Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and all characters from the show are the property of Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and the UPN Television Network. The Cthulhu Mythos material is loosely based on the "Call of Cthulhu" role-playing game (copyright Chaosium Inc.) and the book "Encyclopedia Cthulhiana" by Daniel Harms. SAVE is based on the organization in the Chill Roleplaying game (copyright Mayfair Games Inc.) and the earlier version of the game (copyright Pacesetter, Ltd.). "So Weird" is the property of the Disney Channel. The character of Hector Gonzales is loosely based on a sample character in the Mayfair version of Chill. The character of Melissa Johnson is my own invention.
Wednesday May 23, 2001, Night: Sunnydale
Dawn is dreaming. She sees herself standing by a sea of fire. A
robed monk approaches. He holds a bronze amulet which contains a
figure of a robed woman holding a spear. Her viewpoint shifts to
an expanse of dying grass, covered with open graves. The center
of the field is frozen solid. A giant silver hand appears in the
ice.
Dawn wakes up. She looks around and everything seems normal.
Thursday May 24, Afternoon: Sunnydale
Melissa and Hector are meeting with Dawn, Giles, Willow, Xander,
Anya, and Tara at the Magic Shop.
Melissa reports "SAVE Continental Headquarters in New York passed
along some information about the Knights of Byzantium. They
attacked the main headquarters of the Order of Taraka. The
attack was a reprisal for an attack by the Tarakans on the
Knights' headquarters. The attack by the Knights was a major
disaster. Most of the attacking force was lost. Not sure what
will happen next, although perhaps what's left of the Knights
will have a new obsession."
Giles replies "As long as they aren't after us." He pauses for a
moment. "The Shatterers left one of their stones here last
night. It isn't meant for any of us, so it probably is a message
for one of you." He points out the stone on a nearby table. It
is about the size of his palm and the top has a spearhead with
lightning bolts to either side.
Melissa examines the stone and cautiously picks it up. The
bottom of the stone contains a message:
Tower
10 pm
Bring the Key
Come prepared
Dreams await
Hector says "The last line could be a reference to the
Dreamlands."
Dawn adds "The Key must be me." She pauses briefly. "That
reminds me, I had this strange dream last night." She describes
the dream to the others.
Melissa remarks "The dream could be a message or a premonition.
The figure on the amulet could be N'tse-Kaambl, especially since
the Shatterers serve her." She pauses. "The tower is probably
Glory's tower. Since the stone was sent to me, I should probably
be there with Dawn."
Willow says "If Dawn is going, I'm going too.".
Xander adds "So am I."
Thursday May 24, Night: Sunnydale
Melissa, Willow, Xander, and Dawn arrive at Glory's tower shortly
before 10 pm. They look around and see a circle drawn under the
tower with another one of the Shatterers' stones inside. Melissa
walks over to the stone and tries to pick it up but gets what
feels like a mild shock. Dawn picks up the stone. It contains
the message: "Hand of Nodens". There is a flash of blue light
and everyone falls unconscious.
Time Indeterminate: Dreamlands
Everyone wakes up. They are on a small island surrounded by a
lake of fire. There is a volcano in the distance behind them and
a line of hills in the distance ahead.
Willow looks ahead towards the nearest shore, points to the
surface of the lake and says "thicken". She starts walking
towards the shore and the others follow her.
Just after they reach the shore, Xander spots something on the
ground. "What is that?"
Melissa and Xander walk over for a closer look. They see an item
in the shape of a miniature spear. Each side of the spearhead
has a lightning bolt symbol. Melissa examines it carefully. "I
don't think it's dangerous. It doesn't even seem to be magical."
Xander asks "Is it all right if I keep it?"
Melissa hesitates and then hands the "spear" to him. "Keep
alert. This area is very dangerous."
Melissa looks around and points to the hills. "The Tanarian
Hills, I think. If I'm right, we should head that way."
The party begins traveling toward the hills. Near the edge of
the hills, they see a building. A group of robed monks
approaches them. The leader holds a bronze amulet with a
likeness of N'tse-Kaambl on the front. He tells Xander "The
Shatterer of Worlds said to await your coming. She asked us to
loan you her amulet in exchange for her item that you carry."
Melissa asks "How long do we get to keep the amulet?"
The monk responds "For the duration of your stay in the
Dreamlands."
Melissa glances toward Xander. He nods. Melissa says "Agreed."
Xander hands the miniature spear to the monk and the monk hands
Xander the amulet. The monks turn around and go back into the
building.
Melissa tells Xander "The amulet is very useful. It is supposed
to protect you from direct harm from the Great Old Ones, the
Other Gods, or their minions. Even so, beings that powerful can
find many ways of harming you indirectly."
The party begins traveling through the Tanarian Hills. Then they
leave the Tanarian Hills and enter Ooth-Nargai. Finally they
reach Celephais. As they approach the Northern Gate, they see a
man standing in front of the gate, with a group of armored
knights behind him. The man calls out to them "Welcome to
Celephais. I am King Kuranes. What brings you to my city?"
Melissa responds "The Shatterers sent us to the Dreamlands. We
need to find information on the Hand of Nodens. I thought the
Great Library of the Dreamlands was the best place to start."
Kuranes says "Since you quest on behalf of N'tse-Kaambl, I will
provide you with what assistance that I can. If you wish, you
may have rooms in the Palace for the duration of your stay in
Celephais."
Melissa glances at the others and replies "Thank you. We accept
your generous offer."
King Kuranes guides them to the Palace and shows them to their
rooms. He then gives them directions to the Great Library.
The party walks to the Library and begins searching through
books. Several hours later Willow exclaims "I found something!
It says that the 'Hand of Nodens' is in two parts. The chain is
hidden in the Tanarian Hills. There's information on the exact
location. The chain is linked in some way to the main amulet
which is someplace called Zura." She pauses and continues in a
puzzled tone "Most of the books in this section are old. This
one is new." She takes a closer look. "Completely new. Like
someone just put it here for us to find."
Melissa examines the book. On the front cover is a star with an
eye in the center and a pillar of flame for the pupil. Melissa
says carefully "An Elder Sign, a real one. Mostly used by ..."
She pauses. "By the enemies of our enemies. It makes it less
likely that the book is a trap." She shakes her head. "Still,
Zura. The land of pleasures unattained. One of the most
dangerous parts of the Dreamlands." She pauses again. "It's
getting late. We should head back to the Palace. Kuranes may
have some thoughts about this."
Kuranes greets them when they return to the palace. "Did you
find anything useful?"
Melissa replies "We think so." Her attention is drawn to the
North Gate. "What is that?"
A wave of total darkness comes through the North Gate. As it
advances, all lights in its path are extinguished.
Kuranes says grimly "The Night attacks. The same being that
destroyed Zulan-Thek."
Melissa sends flashes of light into the Night as it surrounds the
palace. She sees hints of something resembling giant winged
serpents scattered throughout the Night.
The Night starts to enter the Palace and the Palace lanterns dim.
Willow exclaims "Fiat Lux!" and tosses something to the floor.
The room lights up for a while but begins to dim again.
Willow looks startled but gestures with her arms "Circling arms,
raise a wall!" A barrier expands outward from her and encircles
the room. The room lights up again but then dims again, more
slowly this time. They hear several creatures pounding against
the barrier.
Melissa tells the others "Something's coming, but it doesn't like
the light. If we can survive until morning we'll be fine." She
reinforces Willow's light spell with one of her own. The light
brightens but again starts to dim. A creature vaguely resembling
a giant bat approaches the Palace. It has a single trilobed eye.
Melissa whispers "The Haunter of the Dark. Once the lights go
out ..." She considers a moment and then looks at Dawn. "Dawn,
I want to try something. A spell that should hold those things
off for a while longer. It shouldn't harm you as long as I end
the spell quickly enough."
Dawn quickly answers "All right."
Melissa places one hand on her amber pendant and gestures with
the other hand. A soft green light starts coming from Dawn. The
Night outside seems to retreat from the light. Melissa warns
Dawn "It's very important that you tell me the moment you start
to feel weak." She adjusts the spell slightly.
Willow glances outside, then toward Melissa and asks "What did
you just do?"
Melissa answers "Cast a spell to buy us more time. It won't hurt
Dawn unless I keep it going for too long. I'll make sure to
cancel it before that happens."
Willow considers a moment. "All right. But if Dawn does get
hurt ..." She pulls some books from her pack and starts leafing
through one of them.
Xander watches Dawn while Melissa and Willow look through their
books, trying to find something useful. Occasionally Melissa and
Willow glance outside or toward Dawn. Eventually Dawn says
reluctantly "I'm starting to feel a bit weak." Melissa glances
toward her and cancels the spell. The green light fades and the
room begins to dim. The Haunter sends something toward the
barrier and the barrier goes down. Melissa sends more flashes of
light into the Night.
Xander looks outside, a blank expression on his face. He begins
to walk into the Night. Willow tries to stop him but Melissa
says "He may know what he's doing." Melissa, Willow, Dawn, and
Kuranes follow a few steps behind Xander.
Xander's amulet starts to glow as he walks. The Night retreats
from him. As he approaches the Haunter, the amulet flashes
brightly. The Haunter vanishes and the winged serpents in its
vicinity turn to dust. Xander falls unconscious and the others
rush to guard him. Melissa sends out more flashes of light and
Willow calls up her own light. Everyone retreats back to the
Palace, Kuranes carrying Xander. The Palace lanterns are glowing
again and Willow's original light spell is in full force.
Xander revives shortly after they reenter the Palace.
Willow asks "Are you all right? And what WERE you doing just
now?"
Xander looks around. "I'm fine. I let the amulet take control.
I was still there, just shielded from some of what was
happening."
Melissa examines him carefully. "You seem to be fine. No trace
of any magical control. That was a very dangerous thing you did.
Dangerous in more than one way."
Xander responds "Was there anything else that would have worked?"
Melissa and Willow glance at each other but don't answer.
Kuranes breaks in "We didn't get a chance to talk earlier. What
did you find out and why did the Haunter and the Night attack?"
Melissa replies "We found a clue to the location of the Hand of
Nodens. The Haunter probably came for us. It probably also
called the Night." They show Kuranes the information about the
Hand of Nodens.
Kuranes remarks "The Tanarian Hills. Strange country. You'll
need additional supplies, which I can provide. I can also
provide an escort into the Tanarian Hills, but not beyond." He
pauses and continues quietly. "I've heard tales about Zura.
Even the most adventurous dreamers won't enter that land."
Melissa replies "I don't think we have much choice." She pauses
and glances at the others. "Thanks for the offer. A small
escort will be helpful, as will the supplies."
The Night remains outside but doesn't threaten them again. It
dissipates with the morning.
When morning comes, Kuranes leaves to learn the extent of the
damage. Early that afternoon he knocks on the party's door.
Kuranes says "The damage is not quite as bad as I had feared.
The Night never got beyond the Palace and most of the people in
its path fled before it reached their homes. Even so, there will
be too many funerals in the next few days, especially for
Celephais." He pauses and continues "I've gathered supplies for
you and assigned an escort. Let me know if you need anything
else."
Later that afternoon, the party leaves for the Tanarian Hills,
with the new supplies and an escort of a half dozen knights.
They travel through the Hills, following the information from the
Library.
Melissa calls a halt. "It should be somewhere around here."
Dawn points to her right. "There's a small cave that way."
The party enters the cave, two of the knights in the lead. Dawn
points to a small alcove in a wall of the cave. There is a
silver chain in the alcove. Melissa asks the knights to wait and
the rest of the party approaches the alcove.
Melissa examines the chain and then cautiously picks it up. As
Willow, Xander, and Dawn gather for a closer look, part of the
ground near the chain changes to a view of a field of brown
grass, covered with open graves and with an ice-covered area in
the center.
Dawn says "That looks like the field from my dream."
Melissa cautiously touches the vision. Then she climbs through,
followed by Xander, Willow, and Dawn.
They appear on a field covered with brown grass. Open graves are
scattered around the field and an ice-covered area can be seen
nearby. Melissa gestures. "A protective spell" she explains.
Everyone starts walking toward the ice. As she walks, Willow
sees Amy, changing back and forth between human and rat. Xander
sees Jesse, who turns into a vampire. Both of them see Buffy,
first lost and alone in Los Angeles, and then jumping into the
portal. The visions seem strangely distant.
Willow notices Melissa walking unsteadily. Suddenly Melissa
stops and stands completely still, staring into mid-air.
Willow asks "What's wrong? Melissa?" She nudges Melissa then
waves her hand in front of Melissa's face and calls out
"Melissa!" She grabs Melissa's arm but then freezes.
Willow sees, as from a great distance, a planet in space with
oceans that look almost familiar. Creatures like winged
crustaceans and others like strange birds spiral in toward the
planet and a bubbling mass of chaos extends pseudopods in the
same direction. She stares for a moment, then shakes her head
vigorously and the vision vanishes. She becomes aware of her
surroundings again and shakes Melissa, first gently, then harder.
Willow then calls out "Melissa!" and shakes her again. Finally,
Melissa responds, turning toward Willow.
Willow asks "Are you all right?"
Melissa pauses to collect herself. She says shakily "We'd better
go now." Melissa starts walking toward the icy area, somewhat
unsteadily at first. The others follow, looking concerned.
Melissa stops at the edge of the icy area and looks around.
Several frozen bodies are scattered around the area. A silver
amulet is in the center of the ice. It has five silver 'fingers'
extending from it. Melissa looks at Dawn and hands her the
silver chain. The chain starts to glow and a path clears to the
amulet. Dawn walks over to the amulet, followed by the others,
and attaches the chain. The amulet starts to glow brightly,
illuminating the entire area. The ice melts, revealing a circle
of green grass in the middle of the brown field.
Melissa says, in an awed tone, "The sheer power of the thing."
Everyone takes a step back.
What looks like an elderly man appears behind the party. He has
a long grey beard and holds an oaken staff. "The old weapons are
awakening for the Final Battle. I see you found the Hand."
Melissa states "Nodens, I assume."
Nodens answers "Of course. I would like the Hand now. You
couldn't use it anyway. It is too powerful for a human to
control."
Melissa tells the others "He's almost certainly right. And it
was his to begin with. I think we should give it to him." The
others all nod.
Melissa steps forward and says "You can have the Silver Hand.
You understand that we went through a fair amount of trouble to
find it."
Nodens walks over to the amulet and puts it on. He tells the
party "I can transport you to Sona-Nyl. The White Ship can take
you back to Sunnydale from there."
Friday May 25, Morning: Sunnydale
Hector and Giles enter the Magic Shop. Anya and Tara are already
there and look worried. Hector tells them "Melissa never came
back from the tower. We checked her room this morning and she
wasn't there."
Tara replies "Xander, Willow, and Dawn also didn't return. We
were hoping they were with you."
Hector, Giles, Anya, and Tara head to the tower. They see
Melissa, Willow, Xander, and Dawn lying unconscious but protected
by an energy barrier. The barrier gives way to the party and
Hector and Giles examine all four.
Hector says "They seem fine. They're probably in the Dreamlands.
Be careful not to wake them. The best thing to do for now is
leave them here but keep watch." The party steps back and the
energy barrier reappears behind them.
Time Indeterminate: Dreamlands
Melissa, Willow, Xander, and Dawn wander through Sona-Nyl while
they wait for the White Ship. The land is beautiful, filled with
green groves and flowering fields. The cities are filled with
lovely gardens, cool fountains, and majestic buildings. The
people are graceful and blissfully happy. Willow, Xander, and
Dawn relax and enjoy the surroundings but Melissa seems
increasingly distant.
Finally, Willow takes Melissa aside for a private talk. She asks
in a concerned tone "Melissa, what is it? Is something wrong?"
Melissa replies "We're going to lose."
Willow asks "What do you mean?"
Melissa explains "If ... I mean ... when we go back, we're going
to lose." She pauses. "It's so peaceful here. No pain, no
death. And people who leave Sona-Nyl are almost never able to
return."
Willow looks at her for a moment. "I only caught a glimpse.
What DID you see in Zura?"
Melissa replies quietly "Nothing I didn't already know. I just
didn't want to admit it, even to myself."
Willow says firmly "It doesn't matter what you saw or how lovely
this place is. There are people back home who need us. And
things aren't hopeless unless you give up."
Melissa shakes her head. "I was always going to go back. I just
don't have any illusions now."
Willow responds "We'll figure something out. We always do."
The White Ship arrives in Sona-Nyl. A tall bearded man dressed
in robes signals people to board. Melissa, Willow, Xander, and
Dawn come aboard. The bearded man introduces himself as the
Captain. He keeps the ship in port for about an hour, then the
ship leaves, gliding just above the water. The Ship leaves the
Dreamlands and arrives in Sunnydale. Melissa, Willow, Xander,
and Dawn leave the Ship. They wake up in their own bodies
beneath the tower.
Friday May 25, Afternoon: Sunnydale
Giles and Hector are at the tower when Melissa, Willow, Xander,
and Dawn wake up. Giles asks "Is everyone all right?"
Melissa answers quickly "We're fine."
Giles says "We found you unconscious this morning. We've been
keeping watch. Hector and I had the first shift. We should get
back to the Magic Shop. Anya and Tara will want to know you're
back."
Melissa, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Giles, Hector, Anya, and Tara
gather at the Magic Shop. Melissa and Willow relate the events,
with occasional assistance from Xander and Dawn.
Melissa concludes "We've won a small victory, overall, even
though we've been thoroughly manipulated. The Lord of the Great
Abyss has the Silver Hand back and may view us somewhat more
favorably than before." She pauses. "I'd better get back to my
room. Organize my notes. SAVE is going to want a full report."
Willow asks quietly "Are you going to tell them what you saw in
Zura?"
Melissa replies "I'll tell them what they need to know." She
considers for a few moments and continues hesitantly "I can't
describe what I saw. Not in a way that keeps the impact. I ...
I could handle the first visions, the ones of the past. But then
... the end of everything. And knowing while I watched it that
it was going to happen."
Willow says "It won't happen. We'll find a way to stop it."
Melissa begins hesitantly "Willow ..."
Willow continues firmly "We'll find a way to stop it. No matter
what." She pauses. "No matter what."