Broseley
== Broseley ==
Broseley Covenant is based at Sir Nathaniel's manor house in the village of Broseley, a mostly forested area about seven miles north of the market town of Bridgnorth and four miles downriver from Buildwas Abbey. Those are also the nearest crossings to the powerful River Severn, which divides Broseley from most of Stonehenge. Sir Nathaniel's house, a relatively new stone manor of about thirty rooms, always has good food and drink, even though rumour has it the Cook eats more of the expensive stuff than he should. A stronger magic aura and at least one guest lab can be found in the hills bordering Broseley to the north.
They are always keen to trade their herbam and imagonem vis (which smells lovely) and some animal for other types of magical vis and to discuss trade of books and spells. Beryl, a Norman with a short dark bob of hair, is a fairly well known Redcap with good diplomatic skills. There have been for decades rumours that: Sir Nathaniel used to be blind, Gentian is one of them True Merinita who doesn't like faeries (she actually writes to other Merinita about this since 1230), Gabrielle is some lord's bastard daughter and Laevis' heartbeast is a bird. (These are all true.)
A case has been brought to the Quaesitors by one Sir Neville of Chirk that Sir Nathaniel and Gentian are interfering with his marriage by denying him access to his wife, Gabrielle (of Jerbiton), and child. He claims if she wanted to leave the marriage, she should go to a nunnery, and the child should live with him as his heir. Gabrielle's response was that Neville was a brutal wife-beater, and had forbidden her to study or practise magic on threat of harm to the child. He should be glad she hadn't killed him, and ordering her to go back would be denying her magic.
People of the Covenant
Sir Nathaniel of Jerbiton - Terram specialist aged around 80. Left Arbor Low in 1220 because they were giving him only poor quality stuff despite him being the main funding source of the Covenant. (He has Difficult Underlings). Gabrielle was his apprentice and he took a new one in 1235.
Sir Nathaniel's familiar is a monocerous called August.
Beryl of Mercere (ungifted), parens of Brennan. Left Arbor Low in 1220 because she loves Sir Nathaniel. No-one is quite sure if this is a platonic relationship. Beryl is proficient in all (I think) social skills and common lores (generally +5 to the roll including presence, +6 if Communication). Beryl does book negotiation as well as management of the covenant, and has a decent layman's understanding of magic theory.
Gentian of Merinita - plant specialist, major focus in plants, can also cast healing spells. True Merinita and distrustful of faeries. She has basically no social skills.
Gentian's familiar is a barnacle goose called Jocosa.
Laevis of Bjornaer - small, brown-haired, beautiful voice, enchanting music, heartbeast songbird. Laevis moves around a lot and can be away for a week or so at a time with the local magical birds.
Gabrielle of Jerbiton: Sir Nathaniel's filius, she is beginning to earn a name as an Imaginem specialist. Gabrielle looks like the spitting image of the FitzAlan lords because her father is Lord John Fitzalan, Warder of the West and Lord of Oswestry and Clun, and her mother is his cousin whom he was not allowed to marry. Though very beautiful, she looks around thirty, her unhappy marriage may have aged her.
Brennan of Mercere (ungifted, filius Beryl) - only around on his season off and one or two other trips a year, but has family nearby. He has a scar and is a good lute player and archer.
Apprentices: Laevis' apprentice Alysanne and Sir Nathaniel's apprentice Rhys.
The more reliable Companions and Grogs:
Hafren of Awre, the stablemaster, has obviously faerie blue eyes and Undine blood. He is the son of the faerie goddess Sabre (pron. Sab-rey) of the River Severn and has a supernatural ability to move water around (and finesse of 5 including Aquam speciality) but has no memory of his time underwater in the Faerie regio, nor does he remember aboveground when he is there. This is thanks to a malediction by Woden, faerie god of the delta. Hafren also can't drown, and is actually good with horses.
Nina of Broseley, now married, is Gabrielle's childhood friend and still works part-time as her maid, but mostly makes beautifully shaped candles. Nina is no longer allowed in several of the rooms (having been caught stealing to free her parents from serfdom) but is an actual True Friend to Gabrielle. She is also small and dark-haired.
Oke, magical half-giant. Mines under the hills to the North, still tries to protect Broseley because some of the villagers are his descendants (probably most of them by now).
Inge of Montverte heads the defenses and will talk fortifications with anyone till you wish you hadn't met him. He has keen hearing and often suggests ways the Manor could be improved but he is evidently proud of the rectangle layout, moat and arrowslits, which were his idea.
Liam of Benthall, Chief Scribe and Librarian at Broseley, is a branded criminal (he stole food). He can be a bit too humble and is rumoured to have a diabolic past, but he seems to be good at his job.
Herley Coke of Much Wenlock is the celebrated cook. He really is an excellent pastry chef, even though he's frequently drunk. About a third of dinners involve Sir Nathaniel sending his compliments to the Chef but also wondering what happened to the Goose/Swan/Venison/brandy/Burgundian Wine etc that was ordered, and the news coming back that there had been an accident in the Kitchen and the rest would be coming to the table shortly, or it would be replaced.
Johanna is a skilled sheep-wife and faerie in Broseley. She's a supernaturally good sheep midwife.
Some Plot hooks
Feel free to play with Sir Nathaniel's Difficult Underlings to have someone turn up in your Covenant who used to work at Broseley, or be hired at Broseley by Sir Nathaniel in an absent-minded moment.
In 1242 Gabrielle has run away from her abusive husband, Sir Neville of Chirk, and he is trying to send people in to take their infant son and to stir up people against Sir Nathaniel to have Gabrielle sent to a nunnery.
Once a year in the hills north of Broseley the half-giant shows up and a Norse wizard's ghost shows up and keeps summoning ten Iron Age Viking warriors that do nothing but attack the half-giant and anyone in the way. Sir Nathaniel and sometimes Gentian join in for the night to make sure the half-giant wins without much injury, and welcome others to do so. No-one is sure whether the ghost mage would appear if the half-giant didn't.
There are sleeping giants in the area that were never completely resolved.
Broseley are friendly with the local faerie regio, Queen Sabre's palace, but the regio has pressure from Buildwas Abbey and other cities, old Nodens/Woden in the south, and ice faeries in the north-west where the River Severn originates.
Gabrielle's original Parens was a Diedne, Aemon, who died in 1218. This is not known, but it's possible other clues from a Diedne investigation might lead to Broseley.
