Jan-March 1221 (Winter)
The first season of 1221 passed quietly, with the magi devoting themselves to study, lab work or recuperation from wounds, as appropriate. During the season the magi received a message from Martin, the redcap of Mercere, stating that he would escort them to the tribunal meeting that was due to take place at the end of March. However, Martin failed to appear as the time to depart for Duresca came and went, and it was not until two days before the tribunal was due to start that he finally put in an appearance, seemingly unconcerned at the fact that the magi had little time to travel to the north. A hurried council meeting was held, and it was agreed that Iwan and Sutton should attend the tribunal.

The following morning Martin, the two magi and two grogs left the covenant and travelled east for about half a day. Martin then led his charges off the road into the forest, where an hour's walk brought them to a massive boulder upon which was carved the outline of a doorway. Martin revealed that this was a Mercere portal leading to the Silver Scales, the roadside inn that represented the public face of the covenant of Duresca. The party passed through the portal, emerging in a room at the back of the inn. They spent the remainder of the day and the night at the inn, under the care of the inn's proprieter, Dona Galinda.

The morning after the group set out for Duresca, about a half-day's journey to the north of the road along a well-marked track. Arriving at the fortress, the magi were escorted into the great hall where the tribunal meeting was to be held, while their luggage and grogs were led to the rooms that had been set aside for the group from Falcon's Reach. The great hall was already crowded, as magi discussed their affairs and made deals before the tribunal proper began. Iwan and Sutton joined in, seeking to exchange Falcon's Reach's votes at tribunal in return for resources for their covenant. Their support was sought on both sides of various issues, and a number of deals were struck before the bell was rung for the beginning of the tribunal. In addition, Juliet, the Chief Redcap of Mercere, made arrangements for a Mercere portal to be installed in Falcon's Reach's cellars, so that a direct link could be made between the covenant and Duresca. In the light of the mundane wars raging in the Iberain peninsula, all covenants have a Mercere portal leading to Duresca, and some are also linked directly to each other as well.

The tribunal opened with a procession led by the Praeco, Matlus of Jerbiton, accompanied by Baruch of Guernicus and Archmage Victor of Tremere, the chief Quaesitores, and Juliet of Mercere, the Chief Redcap. A roll call was taken:

From Barcelona, Matlus of Jerbiton
From Duresca, Baruch, Antona and Tresmillia, all of Guernicus
From Estancia-es-Kharida, Terril Adan Ex Miscellanea
From Jaferiya, Rasus of Flambeau
From Al-Bayt al-Azraq, no-one
From Borde del Desierto, Archmage Stella Maris of Jerbiton and Josef of Bjornaer
From Forest Heart, no-one
From Vigilantes, Archmage Victor of Tremere
From Halfway House, Juliet and Martin, both of Mercere
From Falcon's Reach, Iwan of Bonisagus and Sutton Scotney of Tytalus
And Artemis of Merinita, Eremitic Maga

Several matters were discussed. Of particular note were the following:

1. Artemis brought a complaint to the tribunal. Her Gifted daughter, Rowan, then five years old, was claimed as an apprentice by Josef of Bjornaer, who maintained that during a recent visit to Borde del Desierto made by Artemis, he had offered to train the child and Rowan had accepted. Artemis maintained that she had later been told by her daughter that she had only been joking, and that she wanted to stay with her mother and be her apprentice. While, according to Hermetic law, Josef had a right to the apprentice, Artemis claimed the right of a mother to her child. The matter was put to vote, and the tribunal ruled in favour of Artemis. The magi of Fal con's Reach had agreed to support Artemis in return for a copy of her spell book, to be delivered to Falcon's Reach in the summer of 1221.

2. A dispute between Victor and Stella Maris over a magical graveyard that produced Corpus vis was resolved through a titanic certamen, which was eventually won decisively by Victor, whom the magi of Falcon's Reach had agreed to support if the matter came to a vote, in exchange for a vis payment. Since no vote took place, this payment was lost. During the certamen, Iwan and Josef wagered on the outcome. The wager was won by Iwan, and Josef gave him two pawns of Corpus and two pawns of Creo vis. Increasingly annoyed at his continued lack of success at the tribunal, Josef said to Iwan, "And if you cross me again, you'll need this vis!"

3. Rasus of Flambeau sought to gain support from the tribunal for attacks on the Muslims, on the grounds that magical sites were being lost to them. However, he was unable to prove to Baruch that such attacks would not bring ruin upon his sodales, a requirement of the mundane interference clause, and so he was turned down flat, without a vote. Rasus himself could only sit and rage silently, while the magi of Falcon's Reach again lost a reward, the opportunity to gain a season of copying at Estancia-es-Kharida, whom they had agreed to support in opposing the motion if the matter came to vote.

4. Falcon's Reach was required to report on its progress. In doing so, Iwan and Sutton appealed to the tribunal for further support in their attempts to hunt down the necromancer who had destroyed the covenant. While this was not initially forthcoming, a vote of support from the tribunal authorised a payment to the magi of 50 pawns of vis, which Matlus ordered should be paid from the coffers of Duresca. The payment was accompanied with a stern warning not to trouble the tribunal for help again! During the proceedings, Matlus was also able to use The Inexorable Search to determine that the necromancer had left Spain by sea and gone north, thus providing the magi with a direction in which to pursue their enemy.

The tribunal was brought to a close with the usual Quaesitorial ratification procedures, and the magi retired to their rooms before returning to Falcon's Reach the following day.