Fallen · Tower · Los · Angeles

The Shaman of Griffith Park


John Smith is an unassuming man. He is also one of the youngest Thyrsus mages in Los Angeles. Taking his shadowname from the famed 15th century European explorer, he is also a mage who like his namesake, adopted the attitudes and traditions of the Native American peoples. A member of the Mysterium, John prefers the quiet places of LA (which are not many). Having befriended the local spirits of Griffith Park, John has established himself solidly in the region's supernatural community. He has also made a name for himself among the local werewolf packs, who recognize a man possessing spiritual rank.

John's mystical nimbus manifests as an unveiling of the animistic world. When casting powerful magics, those near John briefly experience (or imagine they experience) the same animalist world the Shaman sees. Sleepers sense waves of emotions coming from objects or natural phenomena--eagerness from a sports car, stability from a chair, anger from fire and so on.

John has become a solid ally of the Griffith Park Alphas and Three Sisters packs.  While he avoids the politics and machiavellan scheming of the Los Angeles Consilium, he possesses a solid reputation and status among the Order of the Mysterium.

Shadowname: John Smith
Path: Thyrsus
Order: Mysterium

Dr. Jim  'Walks Between The Shadows'


James McMahon (nickname Jim) was a brilliant up-and-coming plastic surgeon in his fathers Beverly Hills practice. He earned his medical credentials specializing in forensic medicine and did his residency at the LA County Coroners Office.

In his youth Jim excelled in athletics, particularly wrestling (middle weight category). He was All-State in his junior year. However, during his varsity year at Beverly Hills High School, he was expelled when in a furious rage during a wrestling match (he was one of his schools all-State champions) he beat the other student unconscious, breaking his jaw and nearly killing him. His father settled a law suit with the student's family, hushing up the incident with money.  Jim was homeschooled by the best tutors, preparing him for admission into medical school at Stanford.  Jim's mother (who he recently discovered is wolf-blooded) lives in seclusion somewhere in Colorado (she left her son and her husband, Martin, shortly after the highschool incident).

Three years ago Jim began experiencing troubling dreams and often would black out, not remembering what happened. He sought help from the best doctors and psychiatrists in Los Angeles, but they could find nothing wrong with him, other than some deep-rooted anger.  Shortly thereafter he experienced his First Change during the second full moon of 2002, having been bitten by a werewolf named Tycho.  After the fateful bite he was inducted by Tycho into the Tribe of the Iron Masters.

Jim recently joined the Griffith Park Alphas, a newly established pack created with his friend Guzman. He recently sold his flat in West Hollywood and purchased a large ranch house in Silver Lake to use as his pack's den.  Jim is Beta of his pack and is responsible for negotiating/dealing with local spirits and his pack totem, the twin raven spirits Thought and Memory.  As pack judge he is also responsible for arbitrating disputes and brokering deals with other local packs, such as the Three Sisters and the Hooligans.
 

Physical Appearance
Jim is attractive with a clean cut appearance. He tends to dress in expensive tailored suits and fashionable casual clothes. His has dirty blonde hair and deep blue/gray eyes.  Even in his 30's he still possesses the athletic speed and agility of his wrestling days, which he has honed in predatory fashion as a werewolf.  His wolf form has black fur with blond tips around the ears, nose, tail and paws His eyes in wolf form are bright blue/gray.


Name: Jim
Auspice: Elodoth
Tribe: Iron Masters
Player: Matt

Lobo Chicano

            I sit here, sharing a drink with my partner at Star Bar of Hollywood (it's a shithole that serves cheap tequila).  Actually, we're sharing a bottle….  Well, actually, Anthony's having a drink and I seem to be having the rest.  Aside from this detail, it should be like old times.  You know, like last week, when I needed to vent because, just when I thought things might get serious with Officer Hom, he pinched my nose, laughed in my face and joked about how we needed to stay "professional."  Or the week before that, when Anthony needed to vent about a fight he had with Bernadette; something trivial about what to teach their kid when he grows up and has to deal with bullies.  I mean, isn't it obvious?  Teach him to fight properly, then soon enough, he won't have to deal with ANYONE…EVER!  God, I need another drink….

            Honestly, the liquor just isn't having the same effect that it used to.  Now I see why Erasmus drinks so much.  This could become a very expensive habit.  And to tell the truth, hanging out with Anthony right now isn't very much like old times after all.  Anthony's my partner, and I'm sure that will never change, but I'd rather be here with Erasmus, or even Jim…annoyed as I am with him at the present.  I mean, what can I really tell Anthony, anyway?  That I just dumped off a handful of runaway kids at Social Services, and part of me feels kind of relieved just to have them off my hands?  Or that I lost face in front of a packmate when I ran from some hell-demon, howling all the way?  Should I mention to Anthony that, whenever I look at "normal" people like him, part of me wonders just how quickly I could tear them apart? 

            Fact is, I did wrong by those kids and whatever's left of my miserable human side now feels like shit.  Lilah sure didn't help by giving them all kinds of ideas, just so that they could build their own hopes and dreams and watch me knock them all down with a dose of cold hard reality.  I'll have to deal with that bitch's wretched insubordination later.  As for the kids, there's nothing to do for it.  I mean, could they have really hoped for much more?  Is a private foster service really all that, when compared to a public service?  I guess there's not much more I could have done, and, in any case…they're fucking meat, for God's sake!  Lilah was right about one thing: I'm Uratha, and my loyalty must lie with my own.  Given their numbers, it's obvious that humans are thriving just fine without my help.  If a few fall though the cracks, is it really such a tragedy when the L.A. wolves--my own people--face extinction? 

            My natural father, by all accounts, tried to deny his heritage and live among the sheep, and I know where that got him: disgraced by both his human family and his pack.  I would just as soon shoot straight with myself and face the music.  But I never counted on this…this losing touch with humanity.  We Uratha are half human, after all, and I will never truly forget that.  Just as I'll never forget the look on Peter's face when I dropped him off.  He deserved better….

            I've got to get out of here.  I tell Anthony as much and head straight for the door, leaving my partner with the bill.  He owes me one anyway.  Next thing I know, I'm racing through the Hollywood streets on all fours, darting past startled pedestrians.  The stench of their fear erupts in sudden, fleeting bursts as they register a mad dog on the prowl.  Street lights pass in an undulating blur of light and dark in my peripheral vision.  I've given no conscious thought as to where I'm heading, though I notice the steady increase in the grade as I race uphill. 

            The lights suddenly end and all is dark, save for the glare of the waning gibbous moon.  I recognize my own private entrance to Griffith Park; a hole in the fence, and I pass through without a moment's hesitation.  Aha!  My subconscious is guiding me to my locus.  So be it.  I practically soar into the hills, get lost a couple times for shits and giggles, pick up the surreal scent of that rock which represents the center of my territory, and finally, I arrive, panting as if I had just been running for my life.

            Once I've walked a few circles around the rock to regain my breath, I climb to the top and HOWL….

 

I lament the loss of my humanity…my innocence…my benign ignorance.

I permit myself to inherit the legacy of Father Wolf…

…and embrace it, mind, body, and soul.

I commit myself foremost to the success and wellbeing of my People.

I shed this sheep's skin forever.

 

Father, where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu….

***


Name: Guz (Goose) Hawkeye
Auspice: Rahu
Tribe: Blood Talons
Player: Glenn

                                                AMERICAN GYPSY

 

I don’t know where to begin.  Perhaps at the beginning.  Or maybe the end would be a better starting place, since that’s when it will really be a mystery.  I could create an outline or a system of flash cards that would help get it all organized.  But then none of it would make sense.

Okay, so I start in the middle.  I was crying.  Not crying like “I’m a man,” crying where I sniff back the snot and pinch my eyes to keep the tears out.  Not choked up.  Nor was I crying like a bride, or a baby.  This was full-blown sob.  After this event, I would finally, truly understand what is meant by “wracking”.  I was wracked. 

There is no release or succor from lower Midwestern July heat.  Night brings no relief, except maybe constant shade.  It is still far preferable to day, however, and when driving across the country in a twenty-year-old Chevy sans AC, it is the only way to travel.  So I was as I drove east on I-10, across Louisiana on my way to Alabama.  I had that little-known, but essential Southern July no-air-conditioner tool... a spray bottle of water.  The challenge is to time refreshing the water bottle with gas and pee breaks, as keeping yourself constantly spritzed with water can run you through your supply pretty quick.  But the more you stop, the less distance you get in before sunrise.  So you learn how long you can go between each spritz in order to keep as cool as possible without the spray bottle going dry before the gas tank.  There were two ways to deal with the bladder issue, too.  You can avoid liquids so you only have to empty right when you have to fill, or you can keep that somewhat better-known, but still essential Southern July no-air-conditioner tool... a spare bottle.

I chose the second technique, which is why I didn’t have to stop at that rest stop just after Lake Charles.  But I still looked. That’s what started the crying.

Now it’s the time I should tell you my background--the real one--so you understand whether or not it’s important that I cried.

 

I didn’t have a home--stay with me, this has nothing to do with the crying--or everything to do with it maybe.  The concept wasn’t even really in our vocabulary.  No, we have a word for it, but it doesn’t mean the same thing to us as it does to you.  We don’t live where you live, but around it, in between it.  We slide by the notice of your government.  And I know this may come as a shock, but we’re not all “gypsies” or “Romany.”  Not every American idea comes from Old Europe--although there’s a lot we share-- but we’re something else as unseen and unclean.  We have no group name, so even though we’re not gypsies, they generally call us that.  If they call us anything other than trash. 

You see, gypsies are an ancient tradition, older than most so-called civilizations.  They have a past--I’d say rich past, but everyone says that, and sometimes it just wasn’t true.  Not all history is rich for every society.  Think about England under George I.  Plenty of things happen, and financially they were rich, but does anyone think their culture was at the time?  Of course not.  It’s mostly what American culture derived from and we see how interesting that is.  So is gypsy history rich?  Yes, but not all of it. 

We’re not gypsies.  We’re never rich, and we don’t have history.  In fact, that’s why we’re not gypsies, and why we’re not Americans.  We’re not illegal immigrants, either.  The immigrants part is wrong, and although many of us have, do and will perform illegal actions, our existence isn’t illegal per se.  We’re just people.  People who live in the United States of America, but we’re not Americans.  We’re all born here... we all die here--usually...but we don’t vote, or pay income taxes or register on the census.  American culture has plenty of cracks to fall through, if you just want to step in.  My mom said our family came out of the displacing of the Indians back in the late 1800s.  But to look at me, I’m at least as much white as I am Indian, so there’s definitely some Anglos other than half my dad and a quarter of my mom in there.  This one family we saw a lot back when I was a kid said their parents were Sixties refugees--draft dodgers or activists or something.  Two hippies go on the run so he doesn’t have to go to Vietnam, they go off the radar, no one goes back on.  Eventually, their kids would stay on the run, even though they wouldn’t have to.  They’ll convince stupid teenage lovers to run away with them and have more kids and eventually, there’s a whole big family tree that no one notices in the middle of the forest. 

That family... they called themselves gypsies, and I did too.  One year we must’ve run into them three or four times.  KoA in east Nebraska.  Big Bone Lick park in Kentucky.  Fort Collins, Colorado (that was the carnival) and I know there were more.  They had a different last name every time we met them, but they had a son about my age named Connor.  Connor Gypsy is what I called him, till his Dad gave me a nasty look and I realized he either didn’t like the word or didn’t like me calling attention to it.  We left town couple days after that, but the next time we met up with Connor and his family was the carnival in Fort Collins.  Connor said they were thinking about signing on with the carnies, which was another group of people with whom we share some similarity, and are often confused for.  I think when I was about eleven or twelve.  I said to Ma, “We gypsies?”  Or maybe it was more of a statement than a question.  Don’t remember.  She said, “no.  Gypsy’s are something different, but they live a lot like us.”  I said, “Connor an’his family are gypsies.”  She said “no they ain’t.” and dragged me over to a ride.  She said something to the guy at the switch in that way of talking we all knew.  He pointed over to a tent and Ma brushed her hair out of her face and pulled me in that direction.  She had a mission for something, and it was only recently I realized how important it was she teach me this lesson. 

“Hi.” Ma said cheery and bright when we were inside the tent.  It was an unmarked tent, but I guessed when we got inside that it was the Fortune Teller.  Although, at the time, I thought it was silly they didn’t have a better sign. Even at that age, I knew reads were a great way to make some quick cash, especially if you could throw in mystical jumbo and some cards or bones.  But this perfect place, perfect set-up was being wasted because of bad advertising.  “My name’s Amanda Baker.  This is my son Nico.”  I’d never heard her tell anyone our real names before.  “I’m sorry to bother you, but my boy here just asked a question that I can’t even start to answer, and I was hoping you might give him some history, if it ain’t too much trouble.”  Now you see where I got my affinity for finding the longest way to say something. 

“Nico.”  The old lady said in a thick accent that I still haven’t placed.  “Nico is Romany name.”  She stared at me, thick wiry black eyebrows arched suspiciously over those cataract eyes. 

“Well, you see ma’am, that’s exactly what he asked me.  Go ahead, Nico.  Ask her what you asked me.”  I looked up at her.  This old lady scared me, and I felt like I was in trouble, even though Ma looked more nervous than angry.  I didn’t want to talk to this old lady and I was suddenly really embarrassed about my question.  “Go on, son..”  She was looking back at me and nudged me forward. 

This was almost as bad as cop manners, but I wasn’t scared of cops.  “We gypsies?” I asked real quiet, peeking up at her.

“HAH?  Speak up, child.” 

“Is me and mine gypsies, is what I asked my ma.”

She laughed a little and glanced over at Ma.  “What did you tell him?”

“I said gypsies are something different than us, but live a lot alike.”

“And why you not listen to your mother?” the old lady glared back to me. 

“I did.  But my friend Connor’s family says they gonna join the Carnies and not be gypsies no more.”

She smiled a little, which scared me more, because it wasn’t just a creepy old lady smile.  There was some of the bad mojo in that smile, trying to figure out if it could get to me or not.  “You no gypsy.  Gypsy from Old Country.  Always a travel.  Have tradition.  Pattern.  You friend a no gypsy.  He say they stop being gypsy.  Can’t stop being gypsy.  They just gadjo on the outside.  What you mother say.  You not gypsy.”  She motioned with a bony finger for me to come over and sit at the small table covered in candles and bizarre knick-knacks. 

“Are you a gypsy?” I asked her as I sat down in the cheap plastic chair and looked over the table.  There was an ancient-looking fringed table cloth in blue and yellow patterns.  I partly remember this as some stereotypical fortune-teller encounter, but there were little clues that it wasn’t.  Like the way my head swam when I tried to follow the pattern, or the way the smoke from her cigarette had some cloying scent that wasn’t tobacco and wasn’t marijuana either.  She looked like the stereotype--black scarf tied around her head, heavy dark eyes, long skirt and loose-fitting blouse.  It was everything you’d expect a gypsy fortune-teller to be, but she was the real thing.  I saw it in her eyes that she knew things I never could.

“Rom.”

“Huh?”

“Rom is right name.  Madi is my name.”  She grabbed my chin with yellowed fingers reeking of tobacco, a smell I’d always found comfortable.  Reminded me of my parents.  She turned my head from side to side, looking in my eyes the whole time, and I watched her back.  I wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but I figured I was supposed to let her find it.  “Cherokee?”  She asked me.  Ma started to answer, but Madi silenced her with a glance.  “Let him answer.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.  “And some Choctaw I’m told.”

She nodded.  “What else?”

“What else?”

“Too white to be full-blood.  What is rest?”

“Um... white?” I answered.  What else was there?  I tried to remember anything my parents had ever said about our racial history. 

“What kind of white?”  She was getting impatient with me.  “White as different as Red.  Different as Black.  What kind of white?” 

I shrugged and she looked at Ma.  “English.  Maybe some Welsh and Scottish.  I think a German in there somewhere.  Don’t know about his dad’s side.”  Ma paused, hoping that was enough.  It seemed to satisfy the old Gypsy’s need to know, and Ma shrank back by the tent flap and peered outside while she lit a cigarette.  “I think it’s about to rain,” she added. 

“Good.  Tents are dusty.”  Madi let go of my chin and lit a few more candles on the table between us.  Her cigarette was burned halfway down in the ashtray and she reached for it with shaky hands.  I stared at it in awe, waiting for the two inches of ash to fall off onto the table or her lap or something, but it didn’t, no matter how much her hand trembled it.  It finally fell the moment she placed it back over the ashtray and the cigarette was left and forgotten about.  “You have dark cloud behind you,” she said as she flipped over a handful of playing cards.  I was expecting tarot cards--I’d seen plenty of people use them before--but it was just regular cards.  Bicycle brand.  Same as we had in the Winnebago.  “Someone has design on you.  Will find you one day.”  Her eyes glanced up at me, though she didn’t move her head, kept it down, like she was trying to figure out if I was still listening.  I jumped a little.  “Shadows watching.  Plans.  Dark future, boy.”

I looked over at Ma, with that what-the-hell-were-you-thinking look.  She wasn’t listening though.  She was staring out the tent flap, her arms folded tight and the cigarette dangling from her mouth.  She looked scared and it was scaring me.  I always thought Ma was the prettiest woman I’d ever known, but it was a very bedraggled kind of pretty.  Her hair was muddy brown, lighter than it should be because she liked to wash it in peroxide.  She was wearing a sleeveless cotton dress, gathered up underneath her breasts.  It stuck to her body where she’d been sweating on this humid summer day in Colorado, turning the pale blue into a deep midnight.  The sun had become covered by black clouds and it had started raining while we’d been in here.

“I don’t wanna be here no more, Ma.”

She turned like she’d forgotten she was supposed to be looking out for me.  “Huh?  You just pay attention, Nico.”  She frantically motioned for me to turn back to Madi. 

“Strong boy,” Madi continued, flipping over another card and ignoring me flipping out.  “Inside strength.  You never find home, though.  Roam roam roam...” her voice trailed off.  “Is good for you.  Make you stronger.”  She swept the cards to the side and barked, “give me palm.”  I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help it.  Look to Ma.  No help.  Look back to Madi.  I stuck my hand palm up on the table.  She grabbed it and traced something on my skin with a long painted fingernail.  It tingled.

“What’d you just do?”  It felt like fire was burning up and down my arm and I squirmed.  “What’d you do!”  I jerked my arm back but she held it tight, staring me down with wild in her eyes.  “Ma!”

“Hey you crazy bitch!  Let go of my son!” Ma rushed forward and tried to pull the old lady’s hands off my arm.  I reached out with my other arm and grabbed a big candle the size of a whiskey bottle, shutting my eyes and swinging it wildly at the old woman.  I heard a crunch and opened my eyes.  Ma was stumbling to the ground, clutching the side of her head.  Madi screamed and made a sign in the air, holding two fingers pointed at me and backing away.

“Ma?”  I rushed to her and cradled her head.  I’d never seen so much blood.  “Ma?  I’m sorry Ma!”  I looked back at the old Gypsy.  “See what you made me do!?”  Ma stirred a little and told me to get Dad, so I ran.  I ran all over the carnival as fast as I could and found Dad playing dice with some carnies behind the freak show tent.  By the time we got back to the tent, Ma was barely breathing and the old lady was gone.  All evidence of her was gone too.  It was just Ma, some blood and an empty tent.  I just sat with Ma till the ambulance came. 

“I’m real proud of you, son,” Dad said when he got back to the Winnebago several hours later.  He didn’t let me go to the hospital with him and Ma.  My older brother and sister took me away and made me go to bed.  I didn’t sleep.  Dad came back and talked to Gar and Tania real quiet.  After a while he came and sat down on my bed and put his hand on my shoulder.  “Nico?  Your ma’s gonna be okay.  I’m real proud of you, son.”  It took me a while to figure out why he was proud of me, but it was because I kept my mouth shut when the cops came around.  All I said was that it was an accident, and pretended I didn’t remember anything else.  I didn’t even mention old Madi, which meant the Carnies wouldn’t try to lynch us for getting their gypsy in trouble.  “Go on and tell me what happened.”  I told him the whole story, exactly like I remembered it.  He seemed nervous through it all, but just like the old lady and Ma, he never told me why.

We packed up and left the next day.  Ma’s head was all in a bloody bandage, and I got the feeling she wasn’t supposed to have been out of the hospital so soon, and that’s probably why we rushed out of the hospital parking lot so quick.  Dad didn’t even stop for a driving break till we were in Texas.  Ma wasn’t doing so good over the next few weeks.  She drooled, we had to help her pee, she just kind of stared at us.  Gar was 17 so he started helping Dad with the driving. Tania took over caring for our baby sister.  I took over the cooking.  She got a little better, and managed to say a few words, and walk around sometimes.  She hugged me a lot and told me I was a good boy.  Then she was dead.  Just like that.  We woke up one morning and she didn’t.  We buried her deep in the ground outside Coffee, Tennessee.  I still hadn’t cried.  It just wasn’t the way I was.  I just stared at the dirt.  Dad and Gar and Tania cried.  I just stood there.  Knowing it was my fault.  All my fault.
 

                                           

Shadow Name: Lake Charles
Mystic Path: Mastigos
Order: Free Council
Player: Adam

Lady Death

          

            Jaya is 25 years old.  She was born in London, England, but her family moved to Santa Barbara, CA when Jaya was 3.  Her parents are Phillip and Indira.  They run a construction contracting business – specializing on home additions and high end remodeling jobs.  Jaya’s older brother is Victor, a conservative and hard working man who now helps to run the family business.  Her younger brother is Chaman, a very likeable, funny guy, is working on his MA in Education from UCSB.  Jaya also has some extended family in Santa Barbara.

Jaya moved to Los Angeles to attend Santa Monica Community College.  She transferred to UCLA after her second year and graduated with a BA in history. 

While in college, Jaya worked for Wally Park of Park & West Investigation.  She considered becoming a professional P.I, but changed her mind after getting shot out during what should have been a routine task.

            Jaya lives in Studio City, in a condo complex on Coldwater Canyon, about a mile north of Riverside.  She works at the Huntington Library in Pasadena and at River Yoga in Studio City – on Laurel Canyon near Ventura Blvd. Jaya Awakened as a mage of the path of Moros a year ago. She was recruited by the Free Council and recently established her own Cabal with two of her closest mage allies. She goes by the Shadowname of Missus Miller. Misses Miller is also part of an ancient and secret cult to the Aztec Death-god Mictlantecutli, who she has reluctantly agreed to serve for the span of 666 days.

History 

Jaya was born in London to Phillip and Indira Youngblood.  Phillip was a working class Eastender who met Indira while she was in London on holiday.  They fell in love and married quickly.  Indira’s family was horrified by the marriage, so Indira stayed in London with her new husband.  The couple had three children, Victor, Jaya, and Chaman.  Just before the birth of Chaman, the family relocated to Santa Barbara where two of Indira’s siblings had settled.  Phillip worked as a construction contractor for a while before Indira convinced him to hire some employees and expand his work to a proper business.  Money was tight while their children grew up, but over the past few years their oldest son Victor has become more involved in running the business and now things are running much more smoothly.

            Victor, Jaya’s older brother, has always been very family oriented.  He’s always worked hard for his parents’ approval and his sibling’s admiration.  He worked for his father the entire time he was going to college and has become a full partner in the business.  At the age of 28 he is already married and will soon be a father.  Victor did not approve of Jaya’s choice to move to L.A. to go to school and has been quite critical of her life choices ever since then.  It’s only been during the past year that they’ve begun to rebuild a friendlier relationship.

            Chaman, Jaya’s younger brother, has just started working on his Masters degree in education at UC Santa Barbara.  Everyone in the family likes and gets along with Chaman.  He was a bit of a clown growing up, but he has always been careful not to rock the boat.

            Growing up, Jaya always felt the desire to strike off on her own and find her own place in the world.  She liked her parents well enough, but didn’t care for their other relatives who looked down on her father for being a laborer and were quick to criticize Jaya and her brothers.  After graduating from high school she moved to Los Angeles and started taking classes at Santa Monica Community College.  By the end of her first semester, she had started working for Park & West Investigations. 

            She transferred to UCLA after her second year and pursued a BA in history.  Between her studies, her job at Park & West, and her work study job at UCLA’s art history library, she was extremely busy.  But she was proud of the fact that she did it on her own. 

            Just after graduation, she decided to pursue a career as a private investigator.  But a month later a man whom she had just photographed cheating on his wife, drew a gun and chased her, firing after her.  The event really rattled Jaya, and she immediately changed her plans. 

            Her manager at UCLA’s art history museum put her in touch with a friend at the Huntington Library.  Jaya was hired as an assistant archivist – her job responsibilities being mainly limited to scanning pages from old books.  The work was dull compared to her P.I. experiences, but she liked the people and the atmosphere.  She also liked having enough time to have a social life again.  Since then she has been promoted and is well liked at work.   

Jaya Youngblood’s Allies:

Marrianna Troklevich, Nurse (1 point)

            Marrianna Troklevich is a nurse at Kaiser Permanente.  She is a 39 year old Russian immigrant who came to US when she was a teenager.  Marrianna hired Jaya three years ago to investigate her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s financial status.  She suspected that her husband – Misha - had a lot of their money hidden in “off the books” investments and wanted to make sure that she got her fair share in the divorce.  Jaya’s investigation led to a safety deposit box containing a half a million dollars worth of diamonds.  Marrianna did quite well in the settlement. 

Her gratitude being stronger than her adherence to rules, Marrianna has occasionally helped Jaya out by giving her information from the hospital’s records.  Generally, Marrianna considers the information she passes to be incidental – when someone signed in to the emergency room or what medication was given to a patient.  She’s more hesitant to reveal sensitive or confidential information, though if it was important enough to Jaya, then Marrianna could be convinced.  Marrianna has also patched up one or two of Jaya’s old clients when they needed medical attention but didn’t want to deal with the sorts of questions that get asked at a hospital. 

            Marrianna currently lives in a house in Echo Park with her teenage sons Alexander, 19, and Gamlet, 14.  Alexander works as a mover and has done a little acting.  Gamlet will be starting high school in the fall.  He hopes to go to CalTech and become a rocket scientist.

Jaya's Contacts:

Balraj Rai, Blogger and Web Crawler (2 points)

            Balraj is Jaya’s cousin – on her mother’s side.  Balraj is a 29 year old computer programmer.  Brilliant and successful, Balraj has frustrated his mother time and again by not getting married.  Watching his parents bicker day in and day out for all of his life has soured him on marriage.  A geek and rebel at heart, Balraj has found his ideal community online.  He usually spends his evenings surfing the internet, reading blogs, downloading interesting files, and keeping up to date on the wide range of odd ideas and events that sets the internet buzzing.  His web site – www.mythicrealism.com – is a testament to the truly bizarre nature of our modern world.  Video footage of celebrities getting dragged out of court houses, sound files of naturalists being attacked by hungry bears, detailed break downs of how global warming will affect different major cities, interviews with alien abduction victims – he posts it all, pasting together a fascinating portrait of who we are as a people right here and right now.

            Balraj lives in Pasadena.  He works for a gaming company, but telecommutes most days.  His closest friends are scattered around the world, people he’s met online.  He also has a small group of local friends – Hollywood hipster-geeks who he sometimes parties with (hip clubs, cocktails, and pretty girls who know that comic books can result in profitable movie franchises). 

            Jaya and Balraj were friends as children, but lost interest in one another as teens.  However, they reconnected as adults one summer when there were a lot of family weddings and they were both hopelessly single.  Balraj was surprised to hear that Jaya was working with a private investigator.  He wanted to hear all about the cases she had worked on and offered to help her out if she was ever working on any unusual cases. 

            Jaya and Balraj meet up for pizza once every few months, just to keep in touch.

Shadow Name: Missus Miller
Mystic Path: Moros
Order: Free Council
Player: Kip

From the Journal of Missus Miller, Free Council  Emissary of the Path of Moros

Monday, February 28, 2005

My sleep is black and blank.  Is this what it’s like for the resting dead? 

That thought reminds me that I’m still alive.  That wakes me.   

I roll over and open my eyes.  I’m not in my own room.  I’m somewhere else.  Dirty clothes and sneakers litter the floor.  An Abbey Road poster hangs on the wall.  I’m at Austin’s.  That’s right.  I came here last night.

Locke is dead.   Nicodemus was murdered.  It hits me again, the enormity of it.  Nicodemus lured to the Magic Castle and killed.  Locke fought to protect Reinata from the vampire, only to die.  It’s already too much.  I shake and pinch my eyes shut.  Locke loved me.  Ian cannot rest and now his ghost is missing.  Cassandra floating down from the dark.  Howls and blood.  Gunfire.  Arctos’ body wrapped in a shower curtain.  Josiah in a car with his throat slit.  Wally’s body dead and bound on the floor of the closet.

The raw pain is too much.  I can’t catch my breath.  I dry heave and shudder and the tears come out of me.  It’s too much.  It’s too much.  It’s too much.

 

Around noon I go into the living room where Austin is playing video games.  I’ve pulled myself together.  I’ve showered.  I’m putting one foot in front of the other.  I have things to do.  I have to call Vigiles and find out what’s going on.  I have to think and I have to be ready for Valentine.  I have so much to do.

“Hey,” Austin says, looking up at me.  He’s bare foot in sweat pants and a tank top. 

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” I reply.

He pauses his game.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m better.”

“I think we should talk.”  He moves over, making room for me on the couch.

“Why don’t we go get brunch?” I suggest.

“We can eat here.  I’ve got frozen waffles and a couple eggs.”

“No, I should take you out.”

“Look,” he says, catching my eyes with his, “I know how this goes.  If we go out then you shut down and we don’t talk about anything that matters.  Because that’s what girls like you do when you’re in public.”

“Girls like me?” I know it’s a mistake, but I can’t avoid the bait.

“Girls who are strong, who don’t cry in public.”

“Of course I’m not going to cry in public.  I’m not that much of a mess.”

“Jaya the way you fell apart when you got her last night, well, no offense, but you are that much of a mess.”

I sit down beside him.

“Jaya, what happened?”

“Look, a couple friends of mine died and it really shook me up.”

“So tell me about it.”

I pause, then realize I’m biting my lip.  I want to tell him the truth, but I can’t.

“Look I know why you’re here.  You, like most women I know, are like an onion.  You’ve got layers and layers and if you ever want to get to the heart of something all that stuff has got to get peeled away.  And women like me because I’m not like that.  What you see is what you get.”

“It sounds like I’m not the first girl you’ve found crying on your doorstep.”

“Nope.  I’m a bartender, remember.  I am the default shoulder to cry on/rebound guy.  And I don’t mind because I get a lot of crazy, need-to-feel-alive, something-to-prove sex out of it.”

I frown at him.  He smiles.

“Hey, you’re a friend so I’m here for you no strings attached.  Nothing happened last night.  But I’m just saying, that’s normally how it goes.  It’s gone that way with us in the past.”

I can’t deny that.

“So tell me what happened,” he persists. 

I remember how sick with tears I was last night, how when I tried to speak, I just vomited outside his door and then I couldn’t talk because of how hard I was crying.  I have to find the road between the truth and avoidance.  I have to let him in to some of it.

“Do you remember a while back, when I told you that Ian died?”

“Yeah.”

That’s when I came here needing to feel alive.  After all the insanity with the Cult of Mali and those mutilated children and seeing zombies and werewolves and awakening as a mage, I came to Austin.  I needed something normal to hold onto, I needed something simple and comforting.  I only told Austin about Ian and Wally, that they were both dead.  And things kind of went their own way from there.

“Well, a lot of things changed for me then.  Not just with losing Ian, but the way I saw the world changed.”  I pause.  How do I say this?  “Do you remember why I first quit the P.I. business?”

“Yeah, you didn’t like guns.”  It’s a little touching that he remembers.  It means that he was paying attention even back then, when he was with Maggie. 

“Right.  Well, there’s something I didn’t tell you about what happened to Ian and Wally.  They were both murdered.  By the same man.  This cultist who called himself Brother Malachi.

“Ian had been missing a couple weeks already and I didn’t know what to do.  Then Wally called me up.  He asked me to help him on a case and I said I would if he would help me find Ian.  He agreed.  I went to his office and started reading up on the case.  It was a nasty one.  There were all these kids who had gone missing.  Most of them were runaways who had ended up here in L.A. and then they disappeared.  The kids who the police had found were dead.  It was pretty grisly.  Pairs of children were turning up with their insides torn out, like some sort of ritual sacrifice.”

Austin nods.  He’s a little pale.  He’s handsome and a charmer.  I know he’s heard it all before but he’s never heard a story like this.

“Pretty soon it became clear that something had happened to Wally.  He wasn’t answering my calls or coming back to his office.  I met these two guys, one of whom was a cop, and they helped me on the case.  We figured out that this guy, Brother Malachi, was somehow involved.  He had set up a cult here in L.A. that preyed on young people and kids.  Eventually we tracked him down.  We took down his top guys but he got away.”

I feel no pride in this.  It was a triumph tainted with so much loss.  It stripped me of so many illusions, of my sense of safety.

“What I found out as we were sorting through the aftermath is that this guy, Brother Malachi, had been keeping tabs on me.  This started before Wally called me in.  He was the one who kidnapped Ian and eventually killed him.  He had all this information about my family tree, tracking back hundreds of years.  Wally had found out some of this and I think that’s why he got as involved in the case as he did.  Because this psychofuck had some sort of plan that involved me.  And before I was able to stop him, Malachi killed Ian and then he killed Wally.”

I reach into my courier bag and pull out my .357 Magnum.  I set it on the coffee table.  Austin’s eyes widen. 

“I’ve carried this with me ever since.  Everywhere I go.  And I’m damned good with it.”  I look at my gun.  “I used to be afraid of these things because they can kill people.  But now it’s just an everyday thing to me. 

“You know that Wally left me the agency.  Oh, his partner, this guy named Greg, he had been working for Brother Malachi it turned out and he tried to kill me.  My friend, the cop, killed Greg in defense.  So, when Wally’s will was read, the agency was all mine.  I thought about just closing the business down, but after what I’d been through, after seeing just how dark the world can be, and knowing that this Malachi shitbag was still out there, I wanted to make a difference.  I wanted to protect people.  I wanted to shine some light into the darkness and drive it off.  So I asked Guzman and Jim, the two guys who had helped me on the case, if they wanted to be my partners in the agency and they agreed.

“Business was thin for a little while there, but we found our niche.  Unfortunately, our niche turned out to be the really fucked up stuff.  Creepy old books getting stolen by biker gangs, teenagers playing at magic and murdering their friends, grave robbers.  The LAPD even started hiring us to solve some of the freakier cases they came across.  And time and again we came across the name Brother Malachi.  There was this one case where these two cheerleaders had gone missing in one of those little towns in the mountains.  We found the cabin where they were being held and it turned out that the guy behind it all was a protégée of Malachi.  I killed that guy.  I shot him in the head as he was trying to kill one of my friends.”

I stare down at my gun.  For all my magic, I have no power to match it.  Without my gun I would be powerful, but I would not be lethal. 

“So, along the way I’ve made a lot of friends.  There’s this old guy who owns a bookstore who has helped me out a few times.  And there’s this other guy, Locke, who has worked with us as sort of an occult consultant.  And there’s this whole network of psychics and mediums I’ve met.  They’re not all my friends, but they were generally good people, working in their own way to make the world better.  But Locke, and the bookseller, they were my friends.”

I take a deep breath.

“A couple days ago Locke sent me a text message that read HELP.  I went over to his place and found him nailed to his living room wall.  Literally nailed, with these big spikes though his hands and feet, the sort they used for railroad tracks.  There was a note from Malachi.  Pay backs a bitch, it said.  Locke was still alive and we got him down okay.  But the next day I found the bookseller dead.  Then I found out that a couple of the psychics I knew had been murdered in their home.  I drove by my house and there was someone waiting for me outside.  It was Malachi again, with some psychofuck delusional plan and a grudge against me.

“We realized that Malachi must have an inside man, someone who helped him lure these psychics to their deaths, and I had a hunch who it might be.  When we confronted that guy, he got away and then blew up his own house to cover his trail.  Luckily, we escaped with some clues.  Then a gang of thugs showed up to try to get back what we’d taken.  While my partners and I were busy defending our safe house, one of the thugs broke into the back and killed Locke who was defending my partner’s sister.”

I have to stop here.  Who knew that I had any more tears in me?  But this is more controlled.  Just a few tears and a lump in my throat.  Austin waits for me to go on.

“Then last night we found Malachi.  And I shot him dead.  After all the things he’s done, all the people he’s lied to and manipulated and killed, I stopped him.  With this gun.  I killed him.”

I haven’t been looking at Austin, not for a while at least.  But I turn and look him in the eyes now.

“He took Ian from me and Wally and Nicodemus and Locke.  He’s the one who pulled me into this world of cultists and murders and little kids getting torn up by people who think it’ll give them power.  He’s the reason I quit my job at the library.  He’s the reason I’ve been carrying this gun all this time.

“Now that he’s gone… it doesn’t put anything back the way it was.  All I’ve got now is more people to mourn, more problems to face, and more things to try to set right.  And honestly, Austin, I don’t know if I can face it anymore.  I don’t know if I can face any of it.”

Austin leans back into the couch and looks at me for a long minute.

“Fuck.”  He shakes his head.  “Okay, we can go out for brunch.”

I laugh.  It’s a little hollow.  He must think I’m lying or I’m out of my mind.  But once we’re out on the sidewalk, he takes my hand and talks as we’re walking.

“When Sylvia died, that was weird shit.  Did you guys look into that?”

“Yeah.  And we made sure those people won’t hurt anyone else again.”

He nods. 

“So, Jaya, if you’ve got these two partners and these new friends, why did you come to me?”

“Because you’re not a part of it all.  Everyone in my life these days is part of this world of dark things and secrets.  And last night I just needed to connect with something normal and sane.”

He laughs.

“Straight forward, yes, but normal and sane are not the words most girls use to describe me.”

“Well, now you understand that I have a slightly twisted point of reference.”

We walk for a little while.

 “Are we going to do that thing we did last time?”

“You mean hanging out for a while when I’m sad and cry-y and then I drop off the face of the map?”

“Actually I was thinking about that having sex thing we had going on for a while last year.”

“Probably not.” 

“Well I had to ask.”

I stop and turn to him.

“I wish I could just get my old life back.  I wish I could forget the last year and go back to how simple things used to be.”

“You can’t forget, but does that really mean you can’t walk away from it?”

 “Not right now.  I’m in too deep.  There are too many things left half done.”

            “Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but sometimes the deep stuff only gets deeper and the only way out is to turn around and go out the way you came.”

By now we’re walking up the driveway to Hugo’s.  I nod and once we’re seated I change the subject.  I ask him about work and he tells me about a celebrity party he worked and how he ended up going home with some actress I’ve never heard of and then the whole time she wanted him to call her some other actress’ name, some old actress from back in the 40s.  I listen, but in the back of my head I keep thinking about how I got here, the path I took, and if it is possible for me to follow that path back out the way I came.

Saturday, February 26, sometime around 8PM
(last night of the Full Moon)
As the group gathers and begins to decipher the disc containing the ritual to reincarnate Mali, the group plans their next move.
Using their laptop computers, the group engages in indepth research on the Librum Necrenegrum, looking for any clues to either stopping the ritual (if it has not started) or destroying the Acamoth demon Mali (if the ritual has succeeded).

After spending nearly 2 hours perusing the disc, Ms. Miller uncovers a strange passage, "she can be destroyed if an athame fashioned of purest coral, sanctified by the blood of an innocent, is plunged into her breast."

Later, around midnight, they all gather around the Toll House Cookie shop at Hollywood & Highland. Lake parks the Dolphin in a parking lot behind the El Capitan Theatre, Eleni, the Alpha of the Three Sisters, agrees to stay in the RV in case anyone needs her ritual healing abilities. Ms. Miller meets with Vigiles, (who is invisible) near the front of the Gap clothing store. He tells her that the Illuminated Pentad made their sanctum atop Hollywood First National Bank Tower, right across the street. A few minutes later, (with Vigiles now visible), they look for an entrance into the abandoned bank tower. They find it through the alley behind the building, Jim using one of his werewolf gifts to warp and twist the metal of the glass door apart (after scrutinizing it for magical or other security protections).  They enter the ground floor to find it completely dark. A hallway connecting to the front lobby separates into 4 old elevators, each bearing a human figure emblazoned with an Atlantean symbol. Vigiles and Ms. Miller recognize them, two are female bearing the symbols of the Path of Obrimos, one is male bearing the skull coin and crown of the Moros and the last is a male with the book and antlers of the Thyrsus.

Once they figure how to open the elevator door open, the see a row of unnumbered bottons (12 of them). They also notice a card swipe next to it. John uses the black plastic card which activates the elevator car. They all rise to the 13th floor. As the doors open they are greeted by a large octagonal room with marble tiled floors and walls. The ceiling has an octagonal opening which opens into a balcony and above that a high copula dome. Windows filter some of the lights from the streets outside, but on the whole the large room is cold and dark. They begin to disperse, John and Lake staying close to the elevator entrance, Guzman and Jim taking point, shifting into urshul and dalu respectively. Reinata, Lilah and Erasmus flank the group in case of attack. The mages of the group then begin to use their various mage sights to scrutinize the apparently empty room.
As the group scans the darkenss they begin to see and hear gibbering animals in the balcony above. Then suddenly two dark shapes land atop Reinata and Lake; rabid babboons who's minds have been warped by Malachi.

As the melee ensues with the rabid babboons, Guzman and a few others see a white robed figure begin to float from the dome of the copula, slowly levitating. Sensing danger, Guzman leaps using one of his spirit gifts; jumping more than 18 feet into the air to claw and bite the figure. His bite hits the floating figure's leg, tearing it off in a fountain of arterial blood, driving him into death-rage. He lands, his 800lb bulk breaking the stone and marble tiles as he lands in his gauru war form, his torso and muzzle covered in blood. He howls in bloodlust.

Lake, using forces magics, makes the candles in the chandelier burn brighter to reveal that the floating body was Cassandra, mage of the Adamantine Arrow and a Sentinel of the consilium.

A second later the body drops. In silent spasms Cassandra dies... 

More baboons attack, jumping from above, seemingly under the control of someone...

Then another shape is seen above, on the balcony appears Thanatos, holding a pair of lead forceps, his face impassive and devoid of emotion.  Guzman, in his rage leaps, crashing through the stone railing and attacking Thanatos.

Then Reinata, shifting into urshul form leaps to attack her comrades. Lake detects a strong mental influence on her and traces it to the back of the room, near the wall opposite. He also mentally alerts Jim that the illusionist may be hiding and tells him where to find him.

Back on the balcony, Thanatos uses powerful death magics to weaken Guzman, who's strenght is sapped to that of a weak child. Nevertheless, he tries to grapple the necromancer in his death rage. Below, Vigiles runs to the edge of the balcony, using life magic to shift into the form of a large black panther, leaping up and landing near the battling pair.  John, also using life magic, controls one of the rampaging baboon to attack Thanatos. Together with Guzman, Vigiles in his panther form take down Thanatos just as he is about to use death to shift into Twilight to escape. Even while he is weakened by the necromancer's spell, Guzman continues to try to grapple Thanatos. Vigiles claws at the mage and together with Guzman take him down, however, at this point Guzman shifts his rage to the Thyrsus mage who must now try to defend himself while at the same time trying to keep Guzman from killing Thanatos.

Below, Erasmus and Jim, along with Lilah and Ms. Miller begin to look for the form of Malachi. Jim finds him first and in seconds the cult leader reveals himself to everyone. Jim shifts into gauru form, attacking the illusionist with all his fury as Ms. Miller aims and shoots her .357 Magnum. Erasmus, shifting to gauru, also joins the fray.  However, just as Jim is about to attack the magus, he assaults his mind, siphoning away all his willpower and reducing him to a whimpering and crying victim.

On the balcony above Guzman has managed to reign in his beserker rage, shifting to hishu. Vigiles, after dispatching the last remaining baboon, also re-assumes his human form begins to bind and gag the necromancer. Lake and John continue to use their magics to counterspell those of Malachi and Thanatos...

Pumping rounds from her heavy revolver, Ms. Miller suddenly drops her firearm as Malachi invades her mind with visions of horror, forcing her to scream, running away towards the only visible elevator. However, Erasmus, not to be deterred, begins attacking Malachi. Malachi screams triumph, calling in Latin to his demon mistress as he uses his mana to heal his pattern, healing some of the bullet wounds and injuries from the werewolves.

At this point, Reinata turns to attack Lilah, having shifted into her urshul form and as Lilah shifts into her gauru form to attack the illusioinst. However, having taken over Reinata's mind, Malachi uses her to divert Lilah's gauru fury away from him. Sensing imminent triumph, Malachi continues his mental assults on Jim and Ms. Miller, as he is also controlling Reinata. But just as he tries to invade the mind of Erasmus with visions of terror from his mistresses realm, John counterspells the effects allowing the enraged Erasmus to tear Malachi apart, disembowelling him with fangs and claws.  This releases Ms. Miller and Jim, who now turn to attack the fallen magus. However, sensing defeat and crying to Mali, Malachi forces a suicidal thought into Reinata's mind. As the illusionist begins his final death-throes, Lake senses that Reinata's mind is clouded as she leaps above him, falling into the open elevator shaft, plunging to her apparent death. Ms. Miller, using the darkness she'd summoned previously, uses it to slow Reinata's urshul wolf form as she plunges 12 floors to the elevator now on the ground floor. They hear a pained wolf howl as Reinata hits the floor, almost at death's door.

A few seconds later, as they are able to return the elevator to the 13th floor, John uses his life magics to stabilize Reinata, whos body is broken and twisted from the fall. Guzman and Erasmus begin to remove the eyes from all their kills, even Cassandra, as mandated by their Ravens totem. They search and scour the abandoned sanctum, finding various objects of value but otherwise finding no further presence from Malachi or his cult. Vigiles decides to take Thanatos to stand trial before the consilium, admonishing the remaining mages that he may need to call on them for testimony, including the werewolves. As the scene closes; however, a dark gleam clouds Reinata's eyes, turning them completely black then back to normal...

Finis (for now)

 

Saturday, February the 26, Sometime around 3AM,
(4th Day of the Full Moon)
The group gathers after Jim blows up Thanatos' home (Jim had staying behind to do the deed then leaves to head to Griffith Park).
As the others leave a group of ghostly shades attack the vehicles, using their powers (numina) to blow out the tires of Guzman's Black Escalade. As they weave down Mulholland Canyon they come to a stop to prevent veering off the winding roads.

John, using his shamanic spirit magic, anoints Erasmus' bowie knife, as they exit their vehicles, they notice that the ghostly shades have now vanished into the darkness. Guzman decides to leave his vehicle behind (and have it towed later). He, along with Erasmus, Lilah and Reinata shapeshift to urhan wolf form and agree to meet the others later in the day after they get some much needed sleep...

Despite being exhausted, Ms. Miller, along with the gypsy Lake Charles and John Smith the shaman all head downtown to No. 515 Bradbury, Nicodemus' antique book shop. When they arrive Miller uses her Grim Sight, but does not see any shades as she noticed the day before. They agree it may be safe to go up to his office to investigate the message sent to them by Linus, Nicodemus' peregrine falcon familiar. They enter the historic building and go up to the office. As Ms. Miller attempts to pick the lock open she is blown back by a powerful electrical blast coming from a mystic sigil on the door (which they did not see and only appeared when the warding spell was triggered). Her thoughts racing, Miller decides to trace the three Atlantean runes that were written on the small piece of paper that Linus had delivered. But before she does that, John suggests that he should speak to the spirit of the door to see if there are any other mystic safeguards they should know of. Awakening the spirit, John translates that "only those who trace the keys upon my face may enter." Using some chalk, she traces the three runes on the surface of the door and they hear audibly as the door's lock opens. They enter. Rows upon rows of bookshelves line the walls almost 12 feet. An antique iron railing circles the bookshelves about midway with a sliding step ladder that can be moved along the wall on casters. 

They investigate what appears to Nicodemus' sanctum, only to discover the small peregrine falcon, Linus, perched near the window in the office. John and Lake communicate with Linus, who tells them that he was to return after delivering his message to Jaya. He also tells them that he senses that his master is no longer alive in the fallen world. They decide to spend the night and peruse some of the texts in the library. Jaya uses one in particular to use Fate magic to clue her as to then next step.

That evening, they all gather, the GPA's, the mages and their allies, at the ranch house in Silver Lake. Using Mage Sight, John ascertains that the plastic card is ensorcelled as is the watch. Also, Miller, using her PI investigative skills deciphers the coded missive and discovers that it uses the Masonic cipher to spell out Malachi’s true name.  Using her computer hacking skills, Reinata decodes the stolen CDROM disc, which is a complete English translation of the Librum Necrenegrum and highlights a particular ritual to “bring Mali, the Thousand-fold Emanation” to the fallen world of man. This ancient ritual also asks for the souls of 3 awakened magi.  As they are strategizing their plan they see a thick mist coming in from the roadway beyond, 5 silhouettes appear in the darkened mist. Guzman and Miller recognize the vampire pack that they had fought a month before. The fray is entered by all and they emerge victorious; however, one of the vampires slays Locke after mortally wounding and severing his leg.  

Late Night of Thursday, February 24th (Second night of the Full Moon)

As the group gathers at the Ranch House after the events at the Magic Castle, they begin to realize that if indeed Malachi saw through the minds eye of Lake Charles then he could indeed know where they all are. Paranoia and fear creep in and they make the decision to spend the night inside Lakes RV, 'The Dolphin.'

Later in the evening as Lake is outside taking a piss he notices a small redish-brown peregrine falcon, perched on the branches of the burnt oak in the front lawn it looks down on him with an unusually keen intelligence. Inside his head Lake can hear the falcon's voice, telling him that he bears a message for the Miller woman, that his master Nicodemus is no more and that he must deliver this message to the necromancer. Lake immediate calls Ms. Miller on her cell phone, who is on her way to Chinatown along with the werewolf Jim. Ms. Miller has decided that if Harmonious Jade can be of aid this would be the time to ask for it.

Upon arriving downtown, the pair park the subcompact rental car on one of the streets adjacent to the tall spire of City Hall. They walk a few blocks to Chinatown, passing the imposing Dragon Gate that guards that neigborhood. As they walk the bustling streets of Chinatown they arrive at the small temple that is Jade's abode. They notice it is empty and that even the lamps outside and inside are out. After Miller picks the lock open they enter. Inside, on the polished floor lies a scroll. On it is written, in English, Jade's message that Fate has taken it course, that she and her aids have left Los Angeles. Ms. Miller sees 4 funerary tablets on the base of the large golden Buddha statue (she later discovers these have the names of Khumeia, Faustina, Nicodemus and Movran).

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch House, the group tries to catch up on some much needed sleep inside Lake's cramped RV.

Around 2AM Ms. Miller and Jim return, Lake takes her to where the falcon is perched, it flies down and allows Miller to take the small metal cylinder strapped to its claw. Upon it are a series of Atlantean runes that do not spell anything. Nicodemus' last missive.

That Friday morning...
Rested and refreshed the group makes their plans. John Smith and Lake take Miller's rental car to drive to their respective Hollows, feeling the necessity to replenish their stores of Mana for any upcomming threat. Later, Miller drives to check out Nicodemus' book shop at the Bradbury Building downtown. There, using her Grim Sight, she sees numerous restless shades pacing in front of the building. She decides it may not be safe to enter and drives to Forest Lawn Cemetery. Once she finds a suitable quiet spot she casts Speak with the Dead, summoning the ghost of a small girl which she uses to channel a mystic conduit to the Death God Mictlantecutli. She asks for his aid, in return he forges a Geas with her...

Meanwhile at the Ranch House...
Lilah, fed up with the cramped quarters of the RV decides to go with Jim to the Locus of the pack at Griffith Park to commune with their Totem and convince it to safeguard the house. Convincing their totem to lend its aid they proceed to question Arctos, the surviving twin who's guilty of killing not only his brother, but pressumably murdering Khumeia, Faustina, Nicodemus and several other sleepers and sleepwalkers. As the gravity of his actions falls upon the waking Arctos, he begins to sob and becomes distraught at the enormity of what he's done. They decide to remove his restraints and allow him time to grieve, (after John assures them that his Supernal Vision does not reveal any magical influence upon him).

About an hour later, as Jim is babysitting Arctos, (who was taking a long shower) he notices that blood, steam and water are seeping through the bottom of the master bedroom bathroom. As he breaks the door opens he sees Arctos below the surface of the tub, which has overflowed with blood and warm water. As Jim sees the mirror broken and a jagged piece of glass that he's used to open his wrists and jugular, the also spots a marking in blood on the back of the bathroom door "YOU ARE NEXT"

Jim calls the others and they all rush in to inspect the sight of Arctos' suicide. Perhaps he could not deal, Lilah reasons to the rest, perhaps his will was too shattered to cope. Guzman decides its wise to dispose of the body, they decide to bury it secretly in Griffith Park.

Meanwhile, at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf near the Farmer's Market...
Ms. Miller sips tea, across from her, hidden from all visible sight, sits Vigiles, they discuss the possible involvment and betrayal of Consilium, Cabal and Order of Thanatos. Miller tries to point to clues involving him, Vigiles is cautious, asking for tangible evidence. They agree that what is best now is to thread with care and watch each others backs. Miller makes many calls to other mages, attempting to warn them, most are shocked at the events. As Ms. Miller prepares to leave a folded napkin appears from thin air on the table in front of her. Written on it is the address to Thanatos' house on Mulholland drive. "Be careful" says Vigiles.

As Ms. Miller, Guzman, Jim, Lake Charles and John Smith, et al gather at the Ranch House they propose a plan to confront Thanatos regarding the murders. As a group they go on two vehicles (Guzman's black Escalade and Miller's compact rental). They park about half a mile away on a winding dark road. Lake uses his Forces magics to open the security gate. Inside Miller sees dozens of ghostly shades in Twilight, seemingly guarding the grounds, some even vanishing in and out of the house. They prepare their spells, gifts and weapons and knock.

The door is opened by one of Thanatos' undead zombie servitors. This one, dressed like a butler, lets them in, glutturally mumbling "please enter." They enter and see another zombie female dressed like a maid, both do not seem to decay or smell of putrefaction or the grave. The interior of the home is elegantly appointed, decorated in European antique furniture. The walls are also lined with mahogany bookshelves, many with rare manuscripts and antique curios. An intricate persian rug lies in the middle of the living room, its pattern are unusual to the eye, a mesmerizing series of strange sigils (identified by the mages as Atlantean in origin, to their supernal senses). As they take the place in Thanatos appears from a hallway which apparently leads to the sleeping rooms and study.

As they engage in pleasantries, Miller wastes no time in accusing Thanatos. Thanatos affects little reaction, which seems to infuriate her even more. He simply picks up a champagne flute and sips the amber bubbly. As the exhange continues the tone becomes heated; Thanatos denies everything, Miller and Co. begin to threaten him. He asks them to leave. At a certain tense moment Jim pulls out a semi automatic handgun. Thanatos responds by quickly moving across the room to touch Jim. As he does the cold, debilitating weight of the grave falls on Jim, so weakened is he by Thanatos' Death spell that he drops the handgun. Feeling equally threatened, Jim instantly shape-shifts into his monstrous Gauru form. Miller engages Thanatos, who turns and looks at her. He also hits her with the same equally effective Death spell, leaving her physically weak, except he does not touch her.

A heated melee ensues, Guzman and Jim assuming their werewolf battle forms, John Smith and Lake casting spells to protect their colleagues. Eventually, they all drive Thanatos to escape. He casts a vulgar Death spell which causes him to vanish into Twilight. Miller scans, using her Death Sight, but is unable to locate him in Twilight (which she posits may have been cast as a conjunctional spell along with Forces). As he vanishes, the patterns on the Persian rug begin to shift, almost like a haze of heat rising, the group begins to feel a horrifying sense of dread; Guzman, Reinata and Miller flee, their minds overwhelmed by fear. Jim, furious at the renegade's escape, and at being made weak as a child, decides to open all the gas valves in the kitchen stove. After ransacking the home and finding items they believe are clues to Thanatos' whereabouts, they leave. Jim turns back and lights the house on fire. They all leave, catching up with Miller and Guzman down Mulholland drive.

Wednesday morning, February 23

After the events at Bishopsgate Asylum the group gathers at the ranch house in Silver Lake. There they discuss the events and possible implications of Thanatos' involvement in the verge.
Later, Miller receives a text message in her cell phone from her cabal-mate Locke spelling, "...Hel..."

They hurriedly go to Locke's sanctum only to discover that his door has been broken from the inside. On the floor is the slaughtered corpse of a ram, its throat slashed and its blood used to trace a circle around it. Across the living room on the wall, they see Lock crucified pinned by thick railroad iron spikes on his wrists and ankles in the form of an X. He is barely conscious and has apparently lost alot of blood. They take him down and John Smith performs Life magics to restore him to health. He informs them that something has invaded his home and that that something is still there.

Suddenly, a spectre begins to manifest and the ghostly invader uses his supernatural powers to use the iron spikes as deadly weapons, like a poltergeist, the spectre smashes furniture, computer equipment and anything it can hurl at Locke's friends. Another ghost grapples with Missus Miller, forcing her to the threshold of the window sill. With a strong preternatural shove, both crash through the glass window and plummet 10 stories to the pavement below. Almost at the moment of impact, Miller vanishes.

After dispatching the ghosts (in which Smith discovers that the iron spikes serve as its anchor), they investigate the scene. Lake attempts to contact Miller, but cannot. Everyone is mystified as to her disappearance. As search Locke's appartment a fax comes in from the damaged fax machine on the floor, "payback is a bitch" it reads.

They all leave, taking Locke with them. Lake hot-wires Millers Jeep taking it with him.

Later in the evening Guzman drives Smith to his sanctum-cave in the hills of Griffith Park, dropping him off.

Next day, Thursday morning...

The group ponders the events of the day prior, wondering if Miller is alive. Lake receives a call on his cell phone, and he excuses himself to talk to his "mum." They meet to formulate a plan. Suspicion grows as to Thanatos involvement in Miller's fate. Much discussion ensues.

Later that same day...
Missus Miller awakens, face down on a cold rocky beach. Behind her she sees a dark cave mouth. She feels a coldness emanating from its depths. As she regains cognition of her surroundings she is looking across an ocean and remembers where she is, inside the cave there is a deep hole which in ancient times was called by the Aztecs the Mouth of Mictlan. She climbs the treacherous cliffs, after almost half an hour she spots a winding cliff-side road. She flags down a driver who takes her to a nearby hospital about an hour north of Malibu.

Later that afternoon Lake Charles receives a call from Ms. Miller, who reveals to him she is alive and well. She is calling him from the home of Los Angeles Mayor Angelo Cordovera, whom she has discovered is a prominent member of the death-cult of Mictlantecutli. She arranges to be driven to her home in Studio City then later she goes to find her car at Locke's flat. She discovers her car is not there so she decides to get a rental and wait at a local diner on La Cienaga. Meanwhile, back at the ranch house Guzman decides to use his preternatural sense of smell to track down Miller (whom is trailed by Lake). Near the evening Guzman (in urhan form) finds Miller's trail at the diner, they reunite and talk about the previous days events.

At the Magic Castle Lake makes a gruesome discovery and is almost killed by Arctos, one of the Consilium sentinels. However, before venturing there he calls Miller to inform her of his plans.

Later that evening...

Jim and John drive to the Magic Castle, alerted to danger through contact with Guzman and Ms. Miller. Guzman and Ms. Miller arrive at the Magic Castle first to discover that Josiah Lamb, Valentin's young sleepwalker apprentice is dead, stabbed in the neck and bled to death behind the wheel of the parked towncar. As they enter the entrance parlor, Miller utters the secret passcode that opens the bookcase wall, as the enter the main bar and lounge they see two dead bodies, one pinned to the mirror of the wall by a heavy medieval broadsword, the other, the Maitre d slumped on the floor. As Guzman shifts to urshul form he smells blood and danger, going up the ornate staircase to the second floor. There they are both attacked by Arctos. Wielding the broadsword that is his badge as a sentinel of the consilium he strikes Guzman. In a rage Guzman tears a chunk of Arctos' calve muscle. Miller levies her .357 Magnum, hitting Arctos in his left arm. He instantly vanishes into thin air. However, Guzman can smell his blood and quickly tracks him as he flees into the side dining room. Together him and Miller take him down. Down in the entrance parlor Jim and John are left wondering how to find access into the Magic Castle (since John does not know the secret password). As Miller calls him on his cell phone he is informed that the secret word is "abra cadabra." The bookcase wall slides open and the companions reunites.

As they continue to inspect Ms. Miller hears a groan comming from one of the rooms below. Together with Jim they descend, parting a thick velvet curtain that reveals a small intimate seánce room. There on the small table, his head slumped beside a large crystall ball is the body of Nicodemus, stuck to his back protudes the hilt of a dagger. As Ms. Miller sees her beloved mentor dead she realizes the gravity of all that is happening around her. She calls Vigiles to discover through him that the Hierarch of Los Angeles and her cabal are dead. Could Thanatos really be responsible for so many deaths or is someone else pulling the puppet strings?

As the group confronts the Verge that has opened in the padded cell of the hospital wing, Guzman shifts into urshul and charges into the room. His packmate Jim follows, shifting into dalu form. Missus Miller and Lake Charles remain outside, checking for any staff or security in case of trouble. The shaman Smith enters the room last and enters into the spirit world to see a huge, demonic, plauge ridden rat the size of 5 men.

A furious battle ensues inside the Verge as Guzman confront the demon beshilu (with the aid of John Smith). After a long ordeal Guzman manages to pin down the huge beshilu using one of his battle gifts, however, in the course of the heat of combat Guzman enters kuruth (death rage), dispatching not only the massive beast, but hundreds of smaller beshilu hosts. Jim steps back into the physical world taking with him the shaman Smith in order to safe guard themselves against the beserk fury of the pack Alpha.

After a few minutes Guzman manages to regain composure and shifts back to hishu form, stepping back into the physical padded cell of Room 202. Once all are back they hear the screams of a woman. They all follow the sound to the north end of the West Wing only to find the dismemebered bodies of 5 patients killed by 3 beshilu possessed orderlies, two who are wielding bloodied axes. The group confronts them, after which another heated melee ensues, resulting in Smith being severely wounded and the group killing the beshilu-possessed humans. After a few minutes, they begin to smell acrid smoke comming from the floors above decide to make an escape. Fleeing to the south end of the building they begin to hear the screams of trapped patients. Smith along with Guzman (in urshul form) and Jim (in dalu form) proceed to go up the emergency stairwell only to find one survivor (and the bodies of other patients who've been hacked to pieces by the beshilu-possessed humans). They manage to save a female patient who's been mortally wounded while Smith using Life magics heals her.

They proceed to evacuate the burning wing as security and other asylum staff begin to approach from the East Wing. The group manages to evade questioning and follow Miller to the security station where her Fate magics tell her lies the source of trouble.

After the events of the Acamoth possessed goth teenager and the ritual of the Subtle Key, the group manages some downtime to rest and attend to personal matters.

Monday, February 21, morning.

The group is alerted to a spiritual incursion in the borders of the GPA's territory. Eleni, Alpha of the Three Sisters pack, informs Guzman that spirit allies of her pack have informed her that the Beshilu are making an incursion somewhere around the area of Rancho Palos Verdes. She also shares with the GPA's the legend of Father Wolf and his final battle with the Plague King, father of the Beshilu shartha. The tale impresses upon the fledgeling pack the importance of defeating the rat-host.

Later around noon.
Ms. Miller meets the GPA's along with Lake Charles and John Smith at the offices of MSM PI. They discuss what is happening and where it may be occurring. Through their investigative efforts they discover that the asylum of Bishopsgate in Palos Verdes has recently had a series of suicides, all involving patients, over the last two years. Guzman contacts his packmate Erasmus, who is finalizing the strengthening of the pack Locus (now rated at 2).

Upon further investigation Ms. Miller, with the help of Smith's spirit magics, the group discovers that the most recent suicide was Martin Holly, a well known executive working for Deus Ex Machina films, who'd had a nervous breakdown 6 months prior. Charles suggests that if they can infiltrate the asylum they may be able to find what is going on. Smith informs them that a powerful Verge is occurring, and it seems to be centered somewhere in Bishopsgate.

Later the same day Miller investigates Bishopsgate Cemetery which is located adjacent to the asylum. She encounters few ghostly residents, but one in particular, a soldier from WWII tells her that Dr. Hopper who's ghost resides in the asylum may know. She heads there and pretending to be looking for treatment for a relative meets with chief nurse Adrian Moore. He gives her a tour of the asylum.

The rest of the group arrives at Bishopsgate aboard Lake's RV (The Dolphin). They disguise themselves as DWP workers to gain entrance to the sewers below the asylum. Once there they see Miller's Jeep parked outside and proceed to investigate the basement and boiler rooms. As they do so they are almost immediate attacked by a spirit possessed orderly. He attacks the party wounding Lake as he is felled by Guzman in his gauru form. They then discover the chest cavity of the orderly explodes to reveal scurrying rats who quickly dissipate into the Shadow. Miller then finds the others using her Fate magics. As they are all reunited they are led by Smith to a padded cell in the Hospital wing of the asylum. They go to the second floor of the Hospice building, room 202. There using his Second Sight, Smith sees a dark spirit chasm piercing the material world. The group senses palpable fear and dread. They convince an orderly to open the door to the cell when all hell breaks loose.

325 BC, Somewhere in the steppes of Outer Mongolia
The great warrior Lo Pan is defeated by the armies of the First Sovereign Emperor Quin Shi Huang. Through his magicians the Emperor places the Curse of No Flesh upon Lo Pan for his rebellion.

18 Years Ago, San Francisco's Chinatown
The Jade Demon, as Lo Pan is now known in Chinatown, is defeated by the forces of the Obrimos Mage Egg Shen and his Sleepwalker allies Wang Chi and Jack Burton. He is again banished to the Hell of Upside Down Sinners, a prison somewhere beyond the Shadow Realm.

5 Years Ago, Los Angeles' Chinatown
Lo Pan manifests again and takes control of the Wing Kong Exhange gang. He begins his plans to resurrect the Three Storms, ancient elemental spirits bound to serve their immortal master. He re-establishes the Wing Kong Exchange Imports Ltd in Los Angeles.

Present Time, January 24, 2005
Through the intervention of Harmonious Jade, Oracle of Chinatown, the players band together to investigate the disappearance of two Chinese immigrant girls. Through the LAPD's Special Investigation Unit, the group is called to assist Detective Rodriguez in investigating these abductions. They follow a trail leading to Los Angeles harbor and a boat the Dai Maru. There they discover an albino carp which reveals itself to be a powerful totemnic spirit. They take the carp with them which through telepathy leads the group to Chinatown.

Lo Pan, using the blood of the immigrant girls, performs the ritual that will summon the Three Storms, 3 powerful elemental spirits. He succeeds in summoning the ancient Spirit of Lightning. The group, through the intercession of the white carp of HAN-XIANG-ZI, (one of the 8 Immortals of Chinese myth) is led to find the Dragon Pearl of Wisdom. John Smith, communicating in the spirit tongue with the carp, reveals that through a ritual the pearl will open a portal to a mystical realm where Lo Pan was imprisioned thousands of years ago by the First Sovereign Emperor. They all journey there to discover that hidden in one of the caves is Lo Pan's bane, the Needle of Love, guarded by none other than Mictlantecutli, Aztec god of death. He bargains with Ms. Miller, offering her the Needle in exchange for 666 days of service to him (service to end at midnight on Christmas Day, 2006).

Once obtaining the Needle of Love, Missus Miller and group returns to the mortal world to be reunited with John Smith. Thereafter they formulate a plan to attack the headquarters of the Wing Kong Exchange. They succeed in their plan and discover a series of tunnels in the sewers that leads them to Lo Pan's sanctum and his secret temple to the Demon Ching Dai. Miller, being blessed by a spell cast by Harmonious Jade, pierces Lo Pan with the Needle, banishing him to the Underworld.

The Werewolves
The Griffith Park Alphas (GPA's)
Guzman “Goose” Sangiacomo (PC) – Rahu of the Blood Talons Tribe and pack Alpha. Ex-rookie LAPD officer, now a private investigator working with the LAPD.

Dr. James “Jim” McMahon (PC) – Pack Beta and Elodoth of the Iron Masters Tribe. Forensic doctor and plastic surgeon who recently experienced his First Change two years ago.

Reinata Sangiacomo (PC) – Willful and temperamental wolfblooded teenage sister of Guzman. Musically talented and a senior attending Hollywood High school. Omega and Cahalith of the Iron Masters tribe.

Lilah Roman (NPC) - Pack Gama and Iron Master of Ithaeur auspice. Cousin to Max Roman of Denver. Oldest member of the pack (appears to be in her late 40's).

Erasumus Windar (NPC) – Old Ghostwolf and warden of Griffith Park territory. Pack Delta who was once a former leader of the Storm Lords. Disgraced and currently living as a hermit in Los Angeles.


The Mages

Missus Miller (PC) – Moros of the Free Council Order. Half Indian/British-American of the Youngblood-Proximi lineage. Her nimbus manifests as the area around her drains of color and goes black and white. Keeps a secret Sanctum in the Downtown area and is founding partner of the private investigation firm of MSM PI (Miller, Sangiacomo & McMahon).

Locke (NPC) – A Herald of the Consilium of Los Angeles. Path of Obrimos of the Mysterium Order. Close associate of Mulhouse (who is his mentor). His nimbus manifests as a bright golden glow emanating from his eyes in the shape of Atlantean sigils.

John Smith (PC) - Thyrsus shaman of the Mysterium Order. Lives as a hermit in a secluded cave in Griffith Park. Allied to various spirits of Griffith park and close friend of Erasmus. For a brief moment, Smith’s nimbus momentarily allows onlookers to see a flicker of a primal animalistic world. Sleepers might sense animistic waves of emotion coming from objects or natural phenomena—-eagerness from a sports car, stability from a chair, anger/passion from a fire and so on.

Lake Charles (PC) - American gypsy and Mastigos of the Free Council Order. Tends to move around alot and is newly arrived in the Los Angeles. He serves the local Consilium as a messenger, however, he tends to avoid typical mage politics and rivalries. His nimbus manifests as faint, distorted carinval music as well as perceptions of distant stretches.

Sometime in the early hours of the morning (3 AM on February 2nd):
The story continues as the characters continue to follow clues to the disappearance of the body of executed murderer Maxine Gordon. That same night, the gang proceeds to explore the town of Santa Clarita in the outskirts of the San Fernando Valley.

Guzman, transforming himself into his Urhan wolf shape discovers the strong scent of blood, which leads him and the others to a parked car outside a stip mall. Inside, covered in drying blood is a young latino gangbanger who's had his throat ripped open. The faint trace of footsteps leads away, leading them to an all night laundromat (but with front doors locked). Miller picks the lock and they discover bloody remains in one of the washers. The pursue the scent further, but shortly then disappears down a dark road...

Next Morning:
Missus Miller, having spent the night in her Sanctum downtown proceeds to make her appointment with a fellow Libertine of the Free Council, an associate of Persephone and Nicodemus who goes by the Shadow Name of Lake Charles. Meeting at the Los Angeles Public Library downtown they decide to investigate the restricted books section for clues to a missing occult text titled The Niniveh Codex. Using her skills in lock picking (and creative use of Death and Fate magics) they both get in and evade attention, discovering that the book was stolen from the library.


Around noon:
Detective Rodriguez contacts Jim to inform him that he needs their assistance at the home of Dr. Wilkerson. As Jim, Guzman and John Smith arrive, they discover a grizzly ritual murder scene. In the basement of the home they find the bodies of 3 teenagers, all ritually disembowelled, their insides spread on the floor to create a macabre occult pattern. On the wall, in dried human blood, they find occult symbols. To add to the horror of the scene, they discover the exhumed body of Maxine Gordon stuffed into the dryer, her left hand having been sawed off and missing. In the corner of the room John finds the Codex. After questioning the owner, they discover that her son, Troy Wilkerson is missing, his photo and description match those obtained previously by the group.
Later they are joined by Miller and Lake Charles where both discover the connection between the Codex and the ritual murder. The group then exhaustively examines the crime scene for clues. Upstairs, in Troy's room, Charles decides to cast a scrying spell to discover that Troy is at the Mulholland Dam at Hollywood Lake. Together they all leave the home and proceed to the dam to confront the suspected killer.

In the ensuing confrontation they quickly realize that somehow Troy Wilkerson has performed a ritual and that his body is now the host to an Acamoth demon. The party also discovers that he seems resistant to supernatural attacks, particularly to arcane magic. He seems to almost shrug off bullets and substantial damage from werewolf claws and fangs, healing damage as quickly as it is delivered. The group also discovers that he is preternaturally strong and is also able to siphon off Essence and Mana by mere touch.

After a long struggle (where the group slowly discovers that Troy is not Troy) Miller uses powerful Fate magic to find a clue in the Codex to stopping Troy. The book flips open, almost by itself to the page that holds the clue, unfortunately, Miller is not able to read Latin. As the melee continues Troy jumps into Hollywood Lake and disappears under the mirky waters.


Later that night:
Leaving behind Mulholland Dam, the group catches their breath and attempts to heal up and lick their wounds. Miller contacts her mage associates and is referred to Christovao, Cabal brother of Nicodemus who is an expert linguist and can translate Latin. Arranging a meeting at the Magic Castle, Miller and Charles meet Christovao who explains that to destroy the "Un-Man" as the book calls the Acamoth, they must inscribe the Sign of Marduk upon themselves and upon the host body. Once this sigil is inscribed upon the demon's flesh it can be destroyed and rendered powerless, ultimatley dispelling the creature back to the Abyss. As they conclude their business Charles casts his scrying magics to discover that Troy is at the Ranch House. The group hurries back to Silver Lake just in time as they Reinata in her Urhan form (wolf) crash through the front window running towards her brother. Soon after, the door bursts open, Troy dragging the body of Lilah, dropping her on the front lawn bruised and bloodied. The group, having inscribed the Sign of Marduk on their skin with black Sharpies (TM) attacks, quickly rendering him prone just as Jim decapitates him with his jaws.

Later that night, around midnight, the ghostly image of Maxine appears to Miller, a look of happiness on her face and her two children holding her hands. Around the same time, on the branches of the ancient Oak Spirit in Griffith Park, the body of Maxine's husband dangles from the bloody braches.

Taking the body of Troy, Miller uses Death magic to transform his decapitated body and remove all traces of injuries. They dispose of his body at Mulholland damn, ensuring that if found, he died from drowning...


Finis.

Prologue:
Evening of January 31, 2005 near dusk, John Smith, Shaman of the Mysterium is alerted to a spiritual dissonance near the vicinity of his sanctum in Griffith Park. Following a trail of ants, he is led to an ancient spirit, probably the oldest spirit in Los Angeles, the Oak that Drips with the Blood of Innocents. There, using his supernal vision, he witnesses 4 bodies that dangle from the bloody branches of the ancient oak.

Later that night:
Ms. Miller and her Uratha associates are in their offices on Wilshire Boulevard concluding some business when news reports that California's first convicted female mass murderer is to be executed late that night. Maxine Gordon, who killed her husband and two children, also goes into California penal history as the first woman to be executed.


Next day (1st day of February):
Around morning John Smith contacts Ms. Miller to consult on her knowledge of ghosts and on what he witnessed at Griffith Park. Later that morning, Guzman and his packmate Jim are contacted by Detective Rodriguez, who is seeking their assistance in an unusual case involving the exumed and stolen body of Maxine Gordon (executed the previous night at LA Central Jail) and the ritual mutilation of a dog at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Later that same day the group follows a series of trails leading to the owner of the mutilated dog and later with the spirit of the Oak. By days end Ms. Miller and Jim have interviewed the owner of the mutilated dog and his neigbhor.

As they return from west LA, Councilor Nicodemus of the Consilium, contacts Ms. Miller to alert her that a dangerous book has gone missing from a secret archive in the Central Library (forbidden books stacks). He is on Consilium business in San Francisco and informs her that an associate of his, who goes by the shadow name of "Lake Charles," will meet with her the following morning at Central Library. While possibly unrelated to the current case, Ms. Miller nevertheless decides to pursue that lead for her mentor.

Saturday the 8th, 2005 (shortly after midnight)


After managing to retrive the stolen Book of Life, the group manages to fend off the vampire coven, known as the Jelly Bats, in the subways under Hollywood and Highland. Guzman engages two of the undead on a small parking lot next to the Chinese Theatre, where upon assuming his fearsome gauru form hundreds of mortals flee in panic. In the subway below, both Miller and John Smith engage the head vampire. After reaching an impasse the vampires retreat, (mystically disappearing into the concrete of the subway platform) as the group emerges utterly exhausted but alive. Guzman, the pack Alpha is on the brink of death after his encounter with two wolf-like undead. The pack Elodoth Jim has had his entire left hand severed, among other critical injuries. Returning the stolen tome to Nicodemus, the group manages to get some downtime to rest in the ensuing weeks (and in the case of Jim and Guzman to regenerate aggravated injuries suffered at the claws of the vampires).


But why would a gang of vampires want with a mage book devoted to the Arcana of Life?


Life seems to return to some semblance of normality, but it will be interrupted in the remote parts of LA's Chinatown...

Friday, January 7th, 2005


Nicodemus (Councilor of the Mysterium) contacts the group about help investigating the theft of a valuable tome from the Consilium Archive. Miller accepts to help her mentor and recruits the aid of her theriomorph allies. Together they connect the theft to an old acquiantance of Miller, Billy Who (aka the Hip Hop Magus). The young mulatto is seen on security camera entering and leaving the Archive, somehow able to by pass the arcane and mundane security systems in place at the Magic Castle. Through some investigative skills Miller discovers that the stolen object is called The Book of Life, a powerful tome that purports to grant immortality to its reader.

Pursuing the trail they discover a lead to an abandoned warehouse on 23rd and Alameda in the industrial parts of Downtown. Parked outside the warehouse are five Harley Davidson motorcycles. Miller decides to peak around the Twilight for the presence of disembodied ghosts, possibly to serve as spies and look inside the warehouse. She finds the ghost of a young latino boy who's remains are stashed in a dumpster in the back. He relays being taken by a gang of pale, leather clad bikers, then he remembers nothing.

Upon entering the warehouse they find it abandoned, scouting they discover a trail leading to a large hole blasted into the concrete floor. Descending (and using supernatural means to detect any presence) they find a dank, moldy ground floor filled with 2 feet of water. Upon a nearby corner they find a large clay urn filled with blood. They also find the unconscious body of Billy hanging from chains. They retrieve him then later revive him to discover what happened. In the throes of blood addiction, he relays what has happened--he has become addicted to the blood of a gang of vampires. Through their supernatural influence, they forced him to steal the book from the Archive.

Later the next day, the group follows the trail (again through supernatural means) to a highway outside the outskirts of San Bernardino. Eventually stopping when Miller's jeep has a blown tire, the group follows motorcycle tracts to a small wooden shack where outside are parked 5 Harleys. As they sunset appraches in the west, the group storms the shack to discover it empty. After searching they find a large trap door on the ground. Once opened two large wolves jump out, nearly surprising the group. A furious melee ensues whereupon Jim and Guzman shapeshift into Gauru form. Jim, unfortunately, goes into deathrage and Erasmus is forced to stop him by any means lest he kill his fellows. Luckily Jim has his left hand severed and flees combat out of the instinct for self-preservation. He escapes to the hills in the desert just as the sun dips under the horizon. The group escapes as Miller retrieves a motorcycle satchel which contains the book, they flee to their vehicles and the remaining Undead pursue.


Later that night...
Rendevous with Nicodemus at Hollywood and Highland to return the stolen book.

After succeeding in destroying the spiritual corpus of the Bull of Heaven, a powerful Fire Touched werewolf totem-god, (and the sacrifice of Fynn to redeem himself to his pack) the GPA's manage to stem the tide of the Pure. The remaining surviving Pure flee, Erasmus pursues to ensure their expulsion from the Alpha's territory.


January 3rd, 2005
A couple of weeks later, Ms. Miller and her friends discover the trail of the Banisher Malachi (in the process of pursuing the second copy of the Necrenegrum, rumored to be somewhere in Boston) in a town north of Gloucester on the east coast. Following the trail of the banisher, they come upon the sleepy fishing town of Howard's Cove. There, Miller and associates discover the trail at a small witches cemetery. Two headstones, one where Jonah Wyndarde and Goodie Youngblood, catch Millers attention. She converses with the ghost of a witch who hangs from the desicated limbs of a lone tree. The group is then attacked by some villagers who are possessed of spirits (ridden). They manage to escape on their rental car to return to their roadside motel.

Guzman and John arrive to lend support, they manage to make their way north to Howard's Cove.

A couple of hours later, pandemonium errupts as their car (which was parked a few kilometers away, to avoid being followed) is set on fire. Malachi, possessing the inn keeper, attacks Miller and Co. In the ensuing melee, Malachi takes over the mind of Miller, placing her own .357 Magnum revolver in her mouth. Speaking through Miller he makes a simple request: give him the Necrenegrum or Miller pulls the trigger. The choice is made...

Miller and Co. manager to barely escape as the motel goes up in flames (a botched spell cast by Locke). Malachi escapes with the grimoire. The group returns to LA.

Wherein the group receive a gift that could destroy the ancient spirit of the Bull and the Firetouched make their presence known...


Monday morning, December 13, 2004


Jaya and John left the Ranch House in Silver Lake (aka the Wolf Den). Guzman went off to be on his own after discovering that his father is one of the Pure tribes. Jim stayed at the den to deal with the fire department.

Ms. Miller phoned Locke to tell him about the Pure. He was still at the office with Reinata - who was asleep. Jaya then went to the Consilium where she spent most of the night doing research in the Archive of the Consilium. She learned that the Bull of Heaven is a god-like fire spirit that can be incarnated into flesh if the proper rituals are performed, (which involves a birthing process with a willing host). The fire spirit is connected to Tiamat - the Sumerian goddess of chaos and destruction. The Bull was previsouly bound and banished by the powerful mage Gilgamesh, who was able to channel magical power through his own body. The Bull's avatar is called the Render of Flesh. There is also mention of the Tether of Inanna, a tether of lapis-lazuli which can be used to control the Bull. The archives indicate that the best way to deal with a spirit is to go into the Shadow and deal with it there or to attack it when it is at its weakest - or when it is newly born/incarnated.

Ms. Miller also investigated the Puritan - a witch hunter who hid the copy of the Necrenegrum in Boston that Nix is supposed to be after. She learned that the Puritan was a witch hunter from England who came to the Americas in the early 1600's. He was a standard religious witch-finder who believed in torture and burnings. He was associated with a group called the White Putnams - from which a cabal of mages in Boston is descended. The Puritan was eventually flayed and killed by vengeful mages. Some of the text Miller accessed contained deletions that were made recently.

John returned to Griffith Park and communed with one of the older spirits in the woods. He sensed something following him and called our for it to "run off." He then sensed it retreating. Arriving at an ancient oak tree, John communed with the Spirit of the Oak that Drips with the Blood of Innocents. It recounted the history of Griffith Park for him. The spirit told him that the park was once protected by werewolves who were later subjugated by spirits. Then, 20 years ago, the werewolves warred with one another (the Bretheren Wars).

Guzman, Jim, and Erasmus met up again that night. There was tension and disagreement about the current situation. Guzman wanted to track down Phineas (Fynn) in the hopes of learning more about the Hooligans. Jim also wanted to track down Phineas to offer him membership in their pack. Erasmus insisted that it would be better to meet with the Hooligans and then ask them why they kicked Phineas out. They argued about some other issues as well. Eventually, they went to ask for their totem's help in finding the Hooligans - who could serve as allies against the Pure. The ravens agreed to help. The ravens also told the pack that destroying the Pure's sleeping totem - the Bull of Flames - was beyond their ability so they would have to either kill the Pure or give them a better alternative then releasing their totem.

Miller (Jaya) met Thanatos in the archives at the Magic Castle and agreed to have a drink with him. Thanatos claimed that he was there because he couldn't sleep and tried to be enigmatic when Miller asked him why the bone they used when summoning Butterfield's ghost was expended during the casting. He did confirm that the White Putnams are one of the ruling cabals in Boston and that they are descended from the Puritan. The Puritan had been a Banisher, which is a self-hating mage who tries to redeem himself by killing other mages.

The ravens returned an hour after they left to find the Hooligans, saying that they'd located the pack. They are in a warehouse east of the towers in downtown, by some railroad tracks.

The next morning, John was approached by Julian. Julian wanted to meet with the Alphas to discuss a truce. He suggested that they meet at midnight on the following day at the construction site. John agreed to relay the message. He then went to a pay phone and called Jaya. They agreed to meet for lunch. Jaya called the pack and Locke to let them know about the lunch meeting.

At lunch, they told each other what they had learned and John recounted his meeting with Julian that morning. A truce was not an option and everyone agreed that they should come to the midnight meeting prepared for a fight. Guzman planned to enlist the aid of the Three Sisters and the Hooligans. Erasmus suggested that he could contact the Scar Angels and attempt to get their help.

After lunch, Erasmus left to contact the Scar Angels. Jaya and Locke returned to their research on the Necronegrum. Guzman, Jim, and Reinata went to find the Hooligans, which was easy enough thanks to the ravens' guidance. They met 4 of the Hooligans and their totem which existed in 2 large black dogs (Rottweilers). They have a 5th member, Gregory the Omega, who was away at the time. Dylan, the alpha, is an Irraka Hunter in Darkness. Leon, the beta, is a Rahu Hunter in Darkness. Sandy is a Cahalith Hunter in Darkness. Rachel is a Cahalith Bone Shadow. Their totem is called the Hounds that Dwell in the Darkness.

The Hooligans claimed that they did not know they were intruding upon anyone's territory. Guzman talked territory with Dylan, who didn't seem very interested in claiming territory. When asked about Phineas, Dylan said that they kicked him out for sinning with one of the women in their pack - who, by the way, Dylan is obviously hot for.

Dylan and Jim negotitated and the Hooligans agree to help against the Pure only if the Alphas agreed to give them the next werewolf who goes through the First Change in the area. Jim and Guzman agreed to the terms. The Hooligans said that they would begin to scout the area where the Pure are and will try to take out any lone members they encounter.

Tuesday, December 14 (the climax)
Having journeyed into the Shadown to acquire the Gauntlet of Avernus, the Alpha's return after assuring the guardian of the Gauntlet that they would return it once they completed their mission (to ensure this Guzman is forced to leave his little sister Reinata as hostage).
After journeying back to the ritual sacrifice altar in Griffith Park, the group confronts the construction site where the Pure are preparing to sacrifice Elena to bring forth the Bull of Heaven. In the ensuing conflict Fynn, using the Gaunlet, plunges it into the newly born spirit, the ensuing conflagration knocks everyone out, killing Fynn instantly.

-From the Book of Law of the Consilium

"Let it be known that this is the will of the Awakened community: the Consilium of Los Angeles and its territories, Cabals and representatives. We assume our rights and responsibilities wholly and without reservation, for so long as even one member of the Consilium shall stand to uphold them. With these come the obligations and privileges of governance thereof. The Law and purpose of the Consilium - and reasons for defending both - are as follows:


Law of the Veil
"None shall betray the Mysteries of the Supernal through their actions. Those that choose inaction in the defense of the Mysteries are no less guilty than those that actively offend against the Veil. Punishable breaches of secrecy include those witnessed not only by those afflicted with the Sleeping Curse, but by those that exist with the Awakened beyond the auspices of common humanity.
Law of Allegiance
"Those that claim residence in the Consilium of Los Angeles and its territories are bound to its Law and subject to the scrutiny of its Hierarch, Council, Heralds, Provosts and agents. Honor all vows and duties sworn to Cabal, Order, Consilium and fellow Willworkers. Ignorance of the Law shall not be considered protection from the Law.
Law of the Protectorate
"Protectorates shall be considered Sanctums, claimed Hollows or any other holdings. Those Cabals made known to the Hierarch and Council shall benefit from the protection of the Consilium in times of strife. Those who opt to abide in silence shall expect no succor in such times.
Law of Wisdom
"All members of Awakened Society are expected to uphold the tenets of the Paths of Wisdom. Those that depart the Paths of Wisdom shall be judged by the actions for which they are responsible of their own free will. Those that fall from the Paths of Wisdom shall be judged by their Cabal, Order, and the Council, and held accountable as deemed appropriate by the authorities of the Consilium of Los Angeles.
Law of Union
"The members of Awakened Society will gather as a community. When called for and agreed upon, the traditions of the Duel Arcane must be obeyed. The Lex Magica and the Book of Law shall be upheld and maintained by a Council represented by the Paths of the Atlantean Pentacle. The Council shall elect a Hierarch to lead the community."

From the Journal of Missus Miller, Free Council Mage of the Path of Moros.

Thursday, December 9, 2004
Guzman, Jim, John, Locke, Reinata and I regrouped at the office. Reinata had decrypted the 2nd disc that Guzman had taken from the construction site. It contained a Sumerian text and a translation that someone had done. The text tells the story of the Bull of Heaven, a spirit that was unleashed upon the world many millenia ago. I recognized this as one of the oldest myths of Western civilization. The bull came to earth and destroyed everything it came upon until Gilgamesh stopped it and drove it off. This suggests that it was the Bull of Heaven that John saw on the other side of the breach in the Gauntlet.

We did more research online about Magadon Industries. We learned the initials of the 3 members of the board of directors: MJ (Michael Johnson), JS, and AH. Michael Johnson - who we had already begun to investigate - was an architect and was responsible for Project Gilgamesh, which is the the monument Delphus that is being built in Griffith Park. We found no information about AH. But JS stands for Julian Sangiacomo. Julian is said to have died 8 years ago in an accident in Colorado.

This information caused a ripple, as Julian appears to have been Guzman and Reinata's father.

Guzman called in an anonymous tip to the police, describing workmen in Magadon uniforms assaulting two park rangers the night before.

Jim called Magadon in an effort to schedule an appointment, but he only got a recording. At that point we decided to go in person. Reinata stayed behind to continue decrypting the discs and to see if she could hack into the Magadon web site. Locke also stayed behind to continue his work with the Librum Necronegrum.

Guzman, Jim, John and I arrived at Magadon's office on the 47th floor of a downtown highrise on Figueroa and Wilshire. When we stepped off the elevator we saw a very sparse and modern office with an attractive receptionist sitting at a desk. Jaya cast Mage Sight and sensed not only that the woman was wolf-blooded but that the office was filled with an overall sense of destiny. Jim also noticed a pervasive smell of fresh human blood in the air.

Jim introduced himself to the receptionist and said that he would like to talk to someone about a possible business venture. The receptionist, Amelia (possibly our AH), led us to a conference room just down the hall. The only noteworthy decoration in the room was a piece of Native American art on the wall.

I sensed 5 or 6 dead ghosts in the vicinity of the office, all of whom had been killed recently. None of them seemed to know how they died. Most of their bodies were in various offices, though 1 body was in the basement below the highrise. Egged on by this knowledge, I was confrontational with Amelia. Amelia asked us to leave and when we did not, she called in two werewolf thugs.

The stand off quickly degenerated into a fight. Jim grabbed Amelia and fled with her as his hostage. Guzman faced off with one of the thugs while Jim and I attempted to keep the other one occupied with spells, bullets, and a lot of dodging. Guzman tore the arm off his first opponent, killing him. The second thug fled and Guzman chased after him. The two ran up and down the stairwell, until the thug finally ran into a call center and started killing people as it transformed into its monstrous form, causing much Pandemonium. Guzman took him down and then dragged him off as a prisoner.

John and I searched the dead werewolf in the conference room, finding a piece of bone wrapped in leather and beads and a large steel dagger. I also pocketed Amelia's PDA, which she dropped when Jim carried her off. Together they searched the rest of the office suite, only to find 6 bodies in the offices, some of which were almost entirely eaten by the werewolves.

Finally, the four of us rendezvous in the garage. We bound Amelia and the thug, and then headed back to the office, where they dropped Jaya off. The other three took the hostages to the pack's new den in Silver Lake. I went upstairs to the office where Reinata gave her what she found on the third disc. I then drove Reinata back to Jim's old place in West Hollywood before heading to Silver Lake.

Guzman tied up the werewolf thug with chains to a post in the basement. Jim injects sedatives from his medical bag to help keep the thug unconscious. When I arrived they read what Reinata had gotten from the 3rd disc. It was a werewolf myth told from the point of view of the Pure Tribes.

John and Guzman then went back to the park to commune with their spirits and recover their spent energies. On their way, Guzman called the Three Sisters pack and invited Eleni to come participate in the interrogation of the prisoners.

Jim and I stayed with the prisoners. When Amelia woke up they questioned her. Her full name is Amelia Hartford and she admitted to being a wolf-blooded servant whose duty is to give sons and daughters to the cause of the Pure - though she hasn't had any children yet. She confirmed that Magadon was just a front used by the tribe of Firetouched Pure that she is affiliated with. The Tribe is run by Lady Mahri and Julian, her consort. Amelia claimed to be Julian's bitch - and was, at the very least, his brood mare. She also said that Michael Johnson had been wolf-blooded and that Julian killed him.

Amelia's arrogance and cultist attitude grated on Jim and I. Attempting to take the wind out of Amelia's sails, Jim mocked her by telling her that his alpha is Julian's son. This frustrated and angered her. She viewed me with contempt. I kicked out one of Amelia's teeth and Jim told her that Jaya was a witch.

Guzman returned with Eleni and Erasmus. We interrogated the werewolf thug prisoner. He told us that the Bull of Heaven will emerge, according to a prophecy they believe in. He had complete confidence that the prophecy could not be stopped. He said the rest of the Pure were on their way and that the Bull will be born on the winter solstice. He also revealed that the blood of a Pure must lay on the altar when the bull is born. Then Guzman gave Erasmus the go ahead to kill the prisoner. Erasmus cut out the thug's heart.

Eleni revealed that there is a third pack in the area called the Hooligans. They do not have their own territory, but live on the edges of the other territories. The Hooligans' alpha is Dylan O'connor and their beta is Leon Whittaker (an urahu). There are 3 other members and another, Phineas, who was kicked out of the pack. Phineas frequents night clubs in the city.

The discussion was interrupted when Jim smelled smoke and fire upstairs. As everyone else headed upstairs, I grabbed Amelia and brought her upstairs, too.

A large tree was burning in the front yard with 12 or 13 wolves pacing beneath it. One of the wolves came forward and turned into a naked man, who looked suspiciously like an older Guzman. He demanded that we return Amelia to him. Guzman and Julian talked briefly, alpha to alpha, but Julian was not backing down. Clearly outnumbered, Erasmus and Eleni counselled that we should do as Julian demanded. Erasmus carried Amelia out to Julian. Jaya cast Interconnections to see what personal connections there were among the other pack. The spells revealed the strongest connections were between Julian, Amelia, and the unborn child Amelia was carrying. Julian took Amelia and led his pack away.

We began to discuss what to do next. Eleni suggested getting a spirit - like the Azlu - to strengthen the Gauntlet in order to prevent the Bull from coming through. While the others talked, I reduced the dead werewolf in the basement to ash and scooped some of his remains into a ziploc. As the night grows long, Jim calls 911.

Mages of the Consilium


Hierarch: Khumeia (Mastigos of the Silver Ladder)
Councilor 1 — Adamantine Arrow: Vigiles (Thyrsus)
Councilor 2 — Silver Ladder: Deacon Gilmore (Obrimos)
Councilor 3 — Mysterium: Nicodemus Mulhouse (Obrimos)
Councilor 4 — Guardian of the Veil: Valentine (Mastigos)
Provost (Hierarch’s): Faustina (Mastigos)
Provost (Guardian of the Veil): Johann Kurtzweil (Obrimos)
Provost (Adamantine Arrow): Cassandra (Mastigos)
Provost (Mysterium): Sao Christovao (Acanthus)
Provost (Free Council): seat empty
Herald 1: Locke (Obrimos)
Herald 2: Thanatos (Moros)
Sentinel 1: Arctos (Obrimos)
Sentinel 2: Movran (Obrimos)
Sentinel 3: seat empty

Wherein the pack claims their pack Totem, the Spirits of the Ravens of Griffith Park (Hugin & Munin)


Friday, December 3

Jaya met Nicodemus for lunch. She told him that she eliminated Butterfield and asked his advice on how to broach this topic with the Consilium. He recommended that she meet with Khumeia, Faustina, and Thanatos ASAP. She also learned the following:

Valentino is a gay film mogul, (Deux Ex Machina Films) a Mastigos, and a member of the Silver Ladder. His apprentice, Josiah Lamb, is a sleepwalker.
Billy Who is a member of the Consilium, but he generally doesn't like the Consilium and doesn't get too involved.
Papa Midnight is a voodoo priest who has declined membership in the Consilium. He deals with gangs and other criminal elements.
Jaya went to the Magic Castle and left word for Khumeia, Faustina, and Thanatos.

The Wolf Pack goes to Griffith Park and summon the raven spirits. They give the ravens 2 heads - from the previous night - and then negotiate for the ravens to become the pack's totem. The negotitation is successful, but the pack must bring the ravens the eyes from EVERY kill. The pack also learns the following:

Guzman could not take any of the essence from the Ladybird Room because Mr. G. is still alive.
Mr. G - or the Leather Worker - is hiding in a cave beneath the Ladybird Room, regenerating.
There's another locus in Griffith Park that is used and guarded by a Mage who has won the spirits' respect.


Saturday, December 4

Jaya arranges to meet Thanatos and Faustina on Sunday. Khumeia cannot make it.

Erasmus shows up at the den with a John Smith, a mage-shaman with healing and spirit abilities. Erasmus knows John because they both live in Griffith Park. He brought John because Guzman was concerned about facing Mr. G. without a healer in tow.

Guzman calls Jaya. Jaya comes over. She finds out that John knows Locke (both are members of the Mysterium Order). She calls Locke to confirm that John is a good egg. He gets the thumbs up.

Jaya drives Jim and John to the Ladybird Room. They scout the area, while Guzman goes to the park with the others. When everyone reunites at the LBR, Jaya takes the keys and casts a spell. She puts a key into the door to the office and opens the door, revealing a cave. We all go into the cave.

At the end of the cave is a coccoon. When we see it, a giant spider thing with a human torso coming out of its front drops onto us and attacks us. Reinata and Jim run away in fear. Guzman and Erasmus fight it. John heals Erasmus when he is poisoned by the creature. Jaya fires a couple shots, then starts hexing the creature rather effectively. It gets torn apart.

Jaya empties her clip into the coccoon. "This is for Sylvia." The coccoon explodes in a rain of milky white fluid which drenches everyone in the cave.

There are 4 more coccoons containing preserved human remains. Jim burns them. Jaya collects bits of bone and metal from the burnt remains.

Guzman is able to draw essence from the room, but it is tainted with death and he cannot use the essence to heal. Jaya draws mana from the room but has no problem. Between the two of them, they drain the room. It is not a locus/hallow. It is a place where essence/mana can be stored. John helps us to understand the nature of the room. We talk about what to do with the room but come to no conclusion. It could be valuable to the group, but there are still unanswered questions.

Everyone thanks John for his help. Jaya gives him her card. He tells the wolf pack that if they need him again, to send their spirits to find him and he will respond.

Wherein the newly formed pack (and our lone mage) find a body at a landfill and discover the predations of the Spider Hosts.


Saturday, November 6, 2004 (day after the last half-moon phase)
The newly formed Griffith Park Alpha's (GPA's) discover an abandoned truck in a landfill in Inglewood (next to Inglewood Park Cemetery). Upon investigation they discover a body in the cab of the truck. James, the pack's Elodoth (and a physician) identifies the body as a female in her 30's, her body's internal organs and skeleton having been liquified, leaving only a skin sack. Guzman, the packs Alpha finds a purse with an drivers license belonging to a Sylvia Clarke.
As they continue to investigate the truck and surrounding landfill a group of 3 dark suited men all wearing dark sunglasses arrive in a black Lincoln Escalade SUV. They approach menacingly and a melee ensues. Badly beaten by the incredibly strong mysterious men, the GPA's flee, (after killing one of the men) abandoning the truck and the body.


Session II
Upon further investigation they discover that the body of Sylvia Clarke is a past acquaintance of Mrs. Miller, a Mage who knows the pack. Erasmus, the old Ghostwolf believes that the men are not human, that they are in fact the Spider Host Azlu.
Further investigation leads to a man by the name of Gregor who lives near Chinatown. As they arrive to question him he begins to become agitated and goes into convulsions, dying shortly. Jim diagnoses that the man has died of some form of poisoning from a puncture mark at the back of his neck. The group, including Mrs. Miller, flee the scene.


Session III
Friday, November 19 and 20th (half-moon phase)
The pack decides to infiltrate the Ladybird Room. Upon investigation they discover Mr. G and meet other patrons the mobster Nino Moscarello and the call girl Beatriz Rodriguez. That night after leaving they discover the group of fratboys murdered. As they pursue the black truck in their limousine they are shot at by the bouncers. Monte is mortally injured after crashing the limo.
The following night the pack decides, with the assistance of the Consilium mages to assult the Ladybird room and destroy the Azlu. They recruit the help of Eleni Park Sun Ae, Alpha of the Three Sisters pack. That night they destroy the Azlu bouncers and Mr. G, who nearly kills Missus Miller. The GPA's clean out the Ladybird room before it phases out into the Shadow world. They now discover that the door opens only during the nights of the half-moon. The following day Monte dies of his injuries and Lilah decides to leave the pack and Los Angeles to live in Max Roman's territory in Colorado.
The nights following Missus Miller contacts the ghosts of her former friend Sylvia (killed by Mr. G) and after finding her remains lays them to rest. She also contacts the ghost of Monte, who tells her he is at peace. The GPA's forge a compact with the Three Sisters pack, deciding to mutually aid each other and honor each others territory.

Wherein our troupe of characters first meet and discover a cult that is hell-bent on resurrecting an aeons-old demon.


Chapter One, Suffer the Children to Come unto Me
Session I
June 3
Two bodies of young teenagers (13 and 14) male (Michael James) and female (Marie Chapman) found ritually slain in Griffith Park. Guzman finds bodies. Calls his partner Rodriguez to help.

Erasmus witnesses scene.

Jaya is called by Wally, a PI, to help investigate. She has left the PI business many years ago and now works as an archivist at the Huntington Library. Wally disappears shortly thereafter. Jaya decides to take on the case. Meets Locke at Wally’s office.

Session II
Guzman and Jaya meet. Jaya discovers Wallys notes on the disappearance of some homeless children.

Session III
June 6
Meet James MacMahon (Jim), a physician at County Hospital who is performing autopsies on the bodies of a couple of murdered children. Jaya interviews him and in due course the bodies come to life and attack them. They escape. Erasmus accompanies them to the desert.

That night:
Jim reveals to Jaya that he is Uratha.
They battle three male adult cultists who are keeping a group of children prisoners.

Find missing children in abandoned cave near Death Valley, CA. Total children found are 8 but one escapes witnessing an incomplete Gauru transformation by Guzman. They steal an abandoned vintage camper and truck. Seven children are rescued:

Jonah, 13
Michael, 13
Ally, 12
Samantha (Sam), 14
Emily, 15
Peter, 9 (youngest, most withdrawn)
Ronnie (Ron), 13

Session IV
Midnight to Tuesday morning June 8

That evening they trace the pictures found in Wally’s office to an old abandoned office building on Hollywood Blvd near Highland. On the 10th floor they discover an altar and two cultist children who attack them. They also find the notebooks of Brother Malachi (along with a severed finger with a ring that Jaya recognizes as belonging to her missing fiancé) and reference to the Librum Necrenegrum:

Children are kept in Guzman's apt in Hollywood. Greg West, Wally Park's PI partner goes to Guz's apt and demands the children. They discover he is working for the cult of Mali and conflict ensues. Greg is killed. They call Lilah to help dispose of the body.

Jaya found some papers, many are gibberish, ranting of lunacy and somewhat
incoherent. But on certain pages she sees what appear to be rituals of some
sort. They are rituals to a being by the name of Berzelius a servant of Mali
and to summon his servant Fécor. There is also an interesting passage:

"the Illusionist will lead us into the land of salvation and shelter us from
our enemies. He is the chosen one, to whom blessed Berzelius speaks, to whom
she grants her rewards. Lead the children into the perdition of light and
let them be feasts to her eternal hunger until the day she awakens and
returns."

"She was once bound by the canticles of the pentacle orders, but she will be
free again. After 300 years we have waited and have made preparations for
her feast."

"Acerun
Animus
Kaedes
Aeternas
Menukhem..."

…and it mentions a book. The Librum Necrenegrum which possess the final ritual needed to release the demon Berzelius into the world of men. Once Berzelius is made flesh then he will open to the gate for Mali to return.

Written in the margins where the book is mentioned is scratched in small
writing "brother Malachi (JN) will find the grimoire, he is close..."

Session V
June 10

• Children are moved and safeguarded in Jim’s flat. Jaya discovers cultist impersonating Locke
• Jaya uncovers secret files in Wally’s hard drive (her family connection to the Proximi heritage)
• Jaya attached by cultist impersonating Locke at Wally’s office. She rescues Locke and together they take unconscious body to Jim’s Beverly Hills office.
• Cultist attempts to escape and attacks Guzman. Jim changes into wolf form and attacks, killing cultist easily
• Jaya and Jim go to Guzman’s apartment, there they discover Reinata’s gold cross and a note written in blood “Give us the children or she dies”

Note
Jim’s wolf form is and slightly shorter and muscular sized wolf with jet black fur highlighted with blonde in tips of ears and tail.

• Lilah meets Guzman and Jim at Griffith Park. That night Guzman undergoes his First Change, he hunts with Jim and they find the locus (large slanted rock in a glade of evergreens, a nearby small pool of water which serves as a reflective surface for purposes of crossing the gauntlet) in a hidden grove of trees, Erasmus leads them in a hunt. They hunt all night until moon set, 5AM
• Erasmus tells Guzman to meet him that day (June 11) at dusk at the foot of the Hollywood sign. He tells Guz about the Uratha tribes and that he is going to undergo the Rite of Initiation shortly. He tells him he will contact him through Lilah but that if he needs to find him to come to the rock.
• Guzman, Jaya and Jim all return to Jim’s flat. They rest the morning and day. Guz tells them he needs to meet Erasmus at dusk

Session VI
June 11

Around 9AM

• Locke informs Jaya to go downtown and meet Mulhause. Jaya takes Jim, he verifies that Mulause is being truthful and they show him the notes of Brother Malachi. He tells them of the Necrenegrum

Around 12 noon
Jaya goes to see her friend Balraj. Jim returns to his apartment.

2PM – Jaya returns to Jim’s place

3PM – Guzman returns to his own apartment, picks up scent of his sister Reinata. Performs Rite of Dedication on his clothing, gun and holster.

4PM - Jaya’s research reveals that the Proximi lineage is connected to a Ste. Martin family (Marcus from the turn of the last century). This Marcus had a servant, an Adrian Youngblood who’s son left for India in 1892 (possible great grandfather of Jaya).

7PM (Sunset) – Guzman meets Erasmus at Griffith Park at the base of the Hollywood sign.

8PM – Guzman returns to Jim’s apartment, where the children and Jaya are. Guz performs Rite of Dedication on a pair of Jim’s clothing and personal effects.

8:45PM - Two bounty hunters (professional assassins) attack them. The gang kill both of them. Jaya keeps the female’s Glock pistol. They also find a business card with a weird symbol and a phone number to a J. Hex in Boston, MA (the call it).
The children are taken to Lilah’s for safekeeping. Lilah gives Guz two weeks to sort things out and return the kids to their families.

11PM – Jaya, Guzman and Jim go to the County Hospital to help Jim dispose of the bodies of the assassins. As they do she falls to the floor, her heart stopping. She experiences the first step in her Awakening.

- They call Locke. He arrives driving the old pick up truck they stole in the desert when they rescued the children.

- Around midnight they all head over to the Magic Castle, Locke gets them rooms and food since Jim’s apartment may no longer be safe.

Session VII
Saturday, June 12th

9AM – Guzman with the aide of Jaya, Locke and Jim go to the abandoned office building on Hollywood Blvd. Entering the basement they discover a boiler room where Reinata is bound, gagged and unconscious inside an antique bathtub. She is surrounded by shades of spirits (5), two of which become corporeal and attack. They eventually rescue her and escape, suffering the effects of black plague which both Jim and Guz regenerate, but which Jaya doesn’t. Locke uses his Life magics to restore them to health.

11AM – The group goes to Lilah’s in Pasadena with Reinata and the children. Lilah gives Guz two weeks to defeat brother Malachi and return the kids to their families.

4PM – Jaya goes to see Nicodemus downtown.
Guz and Jim hang out and get massages.

Near Midnigth - Following clues and curious about her previous encounter with the shades of the dead, Jaya goes to LA County Hospital where she Awakens, inscribes her name in the Supernal Watchtower of the Lead Coin and becomes a Moros.

Note - Jim’s dads place: James McMahon Sr., address @ 24935 Lexington Rd, Beverly Hills).

Session VIII
Sunday, June 13 – 15th

Guz meets Detective Amanda Torres LAPD at Mel’s Diner in Hollywood. She shares information about the church of Mali and the missing children.

Jaya meets with a mage named Thanatos at Hollywood Forever cemetery, he creeps her out and steals her purse. Later he reveals he wanted a personal effect to perform a spell to see if she was who she said she was and not an enemy of the consilium.

Monday, June 14th, near Midnight

Consilium heralds, Thanatos and Locke do reconnaissance.

• Mansion in Hollywood Hills, home of Marcus Stephenson (rich entrepreneur and brother of a church of Mali cult member, Brother Jason). He is abducted and held prisoner along with the bodies of Wally Park (now dead). The group attack the church of Mali and kill Jason and encounter an illusion of Brother Malachi who drives Guz with terror into the hills.
• Jim attacks a cultist (Jason) and discovers the Klaive (disguised as a modern work of art by Jacques Philippe). The Klaive is actually called Steel & Lightning.

• Discover possessed bodies of two kids, one boy and one girl, 12-13 years old on the master bedroom, bodies are merged and becomes a manifestation of Berzelius, who attacks Jaya and Jim.

Session IX
Monday, June 14th

Take children to county welfare services (Shaniqua Jenkins, Child Protective Services SW).

End of first chapter Suffer the Children to come to me

Downtime
July 10th
• Initiation of Guzman into the Blood Talons Tribe. Meets Duke Needham, alpha of the Scar Angels pack at Griffith Observatory to undergo initiation (he hunts and kills the demon swine of Griffith Park).

Around this time Jaya meets Persephone to become a member of the Free Council Order. She also meets Argos. Over the course of the comming months she is instructed and tutored in mage society and the pentacle orders. She is also taught magical rotes spells. Jaya adopts the Shadown name of Missus Miller.

Session X
October 31st. Halloween (All Hallows Eve).

Halloween in LA. Jaya now owns Park & West Private Investigations. She invites Jim and Guzman to become PIs with her.

Chapter Two, Rites of the Dead

• Find the body of Samantha Angustri and the gems that adorn her tiara, necklace and wedding ring. Hired by Sandra John-Michaels to find her mother.

• Involvement of her older brother, Michael Angustri who wants the jewels (by Cartier). He attempts to hire the group, his home is an old manor style mansion in Brentwood.

• Jim and Gus follow the trail of the body to the cave in Malibu. They fight a large mindless zombie who they kill and falls into the well.

They wait for Jaya who does not return and then follow her trail to the house in Brentwood, kill the guard dogs (ghouls) and discover Jaya inside. They confront Michael Angustri, who attempts to hire Jaya to recover the Angustri jewels. He then threatens to call the police for trespassing on his property. They leave and return to the offices in Koreatown.

Session XI
November 2nd, Day of the Dead (or All Souls Day)

The group, after Jaya speaks with the numerous dead around the Brentwood house, discovers the connection to the cult of Mictantecuhtli and the involvement of Samantha as a priestess of that cult.

• Jaya and group go to the cave in Malibu and Jaya speaks with a large black owl with fiery red eyes. It tells her that she must find and bring the body of his priestess to his people.

They then investigate and do research. Jaya finds out some more about Mictantecuhtli at her office. She speaks to Locke, who tells her that he can get her into the Consilium Archive at the Magic Castle. He puts her in contact with Billy Who.

• Jim and Guz return to Lila’s house in Pasadena. Guz confronts Lila about her Angustri heritage.

• Billy Who, the Hip-hop Magus, calls Jaya and they agree to meet at the homeless park on Franklin close to the Magic Castle at 2AM (Nov. 3rd). That night he leads her into the Archive to do research on vampires.

Conclave of the Meniscus


Regular Event
This grandious title refers to the annual meeting of the Consilium of Los Angeles. It was first enacted by the Pax Ventus in 1855 and has remained a mainstay of succeeding Consilii ever since.
This tradition was allegedly introduced by one of the few remaining Proximi families. The Proximi claim it was adopted by their ancestors during the "Burning Times" in England. Fleeing from the footsoldiers of the Witchfinder General, the Wyndes arranged secret meetings, or moots, during the new moon (the meniscus), when darkness would conceal them.
Although the original reasons for the Conclave have long since faded, the Consilium still maintains the practice. Under the Precept of Recognition, it is considered wise to gather together the Consilium Council and the Assembly to renew their oath to the Consilium and to keep an accurate poll of the Awakened. Generally, mages assemble at the Magic Castle Private Club on the Spring Equinox closest to the new moon, and recite their oath to the Consilium. At this point, the Consilium Council asks if there is any business to be brought before it. If there is business, the Council convenes to address the issues. If there is not, the Council closes and those present are free to socialize for the evening, or to leave as they wish.
It is common for social events involving the Awakened to be held at the Conclave, but it is equally common for antagonists to engage in the Duel Arcane at a moot, since the social requirement of attendance allows disputants to meet face-to-face.



The Wagner Cup
Regular Event
The Adamantine Arrows have always been enamoured with martial prowess, and have sought every opportunity to use competition as a means of forcing the improvement of their skills. There are few forms of combat that are considered as vital to the Adamantine Arrows as the mystical Duel Arcane. The Duel Arcane in addition to directly showing the relative mystic strength of their members also traditionally has weight in Atlantean culture, and is much revered. To force the improvement of their students in this area, In 1950 the Wagner Cup was instituted, an annual competition that pits all students and local alumni of the Adamantine Arrows against each other in the Duel Arcane.
The Wagner Cup is for Academy adepts and students (Adamantine Arrows) only. It is held in Wagner Castle in Denmark, behind closed doors to prevent tampering, but over the years the Cup has become something of an open secret to the point where there is often much interest and speculation on its outcome even from the other local Orders. The Cup is traditionally held in late April and takes place over several months (to allow those involved an opportunity to recuperate between rounds).
The Cup is a straight elimination tournament and it is traditionally the responsibility of the Banner Warden or the Order to arrange the initial pairings in the wisest manner possible. Of course this has in the past become highly political as there has always been the spectre of Wardens intent on "fixing" the tournament by arranging the pairings in a self serving manner (Ferrum was particularly known for this during his tenure as Warden). It is also the case that many are more excited by the initial pairings when the fights are more equal and uncertain, than the later duels when the fights tend to be lopsided, with one side being the clear favorite.

"In Los Angeles' Chinatown there is a being of great power and unspeakable evil. He is called the Jade Demon... known as... "Lo Pan"... The Jade Demon has two basic forms. On Earth, he is a feeble, nearly bald Chinese man who looks at least 100. In his Shadow Realm, he resembles a Chinese mandarin in crimson robes and in the prime of life... Sometimes he grows his fingernails to extreme lengths..."

-Harmonious Jade, Oracle of Chinatown


History
Many centuries ago, Lo Pan, a great warrior, was defeated in battle by the First Sovereign Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He was a “shadow emperor” appointed by the first sovereign emperor. Lo Pan was put on the throne as an impersonator because Huang was afraid of being assassinated. However, Lo Pan tried to take over and was cursed by Huang to exist without flesh for 2,000 years until he could marry a girl with green eyes. The Emperor placed upon Lo Pan the Curse of No Flesh. Although Lo Pan can be temporarily granted a decrepit body by supplication to the gods, in order to permanently break the curse and regain his human form, he must marry a woman with green eyes. Simply marrying her will please Ching Dai, the God of the East. But to satisfy the Emperor, he must sacrifice her.


[Lo Pan is the name of the compass used for geomancy or feng shui. It literally means everything bowl - the device that reveals the secrets of the universe.]


Not much is known about his time after his death. He is first seen for only a brief moment as a ghostly mandarin in blood-red robes in turn of the 19th century. He is also known to be attended by three immortals: these three are identified as the Three Storms – Thunder, Lightning, and Rain.

Around 1950 he emerges as David Lo-Pan, the aging head of the Wing Kong Exchange. He is also in charge of the street gang, the Wing Kong (known for their red sashes). It is revealed that Lo-Pan arranged for the assassination of the leader of the Chang Sings in 1998, a rival street gang. The Oracle Harmonious Jade refers to Lo Pan's curse, calling him "only a dream."


Events have recently placed him in the forefront of Chinese gang activity in Los Angeles. Some say that his 2,000 year curse is nearing its end, that he is marshalling his forces to become flesh again. He is seldom seen outside a trusted circle of servants, but his name is again being spoken aloud.