The Great Game

If you’re new to the Great Game, please have a quick look at the blurb to your left, where you’ll find a short catch-up introduction!

“We’re almost there,” I say.

“How can you be certain, my friend?”

“I can feel it now, Massinisa. I know exactly where it is.” He nods, thoughtfully. “There are powerful beings around here too. I don’t know what or where though, I’m afraid.”

Alice blinks. “Do you think it’s the thing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe some of the Macandal are heavy hitters. It’s quite a big coincidence if it’s unrelated, though.”

“What are we going to do?”

That’s a good question. “We need information. I’ll scout ahead. Whatever you do, don’t attract attention.”

Alice looks nervous. “But if it’s that, uh, thing…”

“The morosos.”

“Yeah. It’s tuned into me, right? Won’t it know I’m here?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if it works like that, and anyway, it could be something entirely different.”

“I guess.”

“Look, I’ll be as quick as I can. If anything nasty appears, run like hell for reception, and if you’re not here when I get back, I’ll meet you there. ”

“OK.” She pauses. “Thanks.”

I smile at her, and head off.

Sneaking around is a trade-off between speed and stealth. It’s possible to walk silently, and it’s possible to cover distances quickly, but you don’t get to do both at once. There’s no cover in the hotel, at least, not without kicking a door down, so if anyone stumbles across me, I’m going to be seen. That makes speed a bit more important than silence, although obviously I still need to be quiet. I make my way down the first stretch of corridor as swiftly as I can without clumping along. The sense of psychic pressure doesn’t change, so I’m totally in the dark as to who or where it’s coming from.

When I get to the corner, I kneel down and peer round cautiously. People are more likely to notice minor disturbances like that at head height, so it’s worth getting low down. The corridor ahead is quiet, with a slightly ’50s feel to it. The ritual room is four doors down, on the left. I wait for a few seconds, but I don’t hear anything, or see anything odd.

See anything odd. Hm. I close my eyes for a moment, feeling horribly vulnerable, and try to relax as best I can. Then I concentrate on my eyes, and trying to feel the energy sinking in to them as I open my eyelids. My vision swims for a moment, and my eyes start to ache. It feels like straining a muscle — hot, tiring and sore. There’s a flicker, and then I can see a strange symbol on one of the doors nearby. It’s a complex design, lines and angles and curves, inside a circle. I’ve no idea what it means, and it sputters in and out. There’s no sign of anything down by the door to the ritual room though, which was my concern.

I relax my eyes and blink a couple of times, then stand up and slip round into the second corridor. I make my way down to the room, kneel again, and peer in quickly.

No-one there. Good.

The doors slide, and they’re currently fully open, so I leave them where they are and go in, just enough to be out of sight of the corridor. There’s a definite energy to the place, dark and swirling and hostile. It looks like a rec area, but all the furniture has been taken out. In its place, an odd design is traced on the floor in sand, a big sprawling thing full of crosses and swirls, stars and eyes. I try to make sense of it, but its just too complex, drawing my eye first one way and then another.

I’m still staring at it when a click from the corridor outside brings me to my senses. A door is being opened. I immediately retreat to the wall next to the door, wishing I had something to hide behind, and that my clothes weren’t so garish. A couple of seconds later, I can definitely make out someone coming towards the room.

The somebody comes in. He’s a tall guy, strong, somberly dressed, dark skin. Power beats off him in waves; he’s the one I’ve been feeling in the area. He walks into the room, then turns to where I’m standing. A moment of surprise flickers across his face, leaving me an instant to act.

 Loading ...

Today’s photo is The Hideout by Ashenzil