Specialists and Other Covenfolk

Few specialists and no teachers are available at Ikhmindi. A religious hermit might be convinced to act as an instructor for a group he found worthy. Specialists might also receive training at either Faras or Qasr Ibrim, about 50 miles downstream.

Specialists

Specialists useful at Ikhmindi might include a basketweaver, fishermen, herdsmen, potters, and a smith. There is nearby grazing sufficient to maintain a few small flocks of goats or camels. The huts near the riverbank provide space for several fishermen to operate.

Potters could assist with construction, ensuring strong fired-clay bricks are used to build and maintain the tightly packed structures.

Servants

The residents of Ikhmindi form the workforce responsible for feeding, maintaining, and operating the community. Within the walls, this population consists mainly of the women, children, and elderly. Young boys often assist the fishermen, either on their boats or with maintenance tasks at the riverside storage huts. Men who do not serve as grogs work the few sparse fields along tributary streams together, in order to be safer.

There are few resources available at Ikhmindi.

Income and Supplies

Modest farming, fishing, and livestock resources provide for Ikhmindi's subsistence, but a covenant would probably rely on Tapara's caravan operations or other visiting caravans to acquire more exotic or expensive materials. Limited manufactured goods are carefully maintained. There is a strong tradition of utilizing everything available, down to burning dried dung as a fuel source when necessary.

Life at Ikhmindi

The community is stoically pleasant, cognizant of their remote and simple existence but also aware they are living during increasingly dangerous times. They remain here because, while it is a challenging lifestyle, it is effectively free of outside governance.

Ikhmindi is a self-contained community; nearly everything associated with the community lies within the walls of the primary structure. The walls are ten feet thick and there are two watch towers in each side, as well as one at each corner of the roughly square structure. There are two land gates, one overlooked by a watch tower on the northeastern wall, and the other the same on the southwestern wall. Inside, buildings are relatively small and tightly packed, with "streets" truthfully no more than alleyways five feet across. A full 15 feet of open space surrounds the central church building, and residents often gather there to meet or talk. Rooftop spaces are used as well, providing a cooler area to sleep. Livestock sleep inside the walls, in two stable buildings near the front gate.

Environment

While above the Nile riverbanks and nestled in the drier surrounding hillsides, Ikhmindi exists in that sliver of terrain where the climate transitions from verdant land to harsh desert. It is often hot and dry, but the moisture of the nearby Nile allows for some irrigation. On rare occasions in winter, the ravines and hillsides are swathed in fleeting cloaks of pre-dawn fog which quickly burn away with the rising sun.

Main Structures

Ikhmindi itself consists of a fortress 360 feet by 300 feet, with two gates. The main portal faces the trail from the southwest, leading to the caravan route. A smaller, northeastern entry is called the Fishermen's Gate, and leads to the narrow path down to the tributary ravine and the collection of fishing huts. A southwestern gate adjoins the courtyard of the second church. The eastern side of the community is built right up to the edge of the cliff, which drops 15 paces down to the sandy area along the river. When the Nile floods each year, these lower structures are submerged, and anyone living there moves up to join the rest of the community.

The largest structures inside Ikhmindi are the two churches. About a hundred buildings packed inside the walls. Each building is big enough to hold a family, although only about half are occupied.

Up to three laboratories with attached living spaces may be established in the two well-built, cut-stone churches and the central church's small catacombs. If desired, this could be made into six laboratories, but these labs would lack any attached living space.

Outlying Buildings

The huts near the river's shore are part of the community, but other than the boats, nets, and simple tools, there is nothing of significant value here.

The covenant of Ikhmindi exists in a tumultuous and harsh region. Its relationships are tenuous or hostile.

The Eparch of Nobatia

The eparch resides in the closest settlement of any significance, Premnis, called Qasr Ibrim by its former Egyptian occupiers, some 50 miles downstream. He escaped the occupation of the area by the Abbasid forces and returned to Premnis to resume his role when the garrison departed. He remains the main authority of the region, although embattled by the encroaching Bedouin tribes. The eparch's involvement in covenant operations might be pivotal in a saga focused on forging a Tribunal, but nonexistent in one where the magi seek out lost Egyptian and Nubian treasures.

Nomadic Tribesmen

The area is home to nomadic raiders, but Ikhmindi, while a possible target, is not an obvious one. Thus, the level of interference can be adjusted to suit the desires of the troupe.

Story Seeds

Following a terrible storm, the magi arrive in Adulis to find the potential covenant site devastated. Fishing boats are partially buried on the beach or submerged, the pier is demolished, homes are badly damaged. Only the lighthouse seems barely touched. Perhaps a greedy merchant or an overzealous missionary hopes to finish the destruction of the village to facilitate some new construction. In order to survive and perhaps have a chance to pay their taxes, the community elders are willing to negotiate an arrangement with the newly arrived Hermetic magi. In exchange for magical assistance and repair, the residents serve as their covenfolk. Their sailors act as grogs, and the lighthouse is ceded for sanctums. Rumors claim the structure is unstable, and the magi must decide if they will perpetuate the charade or find a legal way to secure their rights to the town from the governor of Adulis.

Story Seed: Free at Last

Both Adulis and the nearby sultanate of Dahlek host large slave markets, fed with slaves from the distant southwestern lands, the Great Desert, and even with prisoners taken in the Levant. A group of European crusaders captured in Egypt might find themselves for sale in these distant ports. Acquiring the group requires a bidding war with a wealthy merchant who wishes to teach the crusaders a lesson by forcing them to work on the mosques being built to the north, in Massawa. Should the magi publicly outspend the merchant, they draw the attention of the bishop of Adulis, who then wonders why the covenant doesn't donate more either in tithe or through charity. If they decide to surreptitiously rescue the crusaders from their construction service, the magi need to deal with the Divine aura surrounding the mosque construction, and possibly devout guards who monitor its progress. When freed, some or all of these crusaders gratefully offer to join the covenant.

Specialists and teachers can easily be found, due to the size of the town and the proximity of other communities within the Red Sea region.

Teachers

Instructors for Amharic, Arabic, and Ge'ez, as well as Artes Liberales, are easily located within Adulis. Other teachers might be easily brought from nearby ports.

A covenant would have little trouble finding specialists. The autocrat might be a retired ship captain who had previously encountered Hermetic magi. Other useful specialists include a blacksmith, a carpenter, fishermen, herdsmen, potters, and a weaver. The area can support a couple small flocks of goats and camels. The docks here offer room for several fishermen with their own sloops. The potters might assist with construction, creating hard white bricks mixed with crushed coral.

The potential covenant site is a village, and thus already has structures and inhabitants. Some of the structures are ripe for conversion into part of a covenant.

Environment

A dry but coastal environment, the site does not offer easy living, but it is certainly not an extreme hardship. Compared to other environments further north or across the Red Sea, it is pleasantly temperate, somewhat dry, but not dangerously so.

Laboratories

The lighthouse of the village could potentially house four laboratories and sanctums. It is built of rough stones mortared together. If all the laboratories are occupied, there is no mundane lighthouse in operation. When needed, magic could be used to provide the illumination, but any laboratory activity suffers a –5 penalty, unless the magus is Blind, due to the distraction. A story or project might be completed by the magi, allowing the lighthouse to still function, while maintaining comfortable brightness within the laboratory.

Associated Properties

The islands that support the pearl and myrrh resin resources are neither inhabited, nor claimed by anyone. A covenant could harvest them surreptitiously, but in the long term establishing formal ownership would be wise.

If the magi stay hidden, they may avoid most external relations. However, being close to a town, discovery brings entanglements.

Sultanate of Dahlek

Should the covenant become known to the sultan of Dahlek, he seeks to control the magi, or blackmail them into an arrangement where they assist with an attempt to seize control of Adulis. He has long coveted the elephants that roam the shores south of the town, but cannot support the animals on his island. If the characters learn of this desire, they may be able to purchase regular safe passage through Bab-el-Mandeb with delivery of an animal and regular loads of fodder.

Governor of Adulis

The governor of Adulis is strongly influenced by the bishop who is based in the large Byzantine church located in the northern quarter of town. The bishop does not like the idea of wizards in his town, and may convince the governor to attack. If a way can be found to discredit the bishop or replace him with someone more tolerant of the magi, the governor could accept the presence of the magi in return for a promise to assist the town in times of dire need and regular donations as a sign of their generosity and pious natures. This might bring its own complications, should any other members of the Order of Hermes visit and learn of such an arrangement.

The following resources are available in the area.

There are two Typical Quality sources, each resulting in 100 Mythic Pounds of profit. The first is a grove of myrrh trees, hidden on the slopes of a nearby island. These trees are bled to produce the high-quality resin so valued in other lands. The second is a pearl fishery, hidden in a cove of a different island.

Vis Sources

There are three vis sites immediately available.

Fire Coral Beds

6 Vim per year 30 points

Magical School of Fish

6 Animal per year 30 points

Storm Flotsam

3 Perdo per Solstice 30 points

Fire Coral Beds

6 pawns of Vim per Year

Growing on the northeast rim of Ceto's Well, a ridge of ruby-red fire coral generates six pawns of vis, which may be safely harvested at a rate of either 1 pawn every two months, or 6 pawns each year. If it is harvested early more than once a year, then its growth is hindered and neither it, nor the magical school of fish that lives among these beds, generates more than 3 vis until the coral remains unharvested for a year to recover. Several fishermen in Adulis know of this site, and their crews consider harvesting raw coral for jewelry from it when times become difficult. See the Linked Vis Site Hook for more details.

This source costs 30 Build Points.

Magical School of Fish

6 pawns of Animal per Year

A large school of yellowtail tang fish live in and around the fire coral beds, eating the coral and any food dropped from passing vessels. They are fully twice the size of usual yellowtail tang, and each one is easily a meal. The school generates six pawns of vis, which may be safely harvested at a rate of either 1 pawn every two months, or 6 pawns each year. If it is harvested early more than once a year, then its growth is hindered and neither it, nor the fire coral beds where the school lives, generates more than 3 vis until the fish remain unharvested for a year to recover. Selling these fish at market generates extra wealth for the covenant, but it inspires fishermen from Adulis to attempt harvesting them after a storm. See

the Linked Vis Site Hook for more details. This source costs 30 Build Points.

Storm Flotsam

6 pawns of Perdo per Year

Twice a year, with the first spring storm and the first autumn storm, the flotsam and jetsam washed up under the docks contain three pawns of vis. This is usually contained in broken bits of ship hulls, torn netting, and lost floats, but occasionally more interesting pieces arrive.

This source costs 30 Build Points.

A covenant on this site would have themes of discovery and exploration. Survival is less of an issue, but Christian magi might experience some hardship due to the removed nature of the site, finding it difficult to acquire books. On the other hand, Muslim magi might better manage the distance from Mythic Europe by being able to easily access the Levant and Mythic Arabia. Adulis shines best when it serves a purpose specific to the magi living there.

Pushing the Frontiers

A covenant established in Adulis allows for the most flexibility of options for a saga wanting to explore a variety of regions, as there is easy access to Egypt, Ethiopia, the Levant Tribunal, and Mythic Arabia. Slightly more removed, but still nearby, are the southeastern Great Desert, and Nubia. For sagas truly wishing to push the frontier, there are merchants in Yemen, just beyond the Bab-el-Mandeb, who know the routes to the islands of Soqotra and the wonders of that realm. All this requires is a firm conviction, a steady resolve, and ship to sail.With the promise of riches, there are plenty of vessels in Adulis willing to take the chance, especially if they have a secret weapon on board.