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Between the Shadow and the Light (Updated February 26, 2023)
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<blockquote data-quote="The Shadow" data-source="post: 8356076" data-attributes="member: 16760"><p>New Scene: Back in Mark's room with Fr. Leo, take 2. Altered Scene!</p><p></p><p>Q(Unsure): Different venue? NO.</p><p></p><p>Q(Somewhat Likely): Mark made it out okay? EXCEPTIONAL YES. [Okay. I guess there must be more people here than I thought.]</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>"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."</p><p></p><p>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?!"</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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 <em>won't</em> go alone. We won't order anyone to go..." Pete nodded. "Suicide mission, and all." "...but we'll ask for volunteers."</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>He thought for a while as Mark continued to snore. "...Why can't another mage go with us, and track this guy through me?"</p><p></p><p>ComplexQ: Good question. Why not? Struggle/News.</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>Thread List:</p><p></p><p>Find out what's happening to Ryan.</p><p>Protect Ryan from his old gang.</p><p>Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.</p><p>Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.</p><p>Free myself, for that matter.</p><p>Take Goat down a peg or three.</p><p></p><p>Chaos Factor: 7 -> 6</p><p></p><p>New Scene: Family conference. Altered Scene.</p><p> </p><p>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.]</p><p></p><p>Thomas cleared his throat gruffly, then said, "You did well, Peter."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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!"</p><p></p><p>"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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>Thomas reached out tentatively and clasped Pete's shoulder. He asked quietly, "I'm listening, Peter. Why did you leave?"</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>"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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>[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.]</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>Q(Unlikely): Is he? YES.</p><p></p><p>Q(Very Unlikely): Same plan as before? NO.</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>ComplexQ: What do they have to say to that? Befriend/Energy. [Okay, 'energy' is a little weird, but it seems clear enough.]</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>"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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.]</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>Thread List:</p><p></p><p>Find out what's happening to Ryan.</p><p>Protect Ryan from his old gang.</p><p>Treat that damned illusionist to some payback.</p><p>Free Ryan from the disk's spiritual hold.</p><p>Free myself, for that matter.</p><p>Take Goat down a peg or three.</p><p>Make ready for the trip into Shadow.</p><p></p><p>Chaos Factor: 6 -> 5</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Shadow, post: 8356076, member: 16760"] 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 [i]won't[/i] 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 [/QUOTE]
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