reading_rainstorm | Stephanie's Heart: The Archive

In your dreams you are in a thick and foggy forest. It could be mistaken for the woods around Tributary if you don’t know your plants. You are on a trail leading into a clearing, in the center of which is a simple, concrete structure with a single door. A chaos star has been spray painted on it with a stencil.

You approach the structure. Looking over your shoulder you see a large shape lurking in the fog, obscured by the foliage. Two shining Feline eyes peer at you from the brush. You feel your heart rate spike as you turn the knob and find an old fashioned elevator tucked neatly inside with an accordion grate standing between you and the ornate, gilded interior. It creaks open as the presence behind you steps into the clearing. It is a sphinx, an eight foot tall lioness with the face of a woman and the large brown wings of an eagle on her back . The feminine face and olive skin tone of a Greek woman from antiquity smiles as she readies herself to to pounce, the wings on her back stretching and give a few readying flaps.You back into the elevator and close the gate with shaking hands as the sphinx leaps at the elevator. Her claws twisting and shearing the metal of the grate slowly, but she is too late. The elevator springs to life and you descend.

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A small light above flickers on as it illuminates your view outside the exposed elevator as you sink into the concrete structure. You descend for a few moments before an opening in the concrete gives you the view of an observation deck on a hill, looking down on the sprawling suburbs and campus of a college town. The elevator continues downward. The concrete gives way to old, dusty marble as you continue sinking. You see a vast maze stretch far and away that gets nearer and nearer. This has to be it, right? Your destination? No. You plunge further down, past the walls of the maze and the marble is replaced again by well polished wood. Beautiful stained mahogany rises past you as your descent finally starts to slow. You are greeted by another grate that creaks open for you. Entreating you to enter.

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From:

peccatore

God, I really don't like this.

[He might as well take the rest of the stuff out of the bag. Hhhh.]

From:

reading_rainstorm

You have a full set of ritual implements! Yay! Touching the brushes fills your head with sigils you could draw around the circle.

From:

peccatore

St-- [He drops the brushes like they're a hot fucking potato.] Stop that. I am NOT performing a ritual.

From:

reading_rainstorm

Stephanie's face appears outside the window of the cabin. Except...it's attached to the body of a winged lion.

"You won't Marco? Not even to save those kids? That's what we did you, know? That's how this whole thing goes."

She gives Marco a wicked grin.

From:

peccatore

[OH HE REALLY DOESN'T LIKE THAT.]

Why should I trust you?

From:

reading_rainstorm

"Because we don't tell lies, obviously."

She rolls her eyes at Marco but continues smiling with those sharp teeth.

From:

peccatore

[Those teeth... They scare him.]

... And what guarantee do I have that that's true?

From:

reading_rainstorm

"Well it was written in our heart, wasn't it? Right in the entrance. Have we ever seemed the deceptive sort to you Marco, anything less than forthcoming?"

From:

peccatore

... No. But I don't trust that you're the real Stephanie.

From:

reading_rainstorm

"Tsk tsk tsk. I'm just as real as the one you know. She just has the run of the place, while I'm left out here to wait with the memories...I'll have my day though."

She smiles again.

From:

peccatore

... I see. I think I see. She's mentioned you, hasn't she?

From:

reading_rainstorm

"Oh, yes. She was terribly frightened by me a while ago I believe."

Checking the claws on her front paws like nails.

From:

peccatore

... Right.

[He takes a deep breath.]

I won't be saving any kids by performing this ritual. This is just a memory. What would this actually accomplish?

From:

reading_rainstorm

"Finishing the memory, getting something you're looking for~

It's a juicy one. That's a promise."

From:

peccatore

[... sigh]

I'm not going to enjoy this.

[But what choice does he have? Time to follow the motions.]

From:

reading_rainstorm

Holding the brushes the sigils come naturally. Do you think this will work? Do you believe Stephanie did this ritual right?

From:

peccatore

[No idea. He's never done anything like this in his life, he's sure. All he can do is follow what the brushes are telling him.]

From:

reading_rainstorm

A ghostly Stephanie appears by the bag and picks up the silver and iron filings. She uncorks the silver. You know she's going to make a circle around these sigils. Better get out of her way.

From:

peccatore

[... He steps back.]

From:

reading_rainstorm

"A circle of silver protection against the unholy, just in case I'm off base here. A circle of iron, in case I'm right and she tries to get frisky. Then..."

She burns the contracts and recites a spell in Latin. Does Marco remember enough Latin to understand?

From:

peccatore

The unholy...

[Not a chance - he was functionally illiterate when he was alive. He might be able to pick out a few words if there's any overlap with church vocab, though.]

From:

reading_rainstorm

Not much overlap unfortunately. As the pages burn and Stephanie speaks the flames turn lavender, their smoke is drawn to the center of the circle and forms a figure. A woman with mint green skin, curvaceous and with mint green skin.

Stephanie bows to her, but you see on her face is barely suppressed terror.

"My Lady of pages, I have summoned you here for a game."

"I do not game with mortals for nothing."

"I would give of myself, as wagers"

"You would? And what am I to wager? What have you to gain?"

"The lives of the mortals here."

she scoffs.

"You would free them."

"I would."

"You think yourself such a catch."

Stephanie smiles widely.

"I value myself quite highly."

The memory fades for you here. In the ash of the pages you see a card.