Renaissance Smith: 11/18/96 (10/31/96)

 (Beth Miller)

Events of Oct. 31, 1996

Dear Mr. Diary,

Magic is a lot of fun. I went over to my apartment the morning of Halloween to do some research and create my distraction bacteria. the moment I stepped into my sanctum, I forgot all about my worries about what was right and wrong in this situation. Well, I didn't forget them, exactly, they just got pushed back into some corner of my mind where they no longer distracted me. There was something peaceful about being in there with my microscope, my computer, and my shelves of textbooks. That's the kind of stuff I'm comfortable doing, not fighting men who turn into goo or chasing after magical artifacts.

Anyway, I sorted through information in some of my textbooks for a while, picking a list of characteristics that I wanted the micro-organism I created to possess. I decided that I wanted something that couldn't survive in a human; I didn't want to start an epidemic. I also wanted it to produce a toxin that caused effects like headaches, dizziness, and loss of coordination, without having any serious or permanent side effects.

When I was ready to create the thing, I did it by the full ritual method, using my own blood as a focus for power. When I was done, it felt very right. There was no way to tell for sure if it would have exactly the effect I wanted it to, but I believed it would. I wondered if the fact that it was Samhain had helped me any.

Next I put on my Halloween costume. I had decided to go as a vampire. So gathering my magic again, I ordered my body to make a few changes, to look like I wanted it to. I tasted blood, and raised my fingers to my mouth to feel the fangs that were growing. The blood touched my fingers, and I felt this incredibly odd sensation as my fingernails grew long and pointed. then, inside my mind, I felt this sound like water flowing, and saw the color in my skin flowing down my arms into my hands, and dripping off my fingertips with the blood. Suddenly the light in the room was too much, and I shut my eyes and reached for the light switch.

I dressed all in black, putting on the cape I had bought the night before at the Halloween store in the mall. It's primary purpose was to hide the presence of my gun stuck in the waistband of my pants. I added blood red lipstick and nail polish. (They were a gift from my cousin Sandra, who always gives my makeup for Christmas in an effort to make me start wearing it.) Before I left to go back to the Place, I healed the cut on my arm I'd given myself to obtain blood for my spell.

When I got back to the Chantry, I discovered I'd missed some interesting times. Apparently, Reuben had gone to see Mr. Forteau, probably to tell him about our plans regarding the weather machine. I didn't really blame him; its up to each of us to decide what our honor requires of us. Anyway, he found Mr. Forteau collapsed in his home, and over in the Umbra there was a Duel Arcane going on between two powerful mages.

Reuben contacted the Chantry, and Daedelus brought KC out there to see if she could get a better look at what was going on in the Umbra. She looked around the Umbra, and identified both of the dueling mages as Mr. Forteau. Somehow, he was fighting himself. I understand it only slightly less well than I understand the spirit world, so I think I'll leave it at that. Anyway, I called Reuben to see if anything new had happened and to promise I'd come out in the morning, assuming I lived through that night. Reuben said he and Dog were going to stay out there with Mr. Forteau.

A few people decided I'd had a good idea to actually dress up for Halloween. KC had grown a pair of fairy wings; it was a paradox effect, not life magic. Cab wanted a costume she could store everything she might need in, so we went out looking. what we came up with was a Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man costume. Pretty bad, Huh? Still, it gave her plenty of room to hide the handcuffs, billy club, salt, and assorted other paraphernalia. All I was taking was my gun and a lovely little vial of microbes.

We got to NC State campus in time to meet Betsy and her group at the bell tower. We agreed to stick with the plan we'd come up with previously, such as it was. We forgot the old adage about how a plan never survives first contact with the enemy. Our plan was shot the Hades before the party even started.

What happened was, KC and John saw a circle of twelve wraiths standing in the clearing where the ceremony was going to be. When StaN arrived, dressed in long white ceremonial robes, they moved the weather machine into the center of the clearing, seemingly ignorant of the wraiths standing there in the Umbra. the box the weather machine was in came apart very strangely. They used the pieces from the sides to make an archway at the front of the clearing, like a doorway. Then Stephanie and Tiffany moved the other pieces to make symbolic walls on the other three sides. Except they weren't symbolic; they were real. they weren't visible to me, although Cab, who was looking in the spirit world, saw big black walls appear suddenly.

John was very disturbed by the fact that they were about to close the wraiths up inside the walls. I didn't realize it at the time, but the wasn't worried about the people, he was worried for the wraiths. All I did know was that he didn't want the last side put up while the wraiths were in there. So he took off, Daedalus started working magic, and I headed to the archway to talk to Nicole. KC followed me.

KC swears that what followed had to be the dumbest thing I ever did. She keeps telling me she can't believe I said it. I asked Nicole, "Do you know you have wraiths in your circle?" My intention had been for her to stop Stephanie and Tiffany from closing the circle. Yes, I know it was square shaped, but closing the square just doesn't have the same ring to it.) Unfortunately, the only effect it had was to leave Nicole gaping at me in confusion. Of course, Daedalus finished his spell just then, so I doubt I could have gotten a coherent response, anyway. I think Daedalus was trying to teleport the piece of wall elsewhere, but it backfired, and his elsewhere became co-existent with the wall. Suddenly, there on the side of the clearing, was a cut out of a small cottage. It was missing the front and back walls, but the side windows were intact and through them you could see forest. It also acted as a bridge across the wall. That's how John got into the circle (yes, yes, the square).

Then, suddenly, that piece of room disappeared, and Daedalus with it. Since things had gotten back to relatively normal, I reacquired Nicole's attention, and told her I had come early to see if I could help set up, and that I hadn't expected all the weird stuff I'd seen so far. I didn't mention the wraiths again, since there wasn't really anything that could be done about them at that point. Nicole was perfectly happy to have help; She asked me to set up the punch bowl beside the archway, using supplies from the pickup. Of course, I was happy to oblige. I happily mixed fruit punch, ginger ale, ice, and my little bug in the big punchbowl. It was still long before 11 o'clock, but since all of us from the Chantry and Betsy's gang were there, if was starting to look like a party. Nicole handed everyone a numbered card with something written on it in a language I didn't recognize.

Raoul showed up early too. He wanted to spike the punch, and I reminded him not to drink it. We had beer for him for later, anyway. I asked him if he knew anything about the wraiths, but they were news to him. About that time, John jumped out of the Umbra wearing that form that's like a man, but bigger and meaner; I forget what it's called. He started ranting about the ignorance and idiocy inherent in our actions there tonight; didn't we realize that there were other beings who had been here before us, and were we trying to interrupt their ritual? I have a feeling they didn't really understand what he was talking about. The end result here was him getting slammed against the wall.

I saw him get back up and approach Nicole. I headed over there, figuring I could try to back him up if he needed it , but it would look like I was trying to help Nicole. She just asked him if he wanted trouble, and when John said no, handed him a card and told him to join the circle. I decided to stay close to him, for mutual protection.

After that, things proceeded normally for a while, meaning that guests arrived and we all mingled, talking. Among the guests who arrived, were three women wearing Verbena ceremonial robes. They drank the punch without seeming to notice there was anything out of the ordinary. I managed to ask Nicole about the wraiths again, and her response was that they were with her, that they were just there to watch. But she looked very disoriented for a few moments before she said it, so I didn't believe her. Then these three police officers showed up, with girls on their arms, demanding that we all go away. Nicole met them at the 'door' of the circle, and started arguing with them.

Then one of them grabbed her. John, being Garou, can react pretty fast. He was in the middle of the confrontation before I realized he'd moved. Of course, I was heading that way, too, only not quite so fast. After all, I'm only human. Anyway, a fight ensued, and then one of the girls who came with the police officers jumped on John's back and they both disappeared, followed shortly by the other two girls. I thought he'd stepped into the Umbra, but he later told me that he hadn't gone anywhere. I don't even pretend to understand. I did manage to figure out that the girls weren't human, though. Before she disappeared, the one attacking John had grown very long, skinny limbs, and looked pretty raggedy. I hadn't the faintest idea what she was.

One of the girls reappeared, stretched out on the ground. She still looked inhuman, with elongated arms, long claws, and ratty hair. She was also smoking. Then an ugly little man appeared out of nowhere, also looking burned, and pounced on the girl. Then they both disappeared. By the time it was all over, we had nothing left but a bunch of unconscious cops. One of them was my doing, by the way. John had hit him, not very hard, but I used the punch as a distraction to the paradox spirits, so I could do a bit of magic and knock the guy out.

Sometime during the fight, a big oak tree appeared over top of the Weather Machine, it's roots forming a cage all around it. I don't knew just when this happened; I was facing the wrong way. I was also distracted trying to understand all this popping in and out of existence that people and things kept doing. About then, John took his turn and reappeared.

Apparently Daedalus (who'd disappeared along with the bit of cottage, remember, Mr. Diary?) wasn't gone, after all, because he provided witness to what came next. KC had been staring in curious fascination at the Weather Machine, and decided to see what she could make it do. She flipped a couple of the switches. I didn't know this at the time, of course. All I knew was that there was a lot of magical energy gathering in the center of the circle all at once. If felt like an explosion waiting to happen, so I grabbed John's hand and ran. I was right, too. It blew. It turned out not to be that big of an explosion; the only people close enough to be injured were Eric and, of course, KC. And the tree that had appeared over the Weather Machine; it was on fire.

Apparently Nicole had some warning that this was about to happen, too, since she shouted something unintelligible and then STaN turned and ran. (It sounded something like, "Merate stay.") Thinking back on it, I wonder if she was talking to the tree.

On our way back into the circle, John grabbed the punch bowl. The tree screamed. Then it collapsed into the form of a girl. She looked elongated, too, like the girls who'd come with the cops. Her legs were on fire. John dumped the punch on her to put it out while I dragged KC a bit farther from the flames. Ogre apparently decided all this made a wonderful distraction, because he chose that moment to grab the Weather Machine, dumping the girl off in the process, and took off running. Cab followed him.

I missed some of the details of the next part, because I was busy healing KC. I know that the girl got up and turned back into the oak tree. The cops got up too, then twelve figures in black robes appeared. As if we didn't have enough shape-shifting going on already, the twelve wraiths decided to show us what they could do. They divided themselves up and changed their forms into nooses, stools, and hooded executioners, one set for each of the policemen. Just as the bell tower tolled midnight, the stools got kicked over and the cop were hung from the limbs of the tree.

We all just stood there gaping. I must admit that I wasn't too inclined to help the cops anyway. All I knew about them was that they were jerks, had weird taste in women, and one of them had hurt John. (I forgot to mention that before. It wasn't a physical injury; he said it felt like it had torn his soul.) Then it was all over. The dead cops fell to the ground as the wraiths, in their various forms, faded out of existence. The tree turned back into a girl. Betsy ran over to her and grabbed her. Then they disappeared too.

Tom Brady <tabrady@mindspring.com>

Last modified: Wed Jan 15 17:10:00 1997 by tabrady