Fox-o-Lot Ritual

Tarka:

There was a soft tapping on the door as I looked up to see the shadow of Lorry Mouse there. Quickly I put away the novel I was reading and got out one of this city's many papers and turned to the police reports. As she opened the door I set the paper down on my desk with that page uppermost. "What do you need Lorry?" I was filled with pride as she played her part to perfection.

Lorry looked into the room to make sure that her boss was ready for the newest client. He was in the middle of setting a paper down and she let herself grin a little before turning back to the newest client. "Calway Badger would be happy to see you, Wilford Wolf." She turned back to the room. "Sir... there is a gentleman here named Wilford Wolf to see you." She showed Wilford into the room and closed the door behind him. After that, she turned on the silent alarms and with a flick of her eye she opened up the tunnel into cyberspace she had been on before Wilford came in.

Calway glanced at the screen readout discreetly hidden to one side of the desk. It gave stats on the newest client. He scanned the stats fast. "Wilford Wolf: -Male-, -Wolf-," and ohh.... 'loaded.' He looked up after tidying up his paper and then stood. "Why Hello Mr Wolf, my name's Calway." He held out his paw and grinned his best grin. He looked Wilford over as he came across the room. He had an aristocratic look about him, thin, high-muzzled, and large eared.

Wilford looked around the Private Eye's office. It was small and a bit cramped. It looked nothing like what he thought a master detective's office should look like. "Nice to meet you, Calway. I was wondering if you could do a job for me?" He watched the Badger closely, he was a bit on the heavy side, and had a very intelligent look in his bright little eyes. "He will do...." thought Wilford.

Calway grinned. He liked it best when they didn't talk about price first. It gave him a free paw with spending. He lowered himself back into his seat. "I can do most any job you might want. Discreetly or right out in the open ...would be up to you. I don't do magic or cyberspace though."

Wilford nodded. "I wouldn't have come to you for them anyways. I want you to find out why my wife was murdered, Calway. The police don't know why but she was killed over the Fox-a-lot Ritual. Before you ask, I don't know what the ritual is. Only that it is old and has been in her family for a very long time."

Lillieth:

Calway looked at Wilford. "Hmmmm.... a Fox-a-lot Ritual? And you don't know anything about it? Well... what can you tell me? Where is her family from? What were the circumstances of her death?"

Wilford pulled at one of his large ears, "Well, sir... she was murdered up in the mountains at a cabin we had there. The coroner said that it was a blow to the head. That's really about all I know... you see, she went up there alone. I was supposed to meet her later the next day. As for her family, well, they come from a small town on the east coast.

WalksFar:

"Town? What town on the east Coast? There are thousands."

"Some place up in Maine . . . some little harbor place on the coast, fishing and lobsters . . . touristy, but provincial. Nothing special.

Calway stroked his stubbly chin and looked down at his feet. "Does this town have a name?"

"Crook Harbor," replied Wilford. "Does that make such a difference? All those little places up there are the same . . . fishing, lobsters, small inns, a few houses, fishermen. . . .

Calway sighed. "Lotsa difference! Ammity Bay is not Benton Harbor is not Crook Harbor. Different histories, different founding families, most people living in those places can trace their roots back 200 years or more, and most of 'em still live in the same houses that their ancestors have lived in for hundreds of years. Ya get my drift? Now, wat about this Ritual thingy? Wat c'n ya tell me about that?"

Wilford shrugged. "I have no idea. I know it was very old and has been handed down through the family for generations."

Calway gazed toward the window noting how many flies had succumbed to the dark spider sitting in the corner. The total was fifteen, up from six the day before. He got a feeling this ritual thing and Wilford and Crook Harbor were all intertwined like the little beastie's web, and where he was going to have to go on this case would make him . . . a fly.

Maxl:

Calway clicked his claws nervously on the top of his desk. This whole business was rather unsettling, but it wasn't something he would rather not be doing. "So," he asked, "what else can you tell me about this family? Any other odd practices besides the ritual?"

Wilford shrugged, and looked down at his feet. "They were involved in some... very interesting religious activites. Apparently, they belonged to some sort of sect native to the northeast. Really dark name, can't remember it."

Calway raised an eyebrow, and looked back over at the spider's web. Another fly had hit it, and the spider was busy sucking the juices out of the fly. "Now, on to more serious matters," said Calway, "namely, my fee."

Zanahn:

The next day, Calway Badger was on a cross-country flight to Crook Harbor... all-expense paid, just the way he liked it. The price negotiations had gone well - almost /too/ well, he reflected. Either this Wilford character was desperate for an investigator, or something funny was up. One of the flight attendants was making her way down the aisle, taking drink orders. Calway ordered a cocktail and sat back in his first-class seat, going over in his head the scant facts of the case. Missing wife, Fox-a-lot ritual, mountain cabin. First thing he was gonna do, he thought, was find out just what this ritual was all about.

Crook Harbor was just as Wilford had described it - small, laid-back, lots of fishing joints. After a seafood lunch, Calway decided to poll the locals for any kind of insider info on the ritual - but no luck. Half the folks didn't know a thing, and the other half were keeping their lips shut. There was no other choice - Calway was going to have to go to the cabin himself, and witness the ritual first-hand, and undercover.

Tiana:

Undercover. But how? Wilford had said the ritual was secret. Probably by invitation only. There was no way a group of upper-class aristocratic-types such as they were sure to be, would accept into their midst someone of his sort. Unless....

By Twohart

"Calway Badger? I don't believe I've heard of the family. Are you from Crook Harbor?" The middle aged lupine peered at him through her jewel encrusted pince-nez.

"No, Madam, I have just moved here. The doctor felt that a change of scene would be good for me." Calway carefully observed her, waiting to see if the story would be believed. It was.

"Well, it's always good to see a new face here. " said the fox next to her, who had introduced himself at one point as Arthur.

"Have you met any of the others? No? Well, we shall have to remedy that."

Calway nodded and smiled, wondering how long he could get away with this. And how long he could stand it.

Chit:

"Heh," Calway said, laughing ruefully. "What do you have in mind?" He tried not to look too eager.

By Twohart

"Well..." the wolfess said, "There is a little --" the fox glanced at her warningly, but was brushed off. "There's a little social club we have. Our next gathering is this weekend... would you like to come?"

"Um, I don't know..." Calway said, "What do you do at this club of yours?"

"We grow closer," the fox interjected before the wolf could reply, "As a community."

"So it's the *perfect* place to meet new people!"

Calway watched the two walk off, whispering when they thought he was out of sight. The fox was angry, but the wolf managed to calm his nerves to a point. Calway wondered if he'd just flown right into the web. He could almost feel the strands tightening around him.

Calway decided that he needed to get more information before he could even think about attending the ceremony. He had a few days. That night, he went to a quiet but dingy bar, not too rough to be dangerous, but not the sort of place his new 'friends' would be seen in, and started probing for information. Most were as reticent as ever, refusing even to acknowledge the existence of the ceremony, even though he could see in their faces that they knew. But one weasel, when fed enough cheap liquor, loosened up enough to confide in Calway, since he was a new member and all.

"Dey k-k-kicked me out, you know," he said, "Becaushe --- oh, thass a shurprizhe. [giggle] But I can tell you *one* thing."

Tarka:

Calway perked his ears listening to the old drunk weasel. This would be his first lead. Maybe after this he would hit the local paper and have a look see over their archive.

The weasel went on. "You see there is just one thing about the Fox-o-lot.. You can never leave on your own. Oh you can be kicked out like I was but you can never leave. Goes all of the way back to when it was started in 1840." The weasel giggled a little... sipping on some more of the Rum that Calway had gotten him. "Now I would lay bets that the police wouldn't even think about getting involved with the Fox-o-lot at all. They be very scared of them. Hogwash I say though. Old cults like that should have been dead long before the year 2010 I say." With that the weasel got up and stagged off. Looking for more easily gotten drinks perhaps.

By Twohart

Calway was lost in thought as he walked down to the local library. When he made it there he was touched to see that it was so much like a small towns. You could walk through the stacks and shelves of books. He went to the librarian and grinned. "Hello there miss," He looked at her name tag. "Olivia Otter. I am new to this town and I was wondering where I could find the local archives for the newspaper? I would like to look through them.

Olivia looked at the Badger and sniffed... there was a hint of boozz on his breath but she perked her ears anyways. She wanted to show off the new cyber index for the archive too much to be bothered with that little thing right now.. "This way Mr....?"

"Calway Badger is my name. Thank you very much for your help Olivia." Calway thought for a moment... 'I am going to get sick of this soon.'

A few hours later... after finding only three things about the Fox-o-lot in the papers, he left the library thinking. The first article only said that the Fox-o-lot didn't exist, or so said the investigator back in the 1930s. The next was in the 1980s. Some police chief talked about them in connection with a murder. He didn't have long though. He was voted out of office the following year. The last was the most interesting though. It was dated last year in one of the letters to the editor.

'I know that the secret must be kept and all but I thought that I would say that the riddle is over. He that was here is now gone. Glory Fox'

Lillieth:

Calway thought about that letter for a while as he walked down the street. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers "I wonder if I could find anything in the historical stuff?" Calway turned around and hurried back to the Library. He pushed open the door and smiled as Olivia looked up. "Hello again... I was wondering does your town have a historical society? Maybe I could learn more about the area looking at that. I understand that this town has been here for a long time."

Olivia smiled at Calway and slowly her smile grew into a wide grin. "Why of course we do! As a matter of fact I am the chief historian. Come back here with me and I can show you our archives."

Calway followed the lady otter, pleased that he seemed to have found more information. Olivia took a key out of her pocket and opened a door at the end of the corridor. "We keep all our archives back here. My, they are precious! Can't let just anybody in to browse through them, but I can tell you are a careful sort Mr. Badger.

WalksFar:

Calway smiled. "thank you, Ms. Otter. I will be careful. How far back does this archive go?"

Olivia lifted up an ancient leather book wrapped in plastic and opened it carefully. "Thes are our most treasured records. It goes back to the 1840s and to the origins of this town. Did you know that the early families bought this harbor from the Native Americans who had a village on this exact site?"

Calway attempted to look impressed. "How did that come about?"

Olivia very gently turned the pages in the handwritten journal and pointed.

Calway read into it. He nodded from time to time as he took in the trials of the early settlers and their attempts to wrest control of the harbor away from its early inhabitants. It was typical 'settler vs aboriginals' fare, except . . . This was interesting . . . WHOA!.... he coughed.

Olivia looked at him concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Throat's dry!" Calway coughed again. "Could I have some water?"

Olivia nodded and left hurriedly.

Calway turned to the journal and studied the entries carefully. It was here! The Fox-A-Lot ritual . . . sacrifice and all. . . . He looked out a nearby window to get his bearings. "Hmm . . . that would put it up on the hillside between the trees on the ridge . . . Where that arbor and gazebo is. . . ." He looked to the journal again. 'Some purchase price . . . The settlers attacked the original inhabitants and forced them off the land by killing the young one by one until the chief capitulated and gave up the land.' Calway sat back. 'The Spiritual elders,' according to the journal, 'stood on the ridge and uttered chants in some unknown language, and in so doing altered the land forever . . . Tied in blood, the descendants of the settlers who sacrificed members of the tribe were forever tied to their past . . . .' "Hmm! Calway jotted some notes and copied the chant from the journal onto his pad then closed the journal.

Olivia returned with a tall glass of water. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes. Thanks." Calway took the water and downed it. "This is much better now. I have a feel for this town now. You have a rich history. I would like to come back and read some more sometime."

Olivia smiled and nodded. "I am always here. anytime, sir."

Calway slipped from the room and left the library whistling. As soon as he could, he made for his lodging and got to a phone. His fingers danced over the numbers and he lay himself back on his bed to wait. It did not take long.

"SID! Glad I caught you . . . got a good one for you. I know you know old languages. Can you identify something for me?"

Calway nodded. "I think I can say it, but it's best I spell it out." He sighed. "all right, all right. your time's valuable. So's mine!" He nodded. "here it is . . . yes, briefly . . . ALL RIGHT! Listen, will ya?

Calway spoke the words them spelled them out. He nodded. "Well?"

He sighed. "No, I'm not drunk, and that's what I got out of an old journal."

"No, I didn't make it up. DAMN! Will you listen? Yeah? Up here in Crook harbor, Maine . . . WHAT? What'd you say?" Calway sat up in shock. "What? How the heck should I know? It was supposed to be said by some Indians up here. What is it?" Calway gulped. "No . . . Druidic?

"Celt Druidic? What the heck is it doing in a journal in Maine? You wanna know? I WANNA know!" Calway winced. "JEEZ! SID . . . I don't care if it's the most important discovery you've ever heard of . . . What's it say?" Calway nodded. "OH, boy . . . That bad?" He shook his head. "something about curses? Can you translate it exactly? Uh-huh. Get back to me as soon as you can!" Calway grabbed a pencil and paper. "Uh-huh . . . okay. got the number. I'll call you tonight."

Calway put the receiver down. "Oh, gawd! Oh gawd!"

Zanahn:

As Calway turned to exit the phone booth, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. "Olivia...?! What are you doing here?"

"I found some more materials you may be interested in taking a look at."

"You did, eh?" Calway started back down the road to the library, but was stopped by Olivia's hand holding his arm.

"No - not in the library. C'mon... We're going to witness the ritual for ourselves."

"What?"

"You heard me. There's a spot I sometimes watch from - they haven't caught me yet. I must confess, I don't know the first thing about the ritual itself, apart from seeing a bunch of figures dancing around a fire chanting."

"I see - what time is it at?"

"Midnight. When else?"

Calway showed up outside the library at midnight and waited for Olivia, going over the translation Sid had provided. It went something like:

"Those who have come shall be those who have gone. Those who remained shall be those that remain still." ...or words to that effect. Sid hadn't been too confident about it.

Olivia appeared at the doorway, dressed in a black coat. "C'mon. Let's go." Olivia led Calway into the woods surrounding the town. The path turned and twisted as it wound deeper and deeper into the brush. "There -- we can watch from here." Olivia crouched down behind some bushes in a clearing about thirty feet away, on a small hill, were about three dozen figures, clustered around a crackling fire. One shouted, and the rest responded, all in rhythm, all in a language that by all rights should have been dead a long time ago. Slowly, step by step, a figure was brought before the assemblage. It was a young female ferret, by the looks of it, wearing nothing but her own fur and a blindfold.

Calway whispered, "What are they doing to that poor girl?" to Olivia.

"Ssh - I don't know. I've seen this ritual several times, and I've never been able to make out from here what happens."

"Don't they sacrifice her or something?"

"No - that's the strange part. I've investigated the grounds after they leave, and there's no blood on the ground. And I'm almost certain they're not covering the ground with anything."

The crowd gathered around the victim, and began to chant. The words were familiar to Calway - they were the same as the ones he needed translated. The circle began to shift clockwise - slowly, the chanting grew louder, and the fire more intense. The chanting built to a crescendo - and then stopped. Slowly, the chanters turned toward a path leading down the hill and followed it, single file. There was no sign of the ferret - except for a rustling in the grass. Calway rushed out to see what it was, despite Olivia's urging him to keep still.

"They've already gone, 'Liv - and I want to see what's going on!"

"Come back - they'll see you!"

Calway bent down into the tall grass and picked up the source of the rustling - it was a ferret. About a foot and a half long, and quivering in fear.

"What the - Olivia, look at this!"

Olivia gave Calway a panicked 'shush' sign with a finger over her lips.

"They - they retrograded her, or something. She's just - just an animal now. O - Olivia? Where'd you go?"

The next thing Calway felt was a blow to the head and a rushing of feet. He had been caught.

Tiana:

Calway opened his eyes. Or, at least, he thought he did. It was pitch black. He stood up and stumbled around the room and tripped over something. It was too dark to make out what it was, but at least it didn't move. He made his way to what felt like a door. There were voices coming from the other side.

"I say we take him to the back woods." argued one. "They'll never find the body there." Several voices seemed in disagreement, however.

"Unrequired bloodshed will bring down the curse," said another, whom Calway recognized as Arthur. "Remember what happened in 1857."

"Unrequired? But he observed the Returning. You can't possibly suggest that we let him go after that?"

"Well, no, but...."

"Perhaps we can convince him to keep quiet? He was very close to becoming a member, and once one has taken the oath there's no turning back."

"Let him into our sacred society?" This from the middle aged wolf Calway had first introduced himself to. "Unthinkable!"

"Sacred? Don't be ridiculous. The whole thing's a curse on us... a curse on our ancestors. Every year we must lose one of our own because of what they have done."

"The Returning is a joining with the forces of the universe. It is a loss for those of us who walk away on two feet."

"Enough!" exclaimed a voice. The arguments stopped in an instant. "We perform the ceremony tomorrow night. If he does not make the transformation, then we dispose of him ourselves." Calway shuddered. That voice. He knew that voice. It was Wilford Wolf.

Chit:

Calway held perfectly still as the door opened, still pretending to be unconscious.

"At least he's still out," Wilford said, "This will make things a lot easier."

"Tie him up."

Calway was sure he must have opened his eyes and moved during the clumsy procedure that followed, as a wolf and a fox struggled to lift his bulk off the ground and tie the ropes, but they were too busy to notice.

They also didn't notice that he'd managed to slice the rope until only a frayed remnant remained, and closed the door behind him as they left to join the others, who were long gone. He quickly broke out of his bonds and cracked open the door.

The room was empty.

He made for the door, careful not to knock any of the tiny ceramic figurines off of the tables or mantlepiece, until one caught his eye. It was a familiar ferret lady wearing a cute pink dress. He picked it up and sighed as he read the inscription on the bottom. Apparently, not all the cult members saw the curse as such a boon. He set it down and made his way for the library. He had to talk to Olivia.

Calway burst through the door and ran up to the information desk. "Olivia!" There was no response. "Olivia! Where are you!" The entire building looked dark. A shadow stepped from behind a row of ancient paper books, and Calway whirled. It was Olivia.

"I told you I'd always be here," she whispered fearfully. "I though you were a goner, but I waited just in case."

"Olivia, I've got to get out of here. I was here on a case, but it was obviously a trap. The only thing I can't figure out is why they picked *me*."

Olivia whispered. "A lot of P.I.s come around this town, Calway," she said, "A *lot*."

"But they said they held the ceremony only once a year."

Olivia looked confused. "No, they're out there every week. They do different things, sometimes... I was writing down the pattern, I've taken a lot of --"

"Nevermind," Calway said, "Do you have a car? I've got to get out of here."

Olivia nodded, and they headed for the parking lot. As they walked through the door, Calway felt something large and furry hit him in the side, and a pair of assailants tackled Olivia to the ground. He turned and ripped a fox off of him and tossed him into the wall. The other two jumped on him and clawed, but he barely noticed the scratches. He picked one up in each hand and bashed their heads together like pinballs, letting them drop to the ground, limp. "Olivia?" He looked around, and saw an otter tail dragged out of sight around the corner. He ran after them, but they'd effectively lost him.

There was a trail where they (or he) had dragged her along, but once they hit the sidewalk it ended. "Dammit," he said. He looked around to see if Olivia had dropped her keys, but no such luck. He'd have to save her.

WalksFar:

Calway wasted no time. They had mentioned another ceremony . . . if it was tonight, there was little time to rescue Olivia. He returned to his room and dug his pistol out and loaded it. "No time . . ." He ran down the stairs and out the door.

By the time he got onto the ridge, the ceremony was underway. Three dozen participants danced around the fire and changed. He checked his pistol again and . . . An ominous click exploded in his left ear. He froze and flicked his eye toward it. A 357 Magnum aimed at his temple. Wilford Wolf grinned. "Not this time." He motioned with the weapon. "Drop your gun."

Calway dropped his gun.

"Move!"

Calway reluctantly trudged toward the ritual. The victim had been brought out. It was Olivia, wearing naught but a blindfold.

"NO! OLIVIA!"

"Too late! Next week it's your turn." Wilford grinned. The participants closed in about Olivia. They began the feverent chant. Then, from the crest of the ridge . . . Shouts in an unknown language. The chant stopped. Two of the robed figures ran toward the ridge, arms over their heads. They shouted back in a frantic voice.

A robed figure appeared on the ridge, hands held before himself in a hex sign. He stood tall, flickering yellow in the firelight and shouted again.

"No ... NO!" Wilford ran toward the gathering. "He-he'll destroy us!"

Calway acted instinctively; leaped upon Wilford and dragged him down. His 357 magnum bounced along the ground and vanished into the darkness.

Wilford struggled. "No, you don't understand. He'll destroy us! Got to.. PLEASE! Got to stop him. . . .

The tall robed figure on the hill sang out a shrilled chant. Participants shrieked and fell. The fire flashed ominously. Vaporous figures whirled and roared through the clearing. Growls and howls and barks filled the air with fear.

Beneath Calway, something shifted and he found himself clutching a feral wolf that snarled and tried to bite him. He rolled away and a wolf sprang from the limp clothing and bounded into the woods. Calway leaped to his feet. Before him, wolves and foxes ran in all directions from piles of limp robes and clothes. Olivia stood, trembling alone.

Calway ran to her, picked up a robe and surrounded her with it. He jerked away the blindfold. Olivia held him and cried. "What happened? Where are they?"

"I don't know?" Calway held her and looked up at the ridge. the robed figure was on its way down the slope toward the fire. Calway tensed.

It waved to them. "Cal, you idiot! Why didn't you return my last call?"

"SID? SID! What the heck happened? What're you doing?"

"You didn't get the call . . ." Sid trotted up to them. The old lemur's face glowed. "I tried to get hold of you. When I couldn't, I knew what I had to do. You don't know about all this, do you?"

Calway sighed. "Wanna fill us in?"

"I realized that you had stumbled onto the remnants of Druidic Celts that fled to America before the Vikings. They were very powerful sorcerers and when the settlers over 200 years ago sacrificed their young to force them to get the land, they were cursed. Since they behaved like animals, they would become animals. Fortunately for them, they came across the Fox-A-Lot Ritual and used it to circumvent their fates."

"And ...what you did here now, did away with that?" Calway blinked.

Sid shrugged. "I know a bit of Druidic ritual myself. Studied it a lot when I was young . . . You know . . . 'new ager'. . . . Anyway, I finally translated all of what you sent and did some research on this area. I discovered what they were doing and the Fox-A-Lot ceremony. I disrupted it and called the spirits of the sacrificed young to set things right."

He grinned. "Looks like it worked!"

"How about a drink?" Calway started away with Olivia. "We can both use one." he hesitated. "What happened to all of them, anyway?"

"They became what they truly were . . . animals . . . vicious animals."

Sid held up a hand. "When you go into town, don't be surprised if you see lots of clothes piled here and there. This curse goes deep. Everyone descended from them will also be gone."

Calway shuddered. "Hell with the drink. Get us outa here. . ."

Sid chuckled and led his friend and his lady to the waiting car.