Tag: Elizabeth Powell

#Lore24 – Entry #290 – Sentinel City by Night #16 – Knocking on the Chantry Door

From the Journal of Sheba O’Rourke, Private Investigator

“Wound up taking three nights, but I was finally allowed a visit to the Tremere chantry.  By then, the aura in the vial had faded somewhat, but it was still visible, so maybe it wasn’t too late to glean something useful from them.  Their place was very much what I’d expected it to be, fancy gothic-style manor in the neighborhood reserved for the rich, old-money types, surrounded by a big fence and plenty of magical auras I wasn’t even about to try and decipher.  Just passing through the gates was enough to make my skin crawl.  Fun fact: after I’d announced myself on their intercom, the gates opened on their own, but not with any kind of mechanical device. 

Of course, I didn’t get a full tour of the place.  Once I was inside the front entryway, got to see the grand stairway leading to the upper levels, and several closed doors lining the entry hall; shadows were deep here, deeper than even my heightened perceptions could penetrate, even though there were plenty of candles glowing with arcane, purple flames to light the way.  A moment later, one of the side doors opened, and a teenager wearing all black, a t-shirt and jeans, combat boots, and a smattering of your typical goth girl accessories, ushered me toward her.  Sitting room was fancy, fireplace was glowing with what looked like a normal fire even if there wasn’t any heat coming off it, though the room was pleasantly warm regardless. 

Another Tremere waited for me, this one dressed like some kind of cowgirl, could have just stepped out of the old West at that moment and I probably would’ve believed it.  She introduced herself in what sounded like another Texas drawl as Abigail Dawson, and her companion as her apprentice, Elizabeth Powell.  At least they were being courteous for all their secrecy, so I introduced myself in kind.  Knowing they weren’t likely interested in chitchat, I got right down to business, gave them quick rundown of the situation and passed them the vial.

Though they hid it well, I could tell they were intrigued.  They excused themselves to the connecting room, told me to make myself comfortable but not to wander.  Could’ve at least left me a magazine or something else to read.  Took about an hour before they came back, about half the contents of the vial missing, the magical aura gone.  Both of them had a look on their faces like they’d just discovered dog shit on their shoes after they’d already tracked it through the house.

The sorcery in the vial stank of the Tzimisce, they said, likely a modification of a type of blood ritual they often used to frenzy their ghouls when they went to war.  The rest they said was a mixture of various mundane chemicals and ingredients, common in street drugs, the exact nature they’d leave to me now that the sorcery had been removed.  My first instinct was that my suspicions of Misha Kyle were correct all along, but Abigail said it was unlikely; their people were keeping a close eye on Kyle and had not noted any strange behavior out of her.

Elizabeth then told me that our time was up, and the rest of the mess was mine to sort out, but if more sorcery was discovered, to let them know.  Then a curious thing happened; the two shared a look, Abigail nodded at her childe, and then the apprentice told me that shadows loomed around Sentinel City, so the head of the chantry had divined, and trouble was coming.  Couldn’t get more specifics out of them, guess they’d loose their mysterious reputation if they made it that easy.  Either way, thanked them for their time and left the chantry on the quick, my mind working on the situation as I drove toward Blumenthal’s precinct.  Dropped off the remnants of the vial, let him know that I had a vague lead, but would need more time to track it down.  Told him it was probably some kind of new street drug from what I’d been told, and to get the word out to his people to be on the lookout for more of it, and that I’d be in touch.  Said he’d let me know what the lab techs found out about it.

Got an unwelcome surprise when I got back to my apartment.  My backdoor to Emmerson’s computer had been removed, and I was no longer getting copies of her communications.  Could’ve been an equipment failure, maybe, but my gut told me otherwise.  Someone had found me out.”

#Lore24 – Entry #196 – Supers Month II #15 – Learning a Thing of Two About Scheherazade’s Legacy

From the journal of Abigail “Sassy” Dawson, Mage of the Order of Hecate

Richard done knew what it was I came for, once we’d settled down and had some coffee goin’.  I was rather amused that our tastes hadn’t changed; I liked mine much like anyone else would, if on the thicker side; he liked his boiling hot, and Assane preferred her’s on the cold side, though I noted she had taken to adding ice cubes to it now.  He’d been trackin’ “Granny Scheherazade’s” relics for a time already when he had found out that they were makin’ headlines on the museum circuit a few decades back, but it was only in the last few weeks that they’d started movin’ again, and comin’ together in one place.  He’d been tryin’ to track down who was pullin’ the strings and comin’ up emptyhanded.

Before he could dig into Assane too much for not doin’ her share of the whole “protectin’ the world” thing they had sworn themselves to, I inquired what those relics were meant to do, and whether or not they were related to the genies in any way.  I’d heard the name of Scheherazade plenty over the years since I’d joined up with the Order; she was one of the greatest arcanists to have ever belonged to it, after all, though nobody, not even Chrona, knew exactly what had become of her.  Richard admitted he didn’t know the full extent of their power, but given that they were all aligned to the element of fire in some what or another, it was either destructive or creative.

Between his and Assane’s knowledge of the past, given their heritage and experiences in the Dark Ages and even earlier, and what Liz had told me about her experiences with Kitsune and the visions she’d experienced around the relics, we had a right decent idea of what Kitsune’s leash holder was plannin’, just lackin’ on the details of where, who, and when. 

So, as we figured it, they was plannin’ a big ritual.  That dagger would be implemented as daggers usually are for that sort of thing, for drawin’ blood, or, more likely, sacrificin’ to draw more power from what we figured were human souls, not no animals.  The bracelets would focus the energy of the ritual into whoever was at the center of it, and the staff would draw in even more power, though it could be used, so they told me, to draw in souls as well, perhaps even from the ancient past.  Combined with those visions Liz described, that dark figure and the demonic army, we reasoned out that Kitsune’s plan involved either summonin’ up a horde of demons to rampage across the world again, or resurrectin’ that dark sorcerer from Liz’s vision, maybe even both for all we knew. 

I tried to get more details out of the two about that dark sorcerer, but they couldn’t figure on who it was.  They looked at me like I was a bit slow, then proceeded to tell me about what history called the Crusades, and how the history books left out all the juicy parts about the many demonic invasion attempts, the dozens of dark sorcerers commanding armies of them and the undead, of how the genies were brought into play, and all kinds of other details.  They simply couldn’t figure on exactly which one of the dozens they could tell me about might be the target of a resurrection or soul summonin’.  Even though the one in the visions had been wearing those bracelets, that didn’t narrow it down much, since they’d passed down to many a sorcerer over the centuries. 

But then they went and threw in another possibility that didn’t sit well with me neither, not that any of the options they’d suggested did.  Since it seemed that Kitsune was workin’ with help from outside our own realm, that could mean damn near anything was possible.  Maybe those relics weren’t even meant to cause trouble on our world; though they were more powerful here, they weren’t lackin’ for power elsewhere in the multiverse, so they could be doin’ something along the lines of what they’d suggested in another realm entirely and might not even have eyes on our world.  None of us believed that one for a second, though.

Needless to say, we found ourselves comin’ together just like the old days, and knew that we had our work cut out for us.  Now that they had some challenges laid out before them, they’d work out their latest spat and start workin’ toward their purpose, and head for Sentinel City to see what they could glean from there, while I’d head back to the Sanctum and let Chrona and the Order know what we’d reasoned out, then coordinate our efforts from there.  They reminded me not to get too excited just yet, though, cause even though I was a mage of the Order of Hecate, and had me approachin’ two centuries of life, we were likely dealin’ with things that see the passin’ of centuries as blinks of their eyes.  Even though magic was runnin’ wild in the world and comin’ in from somewhere, it could be months or years before they made their move. 

I didn’t think so, but they did have a point; no sense runnin’ off and getting’ all worked up when a good long look at things could be beneficial.  So, I bid them farewell for a time, and headed back home to give my report on what I’d learned and would begin workin’ to figure on what our next step was to be. 

We were in one of our libraries, lookin’ over dozens of tomes of ancient lore and studyin’ a map of leylines and connected interdimensional pathways when I got the warnin’ that Liz was in trouble from that charm I’d insisted she wear.  Knowin’ that the youngin’ was headstrong and damn near capable of handlin’ about anything, I knew whatever she was facin’ musta been downright fearsome.  Asher was waitin’ for me in the portal chamber when I got there a couple minutes later, loaded for war, and we headed off toward Sentinel City to pull her bacon outta the fire.  Whatever it was that had got her to call on me, I weren’t about to let it get away with hurtin’ my girl. 

#Lore24 – Entry #195 – Supers Month II #14 – Reuniting with the Genies

From the journal of Abigail “Sassy” Dawson, Mage of the Order of Hecate

And so it was Asher and me stepped out of the leyline portal for the first time since I’d brought Liz home.  At first the world seemed not to have changed too much since then, but it weren’t long before I’d start to see just how different it was, even after only forty years, give or take.  Actually takin’ a few moments to take it all in, I decided it was downright alien out here now.  I went lookin’ for Assane first; Chrona told me she was somewhere in Los Angeles.  Last time I’d been out this way, you could still see the hills and valleys around the city; now it was all pretty much city everywhere I looked, and not a nice one, neither.  I had my cloakin’ spell up, since I figured seein’ a lady ridin’ a horse through town dressed like a cowboy might not go over so well.  After an hour or so of wonderin’ around, though, I don’t know if the spell would’a mattered or not; saw some right freakish things wonderin’ those streets, downright depraved a good number of them, and what with them “smart phone” things glued to people’s hands like they were, I doubt I woulda been noticed anyway.

I could go on for a long spell about what I found terrible about that city, and the one I’d be visitin’ next, but I’ll save that for later on and just focus on my mission.  It took me a day or so to track down Assane; though I didn’t know what she looked like these days, it weren’t too difficult to spot her once I’d tracked down her magical aura.  It was a bit stronger now, but looked just the same as the last time I’d seen her.  She looked like a youngin’ again, and was chatting and walkin’ along with a fellow that looked right ghoulish to my eyes, and I knew what she was doin’.  So, I hung back and let her work.  Weren’t long till they went to that pervert’s car.  She musta been worked up somethin’ fierce, cause it weren’t a minute later that I heard the screamin’ and saw the icy spikes shootin’ from that car, turned it into somethin’ resemblin’ a hedgehog.  She stepped out a few moments later, lookin’ quite pleased with herself, her icy creations lingerin’ and radiatin’ cold even in the heat of the summer sun, the pained cries of the pervert lingerin’ on along with it.  Well, guess he wouldn’t be doin’ that kind of thing no more.

I called out to her, and I think she was actually surprised when she recognized who I was, but then she was all smiles and hugs for a spell, eager to catch up on what I’d been doin’ with my time.  We rode off to a more pleasant spot, one of the parks that weren’t filled with homeless people and filth, but even then Asher didn’t care much for the grass there.  I told her what had finally dragged me out of the Sanctum, explainin’ what all trouble Liz had gotten into, and what it was that got taken by that Kitsune and her boss.  Though I could tell they were havin’ another rough patch, I told her I needed to hunt down Richard too, cause Chrona had requested they get involved in these matters, given their relationship with Scheherazade and all.  She weren’t too pleased, but agreed to help us; was why I went to her first, cause she was always the more level-headed of the two.

And so we headed off toward the other side of the country then.  I let Assane take us there to save some time, since she was far better at teleportin’ than me.  We hopped through one pond or river or lake to another, all across the country, in a handful of minutes, comin’ out in the middle of Central Park in New York City.  I could go on about just how much that city had declined since I was last there, but I’ll refrain, though I’ll say it was somehow slightly less unpleasant than Los Angeles; the depravity weren’t quite so obvious, I suppose is one way to put it. 

Assane led me right to Richard, who was holed up in his office somewhere in that chaotic urban sprawl, a little blink and you’ll miss it kinda place that was as run down as near everything else in the area.  He was a mite drunk when we got there, but it didn’t take long before that burned right off once Assane started her mouth.  Once again, I found myself bein’ the mediator between the pair, and he finally realized I was there after I’d preempted the shouting match between them.  He was all smiles and pleasantries with me, but even with me tryin’ to keep him on track, he just kept digging barbs into Assane because of her appearance.

I’ll never understand these two, I don’t think. 

Anyway, once I’d smoothed things over and got them to be civil, we sat down in his little office and had us a chat about their grandmother and her legacy that got stolen out of that Sentinel City museum.

#Lore24 – Entry #194 – Supers Month II #13 – Taking on an Apprentice

From the journal of Abigail “Sassy” Dawson, Mage of the Order of Hecate

As it was, it wouldn’t be too awful long before I got to experience that moment when you realize that the world is just movin’ right on by you.  I’d spend several years roamin’ all over the world with Assane and Richard; they’d been about everywhere already, and I was feelin’ like it was my duty to try an’ keep’em in line, but that was a job I just wasn’t equipped for.  We had more than a few misadventures durin’ that time, but the things we were huntin’ kept dwindlin’ more and more, and the world was movin’ fast.  When you’re a skilled mage, your agin’ slows down after a while, and trips into the Sanctum slow it down to almost nothin’. 

It was somewhere near the turn of the century when I pulled outta the world, when I started seein’ them “automobiles” start showin’ up everywhere.  Seemed like there weren’t much in the way of mystery left in the world, and I was becomin’ a relic of past times, getting’ gawked at by them “civilized” folk in this new world.  My friends could sense the change in me and knew what was comin’.  Bein’ immortal as they are, and havin’ lived more lives than I could have imagined then, and them bein’ not wholly human, they had a different outlook on things, and weren’t affected by what was affectin’ me, that sense of no longer belongin’.  So, after a while longer, we said our goodbyes, and I returned to the Sanctum.

I wouldn’t poke my nose outta there for nearly a century after that.  It was a quiet time in the world; all them supernatural problems we used to deal with had mostly vanished, magic was ebbin’ to almost nothin’ out there, and even travel into the world could only be done through the strongest leylines.  Even Chrona weren’t sure what the future would hold for us, though I don’t know if maybe she was just keepin’ it to herself since she’s real careful not to try to influence that future. 

Still, there would come a day when we’d spot a promising future mage comin’ into the material world, the first one since me in fact, and her awakenin’ would be not unlike my own in some ways.  We watched her for a time when our seers found her, pickin’ up on the mana she was usin’ when her powers started wakin’ up.  This was in the mid 1980s, right near a century since I’d last been out there, and the world was right alien to me now as I watched this girl, Elizabeth Powell, from afar.  Seein’ as I was the most experienced in the “modern” world, I was volunteered for the job of bringin’ her home to the Sanctum. 

Her powers were just startin’ to awaken, and she was havin’ all kinds of trouble with controllin’ them, and strangeness was followin’ her around, only there weren’t nobody who knew what was goin’ on besides us.  By now, there weren’t no sense of the magical in the world aside from fiction and some games they played; it was all ‘bout “computers” and big corporations and all kinds of stuff I don’t rightly care for these days.  Anyway, the poor girl would suddenly experience her dam burstin’ right dangerously, and Chrona caught it soon enough that I could rush down there and keep Liz from burnin’ down her house and hurtin’ her family. 

I musta’ looked right strange ridin’ in there on Asher, appearin’ out of that leyline in the middle of one of them highways and boundin’ through all them cars, rushin’ for Liz’s home, then bustin’ into their house as her powers ran wild.  Poor girl was in hysterics, and her family was cowerin’ in fear as them electronics were blowin’ up and fires were croppin’ up all over the place.  It’d been a while since I’d faced power like she had in her, and for this day and age, she was somethin’ else.  I worked some magic and got her outburst under control and walked her through the basics of control to get her calmed down and not an immediate danger to everyone ‘round us.  It was an odd conversation to have with her and her kinfolk that evenin’, cause they didn’t rightly know what to make of me dressed as I was and what I was sayin’ ‘bout magic, but they finally took to understandin’ sooner or later.

I stayed with Liz and her family for a few weeks, teachin’ her the basics, and explainin’ what it was the Order of Hecate did, and the history of magic as I knew it, at least, how it had been goin’ in the last couple centuries.  Were Liz and I not workin’ spells right in front of her kin, I figure they’d have thought me right looney.  It was a rough decision for a girl her age, but in the end, it were decided that she’d be headin’ back to the Sanctum with me.  She’d made her own decision ‘bout that, and made her family accept it; she’s nothin’ if not headstrong, always was, and still is.  I gave her space to spend some time with her family and the few friends she had before she made her exit, and with some help from the Order, we smoothed over the particulars of makin’ a kid disappear in this modern time; apparently it was a lot harder to vanish that it used to be.

And so it was that the Order welcomed in its newest member, perhaps even its last member for all I knew at the time.  Understandably, Liz was a little sad for a while, but once she got her head on straight and started to settle in, she took to learnin’ like a duck to water.  Well, mostly; she could be a little hard to reign in when that stubborn streak of hers kicked in, but usually she weren’t no major headaches.  Oh, I had to tan her hide a few times over the years, but we developed somethin’ of a mother-daughter kinda relationship because of how things worked out.  I’m right proud of the youngin’ in spite of her ways, but that’s just the nature of us growin’ up in completely different times.  I still don’t understand some of my fellow mages and their oddball ways of actin’ that they picked up back during the Dark Ages or the Renaissance times.

Things was quiet for a while there, but then somethin’ strange started happenin’ in the material world.  Magic started to creep back in all of a sudden, then it exploded back on the scene.  Chrona had warned us that some major changes were a comin’, but none of us imagined that was what she meant.  It sent shockwaves through the Order, and after Liz started sneakin’ out to see what was goin’ on and ran into that Kitsune, Dollface, and whoever else they was workin’ with, we knew we’d been caught with our pants around our ankles. 

Can’t say I was ready to go back into that world again, but Chrona set me the job of findin’ my old companions, Assane and Richard, and findin’ out what they might know about what was goin’ on, and so I packed up my gear, checked my guns, and got ready to head into that concrete and glass hellhole that was the modern American city.