Tag Archives: gifts

Helping Ryan Whelan and Learning about Mummies… (Game 43)

We finally got some time to rest as we had returned to the Sept from our mission. We contemplated what to do next. Eli reaffirmed his leadership, saying that what happened to Jonathon was his own doing and the event with the banes was a direct result of not listening to Bjorn. Any disobedience would be punished severely.

Mackie then came into the cabin and spoke with us. He was glad to see us and congratulated us on our success. He made our promotion to Artho official. We were now one step closer to being ready for our mission to Malfeas.

Alexander Mac Fionn

After taking the night to rest, we started the next day immediately training hard. After Agnis and I’s morning exercise routine, we gathered together and began working on learning gifts. I summoned Alexander Mac Fionn so Bjorn could learn Speech of All Things. He would have to call upon an ancestor once a week for a month and speak in their native tongue.

I asked Alexander to teach me Banish Totem, so I might better be able to disrupt the enemy packs. He told me that in order to learn such a gift, I would have to learn what it is like to be removed from my pack totem. I would not be able to access Q’s benefits for a week.

Pain Incarna

After this, Agnis summoned a pain spirit. Agnis wanted to learn Spirit Ward. She would be required to utilize the power for one week until she could do it without even thinking. I asked to learn exorcism in order to combat banes and possibly help people possessed by them. I would have to inflict pain on myself every time I used the gift in order to understand the pain that spirits felt from it.

Eli asked to learn Balor’s Gaze. The Pain spirit required that Eli rip out one of his eyes and crush it in his hand. When it regrows, it will be the eye that empowers the gift.

Spider Spirit

Next, I summoned a Spider spirit. Agnis wanted to learn Battle Mandala. The Spider spirit requested that she never purposely kill a spider.

I asked to be taught Umbral Tether. The Spider spirit requested that every time I enter the Umbra for the next month, I must use the gift and create my “web”.

Eli asked to learn Wraith of Gaia from the Spider. He would have to raise his hands in an offensive position like a spider might when attacked every time he used the gift.

After we learned our gifts, we noticed that the trees were bending in the wind. We knew that the spirits requested our presence. We went into the Umbra and I cast my line as demanded by Spider. We headed in the direction that the trees were bending and met Scratch near the edge of the bawn.

wind spirit messenger

Scratch told us that a spirit requested our presence. A spirit of Wind appeared. Its presence so revered that even Q bowed before it. The spirit projected a message into our heads via Spirit Speech. It showed a piece of paper blowing in the breeze. On the paper was an address for a McDonald’s on Canterbury Street in Santa Cruz. A name said Stephen Thompson of the Golden City Cabal.

We knew it was the Mages trying to contact us. We thanked her for the message and Bjorn gave her some spiritual energy before it disappeared. We thanked Scratch for bringing this to our attention and ran to the restaurant in Lupus form.

There, at the restaurant, we met Stephen Thompson and his associate, Susan Strange. Stephen got right down to business upon meeting us. He was willing to attempt to remove the Avatar from my son in exchange for us taking care of something that had been troubling their Cabal. He wanted us to take care of Tutu, the Bane Mummy. Eli was quick to note that the deal was heavily weighted in their favor. If we manage to kill Tutu, they win. If we fail, they lose nothing. If they can’t pull the Avatar out, they can activate it, earning them another Mage.

Stephen, however, countered that we had nothing to bargain with. I wanted to know if he had to become a Mage, when I could see him. Stephen said it would likely be when he came of age, so about five years or so until he could control his powers.

Eli asked for another assurance about the child’s safety, but the girl, Susan, chimed in that they didn’t need us and they were wasting their time. Stephen quickly told her to be quiet and Eli told her to be quiet as well. Stephen said there was no assurance.

Eli spoke to Bjorn through Q and asked what he thought. Bjorn told Eli it was likely a good idea since we would be eliminating something Wyrm related anyway. Eli then came out and asked me directly, since I was cut off from Q for the time being, what my feelings were on it. I felt heartbreak inside for the situation, but I told Eli that if the worst case scenario was waiting five years to see my son, I would do it.

Eli agreed to their terms and asked for more information on Tutu. Stephen told us he was known as the “doubly evil one”. He wasn’t a physical threat like we were, but he never dies. He can be killed, but he always returns to life in time. He was a tomb raider in life. He was ruthless and didn’t care what he violated. He was captured at some point and transformed into a Bane Mummy. He is half flesh and half spirit, much like we are.

The Cabal had once tried to talk to him and reason with him, but it didn’t work. Once he set his mind to a certain thing, he never stops. Apparently, the Golden City Cabal had poisoned him 70 years ago and he has been coming back ever since. He had already been killed fourteen times this year.

Tutu has a base of operations in a place called the Hot Tub Movie Club. They didn’t know if he had any real powers, but he was into alchemy. Their main problem with him is he always manages to thwart their plans. He’s managed to kill over fifty Mages in 27 years. They were going to banish him permanently, but they needed the power of our nodes to do it. Finally, there were rumors that he had the power to kill you by saying your true name.

With all the information they had on him given to us, they gave a phone number where we could contact them once we had completed our task. Before they left, however, I asked Stephen what Kenith’s feelings were on what had transpired. Truthfully, no one had asked him about it yet. However, he reiterated that what Robert did was for the good of the Cabal. Something I internally disagreed with.

After they left, we mulled over the situation. It was possible we could fail at this and then have to deal with a Bane Mummy that never dies or leaves the Sept alone. Either way, the situation is a win-win for them. I also suggested that they could simply lie about helping Ryan and turn him into a bomb for some other unknowing Sept. Agnis suggested binding him somewhere or maybe placing him inside a fetish or even cleanse him.

Heading back to the Sept, we entered the Umbra where I anchored my line in spite of now actually going anywhere, and slept in the Sept to contact our ancestors. I reached out to Jamie Andraste, one of my oldest ancestors to learn about the Mummies. She entered me and gave me the knowledge that the Bane Mummies were to the Mummies like the Black Spiral Dancers are to us. They are not banes in the way that we think of them. We can separate the spirit from the body, but they cannot be bound. It was true that if they knew your name they could control you or even kill you. Finally, Jamie told me that she had met a Mummy by the name of Fatmoa Belalle in her travels.

With what little knowledge we could get out of that, we were once again in discussion about what to do. Bjorn suggested draw and quartering Tutu and keeping the parts away from each other so he can’t reform. Ultimately, we decided it was a better idea to speak with Fatmoa and find out if there was a way to permanently defeat Tutu.

Bjorn made a questing stone and it pointed west. We made a pop culture guess that Fatmoa would be in Egypt. Bjorn used triangulation to determine that it was likely in Egypt. However, getting there would be difficult. I could not access Q’s benefits and moon bridge for the time being so we would have to use more mundane methods. We decided to have Miguel make us forged passports and travel by airplane. William would pay for the tickets.

It would take eight days for Miguel to finish them. In the meantime, I worked with Ryan to learn a couple minor Rites to continue to boost my prowess. During this time, William finalized his deal with Stu and his father’s company. He would keep the two houses and two of his father’s cars. The rest would be liquidated. With over 500 million dollars in funds, William signed the papers.

CITY_OF_SUEZ,_EGYPT

We took the long plane trip to Egypt shortly thereafter. It was a very long flight and I hadn’t been on a plane in a few years. It made me feel nervous and all of the pre-flight screening didn’t fare well with my Rage. Still, we all managed to get there.

With Bjorn’s questing stone, we traveled in Egypt to the city of Suez. There, we managed to locate the Mummy that Jamie had mentioned. I used Speech of the World to speak his language while Bjorn used his new gift in order to communicate with him. We asked to speak with him and he clearly didn’t have a clue who we were until we mentioned Tutu.

Taking us to a nearby house, he asked if we were from the Council of Horus. We explained who and what we were and what we were attempting to accomplish. He seemed disenchanted by the answer. We asked if there was any way to kill Tutu. Fatmoa told us that we would have to have had the Spell of Life cast on us to have a chance. Considering it was how Mummies were created, according to him, it was unlikely we could kill him.

Tutu belonged to a dynasty of unholy mockeries made with a corrupted version of the original Spell of Life. They were also known as Apepnu and followed a creed that sounded very close to Nihilism. Thousands of years ago, an immensely powerful vampire named Set attempted to use the Spell of Life, but it was corrupted leading to the creation of Bane Mummies. The Bane Mummies serve only two masters: Set and Apophis. Apophis was described as the corrupter and the Serpent. This sounded disturbingly like the Defiler Wyrm to me.

Tutu can be fought and killed, but it must be in the Underworld. We would have to kill him in the material world and locate his reform point in the Underworld. There, we could possibly fight him and permanently kill him. However, he can detach his head and act as a sort of cobra. We would effectively be fighting two Bane Mummies.

When Tutu attempts to reform, he must pass several spiritual quests. This is why there appeared to be a roughly two week gap in between his reappearances. Mummies can disrupt the test, but we can’t. However, Agnis suggested the idea of calling on our ancestors as they are pure spirit and might be able to slow him down enough that we could destroy him. Fatmoa was still not convinced, but was more than willing to give it a shot. He gave a contact phone number. I would once again have to take up the empty spot left by Jonathon and learn the Rite to allow us passage into the Underworld…

Making Baneskins and the Mabe Problem… (Game 41)

After returning from dispatching the Pride Slayers, we took a day of well needed rest. As night fell, the moot began. After taking care of the opening ceremonies, Crafty started right in with business. He announced that the Mage threat was very real. While we have negotiated a shaky truce, any more aggressive actions will be met with a declaration of war. Crafty told us that the Hand of Fionn have been noticing an increase in bane activity in the city.

Ryan then asked for the bone and he told us that while White Lion is waiting for the White Lion’s Pride pack to do their mega quest, he has taken in Roedeer and Elk. Silent Hunter has been dividing up smaller quests for the rest of the Sept.

Mackie then took the bone. Because of Ariel’s death and her importance to the Sept, kinfolk are now going to be allowed positions within the Sept. Daniel then took the bone and told us as a Sept to not get wrapped up in the politics of the area. We as a Sept will not be joining their union, but will remain neutral much like the Sept of the Raging Storm has.

Gruffy then took the bone and told us that the Irish Destroyers have been keeping up relations with the Sept of the Three Waters. We can now ask for guidance and assistance, but we will owe them something in return.

Scourge-of-the-Woods then took the bone. There have been more tourists in the area lately thanks to summer approaching. We must always remain vigilant and be cautious of them. Also, there have been reports of two packs of wild wolves running around in California and they are legally protected. We must be careful not to draw attention to ourselves.

Pasthealer then took the bone. The Vulture Walkers are doing really well. There have been some sightings of the Fang and Claw pack in the area moving around secretly. The Vulture Walkers have said they won’t allow them to stay without permission. They may cause trouble in the future.

BosWyrm then took the bone. The Hand of Fionn has accepted Short Paw into the pack as a member and she is now an official member of the Sept. Any mistreatment towards her will result in the pack leaving the sept. BosWyrm is very serious about this.

Merrick of the Truth Hunters pack then took the bone. The Truth Hunters are offering to relieve the Vulture Walkers of their bawn patrol so that they can take up some quests for the Sept.

Finally, Bjorn took the bone as Eli was predisposed taking care of Lindsey from her ordeal. The only thing we had to report was the fact that the Mages were dealing with something called a Bane Mummy. We believed that it was likely a Wyrm creature of some sorts that we might have to deal with in the future.

After this, we worked on our renown and began the after business ceremony. All of the other members of the Sept partied, but I asked Bjorn to see my son with Magnus. He agreed and I spent the night at my father’s getting to know my son better and having a real family moment for once.

The next morning, Silent Hunter approached us after I returned to the Sept. He told us in order to make a Baneskin we would need the following: a piece of cloth personal to us, and a piece of Bane after killing it. After that, we would need to summon a Mockingbird and convince it to join with the fetish.

Thankfully, finding them would not be hard as BosWyrm knew where they were. Deciding to take care of this right now, BosWyrm directed us to a restaurant near the port named Aldo’s Restaurant. We all grabbed a piece of cloth personal to us. I chose a piece of the dress that Kenith got me on our first date. It was a nice dress and I tried to make sure it was still wearable after the fact.

dumpsterfood

Heading to Aldo’s, the first thing we noticed immediately that was off was a man eating out of a dumpster. At first, we thought he was just a homeless man until we saw him eating inedible things like cans. We realized that a bane had to be at work here.

Heading into the Umbra, we saw a bane standing over where the man was. Behind him was another one just like it. It was oddly not part of him like we would normally see. Jonathon told us it was a Thinbone. They made their victims grow extremely hungry, sucking the sustenance out of them before the human could digest it, until the human wore down and died.

In the distance, Agnis could see another bane hiding behind a tree that she pointed out to us. As soon as she pointed out, the Thinbones attacked. Jonathon activated his Battle Mandala gift while we attacked the two banes. I managed to kill my Thinbone after Jonathon snared it. Bjorn managed to kill his at the same time while Agnis snuck up on the odd looking bane near the tree.

We approached the bane near the tree. It had a glowing orb in the center of his face, but no eyes. Jonathon told us it was a Scryer. It worked for a larger bane and reported back to it. We were going to attack it but Jonathon waved us off and said he could command it. We let Jonathon do his thing and suddenly he told the Scryer to summon more banes.

Shocked and agitated with Jonathon, I immediately summoned up Luna’s Armor to protect me. Four Scrags appeared before including a type of bane that I had never seen before. We wasted no time and began attacking the Scrags. As we did, the unknown bane disappeared suddenly. With no time to think about it, we continued to assault them. The Scrags used a power on us that forced on us that caused myself to frenzy and lose control for the third time in my life. The power forced Bjorn to enter the Thrall of the Wyrm unfortunately.

I dropped my weapons and viciously attacked my target while Bjorn charged Miguel. Thankfully, Miguel had abilities to disappear from sight and it redirected Bjorn to another Scrag. We kept fighting and Agnis was transformed into a Centaur like creature due to Drona. We managed to finally take them down while Bjorn and I frenzied until exhausted.

Once done, Quetzal informed us that the bane was a Phantasmi and was in the material realm. We shifted back to the material world where the bane had a body composed of trash and was shaking the dumpster around looking for something. Jonathon commanded the bane to go back to the Umbra. There, with Agnis, Quetzal managed to blast the creature and destroy it before it could attack her.

With all of our bane pieces grabbed, we looked around for what the bane was interested in at the dumpster. There, we found a tied up bag with a powdery substance that was Wyrm tainted. Looking around the area, we considered it might have come from Tomas. We had always been aware that Tomas was doing something illegal, but we turned a blind eye considering he was a participating member of the Sept.

6PP_HEROIN_BUST_ATL_PKG.tra

Worried, we headed for his boat. There, we found two women apparently dead from drugs with a large collection of drugs strewn about. Looking in the boat, we found Tomas high on drugs. We asked him where he got the drugs, but he only told us that his boss Hector Hulio Iglesias. We chastised him for what he was doing. He offered us money to fix the problem, not understanding the spiritual damage he was doing. It occurred to me his drugs might be what got Lightning Claws’ kinfolk hooked. Bjorn told us to get everything cleaned up and made Miguel decide what to do with Tomas. Miguel decided to send Tomas into rehab with Wrong Moon’s money. Jonathon and I performed the Rite of Cleansing on the boat and then Bjorn reported it to the DEA as we left.

5409857

We returned to the Sept and got some rest for the night. We awoke the next morning and began the summoning for the Mockingbirds. I managed to get three very happy spirits out of the eight, but three summoned from the others were just a bit bitter, but thankfully not hostile.

I went first in bargaining with the spirit. I tried speaking with it, but it just repeated everything I said back to it. I asked Jonathon what he thought and he told me to do what comes natural. When the spirit repeated what Jonathon said, I realized what to do. I told the spirit “I’m going to get into the fetish.” When it repeated it, I held up my prepared fetish. Realizing that I wasn’t going to get angry and had tricked it, it obliged.

Jonathon went next and the spirit sounded like Kelly. It asked him if he was willing to take her (Kelly) into such a place where she could die. It was trying to convince Jonathon that if he cared about the spirit, he would not want to take her there. He managed to convince the spirit that they would be safe together. It obliged and entered the fetish.

Agnis went next. The spirit sounded like Slavis, the Spiral that had threatened Gina. It tried to taunt her into believing that it would be corrupted if it went to Malfeas. Agnis, undaunted, told it that they would see for themselves then. Realizing she had no fear of the realm, it entered the fetish.

The rest of the spirits entered the fetish with no tests but had a ban. Jonathon’s demanded to be tested against every bane they met. Bjorn’s wanted to feel the mortal wind again. Eli’s needed to be in the sun and could not be concealed. Wrong Moon’s demanded that food be spilled on it once a month and then the wearer must say oopsie, also the name of the spirit. Miguel’s demanded to listen to other people problems before telling them “twiddling” and continue it until they chase them away. Agnis’ demanded to go everywhere with her and listen in on conversations. Finally, mine demanded to always be kept close and never left behind.

With our Baneskin fetishes taken care of, Daniel called us over to see him. On his cell phone, there was a report being told about Scott LLC, Wrong Moon’s father’s company. Jerome Scott had been found dead. William had thus became the sole member of his fortune. However, the assets were frozen until William came forward and claimed the company. The last known place that Jerome had purchased was the mansion that Wrong Moon and Daniel lived in. We would have to bring this before the elders.

In the meantime before we met with them, we worked on a few gifts. Bjorn suffered probably the harshest chiminage I had ever heard of after summoning Sheeba. He was forced to go to Wolfhome and stay with Scar until the Metis released him.

After a couple of the pack learned some gifts, Mackie called us to him. Because both Agnis and I had challenged for Artho Rank at the same time, he asked whether we challenge separately or as a pack. We decided on challenging as a pack. Mackie went to get his bottle and we sat at the fire pit and discussed what the challenge would be.

It turns out a good deed had turned itself around on us. Because Mabe had been freed due to Miguel’s inaction, she was now attempting to bring magic back into the world. She is killing anyone who opposes her. The true Fae used to be here at one time, but as magic faded from the world, only the half-Fae remain, such as those brought back from the Hedge. Her being able to remain here is very dangerous. We must go speak with Royal Ascot in the Wasteland and uphold our oaths as Tuatha De Fionn.

GetImage

The Wasteland wasn’t a realm of course, but a building in San Francisco. We headed there by moon bridge and met with Royal. He took us up to the office and laid it all out for us. There was no simple solution to the problem. She had the power to end us all in one fell swoop. He had tried for the whole tribe, but only managed to get us. Zanatos had heard of Mabe being captured and went looking for her at our Sept. He wanted to free her and be her king. Fortunately, that did not work out for him.

Mabe is bringing glamour back into the world and quickly throwing the balance of power out of whack. She is bringing back the old ways and normal people would see the half-Fae for what they really are. They might also see the Garou for what they are, ruining the protection of the Delirium. Her powers might even begin to affect others like us as well.

She is basically attempting to link the Hedge with the regular world. If we fail at this task, we’re doomed along with him as well. We asked how to defeat her, but Royal looked depressed when we asked. She is basically a God. Jonathon suggested imprisoning her again.

Royal told us her history that she is the warrior queen of the true fairies. She at one time took kings who had one foot in the mortal world and one in the Fae. She ruled with strict morals. She was eventually dethroned by her son Oberon. She was not concerned with this until Oberon erected the barrier removing the true Fae from the material world. Oberon then banished her so she created the Unseelie kingdom.

At around 1100 AD, she disappeared without a trace. There were some rumors about her location like Magus Mavue, an area where you left a stone and got good luck or took one and had bad luck. There was also the rumor that Osin created the box and trapped her in it with a blessing from the Fae.

Right now, Mabe is staying in the Lotus building. She is only inhabiting the body of the girl we met and is pure spirit. We would have to bind if we wanted to talk some sense into her. With nothing more to add, Royal dismissed us. We now had an epic challenge on our hands…

Some Downtime, Fae Interactions, and the Final Test of the Vulture Walkers…(Game 26)

After we had secured our kinfolk and taken in Spot, Sheeba, and the Vulture Walkers, it was time for a breather. We were all finally able to work on things we had been hoping to take care of earlier. For three weeks we did not have to worry about anything hectic.

Eli spent time decorating his fetishes and channeling his ancestor Malcolm to learn to smith. He spoke with Crafty and they both agreed that a forge for the cabin area would be a good addition. The potential to craft our own weapons would be a benefit to the Sept’s offensive capabilities. Eli tried to learn Spirit Speech from Q, but he preferred that Eli get it from a Sept spirit in order to foster good relations with them. He was taken to a Lune to learn it, but also requested to learn Luna’s Armor. The Lune argued that to be given the defensive armor he would need to ensure that he might be missed if he fell in battle or otherwise. Thus, he would have to make himself as sociable as possible for the next month.

Jonathon spent a great deal of his time wandering the Umbra with the spirits rekindling relationships he had lost over the last four years. He found out during this time that all spirits had names, but chose to withhold them as a name could give the Garou or other entities power over them. Thus, a name given by a spirit showed great respect and trust for the Garou in question.

Black bill magpie

Gina dropped off a bag from Kelly since Jonathon’s movements were restricted to the Sept by Eli. She had used the bag to hold comics, but thought Jonathon might find better use for it. He decided to use the bag to make a Magpie Swag much like Eli. The ritual took an exhaustive amount of time, but in the end, he was able to perform it successfully. He earned the trust of a magpie named Black Bill who required an occasional insect be placed in the back for a month as chiminage. The ban required him to put something of importance in the bag whenever he deemed an event important in his life.

Bjorn spent some time with Gruffy who told him as a Philodox, it was his job to administer punishment for the pack. Bjorn took this time to learn the Rite of the Jackdaw, something I could see William suffering in the future. Afterwards, he spent time with the spirits learning Spirit Speech, decorating his fetishes, and enjoying time with Gina. Magnus tried to be a big brother to him, but Bjorn wasn’t interested, and it bothered me quite a bit.

William spent a good deal of the time working with Cliff to determine if any of the land was available for sale. Apparently, the area by the lodge was state-owned and could not be purchased, but over 75% of the bawn including the Sept itself could be. It cost millions of dollars, but William began the work to push it through. When he wasn’t working with Cliff, he was being berated by Mackie for not following his auspice. He was stepping on the toes of the Ragabash in the Sept by acting the way he did and it was time for him to act how he should, lest he be forced to change auspices. Finally, William worked on a song and requested Lindsey bring him a specific type of wine while ferrying notes about. None of which he told anybody about.

Miguel spent most of his time with his mother and catching up on lost time. When he wasn’t doing this, he worked with his uncle Thomas doing things I’m sure I don’t want to know about. Afterwards, he asked Leein to help him learn some gifts and she took him to the spirits to take care of this.

Agnis worked on practicing her staff fighting with Scourge of the Woods. She tried to get more information from Drona in order to do things like when the staff flew into her hands the first time she got it, but the staff was intent on keeping secrets. She also worked with Leein on developing her own variants of the minor Rites Breath of Gaia and Greet the Sun.

I decided to begin to strengthen my body for the dark times ahead. Taking on the Vulture Walkers and Sheeba might have been ludicrous to other Septs, but in my mind it was the right thing to do. Still, with the other Septs not exactly happy with us, it would be best to do as much training, both physically and spiritually, as possible.

I spent at least an hour every day doing runs, lifting logs, and whatever else I could think of to build my strength. Much of this time was spent with Agnis, as she worked on her physical training as well. We bonded very well during this time. We shared many similarities and differences at the same time from our past.

I went to visit Ryan during the first week with Eli’s approval, who also considered my emotional well-being and Ryan’s safety tantamount. The San Francisco was severely nauseating to say the least. I could barely keep my anger in check during this time. Ryan was very sweet and well-mannered as Kenith offered to have a dinner date with each other. I decided to spend some time just with Ryan rather leave the mansion for the smog-filled city.

I did go on the date later, but I struggled to deal with the situation. The sensory overload was unbearable as I listened to Kenith talk about Ryan’s future. He had all sorts of plans for my son like the best schools and recreation money could buy. It seemed like a big show of money and I wasn’t sure if I cared much for the grooming. I thought about just getting Ryan back and raising him in the confines of the Sept, but I knew this would only cause legal problems for us. More troubling was the show of money and attitude from Kenith. This was not how I remembered him. Finally, the city became too much for me to bear and I faked an excuse about feeling ill and left.

After I returned, depressed and unsure of what to do about the situation, I went to speak with Spot and Sheeba. Sheeba, sadly, could not talk in any way shape or form including the Garou tongue. However, she was a natural at wolf language and Spot was teaching her how to read and write to communicate with the rest of the Sept. Spot herself was guarded which was worrying. She was eager to listen and hear about anyone or myself in the Sept really, but she kept any answers about herself very curt.

Before I began the training I arranged last week with Ryan, I spent some time with Magnus. We seemed to click and I felt much more at ease with him than with Kenith. I sort of felt the old Kenith was gone, but I shouldn’t have been surprised considering how much I’ve changed over the years. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had opened my bible. Still, Magnus wanted to take me out on a date once he got himself set up and I agreed to it. Personally, he didn’t need to set himself up and I would be more than happy to spend time with him regardless.

After all this, I began my second and third week in deep study with Ryan. Although Ryan moved quickly as he taught me about the importance of rituals and what it will mean for me to be Ritemaster, I picked up much of it quickly. When he wasn’t working on the study of rituals on the whole, I worked on learning the Rite of Summoning, a rite I had wanted to learn for some time to make things easier for the pack. I easily mastered in the two weeks with little trouble to the point Ryan remarked I was a natural for this.

Outside of the pack, lots of work and change progressed with others as well. Maria managed to get a job at the lodge legally as Thomas kept his word about his 36-hour runs. My father hadn’t been seen at the Sept yet as he was able to get moved quickly and established at a nearby Harris bank in Santa Cruz. Still, he hadn’t been to visit and I worried about him. I didn’t want to feel like we bossed him around, but were worried for his safety.

Lizzie worked with Cliff on getting internet set-up to all of the rooms in the lodge while Magnus got temporary work at a local shipyard. Ariel, Lindsey, and Cliff were all extremely busy, barely getting any time with the pack or the Sept. Cliff, in particular, worried me as he had been working so hard due to all the new kinfolk arriving. I think I’ll have to do something for all his work. Gina had been working on schooling and spent the most time at the Sept of the kinfolk.

Crafty had been in the caern the majority of the downtime. I overheard Ryan warning him of being careful of Mabe and her trickery. Spot and Crafty seemed to spend a great deal of time together, but would go quiet whenever anyone got near, causing some concern around the Sept. Both the Lion’s Vengeance and Irish Destroyers did bawn patrol often and the latter worked with the pack on any assistance they needed. Sheeba and Spot worked under Mackie and it was obvious he abused his position due to his bigoted viewpoint towards them. Not surprising, Spot has been confused by kindness, something Bone Gnawers likely don’t get very often.

After three weeks had passed, Leein and Ryan asked us to meet them at the Sept. They had been training spirits to specifically look for kin-fetch spirits like the one that was bound to me before my First Change. The elders had put the Vulture Walkers in charge of one of these hunter spirits, but have left some information out in case they betray the Sept. Because Ryan and the others, including William needed to take care of things, we would stand guard at the Sept for a week. Only one member of the pack can leave at a time to hunt in case we get hungry. Lastly, the Vulture Walkers left two early, and it concerned Ryan some.

We all gathered our things, including our fetishes in case of a fight, and headed to the Sept. The first day was rather uneventful. We took turns doing a little hunting, but things were strangely quiet.

On the second day, however, things took a turn for the worse. As we were guarding the Sept, the paper bird Eli carried came alive somewhat and tried to fly off. Jonathon offered to grab the bird and we let him retrieve it. However, after half a day of waiting, he hadn’t returned. We asked Q to locate him, but Q had been told by Jonathon not to mention his whereabouts.

After a full day had passed, Jonathon returned with a bloody bag. I was nervous to say the least, but let him speak. He told us we had made bad decisions in the past and he was quiet before. However, he had a duty to protect the pack. With that, he opened the bag and the heads of the Vulture Walkers pack rolled out. At the sight of this, Q said this was behavior unbecoming of our pack and departed from us. Needless to say, everyone was livid. I felt like cutting his head off for betraying both the Vulture Walkers pack and ours along with breaking our ban with Q. Agnis was particularly violatile and was disgusted with his behavior. Things looked as though violence might break out when we were suddenly awakened by Eli. The entire thing had been a dream.

The conversation that transpired next was one that I didn’t care. Eli had been having second thoughts about the entire deal with the Vulture Walkers. I felt like he was trying to justify reneging on his deal with the Vulture Walkers and was quite disgusted. He tried to explain he only wanted clarity, but I felt he wouldn’t have been interested in denying them membership if he only wanted clarity. Still, Agnis said the deal had been done and we would lose favor with Q for going back on our word.

With the Sept sending dreams to us, the rest of the week contained different dreams. One dream was horrible as the entire Sept had been destroyed and not even the caern remained. However, two days later, another dream was revealed to us of the Sept prospering and the Vulture Walkers pack full members. It was readily apparent that these were portents to possible futures depending on how we behave.

On the sixth night, Eli spotted the trees acting bizarrely. They were swaying in the direction of the cabin. Waking the rest of the pack up, he had Jonathon and I investigate the Umbra to see what we could find out. Heading into the Umbra, we discovered the fish spirits near the creek were leaping out of the water onto the trees. We tried calling out to Mabe, but got no response. Jonathon asked Tick what was going on and he mentioned someone being in the bawn that wasn’t supposed to be.

With this, Eli howled for a response, but got none. Things were getting a bit more tense as we prepared for battle. Eli sent Miguel to investigate. Miguel found the Vulture Walkers pack had returned with a young teenage boy, but they were missing one member, Jerrick. Miguel returned with the news and Eli went to meet them personally.

As Eli approached them, he could tell they were nervous. They were allowed on the bawn, but they knew better than to enter the caern. They told Eli they had returned from their mission. They were to use the kin-fetch locator to determine if they worked. The spirit led them to a bane which they destroyed. There, they found the young boy in the First Change. They calmed him down and got him out of the area before anyone noticed. Oddly, they deferred to our pack on what to do.

When asked about their missing member, they were somewhat ashamed to say they had to put Jerrick down. Jerrick had gone rogue and wanted to use the kin-fetch hunter to find more Garou and build an army to break the Nation. Anthony said this was wrong and Jerrick challenged for alpha to which they asked Tick who agreed. Worried that this could undo everything they had worked for, Chloe jumped on Jerrick and ripped him apart before the challenge could begin. She mentioned she would take full responsibility for her actions, but Anthony said he was the leader and he should be punished. Given their limited knowledge of the Litany, I didn’t really think punishment was a good idea, rather education instead.

Still, Eli returned to the caern and told them to wait there. He sent me to cleanse the boy as he had obvious Wyrm taint from being near the bane. I had him strip naked and took a stick from a tree in the Sept, I asked Gaia to remove the taint from the boy as a shook the stick and walked in a clockwise motion.

With that finished, we took the boy into the Sept sans clothes. His name was Jason Kennedy and he seemed oddly okay with what he had become as opposed to myself that took a great deal of time to come to terms with it. Jason spent the rest of the night with us.

The next evening, Crafty, Ryan, Leein, and William returned. Crafty told us that the kin-fetch hunter was a test for the Vulture Walkers to determine where their loyalties lie. However, they were not expecting them to actually find anything. Still, it was fortunate they did. Since we had been alternating hunting and resting for the week, Crafty told us to take some time off at the cabin, which we did.

After a few hours, Crafty returned with news. Jason was the son of Alyssa, Bitch of the Wyrm, obviously a Black Spiral Dancer. Since we had got to him early on, he didn’t have a tribe. He told us to come to the back of the cabin to speak privately.

With so many things going on right now, Crafty told us he was taking us off the investigation about the Sept of the Stone Sea in spite of being requested by the spirits to do so. Hopefully, the spirits won’t be too angry about it. Instead, the Sept of the Three Waters will conduct their own investigation. This disturbed me some since the investigators could be the very people who committed the act.

Aside from this, Crafty had been in communion with Lion for some time. The dreams in the Sept were from him. He wanted to show us the possibilities that might transpire based on our actions and decisions. Lion has accepted the Vulture Walkers based on their previous quests and apparent sincerity. However, Lion wishes us to give the final quest for the pack. If they pass our test, they are officially part of the Sept.

After some debate, we decided it would be best for all of our pack ask each member one question. Their answers would determine if they could join the Sept. After gathering them up at the lodge, we had them come in one at a time and answer our questions.

The questions were highly varied, although I believe the most important questions were whether they would die for a non-pack Sept member they didn’t like if it saved the Sept and whether they felt remorse for their actions in their creation. Not only did they answer the questions in a manner we liked, they managed to sway Jonathon and William to believe in them, something they had been vehemently opposed to before. After each member answered their questions, we told each of them they were in and had them sit down and drink with us.

With the Vulture Walkers now a part of the Sept, we held our monthly moot. At the moot, Crafty had Sheeba and Jason head north to find the Tree of Voices. Once they completed this, they would be members of the Sept and Fianna proper. The Vulture Walkers pack were officially inducted into the pack with Monica taking on the Garou name “Remembers-the-Departed” and Anthony taking the Garou name “Pasthealer”. Chloe maintained the same name as before, “Savage Heart”.

Crafty told us the destruction of the Sept of the Stone Sea had definitely been by Gaian Garou. The Sept of the Raging Storm, where Rage Heart was, could be a suspect, but none of the other Septs want to risk accusing them and starting another war. Leein mentioned she wanted to know when we were going to take care of the quest with the bottle. She really wanted to hear the tale of it soon.

The rest of the moot went like they normally do. There was lots of drinking, dancing, and the usual sex for the mated couples. I spent a great deal of time with Magnus, though I didn’t do anything sexual with him yet. Thankfully, my father showed up and I apologized to him for rushing him to California, but he replied it was okay. As the moot continued, Agnis noticed a light in the distance near the lodge.

Fae energy

Heading towards the light, we saw a man made of feathers with several fairies surrounding him searching the area. His name was Zanatos, an Unseelie Fae. He was doing something with the light. William foolishly stuck his paw into the light and was nearly transformed into wood if it weren’t for Bjorn pulling him out.

Eli asked why he had trespassed onto our land. He was searching for the power source, which became apparent was the paper bird that Royal Ascot had given us. He knew it was nearby and asked us if we would give it to him so he could petition Royal’s court to help the Unseelie. Eli told him we weren’t interested in getting involved with his crusade. He mentioned that he would talk with Oliver Macbeth, whom we had no idea who that was. Realizing his bluff didn’t work, he left, using his glamour to conceal himself as an ordinary man with a flashlight.

Afterwards, his colorful light reappeared, then disappeared, and finally tried to reappear again. We entered the Umbra to realize it was Mabe trying to tear through the Gauntlet. She seen us and recited a poem:

“I need to be free; Curse that has imprisoned me.

Can tell you no secrets, nor tell you lies; Challenge for my guardianship and your status will rise.

Irish legends and lore; Speak of Mabe as if she were a whore.

Married to those mortals that wished to rule; Oberon betrayed me and played me for fool.

My only crime was not standing still; while man ate their dreams and never got their fill.

I am a warrior Queen of the Fairy; tormented as prisoner never again to marry.

I need three things to be set free; guardianship will be the key

Once that is acquired, we shall move on, until that time hope will still be gone.”

After she said this, she disappeared. It was apparent Crafty was both her jailer and guardian. We were beginning to worry about the secrets he was keeping from us. Still, with new members to the Sept and the redemption of the Vulture Walkers pack, I was feeling better about our chances of survival. I knew the other Septs would condemn us for taking them in, but I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do. Destroying them would have only resulted in three less Garou and we were going to need all that we could find if we were to survive the coming days.