Tag Archives: mages

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…

Negotiating a Truce and the End of the Pride Slayers… (Game 40)

We had already left the area after speaking with Curtis when we decided to converse with each other and determine what to do. I told Eli that I wanted to speak with Kenith and that he needed to know the situation. Eli, however, in a move not normal for him, decided that we needed to see the Mages personally at Alcatraz.

We needed someone to watch the children in the meantime. Agnis suggested Mother Abby, a Bone Gnawer who took care of her after the First Change. However, we ultimately settled on just having Miguel watch the kids at a hotel. We weren’t planning on fighting the Mages, hopefully.

Bjorn offered caution about the meeting. It was true that we were meeting them on their own turf. We had no idea of what they could do to us. Still, there was no dissuading Eli from going there. He dialed up Curtis on my phone and arranged a meeting with whoever was in charge of the Cabal. He strongly emphasized that it would be a peaceful meeting and no one in the pack wanted violence. Curtis replied that the Mages already had a boat waiting for them at the pier near the abandoned prison.

Alcatraz_Island,

Heading there, we took a small boat to the island. We headed to where the guards used to live when Alcatraz was in use. There, a man with a staff named Max Baker greeted us. He told us that he was the leader of the Golden City Cabal. I wondered if he was the man at the beach the day we were revived.

Officers_Club

Max led us through the prison, telling us about it along the way, guiding us to the Officer’s Club. There, he sat down on a chair and offered us seats. Max got right down to business speaking of how we had killed two of his people. It was obvious he was attempting to make the argument that it was our fault entirely. Eli tried to reason with him that his Cabal’s actions, more specifically Robert’s, had endangered my child. However, Max rebuffed him telling him that they had not taken a Garou child and therefore felt they had done nothing wrong.

I could tell that Eli was getting agitated at the situation. His words to Max had taken of the feeling of veiled threats. Still, Eli tried his best to rein his temper in. Max told us that they had only plundered two “nodes” as he called it. Neither of these were in use by werewolves at the time. Jonathon spoke up and mentioned that Robert was taking direct action against the werewolves by creating this sort of spiritual bomb. Once again, Max blew us off stating that Robert’s loyalty was not in question and that he was second to Max himself. He wouldn’t help us kill any more of his kind.

Eli, getting ever more frustrated, told Max that all he wanted was three things. He wanted to ensure that either Robert or anyone else of his Cabal stop messing with their “nodes”, to remove the spell off of my son Ryan, and remove the spell off of Mordecai and his ilk in order so we could track them.

Max told us that he had never hurt caerns before, not wanting to start an all-out war that he could not likely win. He could not remove the spell of the Fathom’s as they would have to be present. He also could not undo the impressed Avatar on Ryan. Hopefully, in the future, the boy would become a Mage, likely right around the same time I became a Garou. I could feel my own anger rising from his statement.

Bjorn tried to reason with Max, telling him that Robert himself had been manipulated by someone into doing this. Once again, Max denied any wrongdoing on Robert’s part. Words became heated and both sides nearly declared war on each other. Eli let himself cool down for a second and tried to begin again. Max mentioned that it’s Robert’s job to go out and find “nodes”. I told Max that Robert had made my son into a spiritual time bomb.

At this point, Agnis spoke up. She told Max that the actions that Robert had been involved in had a ripple effect. While we had killed two Mages and sadly a score of humans, his actions have led to near-war in our area and the losses are counted in the dozens. Max seemed to reconsider. He told us that he would make sure Robert did not take any “nodes” that are occupied and would leave kinfolk alone.

We still asked if there was anything that could be done for my son. Unfortunately, he would need a master of spirits in order to accomplish anything. This, of course, was Robert. Still, Max mentioned that it would take a tremendous amount of power to do so. Jonathon volunteered his spiritual essence for the task. Max also mentioned that it would take a great deal of time. Eli wanted to know what he would want for such a task. At that moment, Jonathon whispered to Eli that we, as Garou, could probably take care of this on our own. Eli then dropped the topic entirely.

Max then made a farewell speech to us as he showed us to the door. It was obvious he was genuine in his efforts to prevent a war. As he was doing it though, he began to repeat the same things a couple of times. His jacket appeared to be torn and white powder ran down his neck. I asked him if everything was okay.

As Max started to speak with us about it, Jonathon stepped sideways. Max mentioned that it wasn’t a good idea and we agreed. Still, we knew Jonathon would be alright. I asked him about the day that we returned to life. He was there. He had taken us out of a temporal paradox that might have done severe damage to the world. He owed a debt to someone and did not do it personally though. I asked who he owed the debt to, but he just smiled leaving me to wonder if it was Kenith or the Mind Mage.

In the Umbra, Jonathon found the area to be like it was at Robert’s place. It was obvious that he had set up the defenses here. Jonathon enacted a gift that would sap the area of spiritual energy, but it ultimately had no effect on the situation. Jonathon tried to return to the material world and suddenly found himself in the ocean. He had been teleported away. Obviously a clever defense to keep out Garou.

Panicking, he tried to contact Tick to lead him back to shore. Tick was able to, but it looked like it would take a great deal of time. Jonathon called out to Quetzal and had him take him via moon bridge right into the hotel that Miguel was at.

[At Alcatraz…]

I thanked Max for bringing us back even though he didn’t do it on his own accord. We left and suddenly found ourselves at the dock. After contacting Miguel, Eli discovered that it had been three hours since we started speaking with Max. It was obvious that something had been done to us. We wondered if the negotiations had gone less than stellar and Max had to undo something. He even hinted to something of that effect before we left, but none of us understood what he meant.

As we headed back to the hotel, Agnis suggested that we still make Robert pay for what he had done. Normally, I didn’t want to hurt others not of the Wyrm, but in this case, I was in complete agreement. Eli said the issue had been resolved so unless something else happened, we were to leave him alone.

After arriving at the hotel, we spoke quietly in another room about what to do next. Jonathon suggested an exorcism. I knew what it was, but had no ability to do so. Still, I was worried. We had been told before that exorcisms don’t go that well for the victim. It was a risk and up to me. I decided I wanted to speak with someone about whether or not it could even be performed.

Eli wanted to deal with his father. He wanted to use Morgan to get to Mordecai and get Lindsey back. He made the phone call to him, but it wasn’t good news. Morgan told him that the Mages had come and got Kenith. He had no contact with Mordecai and didn’t know where he was. He also told Eli that he was done with the Mages since they broke their word and similarly with the Spirals after Gretchen decided to kill our line. He can offer Eli no more protection since he won’t come with Morgan.

After the call ended, Bjorn wanted to know what they were going to do with the children. I suggested that Ryan could stay with my father. He was his paternal grandfather and should spend some time with his biological family. Thankfully, they agreed with me. We took him to my father’s place, explaining the situation to my father. I then explained things and tried to put my son at ease before we left for the Sept.

Returning to the Sept, Bjorn went to find Gruffy and attempt his challenge while Eli brought Crafty back up to speed on what was going on. Jonathon went to get Ryan in the meantime. Gruffy told Bjorn to head to the Pin Gallery. He can take the pack for support. He must preside over judgment on several non-Sleeping Lion Sept disputes.

Jonathon came to me shortly after Bjorn spoke with Gruffy. He had been told by Ryan that while an exorcism might be possible, he had no idea if what was attached to my son was even a spirit. He suggested speaking with Star Screamer. I knew that if I asked for his help I would owe them, but I was more than willing to do so.

Bjorn wasted no time and took us to the Pin Gallery. There, we as a pack except for Bjorn, stood on the sidelines and waited for things to begin. No-Hands-Catches-Fish, Gruffy, and Stands-with-Claws were there at the back of the gallery at a table. There was a spot open for Bjorn which he took.

No-Hands-Catches Fish told Bjorn that he would be the final arbiter in judgement for these cases. There will be consequences for his decisions. If the situation gets too hard for him, he would feel free to put his hand on Stands-with-Claws shoulder and she will take over. No-Hands told him it would be alright and just make the decision you believe is correct.

The first people to approach the table was a Garou named Kinsey “Happy Feet” Morrison and a familiar face, Lightning Claws. She had seen Lightning Claws severely abusing and nearly raping a kinfolk. She attempted to stop the situation, but Lightning uttered a warning growl. Undeterred, she antagonized him again until he attacked her. Her plea is for the kinfolk to be placed in protection.

Bjorn went to questioning from that point on. He asked if Lightning was a higher, to which he was. He was Adren, she was Fostern. Just on this simple premise, Bjorn said that she should have backed down. However, he did not issue a judgement yet. He asked Lightning about the kinfolk and why they were being punished. He told Bjorn that the kinfolk had been in trouble with drugs before. They had been dealing and using them. It was the second time Lightning had spoken with the kinfolk. When asked if the punishment was necessary, Lightning only retorted that it was what got through to them.

Bjorn asked a final question about how he got the kinfolk clean the last time. Lightning just said he spoke with them.

Bjorn then issued a judgement. He decided that Lightning Claws was in the wrong for mistreating the kinfolk and not respecting those beneath you. He needed to be spoken to about his treatment of kinfolk. However, Bjorn ultimately decided that Kinsey was in the wrong and she should have issued a proper challenge to him or brought it before the elders. Her heart was in the right place, but Bjorn had to deny her request.

Next up were two Garou that we had never met before. One was a Shadow Lord named LeeAnn “Sweet Tongue” Bolinger and the other was a Bone Gnawer named “Questions the Ways”. In an assignment, Sweet Tongue had been gathering intel about local leeches in order to find their head leech and dispatch him for her quest. Questions-the-Ways attacked her contact that she was speaking with. He could have waited until she finished speaking with the contact before driving them away. She failed her quest because of it. She wants Questions-the-Ways punished.

Questions-the-Ways then spoke his turn. Sweet Tongue had been in his territory. He really didn’t care much about the leech as they were always around. What he was concerned about was that Sweet Tongue was offering human sacrifices to this leech in order to obtain information. He then chose to scare them off.

Bjorn then started his questioning. Was she really giving sacrifices? Sweet Tongue did not deny this, only saying that no one would miss the people she was giving the leech. Did she know it was his territory? Sweet Tongue said yes. Was the territory recognized by the Sept? Questions-the-Ways said yes it was. When asked why she didn’t just speak with Questions-the-Ways, Sweet Tongue said she didn’t care, she just wanted to complete her quest. She didn’t plan on taking any of the sacrifices from his territory. It would homeless people that she wouldn’t miss.

Bjorn rendered his decision that Questions-the-Ways could not be punished for his actions. Indeed, he recommended Sweet Tongue be punished for her actions, but since he was not here to render such a judgement he could do it. Sweet Tongue, however, was understanding of the decision.

The final judgement for Bjorn came in the form of a Garou named Black Patch. He hauled in a Garou with a bag on his head. Removing the bag, it was Mordecai. He had apparently been caught in the area. During this announcement of the accused, we learned that Mordecai’s Garou name was Bloody Tongue for the first time.

Black Patch announced his crimes. Mordecai had killed others out of greed, raped, and committed other atrocities. He was cast out of the Sept of the Open Mind. Later, he attempted to return to the Sept, but ended up killing an elder who knew his secret. He then went on to tell what we already knew about the Pride Slayers. Bjorn must pass judgement on his fate.

I could see that Bjorn had a sense of uneasiness about judging his brother. Before he could begin the questioning, Mordecai blurted out a message, obviously intended for Eli as he looked to him during it. He said that it was going to be a massacre, something he reiterated twice in the message. Look for the massacre. The Pride Slayers have abandoned their leader for the admirations of a female. Black Patch then hit him and told him to be quiet.

Questioning did not go on long. Bjorn only asked if he was willing to change and reform his ways. Mordecai gave one of the least convincing answers ever heard. Bjorn had no choice but to sentence him to death. Black Patch offered to be the one to do it and we could see a tear in Mordecai’s eye as Black Patch went to decapitate him. Before he did, Mordecai whispered something to Black Patch.

Bringing a klaive down on his neck, Mordecai died quickly and painlessly. When asked what he whispered to Black Patch, he merely said that his brother was his legacy and his family would live on in the Silver Record.

With this done, Bjorn had succeeded in his quest. He was now rank 4, Artho, the first in the pack to do so.

However, with Mordecai’s message, there was no time to waste. We broke with the formalities and headed out. We knew that Massacre would have Lindsey’s location and I quickly made a Questing Stone for the vampire.

illegal campsite cleanup

Finding her in a tent in a garbage dump in a nearby woods, she was still heavily burnt from the vineyard fire and likely other battles. Only Eli and Bjorn could fit in the tent, but we could still easily hear so we waited nearby.

Massacre was sorry that they took Lindsey. She tried to help, but she was obviously no match for a full pack of werewolves. Eli told her that the attack on the vineyard was not us, but our enemies. Massacre went on to say that a large group of vampires had suckered the Pride Slayers into joining up with them. Mordecai apparently protected Lindsey from the group, but they kicked him out. They decided to use Lindsey as a hostage to draw us in. Massacre wanted us to kill them and we would be square with her.

It was obvious we were going to take care of the situation, but we needed to prepare. Bjorn’s test had ran late and it was getting dark so attacking tonight would have been dangerous, if not suicide. We knew that vampires slept in the day so we used this time to rest and prepare.

Abandoned building

The next day, Agnis had her Questing Stone guide us to an abandoned mansion. There, we used the Questing Stone to pinpoint Lindsey’s exact location. We prepared all of our gifts and made a surprise attack from the Umbra. The fight was over in seconds with the Pride Slayers. It was nearly two on one and they were still sleeping. I stabbed my klaive through Specs head and ripped it forward while Eli and John shredded two of them. Agnis and William dueled Switchback and took him down. During this time, Jonathon quickly grabbed Lindsey and fled the house.

After dispatching the Pride Slayers pack, we made short work of the sleeping vampires who could not rise during the day. Leaving the house, we began our journey back to the Sept. A great chapter had finally closed in our lives…

Loss of a Sept Guardian and Interrogating the Ahroun… (Game 33)

We made our run back to the Sept as fast as possible. Thankfully, the Red Talons were frenzied and could not follow us into the Umbra, but you could never be too careful. It was early, but the Sept was up and running already. Scourge of the Woods was already on top of things as we approached. He grabbed rope and took the Ahroun from me, tying him to a tree.

The Ahroun woke shortly thereafter and was not happy to say the least. He didn’t frenzy or attempt to shift, but we could tell he wasn’t going to be cooperative. The only thing he said to us was that he was going to railroad us.

As he sat tied up, Sheeba and Jason arrived and identified him immediately. With our true culprit in hand, Eli went to get Crafty. As Eli got close to Crafty, he could see him having a heated, but still somewhat civil conversation with Ryan. The Irish Destroyers were there cleaning up as the two elders stopped their conversation on Eli’s approach. Eli explained the situation. Mackie wanted to talk with him, but Crafty shut him down.

Crafty said that he was going to the Sept of the Three Waters. We would need to determine the location of the trial and prepare for a potential attack from the Red Talons. Crafty explicitly told Eli that the Ahroun was not to be messed with. Everything would have to be legit or else our Sept could suffer the consequences. Crafty ordered Mackie to set up a protection ring around the bawn with the Irish Destroyers and any other available Garou.

Eli returned and told us what Crafty had said. The Ahroun said he would not admit to anything and we simply ignored him. Miguel went to urinate while we stood around unsure of what to do next. Bjorn observed the Ahroun closely and was able to determine he was a Get of Fenris from his tattoos, something that the Ahroun attempted to cover up upon Bjorn learning this.

Suddenly, a howl of warning went off. Eli took me with him as we went to see what was going on near the cabin area. There, we could see Mackie and Ryan surrounding the moon stone. There were Shadow Lords all around us as our Sept members were holding them down, but not attacking. We tried to approach, but Crafty waved us off. Blitz, the Garou who had been here before, seen us and went Crinos causing the rest of the Shadow Lords to follow. Our Sept members then went next to hold them back, but Eli and I held our ground in Homid as we believed we had done nothing wrong.

After everyone calmed down, Blitz warned us about an assault on our Sept if we lied to them. Crafty managed to calm the situation down and tell them they had the Ahroun and he would stand trial for his actions. They left, finding Crafty’s diplomacy acceptable.

Crafty asked Eli to walk with him and I headed back to where the Ahroun was being held. Crafty then told Eli about the situation. Apparently, some members of the Sept of the Three Waters did not want the Ahroun to stand trial. He obviously either had dirt on other members of the Sept or they were in with him on his actions. The problem was really deep. Even if we managed to make the Ahroun stand trial and punish the guilty parties, someone else would just take their place. Crafty told Eli that there had to be camps involved.

Eli still demanded justice. Crafty retorted that we couldn’t hold the trial without making us look like villains or slanted against him since we had personal bias. The Sept of the Three Waters wanted to hold the trial, but Eli found that unacceptable as they would just sweep it under the rug like they did with the Sept of the Stone Sea. In the meantime, Crafty told him we would have to guard him closely because if he slipped out of sight, he could not be found thanks to whatever Rite had been performed on him.

As Eli relayed this through mindspeak, Bjorn told Eli to tell Crafty about how we found the Ahroun. Eli told Crafty, but left out a few details due to its insidious nature. Crafty seemed impressed and asked Eli what would he do in this situation? Crafty told him he could do some things, but he might lose favor with the Sept of the Three Waters. However, Eli diminished their importance and that they weren’t that much of an ally to begin with because they always demanded something in return for help.

Deciding that he would need more input, Eli went to confer with the rest of us and then we would confer with the elders afterwards. In the meantime, John and William would watch the Ahroun.

It was a tough conversation to say the least. There was so many things we had been keeping from the rest of the Sept and Crafty. Agnis said that the time for secrecy had ended and if we didn’t act now, we may not have the ability to. We all agreed and decided we would tell Crafty everything. We knew we would need a conclave to work on the situation. We would have to bring all of the Septs together or else the Black Spirals plot to destroy the Septs would succeed.

Eli met Crafty at the edge of the caern and laid it all out for him. He wasn’t mad, probably due to his Ragabash nature. Ryan had managed to create a Talen that would get two truths out of the Ahroun. It was a feather that we had to lay on his head. We needed to use it before the trial in order to ensure we got the information in case things got swept under the rug.

After giving us the feather, Ryan called for Crafty. Apparently, there was an emergency and Blitz needed to speak with Crafty. Nodding to him, we quickly made our way back to the Ahroun. He was still sitting there sternly. We debated for a moment to make sure we got the correct wording on the questions to get the best answer possible. We placed the feather upon his head and asked our first question:

“What is your complete meaning and purpose of killing these Garou?”

His answer wasn’t anything shocking. He simply hated us. He thought that Lion leading this Sept was a bad idea from the start. He viewed us as parasites since we took all of the Fianna from the Sept of the Three Waters. He had been watching us since the battle at the pier. We were surviving just because of the Sept of the Three Waters. He had killed 16 Garou in battle, not including Jonathon and the two Lupus. He killed the Lupus to lead the Shadow Lords here.

We went ahead with our second question as the first question didn’t really give any insight into his crimes.

“Who doesn’t want you on trial and why?”

With this, the Ahroun started laying out at least half a dozen names: Gretchen, Raging Wild, Wyrmflayer, Prestige, Bristles, and the rest of his Get of Fenris brothers. He named Gretchen because she had consorted with him in bringing down the Septs. Prestige was listed because the Ahroun had personally witnessed the carnage of the death of the Sept of the Stone Sea. Wyrmflayer had worked on the alienation of the Sept of the Raging Storm. Bristles knew of the Ahroun’s connection to the mages who enacted his protection rite. Raging Wild was the head of the Get of Fenris and the camp hell bent on destroying all of the other Septs. Finally, for his Get brothers because they are all one.

It was a bombshell. It linked the Ahroun back to nearly every single bad event that has happened since we arrived. A few even before we arrived. He had put the fetish in our bawn in order for us to solve it and earn the ire of any nearby Silver Fangs. We refuted this by saying that we were going to return it to them. We tried to appeal to his good side that he was heading down the path of the Wyrm, specifically Beast of War. He blew us off saying he just used the Spirals like they used him. I thought to myself that this is what Rage Heart could have become had he not gotten his Rage in check.

He then tried to antagonize us with the death of Jonathon. Eli throttled him and for a second and it looked like he might actually kill him. He said Jonathon didn’t even fight back while he killed him. I offered a rebuttal that Jonathon’s purpose was with the spirits and not fighting. Bjorn managed to convince Eli to not kill him, stating it wasn’t worth it. After this was done, the Ahroun realized what he had said because of the feather. He said he was still going to railroad us.

As he ranted on, Gruffy came up and grabbed us. We left John and William with the Ahroun while we ran to the caern. Apparently, the Sept of the Angry Earth had been attacked just like the Sept of the Stone Sea. Most of the Red Talons were dead and the caern totem had been severed. There was nothing there.

Blitz knew that we didn’t do it. It suddenly dawned on us that the Ahroun had mentioned this. He wanted the Shadow Lords to show up at our Sept in order to weaken the Sept of the Angry Earth for attack. We tried to appeal to them to stay with us, but they blew us off and most of them had moved to the Sept of the Three Waters. Agnis then told Crafty what we learned and suggested putting ourselves on trial in order to get the truth out. Eli wanted to go to the Sept of the Raging Storm in order to prevent them from being blamed for this event.

As we returned to the Ahroun, William was telling John a story with their backs to the tree. The Ahroun had escaped. Before we even had time to assess the situation, Cliff arrived. He had heard from Lindsey that Scott was in the hospital. Eli asked Crafty if we could leave and take care of him and he approved. Sending Agnis and I to the hospital, we were to heal him. We took the park van and drove as fast as we could.

Arriving at the hospital, Lindsey met us and told us that there were four other people with this strange affliction. It caused black ooze to come out of there orifices and generally put them on the edge of death. Lindsey cleared out the area and let us do our work. I healed Scott while Agnis checked for Wyrm taint. It took a little effort but I finally healed Scott and Agnis found no Wyrm taint. He had no memory of getting sick, but was thankful we helped him. We worked as much as we could on the others before our spiritual reserves were expended. Agnis checked the Umbra for any signs, but couldn’t get any leads on what caused this.

After healing, Lindsey got another call. Tomas was now sick with this mystery plague. He was at his boat and could not move. The only common connection the other victims had were they worked at the same restaurant. As we made our way out of the hospital, they were bringing in even more people was the disease. We quickly got in the van and drove to Tomas. Now, the CDC was going to be called in.

As more of the disease spread, Miguel told Eli about how Mabe put a curse on his mother because he would not free her. It’s possible that anyone his mother touches gets sick. Eli told Crafty about  it and he looked disappointed. He said she was tricky and he could fix the situation once he got her box. Heading to his personal cabin area, he could not find the box. They all assumed the Ahroun had taken the box.

Luckily, while the Ahroun could not be tracked, the box could be. Ryan enacted the Rite of the Questing Stone for it and gave them the piece of wood he used. They headed into the Umbra and used a moon bridge to follow it to a house near the beach. Checking the situation out carefully, they found no one in the house. Deciding to act, they entered the house.

Inside, they found the Ahroun, dead. No cause of death could be determined. Worse still, the box was open. Looking around the house, the pack found two dead parents. The teenage girl who lived there was missing. Eli considered calling in the debt to secure Mabe, but opted not to.

As the pack took stock of everything, my phone that I had entrusted to Eli rang. Maria, Miguel’s mother was on the other end. She asked to talk to Miguel. She said someone was at the door named Jenny that she didn’t know. Miguel told her to keep the door closed and tell them she was sick. He hung up, but no more than five minutes later, she called back again. This time there was a scream on the other end.

Moon bridging to Maria’s place, Agnis and I joined up with the pack. A young girl with blue hair was there. It was obvious that it was Mabe in human form. She meant us no ill will. She only returned to take the curse off of Miguel’s mother. She thought that when Miguel rejected her that it was a test. We asked if she would go back to guarding the Sept, but she politely declined. She might have if Miguel would have let her free, but we told her he was the wrong person for the job.

Mabe decided she would travel the world for a while, looking for a king. We suggested Royal Ascot, but he was king of the Seelie fae and she was Queen of the Unseelie fae, so it wouldn’t work. Zanatos was also brought up, but she only married mortals who would then go on to be prosperous. Still, we thanked her for her time as the guardian of our Sept and invited her to visit any time she pleased.

Moon bridging back to the Sept, Tomas called and said he was feeling better. We spoke with Crafty about the situation. He wasn’t happy about losing Mabe, but he figured he could only hold onto her for a few more years anyway. He wasn’t mad at us thankfully. We would now need a new Sept guardian. White Elk was suggested among other spirits, but the more pressing matter was the Grand Moot. Crafty asked if we were still going to have it which we agreed to it. However, before we did so, Eli wanted us to get in touch with the Sept of the Raging Storm before they were blamed. We were now in a race against time to stop an all-out war from happening…