Greetings

[FriarJohn]

I hope that this is the correct part of the forum.

I am The Rev Dr Jonathan Scott, SSM. For several years, until quite recently, I worked for the Episcopal Church as a "consultant" for bishops who found that they had a situation that they and their local clergy did not have a faculties to handle. I say "until recently" because my last assignment went pear shaped. The upshot is that I received several injuries and I seem to have developed Rheumatoid arthritis in my lower back, neck and right knee. Auto-immune issues are not uncommon in my family, but I show signs of years of degradation in a mater of weeks. Because of this turn in my health I have been relegated to the side lines. I'm semi-retired on disability in one of the Washington DC suburbs. While not officially listed as such, I am essentially a hermit. My most regular visitors are one of the neighbors sons, who is quite helpful with the lifting, but not the most scintillating of conversationalists, and the man who drives me to the church on Sunday, and to run errands. I tuned tot he internet for a diversion and a way to continue my work.
I seem to have found some small outlet.
I have little to offer in the way of heavy artillery, but I do have a few skills that might come in handy. I also have a home close enough to I-95 to hear it, but safely hidden enough to not even be visible on Google Maps.
I'm offering a safe place to flop and rest if any are in the DC area and contact me ahead of time. I also have a Library and the "Dr" in my title is an OD, as well as an STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology, I've heard all the jokes). I have a library and, despite my lack of rapid mobility, my knowledge of Theurgy hasn't diminished.
If you think I might be of assistance, PM me here.

[GhostSpider]

Welcome to the boards Doc Friar.

I'm offering a safe place to flop and rest if any are in the DC area and contact me ahead of time. I also have a Library and the "Dr" in my title is an OD, as well as an STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology, I've heard all the jokes).

You ruined all my fun.

[FriarJohn]

You ruined all my fun. [/color]

I worked for a time at a Middle School. The health teacher had a field day at my expense, every year.

Thank you for your greeting.

[Grace]

Welcome to the forums, FriarJohn.

Do you have any messages for Romeo?

[FriarJohn]

Now that is one that I have not heard in a dogs age.
Brava!

Come to mention it though, i may have something that is a message for somebody ... but I'm none to sure.

[Grace]

Let's hear it, boyo. While you're at it, maybe tell us how you came to be in this uncertain situation.

[FriarJohn]

This afternoon a package arrived with the mail.
One of the local feral cats, that I suspect may not be just a typical felis domesticus, started pacing around the box making a low, growling sound. Normally I wouldn't have been bothered, I'm used to unusual behavior in cats. Then I noticed that both of mine were staring at it through the window and one hissed. This is a mellow, calm cat who lets small children handle him with little to no complaint. So I grabbed my cain and gimped out to the mailbox. Other than a few bills and a plea for money from my seminary nothing was out of order. Except that the cat, who placed herself in between myself and the box. It was one of those flat rate "if it fits it ships" type sold by the Post office. The return address was to a post box in Baltimore. After negotiating with the cat I picked the box up and opened it, on the porch.

the contents were a simple sheet of parchment, or at least very high quality bond paper, and a small box like one from a jeweler. The document simply said:

Vigilo vigilum. Amicum tuum, blasphemi Spuria.

which, in the English would be
"I watch the watchers. Your friend, the Blasphemous Bastard."

Upon examination, it was printed out not hand written in red. From what I've been told, the paper can be purchased for relatively little at any Office Depot, or such like.

The jewel box, not much larger than one an engagement ring might hold seemed to be cold to the touch. As I went to open it, the local critters started screeching. The commotion brought the neighbor boy, Joseph, from around back where he was dead heading the rose bush. He asked me how I was "doing that." When i looked at him and made the oh, so articulate interogatory of "Say what?' He said, very slowly, "Father, you have a small, ball of black light in your hand." The box is now sitting, unopened, on the table on the back patio. I surrounded it with a circle of exorcised salt. The feral cat is sitting in a chair near by, eyeing it malevolently.
Joseph, who has depths I didn't know about, has gone home swearing not to tell anybody. We planned to have him come over to clear the gutters. I'm of a mind that simply having company might be welcome.
I intend to open the box, from a distance, as soon as I say Vespers. I think the lucinaria may be just what the doctor ordered.

[Grace]

Freaky cat?

It's a trap!

(Never trust a cat)

Mysterious note in Latin?

It's a trap!

Strange box?

It's a trap!

Seriously, though, it probably is a trap of some sort. All that mystic stuff is a little beyond me. I prefer to shoot my problems better than get into all that voodoo stuff. But even I know better then go mucking about with stuff like that!

There's got to be some people here that can help with something like this?

[Ron Caliburn]

I can't count how many times my life was saved in a dangerous situation by noticing the reactions of Mr. Fluffers.

Probably about one more times than he's taken off and left me cursing him.

I think he's figured out just what he has to so I don't turf him out.

[FriarJohn]

I should have read here before.

I followed what I thought were fairly precautionary measures. I stood inside the kitchen and did the "voodoo" that I do do so well. I used an orison to lift and then open the box. The box incinerated itself with such ferocity that had I been holding it, I would have been severely burned. All three of the felines in the vicinity gave me "We TOLD you so" looks. I noticed two things. The first was that the initial explosive like gout of flame had been a shape, I had never seen it before, but it stayed impressed upon my retina like a flash from a camera. I reproduced it on paper from memory and the outline I could still see for about 10 minuets quiet clearly. That, how ever is to the side.

When my vision cleared, and I had chased that busybody Mrs. Thomas off her back deck, I looked at the remains. From a distance of two feet above the table, the flame had scorched the top of the table. The box was incinerated, only trace ash. The contents were intact.

They were a small crucifix , a ring and Mercury dime. I know what the first two things are, but as to the last, not a clue.

[FriarJohn]

I realize that I cut that off enigmatically. Please forgive, I had to steady my nerves. A finger of Evan Williams later, and I'm doing better.

The Crucifix, desecrated by turning the corpus upside down, was mine. It was lost in my last assignment. The creature, I tend not to use the word "demon" to often, seemed to be some sort of amalgamation of a families guilt, anger, and other negative emotions that had some how bonded to a spirit and given form. It attacked me and my crucifix was torn off of my rosary. The St Benedict's medal on it seemed to cause it pain, or maybe it was the silver on the medal and the corpus. It lashed out and it's malignancy passed through me. This, combined with a trip down the stairs head first, lead to the inflammation in my spine and knee. It wasn't found by myself, nor the subsequent searches of the house by the family, the police, or a confederate of mine. It now seems to have been returned. The entity is no more, of that I'm certain, so who sent this is unclear.

The ring, looks a great deal like one I wear. It's the class ring of graduates of the General Seminary. The name engraved inside of it is one matches the name of a priest who disappeared some years ago in the Pacific North West. He had been in a dispute with a local, self proclaimed, "shaman" who he had helped expose as a fraud. Or, at least she was not Native American as she had been insisting. He, and two other people involved in breaking up her organization, disappeared on the night of April 30, 2001. The only clue found was a page from a book, coated in blood. A colleague in the Society examined the sight and she reported a vague sense of malaise in the office he was last seen in, but nothing exact. He was not associated with the supernatural, as we would use the term here, other than the afore mentioned shaman, who may or may not have had some skills or abilities, she disappeared as well, a few days later.

The dime has been etched with acid. Two small letters have been added to the obverse. They are a "V" and an "L." Again, I have no clue as to the significance of the coin, or it's providence. It is, for numismatists, a 1916-D with out the central band on the reverse sides' fasces. A rare and unusual coin to deface it so.

[FriarJohn]

Mr Collburn, one of my cats seems to be very sensitive. He's a tuxedo who is chatty even when things are calm. The other tends to be as sensitive as a brick, except that he reacted more powerfully to the box than the other.

The third cat seems to be well fed and groomed, but no one claims to own or care for it. It also seems to be not quite bright and shows up in times of distress. For example, he "saved" a elderly man by knocking a flower pot through a window, causing a neighbor to investigate and find him on the floor, unable to get up.

Quite a remarkable animal, especially since it seems to have been around since the late 80's from the stories and pictures I've seen.

[Ronin]

… noui
consilia et ueteres quaecumque monetis amici,
"pone seram, cohibes." sed quis custodiet ipsos
custodes? qui nunc lasciuae furta puellae
hac mercede silent crimen commune tacetur.

… I know
the plan that my friends always advise me to adopt:
"Bolt her in, constrain her!" But who can watch
the watchmen? They keep quiet about the girl's
secrets and get her as their payment; everyone hushes it up.

Have you been unfaithful in service, FriarJohn? Have you recieved payment and hushed up secrets?

Is the inversion of the crucifix the corruption wrought by unholy power or your own fall?

Was your friend in good grace or fallen from it? Could he have been caught up in a struggle with this 'shaman' only to slay her (even accidently)? Would he have gone into hiding afterwards? So many unknowns.

As for the coin, I haven't any theories as yet.

These are questions you must answer before we look for other possibilities.

Apologies if I sound overly suspicious, but this occurance does seem focused on you. It could only be a warning. Or a threat.

[Cybermancer]

It is worth noting that the Latin word lamia means witch or vampire. A possible explanation for the "L" side of the coin.

[FriarJohn]

Ronin,

I don't find any of your questions to be overly suspicious, but actually moved me to think a bit more clearly,

My first thought was Plato's Republic. Juvenal never entered my mind. I'm afraid to admit I am an atrocious classicist.

As far as I know, my service has always been faithful to the vows I took as a Priest and a Religious, as well as those taken for me at my baptism. I was assured of that before my "retirement." I just became inconvenient to keep on the active payroll once my health started to fail me. I have been involved in "cover ups," mostly hiding the odd facts of a case to protect the innocent, and am unable to disclose certain things due to the Seal of the confessional. Monitory gain was never in my mind. That the inverted corpus might mean something about me never occurred to me. It could be that a person/entity/group thinks I have been unfaithful. As far as I know though, I'm fairly anonymous.

I know next to nothing about David McLeoid (the missing priest). He graduated General in 1998, the Spring before my arrival, and returned to his sponsoring Diocese on the West Coast, the Diocese of Olympia which is the Western part of Washington State. His parish was St. Ephraim of Syria in Seattle. He was unmarried and had no children. That is what I can gather from an old Directory of Clergy. the Parish, which was a new mission, closed about two years ago. Apparently, the Priest in Charge at the time, a woman named Alexis Crenshaw, was so strident in her objections to this she left the Seattle area and is now in Connecticut. Oddly enough, I can't find a record of her Seminary. I assume she "read" for Orders. As far as I know, I've crossed paths with neither person.

As for his "shaman" opponent, all I can gather is that she was a woman who went by the name of Gaeryn Running-Dear, or some such. She claimed to have a "spirit guide" and served the Master of the Forest. Her origins were, at least according to her story, was mixed Welsh and Aboriginal American. I news tid-bit I found on the internet tells me that her heritage came into question because her teeth lacked a telling feature that would indicate native decent. My associate who investigated felt that Ms. Running-Dear was involved, but since the identity was as false as her claims, leads dried up. Agatha, the Priest who investigated, died last year in a car accident in Springfield Connecticut while following up on a lead that she explained to no one. I attended her funeral and her ashes were committed in her home Parish in Austin TX. I also looked over her notes. Apparently, she thought that she was on the trail of some sort of Necromancer or some such. Again, leads dried up because she committed so little to paper.

All three objects are still outside on the table, still inside the ring of salt, and a silk cloth over that. I've little desire to invite these things into my home, just yet.

Cybermancer: That the "mercury Dime" actually has an image of Winged Victory, it may play towards the idea the it is a "Victor Lamia." Although I think it would be Lamia Victor in more proper Latin.

[Cybermancer]

If I were guess at this early stage, I would suggest that a person or persons who(m) self-identifies as a witch(es) has a grudge against your organization. In particular those who may have had contact with the supernatural.

The newly arrived, malevalent feline may or may not be related although the iconic imagery would seem to fit past myths and legends (especially those generated by Holly Wood). It may be a deliberate imitation of said myth or actual reproduction of past phenomenon.

Given the history of the Church (suffer not a witch to live; the Hammer of Witches and so on), it is not surprising that a person or persons identifying with the under dog (witches in this case) might choose to strike out at an organization percieved as being the oppressor.

Nor is the use of latin of any surprise in this case. There are many allegations of dark masses invert their opposing organization's tropes. The use of the upside down crucifix, for example. This is, at least in part, deliberate mockery of the opposing organization.

This leads me to suspect that this person or persons has no relationship with wicca, pagan religion, Druidism or genuine witchcraft. They seem more concerned with presenting themselves as being juxoposed to the church and most certainly have not followed the 'Cause no harm' edict.

Of course, this is all speculation at this point. Still, I hope it may be of some use.

I would also like to go on the record as stating that while Nemesis seems to have been correct in the assertion that this was a trap, the decision to spring it under controlled conditions was the correct one. Consider that you have not come to harm as you took appropriate precautions. And now you have clues that can now be examined so that the truth can be found.

The search for the truth often necessitates caution, but such caution should not halt investigation.

[FriarJohn]

Interesting.
The Malus Malefactorum was never officially a part of the Churches corpus of books. It was, in fact, on the index of banned books until the 1960's when the list was abolished. A few Anglicans used an expurgated version, but they all predate the founding of the Society. It was also used by "Inquisitors" in the employ of secular authorities, most commonly in Germany. How ever, that is besides the point.

The odd cat isn't malicious, just odd. She, I've been informed that it is a female, seemed to want me to not open the package, even going so far as sitting on it and hissing when I tried to touch it. She's kept Joseph away from the objects fairly successfully all morning. He's lived around here all of his 16 years and says the only other time she seemed this aggressive was when an angry, drunk ex-husband started pounding on the car of a tech who works at the local vet Clinic. Nearly cost the guy an eye.

Joe also said that the "dark light" was is surrounding the coin. He informed me of this after giving me a lecture about not opening mysterious packages radiating evil without back up. I thought about pointing out that an adolescent with no real clue as to why he saw the energy, no weapons, and a tendency to get nosebleeds in stressful situations could scarcely be called "backup", even with a yellow belt in Aikido and a couple of years doing Ti Chi. I refrained since he genuinely afraid for me. He also asked me if I used magic to open the box. he said I "smelled" like the elderly lady who lived in one of the two other houses on my cul de sac. I demurred, but I think I have budding sensitive of some verity on my hands. He also provided me with a bit of local folk lore. Apparently there is a mysterious Man in Red who has been seen since the Colonial era. He shows up when a group of men, all of the stories seem to be about all male groups. When a player in the game blasphemes about his extraordinary luck, either good or bad, the mysterious figure shows up and joins the game. After several hands, the man has won all of the money and leaves. The blasphemer the disappears over the next few days, and all the other players have a wind fall equalling what they lost. The last time this happened, the poor unfortunate was a man named Leonard Casewell, all that was found in his rooms at the boarding house he resided in was a single Mercury Dime. All of his belongings were removed. The date was in December of 1916. So there may be a bit of history to the dime thing. Or someone is trying to play on the story to try and throw me off the sent.

I'm going to have to think about this further. I've either been targeted for a fairly malicious prank, or I'm a target of some sort of vendetta. Either way, I'm going to try and figure his out. I've also buried the crucifix after turning the corpus around and blessing it. I have secreted the ring away. I would rather not have to explain how I came to have the class ring of a man who disappeared a continent away. I have requested the records of Agathas' investigation from the Society. There are currently no Brothers or Sisters in North America. At most I think we were about 20 world wide. Attrition has reduced that in recent years to about 5, 3 of whom are on permanent assignment in Africa and another in India. The last active brother is currently incommunicado someplace in Eastern Europe. Luckily enough, the Archives of the ECUSA is in Austin, and our records are hidden away there. I should have more tomorrow, if the clerk got it to the UPS guy. It's being sent to the local Church, and they know how to get it to me.

Thank you all for your advice and council. It is nice to know, after a year or more, that I'm not alone.

[Cybermancer]

Interesting.
The Malus Malefactorum was never officially a part of the Churches corpus of books. It was, in fact, on the index of banned books until the 1960's when the list was abolished. A few Anglicans used an expurgated version, but they all predate the founding of the Society. It was also used by "Inquisitors" in the employ of secular authorities, most commonly in Germany. How ever, that is besides the point.

This is pretty much a white wash of history. The Witches Hammer (most people here speak english, not latin, so please provide translations if you insist on using latin names) was written by a church inquisitor.

More to the point, the church is wholly responsible for the inquistion and the witch trials. The Hammer of Witches made things worse-but those things were already in place.

Mr. Kramer may have committed a fraud (still being debated) and decieved church officials but the church still holds responsibility for creating the atmosphere for the books reception and did entirely too little at the time to discredit the book, which had a papal bull as part of the preface.

Your particular society may have arisen afterwards, but that does not change peoples perceptions of you and your associations.

Do not assume that because you are aware of some technical detail that you feel mitigates the situation, that outsiders are also aware of it. Or more importantly, care.

The Hammer of Witches is associated with both the witch trials, inquisition and the church in the perception of the public. So it is neither beside the point nor something to be disregarded casually. Truth may be in the facts but perception is reality.

Sorry if I seem to be calling you out over trivia, but you are indeed the focus of some ill intent. I would hate to see you discount a very real possibility just because your perception excluded it as an option. And also, history is something of a hobby of mine.

I should also like to point out that I am not a critic of the church, nor it's members either past or present. Anymore than I am of other religious beliefs.

Now, as to the rest of your post, I shall address it without quoting it to avoid having an already large response balloon out of control.

There are many possible reasons why this cat may seem extraordinary next to its more mundane contemporaries. It could be a mages familiar or even a familiar that has outlived their mage. It could be the product of magical experimentation. It could even be extradimensional in origin. I would have to study it in some detail before hazarding a properly educated guess as to its nature. As I like my eyes (I am told they are dark and mysterious), I will discount that as an option for the moment.

The dark light is completely beyond my area of expertise. I have always relied on the insights of others in these matters. When it comes to such things, what is seen and how it is interpreted seem to be highly personal things.

As for the man in red, perhaps his manner of dress was an attempt to attract a mate? In any case, a fascinating bit of trivia. Do you know know when he last appeared? I would like to investigate further.

Either way, you are not alone. There are those of here who are both willing and able to help.

[FriarJohn]

I apologize, Cybermancer, that I didn't address your comments more directly.

Personally, I've never had an overtly negative relationship with a neo pagan. I've had to deal with a certain amount of mistrust, but I've always tried to be as respectful as possible. Who ever sent this little gift is most certainly not practicing any form of Wiccan Rede I know of. Preemptive assaults tend not to fit the ethics.

This seems to be almost childish, as if trying to offend me into some precipitous action. If my health were better I would have charged right up to Baltimore last night, and no doubt met with some dark fate. As is, I can't even put my foot to an accelerator with out an intense, burning pain.

Satanists on the other hand, I've known a few. From the harmless teenagers wearing to much mascara and atrocious taste in music, to a cult that was sacrificing children to Moloc and something called Tarmkaintoe. That last group was fronted by a refuge for run away kids. In the first case the person I was with, a Wiccan Priestess to be exact decided to scare the sh*t out of them. On the second occasion, and in similar circumstances, we most certainly didn't suffer them to live.

The theory is strengthened by the fact that, upon inquiry the PO box is located not in South Baltimore as I assumed, but rather the North Baltimore neighborhood of Druid Hill. Apparently someone has a sense of humor. A quick inquiry indicates that the box is rented. Since a stake out is out of the question, I'm at a loss on what my next step should be.

[Cybermancer]

This seems to be almost childish, as if trying to offend me into some precipitous action. If my health were better I would have charged right up to Baltimore last night, and no doubt met with some dark fate. As is, I can't even put my foot to an accelerator with out an intense, burning pain.

Satanists on the other hand, I've known a few. From the harmless teenagers wearing to much mascara and atrocious taste in music, to a cult that was sacrificing children to Moloc and something called Tarmkaintoe. That last group was fronted by a refuge for run away kids. In the first case the person I was with, a Wiccan Priestess to be exact decided to scare the sh*t out of them. On the second occasion, and in similar circumstances, we most certainly didn't suffer them to live.

The theory is strengthened by the fact that, upon inquiry the PO box is located not in South Baltimore as I assumed, but rather the North Baltimore neighborhood of Druid Hill. Apparently someone has a sense of humor. A quick inquiry indicates that the box is rented. Since a stake out is out of the question, I'm at a loss on what my next step should be.

This is more what I've been getting at and why I mentioned dark masses.

It is possible that this is a person or persons who have obtained just enough knowledge to be dangerous but not the wisdom to use it properly. They may be acting out based on their flawed perceptions of the world while thinking to lend more credibility to their actions than they actually warrant by dressing it up in Latin and symbology.

One has the impression of someone who thinks they are more clever than they actually are.

In a word, a teenager.

A scarier thing few parents can imagine.

[FriarJohn]

You are right, perception is everything.

The cat apparently only reacts to threats against people it considers to be part of it's pride (for lack of a better term). I set out a dish of the special lactose free milk they sell for kittens for her this afternoon, to see what happened. She came over, sniffed it and walked back to her post on the chair next to the table. For the rest of the day she would trot over to it and then go back. When I went out to retrieve the bowl the milk had gotten more watery for lack of a better term. She eventually warmed to both Joseph and I and even purred on his lap. I finally put the coin in a small box that I sealed in wax and put in the cabinet under the potting bench and then padlocked the doors. After that, she returned to normal feline behavior, with no indication of the advanced personality or intelligence from last night. I'm thinking that I will try and look at her aura.

From the little booklet publish back in 1970 (the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the City) the general consensus was the the Man in Red's first appearance was at St Mary's Manor (the name of the original land grant and a house that burned down in 1845) in 1653 and took David Snowden, youngest brother of the holder of the Grant from the Calverts. The next verified story was in 1700, Alexander Calvert was the victim. Next, Walpurgisnacht 1750, a local cooper named Thomas Jones. Nothing but innuendo until 1813, an Irish mercenary, name unknown. Christian Larson, son of the local Lutheran Pastor was taken in 1855. He seems to have taken the Civil War off and then, in rapped succession: 1880, 1900, 1914, 1916, and 1925. All victims related to, or close friends of, members of the Snoden family. Young Mr Larson, it was rumored, was the one of Jonas Snowdens' lovers.

He was seen in the Giant parking lot the day George Wallis was shot. He was also reported on the scene when the Mill dam broke in 1882, near the bridge that got washed out in Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and near the high school after a category 4 tornado, that had killed two students at the University of Maryland, struck it's annex and ripped it to shreds in 2001. In every case, he is a handsome, clean shaven man in extremely formal, but fashionable, clothing. Apparently, local Roman Catholic, Coptic, Lutheran and Episcopal clergy have all bumped into him at times. Attempts at an exorcism or bargaining have all gone for naught. Interestingly, the site of the old Manor House is now several restaurants, one of which is well known to be haunted, or (according to a previous owner) possessed. Again, attempts at clearing it have been met with little to no success.

If you want to investigate, my guest room is small, and doubles as my study, but your welcome to it.

[FriarJohn]

In a word, a teenager.

A scarier thing few parents can imagine.

Some part of me would be grateful if it were a Teenager, or group of them. There is some hope for redemption or redirection.

On the other hand, I tremble at the thought. I worked with 7th and 8th graders and there is something both refreshing and terrifying about that age.

[Doctor Boggs]

After that, she returned to normal feline behavior, with no indication of the advanced personality or intelligence from last night. I'm thinking that I will try and look at her aura.

Well it's totally up to you of course but I sincerely recommend not doing that. Whatever; if anything; is off about that cat is doing more good than harm so why risk offending it?

As to the rest, well, welcome aboard and sorry to hear about your troubles up there. It does sound pretty serious so I hope you're gonna be good and careful the next few days.

[FriarJohn]

I do believe, Doctor Boggs, I shall do just as you advise. I've taken to calling her Aegis. Seems appropriate. The other two are Anselm and Scotus.

[FriarJohn]

I had another one of those days.
I was greeted with a very excitable pair of teenagers on my front stoop before I could even get the tea steeped. (I detest coffee, to acidic.) It was Joseph, who now refers to himself as my Assistant (you can hear the capitol letter) and his older brother, Daniel. Dan is a computer science graduate student at the University of Maryland, cyber security is his speciality. Did you know that many Post offices in high crime areas have cameras? And that they keep a record on a central server for weeks of the comings and goings at the counter and the Post Boxes? Neither did I. You may see where we are headed.
I've never participated in an actual felony before. It was a bit much before ones breakfast, but I digress.
On the day of the shipping of the package a man can be seen, quiet clearly, going first to the box in question and then purchasing and filling the box with the contents I received. He then sent two other packages. Their contents seemed different. Since we could not see the addresses, they will have to pass. For the time being.
The man was tall, well built, but not musclebound. I believe the term is "swimmers build." He had blond hair and he wore "board shorts," a tee-shirt with the logo of a chain store catering to the preppy set, and flip-flops. We could see that he wore a ring of some sort on his right hand. Joe and Dan ventured that it was a class ring. I could make out that it more closely resembled some sort of Masonic, or demi-Masonic ring. Dan could enlarge it enough to confirm my suspicion. His ring bore a striking similarity to a Past Master's ring, with some extra ornamentation. He also had a necklace with a small pendant that looked like the all seeing eye. From the way people reacted to his presence, he must exude some sort of presence, people stepped out of his way and the clerk seemed quite relieved when he walked out.
I the dissuaded the two young men from charging up there to lie in wait to tail this figure. I'm in no mood to have them do anything more risky than they have already done. That to the side, the package arrived from Austin with Agatha's notes. While all i had seen up to that moment were the contents of her car at the time of the accident, the full file included things found in her hotel room, and in a report she had filed, but remained unopened until sometime after she had passed. It's contents were interesting.

She had found evidence that the faux shaman, "Running-Dear" had taken up residence in the North East and was running some sort of pseudo secret society. Some of her photographs show rings similar to the one our mystery man was wearing. That they were up to no good, again, seemed to be Agathas' deeply held suspicion, and that the sort of odd occurrences that surrounded the last attempt by "Running-Deer" to gain followers were manifesting in a small town in Connecticut. She also reported that she had found, hidden in the Rectory of St Ephraim's left by David. While the book itself is not in the file, her photocopies of it were. From what I gather, "Running-Deer" claimed to hear the voices of "the Ancestors" and that she served some great being from another plain of existence. She taught a mishmash of "New Age" sorts of things, but that service to this "voice" and "Enlightened Master" was all important. She also had an inner circle, to whom greater secrets were taught. Additionally, she seemed to exhibit real power to harm others. She was often seen in the evenings of a full Moon, when she would hold ceremonies, in the company of a tall, handsome man with red hair and piercing green eyes. While pictures of "Running-Deer" abound in the notes, no clear image of this man seems to exist. All sorts of stories abound about this fellow. He could change shapes, fly, and had an almost animal magnetism. There is no name given, other than "C." David apparently caught onto the more unusual aspects and called Agatha right before he vanished asking her to come and investigate.

Included in the file was the police report for Agathas' accident. Apparently, she struck a deer (although no carcass was ever found, no blood was found on the hood and the damage to the front of her car was all to the center of the hood and had cracked the engine case) flipped over and her neck was broken. They think she staggered away from the car (with a broken neck mind) and then fell a few feet away. The first people on the scene reported seeing a red headed man who ran from the car, carrying something, as soon as they approached. It was theorized that he had stopped to help and left for reasons of his own.
I believe in coincidences, but that is a bit much for me.

The notes also contained a scrap of paper that had been found in the diary, it was a thank you note for hospitality and was dated 1979. There is no signature, but initials. V.L. Coincidences seem to be forming a heap at my feet.

Around 9:00 I was roused from my drowsing in my chair by a pounding on the door. It was Dan asking me to come, right away and bring my doctors bag. Moving faster than I have in months I made it to the back door in time to see Dan and Joe's mother, Ana, crying uncontrollably. A strong woman, she's been alone since her husband died, she was simply over come with working two jobs. She was as near to exhaustion as I've seen in years. They have no insurance, so I found myself acting as the first medical professional she's seen in about 3 years. I gave her a very mild sedative, a cup of strong tea and talked to her.
What seems to have caused her break down was seeing something she knew wasn't there. Dan told me that she often seemed to know who was calling when the phone rang and things like that. She had seen something like a little man trapped in the dream catcher she had hung in the window, and something like a garden gnome being chased away by Aegis. I glanced at the dream catcher and there was nothing wrong with it. Joe said he saw it too. I nodded and told them both that it was okay, neither of them were crazy. I had done the traditional House Blessing with chalk on the doors at Epiphany with the family as part of the celebration for paying off the mortgage. I then preformed a much simpler home blessing and sent Ana to bed and told the boys that she needed rest. I'm going to arrange for Joe to get paid, somehow, for his helping me and see if that can't be enough for her to be able to stop working three nights a week at one of the local clothing stores. I also wrote her a scrip for an inexpensive anti-depressant to take before bed and left her a note to come talk to me about her seeing things.

After I made sure that the trauma was over, I passed Aegis, who had something in her mouth that was squirming, she looked quite triumphant as she dropped it into the storm sewer. She then followed me home. I gave her a treat and a good scratch behind the ears, she's gone back up and is sitting on the back deck of Joe's house.

All in all far more exciting a day than any "retired on disability" person should have.

[Doctor Boggs]

Sounds like quite the day you had, I do hope your neighbor will be right.

[FriarJohn]

She is much better now.
It seems that has has seen things since she was a child. Her mother told her it was "wicked" and punished her severely any time she mentioned something that other people couldn't see. She began to think she was crazy, cursed, possessed or a combination of all three. Last night was the straw that broke the camels back.
I've assured her that none of these things are true and that I think she has a gift. She's wary but willing to listen to me.
Aegis had another of the little things cornered against a fence last night. For a distance and in the dark I could see that she was toying with some sort of prey, but I had to concentrate to see it. As I suspected, it was a critter I had seen before. NAsty little Bastards that feed on fear and other negative emotions. They like to haunt children and may be the "monster" under their bed. Wicked little things. What surprised me is that they seem to have all targeted one home, that of my friends. Aegis dispatched the thing and I saw another trying to get in through the old coal shoot, but it seemed to have been unable to get a grip. Again, the adventuresome cat got it. It refused to be chased under the canopy of trees that cover my home (I live behind most of the other houses and down a fairly steep incline), and Aegis again caught it and tossed what was left into the gutter.
That would make four, and I've ever seen two at most in a place. I've told Joe and Dan to lie low, since this seems to be targeting them. These things can be manipulated to act as a fetch for a more powerful being, a sorcerer or the like. I'm afraid that the Blasphemous Bastard may know that they found out what he, or at least an accomplice, looks like.
What seems to be the most interesting to me is that the attacks seem to be against my neighbors, and not me. I've seen these things in Churches, and once in a Monastery (they can function sort of like psychic pilot fish, or even like a "secondary infection" in an area where some greater malignancy is established.) but never have I seen them spontaneously swarm a single house. Since they are so "innocuous," once you know what to look for, I can only surmise that they are another attempt to annoy me into action.
I was also able to get a stipend for Joe as my "care giver." It seems that that a local wealthy family is still very grateful for my mentors' role in removing a nasty and unwanted New Years guest 20 years ago. Anna can now quit her second job, and go to a 35 hour work week - instead of the 60 she had been pulling.
I have little to no working knowledge of psychic phenomenon per se, but I seem to have two people with the Gift.
To think I believed that I was ending up being banished to someplace innocuous and I would die of boredom.

[Doctor Boggs]

Psychic activity is far from my own specialty but it does sound like you have quite the gifted neighbors. With things 'heating up' in the neighborhood those nasty little critters could just be drawn to them, but that would be an awful big coincidence.

You didn't by chance hide any of those items you received with the family next door did you? Was Joe with you at any point while examining the items?

[FriarJohn]

Dr. Boggs:
Joe was with me when I examined the dime. Or to be more exact, he came around back and saw me with the dime, which he says is the source of the "dark light." He was my source of information on the Man in Red.
All three items are with me. The Ring is in a pouch, hidden behind some books. The Crucifix is buried in the woods near by, and the dime is locked away under the potting bench.
Joe says that his mothers' father had a reputation for being "weird," and died in a accident down at the Navy yard (where NCIS is set). Anas' brother also seems to have some sort of talent, but he lives in Arizona and isn't in contact with the family. I think this sort of thing runs in the family. I took a drive around the neighborhood, Dan was willing to do the actual driving for me, and I didn't notice anything odd, pre se. But there is an ominous feeling in the air. Like the other shoe is about to drop. Normally, you can hear the local Roman Catholic Church ring the Noon Angelus, but it, and all sound, seems slightly muffled.
I'd ask for help, but I'm not sure what sort I need.

[Doctor Boggs]

You mentioned that before, didn't you? That's my memory for you, oh well. But yes, there's ways and means that whoever's behind this could have used that to spy on you and learned about Joe. Can't really say without seeing it, but it seemed best to warn you of the possibility.

I'd offer to come by and look those things over but I'm on a job in another state at the moment, sorry. Keep us posted though and best of luck.