Loyalty and Law

This scenario sets up a situation for the characters to resolve by whatever means they can make work, which may not involve much blatant magic. There's little in the way of a fixed plot; they simply have to deal with obstacles, come up with plans, and avoid offending powerful individuals. The need for subtlety rather than force makes it suitable for use with characters of almost any power level, possibly meaning companions or grogs rather than magi.

Events start when a fairly powerful magus, Tholin of Jerbiton, asks that the characters assist a cousin of his — a mundane aristocrat named Lady Martha of Plessis. Tholin has plausible reasons for not attending to this himself, and offers reasonable payment for the favor. What he doesn't mention is that he's got other motives. He's been a little too prone to intervention in mundane affairs recently, and he now has a Quaesitor, Asmorn of Guernicus, taking an interest. Asmorn learns that Tholin has visited the characters, finds out enough to become worried, and sets out to keep an eye on matters.

Lady Martha herself is a widow, with no sons but three daughters. Two of them have been married off; the third is approaching marriageable age. Her problem is that her claim to her husband's lands is shaky, being based on sympathetic readings of their marriage contract and his will, and she's running out of allies, while various neighbors are trying to lay claim to her land, or to bully her into an unwelcome marital alliance. They may also send minions to attack her tenants and damage her property, undermining and weakening her. So the characters have to help her legal case, deter her neighbors, see off ruffians in the night, and maybe find a suitable husband for her last unmarried daughter — all with a Quaesitor breathing down their necks.

Three socially significant figures play crucial roles in this scenario, although the first of them doesn't take much part in the action. Several others may also appear, or at least send minions to interfere. As the scenario is designed so that the storyguide can set it anywhere in Mythic Europe, characters' native languages have been left undefined, and the "local areas" with which they are familiar can be set to whatever fits the saga. Names too can be changed to suit the locality.

Tholin was recruited to the Order of Hermes when his parens heard a rumor of a younger son of a knightly family who was regarded as inexplicably annoying, and who was having trouble trying to pursue a scholarly career. Correctly identifying all this as a sign of an emerging Gift, the senior magus located and recruited the child. Unfortunately, unlike that of some Jerbitons, Tholin's Gift never settled down to become Gentle, and his magical talents are generally a little quirkish. Nonetheless, with his parens' encouragement, he was able to remain on fair terms with his mundane family. This association is quite enough of a relationship with the mundane world for Tholin, although he's happy with the Jerbiton philosophy generally. His personal interests are more abstract; actually, his long-term aim is to unify Hermetic theory and Aristotle's Poetics.

Unfortunately for him, though, family associations and Hermetic political dabbling often take him away from his books, and his efforts regarding the former have attracted the attention of Asmorn. So now, he's taken to employing dupes. Fortunately, despite his visible Gift, Tholin has a certain amount of charm (Pre +1, Com +2, Charm 2 (first impressions), Etiquette 3 (nobility), Guile 4 (elaborate lies), Intrigue 3 (alliances)), and the covenant of which he is a member provides him with adequate resources, including vis.

When first encountered, Asmorn of Guernicus may seem quite reasonable, as Quaesitors go; a little stiff and formal in his speech, but rarely overtly threatening or discourteous, and seemingly not unduly worried about minor points of Hermetic law. He's neat, tidy, and polite, and even thoughtful to grogs and others who lack The Gift.

But all this is merely a surface over as obsessive a personality as the Order of Hermes often produces. In Asmorn's case, the obsession is with tidiness. In his opinion, there's a place for everything, and everything should remain in its place. The place of a Hermetic magus is in a laboratory or covenant meeting-hall, refining and perfecting the Art, and not interacting too much with mundanes, who have their own places somewhere different. Jerbitons and others who want to muddle these categories irritate Asmorn, though he's usually too restrained to show it; Tholin is merely his latest project in a long career of restoring things.

He first encountered this often-misplaced wizard when one of Tholin's schemes annoyed a prominent churchman, who began preaching against the evils of sorcery. Rumors reached the Quaesitores, and Asmorn was assigned to investigate. He was unsurprised to discover a Jerbiton at the root of the trouble, and persuaded Tholin to resolve matters with the implicit threat of a Hermetic trial. Tholin's "frivolous but grudging" attitude set Asmorn's nerves on edge, though, and ever since then, he's been monitoring the Jerbiton as closely as is possible without violating the Code of Hermes himself.

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

+1, Dex –1, Qik 0

Size: 0 Age: 47 (45) Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 3 (14) Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Cautious Sorcerer, Clear Thinker, Hermetic Prestige (free Virtue), Improved Characteristics, Method Caster; Difficult Spontaneous Magic, Incompatible Arts (InAq and InIg), Meddler (Minor), Temperate.

Personality Traits: Tidy-Minded +3, Fair +1, Formally Polite +1

Reputations: Meticulous Judge +3 (Hermetic magi) Combat:

Fist: Init +0, Attack +0, Defense +1, Damage +0 Kick: Init –1, Attack +0, Defense +0, Damage +3

Soak: +1

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: Area Lore: Home Area 1 (geography), Artes Liberales 4 (logic), Awareness 4 (searching), Brawl 1 (grapples), Code of Hermes 6 (mundane relations), Concentration 4 (spell concentration), Etiquette 1 (the Church), Folk Ken 2 (townsfolk), Intrigue 2 (alliances), Latin 4 (Hermetic usage), Magic Lore 1 (regiones), Magic Theory 5 (Rego), Native Language 5 (expansive vocabulary), Organization Lore: Order of Hermes 3 (personalities), Organization Lore: Tailors' Guild 2 (history), Parma Magica 5 (Ignem), Penetration 2 (Rego), Profession (Scribe) 3 (document preservation), Stealth 2 (hide)

Arts: Cr 5, In 7, Mu 5, Pe 5, Re 12, An 5, Aq 5, Au 5, Co 7, He 5, Ig 5, Im 5, Me 7, Te 5, Vi 7

Encumbrance: 0 (0) Spells Known:*

Cloak of the Duck's Feathers (ReAq 5/+21)

Bind Wound (CrCo 10/+16)

Sight of the True Form (InCo 15/+18)

Whispers Through the Black Gate (InCo 15/+18)

Strings of the Unwilling Marionette (ReCo 25/+23)

Intuition of the Forest (InHe 10/+16)

Tangle of Wood and Thorns (ReHe 15/+21)

Winter's Icy Touch (PeIg 10/+14)

Restore the Moved Image (ReIm 10/+21)

Sight of the Transparent Motive (InMe 10/+18)

Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie (InMe 20/+18)

Aura of Rightful Authority (ReMe 10/+23)

The Invisible Eye Revealed (InVi 16/+18)

Demon's Eternal Oblivion (PeVi 16/+16)

Circular Ward Against Demons (ReVi 16/+23)

* Casting bonuses include +1 for Stamina and +3 for Method Caster.

Appearance: A tall, straight-backed, slender figure with sparse, straw-colored hair and a sharp, prominent Roman nose, clean shaven and usually dressed in plain but immaculate clothes.

Asmorn's magic reflects his personality, with a distinctive sigil; its visible effects are invariably linear or geometric, and the consequences are formal and precise. If he threw a lightning bolt, it would take the form of a straight line or a symmetrical branching fork; if he moved things by magic, they'd end up neatly aligned and evenly spaced; if he controlled someone's mind, that person would move and talk like a well-drilled soldier.

Asmorn is under the influence of a +5 Longevity Ritual of his own creation — generally sufficient to prevent loss of Characteristics, but not to eliminate apparent aging. So far, he's been lucky with aging effects, but he may need to create or purchase a better Ritual quite soon.

Lady Martha is a very minor aristocrat — a younger daughter of a junior family. However, her parents were shrewd, thoughtful, and fond; they could afford a reasonable dowry and had enough political standing that they could find her a husband of quite respectable status. She was, after all, a charming if slightly sharp-tongued and over-active girl, bright enough to manage a household well. Some said she was spoiled, having learned whatever she chose to ask about around the estate, but she was rarely obnoxious. The marriage was genuinely affectionate, even when Martha gave birth to three girl-children in succession, leaving her husband without a male heir.

Unfortunately, before they could make a fourth attempt, Martha's husband suffered a bad riding accident, and after that, no more children were forthcoming. (Speculation on the precise nature of that injury is a good way to make Martha's loyal retainers angry.) She nursed him for some years, before he died still relatively young, and the problem of the heir turned septic.

The trouble is that it's questionable, in law, whether women can hold property with attached feudal obligations. Her husband's will leaves the estate "in her hands," but that could be taken to mean that she should find a male lord to hold it, and in any case a will can't override established law. On the other hand, widows can and often do hold some property, and there are no males with very strong claims, so her situation isn't totally untenable. Two of Martha's daughters were already married at the time of their father's death, to husbands some distance away, meaning that they're fairly safe, but also limiting the influence that they can exert on Martha's behalf. The third is now reaching an age when some arrangement is necessary, and Martha is determined to do well for her, and not, say, put her in a nunnery. Martha's own father is long dead, and most of her other family are badly placed to help her, or simply refuse, with one peculiar exception — her cousin Tholin.

Martha could resolve things by marrying someone of reasonable feudal standing and thus establishing her new husband in the position of lord, and not a few knights and lordlings have come sniffing around. The snag is, this would leave Martha without direct control of resources and without a political position of her own. And she still wants to arrange a decent dowry for her third daughter, as well as to be able to support the older two and their families politically — she has debts of honor to them, all else aside. The suitors who've shown up so far have shown little interest in supporting a stepdaughter as Martha thinks would be fit, and all have clashing political allegiances of their own. Also, the lord from whom the estate is held wouldn't be too happy letting the holding go to some of these individuals, and it's becoming clear that Martha herself isn't keen to surrender her independence or to replace the husband of whom she was fond. Hence, she remains single, but the only way that she's been able to preserve her position is by a great deal of legal maneuvering and a lot of favor-trading; her obligations to various clerks, lawyers, and minor nobles are becoming increasingly pressing. Martha's conviction that she can deal with the situation by herself has finally wavered.

Also, because she's been dealing with each difficulty as it arises, Martha actually lacks any clear idea of her ultimate objective. If she remains unmarried for the rest of her life, the estate will most likely pass to her eldest daughter's husband, which she would consider an acceptable result, provided that her other two daughters were well provided for. This fact has of course crossed the mind of the husband in question, but Martha looks set to survive for some years yet, and he wishes her no ill as he has estates and political concerns of his own. Still, it might be a useful bargaining point to use with him. An even better result would be to find an amicable suitor who could both marry her third daughter and be assigned as heir to the holding — but that would demand a lot of legal maneuvering, as such a suitor would have no clear claim to the position. If anyone could arrange this, though, Martha would be grateful. For now, simply persuading her neighbors to back down and stop making trouble would be victory enough for her.

Martha is cousin by blood to Tholin of Jerbiton, and Tholin's sense of duty to family has led him to seek to aid her. The fact that he's some kind of wizard is an open secret in the family, although they keep it quiet from the world at large; it could be socially tricky. Martha is unsure exactly what Tholin can accomplish, though. The fact that he sometimes writes promising aid, but never actually does much that she can see, leads her to suspect that magic is overrated and perhaps downright useless. She'll be perfectly polite and hospitable to anyone claiming to be Tholin's ally — she has her own sense of family loyalty — but vague offers of help will merely annoy her. She refers to Tholin by his mundane birth-name, Thomas; she is aware that he uses "some peculiar title" as a wizard, but she assumes that this is pretentiousness, rather feeling that it shows a lack of familial pride.

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

Size: 0 Age: 44 (44) Decrepitude: 1 (1) Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Landed Noble; Cautious With Guile, Clear Thinker, Gossip, Privileged Upbringing, Puissant Folk Ken, Puissant Guile, Strong-Willed; Enemies, Favors, Overconfident; Obsessed (security of her daughters).

Personality Traits: Determinedly Independent +3, Brave +2, Loyal +1

Combat:

Fist: Init –1, Attack +1, Defense +0, Damage –2 Kick: Init –2, Attack +1, Defense –1, Damage +1 Knife: Init –1, Attack +3, Defense +1, Damage +0 Thrown Knife: Init –1, Attack +4, Defense +2, Damage +0 Soak: +0

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: Home Area 2 (personalities), Area Lore: Own Estates 5 (agricultural resources), Artes Liberales 1 (rhetoric), Athletics 1 (grace), Awareness 4 (searching), Bargain 2 (agricultural produce), Brawl 1 (knives), Charm 4 (formal dealings), Chirurgy 1 (setting bones), Civil and Canon Law 2 (Laws of Home Area), Etiquette 5 (nobles), Folk Ken 5+2 (nobles), Guile 5+2 (half-truths), Intrigue 4 (alliances), Latin 1 (church usage), Leadership 3 (inspiration), Native Language 5 (farming vocabulary), Profession (Scribe) 1 (legal records), Profession (Steward) 4 (keeping accounts), Ride 3 (the hunt), Stealth 2 (quiet exits), Thrown Weapons 2 (knives)

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Appearance: A well-dressed noblewoman, slender and not unattractive but often stern, with her dark-iron-grey hair combed hard back. Aside from an ordinary (but sharp) eating knife, Martha often carries a second, concealed blade, and perhaps even a third; this gives her an option with her Thrown Weapon skill that doesn't leave her disarmed.

If this scenario is being run as set in England, change Martha's Civil and Canon Law to Common Law. Note that she has sworn an Oath of Fealty, as required by her position, but at the moment the stories arising from that are subsumed in her Enemies Story Flaw. If the problems with her neighbors are resolved, the Oath itself will return to importance.

Lady Martha naturally has a feudal household. Some of its members are quite capable, and Martha has a knack for commanding loyalty. Unfortunately for her, these people lack strong initiative, and have limited social influence; they can't help her much with her big problems, and may get under the player characters' feet, especially if the characters behave too furtively or attract suspicion because of The Gift. Her men-at-arms are decently trained, but only reasonably armed; Lady Martha doesn't have a warrior-noble's obsession with shiny weapons. Harming any of her people would, of course, be highly counterproductive.

Sir Eberhardt

If anyone questions Martha's ability to meet her feudal military obligations, she points to her man Sir Eberhardt. He was previously a mercenary whose travels took him to

the house of Lord Michael (see later). A game of chance led to a disagreement, the disagreement turned violent, and suddenly, Eberhardt's small band were riding for their lives. They unknowingly ran into Lady Martha's territory; Martha met them, determined what had happened, and bet Eberhardt that she could send the pursuers away without more violence, the stake being his oath of service against aid in the fight that would otherwise ensue. She then faced down Michael's band, pointing out that they were trespassing on her land and threatening them with legal complications. Since then, Eberhardt's grudging service has turned to personal loyalty. He and Michael dislike each other heartily, and both have transmitted their attitudes to their men. He makes a point of assessing any warriors who visit the household, so grogs are likely to meet him and find themselves being questioned.

If you need character details for Eberhardt, base them on the Knight Companion template, though he's as much a mercenary captain as a knight, and not all that wealthy; his extra abilities come more from greater age (he's in his 30s) than from free time. Replace Relic with Reserves of Strength, make his Flaws Compulsion (Gambling), Oath of Fealty, and Enemies (Lord Michael), and add Carouse 2 (Games of Chance).

Charles the Bodyguard

Martha also has a personal bodyguard, Charles, previously a forester on her estate. He's gruff and shaggy, sentimental and intensely loyal. His game details, if required, can be based on the Grizzled Veteran template, replacing his Flaw with Weakness (Protecting the Defenseless) and rearranging his Abilities (and especially the specializations) to reflect a more mundane personal history. Lady Martha knows about his Weakness, and takes care that he usually thinks of her as the most defenseless person around.

Servants and Tenants

Most of Martha's other servants and tenants are fairly typical rural residents, with Attributes close to the average and Abilities reflecting moderate competence in their work. They include a capable steward, a priest, a couple of grooms, and a large number of peasants. They're generally as well fed and healthy as most members of their respective social classes (other than residents of a covenant, perhaps); visitors should receive the impression of a well-run estate.

The Daughters

Martha's daughters may not have major speaking roles in this scenario, but they are central to the plot. The oldest two, Marguerite and Maria, aren't even in the area, being married to moderately powerful lords elsewhere. Martha maintains a correspondence with them, having made sure that both are literate. Their husbands provide her with some political support, but they aren't quite as devoted to her as she is to their interests. If a legal case reaches the royal court, their husbands' agents may assist Martha, but that aid may depend on them receiving support or assistance in return.

The youngest of the three, Catherine, is a 13-year-old girl still living with her mother. She's generally quiet and obedient, and recently somewhat overwhelmed by the sense that her mother is involved in a life-and-death struggle that she doesn't understand but which involves her own future. On the other hand, she isn't stupid, is rather proud that her mother has brought her up to be literate, and is used to her mother looking to her comfort. She's slender and pale — making her quite attractive by the aristocratic standards of the age — and visitors may at first take her for something of a mouse. However, she can match her mother's determination when pushed, while combining this with a certain amount of childish romanticism; she assumes that she's entitled to the privileges of her status, which must eventually include a rich husband. She takes it for granted that she'll have to marry in the next few years, but anyone suggesting an unattractive or unappealing suitor will have an angry, temperamental girl to deal with. While she's conventionally religious, she has no interest in a cloistered life; any suggestion that she might end up in a convent would startle, then terrify, then outrage her.

Lady Martha has several neighbors who take a passing interest in her affairs, in the routine way of feudal equals in close proximity, but two of them in particular are important in this scenario.

Lord Michael

Lord Michael is the more ostentatiously difficult of these two. A graying warrior with an estate slightly smaller than Martha's, he has a simple opinion; she's a mere woman, which gives her no right at all to property, and her claim-

The two hostile lords both command significant military forces, so direct assault isn't likely to work against either of them, and wouldn't be wise. Even if the characters could muster sufficient strength, a direct attack by mundane forces that injures or kills an acknowledged local lord will trigger a response from his overlord, other lords, and maybe even the crown; it looks like insurrection, and feudal lords are supposed to aid their vassals. If there's any hint of magic involved, the response will receive very effective aid from the church, and Asmorn won't be the only Quaesitor to show up asking pointed questions. If anyone mentions such

ideas, Martha dismisses them as stupid. Characters who look set on such a course should hear grumbling from grogs and rational arguments from allies; the storyguide may also have Asmorn appear before the characters do anything too final, and explicitly warn them off.

Michael and Roger might be deterred or even eliminated by more subtle means, including magic, but this could still be dangerous; Michael is tough and bull-headed, while Roger is shrewd, and neither is a coward. They also both have heirs, friends, or cronies who would seek to avenge them. A blatant magical attack would probably be catastrophic for Martha's cause; a plausible accusation of sorcery could destroy her, and no one would believe that the assault wasn't her idea. And any magic risks drawing the ire of Asmorn.

Of course, Michael and Roger don't like or trust each other. They may ally to deal with a shared problem, but they may also be played off. The idea that Martha was using sorcery would definitely unite them, though. Each hopes that the other will weaken and distract Martha without achieving anything conclusive, so they're unwilling to act against each other unless one of them looks close to final victory.

ing that estate is a bad joke. A man ought to be assigned to take care of it, and it might as well be himself. Months of brooding have transformed this opinion into something even simpler; a ruthless sense of entitlement. And Michael believes in doing whatever is necessary to claim what he deserves, which usually means something violent.

In short, he's an intellectually unremarkable ruffian in the clothes of a nobleman. He has clerks and lawyers working to undermine Martha's position, but their lack of immediate success and lengthy explanations merely make him more impatient. Anyone seeming to work against his claim will trigger his anger, though he can keep it in check for a short period, and he has a number of thuggish soldiers at his command.

Lord Roger

It may take the characters a while to realize that their larger problem is elsewhere, though Lady Martha may eventually point the fact out. Lord Roger is cooler and more courteous than Michael, but even more ambitious and smarter. For him, claiming Martha's lands would merely be another step on a path to ever greater wealth and power — but a nice big step. He isn't especially hostile to her, but he's even less inclined to put up with obstructions. However, he favors subtle and indirect schemes; the sort of violence that so appeals to Michael gives a devious woman like Martha the chance to spin a sob story in court, and damages property and peasants that could otherwise be squeezed for nice fat rents. (His tenants like him less than Michael's like their lord; Michael is easier to fool and employs more corruptible bailiffs.)

His main scheme is to construct a comprehensive legal case that would give him effective control of Martha's estate; where that leaves Martha is her problem. This involves tracing back the feudal history of the region to establish that his family have broad rights across the whole area (which is arguably true, given some very stretched legal arguments), bribing various clerks to put his case in front of the right people while losing letters or pleas from Martha, and persuading the overlord that he, as a trusted and competent vassal, is the obvious person to tidy up this unfortunate problem, if he is just given the appropriate powers, such as control of the disputed estate.

He also has an infant son, and it's crossed his mind that a marital alliance would surely resolve the issue and make everyone happy; Martha has to step carefully round this topic, as every time she refuses, Roger argues before their overlord that she's being unreasonable and irrational. However, the terms Roger offers involve him taking over her estate immediately as a dowry on behalf of his son, and the chances of him being haggled down to anything acceptable to her are nil.

Martha controls a holding of moderate size. Storyguides should set the details according to what's typical in the general geographical area of their saga, but note that it can support at least a small group of warrior knights, complete with adequate retinues.

Its center is a substantial village with the usual features of such a community — a mill, a church, and so on — and also Martha's manor house, which is lightly fortified with a small moat, and well able to hold off minor non-magical attacks. There are also a number of outlying villages and hamlets, all connected to the main manor by adequate roads. The inhabitants are reasonably loyal to Martha; some, mostly those with whom she's made an effort, are fiercely loyal. On the other hand, they're completely unaccustomed to magic; Gifted visitors unnerve them, and if Lady Martha is seen to be associating with such people too much, she may have some difficulties keeping her peasants in line.

The exact layout of this holding is unlikely to become important in play, unless the storyguide chooses to play up the combative elements of the scenario. In that case, with raiders coming in the night to torch hayricks and cottages, scurrying between cover as Martha's men-at-arms and the player characters play hide-and-seek with them, the storyguide should sketch out a rough map for reference.

The story begins when Tholin arrives at the characters' covenant's gate with a handful of bodyguards, requesting Hermetic hospitality. He's friendly and seemingly straightforward, talking technicalities and exchanging gossip with everyone; he also gives a pawn of vis in the form of an alchemical fluid as a gift to the covenant. However, he admits that he's here to ask a favor, and at some point, preferably when all the resident magi are present, he'll explain.

He has a cousin, he says, a mundane noblewoman named Lady Martha, who holds an estate not too far from here. (Int + appropriate Area Lore rolls against an Ease Factor of 6 will confirm that there is a noblewoman with a holding over that way; rolls of 12+ will give fragments of the background to this plot.) He owes her a family debt of honor, and she currently has some problems with which he doesn't feel he can help personally — so he'd be very grateful if anyone else could lend a hand. Perhaps his sodales could do something for her? He's prepared to recompense them for their time and trouble.

Tholin's stated reasons for not attending to this himself are, firstly, that Lady Martha's holding is close enough to the characters' covenant that they might reasonably complain that he was trespassing on their territory, and secondly, that he's very busy at present. He'll offer very reasonable payment for the favor, though — say, a rook or two of vis, or aid in some Hermetic political matter. The problem, as Tholin describes it, is that some of Martha's neighbors are making trouble for her in some kind of legal matter, and may be trying to bully her into making an inexpedient match for her daughter. It's possible (Tholin says) that all this could be resolved by a simple show of support from some people who look convincingly formidable, and maybe a few well-placed words in the right ears.

The storyguide should work to make Tholin's offer effective, or the scenario won't last long, unless it changes into a political plot in which Tholin stirs up trouble for the characters while one of Martha's neighbors grabs her land and then starts making trouble for everyone in a wider area. If the characters have superiors in the covenant with authority over them (i.e. if the covenant has the Superiors Hook), they can, of course, simply accept Tholin's offer and order the characters to deal with the matter, while Flaws such as Avaricious or Hooks such as Politics or Poverty can make Tholin's offers especially tempting. Tholin may even be able to persuade third parties outside the covenant to influence the characters to help him, invoking the Close Family Ties, Favors, Mentor, or Oath of Fealty Flaws, or a Beholden or Politics Hook. It's also possible that characters will discover that they have personal reasons of their own to offer aid; some of the people causing trouble for Martha may also be Enemies of theirs, engaged in a Feud with their own families, subjects of their Hatred, or opponents of their covenant (probably through a Politics or Rival Hook) — and anyone with the Meddler Flaw is likely to find this situation very interesting.

When playing out this conversation, it's important that Tholin never suggests that the characters should violate the Code of Hermes. Indeed, if challenged directly on this, he'll claim to be shocked (while smiling slightly). He'll even specifically mutter something about "working within the Code," albeit only in passing and without emphasis. His request is actually legal in Hermetic terms, though slightly dubious; helping a mundane in small ways is generally regarded as quite harmless. Of course, annoying mundane lords is likely to cause trouble and endanger the Order, but only if the perpetrator is identified as a magus; likewise,

nobody is likely to take actual service with Lady Martha, so nobody will be accused of becoming a "court magician."

Not long after Tholin leaves the covenant, Asmorn locates him for an interview. Tholin squirms, admits much of what he's done, but declares that he specifically told the player characters that they shouldn't violate the Code, and hints that, if these essentially neutral parties take particular actions in such matters, any similar actions he ever takes could hardly be considered unreasonable. Asmorn grudgingly admits to himself that Tholin has a point.

He could warn the characters off, but that might be politically inexpedient; a Quaesitor who interferes in the legitimate business of other magi can suffer censure. Furthermore, Asmorn is curious; he wants to know how untidy and annoying the characters may be in future. So he decides to watch, albeit from close by. He takes a few grogs and establishes himself in a travelers' inn just outside Lady Martha's estates — on Lord Roger's land, in fact. He doesn't use magic to observe the characters; he obeys the letter and the spirit of the Code. However, he can set his grogs to listening to local gossip; some of them are experienced at this, and wander round the area, often posing as pilgrims or peddlers.

Whether and when the characters realize that they're being watched depends how alert they are. Asmorn attracts some attention, of course, but he keeps his head down, and is a little way off, while his grogs are more subtle. They may be noticed as possible outsider troublemakers, but the characters would have to be quite sharp to become aware of them. The storyguide should assess the possibilities here, but basically, if the characters are especially attentive to rumors, or specifically watch out for anyone watching them, they may pick up word of an "unpleasant stranger" and "unknown vagabonds."

Conversely, Asmorn and his grogs are shrewd and alert; anything out of the ordinary that suggests magic, such as a radical change of behavior in a local noble, will attract their notice. Asmorn needs solid evidence before he can bring anyone before a tribunal, but he's good at piecing together clues, and he won't need solid proof to gain the support of other Quaesitors for a strict investigation, perhaps even with magical compulsion. If the character covenant delegates this problem to mundane companions and grogs, he'll be a lot more cautious, but even non-magical activity that could draw the anger of powerful mundanes against the Order can be treated as a Hermetic crime.

If at any point the characters look like they're set on

violating the Code, Asmorn will show himself and start issuing warnings or even charges. This can happen before anyone does anything too unlawful, Asmorn is idealistic enough that he wants primarily to see the Code obeyed, not merely to trap anyone in error. He's also quite open about his reasons for being present, in a taciturn way.

From here on, much depends on how the characters choose to act, how well they handle various antagonists, and how complicated the storyguide wants to make things. Note that it's perfectly possible to run more than one of the plots suggested below in parallel. Aside from forcing the players to divide their forces, this can provide opportunities for dramatic cross-cutting, with, say, evidence obtained from interrogation of a captured raider being used to humiliate Lord Michael in court, or young Catherine being taken along when Martha goes to plead her case before her overlord and forming a romantic attachment with someone she meets.

Court Drama

For a subtle game, especially if any of the characters have high society influence or legal skills, the storyguide can concentrate on legal issues. In that case, Lord Roger will be the primary foe, with Michael's bullies and verbal explosions providing extra worries or comic relief.

First, some characters have to travel to the relevant overlord's court and involve themselves with the case. The journey isn't trivial, but needn't be too long — probably just as far as a major castle or manor in the same region. However, if the overlord bases himself at the royal court, or has widely dispersed holdings and is currently dwelling on, say, the other side of the English Channel, the storyguide has an excuse for transport difficulties, bandits, ships with Cupid stowed away on board, and suchlike. Martha might come in person, which could help in court but may lead to her arguing with the characters' schemes while leaving her estate less well managed.

On arrival, at least some of the player characters need to use Etiquette to appear acceptable. They can contact Martha's allies, but find that they lack much influence, and in any case, those allies mostly consider the favors they owed Martha paid off by now. Martha's older daughters' husbands, or their agents, may be around, but need persuasion to lend any substantial help; they know that Martha's resources are limited, but might, say, be interested in prom-

ises of wizardly assistance, though those would have to be very convincing and carefully phrased. The characters also have to talk with court clerks, some of them actually in Roger's pay, to determine the state of the case. At this point, they should realize that someone has been delaying and losing Martha's own communications; the storyguide might require a Per + Intrigue roll against an Ease Factor of 6 to see this, but it's really quite obvious once anyone asks the right questions.

Once they've identified a reasonably trustworthy official, or one they themselves can buy, simply bringing the substance of Martha's case to his attention can strengthen her position considerably. Alternatively, skilled player characters can make her case directly to the overlord. A roll with Int + the relevant Law against an Ease Factor of 9 assembles the facts neatly, requiring only a Com + Language

roll against an Ease Factor of 6, or even use of Intrigue or Charm, to present the argument; using pure rhetoric with minimal legal logic, a Pre + Language roll of against an Ease Factor of 12 will carry the day. The storyguide can make things harder or easier if the characters come up with notably bad or good ideas.

If any of this is done competently, the overlord eventually shifts from favoring Roger to a more even-handed view, declaring himself open to further arguments; a really clever speech will make him look distinctly favorably on Martha, while mishandling matters might lead him to declare for Roger, forcing the characters to scrabble to recover their position.

At this point, the characters should try to assemble a reasonable proposal for resolving the difficulty, which may involve arranging a marriage, involving the local bishop (see the "Church Options" sidebar; this may mean more journeys or messages, if he isn't in the same area), or simply persuading the overlord that Martha is a useful counterbalance to the ambitions of two overweening local lords. (The last will work best if Michael and Roger have been acting boorishly.) Players may well come up with other ideas. Their characters may also have to deal with Martha's stubbornness; patience and calm are needed there, as she isn't especially susceptible to charm. Attempted use of magic on the overlord or his clerks would be unwise, especially if Asmorn is around, but using it for fast transport or delivery of messages, or subtly to detect corruption among officials, could be very helpful. Good ideas and diplomatic skill advance Martha's case by stages; deadlocked debates slow things down and maybe cause the overlord to consider options which inconvenience everyone equally (see, for example, the sidebar), and failures advance Roger's case, or maybe even Michael's. Proving that her neighbors have been attacking Martha's estates would help her, but mere unsubstantiated accusations will be disregarded. Eventually, enough victories or failures lead to a good or bad ruling.

For more excitement, an opponent might attempt to intimidate or even assassinate someone who's being too successful on Martha's behalf. Michael and Roger probably seek to blame each other for this, whoever is responsible. If Michael is present, he might be induced to attack Roger's lawyers, as they have a worryingly strong position, but in that case, Martha's supporters might find themselves being blamed!

Asmorn also shows up at some point. He would, of course, be viewed with intense suspicion by mundane clerks, thanks to The Gift, but once again, he can use his own grogs to learn what's going on. Any sign of the characters using magic leads him to warn them, and could quickly cause him to start issuing charges and summoning them to

tribunal; he regards even the most subtle supernatural meddling at a high noble's court as beyond the pale.

Defending the Estate

For a short, violent, Seven Samurai-style story, concentrate on Michael's attempts to damage Martha's income and prestige by sending bullies and ruffians to harass and burn out her tenants. This can lead to a series of fight scenes until the characters and Martha can accumulate enough evidence to take him to law or blackmail him with the threat, or inflict enough damage to his forces to force him to back off. Counterattacks are also possible, but risk escalating the conflict.

Young Love

There's also the possibility of a marriage for Catherine. The player characters may think of persuading Roger to accept a much less onerous dowry for his son, but by now, he's probably alienated Martha too far. Finding an alternative suitor can be as simple or as complex as the storyguide wishes.

The ideal suitor would be a capable, gentle young knight or aristocratic younger son with the intelligence to manage the estate to Martha's satisfaction. Finding such a paragon would be quite an accomplishment; the characters might have to comb the castles and tourneys of the land, and then make a convincing sales pitch.

A reasonable suitor would be older, poorer, or less capable, but not tied to any faction, and happy to accept this role. He might need grooming to make him acceptable to Catherine. There might actually be two or three possible candidates known to the characters or hanging around the overlord's court; the characters, Martha, and Catherine would then have to choose between them.

A marginal suitor would be someone unattractive to Catherine, Martha, or Martha's overlord, perhaps being tied to some faction or even related to Michael or Roger. However, so long as he wasn't too problematic, he could be presented as a least-bad choice, and might respond to intensive, maybe magically augmented grooming; the characters could play fairy godmothers to a male Cinderella.

Persuading the overlord to accept Martha's leaving the holding to a "newcomer" would be tricky, but not impossible if the suitor has enough status and feudal connections, or even if it simply resolves an intractable headache. Martha would hope that the suitor would either accept the prospect of inheriting the land as dowry enough, or be

If Martha's overlord or his appointed judges find the case too tiresome, a neat legal sidestep would be to grant her lands to the church, with a requirement that Martha should retain them for life as a ward of the local bishop. This would annoy Michael and Roger, of course, but there would be very little they could do about it. Martha would appreciate that, but would find the idea of having to answer to the bishop uncomfortable, and, of course, this would leave Catherine without support. Martha would fear that the bishop would force the girl into a convent to remove a drain on the church's new possession; certainly, it might be hard to extract her a decent dowry. Still, if Catherine can be found a good husband first, or if the bishop can be induced to make some generous public guarantees of security for the girl, the trick would be quite appealing.

Also, one of Martha's trump cards is a threat to enter a nunnery and give her property to the church. She hasn't made this explicit yet, as she actually hates the idea, and she would certainly only ever carry through on it if Catherine was safely married, but it would scare her opponents.

Characters who get involved with church affairs should tread very carefully; causing a bishop to take any sort of interest in the Order is a significant violation of the Code in Asmorn's eyes.

from a rich enough family to accept a daughter-in-law with strings attached.

Further complications can include Catherine (or a suitor) developing affections for someone else; characters with the Curse of Venus can trigger huge problems here! On the other hand, if the characters can set a companion character up as an acceptable suitor, they'll have reason to be pleased with themselves.

If everything goes well, the characters can expect the reward they were promised. Tholin may be devious, but he's not going to defraud his sodales over a few pawns of vis; likewise, Asmorn may be irritated, but he's sincerely law abiding.

The characters might also engineer a reward that wasn't agreed in advance.

Lady Martha is a landed noblewoman, based not very far from their covenant, who would be willing to form an alliance with Gifted magi if approached carefully. Her determination to hold onto her rights and protect her daughters' interests leaves her prepared to bend what others might see as moral principles. She's designed as a companion, and could be handed off to a player in this role. As noted in her game statistics, her Flaws may change if the characters are particularly successful, replacing her Enemies with the normal obligations of her Oath of Fealty.

If things don't go well, the consequences can range from Tholin's sarcasm and petty enmity to a formal trial for infractions of the Code of Hermes; if anyone has really offended Asmorn's sense of propriety, they're in trouble. It's also possible that clumsy actions will have left Martha's neighbors with a grudge against the player characters; Michael might try to whip up a miniature crusade against the covenant, while Roger would probably arrange political/ social problems for them.