Mage: Episode 3

Posted by Eldaeros


This episode, run by one of our other players +T.J. Hafer, the group discussed the future of Sydney and their plans for it before encountering an unusual man that would shine some light on their unique awakenings.

Episode 3: The Traveller

Game Sessions 10 & 11
The session began with Tanuwa calling the group to meet him at the Liberty following their six weeks of training with mentors offered to them by the Council. After a short catch up, Tanuwa expressed his distrust of the Council and their motives, which led into the first item of his agenda: the creation of the ‘High Covenant of Sydney’, a group dedicated to the betterment of Sydney, and the world, on their terms and no one else's. Membership was offered to each member of the group, Council member or no, but with a catch: should there be a time when the goals of the Council  and the Covenant come into conflict, the members of the Covenant were bound to follow its wishes, rather than that of the Council.

Jess, with no obligation to the Council, happily accepted Tanuwa’s invitation, although the others were a little more apprehensive. Oghma commented that, while Tanuwa may mean well, it was far too early to be making such absolute decisions with regard to future events. If such a situation would arise he would decide which side to support there and then, and no sooner. Shiryo and Malphas echoed similar sentiments before the matter was dropped, but not before Tanuwa warned that should the Council attempt to interfere in the work of the Covenant, he would make it difficult for them. The three Council mages let the comment slip, but couldn’t help but feel concerned about the veiled threat behind Tanuwa’s words.

Moving on to other matters, Oghma brought up his grandfather’s old tome, and his progress in unveiling the mystery behind it, which unfortunately amounted to not much. He invited the group back to his estate where he hoped that together they might glean a little more from the mysterious book.

Upon arriving back at the estate they found the front doors slightly ajar. The upstair windows were likewise slightly open, which struck the group as slightly odd. Concerned for the well being of his head of staff, Oghma moved into the mansion without a second thought. Meanwhile, Jess examined the building with her mage sight, finding that everything was just a bit off. The scene before her was tilted, in an indistinct, unnatural sense. It was almost like a wobbly checkerboard, where each space represented time thrown slightly out of sync. The flows of energy stopped and started, instead of flowing naturally, in ways she hadn’t seen before.

Inside the building Oghma asked Malphas to use his magic to sense out any sentient minds in the area in hopes to find James. Instead, Malphas picked up on a strange, indistinct concentration of mental energy coming from the general area of the archives. He couldn’t make out exactly what it was, but it was definitely strong enough that it could only be coming from one or more intelligent beings.

Informing the others that someone was down in the hidden archives Oghma rushed down there to confront whoever had invaded his home, with the others close behind. He descended the stairs to see a man standing in the middle of the room with his back to the group, holding Oghma’s grandfather's book in one hand and paging through it with the other. All the light sources in the room seemed to be oscillating in an irregular, circular fashion - as if something that stifles light itself were whirling around the room and dimming them as it passed. Some of the shelves seemed to be slightly off-kilter, and particles of dust seemed to hang in the air perfectly still.

When Oghma demanded to know who the intruder was, the man whirled around and shut the book, placing it on the nearest desk as the strange phenomenon slowly faded away. The man, who identified himself only as a traveller of sorts, spoke to the mages about their awakenings, whilst also providing them answers to their own questions. An answer for an answer.

Through the man’s cryptic replies they were able to determine that ‘the plan’ had been altered, but, for whatever reason, a particular part of said plan had been reverted back by an unknown force. That part was their collective awakenings. The man was intrigued by it because it was something that he had not encountered before, which was highly usual. He also noted that their ‘visions’ that they had been experiencing were lightly due to this tampering.

The mages wanted to know more, but the man replied that his window was closing. At that point the mages watched on as the man and the room around him seemed to close like the aperture of a camera, the edges fading into an image of outside the manor. Moments later, the mage found themselves standing once more before Ashfield Castle, although this time nothing was out of place. It was as if they had never entered.

Rushing inside, Oghma found that the archives were secure, although strangely enough the tome was sitting where the strange man had left it, now open at a page that described the Traveller, or at least an entity like him, who had interacted with mages for at least the last century. He was depicted as commonly beneficial to the mages in question, though he often does so in exchange for help in obtaining information.

The session closed with the group agreeing that the tome required more protection than what Oghma’s archives provided, with Oghma stating that he would take the book to the Council’s own archives, where they would have the means to ensure that it remained safe.

0 comments: