Magda awakens in the middle of the night to find Bill sitting up and clutching his pillow. He (semi-coherently) says he's been having nightmares about something terrible being under the bed... which is where Magda keeps the Tenth Child when she sleeps. She moves it to the closet when he goes to get some water.
The next day she takes it to the Seer, who is unexpectedly friendly. He stares at it and shuffles tarot cards, then has Magda put it in a chest and fill the chest with blood from a big jar. He then puts a rosebush in the chest which sucks up the blood, bursting into brilliant red blooms... he tells Magda that he'll let her know, but until he does not to keep it under the bed. Magda returns home and receives a note from Jenny's teacher arranging a parent-teacher conference for the next day. All that can be gotten from Jenny is that the teacher didn't like a picture that Jenny drew of her family.
Meanwhile Milton and Desiree have met for lunch to discuss the Sir Ten situation. Our chronicler was concentrating on the other things going on at the time and so only knows that they arranged to go check on Sir Ten over the weekend.
Meanwhile, A K-Mart clerk (okay, who happens to be the demon) gives Soraya a videotape and tells her it's something she needs to see about Miles. Soraya takes it home, waffles, and watches it - it's Pricilla and Mile's encounter, complete with credits and cheesy porno movie music. Soraya accepts it at face value and immediately goes ballistic, dragging Miles out of a cafe lunch with his business partner.
As one can imagine, the argument gets pretty surreal. Miles admits his wrongdoing and says he's sorry but it's not like Soraya hasn't done far worse. Soraya of course can't remember ever doing far worse and questions that. The more they say to each other, the more each becomes convinced that the other is delusional. Soraya finally leaves and goes to Bill & Maggie's and talks to them, and Bill has to be restrained from beating Miles senseless. Everyone talks to Miles too, and no one figures anything out.
Soraya spends the night in the dreaming with the love-potion-peddlar woman, and trades her lust potion for "potion of the young stallion" which she is warned has thirteen drops of which she is only to use the first twelve. She takes it home and uses it on Miles, leading to at least a temporary reconciliation.
It also means that no one can find them when Magda starts calling for help.
Magda is about to leave the house when a big warrior dressed in red armor with a red petal-shaped shield breaks down her front door and attacks her. Magda is forced to draw the Tenth Child, but the warrior laughs and tells her it won't help. He also mocks her for having learned nothing since the last time they fought. Indeed, which she is able to cut his head off with the Tenth Child, it doesn't slow him down at all. She is trying to get good contact with her bronze sword, hoping that might work, when he batters her to the ground with his shield and spears her through the midsection. Faced with certain death, she denys that any of it is real, and comes to to find Mrs. McGee, the next door neighbor, looking concerned.
The police are called, and Milton and Desiree are already on their way. The police of course can't find much to go on except the broken door. Milton and Desiree fare better, and Desiree is later able to use her magic to bring Magda back to her fey self - bleeding to death. Luckily Milton and Desiree both know healing and are able to save Magda (although she is still badly wounded).
Mrs. McGee turns out to be a witch who can sense, but not see, some chimerical things and who has put up wards to keep the warrior from returning to Magda's house. Milton and Desiree have a nice chat with her and some tea, but don't learn too much aside from the fact that she chased to spirit away but isn't sure how much it was trying to remain.
The parent-teacher conference has gotten postponed...
Player Notes:
In Milton & Desiree's first conversation: Desiree fills Milton in on what's been happening, including Soraya's change of behavior; she asks him to check out Soraya for Fomorian-pain (which he later does, though I don't think he actually bothered to tell Desiree that he didn't see any). They exchange some info & speculations about the funhouse of pain and the possible relationship of anything thering (especially Magda's future self/ dioramas) with actual reality. -ALH
While Soraya is spending the night in the Dreaming, Desiree and
Miles confront Priscilla about the videotape. As far as they can
tell, she didn't arrange the taping, so Miles doesn't wreak his
revenge on her. -ALH