S. K. Weyandt was an old school spiritualist, who used the power of mirrors and a darkened room to contact the spirits of the dead. The wall paper was dark, faded and peeling, the table was round and scuffed, and the mirror that hung behind him was angled as to reflect nothing. 

His secretary informed him that he had 3 appointments today and he shuffled into the room, lit up his pipe, and waited for the first to arrive. 

Seance 1

Roll: 1

Card: Queen of Hearts, Creatures, spirits, demons, angels, someone or something alive

Roll: 5, Visions of the Dark World

Three people entered the room for the seance and he instructed them to hold hands as the candles around them were snuffed by the assistants. 

Weyandt closed his eyes and opened his connection to the spirit world, or at least that’s what he informed his clients. 

“Ah, I see… I see a lady,  a lady with dark hair ” he started. 

The woman to his left chimed in, “Oh I know it’s my sister! It’s got to be her!”

“Yes, Yes I think it must be, and she’s.. She’s surrounded by darkness,” he peeked through his eyes to make sure that none of the paying customers had their eyes open. None did, and he gave the nod to one of the assistants.  

The customers had left their bags at the door and they had been fully rifled-through by the assistants, one of whom appeared in the doorway and signaled to him three letters, S, V, T. 

“I’m seeing an S…? And a cross around her neck? Or maybe the letter T?” He started slow.

“Yes! Yes Sveta!” The woman was jumping in her chair. 

“But what about the darkness?” The man to her right sounded anxious.

“There will be darkness in her future... This is a sign, the spirits, they are showing me symbols!” He looked up again to the assistant, who shrugged. Useless bastard if this was all he got. 

“She will be in great peril, or she has a great choice to make. Her fate will soon be sealed…” Weyandt paused for dramatic effect then broke his hands free and slammed them down on the table. “You must go to her!”

The customers jumped to their feet. If there was nothing more the assistant could give then it was best to end the seance early lest he be caught in a lie or contradiction.

“You must hurry!” He proclaimed as they shook his hand and thanked him before leaving. 

Seance 2

Roll: 6

Card1: 3 of Hearts, Something Alive, Creatures

Roll: 3, The Astral World

Card2: King of Hearts, Creatures, Something simple, and insignificant

Roll: 4, The Astral World

Card3: King of Spades, Landscapes, Something simple and insignificant

Roll: 3, The Astral World

Card4: 4 of Clubs, Something you can safely interact with, Constructions

Roll: 5, Infernal and Dark World

Card5: 9 of Diamonds, Everyday objects, something present during, (Roll)3 sessions

Roll: 4, The Astral World

Card6: 5 of Hearts, Something you can interact with at a risk, Creatures

Roll: 3 Astral World

This was a much larger group than the last, at least 10 people all shuffled into the tiny room one after another. Some were wearing black and others a drab gray. A death but not too long ago. 

An older woman was the one who spoke first, “I’d like to speak to my husband, if you can contact him.”

“I shall see what I can do Madam, but I’m afraid some spirits are stronger than others, and we must accept who comes to greet you first. Even if you are not expecting them, if they see you are the one seeking contact, a long lost relative, even one that you have only spoken to once, may be the first to speak,” Weyandt rambled hoping to both cover his ass for mistakes and 

“He was quite strong in spirit,” she nodded.

“And loved the strong spirits,” the man to Weyandt’s right muttered under his breath before being jabbed with an elbow by the woman to his right. 

“Well, first we shall set the tone for the evening,” Weyandt  reached underneath the table and pulled out a deck of cards and with a quick flourish spread them across the table. “Please, if you could pick one.”

The woman looked confused but pulled out The Star, and gasped. “Are all of these…. So …natural?” 

The Star depicted a nude woman underneath a large star pouring water out of a pitcher in each hand, one into a river and one on its banks. 

“Oh but this is the most fortunate card Madam!” Weyandt placed his hand upon his chest, “This card represents a connection with…. The Divine!” The pause worked for great effect and the room whispered amongst themselves. 

“For you see, it means your husband has made his peace with the world and has reconnected with God in heaven and may have shed all desires to come back to the mortal realm.” 

The woman sighed with relief and disappointment and nodded. 

“Now, we shall begin by holding each other’s hands,” he held out his hands to the people next to him, who grasped them trepidatiously.  

The assistant appeared and snuffed each candle, and sneezed twice, a signal to Weyandt that he needed more time to rifle through the things. 

“Now, I need all of you to hum in a low tone with me,” Weyandt started a hum that was continued by the group. 

“I see… I see a church,” an easy hit. 

“Yes! The old cathedral! He loved that building so much!” she answered and he filed away this information to be used again. 

“But it is dark outside, was it raining when he died?” 

“No, it was sunny…”

“It rained where I was,” one of the other women who hadn’t spoken before answered. 

“Yes, yes, this may be a signal for you, then,” Weyandt peeked through his eyelids. The assistant still wasn’t there. 

“What does he have to say?” She sounded excited. 

“I’m seeing rain, lots of rain, and thunder! Something will be coming soon!” He pressed a button underneath the table and it lurched ever so slightly. 

Around the room there were gasps. 

“Keep your eyes closed! You must not see them!” Weyandt glared back at the entrance. 

The assistant was there, and signaled, “Dog, Alive, 2 Dog Dead.”

“I hear something!” Weyandt gasped. 

“What? Is he speaking to you?” the older woman demanded. 

“Its… Barking? A dog… no.. two dogs?” The assistant had better be right.

“Oh, the dogs are with him!” a younger man sniffled. “A blessing! A blessing! But where’s the cat? Is the cat there too?” 

“I don’t hear it,” Weyandt confessed but quickly made up the excuse, “But they are silent beasts unless hungry and in heaven they have want for nothing!” 

“...Praise be…” Weyandt  could hear the eye roll from another woman in the group. 

He decided to take a gamble since so far he had mostly hits, “there’s something else there with him.. Another creature?”

Murmurs among the crowd. 

“Something… small?” More murmuring.

“Or something small of spirit?” Nothing, no hits, he dropped it and moved along. There was still the alive dog to distract.

“Ah, maybe something alive? Another… another creature? Another dog?”  Gasps. An easy crowd. 

“I’m seeing it, projected upon the astral world!” 

“Dogs can visit the astral world?” The voice to his right snarked. “Or are you telling us it died while we were here--ow!” 

“No, no , these are only images! Images imprinted into the astral world from the love that he has given!” Weyandt quickly veered the conversation under control. 

“Tell him I love him!” The old woman shouted. “Tell him I need him back!”

“He loves you too--” A bang came from the wall behind him and Weyandt  jumped nearly a foot. 

That goddamn assistant was trying to pull his shit again. How many times--BANG again the wall. 

“Yes! Yes! I can hear you clearly! She knows you love her! She has forgiven you for your love of the drink! She knows it was but a weakness of flesh and not of spirit!” It banged a third time then a fourth and a fifth. 

After a minute's silence Weyandt knew that the assistant had finally stopped playing around and trying to be a part of the performance. 

“He’s gone now,” Weyandt let go of the hands. 

The old woman was in tears, “How did you know? Oh, I do forgive him, but I hadn’t known myself!” She pulled out a small handkerchief and sobbed silently into it as a woman to her right comforted her. 

It didn’t matter if she had forgiven him before but she did now because he had said so. 

After long tearful thanks and sniffles and goodbyes all of them had finally left the room and Weyandt  was making plans on how to deal with his unruly assistant.  

Seance 3

Roll: 4

Card1: 7 of Spades, something or someone attacks you, (Roll: 4, failed) Landscapes

Roll: 5, Infernal, Dark World

Card2: 8 of Diamonds: Objects, something leaves you paralyzed for (Roll)2 hours

Roll: Astral World

Card3: 8 of Club, Something leaves you paralyzed for (Roll)3 hours

Roll: 5 Infernal

Card4: 3 of Diamonds, Something apparently Living, Everyday objects

Roll: 4, Astral 

The last client today was a slick, handsome young man. His hands were manicured, his hair styled, and his suit clean pressed and starched. 

He sat down without a word and crossed his hands on the table. 

“Now we shall take hands--” Weyandt  started but the man interrupted him. 

“The mirror please,” he plainly stated. 

“Pardon?” 

“The scrying mirror. We will use it,” he repeated in the same tone. 

“As you will,” Weyandt reached behind him and pulled it from the wall and placed it on the table. 

The assistant came in, snuffed the candles and sneezed three times. The man had no possessions, the assistant was useless and Weyandt  was flying by the seat of his pants. 

Without asking the man placed his fingertips upon the edges of the mirror and somehow it seemed darker, as if to look into it was to see nothing instead of the glossy reflective surface. 

Weyandt reached out as well and placed his fingers on the mirror, “Now I sha…” the mirror’s surface flickered and wavered before showing clouds rendering across it. 

He couldn’t speak, his voice had failed him.

The young man looked up at him, “What do you see Shen?” An absolute affront to use his personal name but still he couldn’t speak. 

The clouds shifted and parted before showing the assistant, sharpening a knife in the parlor. Weyandt tried to pull his hands away but found that his fingers were sticking to the mirror. He tugged but the mirror wouldn’t budge and neither would the young man’s gaze. 

“Someone who wants to do you ill?” The picture flickered again and a crack began to splinter out from the center. 

Weyandt could only manage a cough and saw a new image fading in on the glass. It was a cup of tea with liquid being poured in it. The perspective shifted and showed a hand holding a vial of poison, before shifting again and showing Weyandt himself pouring it. 

“How things have gotten bad,” the glass cracked further and split down into the frame towards his fingers. 

The surface flickered again and across it were those clouds, blowing faster, changing colors with the atmosphere, and growing into howling faces. 

The glass continued to split towards his fingers and Weyandt tugged and pulled even harder as the loud BANG came again from behind him. 

The young man smiled, keeping his eyes on Weyandt, watching him struggle and tug to no avail. 

Weyandt began to panic as the banging got louder and louder and searched desperately around with his knee before hitting the button that made the table lurch. 

The man and the mirror jumped back and Weyandt freed his hands from the frame as the glass exploded everywhere around the room. 

He dove under the table and shouted at the assistant. 

No one came. He shouted again. Nothing. He was too afraid to move and hid underneath the table for hours before finding the courage to peek out at the table. 

The mirror was back on the wall in one piece. There was no glass, there was no banging, and there was no man. 

Shaking, Weyandt opened the door to find his bored assistant opening letters with a penknife. 

“Where, the fuck have you been?” Weyandt demanded, shaking and red faced. 

The assistant was completely affronted, “I’ve been here? Like you asked me to be?” 

“Who was that man?”

“What man?” The assistant genuinely looked confused. “All of them left with the old woman.”

“The one in the suit… “ he trailed off. “You said there were three appointments today.”

“No?” The assistant flipped through the appointment book. “There are only two,” he pointed to the spot in the book for today’s appointments, and as he had stated, there were only two entries, with two payments received, and no walk-ins. 

“You, didn’t… you didn’t think to look for me? I was in there for hours,”  Weyandt was shaking. 

“It's been ten minutes? Boss, what's going on?”

Weyandt took out his pocket watch, and, again as the assistant had said, it had been only ten minutes since the family had left. 

“That’s not, I … “ Weyandt noticed the assistant still held the penknife in his hand. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I thought… I… It must be all the candle snuff. Don’t buy that brand again. They must put something in it. 

The assistant jotted down the note on a scrap of paper without breaking eye contact from Weyandt.

“And will you stop banging on the walls, for God's Sake, it’s too cliche! You scared me half to death with the baninging right by my head” Weyandt  pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead. 

The assistant furrowed his brow, “Don't you keep your room locked?”