Tag Archives: Drowned King

The Return… (Game 22)

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As we left the vision of the Bear Claw pack, I could only ponder the lessons that I had learned from their mistakes. These lessons were unfortunately cast aside for the moment as we returned to the fight. The Drowned King was bucking harder now, thrashing about. We continued our unending fight against him as he bucked hard, casting us off him as before.

As the darkness of the Umbral tunnel became light, we found ourselves in a barren landscape. I quickly surveyed the area and then myself. I found myself a man, an eye-opening experience for sure as another pack stood around us. They looked on in confusion for a moment as I glanced at a sign that said Trinket and then down at a map.

The map had the name Stryker on it and markings for a nearby Sept. One of the men in the other pack looked at us and asked Eli what our answer was. Not sure of what was going on, but not wanting to alienate them, he agreed to whatever they wanted. After agreeing, the Garou named Stryker, asked for our keys to a pair of nearby trucks.

Before going any farther into this, Eli told them of our spiritual journey and how we arrived. He wanted to know what it was we were agreeing to. Stryker then took this opportunity to introduce our his pack as we reached into our spiritual reserves to learn anything we could about our host bodies. I learned my host was a Ragabash who had a son recently in Milwaukee and was himself the child of a Black Spiral Dancer kinfolk and a Fianna Garou. I kept this last piece of information to myself as I did not want to cause any issues.

We had been in negotiations with the Eagle’s Nest pack to borrow our trucks to save the Sept of the Red Snake where Bunyip are about to be slaughtered by Red Talons and other European Garou. Sensing this is something important in history and worth doing, we all agree to it. To our shock afterwards, it turns out our ancestors did not want to help.

I file into one of the trucks to drive while the Eagle’s Nest pack gets into the other one. We began driving towards the Sept. As we did, a pair of trucks merged behind us. The passengers were hooting and hollering and we could only assume they were heading to the Sept to kill the Bunyip. I suggested trying to take them off the road peacefully, but Eli told me to just drive faster which I did.

Thanks to our lighter truck compared to their Army surplus style truck, we were able to create a large gap between us. I then slowed down to a safer speed as the truck had become hard to control. It certainly wasn’t like my foster parents Toyota.

We finally arrived at the Sept with some time before the other trucks arrived, but all was in vain. The Red Talons had destroyed the entire Sept and were eating the bodies. Some were even tearing apart children and it infuriated me. Still, I maintained my calm as we decided there was nothing to do and the vast numbers of them made fighting with our two packs suicide.

As we began to leave, Agnis spotted two Bunyip hiding in the brush nearby, too afraid to move. We thought about grabbing them right then and there, but the Garou would likely spot us. So we chose to leave and flag down the Eagle’s Nest pack. Taking a moment to strategize, Lei Sheng of Stryker’s pack quietly suggested a suicide attack on the Red Talons and European Garou in order to buy us a distraction to grab the Garou.

Deciding it was the best course of action and all of us agreeing to it, we returned to the Sept. The Eagle’s Nest attempted to ram the Garou there, but they shifted to Crinos and a short battle ensued. As the Eagle’s Nest sacrificed themselves, we pulled up near the two Bunyip, a young girl and an old man, and motioned for them to get in.

The two Bunyip got in and I took a brief moment to heal the little girl who had been hurt. This was all that was needed for the Garou to spot us. Still, we had the lead and a much faster truck than they could catch. We managed to get away from them and I introduced myself to the little girl and she in returned said her name was Jiya. The old man was named Warri Oldsong. She seemed unusually happy considering the circumstances, but Warri said nothing, just staring blankly ahead.

We decided to return to the town of Trinket in order to get some gas and determine where we could go that would be safe for the Bunyip. Thankfully, Eli’s ancestor spoke their language and it made communicating with them a smoother affair.

At Trinket, we stopped at a gas station and found a $10 bill in the glove box with a letter. The letter mentioned pillaging the Septs of the Bunyip by someone named Augustus. He was obviously a friend of our host bodies and it drove home the extent of our ancestor’s callousness to the Bunyip. We then filled up the gas tank while William negotiated a cheaper price on some gas cans in order to have enough to take us wherever we decided.

As we prepared to leave, a large man wielding a klaive and Get of Fenris symbols on his chest asked what we are doing with the Bunyip. After some caution as to whether this could end in a fight, we answered that we were saving them. He then, unexpectedly, motioned for us to follow him. We ducked into a nearby building and he told us he could get them back to the Outback safely. We weren’t sure if it was a good idea, but there were no other safe options so we agreed to it. We offered some money and objects to help him, but he just motioned us away and told us we had done our part.

With that, I felt myself being pulled out of the host body and back into the tunnel. This time the Drowned King’s thrashing became exceptionally violent. I found myself staring up at the light and then water on my face. I realize that I’m back in my body, but it’s different. I feel taller, stronger, but I can’t see myself.

As the Drowned King surfaces, we found ourselves back at the original site of our first battle. A man with a staff could be seen running away in the distance and I wondered if it might have been Mihason or the mind mage from my Chimare. We are still tethered to the Drowned King and I found myself holding a klaive that I had no idea how I came across.

As the tethers begin to break we can see our ancestors around us from the journey. They dissolve into mist and I could feel my body grow much stronger. I sink Faith into his side as my tether breaks, shoving with the full force of my Crinos form. The dagger bites deep into him and his side explodes doing more damage than I have ever seen it do. John leaps onto the Drowned King’s shoulder and tears his arm off as William climbs the beard of the Wyrm beast. Eli tears his throat out and his eyes roll back into his head. Miguel uses the blown apart opening from my attack and hits heart, causing the Drowned King to explode into rotten, dead fishes.

We had finally done it. We returned to shore and surveyed ourselves for a moment. Our strength from the battle waned, but we were visibly different. We had aged at least five years or more. Our clothes were ruined from rot, but likely wouldn’t have fit anyway given our change from age. We took one last look at the shoreline with its vile, black water from the Drowned King’s blood and called for Quetzal.

Quetzal was shocked and ecstatic to see us once more. He could not find us when we left. Eli asks for a moon bridge to which he complies. We walked the bridge, soaking wet, hoping to still our Sept intact.

Returning to the Sept, Crafty was the first to greet us. He was naturally in shock and wondered how we came back to life. William took a moment to tell the story of our return and the defeat of the Drowned King. We asked about what had been going on. It had been five years since our deaths. The Sept gave up finding us after the first year when the Rite of the Questing Stone yielded no results.

When asked about Kyle, he pointed to the rocks where Noah’s body rested and my heart sank. I wanted to cry. We had been so consumed with everything going on around us that we couldn’t pay enough attention to Kyle. Crafty said after our death he had succumb to Harano and starved himself to death. He warned us not to speak with Ryan about it as he was still very upset by it.

All was not terrible however, as the Irish Destroyers had joined the Sept. I knew this would create more friction between the Sept of the Three Water and ourselves, but it was a welcome addition to keep the Sept safe. Crafty told us we should call a moot and discuss what has happened. Eli, Miguel and myself, however, went to see the kinfolk while the others prepared for the moot.

We were able to see how they had aged just like us into young adults. Lindsey was ecstatic to Eli and the others were grateful to see us as well. However, Bjorn and Jonathon had not made it back through the Umbral tunnel yet. I could only hope they returned as Gina was beside herself with tears at Bjorn missing. Eli tried to comfort her, but it was to no avail.

I sat the rest of the night staring at the klaive and my bible that had thankfully not been destroyed or lost. While we had returned from the dead, I still felt a horrible pain of sadness in my heart. We had lost a wonderful Septmate. Our positions were no longer secure and we would have to fight again to earn our place. It was as though we had just started again. More so however, I had lost five years of my son’s life. I wondered if he even knew who I was or remembered me. I didn’t even know if I had the heart to take him from the Tylers who would now obviously love him as their own.

I started to cry as I felt the scarring on my back and the tattoo, which I had found earlier when I looked at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t sure what to do now looking down at the klaive. I felt one of my tears drop down on the blade as I thought of a name for it. I decided to call it “Wyrmcrusher” for Kyle. I laid down and kept trying to think to myself “better things are in store for me.”

The Fall of the White Howlers… (Game 18)

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As I was pulled from Delilah’s body, I found myself attached to the Drowned King. The rest of my pack was there along with the others who had participated in the Rite of Undying Pursuit. We fought endlessly, but I found I needed no food or drink. The Drowned King would occasionally kick us off him, but we inevitably returned.

When we were damaged too greatly by him, we were sent to the Deep Umbra to recover. There, we slept and dreamed. I didn’t realize as a spirit I could dream, but I did. I had dreams of my time with my son and of the past all at once. They were disorienting and comforting at the same time.

Once I recovered, I fought the Drowned King again, but this time the great Wyrm beast bucked and I was kicked off. I shuttled into a body not my own like before. I sat across from several men who looked disoriented and injured. We were on a beach, which considering the Drowned King’s affinity for water was not surprising.

As I looked around, I could see two bodies floating in the water face down. One of the men quickly went to their bodies and began checking their pockets for any food he could find. After grabbing what little food he could find, he introduced himself to John as Aidan Farwatcher. We knew he from the last vision of the past and we quickly acclimated ourselves to the situation and introduced ourselves to each other in order to determine who was who.

Scottish highlands

I could only assume after everyone introduced themselves and Bjorn and Eli did not that they were the two dead bodies on the shore. Thankfully, Aidan recognized the hilly land we were in as his home. He told us there is a shack nearby with a White Howler kinfolk we can go to where we can sort things out why we are here. Beyond the kinfolk’s home is a caern about 25 miles from here which should have some more answers to our condition but first we must get our bearings.

We initially were going as Lupus form, but after seeing a disoriented and completely zoned out man there who could not introduce himself, Aidan decided against it. Since it was only a mile away, Aidan helped the man along as we walked to the house.

The journey shouldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes, but the hills and carrying the dazed man slowed us down significantly. Still, we made it to the house and Aidan called out that he was a White Howler and in need of aid. From the house, a red-haired woman came out with a basket filled with bread.

She called out to Bone Whittler, which we initially did not know who among us it might be. Aidan came to realize it was the name of the body he was inhabiting. Aidan calls out for a specific person, but the woman just questions why he would ask for her grandfather. We now realize we have slipped forward in time. She then turns to Miguel and asks Alec why her husband is not with us. She then turns to me and ask Jamie what happened to her husband. I break the news that he did not make it and she faints in turn.

John catches her before she falls and Aidan tells us to take her inside. Her home is plain and simple, but inviting. Behind the house I see a pen with some sheep and a single cow. The woman eventually comes to and asks Aidan about her husband. She wonders why he doesn’t remember anything. Aidan makes up a story about a massive Wyrm beast attacking us and how it destroyed our memories. We ask if she could help fill us in on who we are in hopes of helping us along to remember.

I am Jamie Andraste, a Fianna Ahroun who hates the Silver Fangs with a passion and has a kinship with Larid, Hunts-His-Land, a White Howler who is a member of the Sky Shakers pack. I also have the strongest ties to the White Howlers. Alec, which is Miguel, grew up on a farm near here and married her sister Blair. She knows nothing about William, who is John, except that he has a sister. Aidan is Bone Whittler, a Theurge from the Sept of the Mile Deep Loch, who was to meet with the Sky Shakers for an important ritual.

She, herself, is Elizabeth, wife to Malcolm. She is with child and Malcolm promised we would protect her. Malcolm also created the weapons we carry. The man sitting dazed is Ronald McElray. The Bruce family wants him dead for a past transgression. He claims to be a ladies man, but most consider him nothing more than a thief and a liar. Finally, there was Lothar. He always fought for leadership with Malcolm and many thought he wasn’t quite right in the head. He had converted over to the Fianna and was being assisted in this by Tock, a fae, and Malcolm.

She offers us food and tells us she is going to find her husband. As Aidan digs in, I ask her if she is going to be alright. She just tells us she’s Scottish and she’ll be fine. I insist she should be accompanied since we made a pact with Malcolm. Aidan is obviously agitated by this and agrees to go with her.

On the beach, Malcolm manages to come to. He tries to resuscitate Lothar, but to no avail. Elizabeth arrives during this and is surprised at him not being dead. Malcolm claims to have lost his memory from drowning in the water, but Elizabeth tells him his pack is at the house and she can help him remember as Aidan helps him up.

As Malcolm returns, Ronald comes to, and we take the time to inform them of what we know and where we are. As we eat and gather our strength, a howl of war is heard. Heading outside to see who it is, we see an approaching pack of Garou. There are five of them: Maugh the Axe, Connor the Blade, Dannon Shakes-The-Sky, Grego the Hammer, and Karlson Sleeps-With-Death.

Maugh is overjoyed to Aidan and hugs him vigorously, much to Aidan’s discomfort. He thought Bone Whittler (Aidan) had been lost. As he begins to greet us, Grego makes a snide remark about the Fianna, which Maugh quickly tells him to be quiet as they are his brothers. It’s obvious that Grego and Karlson are not White Howlers, but Fenrir (Get of Fenris). The others are White Howlers.

Aidan cautiously asks about his (Aidan’s) fate. Maugh only tells him that Aidan Farwatcher left on a spirit quest 200 years ago and never returned. The reality of the situation is crushing for him, but he tries to bury this feeling to not alienate Maugh. Maugh tells him a Theurge from the Sept of the Mile Deep Loch has seen a vision of coming into contact with the Wyrm and prevailing. He asks us if we want to join him. Eli agrees, but I feel apprehensive. We were obviously knocked into this time for a reason much like traveling to distant past to see how the Drowned King was bound with the ancestor spirits in the Rite of Undying Pursuit.

Aidan asks about the Sky Shakers pack and Maugh tells them they went to the Spiral. At this point I went from apprehensive to outright fearful. It began to dawn on me what was happening here. Ronald (William) asks about it and Maugh only retorts that he’s a Fianna and he knows about the Rite of Passage all White Howlers do there.

Eli tells Maugh the truth about who we are and what happened to us. William describes the battle with the Drowned King and the Rite that was enacted that brought us here. Maugh is a little perplexed, but the Get outright dismiss us as drunks.

spiral entrance

In spite of the revelation, we still accompany them to the entrance of the Spiral. Contrary to what ideas I might have had about it and its appearance, it is simply a large hole in the ground. Aidan is visibly distressed at being at the entrance to the Spiral. He gets close to Eli and whispers that Bjorn has told him about a prophecy of the future. During this, Maugh and the others wonder why Aidan won’t enter.

Eli decides, at William’s suggestion, to Mindspeak with Aidan about what he was told and if it is what we think it is. Sure enough, Bjorn has told Aidan of the fall of the White Howlers. William decides to show the fate of the White Howlers to Maugh. He is visibly taken aback by this revelation. Maugh offers to set up camp and wait for the Sky Shakers to return to which Aidan agrees.

It’s obvious the Get are annoyed with this course of action. Knowing the Fall could happen here, Eli suggests that only our pack and the Get go in to prevent any White Howlers from being corrupted. We quietly ask if we should let the Get know, but Maugh tells us no due to it creating backlash against the Tribe.

Going with Eli’s suggestion, we decide to enter the Spiral. The Get insist to go first and we willingly let them. Eli tells Miguel and I to stay behind in case anything goes wrong we are to leave and warn everyone. As the Get charge in Crinos form, we shift and follow behind them. The pit is dark and the Get leap over something on the ground. John activates his fairy light and we see the body of a Garou, badly injured.

The Garou sounds out the Howl of Succor and we stop to tend to him. I heal him with Mother’s Touch, but while recovering from his wounds he begins the transformation into a Black Spiral Dancer. I quickly ask for him to be held down as I perform the Rite of Cleansing as a last resort in the hopes that it will stop the corruption.

Eli tells John to hold him down while the rest of the group goes forward to make sure the Get are fine. As I start the Rite, the corrupted Garou tells us he is Coruroc of the Sky Shaker pack. He is the White Howler who escaped the Spiral to tell the others before dying in our time. As I continue the Rite, he begins to speak. He looks at me and says: “you, Larid left a day ago. He went to find you. His secret is known.” I try to maintain my focus on the Rite as he speaks.

Ahead, Eli and the rest of the pack watch as the Get enter a vibrating dark light. He stops the group, unsure of what to do.

About halfway into the Rite, I can tell it is starting to work. Coruroc continues to speak: “He is wanting to finish the conception. He wants your seed to inherit the Earth.” The words are unnerving and I try to maintain my composure as I finish the ritual. Coruroc has been managed to be saved. Something that didn’t happen in our time. Still, it is obvious the experience of the Spiral and corruption has left more than a little crazed.

Eli returns with the rest of the group realizing that saving the Get is hopeless at this point. Coruroc wants to warn the Fianna and I agree to go with him. He tells us the Sky Shakers have gotten out. We return to Maugh and the other White Howlers telling them of the corruption of the Sky Shakers pack. We tell them they have become Black Spiral Dancers, inadvertently naming the Tribe.

Coruroc is pushing hard for warning the Fianna and evacuating any nearby kinfolk. He says the Spirals are going to the Sept to look for me. Aidan goes with Maugh and the others to warn the White Howlers and protect the White Howler kinfolk.

We realize Elizabeth is in danger and decide to head to her house, much to Coruroc’s disagreement. Arriving there, we find the house has been attacked. Entering it, a cooking pot has been knocked over and a fire is beginning to spread. It is obvious that the house will become engulfed shortly.

Heading towards the beach where we arrived, we see three Black Spirals holding Elizabeth hostage. They haven’t realized we are there and Eli decides we should attack. Leaping towards them, Eli manages to hurt one and knock the other away. We all shift to Crinos and begin to battle.

William quickly shifts to Hispo form and charges forward grabbing Elizabeth. As he does, he sees Coruroc in the distance running away from the battle as fast as he can. One of the Black Spirals grows silver claws and is immediately singled out. Eli and John take him down while Miguel and I tie up the other two. The fight is rough and potentially deadly, but we come out on top. I look down at the Black Spiral with silver claws. He has a J carved into his shoulder. It was Larid and I have helped this ancestor from falling to the Wyrm while Eli has prevent his line from being extinguished.

As the fight ends and we watch Coruroc run in the distance, we fell the now familiar pull of leaving our bodies. It was time to battle the Drowned King again.

Into the Past… (Game 17)

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After exiting the cave, a blinding flash of bright light struck me and I found myself sitting across from a tan-skinned young man as we drank wine from goblets. I found myself confused and not sure of what to say as it looked as though I was placed here mid-sentence.

I looked about the room for a reflective surface as none of the surroundings appeared even remotely modern. I found myself staring back at a reflection I didn’t even know. The man across from me seemed just as confused. After several back and forth questions to each other, I finally tell him I’m Caitlyn. He responds that he’s Miguel.

As we are talking, an older woman came into the room and took the serving plate from me. She told me to not let the thugs under my employ lead me somewhere I’m not supposed to go. If I ran into to trouble, I was to find a Roman. She also worried about my brother causing problems and that I was to keep him quiet. I agreed to it and she began to lead us outside.

[In the present day…]

After returning from labors for the Sept, Jonathon found the kinfolk of the Sept hysterical. He asked them what was going on and they told him the pack was dead. Curious and a little upset, Jonathon headed to the beach to find it a disaster from the tidal wave.

Heading into the Umbra to commune with the spirits, he found no specific answers other than that they died fighting. Without any real leads, he left to the physical plane. Upon his return, the last thing he heard was a loud pop. He never seen his assailants.

[Back in 31 B.C.]

The other members of the pack sat across from each other in a tent with the same confused and disoriented look. The pack began interrogating each other, trying to piece together what had happened to them, as they found themselves in bodies they didn’t own.

As the argued amongst each other, Jonathon found himself in the past and tried to contact Tick. Hearing this, the rest of the pack began to realize what had happened to them. They somehow had been forced into bodies in the past. After inquiring how Jonathon got here, I’m lead into the tent by the older woman with Miguel.

At this point, Eli introduced himself to me with his possessed body’s name. I told him we were to go on a journey without diverting. Miguel tries to speak but the woman tells me to keep him quiet. I slyly ask the woman to reiterate the directions and our destination.

She tells us I am to be escorted to Longwhite to be betrothed to the Dacian. One of the men, who is obviously William, asks the woman who the king is in Longwhite. She clearly isn’t amused at this and just tells me to avoid the haunted village. She says this multiple times during the conversation. She kisses me on the head, leading me to believe it’s this body’s mother, and reiterates her earlier instructions to me before leaving.

We quickly acclimate ourselves to each other due to being in different bodies and decide we need to set off before discussing anything further. Before we can though, Jonathon decides to pierce the Gauntlet and check the Umbra for answers. Unfortunately, Jonathon gains nothing from the exchange other than that the Umbra is much more lush in this time and that we are on the Land by the Great River. He does find out we are near the Dead Sea.

Realizing that Jonathon has been gone too long and with no knowing of what is going on, Bjorn sends me to get him. I find out quickly this body is only a kinfolk and I cannot shift into the Umbra. Bjorn is forced to get him and we begin to set off on our journey.

As we begin to leave the encampment, we come across a young girl held in chains by two guards. She begins screaming for Eli saying he promised her freedom. One of the guards retorts by knocking her down and kicking her in the head. At that moment, Jonathon shifts into his Captain Amazing persona and Bjorn is forced to try to knock him out while Eli sorts things out with the guards. Realizing she could be of some use to us, Eli sets her free under the condition she lead us to Longwhite. Eli asks the girl about the haunted village, but the stares from others forces him to drop the subject.

Leaving the encampment, we begin heading north in the direction of Longwhite. As we traveled, we saw a fort in the distance. We debated on bringing supplies with us and in the end only brought what we could carry.

After two hours of traveling, we came across a man waving a stick around and walking in a circle. The man seemed to immediately recognize Bjorn and rushed to give him a hug. He asked if this was the rest of the pack and wondered what I was doing with the pack. He told us he had made preparations to move tonight, but he wasn’t expecting us early. He asked about the new girl and realizing she wasn’t Garou or Kinfolk we sent her away.

The man is Mihason, a wizard of the high order of Hermes. He explains he had provisions and spirit guides set up since he could not go to the village. We were heading to the village due to visions our bodies had. We were to go to the dead village and meet with the waiting pack. We were going to discuss the water beast, who I assumed was the Drowned King, and we were to bring two Kinfolk with the visions. Now understanding why we were here, we set off for the village, but not before retrieving the girl and leaving her with Mihason for three weeks. After which, the girl was to be set free in case we needed her in the future.

After traveling for an hour, we arrived at the dead village. Three individuals greeted us: Howls-Like-Ghost, a Child of Gaia, Adja, a Wendigo, and Aidan Farwatcher, a White Howler. They greet us cordially and Adja personally hugs each of us.

We gathered in nearby house, sat down, and drank as we were to recall our tale. Bjorn told them that we did not have our memories and we didn’t belong here. William retold the tale of the Drowned King, ironically naming him in the past. Aidan closely examines us and realizes we are telling the truth. Adja believes we have been summoned to our ancestors in order to help them with something. We ask our location and she tells us we are on the Danube River in Britannia.

It dawns on us that this will be the first appearance of the Drowned King. We tell Adja this will not be enough to fight him, but she reassures us more will come from the visions being sent to them like us. It will take some time, but we have the opportunity to prepare for it and learn anything we might need to fight it.

The next day, a Garou arrives named Lacresia. She is very motherly to Miguel and it slowly dawns on us that she is the Garou we saw disintegrated in the tunnels before arriving here. As days go by, two more Garou arrive, Varro and Rivous.

About a week in, Adja gathers us together near a fire one night as she believes she knows why we are here. A ritual she learned long ago from someone called the Undying Pursuit. It binds the spirits of those involved in the rite to something or someone, in this case the Drowned King, to fight it until it is defeated.

Over the following two weeks, more Garou arrive. They are Seeks-the-Truth, Not-Holds-the-Tongue, Thought Provoker, Cranham Slays-the-King, Cato Wordforger, and Anzo Honor-Protector. Most of us get along just fine, but Anzo constantly tries to provoke fights. Aidan stops him one time and Anzo, in an unknowingly prophetic statement, mentions he hope their tribe falls in the future.

During this time waiting on arrivals, we discuss our strategy to defeat the Drowned King. We know that he must be kept from water, completely out of it if possible. Jonathon suggests creating a dam in order to cut him off from the river. There is some talk of getting the spirits to help make the dam. Ultimately, we decided it would be best to talk to Mihason and use the wizards to do the task.

Going to Mihason in Longwhite, he wants eight Roman gold rings, viewing them as the finest crafted in the land. William agrees to it, in spite of having none of them, and that the fetching will take two weeks.

During this time, we learn the history of the White Howlers and the Wendigo. We find the White Howlers had savagery even in the past before the fall, but it was a very noble savagery. They also maintained brotherly relationships with the Fianna.

As time marches on, Jonathon suggests binding the Drowned King to a Talen. Adja is receptive to this idea, but tells him it will take many Theurges and the creature would have to be kept still for at least ten minutes.

We managed to achieve the rings through Miguel’s sleight of hand as the second month ended. Shortly after that, Atisha Anthony Tyrion arrives. She seeks an audience with Bjorn. Retreating into a private place, she passionately kisses Bjorn and tells him his exile from the Shadow Lords is complete. The Shadow Lords will be coming to destroy any Fianna in the area. She asks about the pack with the conflict between him and Eli for leadership. She asks about Neo. Bjorn just replies that Neo is Neo, and she just smirks saying he’s a typical Ragabash.

When we sleep that night, we have dreams as both our past selves and who we actually are at the same time. The dream is disorienting and confusing and ends with us waking up spitting water. The Drowned King is close and the others have had the same experience as well. The pack gathers together with the others and shifts into Lupus form to head for the gorge where we have prepared the dam. Miguel and I are forced to ride on horseback to the area.

Four hours into the travel, a tidal wave happens. It destroys everything in the area and prevents Miguel and I from arriving in time for the battle. After another four hours, the pack arrives to the epicenter of the tidal wave to find bloated, white corpse-like piles of flesh. They stink both physically and spiritually. The pack jumps into action trying to destroy them. Unfortunately, this appears to have to effect and they begin to gather together in the center of the river bed.

The flesh reforms and the Drowned King appears. All sides, Garou, Roman, Dacian, and otherwise, attempt to fight it. The battle proceeds like last time only worse. He is even stronger in this time period as Adja asks to start the ritual. Jonathon attempts to bind the Drowned King, but it is obvious he isn’t going to accomplish it in time. The battle is a massacre and Bjorn quickly calls for the ritual. Adja starts the ritual, dipping her hands in the blood of fallen Garou as she chants. Their spirits attach to the Drowned King as the power of the ritual takes her as well.

Miguel and I managed to arrive as the Drowned King submerges. All are dead. I realize the ritual is what weakened him in our time. There may be hope to beat him, even if we can’t do it. Everything goes white as I have this thought…

The Death of the White Lion’s Pride pack… (Game 16)

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The day after the attack, we were all anxious. After tending to Cliff, he refused to stay at the cabin. He told us it would be best for him to stay in the public eye as much as possible. Since there was no Litany breaches in the attack, Cliff was able to convince local newspapers and authorities that a camper brought in a tank of propane to their room and smoked too closely to it. The resulting explosion caused the disaster. It was a flimsy excuse, but would do fine.

Another day passed and the Moot was planned for tomorrow. In spite of the hardships though, the kinfolk took the time to enjoy the cabin.

The day of the Moot came and Cliff dropped us off some items like bottled water and food to a drop point so we could pick them up undetected from all the workers who were undoubtedly beginning to fix the lodge. As he dropped off the goods, Cliff wasn’t certain about whether he should come to the Moot, but Eli insisted that he do.

We all prepared for the Moot that night. Ryan, Crafty, and Mackie gathered all of things for the Moot while Kyle hunted for the deer we traditionally gave to Lion. At 8:00 pm that night, we heard the howl of Crafty for everyone to gather. We all came to the Caern and began howling in unison until Crafty stopped. The fire was already going and Kyle brought forth the deer.

With that, Ryan called out to Lion. We must feed Lion as he feeds us. We donated our spiritual energy and I donated most of mine to the Caern. Kyle then gutted the deer and began the breaking of the bone. He asked if anyone had any Sept business to discuss which Crafty spoke up.

The time had come as the Sept grew for us to take on new responsibilities. There were many Sept positions open and they needed to be filled. He bestowed the position of Caller of the Wyld to Jonathon. The position entailed summoning Lion to the Moot and maintaining good relations with other spirits in the area.

He bestowed the title of Keeper to William. The Keeper works under Mackie to help keep the Sept clean and healthy. Crafty then offered the position of Talesinger. William volunteered for this position. The Talesinger was to relate the tales of deeds and failures in the Sept. I figured it would certainly be William’s kind of position being a Galliard and all.

Master of the Howl was up next for volunteers and John took up the role. The Master of the Howl was to summon all of the Garou to the Moot and end the Moot. John also took on the role of Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper was the guardian of the pathstone for the Sept, which allowed Moon Bridges to arrive. He was to defend against forced intrusions to the Sept through Attack Moon Bridges.

The position of Den Mother or Father was offered up next and most of the pack agreed it should be me. I accepted, but the position was mostly ceremonial at this point since the Den Mother was supposed to watch over the cubs and help guide them through their Rite of Passage. Right now, that was only left Agnis, but I was more than willing to take the position.

Finally, the position of Master of the Challenge came up for grabs and everyone pretty much agreed it should be Bjorn. The Master of the Challenge was to oversee any challenges and make sure they were fair. No one objected to any of these positions.

Crafty then asked if anyone wanted the bone. We all took turns holding the bone and telling stories about our deeds in the past month. Bjorn speaks of the Dream of Death and how we followed it through. Eli tells of the Weaver threat and framing Carl Kolchak to prevent his death. I told of our journey into Wolfhome to get in touch with our wolf nature and work more effectively as a pack. John mentions saving me from the Chimare. William talks about the Dead Man’s Hand attack. Finally, Bjorn also mentions maintaining good relations with all of our kinfolk.

Mackie then makes our renown permanent and we allow the kinfolk to come as Kyle plays guitar again. The kinfolk have brought food and drink and we sit down to tell stories like last time. Cliff says he feels great being here with all of us, but he sadly has no tale to tell. Still, the park is doing great in spite of the attack although there is a possibility of a government shutdown in future and it could hurt things a little.

Gina also mentions her life is great and she would be willing to drop out of school to take up a Sept position. Lindsey also echoes this statement, wanting to take up a pack position herself since her uncle is a great Garou.

Ariel then tells a story of a mosquito trying to bite a bald man and him trying to kill it in response. Mackie then spins a similar tale about a fly and a bald man trying to kill it only to hit himself in turn. Both of the stories were about vengeance and the cost of it.

Ryan then told a story of an ant who fell into a stream. A dove seen this and rescued him. As they got to the edge of the stream, a hunter took aim at the dove and the ant bit him in the foot causing the hunter to miss. The message of the story was little friends may prove to be great friends.

Then, out of nowhere, John began to tell a story. However, it wasn’t his voice telling the story. He didn’t even seem aware that he was doing it. He told us the Tale of the Shaking Sea. It was about the Drowned King and the sacrifice it took to banish him from our world by our ancestors. After the lengthy tale had been told and we informed John of what had transpired, Kyle wanted to send the kinfolk back, but Mackie stopped him. He had heard this tale before and this may be why Lion had called us to the Sept. We had past lives and needed to resolve this before proceeding any further.

Crafty decides to have the kinfolk sent home and we escort them, but not Eli who Crafty calls over to him. As we walk back to the cabin, Cliff noticed the water had become black again. We were inadvertently tainting the water thanks to our connection to the Drowned King.

Crafty took Eli aside and told him we were no good to the Sept while the Drowned King connection existed. He would have to lead our pack to its destiny. He recommended we spend time with the kin before we take care of this.

As we returned to the cabin, Gina was scared and asked Bjorn what was going to happen. Bjorn mentioned the vision and our destiny. Ariel wanted to know about this and Bjorn told him it was similar to her visions. He tells her we must leave in order to protect them. Eli returned to us and told Lindsey to keep the other girls strong because she has done this longer. He then recommends we spend any time with the kin and learn any gifts or rites necessary

John then calls Regina on my phone and makes an excuse about having to leave for Oklahoma to take care of his sick Uncle and Aunt. Regina believes he is breaking up with her before John corrects her and tells he will beat up anyone dating her. She likes the response and offers to spend the night with him. He tells her to come to the forest and take a moonlight walk with him. The walk is short-lived and the pair have sex for most of the night.

William, Miguel, and myself return to the cabin that night. I chose to read my bible and think about my son. William sort of tried speaking to Ariel, but wasn’t very practiced at it. Bjorn went off with Gina to have sex that night, but it was obvious she was very scared of what might happen. Eli and Lindsey spent the night having sex, but she was stoic about the whole ordeal and believed we would be coming back.

We slept that night, but a nightmare interrupted our sleep. We found ourselves at Natural Bridges State Park again. This time a black mass came from the sea. It was like an oil spill that began to bubble up. Black tendrils suddenly shot out of it and touched the beachgoers. The people were killed instantly and no one can escape. We could only stand on and look in horror. We then awoke to salt water in our mouths like before, but this time even our kinfolk suffered.

The next morning, Eli went to ask Crafty if we had time to train before the battle, but Crafty just told him it was his choice to lead the pack. Bjorn asked if everyone had the same dream, which we all confirm. Eli wants to train and prepare for the battle, but Bjorn suggests we go now because the vision shows it happening around noon. Eli suggests we will go and check it out, but if nothing is there, we train. Regina leaves shortly after John wakes up and a small tremor strikes the Sept. While these things are common to California, I find them terrifying considering they don’t happen in Chicago.

Everyone gathers as we leave for the beach. Ariel is off to the side of the group and a little sad. Gina, however, is very sad to the point of tears. We all give hugs to the kinfolk and proceed on our way to the beach. Along the way, Eli tries to raise the morale of the group as another tremor strikes.

As we reach the beach, a much stronger quake hits. We’re knocked to the ground from the force, nearly injuring ourselves. We could see the water table had receded tremendously and knew a tsunami would be coming soon. We quickly ran to the natural bridge, looking for any humans, and shifted to Crinos to prepare for the devastation by digging our claws into the rock and interlinking our arms.

After five minutes, the wave finally comes crashing in. It is over 25 feet tall and the blast nearly knocks us off the rock. The water around us has gone black and in the distance, we could see a whirlpool form, 10 feet in diameter. The black water around us began to swirl and we begin looking for tendrils like the vision.

At the main whirlpool, a massive hand comes up, followed by the enormous Drowned King itself. We all channeled our ancestors and I chose to help my skills with fang dagger as I felt a familiarity to the ancestor spirit inside me.

The Drowned King looked on at us as we waited for it to attack. Then, it called forth miniaturized versions of itself to attack us. They charged towards the rock at blazing fast speed. I asked Quetzal to help us and he materialized in agreement. The tiny Kings attempted to blast us, but we dodged the attack, soaking any remaining injuries. We all leapt forward off the rock towards them and attacked.

It took several attempts, but we managed to kill the tiny Kings. However, the Drowned King had begun closing in on us. As I swam towards him, he attempted to blast me but I got out of the way of most of it. I then closed in to attack with John just behind me. Both of us attack, damaging the King slightly, but he summons a massive whirlpool around him that knocks most of the pack unconscious or severely injured.

William is swallowed by the Drowned King while John sees Gina, Lindsey, and Ariel arriving by car on the beach. We try to continue on, but another blast of the whirlpool forces me to channel Rage to cling to my life. Quetzal heals me, but in the process Miguel is killed by the Drowned King. We try to keep fighting, but the end comes for all of us.

We find ourselves becoming spirits and we can see ancestor spirits on top of the Drowned King fighting him. Then, everything turns gray and then into darkness. We find ourselves falling into an abyss and cannot speak to each other.

As we fall into the abyss, a light appears at the bottom. We pass through the light and then find ourselves falling through a storm into an ocean. We then fall through a hole in the ocean into a well. I could feel my body again as we feel deeper into the stone pit. I tried to grab onto the edge of the wall, but I only managed to slow my fall and hurt my claws.

I blinked and suddenly we were at the bottom of the well as it curved into a path. We got our bearings and began traveling down the path. After a brief walk, we met Smoke Paw. He looked disoriented and stares at the wall. Upon him seeing us, he asks us what we are doing here. We ask the same of him and he replied he was looking a gold ring on a stick.

We tell him about the fight with the Drowned King and how we died. We try telling him about the Skin Dancers and his death, but it only seems to aggravate him. Strange spikes appear above his eyebrows when this happens. I Sense Wyrm on him and he stinks of it. I try to communicate through Quetzal to Eli, but our connection has been severed. Our totem is no longer with us.

Bjorn tries to tell Smoke Paw he’s dead again and the strange changes happen to him again as he gets angry. A brief fight breaks out with Smoke Paw, but as we do, a fissure opens in the wall. From the wall, a creature made of metal and glass with two bodies fused at the back tries to attack us. We manage to slay it and I deliver the killing blow. Once it dies, it shatters and inside is the item Smoke Paw had been looking for.

After he grabs the ring, he realizes he is dead and his memories are returned to him. He had been trapped here and the creature that attacked us was trying to turn him into a Bane just like it. It partially succeeded and he is now a Bane, but with all of his former self intact. I try to do the Rite of Cleansing on him with the stick, but it has no effect.

A debate broke out about what we do with Smoke Paw. Bjorn wanted to have him destroyed as he is now an Agent of the Wyrm, but I said no, as we had no idea where we even were. We could have become Banes for all I knew. The decision was split, but ultimately Eli decided to let Smoke Paw remain as he said he would guard the entrance where we arrived.

We traveled from Smoke Paw for what seemed like hours. The tunnel around us became moist and the ground like wet sod. We could see footprints leading in front of us as we walked. It took a little thinking, but we realized it was prophetic. We were to head in the direction of them.

We followed them into what looked like a crystal cavern with plants. We continued walking until we came across the mostly dissolved form of a Crinos female.

“So far, so good. We’ll make the distance,” she said to us. “The next step is really a step, no matter how it seems.”

Eli asked her where we are.

“You’re almost there, not much further.”

We got ready to leave, but not before Bjorn asked if I would heal her. I tried to, but she objected. She was following a vision quest for a relative of hers named Juan. It’s too late for her now and she dissolved into a green mist after telling us this.

We continued, and the path became stone. At the end we could see what looked like outer space and a drop-off of the path. Beneath us, the Earth and the Moon spun wildly getting closer to us. Bjorn took the first step like the Garou told us and evaporated. I and the rest of us shortly followed, moving on to our next destination.