Witch of Yazoo, part 3 (results part 3)
New
- Location
- MS, USA
They arrive back at the Halloways' home on the outskirts of Vicksburg; a two-and-a-half story, square (possibly even 'boxy') house, as was typical of houses produced under the American Foursquare style at the time of it's construction. It was painted a yellowish off white color, and had a well kept, fenced-in backyard with unobstructed view of the sky, which just made it extra clear that they had arrived just as the sun finished completely vanishing over the horizon, but before it's light was completely gone. A few last embers of orange remained, burning their way defiantly across the sky. As they pull up, they can both smell meat cooking. Once more, as it was when they first got here, Sadie rushes up to greet the two of them. "Welcome back! How was the trip? Oh! I forgot to ask, do you like baked rabbit and rice?" Jon quickly tries to answer as best he can think too: "Rabbit and rice? You don't mean chicken and rice?"
He realizes immediately that was the incorrect response, but his grandaunt-in-law barrels ahead anyway; "Oh good heavens no! Haven't you seen any off those... I think they're called 'documentaries', that they're starting to make and show on the TV now? Well anyway it doesn't matter, we have and... I shudder to think about what they do to those poor things on those big 'farms'." She almost spits the last word and if that wasn't enough of a clue, her expression makes it plainly obvious she holds nothing but disgust and contempt for whatever it is she thinks they're doing. But that expression fades quickly, replaced by a seemingly permanently etched-on beaming expression that shows her unrelenting optimism better than words ever could. "Anyways, that's even more besides the point since Janus likes to know where his food 'came from', if you get it. If you do, you're better off than me, 40 years and I still don't-"
Apparently sensing a tangent that she's heard far too many times at family reunions, Jamie thankfully cuts her off with further explanation, "Janus is full of it, mostly. But he does love the outdoors, and he loves to hunt and trap. If it's rabbit, that's probably because that's what he caught himself. Fair warning kiddo; it doesn't have a... bad taste, per say, but it is a little different." Sadie purses her wrinkled lips slightly for just a moment, but is unable to hold the expression long. "Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth, Jamie... I'd best go make sure that fool hasn't destroyed the kitchen. Either of you coming with?" Jonathan shrugs. "I don't see why not. There's still a few minutes at the very least before I can do what I'd like to do." "You go ahead then, champ. I'm just going to head up to the guest bedroom and... finish unpacking." That caught him by surprise. "You're not done yet, mom?" "...You could say that." "Can I hel-" "Don't worry about it."
His mother's response left him no choice but to yet again shrug, this time in defeat, and continue into the kitchen with Sadie, were sure enough, Janus was making a total mess of things. "Janus! You don't put sugar in the mashed potatoes! And where's the bacon grease I told you to use with the string beans!?" "Dammit, I don't know what happened to it! It's gotta be around here somewhere!" "Uggh! And you ask why I never let you cook! Jon, dearie, could you look around the kitchen and find the bacon grease? Oh, and mind the bear traps my fool husband for some reason decided to keep in that cabinet. They're sharp!" It... took a while. But eventually, the four of them are all seated in the dining room and enjoying a rather starch-rich meal of baked rabbit and rice, mashed potatoes, and boiled string beans, with classic southern-style sweet ice tea on the side. In Jon's opinion, the rabbit's a touch... earthy, for lack of a better word. But otherwise, it's good food.
"Oh yeah... that's good. ...So uh, Mr. and Mrs. Halloway-" "Oh please, Jon. You've known us long enough, it's Janus and Sadie." "Right. Sorry. ...I meant to ask... do you mind if I set a little something up in your backyard?" Janus shares a glance with his wife, before chuckling somewhat nervously, yet nodding. "Sure thing Jonathan, just, uh... make sure you clean up afterwards, alright? It... is something you can clean up after, right?" "Of course!" Janus nods again. "Then it shouldn't be problem, go ahead, knock yourself out, after you're done eating, of course." "Thanks!" The rest of the meal passed in comfortable silence. After Jonathan had 'enough', he took both his and his mom's plates to the dishwasher in the kitchen and loaded them up, as civilized guests do. Once he returned, he opened his mouth, "Hey mom, would-" only to get silenced. "I like to help you set up the stuff for your stargazing routine?"
He hesitantly nodded, to which she only scoffed in response. But it was clear she only half meant it. "No, no I'd rather not. Like I told your dad, just cause I'm apparently a Gemini doesn't automatically make me some unfun overly logical robot, so there's proof it's... that this is all stupid right there." That, however, she did mean. The stiff atmosphere that followed that declaration was cut only when Janus loudly burped, before rubbing some green string been juice off of his fingers with a cloth napkin. "...Damn woman. Little, uh, little harsh, don't you think?" Jamie wheeled on him with murderous intent. "Janus." The older man suddenly shot up ram-rod straight.
"Shut the fuck up." She wasn't just shooting him a glare, she was practically hitting him with laser vision. "I'm going to my room, you don't talk to me for the rest of the night." "Y-Ye-Yes ma'am! Understood ma'am!" Janus suddenly looks like he's getting trauma flashbacks. "Oh, and son?" "...Yes mom? "...If you really need me, I'll be here for you, ok? You know that, right?" "Of course, mom." She nods to herself, then walks out of the kitchen and presumably upstairs to the guest bedroom. Sadie takes in the sights before her. "Well, you'd better get on with... whatever it is you're planning on doing dearie. I need to help Janus calm down."
With nothing but the bare minimum assurance of a safety net from mom, Jonathan quickly went to work. Thankfully and notably, the moon still wasn't out yet or perhaps rather it wasn't high up and bright yet, so he didn't notice it; though dusk had well and truly arrived, the sun gone completely from the horizon, laving the sky a purple and inky black expanse of endless void. He quickly spotted a clear patch of neatly packed down, bare dirt, silently thanking the lord that their garden had been harvested and cleared recently, then set to work with drawing a small, simple ritual circle with salt packets (totaling about 30 packets once he was done spreading the salt), placing a set of candles around the perimeter as he went. Then, finally, for the final touch, he placed a pair of incense sticks from his set off them in the middle, hauled the telescope over, and at long last, pulled out his box of matches and struck one, then lit the candles in the same sequence he placed them. Then, he lit the incense.
As he looks up to the sky, he sees it plainly... in the time it took him to get everything set up, the night sky had changed on him. Hanging directly overhead... the July Full Moon, also known as the Buck Moon by some because male deer regrow their antlers in July. Yeah, just stick to the facts. After all, it's just a big ball of rock. It's not like it's going to choke you TO- STOP! ...Calm down. Focus on facts. Jonathan looks, as calmly as he can manage, through the telescope he had hauled over, following the scented trail the incense formed in the air upwards to the night sky.
Eventually, he follows the trail of incense smoke right between Alpha and Beta Lepus, of the Lepus Constellation. He suddenly feels an itch on the back of his neck, as he realizes... he shouldn't be seeing this. Just like the Orion constellation directly North, Lepus is most clearly visible during the winter... it's July. Yet, the Lepus constellation is unseasonably clear and bright in the night sky. ...What could that mean?... Perhaps, it could be the fact that 17 Leporis, while not a part of the Lepus constellation borders, is still a part of the constellation... and as was showcased by photos taken in 2010, is a brilliant example of so-called 'vampire stars' or more properly Symbiotic Binary star systems, which- NO. One of... whatever you things are, was enough. And 2010? That's nine years in the future! That's... wait what's that? The trail of incense suddenly shifts without warning, now leading... directly to a familiar blood-red star.
Dad mentioned this one before he vanished. "Wormwood, I think, was what they call it. Something about it being a sign of the end times, or something? ...You know what, maybe the vampire theory wasn't wrong, but then, how are they related? ...Also, why am I thinking out loud?"
He realizes immediately that was the incorrect response, but his grandaunt-in-law barrels ahead anyway; "Oh good heavens no! Haven't you seen any off those... I think they're called 'documentaries', that they're starting to make and show on the TV now? Well anyway it doesn't matter, we have and... I shudder to think about what they do to those poor things on those big 'farms'." She almost spits the last word and if that wasn't enough of a clue, her expression makes it plainly obvious she holds nothing but disgust and contempt for whatever it is she thinks they're doing. But that expression fades quickly, replaced by a seemingly permanently etched-on beaming expression that shows her unrelenting optimism better than words ever could. "Anyways, that's even more besides the point since Janus likes to know where his food 'came from', if you get it. If you do, you're better off than me, 40 years and I still don't-"
Apparently sensing a tangent that she's heard far too many times at family reunions, Jamie thankfully cuts her off with further explanation, "Janus is full of it, mostly. But he does love the outdoors, and he loves to hunt and trap. If it's rabbit, that's probably because that's what he caught himself. Fair warning kiddo; it doesn't have a... bad taste, per say, but it is a little different." Sadie purses her wrinkled lips slightly for just a moment, but is unable to hold the expression long. "Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth, Jamie... I'd best go make sure that fool hasn't destroyed the kitchen. Either of you coming with?" Jonathan shrugs. "I don't see why not. There's still a few minutes at the very least before I can do what I'd like to do." "You go ahead then, champ. I'm just going to head up to the guest bedroom and... finish unpacking." That caught him by surprise. "You're not done yet, mom?" "...You could say that." "Can I hel-" "Don't worry about it."
His mother's response left him no choice but to yet again shrug, this time in defeat, and continue into the kitchen with Sadie, were sure enough, Janus was making a total mess of things. "Janus! You don't put sugar in the mashed potatoes! And where's the bacon grease I told you to use with the string beans!?" "Dammit, I don't know what happened to it! It's gotta be around here somewhere!" "Uggh! And you ask why I never let you cook! Jon, dearie, could you look around the kitchen and find the bacon grease? Oh, and mind the bear traps my fool husband for some reason decided to keep in that cabinet. They're sharp!" It... took a while. But eventually, the four of them are all seated in the dining room and enjoying a rather starch-rich meal of baked rabbit and rice, mashed potatoes, and boiled string beans, with classic southern-style sweet ice tea on the side. In Jon's opinion, the rabbit's a touch... earthy, for lack of a better word. But otherwise, it's good food.
"Oh yeah... that's good. ...So uh, Mr. and Mrs. Halloway-" "Oh please, Jon. You've known us long enough, it's Janus and Sadie." "Right. Sorry. ...I meant to ask... do you mind if I set a little something up in your backyard?" Janus shares a glance with his wife, before chuckling somewhat nervously, yet nodding. "Sure thing Jonathan, just, uh... make sure you clean up afterwards, alright? It... is something you can clean up after, right?" "Of course!" Janus nods again. "Then it shouldn't be problem, go ahead, knock yourself out, after you're done eating, of course." "Thanks!" The rest of the meal passed in comfortable silence. After Jonathan had 'enough', he took both his and his mom's plates to the dishwasher in the kitchen and loaded them up, as civilized guests do. Once he returned, he opened his mouth, "Hey mom, would-" only to get silenced. "I like to help you set up the stuff for your stargazing routine?"
He hesitantly nodded, to which she only scoffed in response. But it was clear she only half meant it. "No, no I'd rather not. Like I told your dad, just cause I'm apparently a Gemini doesn't automatically make me some unfun overly logical robot, so there's proof it's... that this is all stupid right there." That, however, she did mean. The stiff atmosphere that followed that declaration was cut only when Janus loudly burped, before rubbing some green string been juice off of his fingers with a cloth napkin. "...Damn woman. Little, uh, little harsh, don't you think?" Jamie wheeled on him with murderous intent. "Janus." The older man suddenly shot up ram-rod straight.
1d20(14) + 1 (Intimidation Skill) + 1 (Quicker Than the Asp) + 3 (Relationship) + 1 (Contextual Bonus) - 1 (Veteran) = 19, Success!
With nothing but the bare minimum assurance of a safety net from mom, Jonathan quickly went to work. Thankfully and notably, the moon still wasn't out yet or perhaps rather it wasn't high up and bright yet, so he didn't notice it; though dusk had well and truly arrived, the sun gone completely from the horizon, laving the sky a purple and inky black expanse of endless void. He quickly spotted a clear patch of neatly packed down, bare dirt, silently thanking the lord that their garden had been harvested and cleared recently, then set to work with drawing a small, simple ritual circle with salt packets (totaling about 30 packets once he was done spreading the salt), placing a set of candles around the perimeter as he went. Then, finally, for the final touch, he placed a pair of incense sticks from his set off them in the middle, hauled the telescope over, and at long last, pulled out his box of matches and struck one, then lit the candles in the same sequence he placed them. Then, he lit the incense.
1d100(69 (...nice)) + 11 (WIL) = 80!, Success
1d20(15) + 1 (Basic Integrated Computer) = 16, Success
Dad mentioned this one before he vanished. "Wormwood, I think, was what they call it. Something about it being a sign of the end times, or something? ...You know what, maybe the vampire theory wasn't wrong, but then, how are they related? ...Also, why am I thinking out loud?"
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