To Sing of Good Meat and Drink

CrMe 25

R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Room

Yestin invented this spell in order to reward innkeepers and taverners who showed generosity to him as he explored Stonehenge and beyond. He often weaves this spell into his evening's performance, using his Performance Magic to hide the casting within his music.

It has the effect of making those in the room somewhat thirsty and hungry. Those with a Compulsion (Personality Flaw) for eating and/or drinking are powerless to resist and must eat or drink as soon as they can. Others need to make a Personality Check against an Ease Factor of 6 to resist the temptation, assuming they wish to resist it.

The effect is largely gentle and is designed to go unnoticed, beyond the takings over the bar seeing a marked increase. Yestin always uses forceless casting to ensure the spell has no Penetration, and so will not affect magi.

(Base 4, +2 Voice, +1 Conc, +2 Room)

Lay Your Burdens on Me

ReMe 20

R: Eye, D: Sun, T: Ind

This spell brings the target's secrets bubbling to the top of his consciousness, playing on his mind and making him more inclined to disclose them.

For the purposes of this spell, secrets are those things that gnaw at the target's conscience in the face of questioning those things that the target would normally strive to keep hidden because of guilt or shame or fear. Secrets kept for noble reasons are not affected by this spell, which was a conscious design decision made by Yestin. This spell does not make the target susceptible to questioning on other matters, and so cannot be used to assist directed interrogation.

At the end of the spell's duration, the target must make a personality roll against an Ease Factor of 6. If the target succeeds, she maintains control over her secret and keeps it hidden. The troupe should agree which Personality trait the target uses in the roll.

For each subsequent day that the spell is cast on the target, the Ease Factor increases by 1. Virtues and Flaws may modify Magi of Hermes

the roll and/or the Ease Factor, with the Storyguide's agreement.

If the personality check fails, the target falls prey to his conscience and seeks someone to confide in. That person may not necessarily be the caster of the spell, and will most likely be someone the target feels he can trust.

The Infernal and the Dominion have a strong impact on this spell, dealing as they do with the moral aspects of human life. If the target spends time in the Dominion, the light of the Lord helps to release the truth and the level of the aura is subtracted from the target's roll. The aura's Temper (see Realms of Power: The Divine, page 38) also has an effect with Brave, Wise, Strong, or Just Tempers, increasing the aura's effect by 1.

If the target spends the duration of the spell within an Infernal aura, the corrupting influence of the aura reinforces the target's resolve to keep the secret. The level of the aura is added to the target's roll. The Storyguide may impose a further bonus to the roll based on any Tarnish or Corruption of the Infernal aura (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 13).

Yestin invented this spell as a means to more easily solve those mysteries that the spirit Taliesin led him into; mysteries often solved by knowing what those involved wished to hide.

(Base 5, +1 Eye, +2 Sun)

The Wisdom of Sleep

InTe(Vi) 25

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind

The caster sleeps with the target object beneath his pillow, and his dreams then inform him of all mundane properties of that object. The magic is of Momentary Duration, but the sleeping mind is more able to assimilate the huge amount of information that might be called up, weaving it into the caster's dreams throughout the night. Note that this spell does not allow the caster to actually talk with the object or divine any secrets that the object may store in whatever passes for its intelligence.

This spell uses Terram in its all-encompassing form referencing all solid objects, and requires casting requisites appropriate for the target object.

The Vim requisite allows the spell to inform the caster of any active or any recent magical effects on the object. This spell is restricted to effects originating from the Magic Realm. Enchantments inherent to the object are not learned beyond a knowledge that some form of enchantment exists.

Yestin's version of this spell sees him conversing with the object within his dreams, wherein the object adopts a persona (or rather, Yestin's dream ascribes a personality to the object). Multiple castings of this spell on multiple objects are possible, though the caster's pillow as well as his dreams may become a little crowded.

The quirkiness of the spell effect is due to experimentation. Yestin had intended for a more conventional spell, but he found towards the end of his experiments that the spell's incantation wasn't complete until the caster fell asleep. His Laboratory Text for this spell carries the same flaw. It's possible that practitioners and researchers of Dream Magic may be interested in Yestin's text for this spell, as it may further their own magical aims.

(Base 15, +1 Touch, +1 Vim Requisite)

The Well-Trodden Path

ReTe 10

R: Touch, D: Conc, T: Part

As the caster walks, this spell shifts the earth underfoot allowing him to travel over rutted paths and uneven roads as though they were flat and even. The earth returns to its prior position after the target of the spell has passed. The spell ends when the caster comes to a stop, such as to rest, or crosses terrain unaffected by this spell, such as a wooden bridge or a ford.

This spell has little effect on soft or muddy paths, as the earth must still be able to bear the target's weight. The spell is potent enough to move stones and cobbles in the road.

A traveler using this spell does not suffer undue delay for traveling over poor roads. Traveling at speed to cover more ground in the day still costs the stated Long-Term Fatigue level. City & Guild, page 85, provides more detail on travel speeds. Targets affected by this spell use speeds close to the top end of the applicable travel speeds.

(Base 2, +1 Touch, +1 Conc, +1 Part, +1 stone)

Nature's Kindest Seat

ReTe 25

R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Group

This spell conjures a group of seats from the ground, centered on the point the user touches. The number of chairs the spell produces can be controlled by the caster, summoning up to ten.

The chairs rise from the ground and each molds itself to the nearest person as he sits back. Each chair is always at least passably comfortable, but notably more so when cast in a meadow with lush grass. Each chair sinks slowly back into the ground, leaving no trace, as the spell nears the end of its duration. The spell only works on sand or soil, a limitation Yestin aims to fix some time in the future.

Yestin decided that, to better capture an audience and draw them into the music, there was nothing like a little peripheral magic to increase anticipation. Yestin has never been shy about using his magic.

Yestin's sigil manifesting in this spell can occasionally take his audience by surprise, as at first nothing seems to happen … and then the chairs spring from the ground.

(Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +2 Group, +1 Complexity)