The 13th Hour (IC)

[trollthumper]

Well, that would explain why their wards didn't work, Nick thought as he scrutinized the defensive magics that had literally been patched together over the years. It's like someone tried to make a fallout shelter out of concrete, brick, and peanut brittle. He tried to put together the calculations in the head; he could try to stitch them together using the base materials and work them into something solid - but given how much some of them conflicted, it might be better to just tear them down and start anew. But would he have time to get something effective put together?

 

I can table it for a few minutes, I think... 

 

He looked to Carmen. "So --" He then realized he had trouble with protocol here. He wasn't sure that he knew her nom de guerre, but he didn't quite want to throw her real name out there. Not with witnesses about. " --about your talents. I was wondering if you had any experience with ghosts or wards. If so, we could either split our efforts, or double up and make sure one avenue's fully pursued in half the time." 

[Supercape]

"Ghost's and Wards?" replied Carmen. 

 

"Not me, I'm just a simple rock reporter" she replied with a wink to Nick that nobody else could see. She felt a kind of connection with Nick. Something unsaid. Empathy perhaps. Both of them dealt with things beyond this world, and in that sense they could recognise the open eyes of each other. 

 

Yeah, he knew. 

 

And she kind of guessed he wouldn't blab either. 

 

"But I'll help how I can" she added. "I've covered enough black metal bands and Satanists to know my way around a seance or Ouija board" she explained. "I've got your back!" she concluded, giving him a smile. 

[Thevshi]

"Oh, a Ouija board could be loads of fun."  Vince stated, giving Carmen a sly grin.

 

Several of the other members of the family gave the young man a rather disapproving look.  Among those was Jonathan, who quickly turned to focus on Nick instead of remaining focused on his West Coast relative.  "Mr. Cimitiere, is there anything you need of us at this point?"  He asked.  "Anything we should be doing to assist you?"

 

"I certainly have other things I should be doing instead of sitting around here until dinner."  Paul stated with an inpatient tone, which caused a few of the others to roll their eyes slightly. 

[trollthumper]

"Yeah," said Nick, "yeah, I think there's something we all can do. For this next trick, I will need more than a few ashes from the fireplace, and you're all going to need to play musical chairs. Also, I need to each to think about your favorite dead relative - and if none of you are really fond of the dead woman up in the tower, then I recommend you at least fake it."

 

A few minutes later, the various members of the D'Ascenzo family were assembled what looked like a pentagram if someone had failed to stop drawing it for some time. The ashes from the fireplace were the main ink, but Nick had infused it with traces of ectoplasm in the process. "All right," he said. "This is less the 'arcane research' version and more the 'hard and fast' version, but I think it should work. Everyone, just call to mind your relatives - the ones you loved, the ones you lost. Imagine them coming forth out of shadow, bathed in light. And I'll need somebody to recall as much as they can about the woman up in the tower."

 

He didn't know if it would work, but with all the necromantic yield he'd put into the summoning circle, he had to at least got something. He just hoped that, if it came to it, he could put it down. 

[Thevshi]

Despite the instance by Sergio, and many of the other East Coast members of the family, Gretchen still seemed extremely uncomfortable with the idea of being present for a seance.  But she still reluctantly took her place where she was directed.  Paul seemed annoyed by being required to take part in the ceremony, while Vince seemed to find the idea highly entertaining.

 

A number of the others looked on curiously as Nick traced his diagram along the floor, but made not comments.  When Nick spoke up about what he wanted from the group, Sergio spoke up.  "I am the only one here that knew Dorothy, my aunt who died in the north tower, so it will be up to me to focus on her."  The elder D'Asenczo maneuvered his wheelchair to the location indicated for him.

 

Once everyone was settled in, a hush fell over the room as everyone began to try and follow Nick's instructions, a few of them closing their eyes as they did so.  When Nick began channeling his power into his summoning circle, the light in the room seemed to dim somewhat and whispers seemed to come from the far corners of the room.   Several of the family members glanced around, appearing slightly unnerved.  Gretchen in particular shuddered, as she clutched her cross tightly and squeezed her eyes closed tighter. 

 

Then, after a few brief moments, eight shadowy figures began to form inside the circle, spaced out near several of the family members.  Near Vince was a man in his early forties, dressed in clothes that looked about twenty years out of date.  The resemblance between the two was quite apparent.

 

A male figure had formed near Catherine as well, one who appeared to be in his early sixties.  Near her daughter, Jessica, an elderly woman who appeared to be in her eighties had appeared.  The young woman looked up at the figure with a slightly expression of shock.

 

Midway between Frank and Mary, a woman in her early fifties appeared, both of the siblings looking up at her in amazement.  From what Nick could see, both had apparently focused on the same relative.  Three female figures also appeared near Stephan, Martin III and Leonard, ranging in age from around twenty eight to late seventies in age.

 

The final figure formed near Sergio, a woman in her early thirties, dressed 30's era clothing.  Off all the spirits that had been summoned forth, Nick could sense she was the strongest, filled with anguish and despair, and the mark of someone who had taken their own life.

 

"Who summons us!"  The woman of the earlier era asked in a cold voice.

 

But for all the spirits that had been summoned forth, Nick also noted where the circle had failed to work.  No spirit had been pulled forth based on the memories of Jonathan, Paul, Gretchen or Martin II. 

[Supercape]

I've seen some messed up weird $£*! in my life. But this voodoo hoodoo thing is a whole new game...

 

Carmen gulped. She felt cold, and realised it was sweat on her body. From fear, or anxiety. 

 

Or perhaps, yes, just perhaps it was a bit colder in the air. But a different type of cold from the regular winter morning one. 

 

She gripped the Cantos cane with her palm, feeling slightly dizzy. Half of her craved calling up Tazel and feeling that infernal warmth in her bones, skin and organs once again. 

 

Dammit, get a grip. You don't want to get to be a junky to that little toad inside you...

 

He he he...chuckled Tazel, that little toad, inside her. 

[trollthumper]

Nick took note of the members of the family who hadn't exactly been operating on the right frequency. He was already trying to determine if there was some connection - there were all blood members of the family, apparently, so there was that - but that was all that was coming to mind right now. He decided to shove it aside, to address it if this seance didn't yield any results. The clock was ticking, and there were only so many trains of thought he could run on the track at once...

 

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said. "I'm glad you could all join us tonight. I'm sorry if the invitation was a bit forceful, but your presence may be required. We're doing a little digging into the old family malady, and think that you could help us figure out how to get rid of it once and for all." 

[Thevshi]

The woman in 1930's clothing looked at Nick, understanding registering on her face.  "The curse?"  She stated, before her features began to contort in to a look of despair.  "It claimed my Marco!  I could not bear the loose!"  She finished in a wail.

 

A variety of expressions passed over the faces of the other shades.  The woman that Nick could sense connected to Frank and Mary were the first to speak up.  "All I know about the curse is what Jonathan and Sergio told me."  She stated.  "I had not even started dating Jonathan the last time it struck."

 

The elderly woman that was connected to Martin III spoke up next.  "I know nothing about any curse except a few hints of something I heard from my daughter after she married into the family."

 

A grim expression came to the face of the man tied to Vince, before he spoke up as well.  "I lost my other brother the last time the curse struck, forty years ago."

[Supercape]

Pitch could not help but blurting out. Whilst seances were not on her cooking menu, she had dealt with plenty of incorporeal, intangible and, often as not, invisible, demons. 

 

"It's going to hit again, guys...I mean..errr...Gentlemen and Ladies" she said, forcing out some old school diplomacy.

 

"And the clock is ticking, so to speak. Seriously ticking. As in, hours, not days. And we want to stop this curse wiping out the last splutter of your family..."

 

Splutter of your family...very good...let's see how many other backhanded insults you can klutz over, haha! laughed the demon inside her. 

 

Ignoring Tazel, she continued "Please, tell us who cursed you, and how we can stop it!"

[trollthumper]

Nick looked to Pitch. "I think we've already got the 'who'," he said. "The woman back in Italy." Though there was the sliver of a possibility it was somebody else; family folklore could always twist and shift, after all, and there may have been different circumstances that led to the curse being laid down in the first place. "Right now, what I'm kind of interested in is the 'how.'" And there was the interesting element - all the ghosts who'd shown up said they knew someone who had been struck by the curse. They weren't victims of the curse, but they knew people who had been. He realized that these ghosts were showing up in front of people that likely hadn't been old enough to know the victims of the last iteration. But...

 

He looked to the four elder members, the ones who no ghosts in front of them. They would have known victims of the curse. "Nothing?" he asked them. "Hard to recall them?" 

[Thevshi]

At Nick's question, Jonathan somewhat reluctantly turned away from the ghost of his wife that hovered near their two children.  "No, I was not having any trouble remembering.  I thought of my father, who died forty years ago the last time the curse struck."

 

"I thought of my father as well."  Martin II replied.  "He also died forty years ago."

 

Gretchen spoke up next, her voice somewhat quiet.  "I thought of my cousin Heather.  We were very close when we were young, until she died during the last appearance of the curse."

 

Paul seemed somewhat reluctant to reply, but when Nick turned to regard him, he shook his head.  "No, I did not really have trouble remembering.  I might have been only eight when my oldest brother died forty years ago, but I remember him very well."

[trollthumper]

And there it was. Confirmation. "Okay, then," Nick said. "That confirms something. Whatever's driving this curse, it works some mojo that ensures the ghosts of those slain are..." He tried very, very hard to find the right wording. "Bound" carries implications of servitude and imprisonment - and even that was a basket of sunshine compared to the prospect that the souls might be utterly annihilated by the entropic nature of the curse. 

 

"...removed from mortal contact. Possibly by keeping them from leaving the afterlife." It was better than a lot of the other possibilities, at least. "That is definitely something that needs to be explored. But, we need to face the facts. We won't be able to get any insight into the nature of the curse from those most directly affected by it. So, as time is of the essence..." 

 

He turned to Carmen. "Looks like it's time to start throwing up the barricades." 

[Supercape]

"Barricades? How does that work?" asked Carmen, hand across body and folded up to tap her chin. 

 

"Ectoplasmic Bricks? or something more subtle?"

 

She understood about half of what was going on, by her reckoning. And to be honest, she was pretty pleased with that meagre fraction. 

 

"Its buying time, I guess? Which is good..."

 

She doubted that half of the family would want to stay cooped  up in an old house for long...especially if they didn't quite believe the curse. 

 

"But I think we need to reverse the curse, huh? What about the person who started it all..."

[Thevshi]

Sergio was focused the explanations by Nick and his conversation with Carmen, though many of the other family members were distracted by the summoned spirits of dead relatives.  Some of those spirits were starting to get agitated by the discussion of the curse arriving once more.  The woman in the 30's era clothing was continuing to wail in despair.

 

The woman reveled to be Jonathan's deceased wife had a fearful look on her face as she looked first at Jonathan, and then at their two children, Frank and Mary. 

 

"What will you need from us at this juncture Mr. Cimitiere?"  Sergio asked in his tired, raspy voice.

[trollthumper]

Nick looked to the deceased, then to the living D'Ascenzos. "Everyone," he said, "I recommend taking a minute to say goodbye to your loved ones. This is likely the first time you've seen most of them in a while - say what you need to. There's something else I've got to do, and it's going to require a lot more mojo."

 

Once the dead had said their goodbyes and were departed, Nick released his will from the improvised seance. The summoning circle became nothing more than a mark on the floor, and the necromantic energy poured back into him - but not for long. Nick extended his senses again - this time out to the borders of the manor, and beyond. This would likely be overkill, but sometimes, there was no kill better than that. 

 

Once that was done, he turned to the D'Ascenzos and smiled. "All right," he said, "just plotting out some insurance. Now - I take it a family like you, one that's been trying to find a cure for so long, has some collection of arcane lore. Mind if I take a look?"

[Thevshi]

Good byes were made by those family members for whom a spirit had appeared, with some of the others also joining in the farewells in a few cases.  When the spirits vanished as Nick released them, many of the family remained where they were seated, staring in the spaces that had just been inhabited by their departed relatives. 

 

Gretchen, however, quickly got back to her feet and made her way out of the room with some haste, apparently not wanting to remain there any longer than was necessary. 

 

Sergio also did not linger on the spirits of the departed, but instead brought his wheelchair over towards Nick as the young hero mentioned wanting to look at any arcane lore the family might have collected over the years.  "It is gathered up in my study Mr. Cimitiere.  Jonathan and I can lead you there if you wish.  We have a bit of time before dinner."

 

Like several of his relatives, Vince looked at the space the spirit of his deceased father had just occupied for a few long moments before shaking his head and getting back to his feet.  Making his way back over towards Carmen, his charming smile back in place once again.  "Well, that certainly was quite a show huh?"  He stated.  "Should we get back to finishing up the interview until the next time they want us together for some more of Nick's magic?"

[Supercape]

"Heck, no offence, but the boss might give me a dressing down for not interviewing your dead ancestors" said Carmen with a smile. It was only a half joke too. She half wished she had taken a few photographs and scribbled some notes. Much as she respected the dead and magic n' all, there was always a reporter twisting away inside of her. 

 

"But I guess you will have to do! And nobody would really have believed it anyway...." she said, blinking and rubbing her eyes. "I cant say I fully do, and I was here, and I've seen a thing or two..." she whispered. 

 

"What about you? I mean, you can't just sit back and ignore this can you? The axe is sitting above your neck, even if it a spectral one. You gotta do something! otherwise your interview with me is going to be your last!" she said, the enormity of the situation hitting home to her. 

[trollthumper]

Nick watched with some regret as Gretchen left the room. He admitted to himself that, in retrospect, the seance had probably been a bit strong - especially for someone who didn't want to stare the occult right in the face. He could say that desperate times called for desperate measures, and hope that the comfort of seeing long-gone relatives balanced out Gretchen's general unease. But he still felt somewhat bad about it. After all, she must have been scared enough already. 

 

But comfort would have to wait. There were more pressing matters to deal with. He quickly nodded to Sergio's request, and headed up to the study with Jonathan. "So, the warding looked like it took a lot of hands to build," said Nick, trying to phrase it as delicately as possible. "Any idea what specific practices or traditions might have been used in putting it together?" 

[Thevshi]

Jonathan moved up to push Sergio's wheelchair, and the pair led Nick out of the sitting room where the seance had been held and into the main hallway.  As they went, the aged patriarch of the family replied to Nick's question about the various wards on the grounds.  "A rather wide variety Mr. Cimitiere."  Sergio stated in his rasping voice.  "A number of Catholic priests have been asked to bless the grounds throughout my family's history here, from the day this building was completed to just over forty years ago.  Beyond that, there have been a few rabbis, an Imam, a Voodoo priestess and, as I mentioned earlier, a great uncle of mine that was rumored to perform Satanic rituals in parts of the basement."

 

The three had made their way into a side hallway where Nick found an elevator had been installed.  It was a short ride up to the third floor of the main part of the house, and then a short walk to a large study.  Inside, Nick found a large room with fifteen foot ceilings that featured detailed crown molding.  Several of the walls were covered with tall oak bookcases filled with old, leather bound books.  A large fireplace took up most of on wall, with smaller bookcases spaced a bit further away from it, and on the wall opposite the fireplace, there was a large table among the bookcases that was covered with old maps and stacks of paper.

 

"Here you are Mr. Cimitiere, the history of the D'Ascenzo's, and everything else I could find over my long lifetime regarding our family or the general history of the Venezia region of Italy over the last five hundred years."  Sergio stated as he gestured at the bookshelves around the room.

[Thevshi]

Vince gave Carmen an overly dramatic look of insult as she mentioned having to settle for just finishing his interview, then gave a small shrug as she went on about the claims that a curse was coming for them all.  "Well, even if I did believe in the curse, what could I do about it?"  He replied.  "You heard Uncle Sergio, this has supposedly stalked our family for close to five centuries, if no one has been able to do anything about it in all that time, why would now be any different?"

 

"Just because Cimitiere seems to have some magical talent does not prove there is any curse."  His uncle Paul stated as he came over near Vince and Carmen.

 

"Really Paul, after what we just saw, what you have heard about our family, and even experienced forty years ago when your older brother died?  You still do not believe in the curse?"  Asked Frank, who had also been walking by, stopping by the group.

 

Paul looked over to the younger man as he smirked slightly.  "No, I don't Frank.  It will take more than Sergio's rantings and a little seance to prove that there is some great curse that will start killing us all off come tomorrow.  Now, as we have some time before dinner, I have some calls I need to make.  The studio doesn't run itself." Paul gave a judgmental glance at Vince as he spoke before focusing back on Frank.  "I would expect you might have a few you might need to make as well, you do run a multi-billion dollar hedge fund Frank." 

With that, Paul turned and made his way out of the room.

[trollthumper]

Nick decided to remain out of the family drama for now. It was clear that, with death at everyone's doorstep, now was the time for the airing of old grievances and the settling of all debts. Mind you, that didn't necessarily mean forgiving debts, as it seemed a good chunk of the clan had knives out and wanted a pound of flesh. Nick would like to think that, if he had a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, he would accept it with grace, making amends with his loved ones. 

 

But then again, he dealt with death every day. These people had only brushed against it once or twice, and were now staring straight down the barrel. It wasn't exactly a fair comparison.

 

He turned his attention to the tomes. Some occult texts, the kind he'd find one step away from the Supernatural section at a chain bookstore. But the texts with the primary documents definitely struck his eye. Straight from the horse's mouth... he thought, as he aimed to dive into the letters. 

[Thevshi]

With Sergio providing assistance in translation where needed, Nick began pouring through the bound volumes containing letters, written accounts and other original documents relating to the family and its history.  Sergio seemed to know the books very well, and was able to help Nick focus in on the more pertinent portions that were at least somewhat related to the curse and the aftermath of its appearances.

 

Many of the accounts, particularly the older ones, contained the sorts of superstitious fears and prejudices that were sometimes present in the very religiously devout.  But reading past some of the slanted views that resulted, Nick still found the accounts quite informative.  As Sergio had stated, the means by which family members perished during the appearances of the curse were extremely varied.  Lightning strikes, horseback riding accidents, unexplained severe allergic reactions, balcony railing collapsing causing fatal falls and numerous other bazar incidents that could conceivably be viewed as nothing but unfortunate accidents, save for the fact that thirteen of them would happen over a thirteen hour period on the same two days very forty years.

 

One other thing that became apparent to Nick in reading the various accounts, as those thirteen hours wore on, the family members clearly seemed to have become aware that something was stalking them.

[Thevshi]

As Nick was sequestered in Sergio's study, Carmen found herself in one of the sitting rooms on the main floor with several members of the family.  Vince was present, still seeming casual and carefree, despite the claims that his doom was approaching.  Catherine and her daughter Jessica were also present, both seated on a sofa chatting pleasantly with the rock reporter, though it was apparent they were a bit more rattled by the séance than Vince, apparently at least somewhat more convinced that the curse might indeed be true.

 

Mary and her cousin Jonathan were standing off to one side in a quite conversation of their own, while Mary's brother, Frank, was standing near one of the windows, looking out stormy weather outside.

 

"The storm seems to be getting worse."  Frank stated out loud to the room at large, turning slightly to look back at the other occupants.  "I would likely be rather inadvisable for you to try to leave on your motorcycle until it has passed Ms. Canto."

 

"Well, she will just have to stay overnight then."  Catherine stated as if there was no question that would be the case.  She looked over at Carmen and gave her a warm smile.  "We will have Sergio's housekeeper prepare a room, there are plenty."

 

[trollthumper]

The accounts still weren't easy for Nick to read. He'd made the best of having death as a constant companion, but then, it didn't randomly strike down people close to him. The D'Ascenzos had been living with this spectre in their lives for generations, and they hadn't exactly adjusted well to it. It was reasonable that there would be paranoia, strife, and all the fun stuff. But then he found a particular figure of speech that kept cropping up in the diaries - discussion of death as a stalking creature, following in their footsteps. Thinking of death as a hidden predator close behind wasn't exactly an uncommon metaphor, but they seemed to be actually giving it weight and a physical presence. He had to wonder if there was something there... 

 

"I'd hate to ask something this personal," he asked, "but, uh, your relatives... did any of them see anything strange before the end?" 

[Thevshi]

Sergio and Jonathan looked over at Nick as he asked his question.  "I do not believe we have the luxury of trying to maintain any sort of privacy if we truly wish live through the next twenty four hours."  Sergio replied in his rasping voice.

 

"But to answer the question, I am not aware of any of those who died forty years ago seeing anything particular strange in the time before their deaths."  He then added, but paused a moment and then continued, "that said however, as someone who has lived through this curse twice, and can generally remember both occurrences, as those thirteen hours wear on, it is almost as if you can feel something in the very air around you, seeping into your very being."