Play@YSDC

The conversation and assistance in Glendale with all the fires didn't really garner any new information. Time had been wasted, and things were more chaotic than ever. Ghosts, fairies, goblins, and any manner of fantasy creature seemed to be showing up here and there, vanishing moments later. Why, one person even claimed to have seen a dragon.

In attempt to set things right, the party made their way back to the Tennison's Farm, the area beyond the Cranborne House ... the stone circle that had, at one time, had some etchings that had since been chipped off. The consensus was that these stones were related, somehow. If only the group could figure out what to do...

George Tennison was still stirring within his house. He was currently unaware that the group had managed to make their way across his property to the stone circle (and in a remarkably short time too - compared to the last time).

Laurence in Samantha's body examines the defaced etchings on the stones and asks Samantha in his own body for the rubbings he had taken of them. "I wonder if that symbol I saw in my vision is what used to be on them?" he says. "Perhaps we need to etch it in again."

A little red-haired man in green clothes and smoking a long pipe appeared quite abruptly, sitting on the stones. "Oi, I wouldn't be doin' that me laddy. Such pretty stones should be a left to their nature, don't ya know?."

ooc,Yeah... he's speaking with a thick Irish accent, even though I'm probably slaughtering it.

"Was it you who erased the etchings, then?" asks Laurence in Samantha's body. After everything he's seen in Glendale, a leprechaun isn't much of a surprise to him.

Samantha in Laurence's body rummages in her/his pockets and gives the rubbings to Laurence.

The leprechaun laughed, "Ah, no laddy. But 'twas part of how I'm here right now! If ye want to know more about who was messin' with the stones, I suggest ye talk to the one so interested in seein' fairy folk."

And with that said, he disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"That young student we met earlier," says Laurence in Samantha's body, "Andrew Porter, we need to find him. Maybe we can find him in the woods near where we saw him last time. I think we're definitely on the right track."

"Good idea," says Samantha in Laurence's body. "Let's go, quickly. Hopefully he is still there. We need to sort this out as soon as possible, before any more damage is done."

In short time, the group finds their way to the clearing where the student was working, laying in wait for any fantastic signs or visions. He was gone, however... cleared out and took his stuff with him. Only thing that remained were empty beer bottles. It wasn't surprising, since he wanted to take some fantastic pictures, and there was quite a fantastic storm that just pushed through. No doubt he had went to photograph some of the lightning strikes, and perhaps got side-tracked by the increasing number of goblins, imps, ghosts, fairies, and other oddities.

Laurence in Samantha's body looks around the campsite for any tracks. "Well, I can't tell which way he went from here," he says.

Samantha in Laurence's body sees Laurence looking around the campsite for tracks, and looks for tracks too, but totally fails to find anything. "Ugghh!" she exclaims, and throws her hands up in despair.

The situation hasn't changed. There is a portal that needs to be closed. You all tried to close it, but did something wrong in the progress which scrambled your brains about. Perhaps doing the ritual right will set things straight. The only real question is what was wrong about it?

(I can think of two things...)

"When we carried out the ritaul," says Laurence in Samantha's body, "I believe we performed the chant in English. Perhaps we need to do it in the original Latin as written on the paper." He reviews Martin's instructions for any other discrepancies.

"Are there any clues in Martin's notes to where it should have been performed?" asks Samantha in Laurence's body. "I'm just wondering if we performed it in the wrong place as well. My visions afterwards were clearly showing the ring of stones, and I wonder if that was significant."

"Yes, I have it here," says Laurence in Samantha's body. "I was thinking maybe the location was wrong too, but until you said that I couldn't imagine where the correct location was. He wrote: 'Five must gather when sunlight is no longer seen directly gather together in a place guaranteeing privacy and away from interference of ignorant fools.' He also mentioned that we have to sit around a table, and that's what threw me. I wasn't even thinking of doing it outdoors, as there's also no privacy there. That symbol I saw looked somewhat like a five-pointed star. I think we need to draw it like that."

Nicholas was still more than a little strange, and itchy. He didn't like his clothes, that much was certain.

Meanwhile, the rest of you realize that Martin did a frenzied preparation of the steps for the ritual. It was possible he didn't get everything he needed, or maybe made a mistake. He was just a little preoccupied with the dying thing.

"Well where sunlight is no longer seen could be anywhere at night," says Samantha, musing the options. "The table thing is an issue, as is privacy, but maybe Martin was confused, or wrong about that. Do you think it might work if we tried at the circle? And where would be draw the star?"

Petronella in Paul's body looks flustered. "Maybe. I have no idea. Was there a table at the stone ring? But it wasn't really a circle, more like a spear head." She tries to draw the positions of the ten stones on the ground and draw a star between the points.

"We also need to make sure we have enough candles," says Laurence in Samantha's body. "We need a total of six, one for each point of the star and one in the middle, and they must all be lit. It says that we must all hold hands, and that the leader draws the star. I think it must be drawn on the table, exactly as I saw it in my vision. Maybe if we brought a table out here..."

ooc: Please advise... what are we doing next? And are there any questions you need me to answer or any details you need me to clarify?

(Let's do that, then. I'm utterly confused, it's been too long for me to remember, and I'm not sure where to look or what to do with the information I have. Which is next to nothing.)

I vote yes

The group returns back towards the stone circle, only slightly distracted by the sounds of George Tennison laughing gleefully in his garden. Those who sneak a peak see him frolicking with a dozen or so fairies, all thoroughly enjoying his garden. Passing him without being noticed is very easy to do.

Once at the stones, Laurence (Samantha's body) carves the Elder Sign on the first of the stones and shows the others. Working in concert, you get the symbol etched in all of the stones when a leprechaun shows up again sitting on one of the stones. "Eh, what ya doin' laddy? Don' ye know that yer 'eadin' fer trouble?" Nicholas, confused and frightened by the horrid red-haired monster, rushes and tries to tackle it - but the leprechaun vanishes with an almost audible pop.

With all the stones ready, everyone gets into position and goes through the ritual once more... hoping it works this time.
At the end of the ritual, a flash of blue fire emanates from the center and rushes outwards, bowling everyone over, toppling the stones, and breaks the circle. As the flame shoots outward, it grows in intensity. For one instant following that, everyone feels a sudden sensation of vertigo as they jump back to their own bodies. It seems as if everything was all right, but George Tennison screams out from his garden, "NOOOOO!"

Nicholas' state of mind is shattered from shock. He curls up into the fetal position and sobs quietly. He will never be the same again, but at least he is responding to his own name.

Picking yourselves up, the group rushes off to the garden's edge, only to see that every plant, every flower is burnt to cinders. Cranborne house is a blazing inferno. The entire building is encased in fierce, raging flame. It is unlikely there will be much left when the fire burns itself out. The fairies are nowhere to be seen.

Avoiding confrontation with George, you pick their way around the property and make your way back to the village where you find it in shambles. It looks as if a minor earthquake has hit. As you approach down the country lane you see the sides of the houses facing you have collapsed. There is a small amount of rubble on the ground... but not enough to account for the missing walls. Insides of the houses are burning. There is a solitary fire engine trying to control the blazes.

As you enter into the village, you can see that many of the buildings have structural damage, though not as severe as the first ones that you saw. There is a second fire engine putting out other fires.

Two ambulances are parked up. A casualty on a stretcher is being loaded into one of them. Some of the villagers are walking about in a daze.

When you ask a villager what has happened, she responds, "There was a brief rumbling followed by a sickening electricity smell [ozone], then the buildings sort of, well… um… er… got damaged. Do not what else I can tell you. I can't make head nor tale of it!" You find out that many of the townsfolk are missing, but so are all the ghosts, goblins, and other fantastic visions that they had been experiencing.