Tuesday before Whitsunday and the weeks before, 1198

The Redcap arrived two weeks ahead of the Queasitori, bearing news of their imminent arrival. "All of Normandy--and half of Chistendom--talks about the dragon at Verdun," he told them at the modest feast that marked his arrival.

"Confronting a dragon is certainly no crime," the Queasitor Bonhomme said when he arrived with his partner and entourage, "Even in a city, surrounded by mundanes. But why was it there? And why you were there? And what of this rogue maga?" His partner was Vertidas--younger, less experienced, and considerably less dour. "Nobody suspects you of violating the Hermetic Code," she said, "This is all routine for an event like this." They questioned Gaspard in great detail, though pulling details from his sieve-like narrative was an exercise. Madeleine and Michi were next.

In the mean time, Daria had tasked Gaspard and Madeleine with deciphering the contents of their newfound books--or rather, the copious notes with which they were filled. The handwriting was quickly found to be that of two people, and further identified as that of DuCraindre and Pietre. Many leaves had been inked, pumiced, and inked again, but much of the handwriting was in code. "Look at this," Madeleine pointed out to Gaspard. "Garden of Eden?" he read. "Should that mean something to me?" "There's a lot about it here," she replied.

The books, their notes, and the connection of Pietre to Triamore eventually became the focus of the Queasitori's investigation. They questioned Daria at length, but if they found anything damning they didn't bring it to light. Eventually they departed.

Shortly after, a peasant begged an audience with the magi. His accent was thick with the back woods, and his Dutch more of a pidgin than the language. He seemed to indicate that he had a relative in the village, and sure enough when Andries was called up he was able to translate the talk, which he claimed was that of distant cousins in Luxembourg, though he didn't actually know this stranger. The supplicant called himself Wulfram, and said his village--Vikten--was terrorized by a dark cult. "They have taken a young man from the village called Alfons," Andries translated. "He says they are planning a black mass, and will kill the man then in sacrifice." "Why do they not seek help there?" Remi asked. "Their priest leads the black mass, and their lord holds other lands, and seldom visits. They heard Triamore might be able to help them."

Gaspard was quickly dispatched with his usual retinue. It would take nearly three days to reach Vikten; Wulfram, whose speech was becoming more intelligible, would guide them there. "We will not enter the village, for they will see you," Wulfram explained. "A woodcutter's cottage is a league away; we trust the old man and his wife. We will hide there until we hear word." The journey took them across the Meuse and into Luxembourg, where the terrain was hilly and forested and the villages huddled in tiny patches of field. Late in the third day, just a mile or so from their destination, they were accosted by a putrescence. "What is that?" said Madeleine, pointing to a mass of rotting flesh nailed to a post. "The first lamb of Spring, of course" Wulfram replied, surprised by her ignorance. "For fertility, and a good harvest this year."

At the cottage they found the woodcutter in a worry. "They're holding the black mass this very night!" he said. "At the old chapel." The compatriots quickly shed their gear and prepared for action, leaving their pack animals at the cottage with Stephan's squire Cyril and Madeleine's maid Celestine.

It was a dark night, and the rain poured down. The old chapel was a ruin, a rectangular shell at what might have once been a village, but was now overtaken by forest. A few moments' observation confirmed what the old woodcutter had told them: On a makeshift alter lay the hapless Alfons, while behind it a hooded figure prepared his knives. Two or three worshippers knelt before the sacrificial scene. A quick scouting identified two additional cultists, hidden among the rocks and bracken outside the church.

With Gaspard's spells masking their approach, it was quick work. "How did you find me," the villager asked when Bruder Cornelius finally cut him free. "Wulfram sent us," Cornelius answered, but rather than calm the man, it sent him into a panic. He raced from the chapel, and it was only when Gaspard cornered him into an illusion of fiery walls that they took him once more. "Wulfram is one of them!" the man protested.

Stephan quickly searched the area, but Wulfram had disappeared. Bewildered and apprehensive, they returned to the woodcutter's cottage.

Inside the rainsoaked structure, the woodcutter's few belongings were tossed about. Cyril lay on the floor, blood oozing from his head. The baggage was still there, and the pack animals outside. Nothing had been taken, it seemed. But of the woodcutter and his wife there was no sign--nor any sign of Celestine.