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Adventure! RPG: Dark Tidings - Chapter 2: Casting A Shadow


jameson (ST)

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"Daphne, I will not let anything, or anyone hurt you...or anyone else under my roof or at my table," Marion says stoutly. "If Catori hadn't put the knife down, I would have used every art I know to keep her from doing harm."

"And that includes whatever touched your dreams last night, I want to add," she says to everyone. Then to Daphne she adds, "I know you did what you thought was best...because what could be more valuable to you than your own soul? I understand. I just wish that you'd let me and Ben be the ones to help you get it back. That's all."

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"No think you understand," Daphne said, feeling a little miserable. "You not barter with soul. You have monies... and services... and cheques." Those concepts were the limit of Daphne's knowledge of how this world dealt in money. "Have no words... piece of soul bought me life, gave me chance to live."

Her mother. Her mother who had died rather than see her died, who had found her in Hell and died again.

"Catori will want to kill me," she sighed, looking at the floor. "I got heart of darkness. It given to me by entity who made deal. She said to destroy heart, but heart in me."

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"I understand more than you think," Marion tells Daphne. "But less than I want to. But I want you to understand something too."

"Whatever you have, whatever you took, whatever deal you made...we will make things right again."

She looks up to include everyone else at the table. "That goes for everyone."

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Originally Posted By: Lee Deity
Benn looked up from the runes, into everyone's eyes. It didn't look like there was anyone else up to the task. Unsurprising, perhaps, given the violence of the outburst. "Very well," Ben said, "I will try to talk to her."

Inwardly though, Ben was unsure how willing Catori would be to talk to him. Catori was clearly angry, clearly unwilling to accept anyone else's view on this, and clearly in the foulest of foul moods. As well, these features were clearly because of the shard-acceptors, and Ben hadn't even put up a fight in taking his. Still, there was a point of connection between the two. And Ben spoke anyone's language, given enough time. Maybe there could be an accord.

Ben walked through the very clearly slammed open doors, until he came outside and found Catori once more on Abel Island's frosty surface. Wow, Ben thought to himself, That is angry. Here goes nothing...

"Catori," Ben started, his voice soft, almost guilty, "Please talk to me. What is raging inside you that you exploded so in there?"


Catori fell to her knees trembling with frustration. She stared at the snow and slowly felt the cold air embracing her. It felt good to her skin and helped her to calm down.

“If I was a man…,” she started but interrupted herself, “but I am not…”, she sighed heavily.

“I just cannot understand how one can fall so easily to temptation and the promise for power. We all witnessed what happened during both rituals and I warned you all about the dire consequences our haste actions cost us. We are all responsible for eachother! One wrong decision can lead to the deaths of us all and I’m not willing to die just yet. I refuse to go down without a fight.”, she was still trembling and her voice was shakey.

“I promised my father on his deathbed that I would follow his path and keep the faith of our people. I will fulfil his last wish and try to be faithful but…”, she looked up at Ben with almost pain in her eyes.
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"You stay true to us," Janos says with a deep voice, "and we'll stay true to you. Catori won't be killing anyone of this faction while I'm alive."

He looks over at her sternly,

"The only way I know of to see that the entity doesn't hold you to some fell bargain is to see it dead first."

He smiles.

"Since that's what we plan to do to it anyway, it works out to be a nice bargain. Again, we only lose if we let these dreams divide us."

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Originally Posted By: Catori

“I promised my father on his deathbed that I would follow his path and keep the faith of our people. I will fulfill his last wish and try to be faithful but…”, she looked up at Ben with almost pain in her eyes.


"Catori," Ben began, "One thing I have learnt in my travels is that faith can be blind. I have seen the most pious men falter because they listened to their faith and not their hearts. I have seen priests whither the first time they saw something not of this world."

Ben's eyes lit up as he continued. "But I have also seen the most extraordinary men and women of faith, who could do the most fantastic things, who's faith was a beacon to those around them. I asked them once what their secret was. It turned out to be very simple - they never let their faith blind them to the fact that they were around normal, fallible people. Sometimes they got enraged by those around them, it's true, but they knew that that anger meant only that they had to work to tend their flock. I'm rather new to dreams having consequences, the most I've ever gotten out of dreams is the odd prophecy or two. So, I suspect, have most of us. Unfortunately, I'm not you, I don't have your history, I think I made the best decision I could with what little information I had."

"There have been some foolish decisions made last night, it's true. But my faith tells me that I'm not damned yet - and even if I am, I still have my free will intact. Whatever I have done, I am certain can be undone. If, of course," Ben looked straight into Catori's eyes and smiled his most sympathetic smile, "My shepherd is willing to guide me..."
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Catori sighed heavily and with it most of the tension and built up frustration seeped out of her. For a short moment a feeling of helplessness and solitude swept over her and anger found its exit through tears. Catori didn't weep, she wasn't even crying but tears ran down her cheeks nonetheless. Her voice was quite and sober when she answered, "My people are dying Ben, and I can't do anything to stop the inevitable. My father believed that we can live peacefully next to each other if we just learned to respect our cultures. He was a wise man but ever since the white man came his attempts to establish a peaceful bond between our people have failed. Now the only thing important for us is that we don't lose our souls, our spirit because that no human can take from us. With his last breath he said that I should go to Arkham and learn the ways of the white man... and he warned me to be careful because there was a storm brewing over Arkhams House."

Catori slowly stood up and wiped the tears away. "I'm here to help and to learn, Ben. I'm just... confused and scared."

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Originally Posted By: Archibald
"Well said Count. I would have stopped her had she tried to hurt anyone as well. Hopefully Ben can convince her that we can still be trusted."

"So where do we go from here?


"I suggest we figure out what we released from the box then find a way to kill it, or imprison it once more."

He looks around the room,
"Unfortunately, that's not were my expertise lies. Give it a name and point me in the right direction, and I'm your man. Give me a book in a library and I'm lost."

Janos shrugs and sits down.
"Of course, I imagine spending the last two years at the Imperial War Academy wouldn't have improved my literary skills all that much."
"Marion, were do we begin?"
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Originally Posted By: Catori
Catori slowly stood up and wiped the tears away. "I'm here to help and to learn, Ben. I'm just... confused and scared."


Ben looked at Catori, as the easy confidence that had permeated his being faltered a little. How on earth do you respond to that? Ben thought. Well, that one's obvious, Ben. What would you want to hear? It's astonishing sometimes, how simple the answer can be.

"And that's alright, Catori. Noone is expecting you to be fearless or omniscient, certainly not me, and certainly not them. You will get through this, Catori, of that I have no doubt. And I have no doubt that you will find what you seek."

Like a mask, Ben's confidence slid back on. "Now come on, we have mysteries to solve, and evil beings to vanquish, and something tells me they'll never get it done without us..."
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"We begin with Grigori Rasputin," Marion decides. "We need facts about this artifact. What it is, how it works. I can see if I can find any references in the library. Ben seemed to think he could read the runes on the box, which could be useful."

She shrugs. "The rest of you...well, Mia seems to have some pull with the police. Maybe she can learn more about the Russian from his case file. Specifically, where he came from. We may have to backtrack him physically."

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"Of course, Catori." Ben replied. "Don't stay out too long - I wouldn't want you to catch cold out here!" With that Ben let Catori walk away, then turned around and headed back to the dining room, where everyone else was talking.

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax
"We begin with Grigori Rasputin," Marion decides. "We need facts about this artifact. What it is, how it works. I can see if I can find any references in the library. Ben seemed to think he could read the runes on the box, which could be useful."

Ben took that moment to walk in on the crowd. "Indeed I do, my sister. One of the shard's gifts was apparently the language of those runes. I can understand and read them fine now - the problem being, of course, what they say is in some kind of code." Ben picked up the box and started studying the runes again as he continued. "Of course, now that I know the language, it's only a matter of time before I decipher the code, I suspect. And from there..." Ben trailed off, engrossed again in the box's secrets. With two months of being stymied, the answers were close enough to taste, and Ben was always entranced by answers.

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"The only Rasputin I know of comes from the end of the war. The Russians told stories about a 'Mad Monk' who had bewitched the Romanov family. Some say the boyars finally killed this man, but you could never tell what was truth in what these peasants told you."

Janos looks out to were Caotri has gone then continues.

"Some say he was a Saint, others a Monster. If I could locate some of the noble families that escaped Russia, maybe I could get them to talk about what the Court knew. Something learnt might be useful."

"That could be my strongest contribution, again, if any such families could be found."

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Marion nods as people check in.

"All right then. Mia, why don't you and Jano work together on this? Track down some Russian nobility...there must be some in the city somewhere...and find out about this Russian and his boss, Rasputin. Ben, work on the box for now. I'll do some checking for occult references to Rasputin and the Heart of Darkness."

She looks at Daphne and Arch then. "What do you two think? I'm thinking you could either help Mia and Janos...or if you have ideas of your own for what to do we could work them into the game plan."

"Ben, where's Catori? Did she decide to leave after all?"

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Ben looked up to Marion. "No, Catori has not left us, she will be back eventually. Anger doesn't disappear quite that quickly, she has chosen to take a stroll around the island to calm herself down. Once she's calmed herself down I am certain that she will rejoin us, hopefully without the fanfare and excitement this time. Alas, I'm not sure what she'd prefer to help with, although I'm certain she'll want something to do to help."

Ben didn't quite jump right back into studying the box again, as he waited for everyone to finalise their plans.

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Originally Posted By: Mia Foster
"Sounds good t'me. C'mon, Janos, let's go ask around."


"Good enough. You know, I have no idea how a journalist works. This will most certainly be a learning experience for me."

Once they have left the room, the large Hungarian tells Mia,
"Actually I met some official correspondents in the war, but they were more propagandists than your reportedly free press in America. Were do we start? The russian immigrant community? I should warn you I don't actually speak Russian. I do speak Croat, Serbian, and German though."
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Originally Posted By: Daphne Walton
Daphne shrugged uneasily. "Don't know," she said softly. This was out of her league, and she wasn't sure what to do next. Her confusion about what had happened had left her drained and unhappy.


Marion goes over to comfort Daphne, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"It'll be all right, Daphne. Would you like to help Archie, Ben and I here?"

Her eyebrows draw together in an expression of concern then when she adds, "And, if you'd be willing to tell me more about what happened to you while you were in that other world, I would like very much to hear it."
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Catori came back to the mansion and took her knife from the table. Without looking at anyone in particular she quietly said, "I apologise for my behaviour. I still grieve my father's death and ever since he died my live has changed considerably. I want to help, I just have to learn how."

Taking another breath she looked at Arch and added, "I have challenged your honor without any right to do so. If you seek satisfaction I am ready to face your punishment for my inadequate behaviour."

Catori waited for Arch to answer her dark eyes speaking with complete clarity. She would suffer the consquences of her doing, no matter what.

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Arch looks up from his plate to look the indian women in her eyes. He takes a breath before he speaks, "Catori, I'm over being upset. I don't see a need for any punishment. You spoke your mind, nothing wrong with that, it's just that we don't pull weapons out on each other."

Trying to smile Arch continues, "We come from differnt paths and it will just take some time before we get a sense of understanding between us. I'm sure that you see that you were wrong in your actions, that is enough for me."

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Later that evening ....

After a long day of reading papers, books, and arcane scrolls nothing so much as a hot meal and a bit of drink would suffice. Luckily the Able manor possessed a fine chef and he had prepared and equally fine meal. Roast rack of lamb, fingerling potatoes, roasted glazed carrots, the list of dishes seemed to be the length of an arm. At last everybody was seated 'round the great dining table and the meal began. Fine wine, a red from France, was served for those wanting it and Scotch or Bourbon was poured for the gentlemen at their request.

After some time simply spent in the near silence of eating somebody decided that enough was enough and that they should discuss the activities of the day, and what, if anything, was learned.

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Janos looks at Mia then stands up. He looks to her again before he begins.

"I'll go over what we know as opposed to what we believe, or suspect."

The Hungarian Noble looks at his notes and flips a page before beginning.

"Okay. We know that there is a group of people associated with the Mad Monky currently in New York, Paris, London, and Berlin. We are not sure if they are in contact with one another."

"We also know these people accumulated a good deal of gold and artifacts from the house of the boyar nobles, as well as ancient text. We don't know precisely what these ancient text are."

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"Okay."

Mia puts down a sheaf of nicely typed pages. "Everything I could find. Mostly rumors. Only facts I could nail down is that he was rich as sin - lots of gold and artifacts from Russian houses, including ancient texts, and his followers have been seen in big cities all over. Paris, New York, London, Berlin. They say that alternately that his teachings were warped by his students into a cult even though he was pious, and/or that he was some kind of supernatural being that couldn't die - load of crap, I think, what kind of person can't die?"

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"It depends," Marion says with a touch of ominousness, "on how broadly you define 'death.' There are few things that can't have their manifestations on this plane dispersed or destroyed or otherwise disposed of...but a great many things for whom that condition is of little consequence to their greater beings."

She shakes her head. "Anyway, please go on."

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Catori joined the others after waiting for s short moment at the door. She still wasn't sure if she was welcomed or the recent events alieniated her more to the others. She really wanted to help and be part of this but it cost her a lot of energy to adapt.

"Marion is right, death is not the end of all. But yet there are laws of nature that some men try to cheat and extend their own lives or gain control over their afterlives - that is unnatural and the Great Spirit will not tolerate that.", she sighed before she finished with her little speech. "I've been thinking about the dreams and believe now that even though Daphne, Arch and Ben have succumbed to the temtpation of the evil spirit that it is part of the Great Spirits plan. How else could we fight the evil if we didn't know it. Besides that - there always needs to be balance between good and evil - one cannot exist without the other."

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"Thank you, Catori," Marion says sincerely. "I'm glad you decided to stay with us. This is a thorny knot, and we could really use your help."

She takes a deep breath and says, "We did manage to find some references about the Heart of Darkness, but nothing very specific. It is -old-. It may very well predate human civilization. The first concrete mention of it was in a text written about the fall of Atlantis, where it was referred to as a source of that island's incredible power...and that it was broken into thirteen pieces at the time of Atlantis' destruction. There were mentions of it...mostly of people looking for it by searching for the survivors...through Egyptian records...but by the time of Alexander it had largely faded."

"Not much to go on, I know. The power of the Heart is supposedly limited not by the artifact, but by the user. What that means, exactly, I'm not sure."

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Ben began to speak up. It was quite impressive that he'd managed to stay silent for this long. "I finished decoding the runes on the box. It says something along the lines of:

From the Heart of Darkness

You call to me

Spirit reaching out

I will empower you

Power beyond containing

From night's darkest core

I call to you

To be one with my might

For all eternity"

Ben looked around at everyone, making sure they'd all heard the entire verse. "To be honest, this makes me concerned for us deal-makers. I've been trying to see if this verse has appeared anywhere else, see if anyone else in history has had encounters with any box like this, but alas I haven't had any success finding it elsewhere. Yet."

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Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"Not much to go on, I know. The power of the Heart is supposedly limited not by the artifact, but by the user. What that means, exactly, I'm not sure."


"It means that it is only limited by your own hearts desire. A truly evil person could destroy the world with this power if his heart was as dark.", answered Catori. Then she looked at Ben with real worry in her eyes.
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"Or misguided good person," Daphne said, speaking up for the first time. Her dark eyes were still sad and her face was drawn, but she didn't flinch from the eyes the turned to her. The knowledge of her mother's "death" burned hot in the young woman, and she ached with the desire to return the same fate to the angel. And if the Heart could give her back her soul, maybe it could help her kill an angel, too.

It would not bring back her mother. But perhaps it would ease the pain and anger in her own heart.

She rubbed her face before looking at the others again. "What we doing? What next step?" Spot shoved his nose under her hand and got a smile out of her.

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Arch listened and nodded as the Ben, Marion and Catori all said there piece. He didn't take Ben's translation rather well, it made him second guess himself.

"I suppose our next move is to locate this Heart of Darkness, but I think we need to find some of those Mad Monky followers. There's probably some information to gotten from them."

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"Next? It would seem that we should go to New York and pursue them to whatever hole they are hiding in. That's if we want to follow the Mad Monk's followers."

"The thing is, since we have the box, why haven't they tried to get it back yet? That is what also bothers me."

Janos shakes his head as if to clear the cobwebs of his brain so he can see the problem clearly.

"I don't know what they are up to. I don't know their goals so I can't predict what they want and were they will go next. What we need is more information and I suggest it lies in New York. What do the rest of you say?"

Janos seems more determined that eager, casting about for the proper action.

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"Well, the box and the crystal have been in the library since we brought them here," Marion muses. "There are potent wards protecting this room. They may not know it's here yet. Still, it wouldn't be too hard to connect our investigation to the missing box if they use mundane means."

She nods at Janos.

"I agree though. Tracking down Rasputin should be our goal for now."

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Christmas Day, New York City, the 20th floor of the Four Seaons Hotel, morning

A knock at the door signaled the porter. Ben, in smoking jacket and pajamas allowed the man to enter into the massive suite. He and a fellow pushed two large carts filled with breakfast foods. Eggs, quiche, bacon sausage, and more quickly filled the sitting room with their scent. The two men accepted a gratuity and left, the door shutting with a click behind them.

Drawn by the smell of food Daphne turns at last from the window overlooking the park and the city. Outside light snow falls as people bustle about going to parties or to visit loved ones. In her room Marion is awakened first by the knock and then more so by the smells of fresh cinnamon rolls as the odor seems to penetrate the door and find her nose.

Catori smells the food in her own room as it makes itself known through her meditation. Her hunger quickly forestalls any thought of waiting further. As she emerges from her room she sees Ben got to the door as another knock is heard. He answers to find Janos, Archibald and Mia.

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