In many stories, the abodes of wizards are hidden from the eyes of ordinary people and can be accessed only through special paths unknown to most. This spell enables a mage to create just such a sanctum, spinning complex barriers of space to guard against unwanted intrusion. In effect, the chosen area exists only partway inside the conventional concept of a place, hidden within a convoluted knot of twisted paths through which a would-be visitor must travel in very specific ways. Thus, while logic might dictate that walking straight for a mile from the north bank of the river gets one to a destination, in practice, 10 miles of twists and turns, which seem to lead through much more terrain than could be possible, intervene. Taking any wrong turns waylays the journey, meaning that the traveler must find his way out (by no means a guarantee) and start over. Therefore, unless an individual is extremely lucky, he must know the way to reach his intended destination.
Attempting to find the hidden site can be undertaken as an extended Intelligence + Investigation or Survival (whichever Skill is higher) action, with a target number equal to one higher than the spell’s Potency and 30 minutes’ time spent per roll. Any failure forces the seeker to start over. A dramatic failure gets him lost within the tangle of space surrounding the location, meaning that he must now navigate his way back to square one (a difficult task at best; he must collect the same number of successes that got him there). A person with the Direction Sense Merit is allowed one roll for every 10 minutes spent searching instead of every 30 minutes.
The caster can extend the Duration factors of this spell using the advanced prolonged factors; see p. 119.
Mysterium Rote: The House in the Woods
Mages of the Mysterium often become collectors of strange, wonderful and dangerous treasures. This rote allows such a willworker to protect his possessions and his abode from intruders, confounding perceptions and driving would-be thieves away. Guardians also make use of this rote, protecting unusual places and paranormal phenomena from prying eyes.
