February 18, 2008

News from Huggy Bear

A week later, a messenger arrived at the diner with a FedEx box from Huggy Bear.  Kyna opened the box.  It contained a Palm Pilot.  She handed it to Ely, who turned it on.  It said “See second package.”  Ten seconds later, another messenger arrived with another box containing papers in Latin.  It was Huggy Bear’s report:

  • The director was a Mage who was teaching his daughter.
  • The play was a spell, but had never been completed.  The script was not the spell,the performance was.
  • A pentacle was built under the theater that contained the entire theater when it was built.
  • There was also an article about how the Freemasons built Washington, DC.
  • March 15th was known to be a day of power.

It was decided that they should try to infiltrate the theater indirectly.  Walter was tasked with befriending the actress at the diner, but she rejected him hard.  Kyna contacted a wizard friend for advice about the spell.  Her friend said that the spell would be for immortality, and that a large number of people would be in danger.  

Ely joined the technical staff by bribing an electrician to be sick and referring him as his replacement.  Zoe could not get an entry into the theater in any capacity, but Walter got a job there as an usher.

Kyna researched how to make the spell fail.  Killing the Mage was an obvious choice.  But interrupting the performance such as pulling the fire alarm, causing an actor to mess up their lines or be off cue, disrupting the pentagram, etc.  Ely considered making friends with someone in demolitions, but he did not know anyone.  He suggested replacing the programs with programs for MacBeth.  Ely also recommended doing as many things to disrupt the spell as possible.

A New Hope

While they were talking at the diner, an obvious red court infected trying to hide the fact.  Ely called him over and introduced him as Alan Coville, a individual adept at taking hits.  Grandma had Zoe deliver a Bloody Mary to the newcomer.  Coville was immedately attracted to Walter’s lycanthropic blood.  When he heard that the group was out to take out a wizard, Alan declared that he was in.

Zoe suggested seeing if anyone in DC had Iived in the area more than 50 years.  She immediately thought of Huggy Bear (and not her grandmother).  Walter volunteered to go with her.  They went to the thrift shop to and learned that Huggy would answer her questions at midnight in the garden of good and evil.  Kyna and Walter realized that he meant the Botanical Gardens.

The five of the crammed into Ely’s Corolla.  Zoe sat awkwardly between Alan and Walter.  They parked in front of the building.  There were no signs of life in the area.  The front door was actually on the Mall side.  They child not see inside on account of the foliage.  Walter noted open vents on the third floor, but they were not reachable.  Ely scouted a place to go through the wall.  Kyna noted numerous cameras and attempted to disable them with her magic.  Then Ely went through.

He found himself in the gift shop and noticed a guard making rounds.  The guard did not notice him.  Ely texted Walter.  He also mentioned that there was a garden they could enter by going over the wall.  While the others attempted to climb. Kyna climbed over with Zoe’s help.  Zoe boosted Alan up and over.  Walter transformed and leapt over effortlessly.   He searched the area while Zoe crawled over and landed on Alan.  Walter detected the presence of a human and a non-human.  Kyna veiled the others with some effort and they followed Walter up the stairs to Huggy Bear.  

Zoe asked Huggy Bear recited the history that the team had already acquired.  Zoe explained that a wizard was dying to cast a spell that would incite a  war between the elves and humans.  Huggy Bear did not think that was a bad thing.  Zoe asked how the energy could be dispelled.  Huggy Bear said there was a dragon shaped key that, when inserted in the bunghole, would drain the energy harmlessly.  Kyna thought that that would be a reasonable method.  She asked where to find the bunghole.  

Huggy Bear pulled a map out of his hat and left.  It was a hand drawn map showing a staircase heading down about five stories to a legend “bunghole here.”  There was a drawing of the wyrm.  The staircase appeared to be in the center of the theater.

Walter herded the others toward the exit.  Ely went out through the wall of the gift shop.  Zoe assisted the others over the wall and then Walter leapt over himself, and then transformed back to human form just before a police car drove by.  

To the Theater

Walter realized that he had seen the wyrm key in a catalog for an exposition of Viking funerary jewelry at the British Museum.  He went to his office to see if that collection was visiting DC.  He discovered that that collection does not travel.   There was a break in there 75 years ago, but nothing was taken.

The others went to the theater.  Alan opened the door.  The ap indicated the center of the building.  They went there and found themselves in the middle of Row 55.  Zoe discovered four hex bolts in the floor that did not appear to do anything. Ely knew there was a hex driver in the tech room.  Alan loosened the bolts, and Zoe and Ely were compelled to leave.  Kyna dispelled the compulsion.  

The floor fell away revealing a Stygian darkness that was not a spell.  Kyna determined is that it was linked to the spell sigil that sucked in light.  Alan put his hand into the darkness and it felt like it fell asleep.  Seeing that they could not descend at that time, Ely reset everything exactly as it had been before they came.  

Then they went back to the diner.

The Group

  • Zoe Kallas – waitress at grandparents’ diner in Arlington; journalism graduate looking for a real journalism job. (Changling who has no clue, mother was fey of Summer Court)
  • Ely Vantide – debt collector – all kinds of debt. (Emissary of Power for a Dragon)
  • Kyna Quinlan – wizard of Irish descent. New to the White Council. Muscle for Ely
  • Walter Ballard – were-leopard and therapist to the Supernatural.
  • Alan Coville – red court infected.  Vagrant who does work for Ely.