Episode 7 –In Your World
March 7th
Annie teleported back home to her bedroom at the family home where after getting changed she interrupted her guardian and his wife having a family meal. Annie said that she had got the train home and that Archdeacon Abbott had paid for it. Sir Reginald told her that it was OK and that they would talk about it in the morning.
March 8th
The next morning Annie awoke after having a nightmare during the night to find that she had the amulet on again and that Deirdre had been made subordinate to Annie. Sir Reginald explained that he had been worried after Annie had told her to take the amulet off her and the fright she had given him convinced him that he needed to put it back on her. Annie told Sir Reginald about the other entity inside her and admitted that Deirdre had lied to him last night and that she had teleported home rather than take the train. Annie then transformed herself into a cat to demonstrate what she could do. When she had changed back (with Sir Reginald kindly leaving the room) they discussed the situation she was in and he told her that as long as she was a good person doing the right things in the eyes of God she was still the person he respected. He suggested that maybe she should make more amulets and use them to help her friends stave off their demons. She said that it might be a good idea and started work on them.
March 22nd
The nightmares had continued and got worse over the past two weeks. After Archdeacon Abbott had been called away to a conference in York for a few days, George had started to remember some things from his past. The demon horse that had been visiting him nightly had awakened more of Rhi’ana’s memories and he remembered the tale of Sephira and how she had rebelled against Epona and been trapped by her. He decided that he needed to do something about it so he sent letters out to Annie Fogerty and Samheim Shelley for them to join him for tea at Lambeth Palace using Archdeacon Abbott’s notepaper and his seal. Captain Edington was still recovering from his wounds and Lieutenant Day was away with the Foreign Legion so his list of invites was quite short.
Samheim had noticed people being affected by these nightmares and the papers that day had a number of people march on Parliament demanding that Sephira be the new religion of Britain. They were promptly arrested, but the affects had him worried.
Annie and Samheim arrived and were shown into Lambeth Palace where they found George Smythington waiting for them. He explained the story of Sephira to them and told them that they really needed to start doing something about her. They agreed but were unsure what to do exactly.
Annie produced more amulets like the one she was wearing and suggested that they put them on for their protection. Neither of the others was impressed and questioned Annie’s motives. Samheim even snapped at Annie telling her to mind her manners in front of her male colleagues and was promptly put in her place by George who told her that beneath this weak and feeble male body was a strong woman.
They discussed what they could do about the Nightmare horse Sephira, but did not even know where Sephira was located now. She could be in any horse in the country for all they knew. George then decided to go and talk with his horse. Excusing himself he went and talked to his horse (who was perturbed that he hadn’t spoken to him since he had awoken).
He came back and said that the horse had said that Sephira was in the Dream Plane and they would need to bring her back to the mortal world to have a chance to kill her. George had vaguely suggested that he use his horse as bait, but the horse was not too impressed with the idea.
The group began thinking of people who might be able to help them and Annie suggested that maybe Christian Cooper would know as the legend had said that Lugh had helped Epona trick Sephira when she was sealed in.
George, who was still afraid of the Actress Helen Barry, decided that he would meet up with the other two in the Tea House after they had spoken to Christian. They were met at the entrance by a flustered man, whom they discovered was the deputy director of the Theatre called Charles Ambridge. Charles was flustered as he was trying to organise things but Christian Cooper had disappeared two days ago. They had reported his disappearance to the Peelers but they had heard nothing from them. He said that the Actress Helen Barry claimed that he was kidnapped but that there was no evidence to back that up.
They decided to go and talk to Helen Barry and she told them that she was the last person to see Christian and had seen him leaving the theatre with the pervert. Samheim and Annie understood this to mean George and had that theory confirmed by the Actress. Bemused they headed back to the tea house to talk with George who claimed he had been in Lambeth palace the whole time. A trip back to the Palace confirmed this with Archdeacon Abbott’s assistant.
Remembering something she had read in St. Hilda’s black book, Annie said that Drsytan had a tattoo ability to shift his form to another’s and that it could be him who had tricked Christian. Annie then recounted a large number of other entries from the book that she had remembered to the others.
They decided they needed to locate Christian and Annie claimed that she might be able to make something that would be able to find him. They decided to sleep on it.
March 23rd
Next morning everyone awoke after having had a worse nightmare. The nightmare horse had tried a compulsion during the dream to make everyone worship her, but Samheim and George could not be swayed and Annie with the necklace resisted its effects. However as she went downstairs Annie found that her Guardian’s wife Mildred had left the house early with a glazed look in her eyes.
On discovering that several of the junior clergy had left Lambeth Palace with a glazed look in their eyes George saddled his horse and followed them to Hyde Park. On his way he picked up Annie and Samheim and they stood a distance off from the throng of about 400 people. After watching for a time it was clear that they were about to sacrifice a man in the centre. Annie decided that she would use her teleporting ability to try and rescue the man, and Samheim told her to wait a minute until he was ready. Samheim pushed his way into the crowd but only got a way in. He then used an ability to pacify the immediate group around him who sat down like hippies. Annie teleported in grabbed the man and teleported out. The group, now victimless, spotted George on his horse and decided to go after him instead, but George galloped off back to Lambeth Palace.
Meanwhile Annie popped back and a kid behind her began to sing a strange nursery rhyme.
Rings around your dreams,
You can hear the men's screams,
They're crazy,
They're crazy
Then they all fell down
Annie looked round at the kid and asked him what he was doing here. He said his dad had come here with glazed eyes this morning. The kid looked worried, and unexpectantly Annie asked him if he had a blue tattoo. The kid said that he had but that he couldn’t show her as it was on his bum. She asked what it looked like and he said that it was three lines at odd angles.
Just then the soldiers came from the barracks and instructed the mob to surrender in the name of the Queen. The mob charged and was slaughtered in the battle of Hyde Park.
Annie spotted her Guardian’s wife amongst those that Samheim had pacified and she started to lead her home. However after they had got a way the effects of Samheim’s peace began wearing off and Annie was forced to teleport both Mildred and the child back to her house. She asked Sir Reginald to look after them and popped off to Lambeth Palace.
Meanwhile George upon getting back to the Lambeth Palace heard a complaint from the room below that the man had not been fed today. George had forgotten about Albert Pearson, Archdeacon Abbott’s guest in his private accommodations. George went to the kitchens to get him some food and on coming back found Annie appearing in the apartments.
Annie remembered what St Hilda had written about Albert and together they concluded that with the power of Dreams at his command he could be a help to them if he was awakened. St Hilda’s text said that he was a bard in Goddodin called Anerien. Samheim arrived and together after summoning up The Count they determined that they needed to awaken him. The Count told them that with his power over Dream they had the perfect weapon against Sephira. He said that he had important business to attend to, but would call on them again soon. He then disappeared.
Annie insisted that Albert Pearson be given the choice about awakening. They explained to him what would happen to him when he awakened, that another presence within him; a hero of Celtic times would awaken. Albert seemed delighted that he would become a hero, that he would no longer be a little man who was pushed around. Samheim tested him asking him why he wanted this and he replied that he would be able to do good in the world.
They took him back to the Theatre and they said that they were friends of the director and they needed to come in. Samheim used the power of persuasion to gain entrance but the hand insisted that they might want to speak to Christian in his office. On clarification they found that Christian had returned this morning. They went to speak to him, but he seemed slow in remembering them. They suspected that he might have been replaced so he showed them his tattoo of an oak tree. They still suspected that something was wrong though as he could well have been Drytsan taken Christian’s form. After more attempts at catching him out and asking him where he’d been (which he refused to answer) Samheim drew his sword and went to stop him getting his sword cane.
Christian let out a blinding light and when they regained their sight Christian had his sword cane in his hands. Annie then said that she believed it was him as that was the very power that St Hilda had described for him in her book. When confronted with the prospect of a witness Christian said that the Faerie must be lying and had an agenda against him. They took him to lead them to her and he took them down to her dressing room.
Her room was empty and Christian said that she must have fled now that her lies had been found out. Samheim began muttering poetry and determined that Helen Barry was being held a prisoner, manacled in a dungeon somewhere in London. He kept this to himself as they headed down the secret passage to the hall of the Overking where he told the others.
On the way down they noticed that Bedwyr was no longer in the dungeons, the manacles left there having been broken by a tool. Annie and Samheim provided the blood and Albert was awakened as Anerien. He told them how wonderful it was to have the words to say the things in his heart and he spoke about the strangeness of the hall now that it was all bathed in darkness.
They asked him about how they could get to the Dream Plane and he told them that he could take them, but they would need to get Absinthe to help them across as it was the closest thing there was these days to the herbs he used to use.
They bought bottles on there way back to Lambeth Palace. There Samheim put on one of Annie’s amulets for reasons he only understood and they decided to drink the Absinthe in the stable next to George’s horse. After imbibing the group collapsed and followed the Green Faerie into the Dream Plane. George appeared as a young woman dressed in chain mail and Samheim appeared as himself with his magic armour and weapons. Annie transformed into a tiger from her normal form. They appeared on a hill and they travelled in Dream sequence to where Sephira stood. Sephira said that she would eat them all and George replied that she would feel Epona’s vengeance.
Samheim and Annie attached the horse’s flanks but the demon horses clawed hooves bit into their flesh. George taunted Sephira further and she breathed flame at him twice with the second one hitting. Meanwhile Anerien wrapped Sephira’s legs and on command shifted them back out of the Dream Plane.
Angered Sephira followed then and broke down the door of the stable. George now back in reality used his tattoo power of command over beasts to make Sephira kneel. On her knees she tried one last gambit to cause insanity in George’s mind, but he brushed it aside as Samheim approached the prostrate demon horse and chopped off its head.
Anerien thanked them for his awakening and bid them farewell as he left Lambeth Palace.
