Of Cults and Shadows

The invisibility glamour must be still holding strong because not a single Fae takes notice of you when you sneak into the Lodge.

It takes you several minutes to locate Pangur Ban, which was unusual. Normally the Fae cat lounged somewhere obvious.  This time his toothy grin looked more like a grimace floating in the wispy vapors on a high branch. 

You pluck the garish purple and pink brochure from your pocket and pass it up to the cait sith.

Tendrils of vapor blanched nearly white and Pangur Ban's eyes widened as he perused the brochure.

The feline looked positively terrified. "Your old friend is just running a scam.  Garden variety spiritual cult. Despicable, yes, but hardly terrifying. You seem-"

"A human could never understand. Solitary Fae like myself and phooka don't do this.”

“What? Run scams?” 

 Puffs of pale mist swirl as he flaps a paw at you. “Scams sure. But certainly not at this scale. Too risky, in this world. Unless we're collecting power, protecting ourselves from power, or perhaps building a base of power with humans as slaves. Robin Goodfellow has a long history in the middle of fairly large coups, but a solitary Fae could never manage this in a human city.  Unless…” His eyes grew wider with every sentence.

"I don't understand. Is it because of the iron-"

"No, my human friend, you definitely do not understand. That's for the best." A stack of pages materializes in his right paw and he thrusts them at you. "Our business is complete.  I've stayed too long already, remaining this close to that island may drag me right back into the eye of the oncoming storm. My advice to you is to leave this place. Run as far as you can before you find out what that phooka is really serving."

Your fingers clasp the pages and Pangur Ban disappears in a puff of pale white vapor.

Your breath comes quick and fast as you stare at the empty space the Fae cat occupied seconds ago. 

After reading the Malleus Tinebrarum Sidhe pages, you realize what you witnessed at Tír Na Nova was no parlor trick after all, the magic was Fae glamour mixed with some expert phooka shapeshifting. The realism made the phooka's scam all the more potent.

Pangur Ban had mentioned the other species of Fae he included would be creatures you were most likely to run into in Portland. Kelpies. They sounded terrifying, and the Portland areas is filled with rivers, streams, and lakes.  Perfect kelpie habitat.

On your way through the labyrinthine Fae pub a man in a black cloak beckons you. That same man who has been following you, the one you met in the parking deck. Encountering him in the familiar surroundings of the city was one thing, but in Fògradh Lodge, you are at a distinct disadvantage.

When you don't move toward him, he rises to intercept you. "Looks like your cait sith friend fled. Must have been some intel you found to freak him out like that."

You decide if the strange man wanted to harm you he'd have done so ten times over, so you tell him everything about your encounters with Pangur Ban. "The Fae cat told me since I can see Fae, I'll always be in danger." You flap the pages. "These were supposed to help me avoid them. Now it seems I'm on my own."

A mischievous twinkle lights the stranger's eye. "Not quite. My Order always has need of those with Sight." He gestures at the pages in your hand. "That cat was stealing those from our copy of the Malleus."

"I'm so sorry, here. These are yours,” you thrust the pages toward your new friend with a pang of regret your learning has come to an end.

He shakes his head, lays his hand over yours and pushes them back to you. "You can return those later, for now, take a really close look at them. When we discovered Pangur Ban was stealing these and giving them to you, we altered them slightly. Let's see if you notice anything that sticks out."

Your forehead creases. "Sticks out?"

"Yes. Consider it a simple test. Jot down anything unusual and arrange it so it makes sense. If you can figure out what it means, it may walk you deeper into the mysterious happenings in the Portland area.  I'll find you again soon."

***

Hello again!

If you've made it this far, you are getting the feel for the Last Battle of Moytura world. It's myth-infused, dark, but with glimmers of hope...not the kind of hope where some lone hero comes charging in to save everyone. More the kind of hope that sprouts in the hearts of people, blooms from the ground up.

I credit my love of darkness and horror to reading a lot of Edgar Allen Poe in my youth.  They have a periodic Poe Speakeasy at an old historic Gilded Age bank vault in Allentown.  We go every chance we get!

I hope you are enjoying this experience!  See you soon 

Shade and sweet water,

Molly