October Report
Agent: Milchamal Saiyer
Subject: Mata Hari

Synopsis:

Target known as Mata Hari has been located and identified. She is in a lethal position of power and influence. Unfortunately her status seems secure and far reaching. Latest conflict ended in a stalemate; her objective to dedicate All Hallows Eve to the Dark was not reached but she managed to escape while causing collateral damage: Slayer Club (SC) unable to destroy her, but innocents and mundane casualties kept to a minimum. Minimal injuries to the Club.

Details:

On October 30th we investigated a vampire warren which emulated the most stereotypical and blatant cinematic vampiric myths. The SC interupted the demons' attempt to summon a Headless Horseman. The assassin was dispatched and sword retained, and the warren "dusted". Items of note was not the event or kills, but the actions of these children. While only one of their members has extraordinary powers (the Slayer), each member willingly threw themselves into the melee. The mortal boy Drew engaged in combat against several vampires at the Slayer's side while said Slayer engaged in melee, and dispatched the Demon Den's leader forcing holy water down her throat; the mortals Erik and Tori battled aside me against the headless horseman. While my Falchion drew the most ichor (cleaving it in twain,) their blows and strikes definitely struck with impact. Member Joshua (the Club's talented Rogue,) was convalescing from a leg broken in an earlier episode, and their mage-gifted fellow Kevin was tending to Illiah, a powerful mage-gifted child of 11, delivering her to a lupine powered ally of the Slayer Club.

We determined the dusted warren intended to summon the Headless Horseman and turn it loose; their notes: an Elizabethan period tome abridged worse than Reader's Digest! The vampires' annotations, revisions, and exclusion of details indicated they were as likely to be the Horseman's victims as anyone else. While the Skull and Lantern lost their magicks, the Horseman and mount etherealized, the Demon's sword remained. The following evening being Halloween, we erroneously believed we would have a night off.

As the school's history teacher, I acted as chaperone for Solomon High School's Halloween Eve party dressed as a Bedouin including my loaded Kentucky Flintlock; a sentimental, but wise choice. The Slayer attended as Wonder Woman with lariat, and Drew as Spiderman. Erik and Tori attended as Pirate and Pirate's Wench while Joshua and his girlfriend Cora attended as Wounded Crimean Officer and Florence Nightengale (she could not resist.) Kevin eventually attended as Vampire-D. While the gymnasium was decorated in usual Halloween decor with Jack-O-Lanters, cobwebs, and paper bats, the choice musical band was Celtic Rock and the victuals were gourmet quality with a Early American Colonial flavor. Odd choices for teenager guests of an American public High School party.

The music genre and high quality/presentation of foodstuffs immediately aroused my suspicions. Myself, Sam, Drew, and Tori abstained from food and drink. Erik and Joshua (teenagers!) decided to consume the food and drink while Kevin had not yet arrived. The various imbibers began showing total lack of restraint, other faculty included (not a few pitchers of ice did I spill.) Leaving the others to prevent a Roman style celebration (Caligula style), I followed a caterer and took their image. I managed to get a good close look at the Donor of the Feast without recognition. This Madam's stern appearence and manner suggested more intent than simple catering. While returning to the gym with a platter of magiked foods, I saw movement in the shadows. Feigning stumbling, I separated myself from the other caterers and clandestinely took the form of a young HS student. I saw shadows of Satyrs and the like in my peripheral vision.

Meanwhile, Kevin arrived and began a circuit of the school discovering evidence of ritual magic at various sites; implications of some barrier and summoning. The abandoned ritual paraphernalia included, but not exclusively; black candles, brown chalk drawn in a key-shape, old European coins. Most disturbing of all, the ley-lines around the school were "bent out of place". Observing the risks to others and ultimately himself, Kevin decided to enter and aid those within, when he eventually met Sam, Drew and Tori outside the gym.

Sam and Drew noticed my absence from the gymnasium and decided to investigate. Both came upon me in my teenage guise. Upon discovering me, Sam moved off to investigate the shadows, and Drew to help the "freshman". Admittedly, I had some fun with him before disclosing my identity. The others and I concluded to trigger the Fire Alarms to evacuate the entire school, perhaps "cooling" events in the gymnasium. Drew caught up with the Slayer while I ran to the Gym to find the party going strong and no sign of Fire Alarms. While I began trying to start a small fire to trigger the gymnasium's sprinklers, Kevin arrived after meeting the others outside. He magicked a candle upwards towards the sprinklers triggering them and the Madam's attention. The alarms stops soon after their beginning and Kevin and I are whisked away.

The Donor of the Feast turns out to be Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess, and the new Dean of St. Germain's. Kevin immediately accused her of the rituals he discovered, and the magicking of the foods, drink, and dance. Her responses and questions to Kevin could have been by any alumni, until she dominated his will through magick, paralyzing him. When she turned her attentions towards me I continued my frightened freshman guise hoping to surprise her with a double haymaker. She turned ethereal, or teleported away causing me to miss. While suspecting our Mata Hari and the Blood Countess to be the same, this display of power and purpose supported my hypotheses. Her four vampire goons grappled me and as the American writers say, "worked me over." As He would have it, Sam, Drew and Tori followed the chastised freshman and Kevin, coming to our rescue with knives, a cleaver, and a lemon meringue pie grabbed from the kitchen tables. Resourceful if not entirely effective.

As midnight approached the shadows became more prevalent and malicious, waiting for some trigger event. Sam discovers three girls (a Stephanie, Callie, and Marcy) with former magick exposure, and convinces them to evacuate without eating any foodstuffs. Meanwhile the fog outside thickened and the music within moves the students in a dance reminiscent of those enchantresses of old, summoning me from the winds with their kohl eyes, chanting voices, and rhythmic swirls.

The change in tempo and a wolf howl break Joshua and then Erik from the influence. Too late, Joshua short circuits the band's Sound Board with a punch bowl. All the Jack-O-Lanterns had already been smashed, removing the ancient Celtic barrier from malevolent spirits.

We began evacuating all the students from the gymnasium towards the library, a more central and defensible position. Several students are discovered missing, while Sam rescues one boy from a red-eyed Worg. While injured the freshman was still mobile. Sam also encounters our young associate Ilia wielding a fennel-stalk and her Lupine chaperone battling shadow creatures. Barely avoiding friendly fire, Ilia and her Chaperone returned via a "Dream Walk" (?) and Sam returned to the library. Enroute the Slayer retrieved the school's Chemistry teacher, "Pyro Pete" after he torched a few demons with an improvised flame thrower (he does have tenure at Solomon.)

While fortifying the library, again these youths surprised me by turning to books and lore for solutions instead of muscle and brawn. Our research revealed a near identical Halloween episode in Hungary: the villagers ate more than they should have instead of storing for winter, guards were lax, vows and trusts were violated, jack-o-lanterns were smashed, scarecrows desecrated, the dead not honored, no costumes of monsters to fend off the true ones, etc... Everything that could go wrong went wrong in that 16th century Hungarian town. All local and powerful foreign Hallows Eve traditions were broken and/or ignored.

Fate replied: cattle died, harvest rotted and spoiled, wolves took sheep and children, etc... (many of these events recurred in Solomon, October 21. 1991) Attempts to appease the dark spirits thru ritual dance and human sacrifice only encouraged and enabled the Dark Side to obliterate the entire town. (This event and it's reprisal by the Light begat Hallows Eve as a night of neutrality in the Battle of Good and Evil.

The Countess (our Mata Hari,) encouraged all of these events through magic and manipulation. Madame Bathory broke through the library's skylight as a bat, reformed as a human, and bantered with Sam. The Necromancer tried to sacrifice Kelly Hargrove, one of the four visiting St. Germain Students (Countess Bathory is human if a Necromancer) by magickly stilling her young heart. If successful, Dean Bathory would have completed the events of 16th century Hungary, and recapture of All Hallow's Eve by Evil. Kevin immediately gave the stricken girl CPR preventing her death, wining the day. The hope of Dawn shined through the windows marking the end of the Countess' attempt.

Enroute home, we discovered other horrors. Our Templar agent on America's West Coast was murdered by Dean Bathory's agents as reprisal for her imprisonment. The families of the four St. Germain's transfer students had been ritualistically slaughtered, as well as a young man who worked at the 7-11; he was the bottom student in the St. Germain's class of 1991. Devil take the hindmost -- one of the old policies re-instituted by "Dean Bathory" who recently returned from a very long "overseas sabbatical," courtesy of the Temple. The Slayer debriefed the St. Germain students regarding their Dean. The Slayer Club decided to deny Madame Bathory any possible victory and get the four girls out of town. I volunteered to bring them to Israel, to the sanctuary of Solomon's Temple. If we can't keep the girls safe, no one can. This denies Bathory at least one of her goals -- she wants the girls dead. Our decision was also made on All Saint's Day, when St. Germain's holds its yearly harvest festival. We also decided it is time to take the battle to Bathory; just what to do about the Festival is unknown.

In a surprising display of maturity, the Slayer's boyfriend Drew offered to spend less time with his amour, giving her more time to mentor Tori, a potential Slayer. While Sam doesn't like this idea, she agrees that Tori could use some more practice and patrol-time. Our more immediate plans included visits to our respective places of worship, and honor the dead in our own traditions.

Meantime I am en-route with four refugees. Targets of the Agents of Shaitan, the great Adversary.

Conclusions:

1-Our West Coast agent needs replacing with some serious backup. I'm sure if I had not associated with the Slayer Club here in Solomon Mass., I too would be scattered back to the winds. Madame Bathory's strike on the West Coast of America from it's East coast illustrates her power and influence; a lesson we can NOT ignore. Her intent is to regain power so no one can do to her what we did. Perhaps the old ways (execution,) would have been best. Of course we did not know her true background.

2-The Slayer Club needs Magickal backup. We do have the muscle and "firepower", but our magickal repertoire is sorely lacking. Some allies we have (Kevin's family and Coven, Ilia and her Lupine powered chaperone, and families/relatives of the "hindmost the Devil had taken"), but most can offer only little aid. Some method to boost Kevin's powers, or an item to cancel Bathory's, or any future adversary's abilities.

3-The Slayer Club of Solomon Mass., USA is composed of young, undisciplined, rebellious, rowdy American Teenagers. These youths displayed bravery and courage. While brave and dedicated, these teenagers are still that. Teenagers. While they lack the discipline and training of full Templar agents, their hearts and souls are those of pure Warriors of Light. Many times when facing creatures of their own legends and nightmares these youths displayed bravery, courage, resourcefulness, and not some little skill.

I recommend these youths receive training and support from the Temple. Not necessarily as full Agents, but definitely as trustworthy contacts and allies, two qualities they have proven themselves many times. Not only have they accepted me and my persona with little knowledge of Us, (other than the phrase, "my employers," but they have eliminated one of our greatest errors, losing Countess Bathory.

Once they are of age, I formally request they be offered admittance to our ranks, and all of it's privileges and responsibilities. Even if they would refuse, I do believe our secret safe with them.

Respectfully yours,

Milchamah Kashaph Saiyer
Templar North American Field Agent
Senior Computer Analyst
Djinn of the Arid Wastes, Seventh Rank