Harry frowns again. "He ever return t' teach ye 'bout certain aspects of th' mystical arts as promised, or did events of th' past week... includin' his own disappearance... prevent?"

Daniel sort of taps his finger on nothing, as if to point out invisible concepts still wafting on the air between Harry and himself. "The second thing you have indicated."

Harry prompts the young man further. "Just thinkin' aloud. Pardon th' interruption."

"No no, that's all. What's past is prologue, perhaps...? Would you care to throw the wands yourself...?" Daniel's tone is quite hopeful.

Harry ponders Daniel's offer for a time before replying. "Instruct me in their proper use. What rites are involved, if any? Need I invoke particular gods or saints?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Just roll the wands, first, and then when we see the result, I will then guide you on concentration."

(I'll roll for you, or you may roll 1d64 for yourself if you wish...)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:56, Wed 15 Sept 2021.

Harry gathers the wands in both hands and solemnly speaks her own invocation. "I ask Our Lady, Stella Maris, whom the Chinamen name Ma-Tsu and Tin Hau, to shield her child from misfortune." She then gently spreads her hands and lets the wands clatter to the tabletop.

---

13:36, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 42 using 1d64.  Consulting The I-Ching

"Ah!" says Daniel. "The forty-second co-hexagram: Increase... Augmentation... The Symbol of Addition, Gain, Help from Above, Benefit, Advantage, Profit, Expansion... Auspicious!

Substantial progress and increasing prosperity are exhilarating and good—- as long as you keep the interests of others in mind. Like a river’s white-water rapids, periods of increase can be of short duration. It furthers one to ride the rapids now while the waves of opportunity are high.

Leadership in times of increasing opportunity involves commitment to the needs of others... By remembering that to lead is to serve, a leader strengthens his or her ability--" Daniel slows down for just an instant and glances at Harry's face and eyes-- "--to bring about a lasting increase in prosperity. In a time of general increase, those who contribute most directly to the common good will achieve the greatest and most long-lasting rewards.

When opportunities for increase arise, very good fortune comes to those who act swiftly and boldly without falling into the trap of letting their actions be merely self-serving. If you aspire to a position of prominence, the most enduring strategy is to work to raise the tide of your entire community, rather than setting out to swim upstream on your own.

When the times favor prosperity, and when leadership is in the hands of the broadminded, supreme good fortune is the result.

I see a new role developing for you-- one in which you are a leader, a protector-- whether others realize that about you or not.

Here, sit down, sit down... Are you prepared to concentrate on the lines...?"

Harry takes the proffered seat, rests her hands on the near edge of the table, and nods once. "Saint Brendan the Navigator, show me the course. Saint Brendan the Voyager, steer my keel true."

"Now then... concentrate on the lines... Look within yourself... picture, in your mind's eye, a door... Do you see a door...?"

You do, actually. In a misty void, you see a door before you, and on it is the forty-second co-hexagram: Increase.

"I see it," you say.

"Good, good... Now... using your force of will... will it to open... not like you're pushing nor pulling on it... but like you're willing it to open itself... and to show you what there is to be seen on the other side..."

You do so... and indeed, the door opens... And on its other side, you see...

(Wisdom check, please...)

15:38, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 13 using 1d20.  Check Vs. WIS 14.

"Good, good... Now... using your force of will... will it to open... not like you're pushing nor pulling on it... but like you're willing it to open itself... and to show you what there is to be seen on the other side..."

You do so... and indeed, the door opens... And on its other side...

You see... a graveyard. It might be the Eagle Hill Cemetery, but you can't be sure... it's very foggy.

There, you see Silas Rumson, walking amongst the graves... looking for something...

But... you see... something else... something following him...

Something small... low to the ground...

Some sort of... little...

Well, it has a head, and a torso, and two arms and two legs, and a face... but it's between one and two feet tall-- closer to one. It's not a child... the skin is ash gray and it has a long, pointed tail, and two little horns on its head, and the legs are twisted...

The eyes glow faintly red with a malevolent intelligence...

...as they turn to you. "Naughty naughty," it whispers, seemingly looking right at you. "No fair sneaking up on one who sneaks up on others..." Its eyes flash--

(Since Harry made her Wis check, she is unharmed.)

The vision is abruptly over...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Mon 20 Sept 2021.

Harry raises her eyes to Daniel. "Seems I've some huntin' t' do. May be too late fer th' man in my vision. Any way t' know whether 'tis past, present, or future?" She tries to recollect where the town's various historic graveyards are located, but cannot recall any apart from Eagle Hill.

---

20:00, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 18 using 1d20.  Check Vs. INT 13.

"No, not that I'm aware of, not if details like clothing or other landmarks give no clues..."

Daniel pretty clearly is dying to know what Harry saw, but his good manners and natural sense of hospitably respecting the privacy of a guest are restraining him...




Harry recalls that there is at least one other graveyard in the area, but the location escapes her at this time.

Harry fixes Daniel with her gaze. "Saw th' critter what frightened yer Aunt t' death, followin' a gent through a foggy graveyard all stealthy-like. Met th' fella before, allegedly in town on business. Half-tempted t' throw th' wands again and double down like th' Professor did."

"What?! What?! An... an animal...?"




"Oh, you may, you certainly may! The professor's error was rolling a result and then rolling again --without...ah, looking into the first result! Now that you've, ah, gazed into Increase... you should be fine to roll again...!" Seriously, Daniel very much approves of continued experimentation in this direction...

Harry repeats the story to which she and the Collins patriarch agreed. "Large monkey of some sort, likely brought aboard a ship as a mascot. Mighta even arrived on th' same ship as yer cousin Gerard." She gathers up the wands once more and lets them clatter to the table anew.

---

15:27, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 30 using 1d64.  Consulting The I-Ching Again.

"Oh, my...! So... is the animal dangerous, in and of itself, do you think...? Diseased-- rabid, or something...?"



"Ah ha... Number 30, Clarity. Enlightenment, serving clarity of purpose. It involves stepping outside of one's normal routine, to observe nature. Brightness, but also clinging to something, as fire clings to that which it burns...

What is dark clings to what is light, and so enhances the brightness of the latter.

Thus the sun and moon cling to heaven, and grain, grass, and trees cling to the earth. So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is right and thereby can shape the world..."

(To concentrate on the new hexagram, roll Wis again...)

14:03, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 3 using 1d20.  Check Vs. WIS 14.

When the new door opens, Harry sees...

...Reuben.

He's walking down a road... With that redhead. Regina. Well, well.

Reuben spots something: a bit of sign:

ST

He walks over, pulls some ivy off it:

STOCKBRI

The rest has rotted away.

Reuben examines the area around the sign more carefully. There's a high, black, iron fence... and over here, an large iron gate. And... there appears to be a mansion way back there, not-quite hidden behind the scattered trees... in this light, Reuben could've walked right past the whole place, if his eye hadn't been caught by the sign...

Reuben walks forward, keeping an eye out for his surroundings. Regina lets him take the lead...

The large black iron gate is not locked. This is clear, because it's actually already open just an inch, or a hair less...


Reuben opens the gate.

CRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK...!

This is the first sound Harry has heard, and it startles her about as much as it startles Reuben... In fact, it startles her out of her vision... Although she feels certain that Reuben (and perhaps Regina?) were about to head on though the gate...

Harry grabs the table edge with both hands to prevent herself from toppling from her chair. "A half-rotted sign — Stock-something... -briar or -bridge or -bridle, perhaps. I feel I should know this — and an overgrown gate leading to a mansion."

---

23:29, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 17 using 1d20.  Special Knowledge (Check Vs. INT+3).

(...So did you make the roll, or not. Feels like... you did? Or...?)

Missed it by two. She is thinking aloud, but nothing has clicked.

Fortunately, Daniel is on the spot with facts. "A half-rotted sign? Stockbridge? The Stockbridge name was a very old one in this town-- as old as that of Collins. They fell on hard times... their mansion, out on the southwest side of town, is now derelict as far as I know..."

Harry grunts. "Huh. They have a graveyard of their own, or are they buried in Eagle Hill too?" She mulls the wands on the table for a time before she speaks again. "Nothing 'bout th' Professor or Doctor. May have found their way back to... Logansport."