This is the Taboo once more for a new adventure for those who plan to go there.

Elissa had arrived at the taboo in her leathers. She was going hunting her and later on patrol with Ann, and besides she liked them. She had her rucksack as well which she checked behind the bar: she wasn't going to be wearing it while dancing!

Leaning against the bar she checked out the local talent, with a special eye out for the cute welsh girl she'd had a kiss or two with the previous week

After checking her jacket at the cloakroom (stake in pocket), Ann made her way into the Taboo. She passed a battered flyer pinned to the wall for a heavy metal band named Talon: not her sort of music. She smoothed down her tasseled miniskirt and walked further in.

She noted that the place wasn't too full yet, with only one group of girls brave enough to get on the dancefloor and form a circle around their handbags. There was no sign of Inoue yet, though Elissa was stood by the bar. Ann joined her there.

"Would you like a drink? And has anyone here taken your fancy?"

"I forgot our bet..." Elissa said looking a little abashed "Was it the first person to get a kiss that his to buy drinks, or the last person?" she shook her head at the question "Actually I'm hoping to see someone I met before, but" she shrugged "We'll see. "

"You are looking pretty Ann. Looks good on you. I'm tempted to make a pun and say 'you'll slay them'"

Inoue stood outside the Talon of Taboo, handed folded behind her back as she looked up at the sign. She had dressed in some of the nicer clothes she had, which was not saying much as most of them were concealed under her patchwork leather jacket. To hear the Slayer and Slayerette talk this was a place where suckheads liked to hang out, so she had brought her full suite of anti-suckhead kit. Stakes, sturdy clothing, tori pendant, holy water, and of course a handful of blessed talismans. That last article was good to have in general, really.

So then why did she still feel nervous?

Inoue's idea of a good time involved a pot of tea, some mushrooms, a kotatsu and a divining board. Or a morning jog just after the sun comes up, the diminishing fog wet on her face and the morning dew sparkling in the early light. This was not that. This was chaos and anarchy and Inoue did not know how she was going to find vampires or cast spells in a place like this.

But that was what Ann wanted her to do, so she swallowed her doubts and stepped through the doors.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:13, Thu 03 Mar 2022.

"It was first to be kissed had to buy the other a drink," replied Ann. "Not that by offering to buy you a drink I was claiming victory. Just something to get the night started. Though I'm not sure this 'someone you've met before' should count if you're just returning to lips you've already warmed up some other night."

She smiled at the mention of how good she looked. "Thanks. You look stunning too. We'll knock 'em dead tonight, then go on patrol and knock them dead."

At that point she noticed Inoue entering the club. It was too loud to shout at range over the music, so she raised her arm and waved her over.

"Hey no changing the rules" Elissa laughed "But no. I don't have a regular. I did meet someone last time, but" she gave a shrug "who knows. I think I scared them away"

The music suddenly changed to 'We are the Champions'. "Your theme tune" Elissa chuckled "Poor Inuoe. Shall we go and help her? She's probably feeling the culture shock we would if we went to her monastery." she clinked her beer bottle against Ann's and then moved over to Inuoe

"Hey Inuoe. Come to the bar and have a beer" she said very loudly, close to Inuoe's ear over Freddy's voice. "We have to blend in after all"

Inoue was obviously extremely uncomfortable and trying not to obviously cover her ears to shut out the cacophony. Which amounted to erratically touching fingertips to her ear and then forcing her hands back to her side and generally looking incredibly flustered.

She flinches a little bit as Elissa practically yells in her ear while somehow not being loud enough. "What?" she yells back. "There's a werebear in the stars?" She mutters under her breath (not that her normal speaking voice would he audible) the whole time as she is lead to a quieter part of the Tablon where Ann is.

"Oh, hello Ann!" she greets, down to a half-shout. "Elissa said that there was a bear?"

Elissa tapped the bar tap. "There's a 'Bar'. B A R" she spelled out chuckling. She didn't seem to be suffering from the loud noises "It's where we can order drinks." It was tempting to order Inuoe a beer and watch her suffer... that little bit of Schadenfreude that we all have, but instead she waved to the Bartender "Joe. A Britvic Orange and lemonade for my friend here"

she turned and put her back to the Bar to scan the crowd. Perhaps she was looking for a fae, or a vampire, or perhaps just for some eye-candy. Difficult to say

Ann smiled at Inoue as she approached the bar shouting something.

"Hair? What's wrong with my hair?"

She turned to look in the mirror behind the bar and make sure it was all in place. Satisfied, she turned back to the others and led them to a quieter spot.

"I guess you didn't do too much of this when you were in your nunnery, or whatever it was. But if a vampire wanted a juicy teenager to snack on, this would be the place to come. So we need to be here to protect them. And maybe have a little fun on the side. Think of it like Charlie's Angels hanging out around the pool while scoping out the bad guys. Although you've probably not seen Charlie's Angels, Inoue."

"We just need to look and act like normal teenagers. So Inoue, your lesson today is to watch and try to blend. And if you manage to dance with someone you like, teacher will give you extra credit."

"Ohhh!" Inoue laughs awkwardly.

A Britvic Orange and lemonade for my friend here. "And a saki for me if you have- wait!" She blinks at Elissa. We're friiieeennnds~?!" She clasps her hands together over her chest and makes a starstruck pose. And then the beat drops and Inoue stumbles over in surprise, clutching at her ears. "Uzai... uzai!"

Inoue stumbles dizzily behind Ann before the saki question is settled and ends up having whatever Elissa gets for her. She has to be led by the hand through some of the thicker congregations of people. She finds a chair and occupies it, hugging her knees, knee-length skirt, and drink to her chest and possibly cluing in anyone looking at her from just the right position that she's wearing panties with blue stars on them. She listens as Ann speaks, nodding and making indistinct acknowledging sounds.

"I... I do enjoy extra credit," Inoue says as softly as she can while still being audible to the two girls. She looks around. "How do you dance in a place like this?"

Elissa didn't fully understand Inuoe's gestures, but she got most of it. She watched Ann take Innuoe over to a table and followed with the drink. Which was the orange and lemonade. "We're vampire hunting" she said "light drinks only, or we get hunted. And yes we can be friends if you want to "

She did wonder how to rectify Inuoe's wardrobe issues, but then decided that the was the Japanese girl's style and it was her call. Elissa did her own 'shocking' things 'just because' and this was Inuoe's.

"You can dance anywhere, anytime Inuoe" she said seriously "Either on your own or with someone." Just then the music changed to 'I can't stand the rain'. "See one of the best songs ever. John Lennon's favourite. It's all about showing emotions and desire" she grabbed a chair and moved onto the dance floor to show


Dance: level 6 success with extra goodness from 'artistic flair'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r-M0Lq6xvY

We're vampire hunting; light drinks only, or we get hunted. Inoue blushes a little as she realizes how self-evidently right Elissa is. By the kami, this socialized chaos has really got her off her game! And yes we can be friends if you want to. Inoue nods a few times, reasoning that would be easier to understand in the local environment. "That would be great."

Inoue doesn't know who John Lennon is, but she can't help but admire Elissa's performance. One can say whatever they like about her demeanor but no one can deny Elissa has a fantastic... form. Some of those fuzzy feelings she had felt that first day she had stepped into Cambridge return.

Showing emotions and... desire. Yes. Inoue thinks she understands.

With a start Inoue remembers she has a drink and tries it. It is very... orange? She isn't sure what she expected it to taste like. It's fruitier than she is used to but not unpleasant.

"If you want to dance, you can do it like that - " Ann nodded towards where Elissa was doing some of the best dancing the club had ever seen, "- or just get up and move to the music. Just feel the beat of the, uh, tambourine. It's up to you: sit here and nurse your orange, or throw yourself into it. And it will get us warmed up for any vampire-fighting later. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a boy out there."

So saying, Ann stood and moved out onto the dancefloor near Elissa, where she put on her own show, beckoning Inoue to join them.

20:50, Today: Ann Winters rolled 17 using 1d10+11.  Dance. – 17. 5 success levels, so slightly worse than Elissa, but still excellent.

"You've had training girl" Elissa said approvingly as she merged her dance effortlessly into Ann's. "Damn girl, you're good. Now we just need some talent to join us. If the Fae are like the Shakespeare stories... this will draw them out. Vampires... that's 'your thing' to try and find. Use your spidy sense"

"I am not interested in boys," Inoue says, sipping her drink. In truth, it was more that boys would not interested in her once they realize she cannot consummate their relationships in the physical way. In theory. She had never tried pursuing a boy-relationship. But... something inside her that she did not want to confront right now knew and was happy with the simpler explanation.

So Inoue watched the two physical paragons dance. Ann moved better than any human ought to be able to, better than Inoue ever could. Of course she did; she was the slayer. But what did that make Elissa? With a start, she realizes there is no way Elissa can possibly be 100% pure vanilla human either.

And, worse, she was making Inoue jealous. And jealous girls don't make the wisest choices.

Inoue downed the remainder of her orange and lemon... thing... and then moved to join the girls.

15:34, Today: Inoue Miko rolled 14 using 1d10+3+2.  Dance (art).

For a mere human whose usual dances were shamanistic in nature, she thinks she does pretty well for herself!

Eyes are on all three women but it's not the eyes they should be worrying about, nor other body parts for that matter.  All three sense something anomalous, powerful and not quite there. Whatever it is, it is outside the club, or maybe not.

"Nicely done Girl" Elissa cheered Inuoe on. And then stuttered... or stopped... just for a moment. A funny look coming into her eyes. "Let's go back to get a drink" she said look distracted, and looking around to see what was happening

"Do you feel it? Like a bright glow... like the dreams I told you about Ann" she said as they got off the dance floor. "Shit a whole lot just happened then, we need to talk when we are on our own. But what do you two feel?"

Ann sighed to have her dance interrupted.

"See, Inoue, I told you it would be fine if you just tried. Are you sure you haven't done this before? Because you had some pretty groovy moves. There were definitely a few people in the crowd checking you out."

As she took her beer bottle from Elissa, she nodded.

"There is something going on, though I'm not sure what. Not our befanged friends, I don't think, so maybe the Fae instead. Don't look now, but over my shoulder in the corner - you see the girl dancing alone? There's something about her. She's not a vamp, but she feels like one. I can't explain it. Why don't you two try to spot anything weird going on causing us to feel strange? I'm going to see if I can figure out just what she is."

So saying, she made her way back over the dance floor to the solo dancer. She started dancing near her, none of the radical moves from before, just something to not look out of place. She gradually made her way nearer, then said, "I don't think I've seen you here before."

Inoue feels it too, dropping back into her demure pose and closing her eyes, lashes all aflutter. She has to be dragged off the dance floor by Elissa.

What do I feel...? Inoue shakes her head, that is the wrong question. "There is a shaman in the club," she states in a monotone, eyes still closed. "Experienced. Powerful. Primal." She revolves slowly on the spot until she has zeroed in on what she is feeling, and her eyes flutter open.

Inoue felt a little nervous. She did not want to interfere with another spirit walker's business; it would be rude. They are not a vampire or demon. They do not seem to be hurting anyone. If it were up to her, Inoue would let them be. But they'd attracted the attention of Ann and Elissa, and it seemed unlikely they would walk out of this club without meddling.

Feeling a little guilty, Inoue gestures with her eyes. "It's her. The dancing girl." She seems to be referring to a conspicuously enthusiastic dancer with skin like dark chocolate and mohican-styled hair.

...

Then she notices that Ann has already left to talk to her. Inoue sticks her hands on her hips and pouts. "I feel redundant," she mutters.

"I wouldn't feel redundant, girl. That was such a blast that I'm surprised everyone one in the club isn't reacting. Ann is the Slayer: she sensed that woman. You did too" Elissa shrugged. She clearly hadn't.

"Since you are a shaman... Can you feel that ... bright power ... outside the club. Not too far, but enormously powerful. I've not felt anything like it before."

The girl Ann approached slowed down but did not stop dancing as she met Ann's gaze.  She had dark, dark skin and a pair of strikingly pale blue eyes which seemed like points of light in the darkness of her face.

"I don't think I've been here before now that you mention it," says the girl and it's not entirely clear whether she means The Taboo, Cambridge, England or even 1978.

She stretches out a hand.  "Sonja", she says.

Ann shook Sonja's hand. Perhaps it was best to be direct and get to the bottom of what was going on.

"I'm Ann. I don't suppose you've got any idea what's going on here? I don't mean the disco; there's something magical happening. And what with you being a shaman, I thought you might have sensed it. Or started it, you know, like in the Cliff Richard song about the devil woman."

She looked Sonja in her pale eyes.

"Why don't you join me for a drink and we can talk about what's happening?"

Sonja grinned and said in a vaguely Eastern European accent, "I don't drink... wine." but then she smiles a wide smile which showed her extremely human, pearly white and very even teeth.  Her accent changes, becomes somewhat different, Scouse perhaps but the kind of Scouse one might expect if a Swede or a German had learned English from watching Z-cars or The Liver Birds.  "Nah, just funning you.  I'd love a pint of snakebite thanks but I'm not a Shaman.  I just have a tenant."

"Tenant?" said Ann uncertainly. "Do you mean that a shaman's spirit is in your body and I'm speaking to the original occupant of your body?"

She led the way to the bar.

"These are my friends Elissa and Inoue. This is Sonja. While I get your drink, why don't you tell us about this shaman?"

"Shaman?" Sonja was more amused than surprised by the idea.  "He's not a shaman.  He's a dead guy... except technically he's not dead.  You ever hear about vampires?  Not the kind with the Valentino hairdos and the talk like some kind of Mitteleuropäischer nobility.  More like the kind with the fangs and the monster faces that stalk the run down areas of broken down cities?  Well no, he's not one of those either but he would have been if he wasn't such a schlemiel."

"Like wow." Elissa looked shocked. She only understood half of what Sonja was saying, but that half was enough "Like really? A vampire living in your head. Are you there now Mr Vampire?" she gave a tentative little wave "Is it ... Do you get a choice Sonja? What do you get out of it?"

Sonja grinned, "Oh no, you misunderstand me.  I was n the verge of death and this monster tried to kick me out of my own damned (that's like figurative, yeh?) body so he could become the vampire he's supposed to be but I was a lot stronger than he thought with a much stronger hold on life.  I get the long life and the super strength and fast reactions without the downsides like blood drinking, never seeing the sun and the whole being dead thing.  my would-be parasite gets not to get dusted or sent back to Hell where he belongs.  You see, I was so angry, so righteously enraged that he had no chance. Verstimmt?"

"Sounds really scary, girl. You were lucky. Sure you were good, but you were lucky too." Elissa said admiringly "Well hell that's a ... that's a strange story. But... did you feel that shit that hit us all about a minute ago?"

Sonja frowned.  "What shit was that?" she asked.  "I can tell that the three of you are strange travelling companions, a slayer, a skinwalker but nothing like me, and I think you're some kind of a demon?"  This last was very tentative, almost a question rather than a statement.

"I didn't feel anything outside though."

Can you feel that bright power outside the club? "Hm?" Inoue looks around. "No, I do not. Sorry."

Inoue waves meekly when she is introduced to Sonja. "Hajimemashite."

She is skeptical of Sonja's story about hosting a vampire spirit, and bristles a little bit at being called a skinwalker. That sounded gross. Sonja was gross. Ew. She shakes her head and racks her brain to determine if she has heard of any similar stories or if this dancer girl is fibbing.

"She certainly dances like a demon," Inoue playfully notes with a glance at Elissa. There is an unspoken question in her eyes, but in front of a stranger is not the time to discuss it.

---

Spoiler for gameplay stuff: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
18:46, Today: Inoue Miko rolled 13 using 1d10+4+3.  Occultism.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Mon 14 Mar 2022.

"Nah" Elissa said to the demon question "I've been asked that before by people that think 'magic' all the time. They see something they don't understand and instantly put 'Demon' on the label. Or Fey. Everyone's happy with putting things in boxes so that they can give them a name, and once they have a name they can treat the thing in the box like everything else in the same box with the same name. I'm in my own little box. Call me an 'Elissa' if you want a label."

Elissa pondered things over "So you know about Slayers. And can tell when someone is a slayer. And you can spot 'Skinwalkers'. What are your intentions. You know that Slayers kill vampires. Are you for that or against it?" she watched intently for the answer. She was quite good at spotting lies in humans...

Rolled a 16 on Per+Infl

Sonja looked and Elissa and said, "I have no objection unless you decide I'm a vampire who needs to be slain.  If you're planning on slaying William the Bloody or Bloody Drusilla then I might even help, but for the time being, I came here to enjoy the Taboo."

"William the Bloody - was he the same bloke as William the Conqueror?" Ann asked. "And what's a Skinwalker? I'm getting confused. So Sonja, you're a vampire, but with the human part in control rather than the demon? So you still have a soul? And is there a shaman here somewhere else?"

She looked nervously at the doors.

"And do we know if there's something else going on outside? If that strange sensation was just from detecting Sonja and she's cool, then all's well. Otherwise, we may have something more dangerous to find and stick a stake or two in."

And what's a Skinwalker? I'm- "Please stop using that word," Inoue interrupts Ann, looking queasy. "All of you. It conjures up icky images and I would like to finish this drink without having it coming back up." Later, she adds: "Sorry, I thought she was a shaman but I guess I was wrong."

Sonja ticked words off on her fingers, "I'm not a vampire, I am a - that word we're not going to use." She smiled at Inoue.  "Usually it means somebody who is possessed or who leaves themselves open to possession voluntarily, like a shaman, but that's not what's going on here. I am, as far as I know, unique."

"Why am I not a vampire?" she asked a rhetorical question, "Vampires are dead, I'm not.  If you pushed a stake into my heart, I would die but I wouldn't dust.  More likely I'd spurt arterial blood all over the place.  Vampires are vulnerable to sunlight, not me.  Vampires drink blood but I don't.  Some vampires have this strange ability to control humans, frankly I wish I did sometimes but the only way I can do it is with intimidation or seduction, just like any other human."

"Why am I not a shaman?  Shaman's have a great deal of training in various practices, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"As for something outside... sorry, not a clue, I was lost in rhythm."

"Well girl, sounds like you aren't a baddie" Elissa said cheerfully "You said you want to enjoy the taboo, and that sounds like a great idea. We are of course just a little twitchy that you could be a vampire just saying the words, but... you know... I don't think you are. And it's easy to prove anyway: let's meet tomorrow in the sunlight. That gets rid of any of these awkward doubts. What do you say meeting for breakfast at the <names a cafe just round the corner>."

"As for the 'noise' outside. It was bright and powerful and hit all three of us. Which is odd because I have as much 'psychic sensitivity' as a dish rag as far as I can tell. Ann and Inoue here both said 'hey this hot looking chick has cool powers', but I was just admiring your dancing"

"Breakfast?" whined Sonja, going full on Scouser as she does so, "Can we make it lunch at the Brass Teapot"

You all know the Brass Teapot.  It is two doors down from the Taboo in the direction of the main shopping area of Cambridge.

"The Brass teapot. Just after 12 sounds great, girl" Elissa said. The sun would be even higher then, and that should put to bed any lingering doubts "Does that work for you Inoue?" She asked the resident expert on magical matters. She could tell the Japanese girl was upset by the 'Skinwalker' comment, but she hoped that Inoue would get over it

"So does a Liverpudlian mind dancing with a Mancunian?"

Sonja takes Elissa's hand and leads her to the dance floor.  "I'm happy to dance with you Elissa, but I'm not a scouser, I'm Swedish."

Ann spoke to Inoue as she watched Elissa and Sonja head to the dance floor.

"Do you have any idea how to tell whether Sonja is as in control as she says? Sometimes we get her Swedish accent, and sometimes what I'm guessing is the demon's scouse accent. She doesn't seem aware of it, which makes me wonder whether there are other things that happen that she's not aware of."

She drained the remainder of her drink.

"We came here to dance, and we can better observe Sonja from the dance floor. Do you fancy getting out there again?"

"At noon... Ann, don't you and I have classes tomorrow? It might be hard to go out. Aside from that I have no objections, but I might need to bring some classwork." From their time together Ann has likely learned that Inoue's grasp of time is a little shaky at the best of times. She has obstinately refused to let Ann buy her a calendar, insisting that one has to feel their way through life to properly experience the metaphysical undercurrents or some nonsense like that. The point is, Inoue feels like they should have classes tomorrow and is subtly asking Ann to confirm that reality is the one she lives in.

Once Elissa and Sonja are away, Inoue turns to Ann again. "I could perform an augury when I am back at my room," she offers. "Hurting others is a psychically intense experience and should leave readable residue to read. I could also try binding an interrogating the vampire spirit, but without evidence and Sonja's permission that would be extremely rude... I would also need to research the spell and sew a spell circle." She taps her fingers on her drink in thought. "If her possession is anything like mine, it should be very difficult for the spirit to lie to her."

"Oh, no, I think I am danced out," Inoue says. "This is not really my scene and it is by the grace of the spirits that I managed to not trip over my own feet before. You three have fun though!"

It was refreshing to dance with someone as skilled as Sonja or Ann. Frankly they were better than anyone else in her class, and they allowed Elissa to demonstrate her own skill: a good partner provided feedback in a way that was hard to describe.

"Swedish huh. Do you just put on the Scouser accent for fun" Elissa asked in the middle of one their routines

Sonja laughed.  "Nah, I never learned English at school so I watched a lot of telly and learned from that.  Do you watch 'Zed Cars' or 'The Liver Birds'? If you do, it'd explain a lot."

"We can slip out at lunchtime. We're in the Sixth Form now, so we're not treated quite as much like prisoners as the kids are."

She watched Elissa and Sonja dancing.

"Let's not do anything rude until we know if Sonja is actually a danger. She seems cool enough, and I don't want Elissa accusing me of trying to cheat to stop her from winning our bet. So you are possessed yourself. Who, or what, is doing that? What's it like?"

She didn't get up to dance; she wasn't going to leave Inoue alone. Inoue wasn't the most streetwise person Ann had ever met.

"Okay, if you're sure!" Inoue could study anywhere that wasn't a nightclub.

Inoue is curious about this bet, but decides to let it go for the moment. "Right now? No, I am just Inoue." She smiles. "It is an intense experience. Many kami are immensely powerful and it takes a strong will to not get swept away. It is like... riding a tidal wave, except the wave is inside you, and also you are the wave? Bad metaphor, sorry." She sips up the last of her drink, then peers into the glass with a slight look of disappointment.

"As for who and why... it depends." She sets the glass aside. "Suppose a construction site disturbs an old tomb and angers the spirits. I might invite one into myself to learn why it is hurting the workers, and it might use me to move their remains to a safer location where they can rest in peace. Or, I might have to wade into a vampire nest one day so I might call up the spirit of a samurai who died fighting vampires, borrowing his skills in exchange for granting him his revenge. Typically, it is a contract, each of us offering part of ourselves to the other in the pursuit of a common goal."

She taps her fingers against her knees. "Sometimes it is just for fun. It really is an incredible rush. You would be surprised how many kami are curious what it is like to feel the burn of exercise or experience the taste of a key lime pie, or to... you know..." Her hands tighten on the lap of her skirt, squeezing her legs. She smiles coyly. "Historically, many marriages between kami used miko ceremonies as proxies to consummate being wed... physically."

"I think I prefer 'Citizen Smith' and the 'Tooting Popular Front'" Elissa said, her eyes reflecting her enjoyment at what they were doing. She loved to dance, and with a superb partner like Sonja it was even better. She was also enjoying getting close to the other girl: there were some times when dancing should be 'a celebration of the horizontal from the vertical' and she was starting to move that way

"I hear they are going to make some more. Although with what's been happening recently I think 'The Tomorrow People' is more in line. I... don't really like watching Police series. But the Liver Birds is funny"

"So Sonja. You said you get the 'don't get old' stuff. How long ago did Mr Fangy and Unpleasant bite you? Put it another way: how long have you been this young and pretty"

Sonja grins and says, "Not long, it was six years ago in the West End of London.  Some out of date piece of shit from Percy Dashwood's mod.  I don't know whether you know anything about how vamps are made?  Boy were they shocked when broke open their coffins on the roof of Abbey Road studios in broad daylight".  At some point, the grin fades and she's deadly serious.

"The spirit and you have to agree then? So you can't force a vamp's demon into you, and it can't force itself into you? Ah, metaphorically force itself into you, that is."

Watching Elissa and Sonja, Ann got the feeling that the bet was slipping away. Oh well, good for her if it was.

"Consummate?" said Ann. "As in -. Oh. Have you helped any couples wed like that? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. But have you done anything odd, beyond eating lime pie?"

"To an extent. I am not any more resistant to unwilling possession than any other human except insofar as I have specific training to remain calm and focused under such conditions. The spell I use to facilitate the process only sends out a psychic invitation and creates a safe, reinforced space within my soul for spirits to inhabit. I have a forced binding spell in my spellbook somewhere, but -- as I said before -- I would need to dig it out and prepare a ritual circle because I have never used it."

Inoue shakes her head. "Most Japanese spirits take a dim view of non-virgin shamans, so performing such a ceremony would be the end of a Deenelmaite sister's... career? Yeah, career." She tries to fish out the last few drops of her drink from the bottom of the glass. "I understand that English spirits are more promiscuous, though."

"As for anything odd, well... it is difficult for me to answer that question, such as my life is!" She chuckles. "We normally train until we are twenty but I was sent here to you long before that. I was basically just given some hastily copied advance reading and kicked across the pond with a 'good luck!' So I have not had a lot of opportunity to do anything interesting."

"What if the spirit doesn't want to leave. Can you just evict it from your body?"

Seeing Inoue struggling to drink every drop from her glass, Ann asked if she'd like another one.

"You've done well. One night out together and you're drinking and dancing in a club. I'm clearly a good influence on you. Or a bad one; I'm not sure there's a difference. But anyway, the important thing is that you're blending in. Apart from all the people checking you out, nobody is giving you a second look. Not bad for someone who's never done this before. I hope patrolling is always as easy and fun as tonight has been."

"But I think we should move on soon. Check out the Reality Checkpoint like we said earlier. Or look for vamps or Fae on the streets. Oh to be able to just stay at a place like this for the night and enjoy ourselves. Sonja seems fine, and there's no other dangers around here."

"No I don't know" Elissa said thoughtfully "I don't know much about vampires... except that they seem to be tribal, strong, tough. And in your case pretty and move beautifully" she moved to the edge of the dance floor

"Let's meet tomorrow Sonja. Lunch sounds great" she flashed an inviting smile "And maybe later we can go see a movie or something, if you want.  I think we are heading off now though. You keep well girl"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 07:06, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

In reply to The Hon. Elissa St. Clair (msg # 52):

Sonja smiles and says, "Okay, vi ses imorgon."

Elissa blew Sonja a kiss and headed to Ann and Inoue. "Hey girlz..." she said her eyes bright with the joy of what she'd been doing "Time to go walkies I think"

She waited until they were outside before "I didn't want to talk inside because we might be overheard. When that big 'pulse' happened... there were three people in there" she gave their descriptions (none was Sonja) "I had this feeling they were linked to it. Outside... I could feel a big presence. Can't describe it really. Felt... mmm... maybe half a mile, maybe less away. It was quite scary"

"I don't know what's going on: I've not 'felt' anything like this before... although the bright figure in the distance reminded me of those dreams I told you about Ann..."

Elissa can feel the brightness still, it's about two miles to the West now and moving Northwards.

The three people Elissa felt links to are leaving the club.

"That ... feeling. It's going North. It's not going slowly. Do we want to follow it, see what it is, where it is going... or do we want to go to a graveyard. You are the boss Ann. You decide" Elissa said gesturing in the direction she could sense 'whatever it was' in

Ann didn't need to consider the question.

"Let's follow it. The graveyard isn't going anywhere, and maybe we can get a lead on the Fae this way. Whatever it is, we should try to figure it out. Perhaps it will be a new ally. And perhaps I'll get to try out my new stake."

She looked at the surrounding streets before leading the way north.

"Come on, let's Scooby Doo this mystery."

Just then, she spotted the three people leaving.

"Those are the three, right Elissa? Let's see if they move towards the north. If not, I think I should follow them, and you two try to find the source of the feeling."

"Yup. It's those three" Elissa said "I'm not feeling very comfortable about this Ann. You know you 'always know a vampire'? There's two parts to that. Firstly... it's just plain wierd. Secondly... You know... you sensed Sonja. I wondering if this is something like that. In which case... those three are probably quite powerful themselves. "

Can you just evict it from your body? "That is one of the functions of the invitation spell; by collapsing the safe space the spirit is forced out."

"Um, thank you," she says sheepishly. "I do not think that it is something I would do on my own, but it is not a completely terrible experience with... friends." What a strange concept that is. Friends.

Inoue looks up as Elissa rejoins them and accompanies the two women out for the rest of their night out on the town. "I felt the pulse but stopped trying to trace it when I hit upon Sonja," Inoue admits. "I am sorry, I should have been more diligent..." It was hard with all the noise and motion; Inoue was rather surprised she could sense much of anything at all amid all the club chaos. "I do not feel anything now."

Inoue goes along with whatever the other two decide to do. She is still a little frazzled from her first clubbing experience.

Elissa flashed Inoue a reasuring smile "Lot's happening. Don't worry" she leaned against a wall and considered options "OK here is what I can sense. There's still that 'big thing' up North... There are two of the three that are also going North", she nodded with her head but didn't point. "They are on opposite sides of the street, so they might not be 'together'.

"The third one is heading ... hmm ... East to the south of Parker's Piece"

"Now we have three things of interest to the North. The 'big bad'. These two. If you think we should go that way too Ann I'm all for it. I don't know if you two have had training in following people. It's quite hard to do it in a way that doesn't stick out. Most people look away or have body language that makes it easier for the person being followed to notice. On top of which ... all three of us are lookers... and we stand out anyway. So... I suggest we give them a good start and don't 'follow them' in the sense of keeping eyes on them. Perhaps we could get a taxi. That would get us ahead of them, and not give them that feeling of 'we are being followed'"

Ann considered their options.

"We could go after the one alone, but we don't know if they're evil. We can hardly attack without knowing, and I'd feel a right pillock asking."

"So it's north. We could go straight to the boom, but let's watch those two first. We can always try the boom if we lose them. The trouble with a taxi is we won't know where to go ahead of them. So let's just walk, three girls who've had a bit too much to drink for one night. Why don't you both put arms around my shoulders and act like you're helping me walk? Then if they stop, we can pretend that I've stumbled because I'm too pissed to walk right."

"Remember I can sense the big power to the North." Elissa said. "so we can get the Taxi there. As I say I am uncomfortable following these, but it's your call"

"OK," said Ann. "You're the one sensing the power and those three. If your instincts are to take the taxi to the boom, I'll trust them."

"Let's try it" Elissa said flashing the other two a worried smile "Let's just hope that the 'power' is friendly. Or at least not planning on wiping Cambridge or us off the face of the planet"

She headed to a taxi stand and gave rough instructions to the taxi driver along with 'We'll know it when we see it'.

By now, you would estimate that the 'Boom' is roughly due North and moving Eastward.  It seems to be heading in the direction of Jesus Green or perhaps the Fort St George.  The taxi sets off following your rough directions.  "It's a slow night," she said, "so why not, but if it goes on too long, it'll cost yer."

A taxi for three or four files split three ways wasn't much more than a pint. Elissa was cool with that given the unusual events. If it went on she wouldn't be... But if they got closer they would probably be getting out and walking anyway "Sure" she said "Let's go"

She was unpleasantly reminded of a horror movie she'd seen far to young where one of the protagonists had gone into the basement with a candle and a baseball bat. She felt unpleasantly like that right now. Why was she following this and not just running the other way as fast as possible? Thoughts like this ran through her head as she stared out of the window wondering why none of the people she could see could sense what she could right now

Ann watched night-time Cambridge speed past her window. A thought occurred to her, but she didn't want to speak too clearly in front of the taxi driver.

"Elissa, I wonder if the reason you've, uh, become informed about this party we're headed to is that it's related to your distant family. It would explain why Inoue and I didn't get invites. Have you ever been invited to something like this before?"

"Gosh" Elissa said sitting back in the seat and thinking "That's clever, girl. I suppose it could be. But no I've not had anything like this happen. I feel kind of as lost and at sea as I did when I suddenly got stronger and faster" she made a face "It's fucking scary, basically. Scary because it's happening to me, and scary because I'm not running away." She looked at the other two a little gratefully "At least I'm not on my own this time.."

"No, you're not alone this time. None of us are. Though I don't know whether that will do us any good. You're right, it is scary, but -" she reached out and held both the other girls' hands. "I'm glad we get to face it together. As long as we have each others' backs, maybe we can get through this."

She looked through the windows again.

"Are we getting closer?"

Elissa had to blink rapidly for just a moment to avoid a treacherous tear leaking out. Ann's movement had taken her quite by surprise, smashing through a load of defences she had against people getting close. She was feeling all vulnerable and scared, and Ann had just stepped in and done exactly the best thing she could have done to reassure her

"Thanks" she said quietly and squeezed the hands with a 'thank you' before letting them go, and returned looking back out of the window so that the other two couldn't see her face or slightly red eyes  "Yes. Three miles is like five minutes or so. We should be close enough to get out and walk soon"

Soon enough you are at the Blackamoor's head and the focus of Elissa's contact seems to be milling around with little purpose about half a mile ahead.

"Let's do this" Elissa guided the car for another quarter of a mile before stopping it and getting out " "As far as I can tell .. sheesh I don't even know what fing pronoun to use. 'He', 'She', 'It'? is about 4..500 yards ahead.Let's just amble a little closer and see what happens. What the hell do we do if it get's violent? Sodium lights? Iron?"

"I was thinking that Ann could try bonking xir," Inoue offers. "I think that is the right pronoun when you are uncertain. Xe/xir?"

"Bonking means... to fuck...to have sex with..." Elissa said laughing. Her mood lifted enormously by the sudden humour "Like 'I want to bonk 'insert person's name'. Or 'the two were bonking like bunnies'. It's a cultural thing. I had a friend who was Chinese and she couldn't tell the different between S and SH. S she couldn't bring herself to ask 'can I sit her please'... in case she did the wrong one"

"But no... if you don't know it's 'he'."

"I thought that was boinking, and bonking means to hit someone usually with a blunt object, such as their boinker."

"Oh. Wrong century I guess." Inoue does not explain further and innocently goes back to looking out the window while holding hands with Ann.

"Must be a Japanese thing" Elissa said "I've never heard of Boy-oinking" she stressed the 'i'. "And no. Not in the UK. It's 'to fuck' or 'to screw', only a lot less rude. And a lot funnier when you said it like that."

The road is coming close to the River now.  If you look along the river, there's a grassy bank all the way and about a hundred yards away, you see a figure looking for all the world as if they're searching for something.

"Let's back away and talk" Elissa said quietly and started to lead the others away. She didn't want to meet this thing without a plan.

"OK," said Ann as she allowed herself to be led away. "But I'm not bonking anyone."

She cast a glance back at the stranger.

"Well, probably not."

She remembered her training and scanned the area about them for threats.

"Any idea what they're looking for?" she asked as she tried to sense any nearby vampires.

It's not obvious what they're looking for but they are looking at the water and sweeping their gaze right and left and then from one bank to the other.

Once they were some distance Elissa responded "Remember this is so powerful I could sense its ... his ... her ... power three miles away. I think we should phone Alice. I am" she bit her lip "I just can see so many bad things happening if we approach. Perhaps I'm wrong and they will say 'Hey I'm looking for my Contact Lenses, have you seen them'. You two know more than I do about this sort of thing. What do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure we have anything to tell Miss Casey. There's something here but we're not sure what? It's not a lot to go on."

She considered their options.

"Why don't I go up and see what's up? You two can stay back and call in the cavalry is needed."

She didn't add that, as Slayer, she really was the cavalry.

"There are quite a lot of things. One 'it caused that shockwave'. Two 'I can sense it a long way away'. Three 'it's looking for something'. Four we can describe it: it's a single figure, physically manifested. There's a phone box not far away... For all we know Alice will 'just know' what it is.. and more brutally... if we are all killed investigating it, she will know what happened. Because Ann... this is a seriously powerful being"

"But... if you prefer direct action now then we should all go. If it's friendly... it doesn't matter who goes... Unless it takes special hatred of just one of shamans, or slayers, or Elissas.  If it is violent... then we want the force multiplier not it... if it's violent the worst thing we can do is split our forces and allow it to attack us one at a time and not together" she looked at Inoue "What about it Inoue... This isn't some two-bit vampire. This is a creature that is so powerful it caused that shockwave earlier, and can be sensed from miles away. What would you do?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:20, Thu 31 Mar 2022.

Are you going forward, Ann?

But I'm not bonking anyone. "Or boinking!" Inoue adds with a giggle.

What would you do? Inoue hums thoughtfully, then draws her tarot deck from its leather pouch on her belt that she keeps on her at all times. She closes her eyes as she begins to shuffle. "Spirits great and small, guide my path," she murmurs, then draws a single card onto her knee. She opens her eyes and looks down to see what she drew.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Ann is split between watching the stranger and seeing what Inoue comes up with with the cards.

"Which card is it? What does it mean?"

She looked around. It wouldn't do to be ambushed. Or noticed by the stranger.

The card is The Tower or La Maison Dieux, depending on the deck. It refers to chaos and the fall of kingdoms.

"It's your call" Elissa said, not really understanding the card "I'm good with what you decide. You're the slayer, I'm the sidekick. I'll just back what you do"

"I wonder which kingdom is about to fall?"

She turned to face the stranger again.

"OK, I'll just pass them by. Perhaps I'll get a better look at what they are and what they're looking for. I won't attack. Not unless they attack me or I see no other option. I'll be on my best behaviour; scout's honour. We need to find out what's going on. I can do more than just kicks and punches. And if things do go terribly, let Miss Casey know what happened."

"Perhaps their's has. Or perhaps they look for something to make a kingdom fall"

Even though she'd said it was Ann's call, Elissa was frankly surprised her advise had been ignored. No comment had been made on it... was Ann deliberatly ignoring her? What was going on

"Sure go" she gestured. She'd made her suggestions, been ignored. It was up to Ann now

In reply to Alcuin (msg # 87):

Inoue frowns deeply. "The tower. One of very few cards that have almost no positive interpretations," she explains, "typically referring to a lost of direction and order, disaster, destruction, and just general unpleasantness."

She looks up. "In light of this I would recommend a very discrete inquiry of our subject followed swiftly by a retreat so that I may trance and consult with the otherworld."

As Ann approaches, the stranger continues with his obsessive perusal of the river.  He opens his mouth to speak, you see his teeth are much sharper than teeth have any business being.  "I will get in."

"Is that 'no positive connotations' for us or for them, I wonder. Maybe all of us. OK, you're both telling me to be careful, and I will be."

She took a deep breath.

"I'll be right back." As she walked towards the stranger, she added quietly, "Or at least I hope I will."

As she neared the stranger, she called out, "Excuse me, I don't suppose you could lend me a fag, could you? I'm all out."

The stranger turns to face Ann and smiles a sharp-toothed smile.  "A cigarette?" his voice is an old man's.  It's not surprising when he offers Ann a Gitane.  "Be my guest."

Ann took the cigarette, all the while studying the stranger and trying to pick up any clues. She also glanced in the direction the stranger had been searching.

"Thanks," she said. "I don't suppose you have a light too, do you?"

The stranger clicks his fingers and holds a small flame in the palm of his hand.  Close inspection shows that he is not a child, is not human...

There is a grey-green tinge to his wrinkled skin and his fingers all seem to have extra knuckles.  The eyes are warm and intelligent but the face is possibly the ugliest you've ever seen.

Ann kept her nerve and lit the cigarette in the flame. She thanked the stranger, then backed away and returned to the others.

"Either of you want a cigarette?" she asked, holding it out. "I don't smoke. Let's get to that phone box. I can describe him to Miss Casey, plus I now know that he can summon fire into his palm."

"Nicely done. mmm..." Elissa looked doubtfully at the cigarette "I only smoke pot. That stuff will rot your lungs... or it would if you weren't you" Elissa said "But fake it girl, we don't want to upset ... whatever it was. Maybe there's something magical that you can tell about the cigarette..." she was grasping at straws but she didn't know how magic worked "Given it was ... his/hers/it"

"Don't bother telling us the details, we'll get them as you tell Alice"

As they talked she adjusted the makeup on her face, using the mirror just to keep an eye on the creature behind without being too obvious

"I do not smoke tobacco," Inoue says, wrinkling her nose at the smelll of the burning cancer stick.

... his/hers/it. "Xir?" Inoue adds hopefully, apparently determined to beat this pronoun drum. "Magic cigarettes seems like a stretch, and I do not think xe is paying any attention to us so no need to fake it." Of course this is coming from someone who'll blatantly discuss the supernatural in front of others without hesitation, so maybe she's not the best one to take advice from about maintaining a cover.

"I'm not saying the cigarette is magical, girl. I'm saying that the cigarette has its sweat on it. If we were to talk about it we would say 'its cigarette'. So magically we can maybe use the fact that we have something from it" Elissa explained not taking the idea of inventing a new pronoun seriously "But you are a shaman and you know more than I do about this stuff and if you don't think it would work, it probably wouldn't"

Inoue blinks a few times. "I... had not even considered sweat. I do not think that is a strategy they teach at the shrine, but I cannot immediately conceive a reason why it should not work..."

Ann tore the end off the cigarette.

"If this is useful, best not let it burn."

She fished out a 10p coin, then called Alice from the phone box.

"Miss Casey, we've encountered a being tonight. He seems to be looking for something. He's got a greyey-green hint to his skin, and extra knuckles on his fingers. He's the ugliest thing I've ever seen." Definitely no bonking. "Also, he created a flame out of nowhere on his palm. He's not immediately dangerous - he gave me a cigarette when I spoke to him. But Elissa Darth Vadered him and felt his presence, plus a 'boom' which seems to be moving around here. Oh, and the creature is called Xe, though I'm not sure how Inoue knows that."

...and the creature is called Xe- "No!" Inoue cries, resisting the urge to laugh at the misunderstanding. "That is not what I meant~!"

Elissa had to chuckle even if Inoue managed not to. Partly at being compared to Darth Vader... who was in her view much better at being a baddie than Luke Skywalker was at being a goodie. He had 'tude and she liked that. "Anything?" she asked. She had no idea what to do now, so was hoping Alice had some ideas.

As the three were chatting and half watching the figure, an incredibly localised fog arose from the river, enveloped the figure and was soon gone, fading away to a few wisps and then nothing at all, as if it had never been.

Elissa's sense of the creature seemed to fade with it although it never disappeared.  It was as if a pain had faded from eleven to barely a half on a scale of one to ten within seconds.  The sense of relief was an almost physical sensation.

"Oh wow" Elissa said putting her hand to her head "It's gone. Whatever it was. And.. gosh I'm glad. That was going to give me a headache if it lasted longer"

And overhead without any fuss, the stars began to fade out one by one. - Arthur C Clarke - The Nine Billion Names of God