This game will probably fairly PG-13 in the content, though gory descriptions, mild (and possibly strong) cursing, and whatever the hell 'suggestive themes' are may come up over the course of the story. You have been warned, children.

WitchCraft: The Strength of a Warrior

Now if only I knew how to put a title on it...
Monday May 31, 1999 (O -3)
City of Adelaide, Michigan
Third Night of the Full Moon, 11:33 pm
Copper Island General Hospital – Abandoned

Aaron Smith
The abandoned hospital stood six floors high in a c-shape with the first floor and the east-facing main entrance filling in the gap. The dull grey of its walls was even more drab for the years of neglect. Several windows were broken and a stretch along the third and fourth floors on the south wing entirely gone. A pair of pried-open automatic doors on the front were the only exit to the building, not counting creative application of the missing windows. All the other doors were boarded up or locked or both. Add in the dark of night and the mercilessly pounding rain and the old building was downright spooky.

Aaron reviewed these facts from his vantage point from the building across the street, water cascading off his black duster. He had been standing there watching the entrance to the hospital since his arrival nearly an hour. In that time more than half a dozen people had slipped into the old hospital, taking pains not to be seen entering.

Of the people Aaron had seen go in, none struck him as worthy of his interest. The challenge that his client promised him would clearly not come among them, most showing signs of habitual substance abuse with the rest likely simply not showing. That meant the figure he had seen skulking the third floor earlier would have to provide where his flock would not.

Movement below attracted Aaron’s attention. Two more had arrived. He watched them quickly cross the street, confirming that neither were his target as they passed under a streetlight, and surveyed them silently from the shadows as they jogged down the front walk, barely remembering to glance around to ensure no curious passer-by had noticed their suspicious actions before slipping in the door. Another two users coming late to their next fix, Aaron surmised.

He waited another fifteen minutes for more guests to the party. When none arrived, he decided to make his move. He scanned the upper levels with the scope he had removed from his case, and then descended from his vantage point into the alley where his motorcycle was parked.

Aaron reviewed the details of his target—now convinced that it was the figure waiting in the upper stories as he suspected. He reflected on how he could be finished the mission already if he had only shot the man an hour ago.

There was no regret in this thought. It would have been too easy, and after all, where was the fun in that?

Lily Vritova
Lily opened her umbrella as she stepped off the bus onto the street. She hefted the bags in her left hand up to check her watch. Eleven forty-nine. She winced slightly. Between staying at the new mall good deal later than she had originally intended, arriving at the stop just as the previous bus pulled away (getting the hem of her skirt soaked in the dash to catch it), and waiting half an hour for the next one to show up, she was very late.

Her mother knew that she was an adult and that she was a very responsible young woman, though nevertheless, there would be a few words when she showed up more than an hour late on a night like tonight. Even through the heavy rain and cloud cover, she could feel the presence of the full moon in the air tonight. Besides, everyone knew that the crazies came out during the full moon.

A blast of wind and a wave of falling water pounding against her umbrella excessively hard made her thankful for possibly the hundredth time that day since the storm broke around noon that she had brought it. The thundershower itself lasted about an hour and some, but the rain persisted in varying degrees of intensity throughout the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. In fact, it was in hoping that the precipitation would let up again that was partially responsible for her current lateness.

Lily crossed the street and passed by the old Copper Island General Hospital. As she passed in front of it, quite suddenly and involuntarily she took in a deep breath. that left a tingle in her nose and the back of her throat. Without thinking, she stopped in her tracks and automatically turned toward the rundown hospital, the source of the aura she felt.

As she stood there she got the sense of a significant amount of energy being gathered in the old hospital. Near midnight on the night of a full moon. The crazies come out indeed. Undoubtedly there was something significant going down inside the old, abandoned building.

She spotted a fellow bus passenger walking her way out of the corner of her eye. Realizing how odd she must look, stopping suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of the old hospital, she turned to continue, but couldn’t compel her legs to move.

Guy
Tonight was the last night of the full moon. That combined with the midday thundershower that even now beat down on the city left no question. It was unfortunate that it was a school night, but such things cannot be helped.

Guy rubbed his wrists in anticipation, brushing his fingers over the tattoos that ran up the inside of his arms. The bus passed a vacant stop and he silently tallied one more passed. It was time.

He pulled the cord right on queue with the appearance of the beaten down hospital. Two others rose to depart with him—an old middle-eastern woman wearing a hijab and a young woman several years older than himself.

Guy stepped out into the rain, quickly renewing his dampened status. He ended up following behind the younger woman to the hospital, wondering briefly if she had the faintest idea of how close she would brush with fate. He considered the possibility that she could be involved in some way with the night’s events—after all, he did not know all who would be coming to play.

More likely, he thought, she was just a typical twenty-something on her way home from the mall.

For a brief moment, something caught Guy’s eye and he glanced over to an alley across the street. Nothing. He dismissed the incident and focused on what was to come. If it was important, he would deal with it when the time came.

The woman was passing over the spot he had seen in his dream when suddenly he felt a large concentration of energy from the direction of the hospital. Some one (or more likely some ones) was gathering energy for some kind of supernatural work. It would definitely be not long now.

Interestingly, the girl in front of him stopped suddenly about the same time that he felt the gathering. Perhaps she was no ordinary girl, then. Perhaps she was no mere passive observer of the manoeuvrings of destiny. He approached her as she turned away, though she did not resume walking.

“Do you feel it, too?” he asked over the pounding of the rain, perhaps surprising even himself, “do you feel the call of Fate?”

~***~

Aaron took the case on the back of his motorcycle and set it on the bike’s seat. He popped it open, revealing in several pieces everything he would need for the night’s business.

Movement from the street alerted him and he quickly shut the case, ducking behind his bike as three figures dressed in dark raincoats ducked into the alley. They talked in hushed voices that were drowned out even to Aaron’s ears by the heavy weather until one of them glimpsed the motorcycle. They looked at each other, apparently deciding to carry out their meeting in another alley and left.

As soon as he could be sure they were gone, Aaron went back to arming himself. When he was finished he popped the case back where it belonged and strode to the end of the alley, fully prepared to crash this party.

He waited half a minute longer until the Route 13 bus passed, arriving more or less on time at the stop just to the south of the hospital. Three got off the bus, two coming in his direction. He sunk a little deeper into the shadows, waiting for them to pass.

The first was a fairly attractive young woman with an umbrella, carrying shopping bags in her free hand. Aaron idly guessed her to be twenty-one—just old enough to go out partying or drinking (legally, at least) and, from the expression on her face, return late. The bags, however lent credence to suggest that was not the case. Either way, Aaron moved on to the other, a high-school age boy of Indian descent. He lacked an umbrella or raincoat and indeed looked like he could readily afford neither.

Aaron had nearly written him off like the first until he glanced in his direction. Aaron froze and waited for the young man to look away before sinking a little deeper into the alley while they passed.

The problem, however, was that they didn’t. The girl suddenly stopped and turned toward the hospital, just as she was passing the front walk.

(Note for when Lily turns to face Guy, both of their respective senses tell them of an individual with a much stronger than normal spiritual strength in the ballpark of two to three times the force of your average Joe. It’s worth noting that they sense each other’s strength to be on about the same level as their own.)

Lily had closed her eyes a moment, her nose barely twitching as she caught the scents lingering in the air. Mundane smells, of course, were overpowered by the scent the rain, but she simply felt something else.

"Since when does so much qi gather in one place?" she idly asked in a soft murmur, travelling no further than her shopping bag, "What do you think?"

Unbidden, she heard the response, Qi is as the rain. It flows where it will, and gathers if there is a well. The well can be natural, as the hearts of people, or unnatural, as the doings of particular people.
Lily chuckled, "Quite the poet aren't you? Minna isn't going to like you that much, until she gets over it. She's so serious at times."

Well, I don't look for trouble, so I'll try not to be too much then. The silent voice promised.

"Don't worry about it, Elly; Minna always finds something to complain about... it's funny sometimes." Lily murmured.

Her curiosity drawn out, she was about to try to look through one of the hospital windows, before the hair at the back of her neck stood on end. She was being watched.

She turned and tilted her head questioningly at the young man.

“Do you feel it, too?” he asked over the pounding of the rain, perhaps surprising even himself, “do you feel the call of Fate?”
Is he trying to cramp my style? The silent voice from Lily's bag grumbled.

Lily laughed softly, "Shush, don't be rude." She said softly, though she doubted the man could hear Elly's voice. She didn't know anyone who could hear those silent voices she knew.

She looked back at the man, before tilting her head again. There it was again, that scent. She vaguely felt the man's qi, and another, stronger source elsewhere nearby. She wasn't too sure what to make of it. She had seen an increasing number of people with notable amounts of qi, but they still looked and smelled like humans, so she didn't know what to make of them.

"I guess, if you believe in that sort of thing." She replied to the stranger.

At this close range, she could be seen to be a slightly young woman with an angular face and eyes. She wasn't beautiful, but she was striking, particularly with her blue eyes, sharp and focused, even if the rest of her body language portrayed an almost easygoing manner. She was dressed rather plainly, with a loose fitting shawl and ankle-length skirt, the lower hem looking a bit damp from the rain. However, there was something about her look. A curiosity and a thought... akin to an animal regarding a human, with a strange curiosity.

Tipping the wide brim of his ‘Undertaker’ hat, Aaron slinked back into the shadows for a moment as the two rather curious figures started to converse in front of the crumbling hospital. The two were talking, and even though Aaron had an extremely good sense of hearing, he could not pick out any words between the two; but it’s not like he card either. There was but one target, and unless these two were actually going to enter the degrading building; there was practically nothing that they had to offer him.

Making sure that he had his duster secured, Aaron skulked off towards the hospital’s backside. No need for theatrics for this mission, though the standard game rules would be implemented. The game of Cat and Mouse was about to begin. Whether his target lived or died was not fully up to Aaron, but also the target himself. If he played the game right, he could leave here a living being of flesh and blood; but if he played improperly, or decided to go against the rules, the authorities would find a bullet hole between his eyes…

The woman’s reply had struck him as odd. ‘What would belief have to do with fate?’ he wondered briefly. Feeling compelled to act, his mouth opens and he confesses his belief.

“I do believe.” He stated plainly.

He was sure that he had seen her tense and look to the hospital just then and she gave off the more than just human feel. Though he seemed to be noticing more and more people that were that way, it seemed that she must have something to do with his vision.

“I saw a vision of me standing here before this very hospital on the full moon with two others, accompanying this vision were the signs of a fox and motorcycle. Please, tell me, can you be one from my vision?” Guy confides, his voice softens to a whisper as he speaks the question.

He silently began inspecting her face for a reaction…

“I do believe.” He stated plainly.
Lily tilted her head, her shoulder-length red hair falling towards the side. While she had half-expected a response like that, she was a bit surprised by how direct the young man was. Before she could think of a response, however, the man continued.

“I saw a vision of me standing here before this very hospital on the full moon with two others, accompanying this vision were the signs of a fox and motorcycle. Please, tell me, can you be one from my vision?” Guy confides, his voice softens to a whisper as he speaks the question.
Lily blinked, before sniffing again. She didn't think humans had visions... yet... this man was definitely human. Maybe it was the qi he had. She had qi too, but didn't seem to be able to do too much with it. However, she had to note that as Fillaera told her before, it gave some people interesting abilities.

"Well, I do have a collection of masks at home, including a number of kitsune ones, if that's what you mean." She replied, a bit carefully, but otherwise casually.

The hair at her neck slowly stood on end, as she began to feel a strange pressure. Her heart sped up just a bit as she silently willed herself to calm down. Midnight was approaching. She looked around, but really the only shelter nearby was the hospital, and it seemed like it was a place of interest.

"Well, I'm afraid I'd better go before Elly gets too damp... I know she's an otter, but still... I don't think she's waterproof as she is." Lily said apologetically, before walking at a somewhat fast pace down the street past the man.

Once Lily went down a ways, she quickly doubled back into a nearby alley. She carefully searched for a small dry place to stow her few bags, clothes and umbrella.

"Wait here," She whispered to her things, "I'll be back in a bit."

Lily crouched low on the ground, feeling that pressure in the air, but not bothering to wait for it. Grey fur grew along her limbs as her form shifted, her own red hair disappearing beneath it. Soon, she was standing on all fours, human semblance gone, as a slightly oversized, silver vixen.

Lily closed her azure eyes, concentrating internally, feeling the wet pavement beneath her paws. The roughness of the surface. She willed her fur to change colour, darkening and shimmering a bit, taking on the colours of the buildings nearby. Quietly, she made her way back out of the alley, blue eyes wary, ears perked, sneaking up on the strange hospital.

Monday May 31, 1999 (O -3)
11:52 PM – Heavy Rain
Abandoned Hospital
Aaron stepped back deeper into the alley when he realized the people in front of the hospital weren’t going to pass right away. In a few expert movements he partially dismantled his M 107 Sniper Rifle and secured the components underneath the cloak of his duster. Allowing the garment to fall naturally, his lethality was completely concealed.

He stepped out of the alley and hung right, not even glancing at the two across the street. One of the best ways to sneak about unnoticed was to simply act as you would any other day, as if you weren’t concealing three fairly powerful loaded firearms beneath your outerwear.

Guy saw a man in a long black coat and hat step out of the alley he had noticed earlier as the woman was excusing herself. From where he was standing he could see nothing unusual about the man, so he ignored him for now. This wasn’t exactly the cleanest neighbourhood in Adelaide.

At the lights Aaron skipped across the street without waiting for the walk signal. No need to draw attention to himself by conscientiously heeding the law when no cars could be seen for several streets in either direction. The young woman passed him as he reached the other side. He scarcely glanced at her as she crossed the other road as he himself walked purposefully around the north side of the building.

Once he was certain he wasn’t being watched, Aaron strode up to one of the broken windows and slipped in. Once inside he allowed his eyes to adjust to the low light, and then examined the room as he reassembled his rifle. The room was mostly empty, with animal shapes wallpapered around the ceiling and a broken crib in the corner. The floor was covered in a shallow layer of water from the rain coming in the window, casting a reflection back at Aaron of the dim light coming from the streets. He guessed that he had entered through the Children’s Ward.

Without wasting much time he quietly opened the door and peered into the hall. Everything inside was dark, but his eyes were equal to the challenge. Aaron kept his ears and eyes open as he followed the hall to where the hall signs promised that there would be an elevator and—hopefully—stairs.

Meanwhile, an abnormally large grey fox stretched herself out in an alley half a block away. Lily nudged her things to make sure they were safely hidden one last time. Certain that everything was alright, she paused one last time and suddenly vanished as her white underbelly and black gloves morphed to a muted grey to match her surroundings.

Knowing she wouldn’t have much time before the camouflage begun to wear off, she stalked out into the street, keeping to the shadows between streetlights whenever possible to avoid the necessity of her colouration.

Inside, Aaron had come to a door through which he could see the elevators, though he redoubled his caution for from the door he was at he could also catch a slight glimpse of a flickering light coming from the main lobby of the hospital which the elevators were in an alcove at the back of.

Very slowly opening the door, the muted voice he heard cleared up, and an undertone of chanting reached his ears. The voice itself was echoed back from somewhere, so he couldn’t discern the direction (much less actually see all the way into the room to locate it).

“—We, the illuminated servants of the True Lord of the Earth and Brother of Light will rise up out of the ashes of the Old World to take our rightful place in dominion over the world under the glory of the Light Brother!”

Lily -5 Essence (15 spent, +10 ambient; when she makes it back to the hospital a minute later she has lost only -3)

(Depending on what Guy does between Lily's departure and return, he might either be in a position to (try to) notice her as she returns or in a position to be hearing the same thing that Aaron just did from the front entrance. I suggest holding off for Guy's post before either you two decided to take too many actions that may or may not be influenced by his presence.)

‘Hmm’ thought guy, ‘She doesn’t seem to believe me, at least with the plain meaning of her answer. Does she really think that I’m talking about her masks? No! She can’t possibly deny fates call and yet accept my vision; even offering an interpretation! This kind of response that did not deny my claims or dismiss me personally is in and of itself a mask. There is something that she is hiding from me. Since she doesn’t know me beyond this moment, it is safe to assume that object being obscured lies within the short frame of our relationship. I must be right in my assessment of her; she is connected to the fox in my vision somehow. The way that she spoke about her masks, casually, only served to heighten the strangeness of the subject now at hand.’

Guy glances up at her to see what looked like a faint panic on her face which was suddenly suppressed.

"Well, I'm afraid I'd better go before Elly gets too damp... I know she's an otter, but still... I don't think she's waterproof as she is." Said the woman, as though this where an acceptable excuse to leave.

“Chains of the Gods.” Guy murmured in disbelief as she walked quickly past him down the street. “She’s mad.”

Of course Guy never really expected everything to happen exactly as he had seen. Many of his visions had various aspects of symbolism in them. But to be tricked into jumping to conclusions like this by a woman as crazy as the one he had just met. It was a surprise even for a guy who often saw the future.

‘But wait! She was going in the opposite direction when he had gotten off the bus with her. Something isn’t quite right here…’ he turns and looks after her. She wasn’t on the street any more.

Running down the street after her, movement in one of the alleyways catches his eye as he runs past. He slows down and walks back to it. A fox was standing there! Pulling his head back he sat, back to the wall staring off across the street, being as still as he could and pretending not to notice it. After a few moments. Guy stood up and looked again into the alley, but the fox was no longer there! The thrill of his discovery had not left him though, who else had he seen in front of the hospital? There was that other lady, but she came on the bus with him and the crazy lady from before. The guy across the street from the hospital. He ran back to the hospital and looked across the street. The man wasn't there anymore at least that he could see. He crossed the street and looked deeper into the darkness of the alley. The motorcycle from his dream!

Fate's players were here! Where should he be in all of this though? Feeling that the alley was fairly safe, he sits near the motorbike and slips into a trance trying to force out some vision that might tell him where he needs to be next.

Monday May 31, 1999 (O -3)
11:53 PM – Heavy Rain
Abandoned Hospital
“Chains of the Gods.” Guy murmured in disbelief as the woman walked away from him down the street. “She’s mad.”

Guy considered tailing her, but for all her odd mannerisms and strange beliefs, he had more pressing matters. If she truly was a player in tonight’s performance, she would be back soon enough. He glanced at the entrance of the hospital, but he wasn’t finished with his business outside, yet.

The Indian-Native-American jaywalked across the street to where he had seen the dark figure emerge from earlier. He glanced into the alley and determined that he was alone. Guy entered the alley, alert for signs of the man’s return and followed it to where the motorcycle was parked. Specific details aside, Guy had no doubt this was the same motorcycle as from his vision.

Glancing back at the hospital, he considered this sign. At least one of two expected players had arrived, and the other may or may not have already passed by. Still, there were unclear details. Guy took a seat next to the motorcycle, the wet ground not bothering him as thoroughly as he was already soaked by the rain, and easily slipped into a meditative trance.

###

The storm blowing in from Lake Superior raged with renewed vigour once more that day. The residents of Adelaide hunkered to endure another of their city’s great storms as the wind picked up again and the sky lit up with impressive discharges of lightning. Lily leapt from shadow to shadow, avoiding the streetlights as the rain soaked through her colour-changed fur.

She rounded the corner to the hospital as a resounding crash of thunder shook the skies. Here she slowed her pace and lowered herself to the ground, looking to see if the man from before was in sight. She couldn’t see him, but she didn’t doubt one of his inner strength would be around in this place where so much ambient qi had gathered—or been gathered.

The large grey fox stalked across the hospital grounds, keeping alert for others that may be approaching. When she got under the sheltered part of the front walk, she didn’t even want to suppress the urge to shake herself free of water. With that need satisfied, she peered into the darkness inside the building. There was a faint orangey glow from somewhere deep inside, but from where she was outside, she could see very little other than blackness.

Remembering that her camouflaged fur would only remain so for so long, she slipped into the first set of doors and into the entrance and slunk to a corner where she wouldn’t be easily seen.

###

Guy saw a vague shape the size of a large dog crossing the grass toward the hospital’s entrance, then in the darkness of the building’s entrance he saw the veil fall away revealing a great grey fox. He saw the man stalking the night blackened halls of the hospital with what appeared to be a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. He could see a large pentagram drawn in chalk and illuminated by the orange light of a fire—probably several fires, in fact and could hear voices. He saw three figures in raincoats standing in a circle facing each other holding hands. Next, he saw himself, agent of Fate, standing somewhere in the dark of the hospital, irises alight with the glow of the second sight. Finally, he heard a chaos of shouting, gunfire, crashes, and even several pronounced growls accompanying a canvas of equal parts shadow and fire.

As the images faded from his inner eye, Guy did not break his trance. The vision did not tell him much, but it certainly didn’t tell him nothing. The scenes that crossed through his mind showed him little of the exact course of events, but there was other information. First, that the fox from his previous vision would appear in literal form soon enough, and that the other actor in the grand play would soon be in position. Second, that there were more players involved, though their individual significance he questioned—they would be considered together as a single player. Finally, the vision told him that all the pieces acting in the upcoming conflict had arrived, and that the outcome of the fight would not be revealed yet.

Such was often the way of Fate to withhold foreknowledge of the outcome of its more complex and climactic chapters. Either way, he knew he would soon be called to the stage and so he watched for his queue from the mouth of the alley.

He had only a few breaths to wait before he saw an indistinct blurb cross the lawn around the hospital. Guy waited until he believed it had entered the building before taking his queue and crossing the street for himself.

Standing at the end of the front walk, Guy felt a surge of energy build up from somewhere to his right. The trio of players were nearly ready to begin, and now only he himself was left to get his game on. In response, he strode into the entrance in a passive manner, his hands in his pockets. Right away he saw the fox to his right, and it saw him. It truly was no ordinary fox, being easily as large as a wolf, though the large tail gave it away for what it really was.

He watched it, maintaining his casual non-threatening pose at let it make the first move. He had every confidence that this creature was some odd for of ally in the upcoming fight against inhumanity, but in the back of his mind he hoped its first reaction wouldn’t be to go out for an appetizer.

(Alright, as I mentioned in PM, Guy’s actions don’t quite follow with reality, so I modified them a little bit. He didn’t seem to have quite as much motivation for following Lily as before, and quite simply it was easier that to try to have Guy stealth after Lily for however many blocks until one confronted the other or managed to get away unnoticed. All lines are caught up as of Aaron making it to the door and Guy and Lily spotting each other. Aaron doesn’t see the front entrance nor either of the two there. Time for Aaron, the only one still possessing a watch, is 11:57)

Guy Full Essence (-4 psychic channelling, +4 regen)
Lily -3 Essence (+2 regen)
(for future references, these numbers are current numbers, not modifications, so Lily’s -3 doesn’t mean she lost 3 this post, but she has 3 less than full (meaning she regenerated 2 points over this post))

Lily's ears were perked up a bit as she took in the surrounding sounds. It was curious that a few humans had gathered here... normally, humans didn't like disorganized environments, particularly of once-dens that had become run down. She sniffed, and she watched... and she saw the human enter the entrance.

That didn't altogether surprise Lily that he was there. She was more surprised that he wasn't already inside before she entered. He was there first after all. She shrugged mentally; it actually didn't matter too much.

Ultimately though, Lily gave him no heed, other than to watch his movements, like a wild fox would watch any human. She wandered a bit further inside, curious about what she'd find.

Monday May 31, 1999 (O -3)
11:57 PM – Heavy Rain
Abandoned Hospital
Lily glanced at the human who had followed her, then ignored him. Guy could only imagine that this was a good thing. Well, they hadn’t exactly established an alliance, but it hadn’t mauled him on sight. Good thing indeed.

Inside the hospital was very dark, with the only light being that of some flame coming up from the far side of the basement through a large oval opening in the floor. The street lights were already dim but more than a few feet into the building their effect was nonexistent. Guy could just make out the reflected points off a circular island-desk that must have once served to greet visitors.

From where he stood by the elevators at the opposite end of the room, Aaron could just make out the figures of somebody and a rather large dog coming in through the front doors. A brilliant flash of lightning threw the whole floor into illumination through the glass ceiling over the opening in the floor. The room that his elevator-alcove was attached to was largely empty save for the front desk and the large opening that covered most of the first floor. Close on his end he could see where the stairs down began, but more importantly, he also saw the sign indicating the main stairs up just around the corner.

The rumble from the bolt slowly died away and the echoes of a man’s voice became audible from somewhere in the basement. “—We, the illuminated servants of the True Lord of the Earth and Brother of Light will rise up out of the ashes of the Old World to take our rightful place in dominion over the world under the glory of the Light Brother!”

Both Guy and Lily could sense the build up of energy or qi or whatever they preferred to call it coming from ahead and below them. Guy paused to look around the room, looking for something that he could viably use as a weapon. He spied a plastic chair with metal legs neglected in the corner and fetched it, tucking it under his arm. It might look more than a little odd, but he figured the chair weighed no more than seven or eight pounds, so it would be make for good throwing—even more so that it might not break after the first hit like some of his less fortunate choice of weapons had.

Lily -3 Essense

Lily casually made her way further in, feeling the old plastic tiles under her footpaws. It wasn't that foreign to her, having been a fox that knew human materials, but still was just a bit unsettling to feel her footpaws slide a bit on the unyielding floor. The human voices coming from downstairs, on the other hand, she wasn't too concerned about. Humans tended to like obscure customs and ritual, she noted. She had been in her own fair share as well, part of participation at the drama club she went to, but that wasn't important right now. What was important, was the strange flow of qi in the area. She lifted her muzzle to sniff the air lightly.

Lily had never seen real ritual before, or for that matter, the drawing of qi for a purpose. She was curious about the whole thing, and was almost certain that the humans below just liked the sounds of their voices, since it wasn't necessary to speak aloud, or so Fillæna had said. Keeping to the shadows, although the building was essentially full of them, she padded her way further in, making her way to the stairs. Since she was certain there was more to it than the sound of the humans, she decided to try to make her way down, just to the point where she could see what was happening.

Aaron decided that whatever this dealer was up to, it was extremely out there. Chanting, rituals, all that s*** was given in brief when he accepted the job. However, he did not think that it would be anything 'serious'. Perhaps K.K.K. stuff, free masons, that kind of thing.

But this was different, and Aaron knew it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end; a feat that did not occur that often.

The Hitman spat at himself in shame. This was no time to worry. He was Arron: the man of mystery and greatness. Throwing caution to the wind was his way! The game must commence, and seeing as how the finatics were down below singing kumbaya, it was only logical that their leader; his target, would also be in that area.

Queitly the man stepped towards the stairs.

Monday May 31, 1999 (O -3)
11:57 PM – Heavy Rain, Intermittent Thunder and Lightning
Abandoned Hospital
Aaron the Great realized that going upstairs was unlikely to bring him to his target. Rather, the happy satanic campers downstairs seemed to be calling for his attention. Drug dealers and cultists have gone hand-in-hand in the past, so he reasoned that he might as well pop down for a look. He glanced back at the entrance where the kid and his dog were exploring. Aaron disregarded them and continued without their notice—once the first shots rang out, he would quit his playing around in abandoned buildings and run, if they were smart.

The stairs followed down halfway to the ground, then rounded back on themselves. At the foot of the stairs Aaron came to an alcove for the elevators like the one just above. Here below, however, was lit by a single torch stand next to an open set of doors, directly under the one he came through above. On the wall next to the torch was a poorly made spray-painted pentagram among other small examples of miscellaneous graffiti.

The signage next to the door indicated that the hall to lead to the theatre. With a pre-emptive glance, he saw that the hall to the theatre was dark but clear of lookouts. Aaron followed it down to another torch stand. Apparently these fanatics were into the fire and brimstone imagery for their rituals.

The speaker from before was no longer projecting his voice into the rafters, so to speak, but continued loud enough for Aaron to listen in on. “The Hour is upon us to draw on our Lord’s gifts to enact His will. The ward has already been prepared and is ready for the summoning to begin.”

Aaron stepped around the torch to a set of double doors on the right labelled ‘Operating Theatre’, one of which was half-opened. From where he stood he could clearly hear the ritualistic chanting coming from the room cease. Aaron slid up to the closed door and brought his eye to the small round window to look for his mark among the fanatics.

A fairly large group of people knelt around a large pentagram on the floor, with three cloaked members standing with their arms raised. In the centre of the pentagram was a raised pedestal that in another age would have served to support an operating table but now supported another of those torches. There were several needles lying about and even from this side of the door Aaron could smell mixed marijuana and tobacco smoke.

The same voice reverently intoned a short phrase in some made-up language with bits of some kind of pseudo-latin thrown in, “Eya loque heetha throph, Spiritus Malefico.”

Aaron couldn’t pick out which of the three was the speaker between a heavyset taller figure at the near end of the circle or the two of average size deeper in before the torch in the centre suddenly roared with a sudden flare of intensity.

As he recoiled from the unexpected pyrotechnics, he noticed the young man and his dog at the entrance to the hall—no wait, as they passed the torch there, Aaron could clearly see that the animal was some kind of grey wolf, or more like a giant fox, actually.

The young man—Indian-American descent Aaron judged—strode purposefully down the hall with all the confidence of youthfulness, carrying a chair under his arm and with the wolf-fox hybrid trailing just behind him. Before he could decide what to do about this persistent intruder, the same speaker spoke up again.

“Fiendish Spirit, I bind thee to my will to destroy the enemies of our Lord who are even now coming here to hinder our great cause. As a reward for your service, I will release you to hunt in this city.” The fire wavered in the draft-less basement while the kneeling men looked on with a combination of stoned awe and glazed-eyed reverence.

(Aaron is standing just behind the closed door, Guy is approaching from some 30 feet down the hall, with Lily right behind him. If anyone were to react right away and leap in head-first, initiative would start just in time to interrupt the last bit of what the summoner was saying, or perhaps punctuate his sentence with a high-powered round through someone’s skull. Note that WC combat runs with everyone declaring their intentions for each round before anything goes down (which works pretty well for play-by-post, don’t you think?) and initiative moving pretty flexibly depending on how time-consuming your actions were last and even what kind of weapon you’re using.)

(So, what does Aaron do? Does he maintain his cover to chat with the newcomer, letting the weirdoes incant their fancy little words, or does he go ahead and start sending demonists and drugees and their funky moving flame to hell? [If Aaron does nothing but others know for certain they're running in head-first, don't feel the need to wait to see what the hitman does])

Lily Full Essence (+3 regen, 10 in use, 10 ambient)

The Fox was still just behind him, but this no longer made him uneasy, when the person associated with the bike had gone was more pressing in his mind. As he was walking down the hall he felt strange movement in the power around him, he had never to his recollection felt anything like this, but it did little to break his stride.

There was talking indistinct at first something that sounded latin, but he couldn't be sure. He picked up his pace a bit not quite running yet, pushing on into the hall in front of him. There he saw a man standing near a door way not thirty feet in front of him... What to do now? Without slowing he decided to "press his luck" (as if such a thing actually made a difference). If this were the figure from his vision then their meeting was fated and if it were just a guard or something like that having the appearance of confidence and purpose might just allow him to walk by without raising suspicion.

Suddenly there was another voice coming from the room.

“Fiendish Spirit, I bind thee to my will to destroy the enemies of our Lord who are even now coming here to hinder our great cause. As a reward for your service, I will release you to hunt in this city.”

hmm... they knew that he was here? well he knew that they were there so I guess that made them even! He smiled at that thought but did not slow. Guy watched the man down the hall for a reaction to seeing him but it seemed that his face was very difficult to read, he did not seem to have any kind of extraordinary power, so why was he here? There was a rather large gun in his hands, presenting a rather high level of danger. Throwing caution to the wind Guy keeps walking towards the man by the doors.

if worst comes to worst he would just move the gun with a thought so that it missed.

He had no idea which of the three was his actual target, but that matter could be solved rather quickly. Slinging his awkward rifle over his shoulder, Aaron quietly drew out one of his two 10mm caliber hand guns. The game was on. BEcause the hair was on the back of his head, he would keep this one simple. It was all coming being planned out in his head at that moment.

After side-stepping through the open door, Aaron would stop the men from their camp-fire songs by fireing a warning shot into the nearest man's knee. After acertaining their undivided attention; he would simply state that he would give them a riddle. If they solved it, Aaron would let them go back to their bussiness unharmed... aside from the poor bastard with the blown out knee. If they got it wrong, each would find a bullet hole in his head. Simple as that.

Now... which riddle did he want to use today... Aaron smirked.

"From the beginning of eternity,
To the end of time and space.
To the beginning of every end,
And the end of every place.
What am I?"

If they got this one right, Aaron would be s*** out of luck for money, plus he might feel a little bad about taking out the guy's knee. But some sacrifices had to be made... If he did not put this inhibiter on himself, no one would stand a chance once the contract was established.

The boy and fox caught his eye. They had followed him down here. If they got in his way, that boy might find a brain teaser given unto him that was to die for...