on its own merits. However, whatever the magi do they are doing so in the knowledge of who Sir Erwan is (a son of the noble who owns the land the covenant is built on or near). That is, the magi should know that Sir Erwan is a well-connected, well-known lo-

Making peace with Sir Erwan, particularly if the magi do this by demonstrating how their "evil" magic is not really evil but in fact beneficial to the nobles, may be seen as straying toward acting as court wizards. On the other hand, it is obvious that slaying Sir Erwan will cause other nobles to look at the covenant (and the covenants of other magi) as sources of supernatural peril.

Even if the magi do not personally know very much about the local nobility, the covenant servants who more routinely deal with the mundane world recognize Sir Erwan's name and lineage and can inform the magi. However, only people who personally liaise with the court can positively identify Sir Erwan.

Sir Erwan makes no secret of who he is. In fact, he loudly proclaims his identity, titles, and lineage upon arrival at the covenant. The magi may suspect that "Sir Erwan" is a mundane or supernatural imposter, but suitably skilled magi can prove Sir Erwan's identity with Intellego magic.

Andru, Sir Erwan's squire, greatly fears for his master's life, a fear reinforced by his supernatural premonitions. Andru will thus attempt to negotiate to save his master's life.

If Sir Erwan is interfered with by magic, but not killed, he returns at a later time with supernatural protection. Alternatively, he can initially approach the magi with some of this supernatural protection if the troupe feels that it is necessary. However, remember that the significance of this story is not really whether the magi can slay Sir Erwan, but about whether they choose to slay a major local noble and deal with the consequences, or find some other way to solve the problem.

It is common knowledge that church relics provide protection against the supernatural, so Sir Erwan may think to borrow a relic from the cathedral. Presenting the relic gives him a Magic Resistance (ArM5, page 189). If he has a relic Sir Erwan's retinue expands to include a nervous cathedral canon, Father Otto, who tries to ensure that no harm comes to the relic. Use The Priest template (ArM5, page 23) for the canon's game statistics.

Sir Erwan may have a Guardian Angel (which gives him a magic resistance of 15; ArM5, page 43). The angel may in fact be the source of Sir Erwan's visions. Alternatively, if Sir Erwan prays to a saint for intervention the saint may assign a temporary guardian angel to Sir Erwan.

Sir Erwan may be able to obtain folk charms against magic. Sir Erwan has nothing against magic in general, and his vision only concerns the magi at the covenant, so he is perfectly willing to track down folk witches, learned magicians, hedge wizards, or even other Hermetic magi, for assistance. Of course, much "assistance" such characters can provide will be ineffective, but Sir Erwan does not know this. Possible folk charms that will actually be effective include:

• Charm Against Shape-Shifting Magic, allows Sir Erwan to make Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 6 to return to his normal shape if he has been shape-shifted.
• Charm Against Befuddlement, allows Sir Erwan to make a Presence roll against an Ease Factor of 6 + Magnitude of Effect to shake off the effect of an ongoing Mentem spell.
• Charm of Strength, gives Sir Erwan a +3 Soak bonus against magic sources of damage.
• Charm of the Immovable Object, allows Sir Erwan to make a Strength roll against an Ease Factor of 6 + Magnitude of Effect to shake off the effect of an ongoing Rego spell.
• Confounding Charm, raises the Concentration Ease Factor by 3 of Concentration Duration magic effects that target Sir Erwan.

The magi can quite simply fight Sir Erwan.

If the magi agree to Sir Erwan's terms he fights the magi one at a time, until he has slain them all (or has been slain). If Sir Erwan wins but is seriously injured in a bout, he attempts to parley with the surviving magi, to allow time to recover before the remaining duels. Sir Erwan believes that a chivalrous opponent would allow such respite; he would under similar circumstances. However, he is not surprised if the infernal, deceitful sorcerers do not agree.

Sir Erwan expects a magus to use magic to fight, and so he does not attempt to negotiate duel terms that limit or exclude magic, unless the magus proposes such a limit himself.

If the magi do not want to fight immediately, Sir Erwan and his companions camp outside the covenant gates until the negotiated duel-time. Sir Erwan accepts a delay of several weeks, but no longer.

Sir Erwan accepts one magus (or even a mundane servant of the magi) standing as champion for the others. In this case, Sir Erwan expects the surviving magi to leave his lands and travel far away into exile if their champion is defeated. Such terms should be negotiated before the duel with the champion begins.

Sir Erwan cannot easily be convinced to fight only until firstblood or similar. However, Andru, his squire, attempts to negotiate such terms on his behalf. If Andru and the magi do convince Sir Erwan to fight in this manner (agreeing to exile if they lose), then Sir Erwan is honest and keeps to the agreed conditions and stakes. If Andru is unsuccessful in negotiating terms he attempts to interrupt and end the fight if Sir Erwan suffers a Medium Wound (or worse). The twin knights reluctantly support Andru in his actions.

Of course, the magi may merely attack Sir Erwan en masse, rather than agreeing to his duels. In such a case, Sir Erwan's companions come to his aid. Andru attempts to negotiate a truce as soon as one of the knights suffer a Medium Wound (or worse).

Some covenants hold charters or other documents that grant them exclusive rights to their lands, while other covenants merely hold such rights by custom (see Covenants, page 20). Such a covenant may argue that Sir Erwan has no legal rights over them. Sir Erwan will not be dissuaded by such a legal argument, claiming that such documents are invalid or forgeries, or that the rights are revoked due to the unholy nature of the magi. The covenant has to prove any such rights in order to sway mundane courts, and charters can always be revoked.

If the magi ignore Sir Erwan he camps, with his companions, outside the covenant wall until the magi do respond.

If no response is received after a month or so, Sir Erwan finds a place to live nearby; perhaps the manor house of one of his father's vassals. He uses the manor house as a base to interdict any supplies that the covenant receives by mundane means and to harass the covenant's servants as they travel, tend fields, and so forth. If the covenant servants are unarmed there is little that they can do to object to the belligerent knights. The knights confiscate and destroy supplies, and detain the covenant servants. As they do not have a jail, the knights are not able to detain the covenant servants indefinitely, so after being stripped of equipment and valuables, prisoners are turned loose. The knights try to prevent outgoing servants from leaving the covenant, and to prevent incoming servants from entering the covenant.

This small-scale siege, Sir Erwan hopes, will force the magi to rise to his challenge. The troupe needs to decide how effective the siege is, depending upon the covenant's reliance on mundane supply. It is possible that the siege may even affect the magi's Hermetic interests — as it may disrupt the collection of vis.

The covenant may be able to bypass Sir Erwan's siege if the covenant servants are sufficiently stealthy (magic may help with this, of course). Alternatively, the covenant may be able to muster a large armed turb to break the siege. Sir Erwan and his companions are good judges of the strength of mundane forces, so they will not attempt to foolishly engage a superior mundane force. Instead, if the covenant deploys (or appears to deploy) a large mundane force, Sir Erwan and his companions return to his father's court, where they raise an army sufficient to quash the magi's armed insurrection (see Lords of Men, page 102, for details on raising an army).

Apart from using magic to slay Sir Erwan, the magi may be able to use magic to scare Sir Erwan off, to teleport him far away, or to interfere with his mind. The magi may even take the opportunity, with Mentem magics, to convert Sir Erwan into an ally. Andru, the squire who has premonitions of Sir Erwan's death at the hands of the magi, tacitly supports any sudden change in Sir Erwan's attitude due to magic.

As Sir Erwan and his companions have no Magic Resistance, any magic-based schemes are quite likely to succeed in the short-term, but Sir Erwan just returns to complete his mission at a later date. If the storyguide has doubts as to what Sir Erwan would do in the face of powerful magical opposition, try to consider what a group of player characters would do if they encountered similar formidable opposition.

Once he discovers that he is very vulnerable to magic, Sir Erwan tries to bring some supernatural protection when he returns (see insert).

If the magi are well-connected to the mundane world they could appeal to a clerical court or higher feudal authority for a declaration that Sir Erwan's actions are illegal.

To determine whether a clerical court (probably the local bishop's court or possibly the pope) finds in favor of the covenant, the petition rules in The Church (page 46) can be used. As canon law has outlawed trials by combat (which is effectively what Sir Erwan is proposing) the church tends to look favorably upon the covenant's appeal, but the church may still propose a compromise solution such as exile for the magi.

The attitude of feudal courts will likely depend on the past interactions between the court and the covenant. No local feudal courts have had particular problems with Sir Erwan in the past. See Lords of Men page 80, for details on feudal courts.

If your troupe wishes, dealing with Sir Erwan can be a one-off story. On the other hand, the consequences of how the magi deal with Sir Erwan can lead into further stories that involve nobles.

Some options include:

• If the magi kill Sir Erwan, his companions (if they survive) try to recover his body and return with it to his father's court. Sir Erwan is popular and the news of his slaying makes the covenant an enemy of the court. Even if Sir Erwan's companions do not return, Sir Erwan's quest is well known in the court. Therefore, rumors of Sir Erwan's apparent murder (by the magi) spread and eventually other knights make their way to the covenant to discover the truth of what has happened to Sir Erwan.

• If the magi deploy sufficient mundane forces to cause Sir Erwan to retreat, he raises an army to quash the magi's rebellion. If the magi's forces appear to be very large the subsequent conflict may entangle neighboring nobles. The neighboring nobles may take Sir Erwan's side, but might be tempted instead to use the opportunity to settle old scores with Sir Erwan or his father.

• If the magi use magic to make Sir Erwan forget his quest or flee, or use a similar stratagem, then (as his quest is well known in the court) he eventually regains his equilibrium and returns to his quest. At the very least, his visions (which prompted the quest) return.

• If the magi manage to make an ally of Sir Erwan (perhaps through magic) then he may call

• upon them to assist in his mundane court. An uneasy alliance between the covenant and the court may also be the outcome if Andru, the squire, manages to negotiate a truce between Sir Erwan and the magi.

• The magi might investigate the source of Sir Erwan's visions, perhaps discovering hedge wizards, Hermetic magi, or other supernatural forces active in Sir Erwan's father's court.

• If the magi flee Sir Erwan, news of their defeat travels through the mundane courts, and encourage other nobles to challenge their local magi.

• If the magi resorted to mundane authorities to resolve the problem with Sir Erwan, then mundane courts may try to enforce their jurisdiction over the covenant in other matters too, such as the gathering of the tithe or taxes.