You never met Black Tarn in the days of her power, only as she declined into grief and madness. Even during Clay's heroic attack on the pipeline, shortly before your First Change, the old Fury had started to experience fugues and unusual dreams. But once, a rumor of Black Tarn's coming set both Wyrmspawn and conventionally vicious humans fleeing like a wave of rats. Her mystic theurgy was legendary, and her wrath terrible.
Or so the stories went.
Elton, who is also a theurge, might know something, so you head to his flat with an offering (a two-liter jar of protein powder you took from work). Over a meal of jerk chicken with dates and wine, Elton listens to your story of Black Tarn with growing concern.
"The Umbra is both useful and necessary to a werewolf," he says, "but it is not where we belong. It is an intrinsically hostile place. Some old Garou myths say that was not always the case, but any werewolf who spends too long in the Umbra will eventually fade into it. I fear that's what's happened to Black Tarn."
"Can we do anything?" you ask.
"Black Tarn was…is a Black Fury, right?" Elton asks.
You nod.
"Then I see two possibilities," Elton says. "First, there is a statue of Gorgon in the woods that we could petition. Second, there is a Gorgon mask on Rosemary Street, in the worst parts of town. The former would require us to restore the forest around Broad Brook. The latter needs, I suppose, a Bone Gnawer or a Silent Strider: someone who could tame the slum-spirits."
"So we need more allies first," you say.
"Exactly," Elton says. "But we can help Black Tarn. If she's not already dead."
Elton spends the rest of dinner telling you stories about Gorgon. She's a ferocious spirit, proud and cruel, but she's also a great protector of humanity. And her wisdom is the Earth's wisdom: if anyone knows Black Tarn's fate, it's Gorgon. You should find more werewolves: they might be able to clean up the Umbra around Gorgon's sacred spaces and let you contact her.
I scout the deep woods around Broad Brook, edging around the areas where my memory is spotty.
I pay to have someone fix my heat before I freeze.
I go meet Roscoe Thanh.
I reacquaint myself with Hobland Nash.
I introduce myself to Lucinda Palys-Nash.
I return to the barrows where I fought the fomor.
I return to the stretch of urban blight where I spilled out after looking for the caern. Maybe I can find something there.
I check my phone.
Next