Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.
Starts here.
October 23
Snuff picks up Larry to take a look at the new prospects for event sites. Neither the main one, nor the one he calculated for the possibility that Larry doesn't count as a player, are particularly promising. In the process, they compare notes about their process: Snuff calculates, which requires getting the details right, and can be used for more than simply finding the place for the event - given the right information, it could be used for finding a dead body; Larry just intuits, which Snuff suggests is an unconscious form of his method. He cannot, however, deal with the current situation, probably a missing player, which is very odd this late into the game. He could find someone good at divination, ask formally, and then share in the results. There are still rules that require it to work this way, regardless of alignment. Larry does mention that he has had a sense since this morning that one of the players have died, which is not in line with the kinds of calculations Snuff does. He did not, notably, have this feeling when the Count was found dead, but that could be a matter of his undead nature.
Walking back dejectedly, Larry lecturing about various medicinal plants and botany, they run into Quicklime, who tells them that Rastov has killed himself. They are suspicious, so they check - and find that the Alhazred Icon is missing. Quicklime decides he'd rather go back to being a snake again, rather than go live with Jack and Snuff, his fellow Closers. In game terms, this could be a more kindly expression of the Laws of Need and Binding. Having lost the supplier of his Need (being inside the stomach), and/or no longer Bound (although Binding does not necessarily get automatically released on the Binder's death, but it might have been a result of the killing sorcerer's actions), he is on his way to no longer being a demon. Snuff remembers that he was told he would lose a friend by the wise old cat.
Also of note is that Larry is able to speak to Snuff, but not to Quicklime. It's as if he only incidentally speaks the one language, wolf-dog, while Snuff and the rest of the animals speak all of their languages.
Returning home, Jack is absent. Snuff does the rounds, then follows his master's trail to Jill's. Graymalk is outside, and informs him that the two have decided to take a trip to the city, leaving some spells behind to see who comes spying. However, they have about an hour left, so they go to the Vicar's to see about the trapped girl. On the way, he updates her on Rastov's demise. They agree that the Vicar has probably done it. Graymalk thinks this makes him very dangerous, with at least three important tools in his hands. Snuff counters that it is incredibly dangerous to use them for anything other than the main event, leading to severe repercussions. Even if the Alhazred Icon, the Pentacle Bowl, and the Ring are not Object demons, they are clearly separate from more mundane magical items. This explains Snuff's past reference to a "mundane" wand that was nevertheless powerful enough to move the Things from their broken mirror to a new one. Snuff argues that he must not be very powerful or very self-assured, otherwise he would aim for minimalism.
They arrive at the vicarage to find that the Vicar is out, but Tekela is in the stable when they confirm the absence of the horse. They attempt to fool her into thinking that they just came over to bring her up to speed on Rastov's death, for which she feigns ignorance. She tells them that the Big Man (the Corpse Man) had an argument with the Good Doctor, but that it got cleared up. This seems like a contest of Wills, which the two of them fail, as we find out later that she has gone to alert the Vicar.
They go back to the house, looking to make sure she can't see them, and enter. Snuff uses the door opening trick he saw Larry use in wolf form, and is able to open the front door. They enter and find Lynette, the Vicar's 13-year-old stepdaughter, chained to the wall in a small, unlocked room. Both the chain and the lock are very sturdy. As they are studying it, and also trying to comfort the girl, they hear a horse fast approaching. They move to leave, but he enters before them, trapping them. They escape, but Graymalk is hit by a riding whip, Snuff is cut by shards from a window, and the Vicar's ear is mangled.
They return to their homes, and then join their masters on a coach to the city. Tekela is seen confirming that they are in it. In town they have a nice tour before finding themselves trapped in an alley between the Vicar and some unfamiliar ruffians. Graymalk is able to escape, but Snuff is captured.
He awakes at a vivisectionist's, with tortured animals all about. He attempt to trick his captors, but is strapped to a table and is prepared for a specific process: being rendered into candles, bit by bit, the head being preserved last, separately. Their customer, presumably the Vicar, specified that it must not mix with other sources, so they grudgingly work on some sanitation. This gives Jack time to save Snuff. Snuff first hears the buzzing that is one manifestation of his curse taking over him. He says that it starts 150 yards around the main curse, progressively closing in. Jack knocks, then bangs on the doors, then starts pushing them open. The vivisectionist and his assistants are scandalized at his intrusion, then take out their scalpels. Jack takes out his Knife with Old Writing on the Sides, and seems to be completely overtaken by his curse.
We end on a hinted grisly scenes, confirming the wise old cat's prophecy from the trip to the Dreamworld.
Sorcerers and Demons
- Jack - Binder of Snuff (probably 0 or +/-1), a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Keeps a curse connected to his knife which has him lose control to murderous urges. Has played the Game before, as a Closer.
- Larry Talbot - Possible sorcerer, definite werewolf, Binder of Large Plant. Pledges assistance to Jack, as they are both Closers. Large Plant confers some control over his transformation, but it in itself seems natural to the setting.
- Rastov - Binder of Quicklime and the Alhazred Icon. Closer. Dead.
- "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk, and a flying broom. Friendly with Jack, but a Closer.
- Vicar Roberts - A sorcerer in his own right railing against sorcery, Binder of Tekela and of the Pentacle Bowl, the Ring, and the Alhazred Icon. Some combination of Satanism and Cthulhu Mythos. Sacrificed a policemean, and has a daughter from a previous marriage tied up for future sacrifice. Was trying to have a vivisectionist turn Snuff into a set of special candles via a ritual they did not understand.
- Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Perception: sorcerous implements, Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage: claws and fangs, Special Damage: holy hell. Able to trace paths between sorcerers. Keeps up with who has which tool. Able to communicate with Jack verbally right after midnight. Has played the Game before, as a Closer
- Big Knife with Old Writing on the Sides - an Object demon, manifests as a recurring noise and flashing eyes for the wielder as they lose themselves to slaughter.
- Large Plant - a Passer whose cover is a large flowering plant? Possible abilities: Boost: Stamina (werewolf transformation), Boost: Will (retaining faculties), Hint, Perception: Future
- Quicklime - a Parasite living in the gut. Possible abilities: Cover: Snake, Mark, Special Damage. Has played the Game before. Closer. Leaving to become an ordinary snake now that his Binder/Host is dead.
- Graymalk - a Possessor of a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak, Travel: teleportation. Possible Need/Desire: burying and uncovering things. A Closer.
- Tekela - a Passer whose cover is an albino raven. High Will.
- Pentacle Bowl - possible Object
- Alhazred Icon - possible Object, having to do with Closing.
- Ring - possible Object
- The Wise Old Cat - a demon or sorcerer. Able to summon demons, or possibly cats? Lives in the Dreamworld, possible abilities: Hint, Perception: Future. His predictions for Snuff have come true so far.
- The vivisectionist and his assistants - willing to help out with part of sorcery, without understanding it. Dead.
Sorcery and Setting
- The old wise cat seems to have provable predictive powers.
- Snuff's calculation and Larry's anticipation are close, but not identical powers, and neither is the same as divination, according to them.
- The way the rules of Need or how Parasites work might be a bit more figurative than might be considered in the usual game rules - an animal familiar could just revert to being a regular animal, rather than it being some kind of competition resulting in it being thrown into some other world.
- People can be given instructions in performing steps of sorcery without being sorcerers or understanding why they are doing it.
- The tools for the event of the Game can be used for other purposes, but this results in severe backlash on the user - they really are meant for the one use-case.
