Between the Shadow and the Light (Updated February 26, 2023)

[The Shadow]

Hello out there! Some of you may remember me as the writer of The Shadow Knows! and Life and Light, as well as a couple shorter things.

I've long wanted to continue Life and Light in a solo format, but I've been worried about bollixing it up. So this current game is a bit of an experiment using the Mythic GM Emulator, found here. (I'm also making use of Mythic Variations by the same company.)

The original concept was going to be an urban fantasy Champions game for our group way back in the day, which never got off the ground. My usual GM (SuentisPo) and I later intended to revive it in one-on-one fashion, but it ended up getting passed over in favor of another concept. But I've always liked the character and the setting, and the notes have been sitting there on my hard drive for a long time. I thought I'd take them for a spin to see how Mythic runs.

The results have been interesting - interesting enough to be worth sharing, I think. Mythic works by having you roll on a table to get answers to yes/no questions, and pairs of words to spark answers to more "Complex Questions". (There's more to it than that, particularly with regard to scene setup, but that'll do for now.) For yes/no questions, you set the probability of a YES answer, and see what comes up.

I've found that it generates genuinely interesting plot twists, provided one doesn't always do the most obvious thing but thinks things through carefully. Sometimes one needs to overrule the dice when they make no sense - or just not roll.

A more subtle difficulty is that it can be tempting to rush toward big reveals; knowing something important is coming up isn't a good enough reason to have it occur when the dice happen to bring it to mind. The present game suffers a bit from that, but not (I think) excessively so. (I'm developing some ideas of how to prevent this, by preloading the campaign "plot thread" list in advance.)

I've decided to keep the Mythic mechanical information in the game log to show how things evolved.

As mentioned, this an urban fantasy setting in the modern world. Magic and monsters are unknown to exist save to a few. I won't give many details now, as they come out pretty naturally in the text.

A quick word for those who may be allergic: The protagonist and a number of other major characters are fervently Catholic. Several other characters are fervently Protestant in the Reformed tradition. (Both traditions have operatives against supernatural evil.)

This first bit is actually a short-short I wrote as an adventure starter years ago. Note that the main character is a substitute teacher at a fairly traditionalist Catholic high school called St. Pius V.

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Marked Prey

Peter contained his sigh - wouldn't do to let the natives know he was restless. The class was getting more and more distracted by Mark, who couldn't seem to contain himself today. "Mr. Demarche." No response, not entirely surprisingly, as that's the teacher's name too. Mark whispered something to the guy next to him, and they both laughed. "Mr. Demarche!" Still no sign of recognition, though half the class was now pointedly ignoring Mark, or else trying to surreptitiously get his attention.

"MARK!" Mark jumped like he'd been shot and looked guiltily to the front of the class. "Uh, yeah, sorry Pete - I mean, sir." "Detention for you, young man." "But - I've got football practice?!" "Is that my problem or yours?" With a deep sigh, "Mine."

Pete stopped by after day was done, only to find that Mark had earned even more detention from another teacher. When time was up, he couldn't help feeling sorry for his little brother - the boy was plainly ready to climb the walls. Upon his release, he asked him, "Bad day?" (Meaning hyperactivity-wise.) "Yeah, really bad." "No hard feelings, I hope." "Nah, I had it coming."

"Need to work off some energy?" "Oh yeah - bigtime!" "Race you around the track for a mile, then." "You're on!" After quickly shedding jackets, ties, and dress shirts, the two were quickly running at breakneck speed, slowed only by occasional friendly insults and laughter.

Mark won, which naturally led him to razz his big brother for 'getting too old'. That in turn naturally led Pete to wrestle him to the ground and find the one spot on the back of the neck where Mark was still ticklish... Soon he had extracted a breathless, laughing, abject surrender, an admission of being 'too young' rather than Pete being 'too old', and a confession that he, Mark, could be an obnoxious brat at times. After that, Pete let him go and Mark lay there on the ground panting; they grinned at each other.

"Still feeling antsy?" "Yeah, but not as bad - thanks." "De nada. Try quieting down and focussing, like I told you." Mark closed his eyes, made a manful attempt to slow his breathing down, and gave it a try, but finally admitted, "I just can't do it right now, sorry." Pete ruffled his hair and told him, "No worries, bro."

A quiet voice interrupted, "Um, Mr. Demarche? Could I talk to you for a minute?" Pete looked up (and up) at Ryan Langley's hulking form, fresh out of football weight training. To his astonishment, the young man's face was screwed up and close to tears. "Ah, certainly Mr. Langley..." Mark looked between the two of them and offered, "I, uh, could stand to run a little more," and suited actions to words, doing a series of wind sprints separated by pushups.

Pete then stood up, brushed himself off, and asked, "What's on your mind, Ryan?" The boy couldn't look him in the eye, and seemed paralyzed with indecision; Pete waited patiently. Finally, after gulping down incipient tears, Ryan said, "Uh, well, you know how I used to be, um, different?" "Yes," Pete said quietly, "you've come a long way and I'm proud of you."

Ryan sobbed once upon hearing that, but recovered his composure; Pete gripped his shoulder. "Some guys... that I used to run with. They want me to deal drugs here at St. Pius. I keep telling them no, but they won't take no for an answer. I'm... scared, Mr. Demarche. Really scared." (He seemed ashamed to admit it.) "Do you think they intend to hurt you?" "If I'm really lucky," the boy said quietly. "I'm scared they're gonna kill me. Or... worse!" "Worse?"

The large boy shivered all over. "Yeah. There were all sorts of weird stories. I never really believed 'em, but... Last time, after they got done beating me up, they gave me this." He handed over a matte black circle of metal with a strange glyph carved roughly into it. Pete's gut tightened as he recognized the Shadow rune for 'Marked Prey'. It meant... any number of things, but all of them at least as bad as death, all right, and some much worse.

"Do you know what it means?", the boy asked anxiously. "Yes, Ryan," Peter said in a quiet, dangerous voice, "I know what it means." Strangely enough, that seemed to relieve the young man.

Without any real hope, Pete asked, "Have you thought of going to the police?" "I can't, Mr. Demarche! I've got a record, and... and I've had to do some little things for them, to keep them off of me." Once again he couldn't meet Pete's eyes... "I didn't want to, and I guess it hasn't worked out. I didn't know what to do... I'm so stupid!" "I understand, Ryan - and you're NOT stupid. But if the police can't help, what makes you think I can?"

"I dunno. But - I've heard them mention you before, like you scare them a little. And... I dunno, there's just something about you. Can you help me? Will you?"

Peter met the unhappy young man's eyes directly. "Yes, Ryan. I can and I will help you." Ryan sobbed for a few moments; when he stopped, Pete told him, "But I'll need to know everything you can tell me." Mark, for his part, continued to run and studiously ignore the two of them.

 

[The Shadow]

[And now the game proper begins.]

Q(Unlikely): Does Ryan know anything useful? YES.

ComplexQ: What does he know? Struggle/Tension.

"They used to be just a gang, Mr. Demarche. But a while back - shortly before I stopped running with them - a couple of them got into some really weird sh- I mean, stuff. They took over; people d-died. Ugly. Most of the gang is scared of them now, but they also like the fact that everyone else is scared too."

"What sort of stuff, Ryan? Can you give me any specifics at all?"

Q(Somewhat Likely): Can he? NO.

"There's all sorts of crazy stories, Mr. Demarche. All I know for sure is that I'm scared!" He swallowed hard. "They don't just kill people. They hurt them, bad. Mess them up. I don't want to go like that."

Peter nods. "I don't want to see you 'go' at all, Ryan. Do you think you're safe going home for tonight?"

Q(Unlikely): Does he think so? YES.

"I, I think I'm okay for tonight, sir. They told me I'd have three days of fear before..." The boy shuddered, closing his eyes.

Pete gripped his shoulder, asking quietly, "Before what?"

ComplexQ: What? Failure/Friendship

Ryan choked back a sob. "Before I lose everyone I've ever cared about, then die. Slowly. If I'm lucky. They said I'd beg for death before it was over, and that it would be better for me if I got it."

Pete nodded, taken aback by that. "I see. Ryan, I want you to take this with you." He fished in his pocket for his keys, then detached from the ring a silver disk with a Crux Michaeli engraved in it. [A cross with a sword laid in homage at its base. Pete wears one - cast of silver, not engraved in a disk - around his neck as well.] "Keep this on you at all times. If you think you're in danger, hold it and pray, 'St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.' Got that?"

Ryan accepted the disk gratefully. "Yessir, Mr. Demarche. Thank you! Will it... Protect me?" Peter said honestly, "I can't guarantee what God or St. Michael will do, Ryan. But I can promise that they both love you - and so do I. I will do everything I can to protect you."

The young man nodded slowly, biting his lip. "...Okay." Peter held up the black disk the gang had given Ryan. "Meanwhile I'll hold onto this." Ryan shuddered. "Keep it! But... will it hurt you too?" Pete smiled. "I don't think so. But even if it tries, I think it'll find out I'm not so easy to hurt!" The boy smiled weakly at that.

Pete added, "Would you like to pray before you go?" "Yes! And... Mr. Demarche?" "Yes, Ryan?" The boy looked anywhere but at Pete's face. "I've been thinking of... of getting baptized this year. And I was gonna ask you if, um..." Pete waited patiently once more.

Ryan trailed off, then apparently started on a new tack. "I, uh, might not have very long. Can I, well..." Pete nodded. "In principle, yes. But let's wait to see how great the danger really is, all right?" "Okay, Mr. Demarche."

Ryan stood there docilely, biting his lip, as Pete took him by the shoulders and said a heartfelt prayer for the lad's safety and well-being. In the silence that followed, he added a few words of power under his breath to bind the Crux he'd given Ryan to the boy. If anything untoward befell Ryan, he'd know.

Ryan loped off, relieved, and Peter turned to Mark. "Want a ride home, bro?" [Mark doesn't have his driver's license yet, despite being 17. He has managed to fail the test an impressive number of times... and his parents are worried - not without justification - that he's not responsible enough yet.] Mark finished his latest sprint and bent over, panting. "...Yeah." "You shower, and I'll finish some paperwork. Meet me in the lot."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, gang, gang leaders.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.

Chaos Factor: 5 -> 4

Scene: Peter and Mark in Pete's car, driving home.

Mark was unusually subdued on the ride home, so Pete asked him lightly, "Something on your mind?"

Q(Unsure): Does he give an honest answer? YES.

Mark replied moodily, "...Yeah. Ryan looked really upset."

Pete nodded. "He was. I can't share why." "I know." Silence for a time.

Q(Likely): Did Mark overhear anything serious? EXCEPTIONAL NO. [Okay, that was unexpected. New direction, then.]

Mark suddenly asked, "Is there anything I can do to help him?" "'Fraid not, bro. Except prayer - that always helps." Mark repeated sullenly, "...Yeah."

Q(Very Likely): Is Mark going to go do something well-meaning but stupid? EXCEPTIONAL YES. (Oh. My.)

ComplexQ: What will he do? Negligence/Goals. [Hmmm. Put his future at risk? Maybe he's going to go confront some gang members on his own - Ryan's his best friend, he probably knows at least a little about them.]

Pete pondered how to respond to that, then decided to change the subject. "Been keeping up with your Confirmation stuff?" "Yeah." "Want to go over it tonight?" Mark sighed and said wanly, "Not tonight, Pete... If that's okay." "Sure."

Soon he'd dropped Mark off. Mark abruptly pulled him into a one-armed hug before getting out. "Love you, bro." Pete blinked in mild surprise at the unexpected gesture. "Love you too, Mark. See you tomorrow." "Yeah." Mark got his bike out of the trunk and went inside. Pete drove home, slightly unsettled.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, gang, gang leaders.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Protect Mark from his own stupidity.

Chaos Factor: 4 -> 5

New Scene: Pete's house, in his magic lab, testing the disk. Altered Scene!

Q(Likely): Does Pete no longer have the disk? EXCEPTIONAL YES.

Pete carefully opened the hidden door to his mage sanctum and scribed a protective circle on the floor just to be safe. When satisfied with his work, he reached into his pocket for the disk Ryan had given him... only to find it gone, with a fading magical aura in its place.

Pete gaped, astonished. He'd FELT it in his pocket, just minutes ago! Now it was clear that feeling had been but an illusion - and a cunningly crafted one at that.

Q(Unsure): Is the disk itself intelligent? YES.

Pete paused, getting his racing heart under control. Ryan's got a Crux, let's check on him. He knelt and folded his hands, dipping with practiced ease into a trance.

Q(Sure Thing): Is the disk back with Ryan? YES.

Q(Somewhat Likely): Has he realized it yet? EXCEPTIONAL YES.

Terror. Utter, paralyzing terror. That was Pete's first impression as his scrying stabilized; then he saw Ryan curled up in fetal position, sobbing helplessly like a child. The black disk marking him as prey lay just in front of him, clearly dropped in panic.

On a level deeper than words, Peter shared his own hard-won hope with the young man. Ryan's tears slowed, then finally stopped. He got to his feet shakily and fished in his pocket for his cell phone... only to scream again as his hand closed on the black disk. (Pete cursed softly; the thing had managed to teleport without him even noticing again!)

Shaking like a leaf, he finally got his phone out and dialed Mark's number with an unsteady hand. "M-mark?! I-it's Ryan. C-c-can you t-tell me Mr. D-demarche's number?" Pete sighed; I should have given it to him. Oh well. [Yep, Mark's definitely going to do something extremely dumb. Maybe several things.]

After a long pause, Ryan said, "Th-thanks, buddy! Talk to you later." Pete sighed again and dropped out of his trance, getting out his own phone expectantly. When it rang, he picked up the call instantly. Calmly, "I know, Ryan. Don't worry." Heedless, the boy babbled, "It's here, Mr. Demarche! They said I'd have three days of fear, and I AM! It's starting! I don't know what to do!"

Pete calmly repeated, "I know, Ryan. I noticed it was gone and realized it had to be with you. It's a clever trick, but it isn't anything more than that." "...What're we gonna DO, Mr. Demarche?"

Pete said slowly, "I need to take a close look at that disk. How late will your parents expect you back tonight?" "They're used to me being out late, Mr. Demarche... they won't worry until midnight or later. I can tell them I'll be at a friend's place for the night if you want?" "...Yes, I think that's for the best. Can you meet me at the school?" "Y-yeah. I'll be there."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, gang, gang leaders, Shadow disk.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Protect Mark from his own stupidity.

Chaos Factor: 5 -> 6

New Scene: Pete meeting up with Ryan at the school. Altered Scene!

Q(Somewhat Likely): Does Ryan not show up? EXCEPTIONAL NO.

Q(Unsure): Does he show up by supernatural means? YES.

Q(Unlikely): Did anything else show up with him? YES.

Pete drove toward the school, his mage senses warning him that something was going wrong. Then he felt a strange sensation from Ryan's Crux that could not be ignored. Something was VERY wrong.

Pete swerved his car to the curb, parked, and erupted out of the driver-side door. He gripped the Crux around his own neck, closed his eyes and muttered a short phrase in Latin - then he stepped forward...

...to arrive at the school, the momentary exaltation of resurrection Mobility fading in an instant as he took in the situation.

Ryan was backed up against a wall by a panther-thing made of living Shadow. His clothes were in tatters, and his arms and torso had been scratched superficially in multiple places. Clearly, the thing was toying with him.

Peter Demarche reached down with his right hand toward his left hip; Invictus' hilt materialized beneath his hand and he drew it forth in one fluid hissing motion. His family's ancestral blade began to glow faintly with an ardent white light. "Begone," he said coldly. "Back to your own place, shadeling. Or taste my steel." Meanwhile, the actinic light of a Lumen Dei spell began to gather in his left hand.

Q(Very Unlikely): Does it attack? YES. [Wow, either it's not very bright or it knows something Pete doesn't...]

Q(Unlikely): Any real trouble dispatching the thing? EXCEPTIONAL YES. [Oh.]

ComplexQ: Just how bad does this fight turn out, anyway? Break/Plans. [HUH! My plan had been to investigate the disk further, mainly. So...]

The shadow-thing gathered itself and leapt, claws extended. Pete sidestepped, slashing at it with Invictus. It snarled - a sound as dark as its flesh - and darted forward, quick as lightning.

Q(Unsure): Is it ignoring me and focussing on Ryan? NO. [Oy.]

Q(Unlikely): Do I get hurt in this fight? NO.

Pete dove out of the thing's way and loosed the Lumen Dei. That got a reaction for a moment: It howled like nothing earthly ever could. But it was back on the attack almost immediately. Ryan whimpered helplessly behind Pete.

The fight went on and on. Pete slashed, parried, and dodged until he felt he could barely hold Invictus in guard any longer. He tried the Lumen Dei again, he tried a Banishment spell, but nothing seemed to make any lasting impression.

Q(Unsure): Is this thing an illusion? YES.

When he was panting hard and scarcely able to fight any longer, Peter nearly fell under the shock of a blinding insight. The thing had fooled him once already... He lowered Invictus. "Come ahead, then. You're not really here, are you? Not fully, perhaps not at all. Strike, if you are able." The thing's features stretched into a horrible mockery of a grin, then it vanished, leaving a sour stench and the echo of malevolent laughter.

Peter sighed, shaking his head. Tricked AGAIN. Am I getting too old for this? He sheathed Invictus, letting it lapse back into invisible, intangible half-reality. Then he bent toward Ryan, who lunged forward to cling to him. "Mr. Demarche! Are you okay?!"

Pete hugged the boy tightly. "Yes, Ryan. I'm just very tired. It didn't hurt me. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Ryan swallowed hard. "I... I was running to the school, as fast as I could. Trying to work off some of the energy, I guess. And... everything changed around me. It got very dark and misty... There were trees all around, black trees. And there were... THINGS chasing me! I ran until I thought I would die, it seemed like hours, and then suddenly I was here."

Pete looked the boy over; Ryan's tattered clothes and scratches were real enough. He speculated that the boy had indeed dipped into Shadow and been chased by real-enough predators. "Do you still have the disk?" Ryan searched his pockets. "N-no." "Well... Let's get you to my place and decide what to do next." Ryan gulped. "Yessir."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, gang, gang leaders, Shadow disk, illusionist (might be same as disk)

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Protect Mark from his own stupidity.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.

Chaos Factor: 6 -> 7

 

[The Shadow]

New Scene: Back at Pete's place with Ryan to lay plots.

Pete fetched Ryan an old t-shirt and pair of jeans of his. "Feel free to take a shower if you want. And did you want something to eat?" "Yes, please. And, Mr. Demarche? THANK YOU! So much." Pete smiled. "My pleasure, Ryan. And you can call me Pete if you want." "Um, okay."

Pete fixed sandwiches for himself and Ryan while the young man showered - keeping all his senses alert for trouble. He didn't think anything worth troubling about could pierce his wards, but he also wasn't trusting his instincts much this night.

The boy emerged, dressed in Pete's old clothes, and ate wolfishly. As the adrenaline faded, his questions started to arise... "Mr. Demarche... Pete? What was all that back there? How do you do that stuff?"

Pete sat back. "It's magic, Ryan. For reals. But not the kind condemned by the Church; I was trained by a priest, in fact, though I can't tell you the details. I don't traffic in spirits or anything like that. It's like... a kind of science, but different from the kind we teach you in school." Ryan nodded, absorbing all that. "What was that thing you fought?"

"An illusion. It tricked me, I'm sorry to say. It wasn't really there at all." "But... if it wasn't real, what clawed me?" "I don't know yet, but I intend to find out. You feel up to a bit of investigation?" "I'm ready for anything you think will help, Pete." "Good man. ... I hope it goes without saying that all of this stuff is between just the two of us, right?" "Yeah! I swear!" "Okay then. Come this way."

Pete led Ryan into his mage sanctum, which the boy took in with wide eyes. Situating Ryan in the circle he'd drawn before, he starting divining.

Q(Unsure): Is the disk-entity now inside Ryan? YES.

Q(Unlikely): Is it able to listen in as we talk? YES.

Pete's heart sank when he realized that what had been the disk was now making itself quite at home within Ryan's psyche. And that it could see through his eyes, hear through his ears. This was going to get sticky... "Ryan, I'm going to try something. Don't be alarmed, but if you feel anything weird, let me know." "Got it, Pete." Pete prepared another Banishment spell, without much in the way of real hope.

Q(No Way): Does it work at all? NO.

Chanting softly in Latin, Pete loosed the magic. "Anything at all, Ryan?" "I felt maybe a little nervous for a second... Might just be nerves, though." Pete nodded. "I thought as much."

Q(Unsure): Is the disk-entity not yet able to control Ryan's actions? YES.

Thinking a little more, he asked, "Tell me everything you know about this gang?"

ComplexQ: What's to find out? Desert/Friendship

It developed that the gang was called the Demons. Ryan had fallen in with them because a good friend of his, Billy, had been a member. But then a new leader who called himself Goat came to power - in more ways than one. He claimed to be in touch with real spirits, and certainly many lurid stories surrounded him, along with unquestioned ugly corpses. The Demons had been divided over this new leader, but Goat had either destroyed or cowed all opposition; the remaining members were fervently loyal. (Whether to protect their own hides or out of sincere gratification to be on the winning side.) Billy had turned viciously on Ryan when Ryan had tried to back out of the Demons; he had personally beaten Ryan savagely and threatened to bring him to Goat's attention.

"Was Billy the one who gave you the disk?" "No. Goat did. He had Billy beat me up again, then told me it was my last chance. I thought he was gonna kill me, but... at the time I just didn't care. I told him to go to Hell." Pete looked Ryan over with new appreciation. "That was brave. I'm proud of you." Ryan flushed and ducked his head.

"Anyway... What did Goat do?" "He, uh. He said he was in Hell already, and that I'd be joining him. That - well, like I told you. He said I'd have three days of fear, then everyone I care about would die. Then I would die too, if I was really lucky."

Pete thought some more. Then, for the disk-thing's benefit, he said, "I don't think you have a whole lot to worry about, Ryan. So far the thing's only used illusions - things that aren't real, scary as they seem. Still... Did you still want to be baptized?"

Ryan gaped at him, then said quietly, "Yeah." "Tell me what it means to you." "Like you taught us, Mr. Demarche. It'll make me a child of God. A new creation. It'll... wash away all of my sins. I want that." "Do you know God, Ryan?" "I've been praying a while now, Mr. Demarche. I don't understand very much, but I know He's there. He's why I could tell Goat to go to Hell." "Good enough for me."

Pete went and fetched a bottle of holy water. He laid his hands on Ryan's shoulders as the boy knelt, praying with him and for him for a time. "Any saint's name you'd like to add?" "St. Michael sounds about right, sir. I've been praying that prayer you taught me a lot." Pete grinned despite himself. "Good choice."

Then he poured the water three times over Ryan's head. "Ryan Michael, I baptize you in the name of the Father... and of the Son... and of the Holy Spirit." Ryan started crying, and Pete added softly, "You have put on Christ, in Him you have been baptized. Alleluia, alleluia!" He raised Ryan up and embraced him.

Q(Likely): Does the sacrament weaken the disk-thing's hold? EXCEPTIONAL YES.

Q(Very Unlikely): Is it gone completely? NO - and a Random Event!

PC Positive: Imitate/Military [An obvious reference to Pete's past with the Knights of St. Michael.]

Pete felt the evil thing's hold on Ryan loosen. Stirred, he recalled to mind all that Fr. Leo had taught him, all that the Knights had instilled in him... They had their flaws, yes; none of the reasons he'd left them had changed. Yet they were a force for good despite all their flaws, and they'd taught him well. Heart full, he repeated their prayer softly... Soon, Ryan joined him.

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, thrust into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits that prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

Full of sudden decision (and realizing the disk-thing could no longer hear) he announced, "Ryan, it's time we stopped reacting and started taking the fight to the enemy. Where can I find the Demons?"

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing, the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing).

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Protect Mark from his own stupidity.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.

Chaos Factor: 7 -> 6

New Scene: Pete goes to the Demons' hideout, leaving Ryan home under powerful wards. Altered Scene!

Q(Somewhat Likely): Does Ryan sneak out after Pete? YES.

Pete surveyed the rundown condemned building the Demons called home. He whispered Latin phrases, invoking Veiled Glory to make himself invisible to supernatural beings and utterly nondescript to mortals. Then Subtlety to step through the wall.

ComplexQ: What's to see? Antagonize/Wishes. [That'll be Mark, I take it.]

Q(Likely): Is Mark at the Demons' mercy, such as it is? YES.

Pete arrived to a grim scene - a young man was being interrogated by another who matched Ryan's description of Goat - a lean youth with hair and eyes as black as sin. The victim was held limply upright by two gang members while Goat and others took turns punching him in the gut, face, and groin. Coldly furious, Pete worked himself into position, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.

Goat then casually sliced the victim's shirt open. "Fun time's over. Tell me, meat. You wanna be cut up bad? Or you wanna take your chances with this?" He held up one of those disks. "Scream a lot now? Or scream a lot more later? Your choice." The victim's face lolled into the light, and Pete suddenly saw it was Mark. A hot fury awoke in him. Never that, oh never that.

He drew Invictus, then switched Veiled Glory to Manifest Glory: Light flooded the room, along with an overpowering sense of awe. Peter Demarche stated thickly, "Let him go. All who drop their weapons I will permit to live."

Q(Likely): Do the guys holding Mark drop him? YES.

Most of the gang members cowered back from the Glory, dropping any weapons they held at once and babbling in fear. The two holding Mark up likewise dropped him and backed away.

Goat whirled at once, paling slightly yet forcing a sneer to his lips. "Well, if it ain't Peter Demarche himself, Do-Gooder-At-Large! You talk a big game, Teach. Didn't do your brother much good, did it? Or that Langley sellout?"

Peter cast a hasty ward over Mark with his free hand; it wouldn't stand up to much, but it was something. He took a step toward Goat. "If you want to die, keep talking. Last chance, Goat." He'd activated Impassibility, so he couldn't actually attack yet, but he'd be virtually immune to any normal attacks they sent his way as well.

Q(Unsure): Enough gang members still fight-worthy to cause me serious trouble? YES. [Sigh.]

Goat threw the disk at him while rallying his troops. "We'll see, won't we? Get over here, boys, there's only one of him!"

Pete sliced Invictus effortlessly through the disk; it wasn't actually alive, so that didn't count as an attack. "Come, then."

Q(Likely): Does something unexpected happen when the disk is destroyed? YES.

ComplexQ: Like what? Carry/A plot. [Wait, what?!]

Q(Very Unlikely): Did Goat intend for me to destroy the disk? YES. [Oh, JOY.]

ComplexQ: What variety of Hell breaks loose? Debase/Information. [Hmm. Well, there ARE illusions involved...]

Q(Unsure): Is everyone in the room affected? NO. [Worse and worse.]

Black mists enveloped Pete. He was naked and alone in Shadow, without Invictus. Shapes prowled about him in the mists, lurking closer... No! I was in the Demons' hideout, this has to be an illusion! He began to frame the words for Lumen Veritatis to let him see the truth... but his tongue froze in his throat as the darkness spoke to him in a voice of raw malevolence.

"No fear, mageling. I'll not slay a mage of the Order of St. Michael. You are far too valuable a prize for that."

One of the darkling shapes rushed closer, and Pete lashed out at it with controlled fury; it retreated, growling discordantly. I doubt it can completely cloud lethal threats from my mind, those must be real enemies. Aloud he said, "You don't have your prize yet!"

Mockingly, it said, "Don't I? Are you certain?" Pete snarled out the words to Lumen Veritatis again, only to have them catch in his throat once more. He began to know fear; is this thing that far under my skin?!

"Oh yes," the darkness said, answering his unspoken thought. But Pete had no time to answer; predatory forms were closing in from all sides, and he spun to attack, trying to break through the ring. Pain woke as their claws got past his guard...

Q(Unsure): Time for the cavalry to arrive? YES.

Suddenly a voice rang through his head, more real than the darkness - a distressed voice that woke his senses to life. "Mr. Demarche!" Ryan's voice.

Abruptly he was back in the Demons' hideout, surrounded by human foes, his side throbbing with pain... but with Invictus in his hand, which made exactly all the difference in the world.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing, the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing).

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Protect Mark from his own stupidity.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.

Chaos Factor: 6 -> 7

New Scene: Back in the game, the fight continues! Interrupt!

NPC Action: Ryan. Communicate/The innocent. [Okay, the innocent has to be Mark, but what about him?]

Q(Unsure): Is Mark hurt worse than he seemed? YES.

Willing the blade to be merciful, Pete slashed at the nearest gang member, whose eyes rolled up as he fainted, believing he'd received a mortal wound and acting accordingly.

Just then, Ryan shouted again, "Mr. Demarche! Mark's bleeding, he looks bad!"

Damn, Pete thought - it just keeps getting better and better. But Ryan's voice at least distracted some of his foes; the one called Billy and another guy went for him.

Q(Somewhat Likely): Does Ryan clean their clocks? YES. [He has the strength of ten because his heart is pure. And the kid is due a break, I'd say.]

Pete made for Goat, accepting some minor injuries in the process - take him out and the rest will break. He noticed in his peripheral vision Ryan giving what-for to his two combatants. Hope he makes it.

Goat grinned as he backed away. "I'm supposed to tell you that this fight doesn't matter, you've already lost!" With that, he ran; the others soon ran too. Pete let them go and immediately ran to Mark.

Ryan was standing over two unconscious bodies, swaying on his feet. One eye was blacked, a lip was split, and a shallow knife wound raked his side, but he had eyes only for Mark. "Is he gonna be okay?!"

Q(Unlikely): Well, is he?! YES. [Barely, but yes.]

Pete tore Mark's ruined shirt open. Blood was oozing nastily from the cut Goat's knife had left, but no vitals had been hit. Pete sighed as he applied direct pressure. No first-aid kit handy, it'll have to be healing magic. Not the most reliable, and no fun at all, but he'd open a vein for his kid brother.

Chanting softly, he let some of his own vital force pass into Mark. His breath hissed through his teeth as his own wounds redoubled in pain... then the exhaustion hit. Mark's bleeding slowed fitfully, then stopped. Numbly, Pete tore Mark's shirt into makeshift bandages. "He'll pull through. How about you, are you okay?" Ryan grinned wearily. "I've had worse... Pete."

"You did well," Pete told him, "but for now let's get out of here." He hoisted Mark into a fireman's carry, staggering under his weight; Ryan reached out to steady him, beaming at the praise. "Want me to carry him?" "I can manage."

But it turned out that he did need Ryan to take over about halfway home. (He couldn't use Mobility on anyone but himself, unfortunately.) Staggering in, he announced, "I've got to collapse. Put Mark to bed, then do the same for yourself. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you don't have to leave here in the morning; you're not out of the woods yet." "Got it, Pete."

[Pete was originally built in Champions, then later translated into Mutants & Masterminds... so I have a really clear idea of what he's capable of. In M&M, he'd be able to overcome the limitations on his Mobility by doing a Power Stunt - either by spending a hero point or by taking Fatigue - of which he doesn't have any more of the latter to spare currently. Of course, I'm playing this game entirely freeform, guided only by Mythic, but my clear idea of what he can do really helps.]

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan. [Still need some details here.]
Protect Ryan from his old gang. [Not out of the woods yet.]
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 7 -> 8

 

[The Shadow]

Anyone who's read my previous games knows that when I reach a certain critical mass of creativity, I come up with vast amounts of information about NPCs and their plot hooks. This game is no exception, but I'm going to avoid posting almost all of what I have and let it come out naturally... With one exception.

Due to the twists and turns the game has taken, the following character is unlikely to appear, but he is mentioned obliquely in several places, which this summary will help make sense of. Also, as will be seen, he provides the title of the whole campaign!

As mentioned in the previous post, Pete is a former Knight of St. Michael. (Well, technically, he was in formation as a Squire, he hadn't been knighted yet.) They're a centuries-old Catholic group opposing the Shadow. After leaving the Knights, he travelled the world to find himself and to explore the magical traditions of other cultures. In Japan, he met:

Ichiro Asaki: An elderly Buddhist roshi who cheerfully claims to be 450 years old. Pete met him during his travels in Japan under mysterious circumstances... Pete was visiting various shrines (looking for magical auras) when Ichiro suddenly came up to him and announced that he was supposed to teach him - he never did explain why. Pete learned a lot about meditation and martial arts from him, as well as Asian magical and Shadow lore. (Though Ichiro would say lore about the 'oni'.) Sensei Asaki comes from a Buddhist school of thought that magic is simply manipulation of the illusion of the world, for purposes of waking people out of it and enlightening them.

While Pete couldn't accept the philosophy (and to do him justice, Ichiro never tried to push it) he learned much that expanded his understanding of magic, and has enabled him to create unusual spells that would fascinate Fr. Leo and others back home. Pete has dutifully tried to record these insights in Latin, for the benefit of future generations of the Order. Ichiro never seemed to need Gestures or Incantations, by the way - he just did things. He claimed such crutches could be outgrown, after a couple centuries of practice!

After a year of teaching to the day, Ichiro vanished. No, literally, vanished into thin air right in front of Pete's eyes! (With no trace of magic involved that Pete could sense, I might add.) Pete has no idea what that was all about, but is quite sure the man is alive. If that means anything to a potential bodhisattva...

Ichiro is... odd. If you ask a question he doesn't want to answer, he just doesn't answer it, period. Pete got used to long silent evenings with the guy! (As well as lots of hewing wood and drawing water during the day. A student must work for his keep.) He didn't teach in any sort of linear way... it all just came out in odds and ends, a bit here, a bit there. For example, he would just talk at length about the weather, and then sort of mention something about angry oni of the winds and storms. It sounds crazy, but it was oddly effective.

Then there were the riddles and koans, often given in response to seemingly totally-unrelated questions. One of the last things Ichiro said to him was a koan:

"Master Sung said that each man walks balanced on a thread between the Shadow and the Light. His student Akio asked him as they walked together, 'How then if he should fall? For the Light will scorch him, and the Shadow is fell.' Master Sung replied, 'You stupid boy!' and shoved him so that he stumbled and fell to the ground. Akio was then Enlightened."

Pete is convinced that Ichiro meant this as his parting word... but suffice to say, he's not Enlightened yet.

Ichiro is your typical Wise Old Master - elderly with a wispy white beard. He dresses in a very natty saffron-colored robe.

 

[The Shadow]

New Scene: Next morning, bright and early. Interrupt! [Joy.]

Remote Event: Mistrust/Exterior factors.

Q(Likely): A nightmare? YES.

Pete's sleep was troubled by fleeting dreams of being chased through shadowy woods by indistinct predatory forms. Once he thought he caught sight of Morven egging the hounds on, once even of Jamie - that memory burned worse than any wound.

Later he found himself on a chessboard, armed and armored. He didn't have a horse, but he knew he was a Knight all the same: A valuable piece, but one that could be sacrificed at need. He was deep in Black's territory; glancing around quickly, he saw Goat nearby, a Pawn menacing his position. Ryan and Mark were faintly visible at the edge of the board: Captured Pawns.

He leapt out of Goat's way, only to feel the scrutiny of one of Black's Rooks. It whispered to him slyly, "Are you sure you know which side you're on?" With horror, Pete looked down to see his gleaming white armor tarnish to grey and start shading to black... He woke with a start.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing, the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing).

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 8 -> 9

New Scene: Next morning, bright and early, take 2. Altered scene!

Q(Likely): Are both boys still here? YES.

ComplexQ: What's the alteration? Judge/Lies

Pete looked in on Mark, who was still sleeping like a log. His aura looked tentatively healthy, though.

He went to the kitchen and began making up a big mess of eggs, knowing the voracious teenage appetite all too well. Ryan wandered in, yawning. He looked tired and perhaps a little haunted.

"Dreams?" Pete asked. Ryan shuddered. "Yeah." "About chess, by any chance?" The young man stared at him. "Some, yeah - and I don't even know the rules. How'd you know?" "I had one too." "...Oh."

"Ryan, why did you come after me when I told you to stay here?" The boy flushed. "I, uh. I guess I wanted to help, Pete? I've been a total wuss so far, and I wanted to DO something." Pete studied him, remembering his dream. "Is that the whole truth?"

Ryan paled and stuttered, "N-not all of it, no. But... mostly?" "Tell me."

ComplexQ: What's the truth? Decrease/Animals

The boy took a deep breath. "I felt like... like those THINGS would come back. It seemed like the walls were closing in. I felt like I needed to be near you to be safe."

"Well... It turned out to be for the best, this time. But in the future, I expect you to do what I say. Don't make me chain you to the wall next time, okay?"

Ryan hung his head. "Yeah, Mr. Demarche. I'm sorry." "...There's something else bothering you."

Ryan bit his lip. "Yeah." "Go on." "I... think I know what Goat meant when he said everyone I cared about would die." "Oh?" "Yeah. It's one reason why I was so scared... I think I was g-gonna be pushed into k-killing them." Pete's eyes widened. "Oh." "Yeah... It's been a lot less since I was baptized, but I enjoyed beating Billy up more than I should've. You know?"

Pete pondered that. Ryan and Mark, captured pawns...

Q(Unsure): Did something happen at the Demons' hideout to infect Mark? YES. [I think it's gotta be the knife. But then, why threaten him with the disk as well?]

ComplexQ: What's the deal with Mark's infection? Proceedings/Energy [Hm, I think the knife wound was to weaken his spiritual defenses so he could be well and truly infected by the disk. Which means he might have caught some spill-over from Pete slicing the disk.]

"Ryan, I want to check you out magically again. If you're willing?" "Of COURSE, Pete! Anything you say." "Breakfast first."

Several healthy helpings of eggs and a few divinations later, Pete realized that Ryan's infection was slowly gathering strength again - but it seemed different, less... intense... somehow. Perhaps the effect of Ryan's baptism? Still, Ryan lacked a mage's mental defenses; there was no telling how long he could hold out.

Pete called the school to let them know he couldn't make it in. (Being a substitute teacher let him get away with things like that - one of the reasons he hadn't gone permanent despite the school's begging.) He left Ryan with the phone to make his own arrangements, then went to check on Mark.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing, the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing).

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 9 -> 8

New Scene: In Mark's room, checking him out magically as he sleeps. [You know what? The dice say this should be an Altered Scene, but I just thought of a perfect Interrupt, so I'm going with it.]

As he moved toward the guest room Mark was sleeping in, Pete's cell phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket... only for his heart to nearly stop when he realized it was his father. My God, Pete thought, he's going to flay me alive! Why didn't it occur to me to call?!

Hand shaking, he raised the phone to his ear. "Hi, Dad..." As always, his father wasted no words: "Peter, Mark's not in his bed. Do you know where he is?" "Yes, he's at my place."

In a taut voice that carried overtones of suspicion, Thomas inquired, "Should I be concerned?" Pete wrestled down irritation. "Yes, but not because of anything I've done." "Including not calling when your mother and I were worried sick?" Pete sighed. "I'm sorry, Dad. I've... had a lot on my mind. Things have been moving fast."

"What have you involved your brother in." The tone was flat and just this side of Arctic; Pete finally snapped. "Dammit, Dad! You might consider asking what flavor of Shadow-dreck HE has involved ME in!"

Thomas Demarche was a Knight of St. Michael - first, last, and foremost. Though it was his own flesh and blood on the line, he became all business. "Very well. Tell me."

Pete sighed. "Mark went and did something stupidly heroic, or heroically stupid, take your pick. He confronted a bunch of gang members on behalf of a friend, and they worked him over good - no lasting damage. Unfortunately for everybody, the gang in question has Shadow connections. I suspect they've slipped something into him, I was just about to check when you called."

"You still haven't told me what 'flavor'." Pete sighed, and said truthfully, "Not sure yet. I do know it's magically powerful, favors illusions, and has designs on the Knights. It seems to be targeting me personally, I think Mark's intervention was pure serendipity from its point of view."

"Are you certain?" Sarcastically, "I'm certain only of God, death, and taxes, Dad. Like I said, I was about to check." "Do that. I'm going to call this in." "Yeah, seems like things have gotten to that point." (Not that there was any way of stopping him in any case.)

Pete added, "There's something I need to ask you before you go." "Yes?" Lowering his voice, "I don't know how much Mark saw when I got him out of there. But it's likely he saw me using Invictus, and possible he saw me casting. I can make him forget... but is it worth it? Maybe it's time to tell him." Thomas sighed. "For centuries, the Demarches have..." "Yeah, I know, family tradition: Tell the kids when they turn twenty-one. But it's a tradition, Dad, not Holy Writ. I don't like the idea of messing in Mark's head if I don't have to."

Thomas was silent for a moment. Then he said formally, "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions earlier, Peter. Please forgive me." Pete blinked. "Uh. Of course I forgive you, Dad." "Find out what your brother knows, and we'll make a decision then." "All right. ... And while you're on the horn, could you mention I'll be contacting Fr. Leo?" "Yes. Va avec Dieu, Peter." "Et toi aussi, Dad. Adieu!" [I don't know French, so it's Google Translate plus a quick search on pronoun usage, sue me. ]

Pete hung up the phone, feeling strangely comforted. Maybe the rift between him and his father was finally starting to heal.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 8 -> 7 [Didn't expect it to go down that time. Ending on a lighter note just emerged from the writing.]

New Scene: In Mark's room, checking him out magically as he sleeps, take 2. Altered scene!

Pete found Mark inspecting his knife-wound in the closet's full-length mirror. He turned when Pete entered and said sheepishly, "Morning, bro. Thanks?" Bruises were purpling all over his torso and face, but by some miracle his distinctive Demarche beak of a nose was unbroken. His wounds didn't stop him from opening his arms for a hug, though Pete made sure to make it ultra-gentle. "What's a big brother for, anyway? Just wish I'd arrived sooner."

Fervently, "No complaints here! How'd you know I was in trouble, anyway?" "Older brother spider-sense." "Aw, c'mon..." "I think the rescuer gets to ask the questions first?"

His baby brother flushed. "Yeah." "So. Just how did you end up being tortured by a gang called the Demons?" Mark looked anywhere but at Pete's face. "I, uh. Well, I knew this guy Billy was shaking Ryan down, right? And Ryan seemed so upset... I found Billy and told him I'd mess him up if he didn't lay off."

"You do realize just how very stupid you were, right?" Mark flushed crimson and hung his head. "Yeah." Pete took him by the shoulders and shook him gently. "No, you don't. You were mega-stupid. Legendarily stupid. Grandmaster-level stupid. You've been awarded an honorary doctorate in stupid for merit. You..." "I get it, okay?"

Pete shook him again. "YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED, MARK! Or worse! Nearly did, in fact!" Mark bit off a retort and kept his head down. "...Yeah. I'm sorry." "Remember what Mom always said when we were little? 'Sorry means...'" "'...you won't do it again.' Yeah."

"And? I'm gonna make you say it." With a sigh, "I won't do it again. I promise." "You won't do what again?" "...I won't threaten a gang member in front of his buddies again with no backup." "That's a little too specific. I was hoping for something more like, 'I won't go running off half-cocked and taking stupid risks like an immature, idiotic little prat.'" Mark, defeated, repeated the words obediently, if a bit sullenly.

Pete finally let go of Mark's shoulders. "You think I'm rough on you? I just got off the phone with Dad." Mark's eyes went round. Forgetting all his manners, he burst out, "Oh sh*t!" "Yeah, oh sh*t. Don't worry too much, Jake did worse and he's still alive. ...Though it was a near thing, a few times." "That's supposed to comfort me?" With forced cheerfulness, "Not really. I never knew a tongue-lashing could get that close to lethal levels. I wish I'd taken notes. I think Jake's due to get ungrounded somewhere around the age of 83, too."

Mark smiled wanly. "Yeah." "So how are you feeling?" "I hurt all over. Might have some cracked ribs. My balls feel ready to explode, and I almost wish they would and get it over with. This slash is throbbing hard too." "Is it? You shouldn't have taken the bandage off. Let me take a look."

Pete had Mark lie down on the bed again, and probed the wound along his belly and lower chest with his fingers - while whispering Latin phrases under his breath. The wound was clean... and yes, there were magical traces upon it. The knife had been enchanted. With a little more concentration, he found that its purpose had been to lower Mark's spiritual defenses - the physical wound being the symbol of a deeper wound to the psyche.

Mark asked as he worked, "Should it have closed so much already? It seemed deep at the time..." "You're a healthy young buck. And never discount God's fondness for madmen, drunkards, and fools." Mark rolled his eyes, quite clear on which of the three he qualifed for.

Pete slapped him on one of the few undamaged patches of skin showing. "Looks like you're going to live." "Ow. Well, good to hear, I guess." "Tell me something?" "Yeah?"

"How much do you remember?" "They didn't hit me on the head much, if that's what you're asking. I remember a whole hell of a lot of pain, then that Goat creep asking me whether I wanted to get cut up. He cut me before I could even answer. Then I saw a light and my big bro giving a badass Big Damn Hero speech."

He squeezed Pete's hand. "Thanks again, by the way. You have no idea what it meant to see you." "Sure I do. 'Gosh, he's a handsome devil.'" Mark laughed weakly, then immediately regretted it, clutching his ribs. "I knew you and Jake and Dad were big into swords, but I never thought I'd see you using one for reals."

"It's like I always say: Stick with what you know. Is that all you remember?" "I passed out somewhere in there, yeah."

Q(Unlikely): Is he telling the whole truth? YES.

Pete rebandaged the cut, then said, "I'm going to check out your ribs now. This is probably gonna hurt." Mark nodded. His breath hissed through his teeth a few times as Pete carefully explored his sides and chest. "Yeah, you've got at least three cracks. Nothing worse than that, though. You know the drill."

Mark nodded submissively. "Fine china packed in lace, yeah. ... I didn't know you were this good with medical stuff." "I'm not an MD, but I've had some training. From when I was in the military, you know." "Yeah." "I realize it's a sensitive subject, but do you want me to check out the junk too? I promise you're really not my type."

Mark had to grin at that. "Shouldn't you buy me dinner first?" "There's breakfast in the next room." "You cad! ... I'd rather leave that to an MD. No offense, bro, but there ain't enough brain bleach in the world for that image." "None taken. It'd probably be too small for me to find, anyway." Mark laughed again, then groaned. "You mentioned something about breakfast? I'm STARVING."

He started to struggle to his feet again, but Pete pushed him back down. "I'll bring it to you. Condemned men are supposed to get a last meal in style." Mark sighed. "Don't remind me. Do I get to ask a question now?" "That's a question already. Breakfast first." "Heh. Yeah." He squeezed Pete's hand again. "Thanks again, Pete. I owe you, bigtime." "Yeah, I know. Remember that next time you're feeling obnoxious." "I will. I promise."

Going back out to the kitchen, he pulled Ryan aside and said, "He doesn't remember much of anything. Don't mention anything weird to him, okay? It's better he doesn't know." "Okay, Pete."

Pete fixed up some more eggs and toast, then took in a big platter to Mark's room. He found the two young men showing off their scars and comparing war stories enthusiastically. Rolling his eyes, he placed the tray in front of Mark, who was already salivating.

After the first sally, he said with his mouth full, "DAMN, that tastes good. ... Do I get to ask some questions now?" "You get three questions. Four, if I like the cut of your jib." "How DID you know I was in trouble?"

The boy's eyes bugged out comically when Pete told him bluntly, "I didn't. I was there to help Ryan too." Ryan's smirk faded and he looked away. Mark stuttered, "Y-you mean it was just LUCK?!" "That, and Providence. Yeah. Madmen, drunkards, and fools, remember?"

Mark pondered that with silent shock; Pete hoped it would help the tongue-lashing he'd given him earlier to sink in.

ComplexQ: What else does he want to know? Intolerance/Wishes. [Hmmm.]

"You... you didn't kill anybody, did you?" Pete smiled; Mark was a good kid. "No, but several of them probably wish I had." Mark said a little vindictively, "I almost wish you had." Pete studied him. That sounds... off.

While he was thinking, Mark continued, "What..." Pete held up a finger. "That's three already." "Aw crap, I guess it is. Is my jib that bad?" "My turn first. Did you have any fever dreams while you were sleeping? I need to know if that cut's getting infected."

Mark thought it over. "I remember something about chess, but it's all fuzzy." Pete sighed while Ryan stared. Bewildered, Mark asked, "What? What'd I say?" Pete held up a finger again and caught Mark's eyes, fingering the Crux at his neck. "Later, bro. You need your rest. You're feeling sleepy, aren't you?" Mark yawned suddenly. "Yeah, I guess so. I felt rested before, but now..." "Very sleepy." "Yeah..." He laid back and closed his eyes. Soon he was snoring.

Ryan stared at him. "Did you..." "'These are not the droids you are looking for.'" Ryan blinked and half-joked, "What droids?"

Pete looked down at Mark's sleeping form. He hated using mental suggestion on people - and the Church frowned on it too. But protecting the public from the knowledge of Shadow was one of the few times it was allowed. To say nothing of protecting them from Shadow's influence... "I need to check him out. There won't be anything to see." "Yeah, Pete. ... Is he gonna be okay?" "That's what I'm going to find out."

Ryan left the room, and Pete laid a hand on Mark's forehead. "I'm sorry, bro. But I've got to get to the bottom of this."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 7 -> 6

 

[The Shadow]

New Scene: In Mark's room, checking him out magically as he sleeps, take 3. Interrupt!

Q(Likely): Do I make contact with the illusionist through Mark? NO. [Whuh?]

ComplexQ: Okay, so what's the interrupt then? Intolerance/Illusions. [Well, THAT'S certainly suggestive!]

As Pete extended his magical senses into his brother, darkness clouded his vision abruptly. "Oh, this can't be good." His eyes swam, then he was in that darkling clearing again - clothed this time, at least. "Nope, not good at all."

The darkhound shapes swirled around him as before, closing in. "Oh, come off it. I know you're just illusions." Baying laughter mocked him, as one reached out with a claw-tipped paw and pricked him. "Uh." What difference does it make, if it still hurts?

They came for him then. Pete fought as he'd never fought before, using every trick of the martial arts he'd learned from the Knights and in Japan. There were too many - but they weren't trying to kill him. They were toying with him, goading him... making him angry.

"Damn your eyes! Enough!" But their baying and snarling shaped itself into words heard with the heart rather than the ear - a bestial, malevolent voice: "Then join us, brother! Hunt with us!" "I'll die first!" "Then you will die."

Q(Very Likely): Is Mark in this mess too? YES.

Q(No Way): How about Ryan? NO - and a Random Event!

Remote Event: Block/War

They came for him in earnest then, snarling. Pete resigned himself to death and started in on the Act of Contrition... when suddenly they stopped short. Some of the hounds whimpered like whipped curs, others howled with frustration. Pete heard the pack-voice say, "Another day, then. There is other prey." They bounded off.

Pete was just getting his breath back, when he heard Mark yell, far away. Adrenaline back in a rush, he ran - more familiar with the hidden ways of Shadow than he'd like. "Coming, bro! Hang on!"

It was like a nightmare, or the Red Queen's race - he made amazing time, but hardly seemed to get anywhere. Mark continued to yell and curse; Pete began to hear the sounds of fighting.

Pete prayed desperately, "Mercy, Lord! Help him! I don't care if they take me, I've got it coming, but Mark's just a kid! HELP HIM!" He began gasping out the words of the Memorare as he ran.

The blackness swallowed up his words, seemingly without effect. But Pete's hope began to revive... With a final push, as spiritual as it was physical, he emerged into Mark's clearing.

Q(Unsure): Is Mark still on his feet? YES.

Mark was dressed as Pete had seen him after school, half a day and an eternity ago: White tank top, shorts, running shoes. His face was still bruised up, though, and he sported quite a collection of new scratches. His face was a heart-breaking confusion of fear, rage, and despair. Desperate hope flared on his face when he caught sight of Pete, though. "Oh God! Pete!"

That moment of distraction was Mark's undoing. The pack swept him off his feet and lunged to feed, cackling. He screamed in despair, but Pete charged, kicking the dogs off of him. "You want him? You'll have to come through me. What will your master say to that, huh? Take me if you dare, hounds!"

The predatory forms backed off, circling. Their voice said with grudging disdain, "We didn't want him anyway. Not much meat." "Go eat sour grapes somewhere else," Pete suggested, and they left in a huff.

Pete knelt by Mark. "Are you okay, bro?" He got bowled over when Mark lunged at him and clung to him like a drowning man to a log. He didn't just cry; he bawled like a little child with all his heart. Pete held him and stroked his hair. What spiritual defenses he had have been wounded by Goat's knife, he realized; this has hit him much harder than it has me. Plus, I at least have some idea of what's going on! "Shhhh. It's okay." It was a little hard to be comforting while keeping eyes and ears peeled for further Shadow-danger, but he did his best.

Well, let's see if I can get a spell off to keep us marginally safer. He whispered the Latin words to a spell of his own devising, Pete's Privacy Protection.

Q(Unlikely): Does it work? YES.

Pete's gut relaxed a bit when the lightless dome of glamours surrounded him and Mark. Anyone outside looking in would see only what they expected to see, not what was really there. Still, many Shadow-beings had unusual senses, so it wouldn't pay to get complacent... Assuming this is some degree of Shadow, and not completely in our heads.

Mark's torrent of tears began to abate somewhat. His embrace, though no less tight, became more intentional. "Oh God, Pete." "Yeah, I think God was definitely involved." "You keep rescuing me." "You keep needing rescuing." Sniffling, "Yeah. Sorry." "Not your fault, this time." "What's going on?" "Not sure yet." "Are we gonna die?" "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"...Do you?" "Some." "Oh."

Pete felt something change in the spiritual environment, then, though he wasn't clear on what. Cautiously, he parted the glamour-dome to take a peek...

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 6 -> 7

New Scene: On the chessboard, I'm thinking? [Yep.]

...Only to look out over the stark tiled land of the huge chessboard from his dreams. "Great."

He and Mark were on a black square. Pete was in tarnished grey armor, Mark in the tarnished jerkin of a pawn. Abruptly Mark was ripped out of his arms by an irresistible force; the boy was planted on another black square diagonal to him and behind, toward White's territory. At least he's protecting me, Pete reflected, then blinked. This guy IS influencing my thoughts!

Mark shouted, "What's going on, Pete?!" He was standing unnaturally upright and holding a spear now. "Somebody's playing games with us. Literally, it looks like." "Well, I'm not having any fun." "Me neither."

From the darkness above the board, that malevolent voice stated, "But I am, and that's all that matters. Who cares what becomes of the pieces? Does the player weep when he sacrifices his bishop to avoid checkmate?"

Pete smirked as he stood up. "Funny. In my dream, you were a piece too - a Rook. You think the REAL player cares about you?" Stung, the thing replied with an edge, "We all have our parts to play. But it will not matter to you much longer."

"Just tell me what you want." "You, Peter des Marches. All of you." Pete made special note of the pronunciation - this bastard has clearly done his homework. "And I should give myself to you... why, exactly?" "I will swear a binding oath to let the two Pawns go free. They are worth less to me than a Knight." Pete pondered that. He can't be influencing me too much, or my decision won't be free. He touched his Crux and concentrated. Meanwhile, Mark yelled, "Don't do it, Pete!"

The voice said, "You should not listen to your brother, des Marches. Refuse me, and he and Ryan will be my playthings. I assure you that nothing so pleasant or easy as a slow death will be their fate."

Pete flipped the darkness the bird. "Go to Hell. You're tough, but you're not omnipotent. Hurt them any more, and there's no hole deep enough for you to hide in. Even if you take me out, the Knights will never rest while you're out there. For that matter, the Shepherds won't either. You'll be marked." Despite his bold words, he continued concentrating with laser-like focus. Meanwhile, Mark yelled his defiance too.

"How very unwise." A black Bishop slid up noiselessly behind Mark, a vampiric figure with fangs dripping with malice. Mark's yell turned to a shout of surprise as it grabbed his arm and jerked him off balance, his spear going clattering. The darkness asked silkily, "Ready to reconsider?"

Q(Likely): Tables about to turn? YES. [Barely. Way too close.]

The sky cracked open and a shaft of light fell on the board. (The vampire hissed in pain and fright, recoiling from Mark.) Pete relaxed and grinned up at the darkness. "You know what? Nah."

Golden words in Latin fell toward the chessboard like boulders, chanted in a familiar reedy voice. "Deus, audi oratiónem meam; áuribus pércipe verba oris mei." The chessboard shook under the impact of the psalm.

The dark voice hissed, "This isn't over, des Marches." "Right back at'cha, scumbag."

Mark yelled, "Pete, what's going on?!" "Hang on, bro! This may get rough, but we're gonna be okay."

The reedy voice came through more clearly: "Dómine sancte, Pater omnípotens, ætérne Deus, Pater Dómini nostri Iesu Christi..." The chessboard broke apart, falling into darkness, and Pete gave himself trustingly to the light...

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 7 -> 8

New Scene: Back in Mark's room with Fr. Leo. Interrupt! [Huh.]

ComplexQ: What's the deal? Create/The intellectual. [No clue what that means. I'm going to make up my own.] [Just realized I've been forgetting to generate Random Events for Interrupts the last few times. Oh well, what's done is done.]

As Pete ascended toward the light, the clouds of rubble from the ruined chessboard briefly took on a familiar shape: Jamie's face.

Q(Unsure): Is he smiling? YES.

Pete choked, old memories crowding around him. "Jamie... I'm so sorry." There was no reply; but Jamie's peaceful smile, briefly glimpsed, stuck with him.

Peter came into the light weeping - whether from joy, or release, or old trauma, he could not say.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire, Jamie's memory.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Mark and Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 8 -> 7

 

[The Shadow]

New Scene: Back in Mark's room with Fr. Leo, take 2. Altered Scene!

Q(Unsure): Different venue? NO.

Q(Somewhat Likely): Mark made it out okay? EXCEPTIONAL YES. [Okay. I guess there must be more people here than I thought.]

Pete abruptly opened his eyes to the entirely-expected but still welcome sight of Fr. Leo's kindly bearded visage. He was dressed for the occasion in the full habit of the Contemplative Brothers of St. Michael: black, with a white surcoat blazoned with a red Latin Cross. He held a crucifix against Pete's brow, but when Pete grinned and punned, "The Calvary arrives!" his gravely serious face broke into a smile. "The Devil has no sense of humor, so I suppose you'll pull through."

Pete was lying on Mark's bed - and felt like a team of horses had trampled over him. Mark lay next to him, snoring gently. Propping himself up on one elbow, "Yeah, guess so. Pulled out all the stops, didn't you? That sounded like the Rite of Exorcism..." Just then he caught sight of his mother and father, and Ryan behind them. "Oh, uh."

Teresa moaned and rushed forward to embrace her son. Pete hugged her back, but said, "Good Lord. How long were we out?" Thomas replied gruffly, "Most of the day. I came here when you didn't call back, and got the story from Ryan. I contacted Fr. Leo, but it turned out you already had - in a manner of speaking."

Pete looked to the elderly monk. "And I'm sure glad it got through! We'd have been goners if it hadn't." Leo shook his head. "Don't second-guess the Lord's work. But I was glad to be of service." "...How's Mark?" "He is fine, Peter. The same lowered defenses that made him vulnerable also made him more open to my working. The taint is gone from him; it's you and Ryan I am worried about."

Pete closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "I guess his infection was always more oblique than ours. I'm glad his part in this is done." "Yes. But there is much that remains to do."

"I'm open to ideas. I hate to say it, but I think this guy is better than I am." Leo and Thomas exchanged a glance. Then the priest turned a compassionate gaze on him, as if to an animal he was forced to hurt in order to help: "Peter, you will have to go into the Shadow and defeat him."

Pete stared at him in shock. "Wait, WHAT?! Father, he's tougher than I am, his illusions are bomb-proof, I know nothing about him, and he's got his hooks into me! Just how am I supposed to even FIND him, much less beat him?!"

Leo said gently, "It is those 'hooks' that prevent you from seeing through his illusions, Peter. They blind you to his workings, but they also lead back to him. You cannot trace him through your own, but you could do so through another's."

Pete only thought he'd been shocked before. "NO. No way. A suicide mission is one thing, but I'll not be a murderer. Because that's what taking Ryan in there will be, you know: Murder." Ryan finally piped up, "I want to go, Pete." Thomas added sternly, "You think we'd do it if there were any choice?"

Pete was still shaking his head when Leo reminded him, "Ryan will succumb to the curse in time in any event, Peter. I can slow its progress, but not stop it." Ryan added, "If I'm gonna go axe-crazy, I'd rather be pointed at the bad guys, you know?"

Pete thought it over, then said sourly, "Do I have to have one hand tied behind my back, too?" Fr. Leo laughed. "There's my Peter. We have a week or two to lay plots, yes. And you need not go in alone."

Thomas took up the thread. "We're bringing in a contingent of Knights; it shouldn't take long to mop up these 'Demons' and find out everything they know. And you won't go alone. We won't order anyone to go..." Pete nodded. "Suicide mission, and all." "...but we'll ask for volunteers."

Pete nodded, wheels turning. "Paddy will come. So will Jon." Thomas harrumphed. "A fine young man, even if he is a Protestant. But I had some other names in mind." "Huh?" "I'm coming out of retirement, son. And your brother will come too; the Demarche name is at stake." Teresa compressed her lips, grimly resigned to the prospect of losing two sons and a husband.

No, really - Pete only thought he'd been shocked before. "NO, Dad." "You don't get a say, Peter." "Yes, actually, I do. How many times have you told me to stay away from missions I was emotionally involved in? That's how people get killed, right?"

Thomas looked away. Pete added, "As for Jake, he'd come just to see me fail. Or to pick up Invictus when I fall. No thanks." Thomas flared up angrily while Teresa cried, "Peter!", but they both subsided when Fr. Leo raised a hand. "You do Squire Jacob an injustice, Peter. But I agree that he is too hotheaded for the task at hand. I worry a little about young Patrick in that regard as well, but he is nothing if not ... practical." Pete nodded. "That brand of 'practicality' will come in handy." Paddy got a special glow in his cheeks and a spring in his step from killing Shadow-creatures. Ought to, he's Jamie's brother... Best not to think about that.

He thought for a while as Mark continued to snore. "...Why can't another mage go with us, and track this guy through me?"

ComplexQ: Good question. Why not? Struggle/News.

Fr. Leo replied, "If it could be done, I would go with you myself, Peter." Yet more shock: Fr. Leo was no fighter. "But your position as one with the taint, yet not succumbed to it, puts you in a unique position. You are attuned to its source, as no-one else could be." Pete sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'll pick up on resonances nobody else would."

He added, "...Do you mind giving us a minute, Father? And afterward, I'd like you to hear my confession?" Leo smiled. "Of course, Peter. My pleasure." He stepped out of the room, drawing Ryan after him.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.

Chaos Factor: 7 -> 6

New Scene: Family conference. Altered Scene.

ComplexQ: What's the alteration? Praise/Love. [Huh. Definitely unexpected.] [Looking back at this, I can see that this one roll changed the entire course of the campaign.]

Thomas cleared his throat gruffly, then said, "You did well, Peter."

Pete didn't think he could take any more shocks today. "I did?! Seriously?!" "Yes. Why shouldn't I say so? Ryan told me what you did for him and Mark. And Fr. Leo could tell you were protecting Mark with every ounce of your strength." Teresa stroked Mark's hair. "You brought him back to us."

Pete struggled between pleasure and outrage. "Did you think I wouldn't? Good Lord, I'd open a vein for Mark and be glad to do it! He's my little brother!"

"So is Jacob," his father reminded him, "and yet it's always been different between the two of you." Pete said sourly, "Let's leave Jake out of this, okay? But I'd fight just as hard for him, if he needed it. We may not get along, but he's blood."

Thomas nodded. "I've misjudged you, Peter. When... things happened... some time ago..." Pete sighed. "Dad... I... just can't talk about that yet. Okay? I know it hurt you when I left the Knights, but it wasn't about you. Or Jake, or anybody but me."

His mom burst out, "It's not just the Order, Peter." Thomas nodded. "When we heard you'd left for Japan and were learning magic from pagans... We thought we'd lost you, son. That you'd turned your back on us."

Pete sighed. "I should have come back to say goodbye in person. I know that. But... I couldn't face you, Dad. I was afraid."

That visibly hurt Thomas, but he absorbed it. "What were you afraid of?" "Your disapproval. Your scorn. Your appeals to the family name. I didn't think you'd understand why I left."

Thomas reached out tentatively and clasped Pete's shoulder. He asked quietly, "I'm listening, Peter. Why did you leave?"

Pete paused in turmoil, breathing ragged. "It's too raw, Dad. I can't talk about it. I'm sorry. But if... If anything happens to me, and Jon makes it out, ask him. He knows."

Thomas sighed. "Very well. Let me ask you something else. And I don't mean this as an accusation, though it may sound like one." "...Okay?"

"Why are you able to share these things with anyone but your own blood?" "Not anyone. Nobody ever had a better friend than Jon; he's like another brother." "Even so."

Pete thought about it, then finally said, "Because I love you too damn much. And it's all bound up with pride and family history and all the rest. I never wanted to disappoint you, Dad."

Thomas said firmly, "I've never been disappointed, son. Confused, yes. Sometimes angry. But not disappointed. Judgment is in the Lord's hands, not mine."

Pete pondered that for a long time. "I guess you're not the only one who's been doing the misjudging. I'm sorry, Father." "As am I, Peter. We should have talked like this long ago." "Yeah."

Mark murmured in his sleep, and Pete asked, "So what are we going to tell him?" Thomas rubbed his face and said candidly, "I don't know. Tradition is tradition, but he's in so deep by now that no simple memory-alteration spell will serve." "If I get a vote, I say we sit him down and tell him everything - he's earned it. Heck, might as well bring Kate in as well, she already knows more than she should." Thomas and Teresa both grimaced; Catherine's magical gift had come to light in a big way the previous year, and they'd had to bring Pete (as the only other mage in the family) in to talk to her.

[See the next post for a flashback about that incident - a scene that SP and I actually played out to get a feel for the campaign, quite a while ago. It's a bit too long to fit nicely here.]

Thomas said quietly, "I've already called your sister. She's making arrangements to come home from college. She doesn't know the details about why, yet. But we wanted everyone here before you go." "...Yeah. You're not still planning on coming, are you?"

Q(Unlikely): Is he? YES.

Q(Very Unlikely): Same plan as before? NO.

His father sighed. "Yes. But you're right - damn your eyes. I'd be too bound up in it to be rational. Jacob and I will stay in the Shadow Keep as backup." Teresa struggled not to look relieved; Pete didn't bother. "Good."

Struck by a sudden thought, he then asked, "What about Ryan? Assuming he lives through this, he isn't going to be able to go back to a 'normal' life either."

ComplexQ: What do they have to say to that? Befriend/Energy. [Okay, 'energy' is a little weird, but it seems clear enough.]

Thomas said firmly, "After what he's done for Mark, and what he's going to do for you, he may as well be family, Peter. And if he wants, I'll gladly sponsor him into the Order."

Pete sighed. "How can I justify taking him into that much danger? I need his parents' signature just to take him on a FIELD TRIP, and I'm supposed to take him into another DIMENSION full of slavering monsters without their knowledge? How is that supposed to work?"

Thomas sighed with him. "He may have to be 'arrested' for gang activity for a while. And if anything happens... well, prisons are dangerous. The Order can fill in the details far better than you or I could." Sarcastically: "Yay?"

"I don't like it either, Peter. But you can't do without him, and he wants to go. He's old enough to choose; a hundred years ago, he could have been drafted into the army to fight and die. As for the secrecy - you know better than I do why the public can never know about the Shadow."

Pete sighed, shaking his head. Disbelief in monsters was the Order's greatest triumph and greatest weapon. The world's Shadow responded to belief, drawing closer to the mundane plane. Let people know, let hysteria begin, and Shadow-incursions would multiply exponentially. "Yeah. I don't like it, but yeah. Send Fr. Leo in, will you? I think I'm ready."

Teresa kissed him, and Thomas said, "Perhaps you should go into another room? Your brother needs his rest." "Oh! Right." He ruffled Mark's hair fondly. "Yeah. Let him sleep." He struggled to his feet, accepting his dad's assisting hand.

Pausing, he added in the Provençal-flavored French that was their family heritage: "Je t'aime, mon père." Thomas smiled and replied, "Et je t'aime aussi, mon fils." [Once again: Google Translate! Don't hold it against me.]

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.

Chaos Factor: 6 -> 5

 

[The Shadow]

[This is the flashback promised in the previous post. If you haven't read that one yet, do that first!]

[This was a scene that SP and I played out to get a feel for the campaign, many moons ago. It's an introduction to Pete's sister Kate and her relationship to Pete and others.]

Pete was mildly alarmed when Tom drew him aside during a family gathering "to speak privately with me and your mother." Ties had been strained of late, but he couldn't think of anything that would have worsened the situation.

Once comfortably ensconced in his father's den, his parents looked at him with worried eyes. Tom cleared his throat and said, "Peter, we have something to ask you in the strictest confidence. This conversation doesn't go beyond this room, understood?" Puzzled, Pete crossed his legs and said, "Of course, Dad. What's up?" "I need your word on this, son." "I just gave it to you."

Thomas paused, then nodded. "Very well. We need your considered opinion on something. Your professional opinion, as a mage." Pete's brows shot up, and he put both feet on the floor again. "Do tell. What is it?" (He couldn't help being a little relieved it apparently wasn't about anything he'd done!)

Tom sighed heavily. "It's your sister."

---

It developed that Kate had been showing the tell-tale signs of a magical gift of late - little oddities and 'coincidences' cropping up with alarming frequency, if you knew what to look for. Tom sighed. "I wouldn't know, of course, but I suspect she's strong." Teresa added quietly, "It reminds me of you at the same age." Pete nodded, hiding a wince; his own 'breakthrough' to magical talent had been... notable.

"Well, I can certainly scan her for talent, but that almost sounds superfluous at this point. What is it you want me to do?" His father sighed. "Talk to her? Give her what pointers you can?" "I don't suppose you'll consider..." "No, of course not!" Pete rolled his eyes. "You and Tevye. 'Tradition!'" "It's tradition because it works, Peter. Can you imagine growing up with the knowledge of Shadow?"

Pete sighed. "I suppose not. ... I'll need to get her alone, of course." "We'll work something out."

---

His parents managed to fadge up an excuse to go shopping for the holiday feast, and to take Mark and Jake with them. Pete sat with Kate; they'd always enjoyed each other's company. Kate had gone a bit 'unconventional' since leaving home, dabbling in New Age beliefs and other things. Half the time Pete suspected it was as much to shock their parents as anything.

Pete gestured to the large quartz crystal she wore around her neck, along with a crucifix. "So do you really think those things contain energy?" She smiled innocently. "Well, I daresay they must... All those chemical bonds contain quite a bit of energy, don't you think?" "Come off it, sis. You know what I mean. Mystical energy."

She lowered her eyes and said demurely, "Well, I think they do, yes. But no doubt you disagree." "Oh, I don't know. I saw some pretty weird sh*t in Japan... stuff I couldn't explain just with logic, science, and the Catechism, you know? So I'm open to the idea there might be something more out there."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him for a long moment. Pete smiled when he noticed her making a surreptitious gesture with her right hand, and broadened it out into a grin when he felt the force of her spell-enhanced regard. "So now you know."

When she was finished studying him, she said slowly, "I suppose I do. How long has this been going on?" "I might ask you the same thing." "I asked you first." "All right. Ready for another shock, sis?" She rolled her eyes. "I think I can probably take a little surprise, Pete." Pete grinned openly now. "Since I was a little younger than you. And Mom and Dad know all about it." Blink, blink. That did take her aback.

After another long pause, she stated, "You, Dad, and Jake are in something together." It wasn't a question. "Ah, you noticed!" "Ha ha, funny boy. What- Wait. If you're about to tell me this is some sort of sword-and-sorcery setup, where Dad and Jake are warriors and you're a wizard, I swear I will throw something at you." "Well, I'm not allowed to tell you all the details, but... basically, yeah." She picked up a napkin threateningly, and he crossed his arms in front of his head: "Not in the face! Not in the face!"

After he had received his due chastisement and picked the napkin up off the floor, Kate asked him with honest curiosity, "How do you reconcile it?" "With the Church, you mean?" She nodded. "Yeah." "Can't tell ya. But it's all above board."

Kate shook her head in wonderment, then came to a decision. "Come with me."

She led him out to the old oak in the backyard; she'd always loved it. Whispering words under her breath, the ground opened up, revealing a set of rough earthen steps. Once down them, the earth closed once more and a warm light bathed a small chamber nestled in the roots of the tree.

Pete was flabbergasted and trying not to show it. "This is... really impressive, sis. How long have you had this place?" She grinned and mimicked his earlier question: "Ready for another shock, big bro?" "Um, sure?" "Since I was twelve."

Pete digested that. "Kate, I flatly don't believe you could have managed this on your own." She shook her head. "I had some help. I've been talking with fairies for as long as I can remember." Pete nodded, mind racing. "Faerie isn't all fun and games, sis. Some of them..." She snorted. "You think I don't know that? I appreciate the concern, Pete, but I'm a big girl."

"No, really, Kate! There are some really dangerous things out there! You-" "I've met some of them. I handled myself fine, thanks." "...Like what?"

She paused, remembering. "Once I was visited by a wolf as black as sin, always angry, thirsting for blood." Pete nodded: A murkwolf, he'd fought them himself. "And?" She grinned sweetly at him. "I patted it on the head and told it to play nice." "And?!" "It did."

Pete shook his head. "I won't say I'm not impressed, sis, because I am. Very. But there's a couple things you really do need to know." "Oh, all right. Tell me." "First off, a talent as strong as yours really needs training. There's all sorts of pitfalls that aren't obvious in the beginning, but..." "I'm doing fine, thanks. Not that I haven't encountered any pitfalls, but I've weathered them. I can do this, Pete - it's what I am." She grinned, not entirely pleasantly, and added, "A witch."

Pete didn't take the bait. "And second, there's things out there much worse than that wolf. Things you can't just pat on the head, no matter how witchy you are." "Like what?" Pete paused, then punched his knee. "I... can't give you details right now."

She smiled tolerantly and kissed his cheek. "I really do appreciate the concern, bro. But I can handle myself."

He tried to convince her, but she wouldn't hear of it. She's never been burned, Pete realized; it's all been fun and games. The danger has only been enough to give things a bit of spice.

---

Thomas went ballistic when Pete reported the incident about the murkwolf, of course. But what could they do?

"If you're not willing to tell her about the Shadow, Dad, I don't see what we can do at this point. And honestly, even if you did, I don't know that she'd react the way you want. She's playing with fire, yeah, but I don't think she'll listen until she's burned herself."

Tom ground out, "And if she burns down the neighborhood playing with matches? Can you live with that, Peter?" "I don't see that we've got a choice, Dad. What are you suggesting? She's stronger than I am - even without training, she might just be able to counter anything I tried."

"And so your professional opinion is?" "Either ditch tradition and tell her about Shadow, hoping for the best; or else wait, and hope for the best. I suppose you could bring in a team of mages to suppress her, but that'd burn every conceivable bridge - and I won't be part of it. Don't worry too much; she's good. Really good." Scarily good, he didn't add.

 

[The Shadow]

New Scene: Ensconced with Fr. Leo for Reconciliation in the living room.

Fr. Leo listened seriously as Pete ran through his more minor failings. "There's... uh. Something else, Father." "Go on."

Pete swallowed. "I, uh. Saw something, when you were pulling me and Mark out. I saw Jamie." Leo's face was transfigured with compassion. "Oh, Peter. How... did he look?" Pete was crying freely now. "He looked peaceful, Father. I don't know if it was something real, or my imagination, or what. But he looked at peace." "As you are not." "No..."

"What is it you need to confess, my son?" Pete sighed. "I've been beating myself up with guilt for years now. And it's destructive and wrong, but I don't know how to stop. I just don't." "I do not know what to tell you that you have not heard many times before, Peter; you know that you did no wrong, though none of us would envy the lot that fell to you that night. But hear this: Our Lord wants you to have peace, the peace He came to give us. It is not for you to manufacture; you must accept it from His wounded hands."

Pete pondered that for a time. "Yeah. Maybe I'm just trying too hard." "You always have. For as long as I've known you, you have felt the need to save the world all by yourself. You forget that it has already been saved by Another!" After swallowing, "Okay. So I guess I need to confess pride, too." "Yes. Is that all?"

"No. I hate Jacob, Father. He's my own brother, and I just plain hate him. I've never encountered anyone else, not even an enemy, who takes such pleasure in making me miserable." "I do not know Jacob well. But anyone could see that he feels the same way toward you." Peter flared, "That's not fair! He's tweaked me for leaving the Order every chance he gets! What does he know about it?! He's never had to..."

Leo raised a hand to cut him off, inquiring mildly, "Are you here to confess Jacob's sins or your own?" Pete flushed. "Mine." "Very well. How have you acted on this hatred?" With a sigh, "I'm cold to him. I try to get under his skin. I take pleasure in his failures. Just now I bad-mouthed him to my family. ... And while I think the sense of what I said was true, I did exaggerate things out of spite."

The priest considered that for a time, then said, "Our Lord calls you to love your brother, Peter. If you are unable to like him just now, so be it; you are not asked to generate feelings. Only to speak softly to him, to let provocations pass, and to help him when he is in need. And to pray for him without ceasing, precisely because you see him as an enemy. Those are things within our limited capacity."

After wrestling with that for a time, Pete finally said, "I guess that's it." "Yes. For your penance, you are to tell Jacob about Jamie."

Peter stared at him. "You can't be serious." "I am completely serious." "I ... think that's beyond my strength, Father." "I do not. You are poisoning yourself with guilt and giving yourself a martyr complex over it with respect to your brother. You must simply stop."

Pete said despairingly, "He'll just use it to hurt me. To twist the knife." "If he does, Our Lord who forgave His enemies from the Cross will give you the strength that you need to bear it. Do you doubt this?"

After a long, shuddering silence, Pete said, "...No. I guess not." "Then say the Act of Contrition."

Peter fell on his knees and recited the ancient words. He had to choke them out through sobs about halfway through... Then Fr. Leo laid his hands upon his head and said words more mysterious and more powerful: "God, the Father of mercy, through the death and resurrection of His Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace; and I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Pete was silent under the priest's firm touch for a time. Then he whispered, "Amen." Fr. Leo lifted his hands and smiled at him, then finished the rite: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." "His mercy endures forever. ... Thank you, Father." "It is always a pleasure, Peter. Go in peace."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.
Find the guts to make a clean breast to Jake.

Chaos Factor: 5 -> 6

New Scene: Mark wakes up, I think. Altered scene!

Pete and Fr. Leo emerged from the living room to find Teresa bustling about the kitchen. "Mark's up. And he's hungry." "No surprise there."

Going in the bedroom again, he found Mark talking animatedly to Thomas and Ryan. "Pete! I had the most incredible nightmare! Never had one so vivid. You rescued me again..." He sounded as if he wanted very much to believe it and looked desperately to Pete for confirmation. Dammit, Pete thought, Dad's going to try to bury it all again now.

Q(Unsure): Does Leo spill the beans? NO.

Fr. Leo looked to Pete for his reaction also, raising a brow. Peter said deliberately, "It wasn't a nightmare, Mark." To Thomas' indignant, stricken expression, he said, "I'm through lying to him, Dad."

Leo beamed, Ryan looked ready to run for his life, and Mark was stunned. "Lying to me about what?"

Fr. Leo beckoned to Ryan, who fled willingly enough. They withdrew, and soon Teresa came in. Pete locked eyes with his father. "You going to tell him, or shall I?" Mark, increasingly upset, said, "Tell me WHAT?!"

Thomas asked plaintively, "Can't we at least wait for Catherine to get home?" "Dad... Kate's self-trained, yeah, but she's good. If it's important enough, she doesn't need a plane. Call her." "She surely doesn't know Mobility." "No, but she's got other tricks - she'll probably arrive at that tree in the yard she likes so much. Call her."

Mark started to edge toward hysteria. "Will somebody please tell me what the HELL is going on?!" When neither of his parents corrected his profanity, he got if anything even more upset. Pete finally told him, "Hey. Hang in there, bro. All will be explained when Kate gets here, all right?" When Mark started to shout over him, he said, "Hey! Two rescues are worth a little patience, aren't they?" That shut him up.

Thomas protested, "Jacob should be here..." "Oh for... He'll live. Call her. Or I will." Cowed, his father withdrew, pulling out his cell phone.

Q(Very Unlikely): Does Jake make it in? YES.

It happened faster than even Pete would have believed possible. Fr. Leo (who was considerably better with Mobility than Pete was) managed to fetch Jake, and Kate managed to witch her way into Pete's yard rather than the family home. Pete joked wanly to her, "Getting better, I see." She kissed his cheek. "Thanks, big bro."

Eyes widened all around: Jake's and Kate's at Mark's battered condition, and Mark's and Kate's at Jake's knightly tunic and surcoat - he hadn't taken the time to change being fetched from the chapterhouse.

Mark, exasperated, finally said, "NOW will somebody explain to me what's going on?!"

Thomas sighed. "Peter, if you please?" Pete nodded, and set his hand to Invictus' hilt, drawing it forth from its sheath. He reversed the blade and knelt formally, presenting the hilt to his father. "À votre service, seigneur des Marches."

Nobody breathed as Thomas gripped the hilt of Invictus, which began to glow. (Though it was no longer attuned to him, it always recognized the lawful Count.) Jake protested, "Father, the tradition..." "Enough, Jacob. The die is cast. I believe Peter is right in this."

Thomas looked ten years younger in the light of the sword he had loyally borne for so many years. "Mark... Catherine. You already know our family's proud history as rulers of the County des Marches in Provence. But you do not yet know all."

He began at the beginning. "For as long as the world has been, it has cast a Shadow: A darkling place, full of dread and doom. Fell beings lurk there, thirsting for the lifeblood of all who live. And for as long as the world has been, there have been those called to the defense of the world itself, to man the walls of Creation. Our ancestors were among them."

"For untold ages, the Demarches have fought and bled and died in a secret war, a war on behalf of those who dare not know of it. Our deeds have been mostly unsung, our battles unseen. But God sees, and the angels sing."

"Twelve centuries ago, a grateful King of the Franks granted to our illustrious ancestor Bertrand, first of his name, the county we have held all the long years since. You surely must have wondered why our lands are called 'the Border'? They are not particularly close to any other nation - we were meant from the first to stand guard against the dark."

"And so when Holy Mother Church saw fit, three centuries later, to form the Order of St. Michael to oppose the Shadow, Bertrand's descendants were among the first to take vows. Every generation since, we have answered the call."

"When Revolution came to our homeland, we fled; valuing life and the needs of our war over fear of dishonor. We have made a new home here, in the United States of America; yet we are still the blood des Marches. The love of Provence flows in our veins, yet our love for the world is stronger yet. We serve, as we have always served."

"But though we have lost our land, we have a greater treasure yet: This sword, the blade Invictus. Unconquered, unconquerable, it cannot be broken save by its wielder breaking faith. It is wielded now by your brother Peter, my heir. Rise, Squire Peter."

Pete's heart broke at the title. "Father..." "Rise. And receive that which has come down to you." Peter rose and accepted the blade from his father's hands. Raising it in salute, it continued to glow; the mark of his inheritance.

"Mark and Catherine, your brothers, Peter and Jacob, have sought formation as Knights of St. Michael." Pete and Jake both looked ready to contest Pete's status, but Thomas quelled them both with a glance. He continued, "You need not do the same, when you are able. The call must be freely heeded and freely taken up. ... Our tradition has always been to reserve this knowledge from the young until they attain to the age of twenty-one years, but circumstances have dictated otherwise in this case. I am sure you have questions."

Mark said at once, "Yeah. Where do I sign up?" Teresa sobbed once, then dried her eyes; she had long since accepted the family she had married into. The boy said, "I know, Mom. But the war's already found me, right? I may as well do some rescuing as well as being rescued." Here he grinned at Pete, who grinned back.

Thomas could not contain his pride, but he strove to keep his voice neutral. "You will have to be Confirmed first, Mark, and then likely graduate from college; times change, and the Order follows the Church's modern rules in these things. But be you faithful and true, I doubt not but that you will be accepted."

Kate broke in. "Okay. So the Church opposes this Shadow, I get that. And I think I've seen hints of it, enough to agree that it's worth opposing. But where does the magic fit in? How do you square what Pete and I do with the Catechism, Dad?" Mark asked, confused, "What you do? What do you mean?"

Thomas looked to Pete, who replied, "We're mages, Mark. Wizards, sorcerers, whatever you want to call it. Some people have it, others don't. Kate and I do. And we're both damn good, if I do say so myself. The Demarche blood has always run strong." Kate had to grin at that.

Mark struggled to come to terms with this. "Do I have it?" "Nope. And no, you almost certainly never will. Sorry." "...Is that how you did the rescuing?" "Yep. Along with a bit of chop-chop with Invictus here." He sheathed the blade.

Kate waved. "Yoo hoo. Still awaiting an answer here." Pete turned to her. "Magic's a tool, a technology. There ARE evil things that can be done with it, things that the Church forbids. Both experience and Divine Revelation have shown that some things are simply never worth doing, are outrages against human nature. Trying to contact the dead, for example. Or trafficking with spirits. Or predicting the future. Things like that inevitably corrupt the people who try them, no matter how pure their motives are in the beginning."

Kate's eyes narrowed. "So because I talk to fairies, I'm a witch and a sinner, is that it? Suffer not the witch to live?" Pete rolled his eyes. "Fairies aren't spirits, sis. Sheesh, you're powerful, but you just don't KNOW much. You need training, I keep telling you that." Kate blinked several times at that.

Mark held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. Fairies?!" Pete laughed, and even Thomas cracked a smile. "Okay, look. The world casts a Shadow, right? But two things are needed to make a shadow - a light source, and the object that obstructs it. Opposite the Shadow is the Light. It's a source of life and energy and magic; the Shadow is a sink. Nothing lives in the Light itself - complicated! - but some things live here that have metabolisms based directly on the flow of Light. Traditionally we call them fey, but fairies will do. They're just people, like us, only generally more powerful. Some of them are decent folks, others are jerks, and a few are real scumbags. Heck, you know how in the Arabian Nights some djinni are good Muslims? That happens to be true. And some fey are good Christians too."

Kate was flabbergasted. "Next you'll tell me there's an Archbishop of Faerie!" Pete looked to Thomas, the history professor. "That was tried in the 15th century, wasn't it?" Thomas paused to remember. "1437, as I recall. The Protestant Reformation bollixed things up so badly in Faerie that the title's mostly honorary these days, attached to the Primate of Ireland." Pete grinned at Kate's rising confusion. "See, one thing you really can blame the Protestants for!"

Everyone was shocked when Kate suddenly burst into tears. Teresa went to embrace her, and when she started to calm, Pete (her favorite brother) asked her gently, "Kate? What's wrong?"

"What's WRONG?! You all let me think I had to choose!" "Choose between what?" "Between my faith and what I AM!" Nobody had a reply to that. Thomas' voice trembled as he said, "Catherine..." Kate fought free of her mother and spat out, "Don't start, Dad. Just don't even start." She stormed out.

Thomas started after her, but Jake (of all people) stopped him. "Let her go, Dad. She needs to work through a bunch of stuff, but she'll come back. I did, didn't I?" Pete looked at his brother with a faint spark of appreciation. Aloud he agreed, "She's a Demarche."

Q(Likely): Does Leo take care of Kate? EXCEPTIONAL YES.

Thomas bit his lip, then also agreed. "She's a Demarche." Then, to Peter, "I can see it's past time we rethought some family traditions." Mark inquired conversationally, "So, you're telling me this family has ALWAYS been crazy?"

Everyone laughed hysterically at that, draining off a great deal of tension. Helpless with mirth, Pete and Jake leaned on each other... then mutually recoiled when they came to themselves enough to realize it.

Meanwhile Teresa added pungently, "If the ones I've known are any indication..." Quoting the Bard, Thomas said, "I'll stop thy mouth," and kissed her thoroughly to whoops from the boys.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons, Goat, Billy, the disk-thing(s), the illusionist (possibly the same as the disk-thing), Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, darkhound pack, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Find out what's happening to Ryan.
Protect Ryan from his old gang.
Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.
Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.
Find the guts to make a clean breast to Jake.

Chaos Factor: 6 -> 5

 

[The Shadow]

[Just to let you guys know, I'm going to be drop-dead busy the coming week, so I may not have time to post anything until the weekend.]

New Scene: Fallout from the big reveal: More from Mark, Kate, Jake. Altered Scene!

ComplexQ: Okay... No clue what the alteration should be? Expose/Illness. [?!]

Q(Likely): Is the illness in question Pete's infection? YES.

Mark unsurprisingly had a lot more questions, and dealing with those took most of the afternoon. In the course of all that, the news of Pete's and Ryan's infections came out.

Q(Unsure): Does Jake shove his oar in? NO.

Q(Unsure): Is he saving it up for later? YES.

Mark's eyes went round. "What's it going to do to you?" Pete sighed. "The same thing it's doing to Ryan, I'd guess - only slower. I have defenses he doesn't." "And I had it too?" "Yes. Fr. Leo got it out of you, praise God."

Mark swallowed. "Pete... Can I talk to you alone for a second?" Blinking, "Uh, sure?" He looked to his parents and Jake. Thomas nodded, and led the way out.

Pete frowned as Mark struggled to his feet. "You shouldn't be moving around so much." "I wanna look you in the eye." Really puzzled now, "...Okay?"

Q(Very Likely): Does Mark want to come on the Shadow trip? YES - and a Random Event!

Close a Thread: Treat that damned illusionist to some payback. [?!!? This makes no sense! ... Oh. My. Gosh. IT DOES! It totally does! Not that this one thing will resolve the whole adventure, of course, but that something can be set in motion right now that will screw the bastard over!]

That done, Mark said earnestly, "Pete, I want to go with you and Ryan." Pete snorted. "Ain't gonna happen, bro." "Why not?" "This is a strictly need-to-go mission, and you don't need to go. Not to mention that you're a complete babe in the woods when it comes to this stuff."

Mark nodded. "I know. But I've been a babe LOST in those woods, and I need to face them down. First the gang, then those hounds... My God, Pete, what is it?!"

Peter gaped open-mouthed as an insight suddenly crystallized in his brain. "Holy Mary Mother of God," he breathed, "It can't be... can it?" Memories swirled in his brain, as pieces fell into place:

The gangbangers, rendered as circling shadow-things after he destroyed the disk.

Goat saying, "I'm supposed to tell you this fight doesn't matter!"

Ryan saying of Goat, "He said he was in Hell already, and that I'd be joining him."

Being circled by the darkhound pack as they urged him to join them... Just as they'd urged Ryan to join the gang, in human form. And they'd mauled Mark as Shadows, as once they'd mauled him physically.

No sign of the hounds on the chessboard... But Goat was a Pawn.

[I SWEAR I did not consciously premeditate this! But it all fits! Even the disks being intelligent in their own right fits!]

Mark repeated anxiously "Pete?!" But his brother was already tearing the door open. "DAD! When are those Knights getting here? Make sure they're loaded for bear - things just got a whole HECK of a lot more interesting!!"

[Wow, quite a few things just changed in the lists. I now definitively know what's going on with Ryan, so that thread is closed too. Protecting Ryan from his old gang is arguably now the same thing as freeing him from the disk's influence. Several NPC's just collapsed into one, as well. And some threads will need renaming.]

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons/darkhound pack, Goat, Billy, the illusionist, Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Free Ryan from the darkhound curse.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.
Find the guts to make a clean breast to Jake.

Chaos Factor: 5 -> 4

New Scene: Fr. Leo putting the icing on the cake. [Heh. While this was neither an Altered Scene nor an Interrupt, it certainly turned out a lot differently than I was expecting!]

Everyone waited tensely as Fr. Leo examined Ryan magically in the living room. (Everyone including Kate; she and Fr. Leo had gone for a long walk while the others explained everything to Mark. She'd come back teary-eyed, but to a tensely excited family.)

Pete, Jake, and Thomas all gaped when the priest opened the door and poked his head out: None of them had ever seen him scared before. But he was still in command of his voice when he said, "Peter, please join us. I require your assistance."

Entering without a word, Pete looked to Fr. Leo. Ryan was standing slumped in the middle of the room, obviously in a trance. His old teacher informed him, "I realize you may not be able, but I want you to try to cast Lumen Veritatis. I pray that these old eyes are mistaken."

Q(Unsure): Does it work? EXCEPTIONAL NO. [Oh. My.]

ComplexQ: What just happened? Care/Wounds [...Huh.]

Q(Unsure): Pete's wounds? NO. [Okay... that leaves Ryan and Mark. Hmmm.]

Pete nodded. "Of course, Father." He touched his Crux and began to say, "Lu-" when several things happened at once:

Pete's throat spasmed, his breath coming out sounding like a snarl;

Ryan abruptly raised his head, eyes narrowed and awake with a feral light, lips curled back in a snarl of his own;

And Mark cried out in the next room.

Fr. Leo gaped, then said in a commanding voice, "Exsurgat Deus, et dissipentur inimici ejus!" Blinding light flooded the room for an instant; when it faded, Ryan was sprawled on the floor and Pete was hanging onto a wall for dear life. "What on earth was THAT?!"

The old monk was calm once more. "The opening to Psalm 68." "I know that, but what WAS it? Like Banishment, only MORE so!" Fr. Leo was already making for Ryan with controlled haste. "I will tell you someday. For now, I need you to check on young Mark." "Oh my God! Right."

Rushing out, he found Mark (still wearing an old bathrobe Pete had loaned him) slumped in a chair, clutching his belly and gasping for breath. He was crowded by anxious family, but when Pete said firmly, "Out of my way," Thomas drew them aside.

Touching Mark's brow (he was burning up), he asked, "Tell me what happened." Mark gasped out, "It... just hurt! All at once! Like fire! Still does!"

He didn't dare try Lumen Veritatis, of course, but there were all sorts of other tools at his disposal, none of which had given him any reaction before. "Hey. Take my hand. Look me in the eye. You're gonna be okay."

Mark did so shakily while Pete considered. Dunno if I dare try sharing my vitality with him again; it might open him up to whatever I've got inside. But helping people overcome pain is another acceptable use of mental suggestion. He made a connection through Mark's eyes, the windows of the soul: "It's okay. The pain is far away now. Far away. It's there somewhere, but you don't have to pay attention to it right now. All right?"

Mark's face eased slowly. "...Yeah." (Thomas let out a slow breath while Teresa bit her lip. Kate watched intently, while Jake frowned.) Pete said slowly, "I'm going to check you out a bit now. If you feel any pain, squeeze my hand. When you squeeze my hand, the pain will go far away again. Understand?" Mark mumbled, "Yeah, Pete."

Kate said abruptly in a quiet voice, "Pete." Blink. "Yes, Kate?" "I've cast a spell to see the unseen." "And?" "You've, uh. ... You've got a dog-like... thing. Coiled up inside of you." "Not entirely surprising. What about Mark?"

Q(Unsure): Is Mark infected again? NO.

[Okay, true confession time. The original answer to this question was YES. But as I continued on into the next scene, I felt more and more unhappy with how things were going. I paused to take stock, and realized that having Mark get infected again was just plain bad for the story. It was just a reprise of what had gone before: "Once more, with feeling!" So I decided just to wave the magic wand of Retconjuration and call it good.]

[So, while I've kept some parts of this scene and the next one, I've also had to retcon away large chunks of them and fill in the blanks. Lesson learned: When one possible outcome to a yes/no question is bad for the story, don't roll the dice!]

ComplexQ: So what IS going on? Mistrust/Emotions. [...Huh.]

Kate frowned, peering more intently. "His wound is... like a doorway. It leads to someplace very dark." Abruptly, Mark squeezed Pete's hand, his breathing ragged again. "It hurts, Pete! And I feel... weird!"

Pete squeezed back. "Look at me, Mark. It's far away. Weird how?" "I feel... cold. And angry. And... empty. I don't know why!" Pete's brows furrowed in confusion. "Keep telling me what you feel, Mark." He whispered the words to a minor divination.

Mark's head lolled back and forth as if he were denying something with all his heart. "I feel... This is so weird! I love you, you're my brother, you rescued me, but... I feel like I hate you, right now. I want you... not dead, no. I want you to be at my mercy, under my control."

Pete froze for a long moment at what his divination revealed. "It's okay, Mark, no offense taken. Time to sleep now, okay?" Mark shook his head. "No, Pete, I wanna know what's going on." "Okay, I guess you deserve that." He stood, turning an ashen face to his family. "You're weren't kidding, Kate. That wound of his is a direct line to Shadow. I think... he's in contact with our enemy."

[And now a question my gut tells me I have to ask: ]

Q(Somewhat Likely): Is the illusionist connected in some way, however esoteric, to Jake? YES.

Q(No Way): Does Jake realize that? NO.

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons/darkhound pack, Goat, Billy, the illusionist, Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Free Ryan from the darkhound curse.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.
Find the guts to make a clean breast to Jake.

Chaos Factor: 4 -> 5

New Scene: Taking stock and plotting the next step.

Mark wheezed out a chuckle. "Does this mean I get to go with you after all?" Thomas and Teresa said, "No!" in unison, while Pete said, "I really don't know at this point, bro," and Jake frowned.

Thomas collected his wits. "Peter... What in blazes is going on?! Shadow doesn't work this way!" "Tell me about it, Dad! I'm as flabbergasted as you are!"

Teresa folded her arms and demanded with authority, "Somebody explain, please. RIGHT NOW!" Peter said, "Uh. Sorry, Mom. We've just never seen anything like this before. I mean, Shadow has all sorts of monsters, most of which want to feed on people in some way. And people who get too deeply entangled with Shadow can get corrupted into 'dusklings' themselves. At first I thought something similar was happening to Ryan... But this? Deliberately transforming people into Shadows? Forging spiritual connections across dimensions? I mean, sure, there are some Shadow-beings who are good at magic, but this is just bizarre!"

His mother said icily, "A few hours ago, I heard a priest begin the Rite of Exorcism over you and my baby." Mark's eyes widened at that. (He squeezed Pete's hand again, and was comforted.) She continued, "The Knights' prayer invokes St. Michael's protection against the Devil. Just what is so bizarre about this? Am I to understand this isn't demonic obsession?"

Pete shook his head. "The Shadow isn't Hell, Mom. You can't fight the Devil with swords, or even with magic - only with faith and the sacraments. Diabolical forces can tempt Shadow-beings the same way they tempt us, but Shadow is usually too blunt an instrument for their purposes these days. The Order saves peoples' lives and sanity, not their souls."

"And the Rite?" she demanded. "To be more precise, Fr. Leo used the opening words of the Rite to channel what he intended to do. Magic is mostly about intention; the words are mostly there to focus and canalize our intentions so that we don't go off-track. There's... more to it than that, yes. But not less."

She still wasn't convinced. "That seems a rather cavalier way to treat a prayer and a sacramental of the Church." "I'm not saying he wasn't praying, Mom. That was undoubtedly his intention. It's just that a mage's intention can be... energized... in ways beyond what is normally possible. That's one big reason why we use Latin, you know - if we got in the habit of energizing things we said in English, things'd get messy quick!" Kate's eyes widened slightly at that, but she said nothing.

[I realize this seems like a massive infodump, but in point of fact I was feeling out for myself just how these things work as I went, and trying to smooth over some inconsistencies that were starting to really bug me. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but you know what? This is a story, not a treatise. Moving on!]

Fr. Leo opened the door to the living room, looking haggard. Ryan followed him, the boy's face streaked with tears. "Lord have mercy," Leo sighed. "I've never seen the like of this - though I've read of similar things, in the twelfth and seventeenth centuries."

Thomas paled as he considered the ramifications of that. He asked quietly, "What is it, Father?" The priest shook his head. "Some Shadow-mage has developed a... rather better imagination than the usual run of these things, along with a power source that remains obscure to me. He MUST be stopped before he gets any more skilled." Pete sighed. "It gets worse, Father. Take a look at Mark here."

Leo did so. "That... would be very interesting if it weren't so terrifying." Mark rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks." Pete replied, "That was my take, too. But do you really think he did this on purpose? What's the point?"

Q(Unlikely): Did he? NO.

ComplexQ: So what's going on? Inquire/Dispute. [Hmmmm.]

Leo shook his head. "No, I don't. I think he left a trigger in you to prevent your investigating. When you tried to cast Lumen Veritatis, it woke the curse in you, and, by extension through the pack, in Ryan as well. Mark was close by, and vulnerable to outside influence... The bleed-off exposed him to our enemy's working again, but in a way he did not anticipate. I am not certain how long this effect will last... but as long as it does, we have a direct line to our foe."

Q(Somewhat Likely): Does the bad guy know about this connection? YES.

Q(Unsure): Is he trying to close it off? EXCEPTIONAL NO. [Oh, for...]

Jake spoke up sharply, "Direct line or not, it's too dangerous! HE has a direct line to MARK as well!" Nobody disagreed with him. "Can't you rip it out of him?"

Q(Unlikely): Good question. Can we? NO.

Q(Unlikely): Will it fade on its own? EXCEPTIONAL YES. [Huh!]

Kate said abruptly, "Moot point! It's fading away!" Leo nodded. "She's right." Mark yelled in pain for a second, then panted heavily. "I think... I think he's gone." He squeezed Pete's hand again, more for gratitude than for autosuggestion.

Q(Unlikely): Did he succeed in doing anything nefarious to Mark? NO.

Pete asked him, "Did you feel anything more?"

[At this point I put the game on the back burner for a good long while to simmer - the retcon had really bothered me and I wanted to come back to it fresh. So, coming back to it several months later: ]

Mark paused, collecting his thoughts and his breath. "He... envies you? I think. It's like... he hates you because you have something he can never have."

Pete blinked at that. "I do? Like what?" "I don't know! But it's personal, I can tell you that. Not that he's a social butterfly or anything, but he doesn't hate anybody the way he hates you."

Everyone pondered that. Pete turned and asked Fr. Leo, "How on earth have I managed to personally offend a Shadow-being?" The elderly priest shook his head. "I do not know, Peter... but none of my guesses are pleasant ones."

Pete thought of Morven, and of Jamie. "Yeah. I guess they wouldn't be."

NPC List: Mark, Ryan, the Demons/darkhound pack, Goat, Billy, the illusionist, Thomas, Fr. Leo, Jake, vampire, Jamie's memory, Teresa, Paddy, Jon, Kate.

Thread List:

Free Ryan from the darkhound curse.
Free myself, for that matter.
Take Goat down a peg or three.
Make ready for the trip into Shadow.
Find the guts to make a clean breast to Jake.
Get to the bottom of my relationship to the illusionist.

Chaos Factor: 5 -> 6