Father Christopher finally told Father Michael to report to Mother Sinclair at the Diocese. She had decided that the young man needed a mentor/keeper and that he was the sort of Chorister that she needed to keep an eye on.

The next four days were a gruelling series of tests. Both of magickal skill and of moral and ethical character. He was wrung completely dry by the time it was over and coming home to run the orphanage was an actual relief.

Lucibelle had taken to her new post as shop keeper with gusto. She had cleaned the shop from top to bottom (careful not to disturb the master's filing system) and had gone the extra length to work extra hours to allow the master more time in his studio. (He was working very dilligently to paint the faces of his new comrades upon the court cards of the Shadow Trumps.) If there was trouble, Lucibelle had been careful to conceal it from the master. Allthough he had noticed that she invarably took a broom with her when entering the storage room and usually returned a little disheveled.

James Barlowe was having a bit of trouble. In trying to gather information for his sociological experiments, he had decided to go into the neighborhood and offer money and a hot meal inexchange for the life stories of the indigent. Rose took all this in with a bemused air and was not at all surprised when james returned from his experiment filthy and concussed. James drew himself up into full academic ivory tower outrage about the deplorable conditions of the city and "How in the bloody hell am i supposed to help these "persons" if they won't submit to my helping?" The poor boy simply was not as good a student of the human condition as he thought he was. A bit of medicine for the bump and bit of hot tea later,he was in a much better humor.

Rose had recieved a package in the post. It made her nervous. Firstly because it was addressed to Rosalba. Secondly it carried a Prime signature that disintergrated when she touched it. Nerving herself for the worst she opened the package and discovered a box covered in painted animals that corresponded to alchemical principles. Catching her breath. Daring to hope, she opened it and found a note in Alessandro's hand. It said only this: "Keep this safe."

The box contained a fist sized ruby shaped a bit like a Twinky with flat sides. The stone seemed to gleam with an inner light. Rose could sense that the stone had a strong prime signature. Not exactly strobing or anything, but dense with signal. as if it were packed with information of some sort. Putting it qucikly away she pondered this new mystery. Alessadro alive? Was this package a magickal message in a bottle? Was this what the italians had been looking for?

Thaddeus went out for a bit of a jaunt. The painted court cards in his pocket. His mission was to deliver them to his fellows and try to explain the principle under which they worked. He found both Father Michael and young master Simmons discussing the state of the tree branches. Master Simmons seemed to be taking the thrashing that they were taking from the orphanage children as a personal affront to him. Seeing that this perhaps was not the best time he headed for Rose's after giving them the cards and a bit of an explanation.

Mr Harris had sent one of his boys round, a beefy fella by the name of Powell to collect the widow because he had something of a medical emergency. Thaddeus chose that moment to arrive and try to press the card on Rose without being able to explain how it worked in front of the obviously cranky sleeper. Powell thinking that the man was barking mad told him to push off.

Rose came to one of Harris's warehouses. She had been summoned to help with a problem. Harris had a costermonger named Bert Parkhurst who did occasional jobs for him. Bert had come to him all distraught because his beloved horse Molly had taken ill. Since Molly also provided his sole means of income it became clear he had to do something. Harris had run through those few people who might know something about doctoring and had turned out Rose's name. (After all she had solved that pesky problem of him not being able to get his...Well the less said about that, the better.)

Not overly knowledgeable about horses beyond riding them in her youth, She gamely began investigating. The horse seemed positively consumptive. coughing weakly, unable to stand. According to Parkhurst she had started getting sick less than a week ago.

Rose discovered that there had been a change in his route recently. They had been making some deliveries on Crookes street. Some of the locals called that place Choke Street instead. There was a foundry there but the place had a weird temperature inversion and so all the smoke from the coal fires swept down into the neighborhood. instead of off into the sky. Marking this down in her mental ledger she resolved to head there to investigate further.

This left the horse to deal with. She could sense something mystically wrong with it but it's exact nature eluded her. Deciding that she needed additional help, She went in search of Walter and his healing abilities. Finding both him and Father Jameson, She brought them back with her. Powell was impressed that she actually knew the young lad who was getting a reputation as somebody who had a healing gift.

Returning to the Warehouse, Walter set to work immediately and began some basic preparations to "Lay hands" on the horse and heal it. He did so, but he could feel that whatever was killing the horse was allready working to counter his magick. He had bought the horse a couple of days but no more. He gave the horse something that would help it sleep comfortably.

While he was working, Father Michael was shooing out the criminals, and Rose was trying to watch intently to see if she could help. Finally, she managed to discern the problem. The horse had been contaminated by a spirit. This spirit was a spirit of air impurities and it was slowly choking the life out of the hardy beast. Unfortunately the creature noticed her reaction and knew that the game was up.

Michael seeing what was happening, created a sword of Prime and slashed at the creature. Sadly he only upset the thing and it flew out of the horse and attacked him.

The Smog Elemental proved to be difficult to fight. Unable to materialize, it attacked with it's charms. The group watched helplessly as it choked Michael into unconciousness. Walter drew his dagger freshly charged with Prime but he couldn't see the creature. Rose could, but had nothing that would harm him directly.

Hitting on a brilliant, if risky plan. She taunted the creature into attacking her. It roiled across the warehouse at her and invaded her poor lungs. but as it attempted to choke the life from her, She focused upon the Alchemical ideal and cleansed the impurities from her. It was not enough to destroy the creature but it harmed it before she passed out from it's depradations.

The creature rounded on Walter. Walter had known what would happen, because Thaddeus had chosen this time to mentally contact him and try again to explain the cards. Walter had given Thaddeus a short sit-rep and Thaddeus had tossed out his out his cards to define the immediate future. Rose would hurt it and then it would come directly for him. Expressing Prime into the form of a whip, He slashed wildly at the place where thaddeus had told him the creature would be and managed to harm it.

The creature left Rose and moved to attack Walter. Changing his whip into a shield he tried unsuccesfully to ward off it's attack while stabbing it with his dagger. The Hoggling sustained more damage but still seemed to much for the group.

Then Michael stood up. Fashioning his pattern's quintessence into the shape of a harpoon he hucked the mystick weapon at the creature. Since it was attacking Walter he had a pretty good idea of where it was. The creature screamed!

Smiling a smile that promised horrible pain, Michael channeled raw thermal energy through the line connected to the harpoon. Realizing that it had depleted itself and now could not get away it began to thrash in it's death throes. Michael gave it another taste of the power of the One and it fell apart.

Recovering a bit, they helped Rose to her feet, they then left the warehouse and cautioned Harris and Bert Parkhurst about having anything to do with Crookes street for a while. It was an unhealthy place. Of that they were sure.