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My Son, the Fae, and New Sept Members…(Game 25)

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After making my questing stones, we debated on how to get to Chicago. There was a good deal of debate on how to make it there, even tossing in the idea of William’s father helping us, but ultimately, we decided to have Q moon bridge us there. It required two jumps since his range couldn’t take us all the way. I, along with Eli and Bjorn, gave Q some spiritual power as the trip would most certainly tax him and we didn’t want to abuse his power.

Our first jump took us to outside edge of a small city, but we were not spotted. The second jump got us to just near the area of the kinfolk whom I left Ryan with. We made our way to the house that looked to be somewhat ran down, but still livable. We all went up to the door and I knocked.

James Sever answered the door and he looked worn down like the house and was clearly drunk. He invited us in and gave beers to most of the pack as I asked him where my son was. He told me that CPS had taken my son away. I had to fight back the urge to give into my Rage at the sound of that. He told us his wife had died several years ago and CPS took the child away two years ago. He begged the Sept of the Second City for aid, but they just disregarded him.

At hearing the story, I couldn’t find myself being enraged anymore. I pitied him and wondered why the Sept I had come from had become so callous to one of their own. We talked it over briefly through Q about what we could do for him, but since he was a Glass Walker kinfolk, the Sept would have to let us have him. So we had to leave James. We tried to give him some money for his troubles, but he wouldn’t accept it.

I decided that the Sept would have the best chance of finding my son. I had a questing stone, but it could take us anywhere and with no idea how long it would take to find him. We headed just outside the bawn and asked Q to introduce us as not to offend anyone. Unfortunately, he returned with less than savory news of their attitude towards Q. Jonathon managed to have Tick look over the situation and she returned with information that the city was under siege by “fomor who drink blood.” It was obvious it was vampires.

There was once again nothing we could do here so I checked my questing stones. My son’s pointed west and my father’s pointed south-east. While I wanted to get to my son, the fact that my stone worked at all let me know he was alive. I decided that getting my father first would save us time since we had no idea where my son specifically was.

Traveling to his location, we found ourselves outside a Harris bank. It was several stories tall and actually decent. We entered the bank and I asked for John Rosie. When asked who would be needing him, I first gave my regular last name, but I realized this would not register to him and changed it to Caitlyn Greyweather.

Making my way up to his office along with Bjorn, I introduced myself and told him I was his daughter. He took the news surprisingly well and gave me a somewhat awkward hug. He asked me about my mother, but I could only tell her she had died, not knowing the circumstances. He was saddened to here, but wanted to know why I had come. I told him I wanted him to return to our Sept. He asked if I could give him a few weeks to get ready and I told him yes. Bjorn spoke through Q to me about taking him out to dinner tonight. I asked if he wanted to and he accepted. In the meantime, he offered to put us up in a hotel. I didn’t want to impose but he insisted so I accepted. I hugged him and we left for the hotel.

Arriving at the hotel, we were checking in to our rooms when Jonathon mindspeaked to me that Tick had told him the city wasn’t safe at night. Banes were out in force and we needed to get out of here. Ignoring this for the moment, we got our rooms and discussed the situation. We figured we could handle the banes for the moment and decided to stay until I had dinner with my father.

Eli took the opportunity to ask Q to try again at the Sept. This time, he managed to get an audience with Spirit Talker, the Theurge who did my Rite of Passage. Apparently, 20 years ago, vampires were feuding with each other and the Garou. The vampires had formed an alliance with Black Spiral Dancers and the Garou of the city decided to wipe them both off the map. Now, however, the vampires are returning and the Sept has entered into a three-day moot in order to determine what best to do. After hearing the story, it was determined that we needed to get my father out as soon as possible.

I went to dinner that night at the bank’s connected restaurant. I decided to not bring the issue about leaving just yet. I wanted to get to know him for a bit. He told about how he knew he was a kinfolk, but hadn’t participated that much. I asked him about my mother. He didn’t know her very well, but did remember her being very beautiful and kind to him. The conversation went on for some time as he asked about myself as well. Finally, as things wound down, I brought the issue to him about the city’s problem. I apologized to him about the rush, but I was concerned he might get caught in the crossfire. He asked for just a week and I told him yes, but to be very careful.

I went back to the hotel that night and slept with a little unease about things. Waking up the next morning, we decided since the Sept was out of the question, we would just have to do things the hard way. We rented a car thanks to William and began traveling west. It eventually took us out of the city. We kept following the path for three days, stopping periodically to use the bathroom and hunt. Finally, we found ourselves at a large estate in San Francisco.

We stood there looking at the house for some time, but we were not sure how to approach. Eli suggested we talk with Royal Ascot to touch base with the Fae and see if they knew anything. It was a quick trip to the Stinking Rose where Washington was still serving as a bouncer of sorts. He didn’t recognize us, which wasn’t surprising, but once we asked for Royal, he led us right to the table we were at last time we were here.

Royal was happy to see us and wondered why we had never used the paper bird for our favor. He called for garlic as Eli gave him the short of what happened to us. He filled us in on how Adela was doing and how she intended to “take someone across the hedge”, a phrase I was unfamiliar with. Afterwards, she would be on her own.

After getting reacquainted, we asked about the mansion, but Royal didn’t know who it belonged to. I quietly suggested using the bird to get my son back, but this idea was shot down sadly. With Eli deciding to hold onto the bird in spite of Royal’s suggestion he could get the child back within an hour, we figured we would have to do it ourselves. We bid Royal goodbye and returned to the mansion.

At the mansion, Jonathon went to speak with the owner of the house. He was greeted by a butler who gave him the last name of the residence: Kincaid. I immediately knew who owned the house or at least the family. Making an appointment to speak with the owner about a personal matter, Jonathon gave a fake name and that we would return at 10:30 pm.

After leaving, I suggested we head to an internet café and look into the Kincaid family. It was headed by Walter Kincaid, the most prominent lawyer in the west coast. Things weren’t looking good for getting my son back I feared.

Deciding that we needed to look presentable, William offered to buy us some clothes for an upscale business. We agreed, but didn’t want to go overboard as doing too much with any forms of income from his family might lead the killers to his father.

Returning to the mansion, we debated on how to approach the situation. I figured it was just simpler to ask for him back and explain what happened to me, even if it was a lie. Knocking on the door, I was surprised to see Kenith who invited us in. He wondered what had happened to me. I lied and told him I was comatose from a car accident and had been taken care of at home by distant relatives. He asked why I came to see him, but I told him I thought he knew why as I wanted my son back.

When Kenith responded that might be tricky, I was nervous. He had his father try to locate me and came across my son. Ryan had been taken by CPS and Kenith worked hard for a year and a half to adopt him. He is well cared for and has the best education. I wanted to be a part of his life again and Kenith agreed it would be a good idea. He offered to introduce me to him over dinner some time and I agreed considering I didn’t want to scare him.

I wondered about the house and Kenith told me that he had taken over the mansion after his father’s heart attack. I didn’t know if his father was still alive, but I could only assume no. As we did talked, William decided to help himself to some of Kenith’s alcohol, but we reprimanded him. Kenith asked if I still had his business  card and personal number and I told him yes.

After this, I mindspeaked with Eli about being unsure of what to do in the situation as we couldn’t just take Ryan without causing legal issues. As we communicated, things became unusually static ridden, something that had never happened before. As we prepared to leave, Eli sternly asked if Ryan would be safer with him rather than his mother. He replied yes, and the thought was heartbreaking to me. Still, as we left, I gave him a hug and quietly whispered to him thank you for taking care of my son. Kenith broke off, headed to his bar, and grabbed some recent pictures of Ryan for me. I was happy to see how he had grown and was feeling much better at seeing him, even if only in a picture for the moment.

As we left, Bjorn told us he wasn’t human, but didn’t know exactly what he was. It was a cause for concern, but given the recent deaths of other kinfolk and my occasionally violent lifestyle, I had to come to terms with the fact that this ultimately might be better. At least until my father arrived and things settled down. Eli tried to listen in at a distance to determine if Kenith had anything to say to his butler, but heard nearby rustling and whispering by a bush.

Heading to the source of the sounds, we found Adela, the Fae we helped years ago. She didn’t recognize us at first, but with some coaxing, her memory returned. Eli had overheard her talking about getting the child. She admitted to it as she had a debt to repay us.

She wanted to take the child across the hedge at first, but she had looked into the child’s past and knew who his mother was so she decided to help get him back for us. She told us she couldn’t take the child across anyway as he had a powerful, fierce spirit, something that made me curious to hear. However, the last time she tried to get him, she nearly forgot who she was due to the house or something protecting it. She was obviously scared of Kenith’s place and it made me more curious as to what he actually was. Some of the pack suggested he might be the Mind Mage who helped me out and I considered the possibility.

As Adela appeared to be talking to someone else we could not see for a moment, we asked who she spoke to and she told us the hedge itself. She told us to go to a nearby bar and she would explain things more clearly. Heading to the bar, she told us to wait for her for a moment and offers us a drink in the meantime.

As we wait, we heard the familiar voice of Carl Kolchak. He had gotten out of prison and was still ranting about the clones. This time, however, he appeared to be more of a drunk than actual threat like before, but it was still thankful he didn’t recognize us.

Adela called us up and wanted to know where we had been for the last four years. William explained the situation in Galliard fashion while we noticed a bag hanging on the wall wiggling back and forth. Asking about it, she told us she acquired it some time ago as she opened the bag. Inside was a staff named Drona, backwards Gaelic for chaos. The staff stood upright for a moment before flying into Agnis’ hand. Adela was a bit perplexed, but happy considering this would repay her debt.

Afterwards, we talked about the hedge and Arcadia, where the Fae live by myself offering a secret about my crush on the Sept leader at Chicago. William offered up a secret about being afraid to have sex in order to learn about what happens when someone is taken over the hedge. The result was not pleasant. They are broken and destroyed spiritually until they become a Fae. It was obvious my son’s spirit wouldn’t be broken so she could not take him across the hedge.

Jonathon offered a secret about not wanting to fight for information about Mabe after Adela mentioned her. It turned out she was the Fae queen. She was ancient and very powerful, but bound to the Sept. How Crafty managed to do something like this was a worrisome to me. Still, for the next several hours she told us of her exploits, which seemed bizarre to us, but completely natural to her. I assumed this is what we might sound like to non-Garou.

After leaving Adela’s, we returned to the Sept and found a man waiting for us. It was Thomas Segundo, Miguel’s uncle. He was happy to see Miguel and had brought his mother here. We went to his boat to get her and he told us he had a job as a boat inspector. He would be gone for 36 hours each week from Tuesday to Thursday. His illegal activities were not missed upon someone even like myself. He also asked we call him the Tooth when in mixed company.

Afterwards, we returned to the Sept with Miguel’s mother who was kind, but worried about where to stay and how to make any sort of money. We figured she could stay at the lodge until more permanent arrangements could be made.

Q called on us to enter the Umbra just after this. Upon entering, he asked for a favor, the first time he had ever asked anything of us. We were to head to the edge of the bawn. There, a tortoise spirit was waiting with Q. He was the totem for the Sept of the Stone Sea. He was forcibly severed from his caern by a profane rite by Gaian Garou, something very disturbing to hear. Q wants us to look into it and determine who did it. We agreed and headed to their Sept immediately.

There, at the Wilder Ranch, we oddly found the Vulture pack piling bodies to be burned, obviously for the protection of the Veil. Upon seeing us, they immediately prepared for an attack, but we told them we weren’t here to fight. We explained that we had been asked to look into what happened here. They told us they eventually traveled to this Sept after they couldn’t find us to cleanse them. Here they were cleansed and given seven quests to complete of which they did four so far. Afterwards, they would be accepted by the Sept. However, with the Sept in ruins they felt they had been screwed again. I felt bad for them since they were actually trying to redeem themselves.

They asked that since they did not need to be cleansed, they wanted us to locate the last remaining Sept member, Spot, who would vouch for them so they could go to another Sept. We agreed to and Bjorn did the questing stone rite that led us into Santa Cruz. At the top of the clock tower, we found Spot and a metis named Sheeba. Spot believed the attack was due to their Sept taking in a Metis from two unknown members of the Sept of the Three Waters. We offered justice to her and not vengeance as neither of the Sept totems would have wanted something like that.

Still, with nowhere to go, we offered to take them to our Sept and possibly bring them in. An impromptu moot was called and we were all allowed to give our opinion. Everyone was willing to accept Spot and Sheeba into the Sept save for Mackie, which was expected given his views on mixed Septs. The Vulture Walkers were a different matter. A little over half wanted them to join and only William and Jonathon were opposed to them.

In the end, after everything was said, Sheeba and Spot would join the Sept and the Vulture Walkers would complete their last three quests and be brought before Lion to determine their worthiness. It had been a long journey, but I finally partially secured my son. I also felt better about how the Sept was growing. I now looked forward to a little downtime to work on my rituals to become Ritemaster for the pack as Bjorn had taken over Beta. I hope I can do this….

Life’s Not A Party and the Kinfolk Dilemma… (Game 24)

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After we did our moot, we decided to wait until Jonathon could burn off the excess spiritual energy like Bjorn did. It was a long two days, but Cliff finally came and told us he was awake on July 4th. Jonathon sat up, but didn’t remember anything of our journey save for his brief time in 31 B.C. where the Drowned King first appeared.

After mentioning this, Jonathon looked for and talked to Tick, but obviously, we couldn’t see her. We spent the next couple hours explaining what had happened with the Sept since our disappearance. We then told him about the kinfolk we were getting ready to bring, something I was excited about.

After this, Eli decided after several near misses of trouble to define the rules for the pack. We were to follow orders obviously, we needed permission to speak when in from of others, but could use our link through Q in order to relay information to him. Any rewards like fetishes were to be awarded by him alone. I was appointed acting Beta in case something happened to him, a position I was willing to do all I could to make things run smoothly.

Eli then suggested Jonathon get to know the new Sept members. Jonathon talked about new knowledge from the ancestors, which wasn’t surprising since I now had new fetishes and gifts from our journey. As he spoke of this, Gina entered and suggested going to Kelly’s party like we did years ago. All of the other kinfolk besides Cliff were interested.

I didn’t feel like it was such a good idea. I was more worried about the Kinfolk. None of them had contacted us about how things were going and I could not get a hold of the kinfolk who were watching Ryan. As we were debating on going to the party, Gruffy entered the room and told Jonathon he was here to do his tribal artwork.

Jonathon was apprehensive at first, but decided on a Celtic cross with the symbols for spirit, umbra, and his Garou name on his chest. As Gruffy did the tattoo, he went over the rules for challenges so we could be clear on what would happen in the future. He obviously felt that some of us are going to challenge for the positions in the Sept. I considered it, but at the moment I had more pressing matters to take care of.

After details on challenges, we were briefed on punishments. Most punishments were to be handled at the pack level as they could grow much more severe if they escalated to Sept level punishments. Our actions reflected on the Sept as well as our pack and bad deeds could taint our reputation with other Septs. However, we were allowed to determine the equivalent punishment. The Philodox was supposed to administer it, but I could think of some devious punishments to suggest.

As Gruffy finished the tattoo, we finally agreed to go to the party. As we left the lodge, Q appeared to us and reminded of our ban and how things with the totem are reciprocal. It was more of a nudge like the lesson we learned early on with the kinfolk to treat them better. We had been quite demanding of Q lately so I resolved to be more polite and open with him.

Gina and Lindsey picked us up at 7 pm. She was still driving the SUV as before, but the car clearly wasn’t running well. The smell of burning oil was nauseating to say the least. Inside her car were other items that equally smelled foul to me. We had been in the distant, clean past for so long I wasn’t used to the smells of the world I was born in. As we headed to the party, Gina stopped by McDonalds and bought us hamburgers like before. The completely processed nature of it was repulsive compared to freshly killed meat or anything cooked normally. Still, I tried my best to choke it down and appear polite, but I could see the other packmates felt the same.

Arriving at the party like before, the smells were more tolerable. The smell of the ocean and cooked hot dogs was more inviting. We went up to the entrance where Larry Ward greeted us as before. He didn’t remember us, but I wasn’t surprised. He went over the rules again and we went down to the party.

As we made our way to the bar, we came across Jason Cripe. He was scruffy looking compared to before and smelled strongly of alcohol. He remembered us, but didn’t seem to notice me. I gathered he was too drunk to care. We didn’t say anything more and he left. Gina was glad we didn’t mention  his volleyball days as three of his teammates were killed in a car accident. Afterwards, he quit the team and began to drink heavily. I felt bad for him.

We made our way to the bar and Gina suddenly had a guy put his arms around her. It was Brice. Bjorn obviously didn’t like this and the feeling was mutual with Brice as he seen Bjorn had returned. Gina tried to defuse the situation, but it didn’t look to be working as Bjorn might snap at any second. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what. Jonathon tried to spill a drink on him, but didn’t do it very convincingly. Eli finally offered to get Brice a drink, but he wasn’t having any of it and left.

After this transpired, John had his rear grabbed by Regina. She wanted to have sex with him again and John was more than willing to oblige her as they head to the beachhouse.

[John’s POV…]

John has sex with Regina as before, but finds himself struggling to contain his Rage. As he is having sex with her, he notices the ring on her finger. She mentions she is married and needed a man who would take care of her. It grates on John a little, as they stop having sex. She asks him if he cares and the conversation goes back and forth until he convinces her he does care. She takes control in the sex for the first time as they resume.

[Returning to the rest of the group…]

Gina and Bjorn left so he could calm down, which I completely understand.

As we get drinks and settle into the party, Tina Carter comes up and speaks with us. She tells us about how things have been and well she gets along with her “cousin.” Afterwards, Kelly Ward comes up to us and happily tells us she is going to New York soon to become a star. She is excited to see Jonathon telling him how she grew out of Captain Amazing, but still keeps all the toys and offers to show Jonathon them. She bends over to entice Jonathon and the subtlety isn’t lost on him. They head to her house and he bumps into a disheveled business man.

The man goes to Larry and says something and begins looking around the party. William tries to politely help the man find what he is searching for but he curses William out. William tries one more time, but is rebuffed again. Finally, Eli tells him to drop it in order to avoid a scene.

As we are trying to mingle at the party, Lindsey’s cell phone rings. Cliff tells her some of the kinfolk are arriving. Lindsey relays the information to Eli and says it’s time to go, which I’m relieved to hear. Jonathon is having sex along with John and they are forced to stop and return to us as the unknown man gives up his search and leaves.

Returning to the lodge, there was a phone call from Miguel’s uncle to call him back. Two phone calls have also come from the police. John’s family died in a car crash on the way to the Sept. Another call came from California about William’s mother. He calls his father finally who wants to know where he has been. William lies and says he went to Europe to live without his money for a time. His father tells him something has happened to his mother and to come home.

William began to plan to go to his father’s and determine what was up with his mother while Miguel got a hold of his uncle. The conversation was fairly lopsided as his uncle showed no interest in coming to the Sept. He did say that he would get a message to Miguel’s mother to call him.

We then went to the main area of the lodge to meet Bjorn’s kinfolk. His sister was Lizbeth, but preferred to be called Lizzie. His older brother was Magnus. He was a large man, but very gentle. I thought he looked pretty cute and was my age so I made a mental note to spend some time with him at the next moot.

After consulting with Eli, we all decided to go to William’s father and find out what was going on. The trip there only took a few hours. Arriving outside of his father’s estate, we stayed somewhat back from it while he conversed with his dad.

William’s father told him his mother committed suicide in her car a couple of nights ago. The revelation made absolutely no sense as he had just talked to her a few days ago and she was happy to hear from him. William’s father wanted him to stay for the funeral and work on family affairs so we agreed to do so. We stayed a short distance away and hunted as we could for the next three days.

The funeral went on and William was visibly upset by it, the first time I had ever seen that kind of emotion out of him. William had also found out that his real kinfolk father took the blame for William’s First Change and was in prison. During that time, he tried to escape and was found just outside the fence with what appeared to be animal wounds.

We returned to the Sept, more disturbed than ever. The odd coincidences were jarring and I began to fear for my son. Eli suggested we look for bugs, both physical and mystical, but we didn’t find any. With the other kinfolk taken care of or dead, only mine remained. At the suggestion of Jonathon, I made questing stones for both my father and my son. I could only hope we found them alive.

A Grand Moot… (Game 23)

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As we all slept the night of our return, Eli was plagued with nightmares. He could hear and see Bjorn and Jonathon yelling for help. The duo appeared to be struggling in water and didn’t know which way to go. Eli woke us all up; I had just drifted to sleep from my distraught emotions, and told us we needed to head to the beach where we fought the Drowned King.

Returning to the beach, we found Bjorn trying to resuscitate Jonathon, who was face down on the beach. Bjorn apparently seen us in Crinos form, his vision blended between the Umbral and the physical. Jonathon, on the other hand, was completely disconnected and unresponsive.

I quickly realized they had been in the Umbra too long. By ignoring the physical, they were becoming more spirit than flesh. However, once the additional spiritual energy wore off from the ancestors, they would return to normal. Jonathon, however, may take some time considering his innate love for the spirits and the Umbra.

We returned to the Sept and Eli filled Bjorn in on what had happened to us. We then went back to sleep. Once we awoke, Cliff had breakfast ready and Gina was ecstatic to find Bjorn alive. She took care of him as the spiritual energies wore off and his vision returned to normal. Jonathon remained the same however.

Eli suggested we keep Jonathon in the cabin until he returned to normal, which was a good idea, given his occasional lapses in personality. It would ultimately be better to have another Garou nearby in case he wandered off.

We returned to the Sept to see all of the work that had been done on the cabin now that it was daytime. A nearby den had been created for Rusty and Rivet who were happy to see us. Ariel arrived and gave them some scraps, showing how far along she had come with becoming comfortable with them. We had the day to pass until the moot so most of the pack went about normal Sept business. I personally dedicated some new clothes to myself and spent some time meditating in the hear t of the Sept in the hopes it would calm my emotions some.

As night fell, a howl rang out for the moot to begin. It was a very well done howl and it was obvious that it belonged to Red Tongue thanks to his Lupus heritage. We joined in on the howl in Lupus form and began the moot. With the Lion’s pelt out and ourselves near the stones, we called out to Lion as normal and Red Tongue and Scourge grabbed a deer for the sacrifice. Still, I noticed Red Tongue and Scourge eyeing us, which made me feel they were suspicious of us in some way. I kept this to myself.

After calling out to Lion, Scourge of the Woods held the bone and asked if anyone wanted the bone to speak. Crafty first took the bone, stating he was happy for our return. Mackie then took the bone and reinforced the need for unity or the Sept will fall. Gruffy then took the bone and mentioned that we were Fostern, but with no deed names. We would be named by our packmates.

Naturally, most of us didn’t have a deed name, nor could we think of one. Some of us had ideas already, but the majority were named by the pack. Eli was Lionheart under my suggestion. John became Strikes-with-Fury. William was named Wrong Moon due to his glaring Ragabash tendencies. I suggested Stag’s Daughter for Agnis since Stag had guided her to us. Miguel, in a move unseen, chose to reject his Press One name and chose Killer-of-Dogs. Bjorn remained Born Twice. Finally, I was last. It took some debate, but the pack decided on Earth Mother. It was somewhat unexpected for me, but I accepted it graciously.

Ryan then took the bone and we were awarded renown for our deeds. Afterwards, Eli took the bone and mentioned how we would have to start over to earn our positions, but we were willing to take any help and advice the new packs would offer. Bjorn then asked for the bone and said that he hoped we could work with each other.

With no more Sept business, the kinfolk brought out food, drinks, and alcohol. I had learned to resist toxins recently and I did not feel like getting drunk considering what I had been through. Still, I drank to not worry anyone in the Sept.

Tania One-Boon offered a toast to new beginnings and old friends. Afterwards, Mackie, as a Galliard is to do, told us about events after our “death.” He told us how the Irish Destroyers joined and fragmented into two packs and how this infuriated Stands-With-Claw. We were no longer given aid from the Sept of the Three Waters without first providing aid to them.

The Irish Destroyers, before fragmenting, had to push back the Sept of the Silver Fury, as they were getting more aggressive. They had grown in number and we had not until our return. The Irish Destroyers forced an ultimatum on them to leave the Sept alone provided it did not look weak or else war would be declared. Thankfully, they backed down.

Due to the Silver Fury Sept’s aggressive actions, the Sept had tried sending out kin-fetch spirits in the hopes of growing the Sept, but to no avail.

Ryan then mentioned Kyle’s death to Harano. It was a sad notion and one I felt somewhat responsible for since we were too consumed with business and fighting to pay attention to our Septmates.

On a positive note, Mabe had relaxed her stance on outside spirits and they can join the area, albeit with rigorous testing to be safe. Around this time, a Silent Strider passed through the area and asked to meditate for three days for three hours each. Three was apparently a good number for the Fianna, which Mackie explained, but I didn’t see the significance myself. At least not yet anyway.

Crafty mentioned then mentioned we needed to get our kinfolk here, which made my heart beat faster. He ideally wanted one kinfolk per Garou, but anyone than that would be excellent. Having more kinfolk will reduce the workload on the current kin. There was also some debate when we were gone about the Sept going multi-tribal. There will also be challenges coming for the positions we once held and they will be handled at moots.

Gruffy then speaks up. He is the Master of the Challenge. He says he is old school and adheres tightly to the creeds. He is just and impartial. He is covered in tattoos and knows the ritual to inscribe ink into our flesh. He offers to do one for us tonight as an act of generosity.

Leein then speaks up. She gets along with Mabe because the fae likes her hair. She is into spirits more than most. She is here for any spirit related matters we might need assistance with.

Scourge of the Woods and Red Tongue spoke up. Scourge was the holder of the bone and bawn protector. He tells us he is very dedicated to protecting the Sept and he’s good at it. Scourge speaks for Red Tongue as he hates the Homid form. He is a ferocious warrior, but will protect us with his life. He also likes to have fun on his downtime.

Lindsey then speaks up. She died four years ago, figuratively, when the pack died. She got wasted and passed out one night shortly after our deaths. There, she had a dream of a Garou named Smoke Paw who told her to be strong , that the pack was safe, and that they would return. After having the dream, she went clean, stopped smoking, and only drank for moots. She walked to the park and Cliff helped her get a job. She offered to repay him, but he refused. She went back to school and got a degree in nursing. She now works at the Dominican Hospital and is looking for a new home.

Gina then spoke up. She lost hope with our deaths. She had her 17th birthday shortly after it and it was the worst birthday ever. She was already struggling and then found herself kicked out of her home due to the Sept of the Three Waters cutting off all aid. She moved in with Cliff, finished high school, and had him explain the Garou politics to her. She mentioned that Kenith came looking for me, and had been for years after our date. She told him the same thing she told everyone else who came looking for us: we had gone home. Still, Kenith’s law firm, no doubt in part because of him, offered Gina a scholarship to SCU for biology. I was happy at hearing this.

Cliff then talked. Things had been mostly the same, except finances. Lindsey helped when she could and he tried to get any of his family from Washington to come down. Sadly, they had all under gone the Change and could not help. He tried getting a hold of Foss’s wife, but she was still broke up over his death.

Ariel then told us about Jonathon’s death and how his body disappeared. This gave the Sept leaders hope we would return. Coincidentally, Ariel lost her precognition powers until two months before we returned. They started small at first, but then returned to their old strength as before. She doesn’t fret over it much now and works for a mental hospital. It seems fitting since before we intervened, she thought she herself was going crazy. She has now dedicated herself to learning more about the world of the Garou.

Rusty and Rivet then jumped in, licking and rubbing up on us, showing their affection for us. Afterwards, Mackie then stood up, wanting to hear of our adventure and how we came back.

Wrong Moon then recanted an epic tale of our deaths, the journey through time learning about our ancestors, and finally our return to the world where we defeated the Drowned King.

Crafty then took a moment to answer any questions we might have. Bjorn asked about the Hive, but Crafty told him it’s still there, wherever that might be. Eli wondered about the other Septs, but they too were mostly unchanged with Rage Heart still staying at the Sept of the Angry Earth.

Bjorn wanted to know what we could do for the Sept, which was find the kinfolk and Garou and attend to any Sept business needed at the moment. I wondered about who filled what positions. It devolved into a debate about us being favored, which felt a bit venomous coming from Tania, the current Den Mother. Eli suggested we just attend to Sept business, which I agreed on, and I only wanted to know who had filled what.

Mackie then asked what we learned from the experience of fighting the Drowned King. Eli mentioned Alexander’s failure in the Dark Ages. Bjorn added about how not he was looking for the right tribe, but also all of his ancestors were as well. William mentioned how to much pride can lead to a fall. John spoke of how unity was needed or the Nation would fall. Agnis took away the wisdom of her ancestors, both their failures and successes. Finally, I mentioned how close our lines were with the White Howlers themselves with both Miguel and Eli being descended from White Howler kinfolk, one of my ancestors in love with a White Howler who fell to the Wyrm, and even my great-grandfather who was the product of a Black Spiral Kinfolk and Fianna Garou.

After this, Crafty told us it was time to party for the rest of the night. While I had been drinking earlier as toasts went about, I had decided not to get drunk thanks to my new gift to resist toxins. I didn’t feel like getting drunk tonight.

Lindsey brought out food and special alcohol Mackie had brewed himself. Bjorn took a moment to ask if Red Tongue ever got drunk, but Mackie told him he didn’t.

Gruffy came out with the ink and a tapping needle for the ritual to inscribe ink in us. He offered to a tattoo for each of us. Eli chose a glyph name on his chest of all of the packmates including Rage Heart inside a lion’s mouth as it roared. John got a Fianna symbol on his heart across his chest. Agnis got the crescent moon and a Celtic knot while William got Kyle’s name across his back. I got a set of bongo drums on my right arm as I had an idea for a fetish later on.

As Gina picked up trash, Ariel brought out a portable speaker for some music. Ariel and the others danced River-dance style as Eli passed out his Unbroken Cord fetish gifted from the ancestors. I chose a simple bracelet for my portion. Cliff then grabbed me and we danced for a little while. It was fun. Agnis asked Ryan about the Celtic knot she had always carried and he told her it was a fetish and what it did. I then asked Leein about the Rite of Heritage and finding out if I have any other relatives besides my son.

Afterwards, as drinking began to get heavy, John and I decided to go to sleep that night and not party. We were made fun of, but I didn’t care. I just really wasn’t in a partying mood this night.

The next morning, most of the Sept woke up with little or no clothes and severely dehydrated. Mackie found a sausage and thought it was a penis. We all laughed a little. Cliff told him it was for our breakfast. Bjorn went with the kinfolk to make breakfast for us while we talked about the night before and all the crazy antics that the Sept had.

Eli asked again about Sept business. Once again, it was to gather as many kinfolk and Garou as we could. We decided after breakfast to get this done immediately. I asked Leein to do the Rite of Heritage on me so I could determine if I had any more relatives alive. I managed to learn about all my relatives back to Killian. As it turned out, my biological father, a man named John Rosie was alive and in Chicago, my hometown. I was thrilled and a little scared to meet him hopefully soon. Sadly though, my mother Melina Greyweather was dead. John and the others all called out to their relatives to have them come to the Sept.

William, surprisingly, was not wanted for murder as his parent’s chauffeur took the blame for the murder he committed during his First Change. Still, he would not be able to bring him, but maybe he could get his mother to come.

After taking care of the Kinfolk arrangements save mine until I could figure out a way to get my father and son here, we headed back to the cabin. There, Miguel found a bottle with glyphs on the side of it and a rolled up piece of paper in it. Without thinking about it, he opened the bottle to which Leein seen as she walked in. She was surprised and told us it was a spirit cryptex, a talen of sorts.

The wording on the paper is nonsense to us until Miguel was donated some spiritual energy. The paper told of a powerful fetish from the Flux realm. The paper told that a legendary quest must be done to solve the first part of three quests in order to learn the location of this object. After the first quest is completed, you place the paper back in the bottle to find the next quest. However, if you fail the quest or don’t do it and place the paper back in the bottle, the spirit is released and the object will be lost.

Wanting to know more about it, we entered the Umbra to speak with Mabe to find out who left it for us. Upon finding her, we found she had changed considerably. She was much more human looking and could speak in two word sentences instead of riddles. She gave the bottle to us in exchange for helping Adela return to her true self.

Mabe told us she found the bottle at the north end of the bawn. I investigated it, but found nothing of interest there. Mabe wants us to solve the puzzle and we tell her we’ll try after we take care of our affairs. She’s happy to hear it and we left the Umbra.

With the others kinfolk set to arrive and the hope of my son and father coming to the Sept, I had newfound hope for the future. I anxiously awaited the arrival of new Sept members as we got to work on other Sept business…

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.