Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 16, where Covers are tested under pressure

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 16

Another failed attempt by the Thing in the Circle to entice Snuff which fails. This despite days of exhausting work on moving the city policeman's corpse. Definitely a serious Will bias there. The Slitherers/Things in the Mirror have turned blue and are centered around one point in the mirror, but Snuff can't make out why - maybe a failure in perception, showing that his Will has been depleted. Outside, he finds a non-involved victim of the anti-sorcery crusade: a bat.

Back at the corpse, he makes little headway before giving up, suggesting Stamina depletion as well - perhaps it is better to think of it as Combat-like Lasting Penalties weighing on all of his activities. He returns to find Quicklime begging for death. Apparently he was in Rastov's gut when he was drinking the previous night, and is having a hard time of it. Snuff encourages him to hydrate and sweat it out; later, returning from a second futile attempt to move the body, he finds that he had successfully snaked away.

Meanwhile, we find indirectly about a meeting from two sources: an overheard discussion by Jack and Larry, and then a direct description by Graymalk. People in the neighborhood were invited to constable Terence's by city police, who questioned everyone about the disappearance of the policeman with whose decomposition Snuff is becoming all too familiar. Each of the sorcerers - Jack, Larry, the Vicar especially presenting himself as part of the investigation rather than a peer of the other neighbors, Jill, Rastov, and Morris and MacCab - is seen leaning into their covers, except for the Good Doctor, who explicitly calls this disappearance and the other strange and vile things that have been happening things he'd been wanting to get away from. Owen attempt to assuage suspicions, as well, but may be getting more attention as the tentative timeline puts him as the last person to see the policeman alive.

Jack and Larry's discussion is most significant, however, in further interrogating the relationship between them, and Larry's role in the Game. Jack warns Larry that he's putting himself in a very dangerous position, both almost explicitly naming himself as a Closer, but then not gathering any powers to protect himself or help with their end of the Game, some "structure of power" that can be turned in one of two ways - the Closers' and the Openers', perhaps? Larry counters that he has only told Jack, so he's probably safe from early discovery by the opposing faction, and that he is an anticipator, and in order to do his work correctly he can't let too many people know too much - otherwise he'd have to start again, with very little time remaining. They agree to trust each other, and shake on it. The mechanical restrictions on the ability of Larry's demon to tell the future lean more towards Hint, something with inherent mechanical difficulty.

At the end of Snuff and Graymalk's conversation, meanwhile, they say that tomorrow "it" (probably the moon) dies, and they two agree to harbor no ill-will no matter what happens next.

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. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia? Has played the Game before.
• Larry Talbot - Possible sorcerer, Binder of Large Plant. Pledges assistance to Jack, thinks he's a Closer, almost certainly one himself.
• Vicar Roberts - Possibly a sorcerer railing against sorcery, with no Bound demons of his own.
• "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk, and a flying broom
• Rastov - Binder of Quicklime and the mad Arab's icon
• Morris and MacCab - A pair of sorcerers who have both Bound Nightwind. They count separately for the purposes of conversation, although not clearly in terms of the rules of sorcery. They are very new in this endeavor.
• The Good Doctor - Binder of Bubo, possibly of the Hunched Man, although that might just be a human servant, and possibly the bowl. Weird science.
• Owen - Druid, Binder of Cheeter (probably -2 or lower), and a sickle. Mistletoe, wicker baskets, and ropes.
• 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
• Large Plant - a Passer whose cover is a large flowering plant? Possible abilities: Hint, Perception: Future
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak. Possible Need/Desire: burying and uncovering things.
• Quicklime - a Parasite living in the gut. Possible abilities: Cover: Snake, Mark, Special Damage. Has played the Game before.
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage.
• Bubo - a Passer whose Cover is a rat.
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will (although much weaker than Snuff's), communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous. Possible Telltales: smell, unnatural movement. Its Power might express itself through the environment when fighting against Containment.
• Things in the Mirror - Unknown. Not communicating so far. Able to break out of their mirrors with time. Slither within their confines, change color when excited. Possible abilities: Special Damage: disease, Special Damage: stick, Taint.

Sorcery and Setting

• We again see more reasons for delaying informing people of one's alignment, this time the matter of personal safety.
• People with either alignment are expected to be gathering the materials which have been discussed so far in the use of some "structure of power", which either the Closers or Openers can use for their purpose.
• We hear of Covers tested by the authorities. In two cases, the Cover might involve helping them break through those of others.
• The new moon is the next day, which we've heard repeatedly is an important milestone.
• In mundane mechanics, we see an instance of Lasting Penalties making subsequent actions harder.