Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 9, in which the Count's resting place is confirmed and we finally meet the Great Detective

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

Starts here.

October 9

I will start with the mid-chapter flashback, to keep things chronological: the previous afternoon, Snuff and a dry and rested Graymalk go over to the crypt Bubo had pointed out. Graymalk crawls down and confirms a newly-placed coffin with some personal affects near it, Needle, asleep, hanging above. So Bubo told the truth, although Graymalk still doesn't trust him. Snuff mentions the slithering Things in the Mirror, and he brings her over to show them to her when she says she and Jill don't have any. They change colors when excited, and slither. He says that they were found in a deserted village in India, all of whose remaining inhabitants had died of some disease - possibly a type of Special Damage, or Taint. Their function is that they're sticky - maybe another Special Damage. Graymalk notably does not return the favor.

That night, Jack and Snuff finally run into the Great Detective and his companion. The Detective and Jack speak circumspectly about the murders and all the patrolmen about. Snuff notices that the Detective is extremely attentive, far beyond most human beings, which he can appreciate, as a watcher. They part amicably, but Jack tells Snuff to remember him in future. As they walk away on their mission, Snuff thinks he sees some of the other known demons, but is uncertain. He feels anxious, as if he's being followed, but isn't sure if it's not just the pressure ramping up as the month progresses. He expects that things will get worse, and may not become better - possibly the event that is being built up to could have a terrible aftermath.

Larry greets Jack and startles him, causing him to put his hand near his hidden blade before he realizes who it is. Larry is an American, so insists on using his and Jack's first names. They compare notes of their conversations with the Great Detective. He talked about the recent killings with both and the companion muttered about dogs near Larry. As far as they could tell he doesn't seem to have any real clues, but he's hard to read.

Jack notes that it's eight days to the death of the moon, and confirms that Larry is a moon-watcher. Larry, in turn, asks if Jack is aware of the Count, saying he's got a long-time association with him, and always knows when he's around. He also guesses that he's an Opener.

They walk back to their homes together. Snuff sees Nightwind spying on them - he runs inside, but doesn't see any disturbance.

The Great Detective is a curious character so far - we don't know of him being a sorcerer, but he might be involved. Maybe his rotund companion is a demon? Or the other way around? He's very perceptive, but might not be supernatural. This might be part of the mundane setting, instead. In any event, now Jack and Larry know that he has an eye on them, and feels comfortable letting them know.

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, no Bound demons of yet. Pledges assistance to Jack, thinks he's a closer.
• 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.
• "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage: claws and fangs, Special Damage: holy hell. Able to trace paths between sorcerers. Able to communicate with Jack verbally right after midnight. Has played the Game before
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage.
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak
• 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.
• The Great Detective and his companion - Very perceptive, not clearly supernatural or a player in the Game, but starting to ask questions of those involved.

Sorcery and Setting

• Some people can be extraordinarily perceptive without necessarily being sorcerous.
• Whatever the event that is approaching is, things are expected to get worse, permanently so after the event itself, depending on what happens there.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 8, in which a Thing briefly escapes while Jack is hosting a new neighbor, and a cat is saved from the well

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

Starts here.

October 8

Snuff spends the night and the following day drawing diagrams in his head, but then they have a visitor. Larry Talbot has just moved to the neighborhood and wanted to introduce himself. Larry is tall and solidly built, and stares at the palm of his hand a lot. Snuff makes all the signs of being friendly, but hangs back, as he senses there is something odd, wild, about this person, an instance of his Perception: heightened senses, perhaps, and, if this is a sorcerer, possibly his Telltale.

Snuff sees Jack and Larry as equally predatory as they have tea together, discussing the weather, the killings reported in the news, and Larry's exotic plants - possibly an aspect of his sorcery. Their discussion is interrupted by a noise from the attic. Snuff rushes up and sees that the Thing has broken free of the Wardrobe. It has limbs and dark, scaly wings, which it exercises while exulting in its freedom. This is very short-lived: Snuff bounds into it to push it back into the wardrobe, slashes, and bites, then shoulders the doors closed and attempts to lock it back up with his paws before Jack does it for him. He has his knife out, but it vanishes by the time Larry comes up and asks whether they need any help with anything. As they go back downstairs, Snuff decides that Larry is in the Game, and now knows that they are, too, because he offers his help in the rough days ahead. When asked whether he is willing to offer this even without knowing their persuasion, Larry hints that he thinks that they're closers.

Snuff follows him to his home, feeling that, even though he doesn't look back, he still knows about this. Having confirmed that he went where he said he lives, he anticipates taking this into account by adding lines to the diagram he maintains. He returns to Jack's backyard to do just that. Later, Owen, the druid, comes along, greets him through the fence superficially, then throws a hunk of meat over. Snuff can clearly smell that something is off with it, so he digs up a hole near a tree and buries it, careful not to eat any of it by accident.

Quicklime, who has been hiding up in a tree since Larry first came in, applauds this avoidance of an obvious trap. He asks Snuff if Larry's in the game, to which Snuff responds ambivalently, especially since he doesn't seem to have a companion. The snake responds by suggesting that he might be "his own best friend". He segues obtusely into telling him that Morris and MacCab have thrown Graymalk down the well near the outhouse back of Jill's house. He passed this along because it's too early in the Game to act this way. He says he's played it before, and that one should wait until after the death of the moon. Morris and MacCab are new.

Snuff rushes over to Jill's and is able to retrieve Graymalk after a bit of serious maneuvering of his paws to turn the well's bucket's crank. She surmises that this might be a reprisal for Jill stealing some of their herbs, although those were left outside. He brings her up to speed about Bubo and Larry. She says she'll accompany him to the Count's potential resting place after she's dried up and rested. She finally thanks him.

This episode teaches us quite a few things. We meet Larry, who seems to be part of the Game, and almost immediately aligns himself with Jack, despite it being early yet. His sorcery, if any, has to do with exotic plants. We see the first actual instance of one of the contained demons breaking out - it seems to play out like a physical constraint, but the fact that, even though the physical enclosure was breached, it was closed back down with the help of Snuff and Jack to where they felt comfortable leaving the room suggest an arcane undertone. We find that the sorcerer players are supposed to have companion demons, which makes Larry stand out. We find out that Owen thinks that Snuff is much dumber than he is - which is interesting, because Cheeter clearly knows him better. This suggests a bit of a breakage in communications or possibly trust between them, to Owen's detriment, so perhaps the Binding is much in Cheeter's favor. We find that Quicklime has played the Game before, just like Snuff has. Finally, the death of the moon, presumably the New Moon, is an important milestone in the Game.

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, no Bound demons of yet. Pledges assistance to Jack, thinks he's a closer.
• Owen - Druid, Binder of Cheeter (probably -2 or lower)
• Rastov - Binder of Quicklime
• 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.
• "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage: claws and fangs, Special Damage: holy hell. Able to trace paths between sorcerers. Able to communicate with Jack verbally right after midnight. Has played the Game before
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• 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.
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak
• Thing in the Wardrobe - High Stamina and Will, communicative.

Sorcery and Setting

• Exotic plants, herbs, spices, mistletoe - all ingredients in sorcery
• Physical demon Containers seem to nevertheless be sorcerours.
• Sorcerers are expected to have companion demons
• In the Game, it is considered inappropriate to kill other players or their companions before the death of the moon.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 7, in which the Count gets ratted out

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

Starts here.

October 7

Again Snuff tells us of the doings of last night's outing, when Jack took him back to London. The fog helped hide their contribution to the Great Work, but slicing a piece of fabric off a woman's cloak does attract some attention. As they flee, Snuff accidentally trips the Great Detective's companion. Snuff notes that the specifics of sorcery make little sense to him.

After failing to seek out Nighwind later that night, Snuff detects an intruder with his heightened senses. He easily pounces on the rat, whose name turns out to be Bubo. Bubo is the familiar of the Good Doctor, and lists Needle, Cheeter, Quicklime, and Nightwind in rapid succession to lend credibility to himself. He seems to be new to the Game, as sneaking into another's house is a great way to get yourself rightfully killed. He says he found out that Snuff knows a lot about what's going on, and is willing to trade information. He goes first, taking Snuff to where he says the Count sleeps. It seems credible enough, although Snuff is unable to check it out, so he tells Bubo about the rest of the players.

We now find out how Snuff and Jack communicate directly - at midnight, dog and man are able to simply converse. Jack makes sure to be around when this happens, and debriefs Snuff's about the day's activities. They have a clear sense of where in the Game's timeframe they're set, and how well they're starting to learn what is needed, who is involved and the relations between them. Jack is curious about why Snuff trusts Graymalk, and whether he knows her and Jill's persuasion, presumably opener or closer. Snuff says they have not shared it, that it's best to delay knowing so that it's easier to cooperate. Snuff feels compelled to mention how a woman of the opposing team distracted Jack during a previous event.

Finally, Snuff expects to visit with someone called Growler to practice stalking, and falls asleep - although maybe "the world went away" is literal, rather than metaphorical.

Bubo talking about just the Good Doctor suggests that perhaps he is the sorcerer of that group. Jack and Snuff seem to be familiar with how this Game goes, suggesting they've played it before. Furthermore, they treat each other with respect, and Snuff feels comfortable poking holes in Jack's pride. Suggests a pretty even Binding roll.

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?
• The Count - Binder of Needle
• The Good Doctor - Binder of Bubo, and possibly of the Hunched Man, although that might just be a human servant
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage: claws and fangs, Special Damage: holy hell. Able to trace paths between sorcerers. Able to communicate with Jack verbally right after midnight.
• Needle - a Passer whose cover is a bat.
• Bubo - a Passer whose Cover is a rat.
• Hunched Man - possibly a Passer whose Cover is a hunched man, although possibly just a servant.
• Growler - someone that Snuff visits, possibly in dreams.

Sorcery and Setting

• The required ingredients for sorcery are sometimes very specific, occasionally silly rather than gruesome.
• The Game has been played before.
• We've heard it's not polite to ask who's an opener and who is a closer, but there are practical implications, as well.
• Dreams might have something to do with sorcery here.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 6, in which the Things crack their Mirror, and Snuff is disappointed

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

Starts here.

October 6

The Things in the Mirror manage to crack same. Fortunately, Snuff is on the job to keep them from making use of the crack, "raising holy hell", while Jack goes to bring his "mundane" wand - so maybe the other wand is, in fact, significant enough to be an Object demon, while this is a tool of sorcery. Jack uses the wand to transfer the Things to a different, whole mirror - a smaller one, "like the Yellow Emperor", so as to teach them a lesson. This seems like a combination of Punish and Contain, or reinforcing a Contain. As for Snuff being able to keep them at bay, is this Special Damage, or just his strong Will? "Raise holy hell" could be metaphorical, or literal. He does say that he's glad they're afraid of him.

Snuff had spent the night drawing lines in his head between the houses of the known sorcerers, which has formed a pattern, in the middle of which there should be a special place. While it would be easier for demons who fly, or are at least able to climb to the trees, like Cheeter, to get a sense for the terrain, once he's created this pattern in his head, he can do special things with it that they are unable. His pattern is currently incomplete, because he doesn't know where the Count is, or any other players he hasn't found yet, but he is able to approximate.

Having taken care of the Things in the Mirror and seen Jack retire, he goes by day to where he thinks the special place is, but finds it in the middle of a road near an old couple he has seen no indication that they are in the Game. He sniffs around and runs into Nightwind, hiding in the hollow of a tree from the light. The owl has come to similar conclusions with the information that they shared the previous day, although he uses "we" instead of "I" to indicate this, and is equally disappointed at what's there. Snuff is able to negotiate a trailing of Needle, which would be easier for Nightwind, by promising to help run an errand by day if need be. Nightwind asks why the players form a pattern around the place they are looking for, but Snuff doesn't seem to know

Snuff returns home, growls at the new Mirror, passes the now quiet Thing in the Steamer Trunk, tells the Thing in the Wardrope to shut up - it is its turn to bang at its containment - and again rebuffs the Thing in the Circle, who has become a dog again, but still has the smell wrong, and responds by flipping the bird with its paw, a significant achievement.

Snuff's ability to map these paths is special, suggesting perhaps a Perception: sorcerous pattern or something of that nature. It's unclear what the place is that both he and Nightwind were looking for, but it's clearly important. Nightwind also seems to have this perceptive power.

Finally, an editorial comment: the Count and Needle were mentioned this time as if both Snuff and Nightwind knew of them, and knew each other knew, but neither of them, nor Graymalk, brought them up the previous chapter, and instead said they weren't aware of any beyond those they did mention. This seems to have been an oversight by the author.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, 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?
• 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
• The Count - Binder of Needle
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage: claws and fangs, Special Damage: holy hell. Able to trace paths between sorcerers (see below).
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Perception: sorcerous pattern, Special Damage.
• Needle - a Passer whose cover is a bat.
• Wand - an Object demon
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will, communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous. Possible Telltales: smell, unnatural movement.
• Things in the Mirror - Unknown. Not communicating so far. Able to break out of their mirrors with time.
• Thing in the Steamer Trunk - High Stamina. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Wardrobe - High Stamina and Will, communicative.

Sorcery and Setting

• Mundane wands that are not Object demons are used in sorcery for Punish and Contain.
• The approaching event relating the Game and the players is at a certain place, which can be found by unique individuals, but they must know who and where the player sorcerers are.
• A Yellow Emperor is mentioned, possibly an important sorcerer.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 5, in which we trace some paths and sparks fly

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

Starts here.

October 5

Snuff goes to Jill's house, over the hill, and finds it empty. As he heads to Rastov's, he smells Graymalk and approaches her, to invite her to join her for some kind of activity. Her movement is pretty sneaky, suggesting Cloak.

She tells him that there was a killing in London, someone torn apart as by a vicious dog. Snuff denies that they were involved this time, but is not scandalized - this confirms that killing is one of the abhorrent actions sorcery involves them in. She says that more of these will happen as people seek their ingredients, leading to more patrols leading up to a big event.

When they reach Rastov's, Snuff traces a path in his mind between that and his home. They then continue to Morris and MacCab's, where they encounter Nightwind. Nightwind tells them he's seen the killing in town, although only after it's been discovered. Nightwind refers to both Morris and MacCab as his master's. He also refers to a certain prohibition against divulging too much information, but is placated by a trade. They pool their resources and find that they know of seven, potentially eight: Jack, Jill, Rastov, Morris and MacCab (counted separately), Owen (the name of the druid from yesterday, this identity confirmed), and a hunched man retrieving a lot of bodies from graveyards to the lighting-rod covered farmhouse under a never-ending thunderstorm, in which he lives with his tall master, which he refers to as the Good Doctor. Nightwind leads them there, and then departs. Snuff traces the paths he's walked in his mind - this seems important to him. From inside there is a crackling, the smell of ozone, and mad laughter.

They both return to their homes, and Snuff finds another paw-print, presumably referring to the one he saw earlier, but couldn't trace.

So we have confirmed that Owen, Cheeter's Binder, is a druid. We also have confirmed that actual murder is part of sorcery - no wonder it leads to foot-chases. Finally, it's clear that it's important who is counted and who isn't - just because two people work on sorcery together doesn't mean they're both sorcerers, although Morris and MacCab are. If the Good Doctor is a sorcerer, it seems that weird science might also be part of it. It is also possible that the Hunched Man is the Good Doctor's Bound demon.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, 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?
• "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk
• 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
• Rastov - Binder of Quicklime
• Owen - Druid, Binder of Cheeter
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs. Able to trace paths between sorcerers (see below).
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Special Damage.
• Quicklime - a Parasite living in the gut. Possible abilities: Cover: Snake, Mark, Special Damage.
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• The Hunched Man and the Good Doctor - one and possibly both might be sorcerers, weird scientists - or maybe one is a demon Bound by the other

Sorcery and Setting

• The demons have restrictions on what information they can divulge to others, but are also eager to share information when it seems to be mutually beneficial.
• Snuff is intent on tracing lines between the sorcerers, this might be important.
• Sorcery definitely involves murder.
• Sorcery might involve weird science.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 4, in which we meet a squirrel and its master

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

Starts here.

October 4

Snuff starts by repeating the rounds more thoroughly described on October 1, making sure the Things remain secure, bantering with those who can banter, before going outside to make sure nothing suspicious is happening there. He finds a large paw print which was sheltered from the rain, but all other information was washed away. It's bigger than his own paws - possibly a bigger animal or demon in animal form. He can't find traces even going far from the house. Perhaps this means that whatever this is has Cloak?

He then runs into an old man gathering mistletoe from a tree with a sickle. My reading of Asterix and of many editions of Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks suggest to me that he might be a druid. A squirrel is riding on him, and Snuff strikes up a conversation. It seems pretty clear that he expects to be able to just talk to him, although he does lead by asking him whether they're in the Game. Turns out that Cheeter the squirrel, and they are late arrivals. We find that it's not polite to ask whether someone is an opener or a closer - Cheeter is scandalized by Snuff's question. He does ask Snuff about a potential snake being involved, and Snuff tells him about Quicklime.

Snuff later accompanies Jack back into London. They pass unnoticed by the pursuer that Snuff bit the other night, still limping, a rotund companion of a dour detective. So far, the sorcerers we've met have not acted against each other, which suggests that these two are not of that nature.

Jack goes to the city center, using the wand to trap moonlight in a crystal container. If this is the  Snuff then hears someone yell out in the language of "[his] kind", but considering that he's not certain whether it is a dog or not, this suggests that he is referring to dogs as the kind. Again, more evidence that dogs communicate intelligently here even without sorcery.

Snuff contrasts the wand to the knife, suggesting the latter is involved in actions that would normally lead to pursuit. This might be the wand mentioned in the Introduction, so perhaps it, like the knife, isn't an Object demon after all, but is merely a tool of sorcery.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, 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?
• Druid - Binder of Cheeter
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• Wand - an Object demon, although possibly merely an implement of sorcery
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will, communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous
• Things in the Mirror - Unknown. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Steamer Trunk - High Stamina. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Wardrobe - High Stamina and Will, communicative.

Sorcery and Setting

• The sorcerers and demons are involved in something called "the Game", in which there are openers and closers. It is important who enters the game, and when. It is impolite to ask which side one is on.
• Some aspects of sorcery are not likely to draw as much attention, like waving wands around, or gathering mistletoe.
• Animal conversation is normal, dogs have their own language

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 3, in which we meet a bat, and start learning about the Game

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

Starts here.

October 3

Snuff again reflects on the night before. The way he explains how he knows how his master wants the knife (presumably the Big Knife with Old Writing on the Sides) makes it likelier that it's simply something he detects in Jack's intonation that lets him know what he needs, rather than any of the game of demonic communication telephone I was speculating about in the past. It is now less clear that this knife is an object demon. Jack used this knife to procure some needed ingredients, but Snuff had to alert him that he'd been discovered, and then bit at a pursuer who discovered them in the act, whatever it was, which was enough to end the chase. Notably they did not attempt to kill the pursuer.

Snuff is then let out to walk another indication that this isn't modern day - a dog traipsing around alone would attract notice. He hears Jill talking to Graymalk - it is not clear how reciprocal this conversation is. Outside Morris and MacCab's he runs into a new potential Passer demon: Needle, who is described as a cluster of leaves taking form, and as flying around quickly and calling and speaking in a high voice, and is also illustrated as a bat. They exchange pleasantries and we find that Needle serves someone called The Count, that the others have been gathering ingredients as well, and that Snuff is curious about when the Count joined "the Game".

Finally, Snuff realizes that someone is following him, and is very much an adept in this. He doesn't know who this is, as he isn't able to spot him, although he does feel comfortable using male pronouns

When Needles flies away, Snuff complains that the situation has become more complicated, and that he doesn't know who are "openers" and who are "closers".

So we are in a position to potentially demote the Knife to a tool of sorcery rather than a demon, although that is not clear. Either way the communication situation is a bit clearer. We also learn of another potential demon, another sorcerer, and some unknown, potent entity. Finally, we learn that this is part of some Game, and that there are two sides, openers and closers.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, 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?
• The Count - Binder of Needle, joined the Game two days ago (October 1st?).
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Needle - a Passer whose cover is a bat.
• Big Knife with Old Writing on the Sides - an Object demon, though possibly just a tool of sorcery
• Mystery Tracker - someone who is very good at both tracking and hiding. Not clear if a sorcerer, a demon, or something else.

Sorcery and Setting

• The sorcerers and demons are involved in something called "the Game", in which there are openers and closers. It is important who enters the game, and when.
• Some forms of ingredient gathering lead to intense pursuit when discovered in public.
• In the setting, dogs walking around unaccompanied do not draw special attention.