Thief in the Knight

Quotes

"Raveena, if you see Kyp getting attacked by vampires?" - Doc "I'm gonna let that go on the down low?.' Raveena

"Game on." - Chase

"So why does she need Kyp to interface with The Daughters?" - Chase "Maybe she's afraid of what the Daughters may do to her" - Deaver "Maybe they'll react better to a guy." - Gabe "Maybe she was busy getting her hair done." - Geoff

"Do you mountain climb?" - Geoff "I'm a Slayer." - Raveena

"Hahahahahaha! I'm fillin' the cavern with laughter. Hahahahah!" - SarcasticRaveena

"There's something behind that door" - Raveena "Is it a speedboat, or a tennis set?" - Chase

"C ? no ? wait ? that's an S ? um ? S-C-U-H ? uh ?" - Gabe

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is going to save the world." - Chase

From horseback, the camera looks down on the circle of witches, who now turn en masse to face the rider. They are electric with forbidden power - it crackles in the air around them.

The witch with unholy flame in her eyes speaks to the rider: - "Leave. Now." - "The Demon. Where is he?" - "Gone." - "And his Priestess?" - "Gone." - "I'll need more than ?" - "Leave." Going against everything the knight has ever vowed, he turns from the witches and leaves. The decision to turn his back costs him his tabard, but even so, he cannot bring himself to abandon his watchful eye on Zolor; the demon had been banished, not destroyed, and therefore there is a chance he could return. The Knight locks himself in a simple room with only a desk, a fireplace, and a lifetime of notes and research. In front of him on a desk is a giant volume, its pages blank. He begins to write. As the pages fill, the stacks of books and papers dwindle, and the fire grows higher and hotter. Finally, the fire dies out, the book closes, and we see the title of the finished work on its cover: "Familia Zolorum".

* * *

Geoff is working late at the morgue. A new corpse arrives, and (as is now his custom) Geoff begins to check him over for a vampiric calling card. Before he can get very far, the body gets up, reaches in his pocket ? and pulls out an envelope, which he offers to Geoff. Then the vamp strolls out of the morgue without laying a finger on him. Geoff looks down at the envelope, baffled. The front reads: "For Chase."

* * *

Geoff is standing on the stairs in Nikki's house, hesitating. He starts up the stairs. And starts back down again. Looks up, and climbs a few more. Stops. Finally he sighs and heads for the second floor. He knocks briefly on Chase's door and opens it. She smiles a greeting as he enters, and before he can change his mind, he hands her the envelope. She opens it, and the unsigned note within reads: "Familia Zolorum", with an address beneath. "Game on," she mutters resolutely.

* * *

Chase puts out the call to the scoobies and she, Geoff and Nikki meet up with Raveena, Gabe, and Deaver (Jade hasn't been on the scene as much since she tried to blow up Nikki) at their usual table at Common Grounds. Chase fills the group in on the deal she and Raveena made with Bannon - Bannon agreed to provide the gang with information regarding the whereabouts of the book Deaver has been looking for (the "How to Defeat Zolor in a Nutshell" book), and in exchange, the gang cannot attack Alumni vamps without provocation, nor can Raveena go patrolling. Bannon has also agreed that the Alumni vampires cannot attack the gang without provocation either, and if anyone SEES a feasting in progress then they have leave to stop it. The note Chase received is from Bannon, and it contains an address where they can theoretically get more info on the book. The group decides they're up for a road trip and heads out for northern Maine, near the Canadian border.

The mysterious address turns out to be a beautiful estate and working ranch in the middle of nowhere, Maine. The gang pulls up to the door and then tries to figure out how to proceed. The make Nikki knock (because she's cute and no one can resist her), and a little girl answers the door. She goes to get her father, and Chase shows him the card she was given and asks if they can see the book. He introduces himself as Zachary Harris, invites them in, and takes them to his library. As he pulls on a secret mechanism on one of his bookcases, Zachary explains to them that to be a keeper of the Familia Zolorum, those seeking it must prove their worth by solving a series of riddles. He gestures behind the now open bookcase where the gang can see a small, simple room with smooth, stone walls and a smooth, stone ceiling and floor. Zachary tells them they have one hour to fill the entire room, every corner, and that they may use anything in the house to achieve it. Then he leaves them to their task. After some debate, Geoff and Chase start hunting down candles to use to fill the room with light. Nervous that they aren't on the right track, Raveena seeks out the little girl who in turn she finds Zachary for them [but not before Raveena shamelessly tries to get her to help them solve the riddle]. Zachary returns to the library, and Raveena hits upon an idea: she steps inside the room and begins to laugh, telling Zachary that she's filling the room with laughter [Scott (Deaver) assures the Director that the way sound works, this is a plausible solution, and as he is an audio engineer, we all believe him.]. Zachary gives them credit for solving the puzzle, and hands Raveena a map with a marked location and a piece of parchment on which is written:

He walks among his family who grovel on their knees for promised power and anger built no longer devotees.

The answer doesn't readily come to the gang (although there's lots of debate), but the driving part is easy so they pile back in Chase's car and head for the spot on the map. On the way, they discuss everything they have learned (or guessed) about Zolor and his priestess or priestesses thus far. It's not a very impressive amount of information, and they still have no idea how to defeat him. The ground gets rougher under the tires as our heroes approach their destination, and they stop at the base of a super-sheer column of rock. Judging from the map, their goal is the top of the spire. Luckily Geoff and Chase (being messy souls) left their climbing gear from a trip the previous weekend in the trunk of her car; they haul it out and start checking knots and carabiners, telling the others that they'll make the trek to the top and report back. Raveena announces that she's going too, and when Geoff points out that they only have two harnesses and expresses his concern for her safety (cough), she scowls and pulls out a couple of hatchets, resolutely turning to face the sheer rock wall. The three start up the wall and scale their way to the top (some more quickly and easily than others). Atop the spire, there is barely enough room for Chase and Geoff to stand (and Raveena, when she finally gets there), and there is a simple box surprisingly untouched by the elements. Chase picks it up and looks inside, where there is a piece of parchment wrapped around a cryptex - a dumbbell-shaped stone container that has six tumblers on it, each with all the letters of the alphabet scribed on it. The parchment contains latitude and longitude coordinates - their next destination, most likely. Geoff takes the box and after a good-natured jibe at Raveena, he and Chase drop back down the cliff.

Back at the bottom, they show the box to the others and get back in the car (yes, they wait for Raveena) to head to the next set of coordinates - still in Maine, and still in the middle of nowhere. They arrive at the indicated point and see an archway leading in to a walled area. Stone lions flank the arch, and there is an inscription across it, which reads:

Dexterous, dexterous, sinister one Root for 'low serpents to fall.

While the group argues about what to do, Geoff sticks his head through the arch and turns back to announce that it looks like a maze. Deaver's quick grasp of Latin interprets the etymology of the first three words to be "Right, Right, Left", so Chase shrugs and starts walking to the right with Geoff behind her, both blithely ignoring the protests from the others that they haven't yet solved the rest of the riddle. Grumbling, Gabe, Deaver, Nikki, and Raveena follow. Taking the first right fork followed by the first left fork brings the explorers to an intersection where three paths lead forward; the archway over each one is labeled with a Roman numeral (I, II, and III). Going with the poem, the scoobies take door number one. They enter a clearing where a giant tree grows out from the base of the wall. Its roots are old and gnarled and jut up above the ground before twisting back into the earth. Careful examination of the roots reveals that the fourth from the wall is false, and manipulating it opens a hatch with descending beneath the maze. Glad that they brought the flashlight from the car, the group descends into the darkness, where they enter a chamber with four more tunnels leading off from it. Each tunnel is marked with a carving of an animal; getting the gist of things now, the crew follows the one marked with a snake. It leads them to a chamber with a stone bridge that crosses over a chasm. They test the bridge and it seems stable, so they cross over; there is a door on the other side of the room. Looking back at the chasm, Chase takes the flashlight and shines it downward - the chasm isn't deep at all. She lowers herself down with the light, and looks around. There is a door at the end of the chasm as well. The group follows her in to the pit and they approach the door. Raveena's sharp ears detect growling on the other side. Chase opens the door to reveal a big, hungry-looking lion pacing in front of a door on the other end of a room. She closes the door again. Some rushed planning ensues, and the gang opens the door a second time. They all enter the room and slowly approach the cat. It growls some more and takes a step towards them. And another. Gabe circles around the room to get a good angle, and as soon as the lion starts to move aggressively, he throws out a hand and the kitty is thrown into a wall. The gang breaks for the door and gets it open as the cat comes running at them. Everyone gets through except Gabe, who tripped on a shoelace or something. Raveena quickly "distracts" the kitty, knocking it out in the process. The gang enters a dusty room that contains only a desk and a fire grate. Looking in the desk drawers, Chase finds a large, old book that is titled: Familia Zolorum. The book is sealed in on all sides and is locked with a strange mechanism - a tablet and ancient pen. The gang decides to get out while the kitty is still sleeping and figure out this final puzzle back at Nikki's house. They head back to the car, prize in hand.

* * *

At Nikki's, the group starts working on the only remaining puzzle that might give them a clue how to unlock the book: the cryptex from the top of the rock. Reviewing the riddle another time, Deaver tries 'Christ' on the cryptex - while he doesn't set off the mechanism that would destroy the contents, he doesn't get it open, either. Gabe thinks on it, and remembering that "Familia" in Latin also means "slave", he suggests using "slaves" as their next guess. Taking a deep breath, Chase tries her hand at the mechanism, setting the tumblers to "S-L-A-V-E-S". It clicks and opens. Inside is a fragile piece of parchment wrapped around a tube of vinegar (which would have destroyed the parchment had it been broken by tampering). Unwrapping the parchment reveals another clue:

[insert theban1.gif here]

Gabe pegs the language as Theban, and begins to translate it. It's a very painstaking process. When he finishes, the message reads:

Scribe the ending of the book And may you be victorious. So may it be.

Chase picks up the pen and tries writing "A-M-E-N" on the tablet. No luck. They clear the tablet, at which point Gabe picks up the pen and writes:

[insert theban2.gif here]

"Amen" in Theban. The lock opens with a soft click.

The gang decides to lock the book in the safe in Nikki's silver room, and Gabe places a magickal ward on it as well. Only Deaver, Chase, Gabe, and Nikki will even be able to touch it. Deaver promises to get started on the translation right away (the book is in Latin). It is an enormous tome, and it is going to take some serious reading time.

FINIS.