Fitful Slumber Interrupted
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 12486
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Stacy jerked awake, soaked with sweat, her heart still pounding. It was
still dark out. It had been a vivid dream, stirring things in her, almost
as if she was remembering something she had forgotten. She couldn't quite
place what significance this had to her, though, save for the fact that it
seemed to line up eerily, forming a prologue to the picture of the woman
in the scroll who resembled her so, Anastasia... But if that were true, then she didn't even need to wonder what came next in the dream. Was it merely suggestion? A result of having the scroll on her mind? Or did it mean something more? None of this made sense or held up under conventional rationality. So many strange things, like her memory loss, her best friend turning up, and then turning out to be a witch, or so she said. There was also the repeating seeming significance of the full moon, only two days away as of this morning. Magic. Where she stood now, was such an idea so far fetched? An older man stands in a large, sparsely lit room, surrounded by various figures in stylized greek plaster masks. The one at the far right speaks, regarding the older man. "So, Zelator Myer, what have you called us here for?" The Magus intones, his voice echoing in the chamber. The Hermit shifts his lantern, the Fool idly eats an apple, and the Hanged Man toys with the noose which is perpetually at his neck. The older man speaks. "In adherence with protocol, I regret to inform the council that the subject has slipped from our grasp" The Lovers whisper conspiratorily to each other, the Emperor and the Empress exchange glances, and the High Priestess draws a knife and starts carving something into her staff. "I see, and under what circumstances did this come to pass?" "The Witch Natalia Svensdottir has gained her trust, and has eluded all our attempts to locate her, even arcane ones." Temperance covers her gaze, Justice glowers behind his mask, and Death seems oddly smug. "How much does she know? What is her stake in this?" "Though I cannot be certain if she knows everything, there is evidence that she knows enough. I believe she wishes to be present when the moon rises so that she might inflict the contagion on herself." The Aeon shifts uneasily. The Wheel of Fortune nervously rolls dice on the table before him. The Star inadvertently looses her grip and a delicately carved crystal breaks on the floor. "Upon herself? That's unimaginably dangerous! Nobody in the modern day has experienced the contagion! We can't be sure how it would react, and thus we had test subjects to work with! Is she insane?" "I can't be certain, Magus. She's been having lunch with me, I think to taunt me. I've never been able to trace her, and she catches me when I'm unaware, somehow. The strangest thing is she seems to be developing an emotional attatchment to the subject..." The Devil nods knowingly, Judgement day strokes his beard, and the Heirophant stands suddenly. "Enough," he says sternly, "though this is your jurisdiction, Magus, it is my season to rule the council. If either Natalia or the subject survive tomorrow night, we will recoup our losses. Until then, we wait..." Stacy slept only fitfully after being roused, waking around noon. She got up, dressed, and walked out into the apartment only to find...
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The Traveler
8/28/2000 1:46:42 PM
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