Reuben Cabot: 4/27/97
Kasee was the first to turn away from the ruin and look up. "Look! Everybody, look!"
I looked where she was pointing, and off in the distance, for the first time since we came to this wintry world, I saw the black tendril we had been chasing. Well, at least we knew where we needed to go from here. But first, there were many dying and wounded here that needed help. Renee, Walks All Paths, Eric, and I went down the hill. When we got to the first of the wounded, I was appalled again at the damage that had been wrought. It was inhuman. I knelt next to Renee at the first soldier we came to.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
He grimaced. "Like shit. I'm going to die, I know it."
"Well, let's see what we can do about that. Renee, if you could…?" I nodded to his leg, which was bent backwards in a most unnatural fashion. I went to work trying to repair his lung, which was now roughly cat-sized. As we rebuilt his damaged body, a glow surrounded the soldier. When he looked up and saw what we were doing, he started shouting. I ignored him until he lashed out and caught me in the shoulder with a fist. I rocked back and looked at him in shock.
"Damn you! You've damned my soul to hell, you foul bastard!"
Renee and I scrambled up as others, drawn by his yells, gathered around. One of them cried, "The chaos is still among us! It must be destroyed!"
I'd sidled over next to Eric. "Um, Eric, now might be a good time for us to disappear."
He nodded and the light around us grew dim, as before. I could tell from the cries of the soldiers around us that they couldn't see where we had disappeared to. We moved as a group toward an open area, only to be distracted by more shouting. Coming to the conclusion that we must be in league in chaos together, the soldiers were running up the hill towards Kasee. Walks All Paths muttered, "Well, shit" and took off running toward Kasee. We followed, but the garou easily outpaced us and left Eric's obscuring effect.
I was starting to flag, so I reached inward and made some changes to my own life pattern to increase my endurance. Somehow, in the frantic melee that followed, the remains of the army became split. The majority of it followed Walks All Paths and Kasee into a small canyon nearby, but a few stayed behind and were moving on us. We had picked up Cab, Kevin, and Dog, and were now retreating slowly. Suddenly, Eric stopped. Quickly, he knelt down and inscribed a circle in the snow. He stood up and said, "I hope this works…" and stamped a foot into the circle.
A low rumble started, and a chasm roughly ten feet wide opened between us and the soldiers menacing us. A dozen of the soldiers tried to jump the gap - only one made it. That one jumped onto Eric and started pummeling him. We were running to help when suddenly, everything froze.
The texture of everything around us seemed different - flatter. Perspective had changed, so that what looked far away was now right nearby, and vice-versa. I tried to move, and tumbled forward…into a room.
The room had a tall ceiling, and was completely white. On one wall was a huge painting. The painting depicted a snowy scene, with soldiers lying dead, and others chasing someone. In short, it was the scene we had just left. Walks All Paths and Kasee stepped out of the painting, as did Cab, Dog, Kevin, and Renee. That left only Eric, who was frozen in the painting, still being beaten by the soldier.
We discussed how we might get him out, when Kasee said, "Look! Here's a door."
She reached out and opened the door and gave a little "eep!" I looked over her shoulder to see another all-white room, but this one was narrow, like a hallway, and had a bench, and on that bench was Eric. I glanced back at the painting to see if Eric was still shown there, but decided I really didn't want to know.
*Probably a good idea.* Dog said. I nodded.
Eric sat up and held his head. Renee checked him over and pronounced him fit to move, though he probably would need help soon. Kasee had already moved down the hallway to the next door and opened it. A wave of heat came down the hall, and I quickly shucked my furs, as did the others. We walked through the door into the same library we had left days (was it days?) ago.
The same old man sat by the fire, and the same books lined the walls. Kasee bounced through and said, "Hi! We're back!"
The old man leaned forward with a smile. "Oh good. It must be intermission."
My first thoughts went to Dog. I remembered with a start what had happened the last time we were here.
*Dog? You still with us?*
He walked over and leaned against my leg. *Yeah, I'm still here.* He sent the mental equivalent of a hug.
The old guy leaned back in his chair and picked up a brandy snifter from the table next to him. "Well, now it is time for the first half of our little game of Twenty Questions. I will answer ten questions for you as best I may. You may begin."
We gathered in a small huddle and tried to formulate some questions. I wondered how much useful information we could glean from the old man, but I was glad to take any input we could get in this insanity. After checking my questions with the group, I started the questioning.
"Are the four connected to the retrieval of the garou's soul?"
He shook his head. "No. No they are not."
"OK, are the experiences and lessons we are being put through for the purpose of furthering The Ascension?"
He nodded. "Yes."
Well, that's a start. Let's try this: "Do The Four represent the Wyrm, the Wyld, Gaia, and the Weaver?"
"No."
Well, that's useful. Let's change focus a bit. "Is the purpose of this set of lessons to bring The Four together?"
"Yes."
Kevin wanted a shot, so I relinquished the floor to him. "Whose Ascension are these lessons working towards?"
"Human's."
Kevin nodded, then said, " Whose vision of Ascension do these lessons try to bring about?"
"Reality's."
That was perfectly useless. While Kevin formulated more questions, I sat in a chair off to the side and thought about the prophesy. After an hour of thinking, I finally hit on some sound answers. It was obvious that, in the prophecy, Mary had to be one of the Four. Also, in the prophesy, the stanza that begins " If there were She/Reborn of deceiver" referred to Nicole.
I returned to the others, who had discussed the remaining questions. I asked them:
"Who is the child in the prophesy?"
"Nicole."
That was eight. Two more.
"Who is 'She' mentioned in the phrase 'the locked gates She'd open' in the prophecy?"
"Mary."
Hmm. Last one. Let's try this. "What must we do to return his soul to the garou?"
The old man smiled and said, "Find the Great Mouth and cut out its tongue. I warn you, cling tightly - it snaps."
He stood up. "As always, it has been a pleasure. I hope you make it to the end of the play, so we can continue our questions. Tell me, what have you learned so far?"
I thought for a moment, and reflected on the doomed army. I said, "Sometimes you can change events, sometimes you can't."
He nodded. "As the past affects the future, the future affects the past. Always remember that everywhere you are now, and everywhere you have ever been, is a dream."
He gestured and a door opposite the one we came in opened.