SESSION FIVE

Cathal knocks upon the villa door and it opens, though by no one’s hand as the portal beyond is empty. He and Mara lead the others inside. It first seems to them that they’ve stepped into some kind of ball, and follow the sound of music, laughter, and dancing to a large room at the end of the main hall. Cathal attempts to speak with some of the people, but they seem completely oblivious to his presence, and one of the servants simply passes completely through Mara.

Reynhild nervously stays near Cathal, unsettled by the magic of the place and determined to protect him. Mara and Dolan inspect some of the rooms off of the large room and main hall, but find little other than two noblemen who’ve stepped aside to have an innocuous conversation. Having found nothing of note, they ascend a grand, circling stair case to the upper floor of the Villa.

Mara, guarded by Dolan, breaks off from the group in an attempt to inspect the rooms within the villa, her curiosity more than peaked. Cathal, flanked by Magda and Reynhild, heads brazenly toward a vast, open balcony occupying almost half of the upper floor. Cathal notices the livery of several noble houses, including Clan Yngvi, the Rjurikan noble house he fostered with in Hogunmark. He eventually spots a man dressed in the traditional garb of the Emperor of Anuire, a title that has gone unclaimed for at least five hundred years.

Mara eventually stumbles into what she surmises is the chamber of the Villa’s master, and is surprised to see it bears the marks of a scion of house Fulcairn. A large painting occupies one of the walls, which shows a small extended family; a man and a woman, with two children, all bearing the angular, wolfish and sandy hair of Cathal and his late brother. To their side stands another man, taller and broader, in a set of heavy, elaborate robes. A wizard, Mara suspects, who also bears the Fulcairn features but is darker of hair and complexion. His hands are upon the shoulders of a young girl who stands before him, and from their resemblance must be his daughter.

Cathal moves closer to the Emperor to listen to the conversation he is having with a tall, powerful looking man in richly-made robes. From their discussion, Cathal discerns that the Emperor is one who ruled Anuire some seven hundred-fifty years ago, and the man the Emperor was speaking with was Melehan Fulcairn, Imperial Court Wizard and commander of the empire’s magical sources.

Reynhild notices that Magda has wandered off, and is nowhere to be seen. Her unease intensifies.

Mara rejoins her friends on the balcony and recognizes Melehan from the painting in the master’s chamber. He is the one who owns the villa, and has offered it to the Emperor to use whenever he visits Taeghas. Melehan also assures the Emperor that he has used the unusually strong magical energy in Wilder’s Gorge, a small Taeghean barony, to create some kind of defense against the magical incursions one “Raesene”, and Ruobhe Manslayer.

Having learned all that they expected to, the living Fulcairns begin to take their leave, but are stopped by Melehan, who, unlike any of the other apparitions at the ball, have noticed them. He challenges their presence, calling them intruders, and freezes Cathal and Reynhild in place.

Mara tries to convince him that they are all his kin, and that they seek only to save the house and the land of Wilder’s Gorge, but he does not believe her. Mara allows him to draw her blood to check her bloodline, as she suspects she may bear some distant, lost relation to the Fulcairns through Melehan. Afterward he seems somewhat appeased, though still suspicious. He reveals to Mara the nature of the magical force she has been tapping into, and that it is not the Mebhaigl (Meh-VALE), the source of realm magic, but the raw stuff of divine energy, and that what she has been doing is dangerous.

Melehan then releases Cathal and Reynhild, and though they have questions of their own, he answers no more. The mighty wizard warns them to leave immediately, lest they be stuck within the magical pocket of time forever. Reynhild, needing no more warning, grabs Cathal by the arm and pulls him after her from the balcony, but before they make it to the stair, Mara calls out, for she has found Magda. The armswoman is enraptured in the music, and has succumbed to the magic of the vision. Though Mara wants to try to save Magda, Reynhild and Cathal, both feeling the eerie pull of the place, tell her that it is too late. With reluctance, Reynhild, Cathal, Dolan, and Mara flee down the great staircase, and bolt for the villa’s door.