presents...
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She Lies Unquiet
Game Date: 03/04/06
Antonio caught Sero in the hallway before Soldi mass and recognized him as "that musician" from the feast of Santa Sophia. Sero, in a great haste to make nice with the lord, repeated his conviction that Theus had sent him to give the Donati family aid in dealing with this ghost. That seemed to catch Antonio's attention and he asked when Sero had come to town; from there we went to ask Gianina to confirm the ghost's first activity. Sero had come to Monfalcone several days before even the feast of Santa Sophia and the ghost had only (apprently) manifested last night. Even Fate Witches couldn't exactly foresee the future; could Theus in his grace have actually sent this man before the ghost had even awoken? Not liking the timing at all, Antonio remarked darkly that he was sure Sero would be keeping the family secrets very well indeed. Francesca checking in with Ellen in the library. The Avalon was a bit surprised and a bit embarrassed to be caught reading the book she was holding, until she remembered that Francesca couldn't read the cover of A Traveling Gentleman's Guide to the Courtesans of the Vestini (1665). Written for visitors to Vestini lands, it included other travel hints and warnings for tourists (along with that year's catalogue of courtesans). It had a section on the Cymbr, the wandering carpenters and tinkers of Vodacce, and some of their beggar's scams: fortune telling, passing shoddy goods, and "occultists" called the benandanti. These were men and women who might tell you that you were haunted but could fix things - for a fee - or just tell you the long and terrible tales of their battles with Bianco demons, then ask for money to go to their good cause. That was the only thing she'd found that mentioned ghosts at all. On the other hand, there were three shelf-feet of books on spider breeding. Mass was thankfully very normal. Everyone filed out except Lady Ellen, who had made it her habit to wait for Father Donati. She was congratulating him on his insight into the Second Prophet's writings vis-a-vis the First Prophet's when he noticed the spectral figure of his sister rising behind her. He said nothing, waiting to see if the ghost would prove hostile to the Avalon woman. The short answer was yes. Angela made a whipping gesture with one arm and Ellen cried out, stumbling forward, her back speckled with blood. She ran for the door, taking another lash before she made it outside. Turning, she fired a pistol she'd taken from her large handbag at the apparition before stumbling down the church steps to her would-be in-laws. Father Donati, unable to interfere with the ghost at all, stayed behind and closed the church doors from within. Angela reached through them, but was apparently unable to move fully outside of the church. Frustrated, she drifted back to her crypt. Ellen sat down, hard, on the ground, crying silently from pain. Francesca had the presence of mind to run to the tavern across the street from Santa Sophia for a flask of strong alcohol; Cristoforo was quick to follow her and expedited the acquisition when the taverner seemed inclined to talk rather than act. Cris and Antonio helped get Ellen up and back to the Palazzo Donati; Salvador took the church steps two at a time to see what had happened with Angelo. Father Donati assured his brother that Ellen had been shooting at the ghost, not at him. The bullet had done her no harm at all, although a plaster statue of Santa Sophia would never be the same again. Fathers Turri and Sergio came running, having heard the shot, and Angelo tried to put them off. Conscientious Father Sergio would have none of it, though, and insisted on some explanation. Angelo gave him the short version - there was a ghost - and the young priest immediately took up the idea of performing an exorcism. Angelo assured him that it was being looked into. He and Salvador went back to the house to check on Ellen and to get Sero talking. Gabrielle patched Ellen's back, which looked more like it had been hit with some kind of shrapnel than a fate lash. The Avalon woman was confused and kept insisting that the wounds be flushed with water to "remove the acid;" it wasn't until Gabrielle was almost done that came more to her senses. She had imagined, she said, that she was back in Avalon, reliving a chemistry experiment she'd performed with equipment that she knew wasn't 100%. She'd thought things would be all right, but the flaw in the distiller had caused the setup to explode, sending shards of glass into her back. She had no idea how she'd been hurt in the church, and Gianina said that it must've been the ghost, which earned her an odd look from Gabrielle. The Montaigne left orders that Ellen be allowed to rest and the women removed themselves from the room. What ghost? she wanted to know. Gianina and Francesca explained the ghost, and Gabrielle was clearly cross that she hadn't been told about a murderous spirit in the church she attended. She was coldly furious when Francesca unthinkingly told Gianina what she'd learned about the benandanti from Ellen; that the new woman had been informed about the ghost but she hadn't been clearly rubbed Gabrielle the wrong way. The sisters scarcely noticed; Gianina was excited to learn that Sero was a benandanti, who an old schoolmate at the Dilatente had told her were genuine heroes, fighting supernatural Bianco evil. Francesca was more skeptical. Turned away from Ellen's room (she was resting on doctor's orders), Angelo and Salvador went on to see Sero. They wanted him to talk to the ghost and see what she wanted, but he told them that only the women benandanti could do that. They wanted him to find one, so he said he'd try a village not far from Monfaclone where Cymbr sometimes stayed. They offered him a carriage ride out, not trusting him with a horse. The trip was a success; Sero found Ilara, another of his clan. The more she learned about the situation on the ride back to Monfalcone, the more irate she became with her clan-brother. Noblemen, an Unraveled, and Tigran Lorenzo was somehow involved? Her list of necessary equipment got longer and more expensive. Salavdor was sent to acquire her equipment. While he was gone, Angelo filled her in on the finer details of Angela's last days, and she met Pietra, asking her about the "blue shield" in detail. It was, in her opinion, some sort of fate knot, protecting the daughter from the mother. Angelo didn't like that answer, and Ilara generalized it - perhaps it protected Pietra from all Sorte? Salvador, meanwhile, got everything on his list except "one bottle of wine (stolen)." After flirting with the idea of stealing the sacramental wine from Sant' Ambrogio, he decided that this little place he knew down the street with a usually-open back door would be the better option. He got in, got the bottle, and got caught by Maria, one of the serving girls. She wasn't buying his explanation of how he got to the back room, and someone of his stature stealing a bottle of pretty cheap wine didn't make a whole lot of sense, but she was willing to not see anything if he'd come back to see her later in the evening... Meanwhile, back at the Donati residence... Gianina and Francesca went downstairs after Ellen was resting comfortably, passing their husband on his way up. The day's gossip was mostly about Sero. (While Lady Ellen's injury was certainly news, it just wasn't prudent to discuss that sort of thing until you were sure about how the injury came about and how the higher-ups felt about it.) A Cymbr, in the house? Three boys were sent to specially count the silverware... And so on and so forth, with some other women's talk of the engagements and upcoming marriages thrown in for good measure. All in all, the house seemed no more tense than usual - and then they heard some disturbance from upstairs. Gianina went up to see what was going on. Francesca stayed downstairs with a plan - she planted the idea that Antonio had hired Sero to compose another piece of music for Gianina, this time from Antonio. This was to be a surprise, of course, which was why she had to wait for her sister to leave the room before she could divulge the happy news. Wasn't it so wonderful when a husband loved his wife like that? Upstairs, Anna was hovering uncertainly outside her mother's door. She wasn't sure if she should go in, or stay out, or... Gianina was confused. Was there anyone else in there? Yes: Antonio, she was told, just as both girls heard a solid thump from behind the door. Gianina pushed it immediately open, worried about her husband alone with the Lachesis. Things were rather different than she expected. Teodora was picking herself up off of the floor; seeing Gianina, she looked absolutely mortified to be seen thus. Antonio turned, regarding his wife dispassionately. Did she require something? No, no... Gianina stammered that she'd just heard the noise and had worried... Everything was fine, he told her. There was a beat of silence and he asked if there was anything else; she shook her head and closed the door, leaving. She bolted downstairs to get Francesca and take her out into the garden to tell her what she'd seen. (And here the GM missed the details of the conversation.) They walked for a bit, eventually finding Marco and Renato Vasari similarly walking and talking. Renato finally recognized Gianina as "his rose" who had taken and then returned his letter, and he pledged to do her whatever service he could to repay her for that good deed. They were all interrupted when an upstairs window opened and Antonio leaned out, calling to Marco to get a carriage brought around. The carriage was loaded with bags and crates and trunks; servants and guards clustered around, clearly hastily prepared for a journey. Finally, Antonio appeared, escorting Teodora on his arm. To Francesca, the grand old battleship seemed suddenly older and frail, smaller or somehow broken. He helped her up into the carriage and closed the door - firmly. And as the afternoon wore to its close at Santa Sophia... Father Sergio nearly derailed things, showing up with bell, book, and candle, ready and eager to combat the forces of the Abyss. Angelo suggested they wait for midnight, the more appropriate time for such activities. Of course! Sergio apologized for his own inexperience, retiring to the rectory to get in a nap so he'd be fresh to fight the ghost later. Ilara drew her circle of silver filings, filled a cup with stolen wine, and otherwise made preparations. Father Donati blessed Salvador's sword at Sero's suggestion. The ghost, however, didn't need summoning. Angela rose up, appearing more solid than even, and drifted straight to Ilara's circle - and tried to lash the seer. The wards held, but the look on Ilara's face suggested that happy state of affairs might not continue. Still, she continued, asking questions: "Why have you returned - what troubles you? How can we help you find rest? Don't take that tone with me, young lady, I hardly know you and I'm not about to die on your behalf until you explain yourself..." The windows rattled in their panes and Angela lashed at the Cymbr woman again. It was, Ilara said, time to go. Was Sero ready to cover her retreat? She ran; Angela was on her as soon as she left the enchanted circle. Sero and Salvador were at the ready, however, and pierced the shade with their swords. Under the fabric, Salvador could see the pulsing mass of red and black Sorte strands... Enraged at this interference, Angela lashed out at her baby brother with one of the terrible black strands in her hands. It struck him in the shoulder - Exactly like the time at university, when there had been this girl, and he was going to duel her lover on her behalf, and it wasn't until they were ready to go that he saw the look on her face and cursed himself for a fool, realized he'd been had, that the putana had set him up for this, and then the man's sword was in his shoulder - And then he was back in Santa Sophia, backing quickly out of the church with Sero. They made it out the doors and closed them as the setting sun threw red light over everything. Ilara was disturbed. "Her shame," she said. "Her shame must be erased; that is what she wants." Continue to next game.
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