Session 27 - Changing the World - Part 2
- In this writeup, I will reference when each part of the narrative actually occurs because there is some (accidental) time travel involved.
Realm 0 - Shadow Earth 1986 (Brown Door)
20th May 1986 5am GMT - A Conversation with Socrates
- Ethan dreams that he is inside an enormous clock with the gears slowly drawing closer. As he weaves his way through the internal mechanism, trying to avoid being crushed, he catches a glimpse of Lucien, far far away and begins heading in that direction. But a section of clockwork closes the way in front, trapping him. As Ethan looks left and right looking for an escape route, he feels Marie's hand on his. "Will you take me with you?" she asks with a smile as the gears close in on them.
- Ethan wakes up suddenly, sweating all over. As he focusses on the room, he realises that every object not nailed down is floating. Ethan wills it down back to the floor. Long has he practised his 'Jedi' magic with inanimate objects - in Marindar, in Arcadia - but never here, never while asleep. He checks his watch and it is 5 o'clock in the morning, well before dawn.
- The cats are still asleep as he makes himself a cup of tea. On the table in front of him is his lightsaber. Ethan muses at the oddity as he sips his tea. He considers contacting Grant to talk about the Clock Tower but feels that Grant will want to come through and help. Ethan decides to speak to Socrates again and waits until he can rouse the old bird (which isn't very long).
- Ethan asks Socrates more about Northgate, the Clock Tower and how fast the invisible Servants are. Socrates clarifies that the Servants can move as fast as a car - certainly faster than Ethan can physically run. However, he says that the Servants at Northgate are still moving comparatively slowly. Regarding the Clock Tower, Socrates says that it is broken, and there are parts missing. Again he refers to it as “tocking, not ticking”. The Clock Tower is old, probably even pre-dating the invention of mechanical clocks.
- Ethan gives the situation some thought. He knows that he can heal people using Eidolon, but doesn't know the limits as to what he can do. For example, could he fix the Clock Tower from a distance? Just how powerful is he? Ethan isn't sure, so he hatches a plan to find out. He decides to go to York.
20th May 1986 7am GMT - The Eidolon Car
- Ethan heads to the garage which is attached to the main house but is unwarded. He inspects the 1982 Ford Escort but it won't start as it hasn't been run in some time (GM’s note - Ethan has Bad Stuff). As such, Ethan decides to use Eidolon to fix the vehicle. It takes him 15 mins to remodel the interior, while he leaves the external bodywork exactly as it was. Ethan finds that has to rein in the Eidolon power and it is taxing to be selective about what parts to apply Eidolon to.
- The result is that the car outwardly looks the same, but it is very different inside. The vehicle is still internal combustion, still requiring petrol. It still needs a key to start it. But it is very now much faster, uses less petrol, and is very quiet.
- Opening the garage doors, Ethan heads through Fiveways and drives past the Clock Tower as he heads towards York.
- He notes that when he is 2 miles out of town, he can no longer 'hear' the ticking of the Clock Tower.
20th May 1986 12:30pm GMT - Visiting the Lawyers
- Ethan visits the offices of Bartholomew Smith (GM's note - last seen in Session 11) and deposits some of the Arcadian and Marindan gold that he has been carrying. He asks Bartholomew to invest the proceeds, then he departs.
20th May 1986 1pm GMT - Castle Howard Ox
- Ethan parks the car and heads to the Castle Howard Ox, a pub which is within walking distance of the York hospital. He eats heartily, putting away more than two meals. Eidolon seems to take a lot of energy so he needs to refuel.
- Ethan then puts his plan into motion.
20th May 1986 2pm GMT - The Miracle
- From the roof of the York hospital, Ethan senses out the most damaged person in the facility. He finds a young woman who suffering respiratory failure, and he uses Eidolon to ‘fix’ her condition. She immediately recovers. He then concentrates on the next person in the emergency section, then the next, moving through ward after ward curing people. Ethan feels that it seems to work as long as the individual is not missing body parts (GM's note - again, Eidolon cannot create a capability which does not exist), but after about an hour he starts to have second thoughts about his intervention. Ethan climbs down from the roof via the fire escape and goes into the hospital itself to see what is happening inside.
- In the cafeteria, Ethan buys himself a cup of tea whilst surveying the reaction from the hospital staff. There is shock from the doctors, euphoria from the patients, and a sense of bewilderment and wonder. Ethan finds the experience quite humbling - their reactions are honest and heartfelt, and Ethan takes it as a sign that he should go further.
- In the space of 5 minutes, Ethan sweeps the building with Eidolon, affecting patients and staff. All maladies are cured, save disturbances of the mind caused by the shock of the change. Ethan feels dizzy and tired, despite having Dominant Rank Endurance. It took him significant effort to do this, and the feeling was both euphoric, and frightening. Ethan feels that he almost lost control, despite having Dominant Rank Psyche. Ethan is incredibly hungry, and he goes to the cafeteria counter to buy more food.
- The reaction from the people this time is almost overwhelming for Ethan. Everyone (save children) have been restored to their adult prime. The elderly have been 'cured' by Eidolon. People are hugging one another, or falling to their knees and thanking Almighty God for this blessing, regardless of their faith. It sinks in that what he has done will have far-reaching implications. In the space of less than two hours, he has changed the world, perhaps forever. With the sound of sirens in the distance, Ethan decides to leave.
20th May 1986 4pm GMT - Castle Howard Ox
- Ethan returns to the pub for a beer. He asks the proprietor about Chernobyl, seriously considering travelling to the Ukraine to 'fix the situation', however he is advised that the radioactive cloud that many feared did not come to pass. Ethan has another meal (still very hungry), then stops at HMV just before closing time (GM's note - that's a chain of music stores, for those of you who don't know) to buy some more tapes before heading back to Westgate.
20th May 1986 9pm GMT - Return to Westgate
- The car uses hardly any fuel. Ethan arrives back safely and has a cup of tea. He then uses an Icon to contact Grant and tells him what he has done. Grant is quite astonished. (GM's note - given that this Icon contact would be after Grant attends the royal ball, we've decided to park this conversation until I'm GMing. But it does happen.). Ethan thinks over his next steps. Despite wielding so much power, Ethan feels remarkably good. Rather than rest, he decides upon the next course of action.
20th May 1986 10pm GMT - The Clock Tower and the Servant
- Ethan drives into town, and studies the Clock Tower. To an Eidolon Master, the pattern doesn't match the surrounding, almost like the Dark Tower that Ethan saw in Tyndam (GM's note - way back in Session 5. Note that Ethan didn’t have Eidolon Mastery in Session 5, but it is different enough that Ethan thinks of the Dark Tower in Tyndam). There doesn't appear to be any entrance to the Tower - there are no doors or windows, accessible or otherwise.
- Ethan goes for a drive, and spies (with Eidolon) one of the Servants floating roughly a mile out of town, hovering three hundred feet up. Ethan parks the car and uses Sorcery to take to the air. (GM's note - again, this is Ethan's one 'telekinesis' spell which can be used for a variety of effects) The Servant is invisible to the naked eye, but to Ethan's senses it is spinning and blurry as if it is merely an out of focus projection. Ethan attempts to communicate with it, and it does respond. For example, he asks if it can understand him, and to move vertically by one metre for 'yes'. The Servant seems incapable of complex answers but can answer with simple yes/no responses. Throughout his attempts to speak to it, Ethan keeps his distance. He remembers Socrates' warning that the Servants can move very quickly indeed.
20th May 1986 11pm GMT - The Servant
- At 11 o'clock, the Clock Tower begins ringing, and the sound of the bells carries on the wind. The Servant activates, morphing in shape, and begins moving in his direction. Ethan drops like a stone and then powers away like Superman with the Servant hot on his heels. With the Servant gaining on him, Ethan heads away from the Clock Tower and around the two mile mark, the Servant halts as it is no longer able to hear instructions.
- Ethan continues his dialogue with the Servant, but the wind picks up such that the Servant is once again able to hear instructions. There is another short pursuit, and Ethan gleans from the Servant that although it would like Ethan to help it conduct repairs on itself, the section which requires repair is 'not here'.
- Ethan leaves the Servant and returns to the town of Fiveways. Everyone is asleep and there is little activity in town. Ethan parks the car and waits for the clock to strike 12.
21st May 1986 12am GMT - The Clock Strikes Twelve
- By 12 o'clock, Ethan is convinced that there is no access point into the Clock Tower from here and he waits to see what will happen. When the clock strikes twelve, there is a big tremor and Ethan feels that the Clock Tower is attempting to change something, to exert itself on the Earth reality. The Servants reset - and the one which had chased him returned to its original position, and Ethan could sense another one in the proximity of Westgate.
21st May 1986 1am GMT - Northgate
- Ethan decides to head to Northgate, guessing that the Clock Tower and Northgate are connected and he drives there (which takes 40 mins). He waits until after 1am to be sure that no Servants activate in its vicinity, then opens the doors (GM's note - Wardens can open mundane doors without requiring keys) to gain access to the interior. He finds all of the clocks inside stuck at 3:07 - PM or AM, he doesn't know. Ethan finds the Door behind the tapestry but realises that it is locked and he doesn't have the Key. He remembers the strange key that he and Grant recovered from Harold Crees' body (GM's note - way back in Session 11) but it is still stored in a drawer in the attic. Ethan curses and resolves to return back to Westgate, even if it means confronting one of the Servants.
21st May 1986 2:30am GMT - Returning to Westgate
- Ethan arrives back at the house, and notes the Servant pacing around the property, looking for a place where the Wards are weak. The Servant is ground-based, unlike the other one, but he is still concerned that it could be fast. He bides his time, then when the Servant has seemingly left the front of the building unguarded to explore another side, Ethan drives to the front door. Unfortunately for Ethan, the Servant quickly returns as it senses an opportunity. (GM's note - Ethan has Bad Stuff, so despite timing his approach, he is still unlucky enough to have the Servant double back at an inopportune time) Ethan dashes inside and listens to the Servant's fury as the Eidolon car is smashed flat into the gravel driveway.
- Ethan heads upstairs to the attic and recovers the Silver Key. With the car destroyed, he then decides to sleep for a few hours.
Ok, so I’m going to start the write-up of Part 3 now, where the aftermath of Ethan’s “Miracle at the York Hospital” starts to unfold…..
EDIT: fixing some grammar…. sigh!
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