"Will you...can you....fix my face?" Bobby asked.

"That depends on the choice you make right now. You are both my apprentices, so I will give you a choice as you begin your training under my service."

"Shawn, you have something that belongs to me. The Book. You may keep it for a while longer, or exchange it for a smaller totem. An item with the same properties but without the..." She cleared her throat "troublesome personality and bulkiness of The Book. If you decide to exchange it, you may choose from a Rabbit's foot or a Fox tail that must be kept on you at all times so that you may come and go to the Circus and for your world, wherever you are."


"Bradford. To fix your face you must decide whether or not  you will allow the Tattooed Lady, my assistant, to mark you forever. Her mark will ensure that your face looks normal, but only for a set period of time in the world above. Her mark will last forever, but that side of your body will never be harmed."

 Shawn tried to hide his reaction to the fact that Henri was dead. Having seen him what felt like ages ago still hiding in the Circus, he'd felt an odd sort of hope for him. Now that was gone. Instead, he suppressed it as best he could and nodded agreeably. "Thank you, the rabbit's foot sounds nice. Umm, Melinda. He didn't actually mind the Book's personality, but he didn't think it was a good idea to refuse a 'gift'.

Melinda nodded and produced a small, brown pouch. She slid it against the wooden grain of the table, fabric scratching as it drifted across and in front of Shawn. From behind him, Shawn heard a scruffing sound on the floor. The Book made its way across the small, cramped room of the tent and sat on Melinda's side of the table. It's tongue moved about the air, listlessly.

Bradford, it appeared, was more bold than Shawn. "If I get tattooed on my burned face, wont' everyone see it? And what do you mean I won't be able to stay in my world for a long while?"

"The effect will mark you forever. But magic leaks from the world above, where you live. The magic will only last for so long before you must return. You will feel a tingling sensation in your face, and then you must return to Circus, or else others in  your world will see you for what you truly are."

Bradford took this information in. "What about me not being hurt?"

Shawn wordlessly took the package and carefully unwrapped it, listening carefully to what Melinda and Bradford were saying.

"The Tattooed Lady will mark her mark on your skin in the language of the Old Tongue, when devils like us walked the earth. No thing may harm you that touches that portion of your skin which is marked."

The Rabbit's Foot was unlike anything that Shawn had ever seen. It didn't resemble the one's at the store that were colored red, pink or blue. It didn't have soft fur or neat little key chain loop.

Instead it was capped with an old-metal-shaped Rabbit's head. Two sinister jeweled eyes gleamed bright red in the hollowed light of the tent.

"How...how much. I mean. I....of a big of a tattoo will it have to be. I mean. She'll used a needle I suppose. Isn't..isn't that's how it's done?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Sat 22 Apr 2017.

Shawn gingerly picked up the foot and put it in his pocket. He had to be extra careful not to lose it.

As if on cue the Tattooed Lady pushed past the tent flap and came inside. She was tall, Shawn saw now. Tall and covered with ink. Faded brown, green and red marks, etched with an artist's flourish were over all aspects of her skin. She looked like someone from another time. Before Shawn's grandfather even. Or maybe during the time when he was younger. Before the War that he was in.

"I wouldn't worry about that toots. Why don't you come on with me and we'll get you all set. Put a little ink on you, and get you all ready so you can relax. How's that honey?" she said to Bradford with a devilish smile.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Empathy

OOC: 19:56, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,6,5. Wits + Empathy.

It was hard to say if Bradford was scared or not as he went with the Tattooed Lady. Shawn couldn't tell. Probably because of the way Bradford's face was half-burned off, extinguishing any sense of emotion that Shawn might be able to read on the boy's face.

He got up from the table and walked silently off with the Tattooed Lady, who placed a long, thin arm around is shoulder. It was a gesture that seemed to resemble more that of a slave being taken by some Demon-master than by a friendly person trying to help out a young kid with a burned face.

That left Shawn alone once again with Melinda.



"It will take some time. The woman enjoys her work. She is very methodical." the Old Woman mused.

"Now. Are there any more questions that my apprentice will have of me?" She asked.

Shawn considered the question. He'd already mentioned learning about the Numbers Game - and maybe she'd teach him since they had time. But he realized he did have one other thing he could ask. "Umm, I'm being haunted by a demon right now? His name's Feddler, and he wants to make my life miserable. Is there anything I can do to appease him so he doesn't do that?"

"What has been done with the Numbers Game, can be undone. Though I think it is important that you know that things may get better before they get worse. Practice is something that takes time. Falling down is something that someone must do when they are learning to walk. You must abandon fear with the knowledge that things will turn towards your favor."

She produced a pile of cards and placed them on the table in front of Shawn. She drew a single one. "This will answer your question."

Then she placed it down, face up. The card read "The World"



"This card is about recognition, fame, realization of ideas, satisfaction, rewards and change for the better. It predicts a new, beautiful and productive phase in your life. Expect your success, realization of plans, recognition from others, material prosperity, stability and sustainable progress. It indicates that you are now open to the world and in harmony and resonance with others. The world is open to you. Everything else is the result of fruitful cooperation. As a result of your sincerity and openness, others are instinctively attracted to you, opening your doors and new perspectives, new acquaintances and trips."

"Things are poised to improve for you, including with this Demon problem."

That description seemed like the exact opposite of everything related to Shawn, almost to the point of parody. Still, Melinda was the expert, right? It'd be nice if things really were going to get better. "That's nice to know, thank you."

"Good. Now that the time for questions is over, now is the time for listening." the Old Woman said. "You are here because you were traded to me and because you took it upon yourself to bring me back. But while the mission that I gave you to retrieve one of Cherrywink's noses from the depths of the sewer is important, action without knowledge is useless."

She waited a moment, wanting that message to sink in. Shawn looked, and saw that Melinda's third eye appeared to be blinking, looking and staring more intensely at him than the other two.

"You are not yet a member of the Order of Sybil, the order of witches and warlocks that serve the Circus and are link to other parts of the underworld. But as my apprentice, you will find that your journey into our circles will be just as valuable as the knowledge the Order provides."

"You have mad your choice. And in so doing, your spirit mind will begin to devour your own innocence. With movements soft as slow moving water, your mind will begin to turn, indulging your nightmares with the promiscuity of the nations. You will become the choice of kings—one small piece of the so many broken crowns."

"It is through the choice that you have made that you will become awakened to the evil behind your own eyes—behind all eyes. It is through the choices that you will make that your faith will be reborn stronger than the unseen presence of sound. If even time itself orders your transformation, it will not have as unmatched potential. You now will know what an apprentice of the Order must do.  You are only beginning to know what this represents, but you do not yet know about of the violating weights that must be carried and the burden you will share."

Shawn had only the faintest idea as to what the Fortune Teller was talking about. It sounded like bad stuff, but the way she was phrasing it sounded like she thought it was good? All he could do was nod seriously and hope that was what she was looking for. Maybe it'd make sense in time?

It sounded all like wish-wash. Deep astrological and surreal things. The kinds of things that Shawn sometimes heard adults talking about on TV late at night when Dad fell asleep on the couch. The stuff of horror movies or strange science fiction films that Dad would watch but Shawn was told he was too young to see or understand.

The nodding seemed to work, however, and the Fortune Teller continued to speak. Perhaps Shawn would understand in time. Or perhaps Melinda was correct and these concepts were too complicated or horrible for him to comprehend without losing part of his mind or body.




"...and the energy of the underworld, channeled through the dark-spirtual understanding of our Order, will set you on a new path." She finished, responding to Shawn's nod with some nodding of her own.

"Now go forth to the depths of the sewers underneath the depths of this foul place, and bring back that which I command. Make us the lead. Make us closer to the proprietor."

Shawn had been hoping against hope that somehow the journey into the sewers of the Circus had been lost in the shuffle. It sounded incredibly dangerous, and Shawn wasn't eager to just walk into the lair of some horrible sewer monster. Still, while this trip presented unknown dangers, he believed in his heart that refusing his task would be far deadlier. "Yes, Melinda. Is there any place I should start looking? A nose would be a really small thing."

"No." Melinda answered simply. The first simple answer she had given. "That is your world. Your journey." Then she put one long, gnarled finger to her lips.

"Perhaps the pockets. Kids keep things in their pockets, don't they? Maybe you find Henri's body. Take it out of his pockets."

"O...kay." Shawn fidgeted with the rabbit's foot in his pocket as he tried to think about where he'd find a body. It was not a terribly enjoyable line of though. "I guess I'll go then?"

Assuming he was given leave, he headed out towards the sewers.

OOC: Shawn Joins

Shawn: The Depths Unknown