Tuesday, November 18, 2008

You Can Never Go Home Again


They say you can never go home again; there's alot of truth to that I suppose.

It's been quite some time since I've set foot in the Ciudad de Monstruos. I've been lost in your world. It can be quite seductive. & there's so many wonderful places to hide...

Nothing is as I remember it. Imagine, if you will, the wildest party you've ever been privy to? & the strangest place you've ever traveled to or explored? Someplace full of mysteries & wonder? Think about walking through a flea market or a bazaar--all the unusual people you meet...Think about the old men who tell you war stories at the pub, & a trip to the circus...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dance intoxicated through the streets of New Orleans? Just let the sounds of the city--the music of the night --entrance you?

I implore you--try --if only for a moment. You'll almost have an idea of what the Ciudad de Monstruos once was....In all it's glory.

The streets were once full of music. Throbbing, pulsing music. Creatures pounding handcrafted drums & strumming stringed instruments that require more than two arms to make them sing.

Torches that never burnt out lined the cobblestone streets--but they burn no more.

The music is silent.

No one is dancing--the streets are empty.

......


We crossed the threshold--we four--into the Monster City. There was no one there to greet us--not even the Enforcer Behemoths. No one. Where has everyone gone?

Monsters, by nature, are proud. We fight--we don't vanish. What could have scared them all so?

The streets are coated in a soft dusting of ash. Half of the buildings have burned to the ground --the other half lie abandoned.

There are no answers here. Only more questions.

But once there was a man who had all the answers. & if he didn't have them--he knew how to get them.

We called him Father Wolfsbane.

....


-"Justin, do you remember Father Wolfsbane?"

-"The crazy old bastard who fancied himself a wizard? Talked to spirits & saw the future in cards & tea leaves?"

-"He wasn't crazy. He saw things. Like me."

-"Not like you--Torrent. No one's like you"

-"I think we should find him...."

-"What makes you think he's even still here, Tor? Seems like everyone's vacated..."

-"Well, do you have a better idea?" I ask him, with a scowl. Tony & Gabriel wait on the sidelines, awaiting our cue as to where we're headed.

As Justin has no better plan, we decide to head for the outskirts of the city...toward the Olde Oak Glade. Amongst a copse of trees that reach to the heavens, Father Wolfsbane once resided in a small, hidden shack.

At least--that's where he was last I'd checked. & the Olde Ones are nothing if not creatures of habit.

Hopefully, my memories serve me well...

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Come Through the Rabbit Hole With Me...


It's been some time, but I've pulled us all together... Justin, Gabriel, Myself, & the boy...Tony. My rag-tag band of misfits...

I want to cross over, back into the Ciudad de Monstruos. Justin says it's suicide. That they'll smell me coming a thousand miles away. That the Behemoths will be waiting for me.

I gave him a crooked grin; "I can take 'em." I told him.

Justin remains unconvinced, but I'll do what I want to. I always have before.

Everyone is looking to me for answers--isn't it about time I get some?

Isn't it all about doing the unexpected?

Either way--I haven't had much luck here in "The Real World". Time for something new...

.....

Justin may have his doubts about me, & I about him for that matter...we have our own history. That itself, is a tale for another time. Gabriel would follow me into the flames of Hell itself...& he just might be. But the boy, Tony...he's something else entirely.

He looks at me with stars in his eyes...hope. As though he's just been pulled into "The Never Ending Story", & I'm going to make all his dreams come true. I wish he'd stop....Lets just hope that I don't get him killed....

Tony & I have become fast friends however. He has this way of laughing in the face of danger that I just can't shrug off or discount. & there's something very special about him, that I just cannot pin down.

His mind is open--like a beacon. In this bout of down time--I've been trying to teach him a few things. How to shield his mind from unwelcome visitors & invading nightmares. How to communicate wordlessly with me. We've formed a link between us; there is now almost an endless string of telepathic banter at any given time. Tony has proved to be an adept student; he learns lightning fast...

& he can open doorways--though he's unsure as to how he does it.

I've a sneaking suspicion that I do. But there's no proof of that, so I'll bite my tongue.

.....

It is dusk...well, in November, full dark falls early.

The four of us venture out into the night, & end up at a forest preserve where all is quiet. No humans wandering about to stumble upon something they should not see on a night so cold...

Only the trees surround us, reaching bare branches up to the night sky. The autumn leaves crunch beneath our feet. but they won't tell a soul...

-"Try to open it--try to see the doorway." I say to Tony.

-"Torrent--you should not be encouraging this." Justin is scowling at all of us. But he's still here, which speaks volumes about his character.

-"I think I can..." Tony sort of mumbles to himself, squinting his eyes in concentration.

-"That's not the point." Justin says, but then he falls silent.

-"Try."

Tony reaches his hands before him, & seems to be pulling the world apart. "Entre aqui y no te estas perdido..." he whispers. & the space before him begins to shiver.

-"Why does he do that?" Justin asks me. I just smirk at him.

There's no need for "magick words" to enter the Ciudad, or to open a doorway for that matter--but words can be a focus for power. This seems to be how Tony concentrates.

The door opens. I take Tony's hand in mine, & we walk through it....