Vardian's Tomb

Vardian's Tomb is a covenant located in the rural section of Rome, in a series of the abandoned underground catacombs. It is home to a small number of Ex Miscellanea and Jerbiton magi, most of whom are interested in finding defixiones (see Ancient Magic, page 51). If they have not asked for help, having noticed Alyates and considered him too powerful for them to deal with, they do not figure prominently in this adventure. Even if they have initiated the characters' involvement in the matter, their aid and support to the player characters is meager.

The catacombs are too small to

house visitors, and the magi of Vardian's Tomb instead offer to put the magi up somewhere in town. Use the information describing the Piazza dei Satiri to construct a similar temporary residence for the player characters. All they know about Alyates is that he is Greek, skilled in Mentem magic, and has a sanctum located somewhere in Rome. While interviewing a ghost, a magus of Vardian's Tomb discovered that Alyates was manipulating the old pope, and his ghostly informant warned that Alyates might be at it again, controlling a cardinal to get to the next pope.

Across the plaza from the church is the house of Malgarita Ramberti, one of Alyates' personae. With its distinctive smell of fish, the two-story wooden building is not large, but it's enough to serve as both home and fish-selling stall. During the day, Malgarita or one of her employees sells fresh fish. At night, the storefront closes and Malgarita retreats to her private residence upstairs, the very same rooms she has promised to let the player characters use (see later). She has more than one residence, and can easily stay at one of her other shops or at her warehouse located on the Tiber. She promises to make the visitors dinner each evening. The plaza has a Divine aura of 3 during the day, which dips to 2 when the sun sets.

The first level of Malgarita's home is a single large room, with a door from the piazza and a long shuttered window. The shutter folds down into a counter, where Malgarita displays fish to her customers. A stone hearth and chimney rest against the far wall. A ladder can be placed at a trap door in the ceiling that leads to the second level, a windowless attic split into two rooms of equal size. The first room has a wooden table and a few chairs. The second room is her bedroom. A wooden chest holds a few items of female apparel, inexpensive cosmetics, and other personal effects. A fresh, straw-stuffed mattress lies in a corner. With little effort, Malgarita can arrange for more mattresses, depending on the player characters' desires. The entire building has an overwhelming odor of fish.

There is a chance that the player characters will not stay with Malgarita. In that case, you can use this piazza as a setting for other events that transpire, like an attack from Oriens' minions or Buonacorsus' mundane allies.