Meeting with the Crone
3372
THREADID
61
POSTS
1 - 10
DISPLAYED
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Myrah approached the Crone compound, a old fashioned leather medical bag in her hand. She did have to admit the Circle did frighten the Trencher solely due to the stories about the various rituals they committed to fuel some of the Blood Sorcery they made frequent use of. If she was scared now she didn't show it. Myrah made her way forward, looking for the Hierophant or some hint of her location.
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The Circle meets on an old farmstead that has been allowed to go back to nature. There are several buildings, including a farmhouse, a barn and a variety of outbuildings, but only the farmhouse is lit.
Having been aware of Myrah's planned arrival, Circe is in her workship awaiting guests. When her wolf's ears perk up, she realizes someone is there. She puts down her tools and puts on her ceremonial robes, then picks up her staff of office and drapes her serpent servitor over her shoulders.
As Myrah parks her vehicle and approaches the farmhouse, Circe comes out the door and wallks down the front steps. A wolf walks in front of her, its eyes yellow in the moonlight, its breath steamy in the cool night air. It regards Myrah calmly, not making a sound but also not taking its eyes off her.
Circe wears a hooded robe, black with red trim. The hood hides her face; only her hands are visible unless Myrah activates Auspex to penetrate the shadow of the hood. In one hand, she carries a staff, tipped with a black steel spearpoint on one end and with a mummified hand at the other. The hand grasps an obsidian disc, inset with garnets to make the symbol of the Circle. Streamers of crow feathers hang from the wrist of the dried hand.
Myrah notes also that Circe has a serpent draped around her neck, its lower body coiled around one arm. It is a long, thick-bodied snake with a triangular head and a distinctive diamond pattern and a rattle at the end of its tail. Its eyes also regard Myrah as its tongue darts out to catch any available scents. Were the serpent stretched out fully, Myrah guesses its length would approach six feet.
"Greetings, and welcome," Circe says. "Please, come inside."
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"Thank you." Myrah replied with a slight bow as she made her way inside. The sight of so many animals around the Covenant leader and the spear was off putting to say the least. "How is your evening so far?" She asked, hoping in vain that some plesantries would distract her for at least a moment.
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"It has been a good evening," she says, opening the door and standing aside for Myrah to pass. "I have been working on some pieces to display at the next Court, and making substantial progress."
Myrah sees the front room of the farmhouse - what would normally be a living room - has been set up as a workshop, with a broad wooden table. There are bookshelves and easels and smaller tables displaying canvasses and small marble sculptures, and a number of masks hang from the wall. The masks are clearly meant to represent mythological figures or themes. Some, such as Medusa, are obvious. On the worktable is a half-finished mask, one side carved and painted to resemble a skull, the other green and carved with leaf designs. Other than that, the table is covered with tools, paints, varnishes and sealed jars filled with various herbs, liquids and less recognizable substances.
There is an entertainment center off to one side, including a television that is collecting dust and a stereo system. There is music playing at a low volume - something primal-sounding, featuring drums and flutes.
Myrah also notices two strange creatures, one crouched on the end of the worktable chewing on something - a mouse, based on the tail dangling from it's hand - the other crouched on the edge of a bookshelf like a miniature gargoyle. The creatures are about two feet tall, with hunched backs, small arms with nimble-fingered hands, strong-looking legs, mottled, smooth skin like that of a frog and large, intelligent-looking eyes. The one enyoying a snack glances up at Myrah for a moment, then takes another bite, opening its mouth wide to show a multitude of small, sharp-looking teeth.
There are a few chairs in the room. Circe pulls out a simple wooden chair from near the worktable and indicates some other chairs - other wooden ones, and a threadbare La-Z-Boy recliner. "Please, have a seat," she tells Myrah as she pulls back her hood.
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So much for those thoughts. Was all that came to mind as soon as her eyes fell on the strange creatures clattering about. She decided against asking about them, somehow their nature and how they were created would be too disturbing. Myrah wasn't making a social call after all.
She took her seat across from Circe, bag placed onto her lap. "I would like to thank you again for seeing me. Tell me, have you found out more about the creatures during our correspondence?"
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"I believe so, yes," she says. "I believe a colleague and I have discovered a weakness in these creatures. The creature Jayant encountered was noncorporeal and could not be damaged by physical means, but we believe they are vulnerable to some of the less corporeal powers of the blood, including the mental ones, as well as weapons and purely magical attacks derived from the Blood. Cruac provides some options, as do Theban Sorcery and other forms of blood sorcery, and I suspect some of the more unusual bloodline powers may likewise be effective."
Circe explains, "It appears they seek our blood, and probably draw nourishment from it, but this also makes them vulnerable to our blood."
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The news that the creatures were non-corporeal didn't sit well with Myrah. My disciplines would be quite useless if I encountered one. Pity. "I see...That would put most of us at a disadvantage since not all of us have access you those types of disciplines or the knowledge of Cruac or Theban Sorcery." She paused, her mind sorting through the mess of her mind and finding something that maybe Circe might know.
Forgive me if this sounds off topic, but what do you know about collective dreaming and its relationship with Kindred?
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Circe shakes her head. "I know almost nothing about that. I know there are said to be some rituals which allow Kindred to share dreams, and enter the dreams of the torpid, but I personally do not know any such rituals, and can't even confirm that they truly exist. Why do you ask?"
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"I recently found myself in a dream during the daysleep. I was in Sacramento, though it was strangely barren, save for a blood red moon in the sky. Other Kindred where there, including the Prince, The harpy, My colleague Doctor Ith Lazarus, The missing O-Yama Hatori whom I never met until then and various other members of different covenants. None of us looked exactly like what we do when we are awake, but as far as I could tell at the time, that could be attributed to "Dream Logic".
"In any case, at some point we found ourselves face to face with the 'ghosts' of those Kindred who lost their unlifes to the Lost Nights and the Creatures. They made it abundantly clear that the only way we are going to stop those responsible for the creatures is to work together. Not long after that we were attack by dream versions of the worm creatures that emerged from a sudden onslaught of bloody rain."
"It quickly fell into chaos by that point and rather instinctually I woke myself up." Myrah finally finished and looked at Circe, waiting for a response.
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Circe considers what Myrah has said for a time before responding. It's clear she is deep in thought.
Finally she says "This is a powerful experience you report. I know little of dreams, but do know that they often do provide insights into the future. The idea of kindred ghosts... I have heard of such things, but most believe these accounts to be fanciful, or mistaken, or to represent other sorts of spiritual beings posing as the spirits of destroyed kindred."
After a moment, she asks, "Have you spoken to the others who were present in the dream, to confirm they actually shared this experience?"
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