More character info, written in creepy first person, as overheard by Rev. Bill Friendly the night after the night club incident:
Cara: I tried for years to escape the curse. All of my running was in vain, I suppose, until it brought me to the tower. When I entered the tower, I finally received armor that would let me endure against my harriers. When I left the tower, I received a guide who would lend me the wisdom that would put me on the right path. But there was something else I needed, something I should have taken, something I forgot about, I am sure of it. What was it?
Hugin: You did not receive your armor on that day. What you gained was a wisdom alone. Your armor is still sitting, unused, within that same tower, as are your sword and your shield.
Cara: The child? Was it wearing my armor, my sword? Was I truly to loot that child's corpse? My corpse? Like a grave robber? Can fate be so cruel as to call me back to that?
Hugin: Yes, my dear, you were to have taken up that armor. From your own body, your own past, and your own history, you were to have taken as your birthright. The souls and wills of your ancestors are behind you, and that was to be their gift. Without it, I do not think that you can possibly escape your fate.
Cara: Is that it then? Are the dogs going to tear me apart like they did to my grandfather?
Hugin: Maybe, but I see another way. You know that the curse has been spreading, gaining power. Soon, your new lover will fall to it, just like your father was taken despite his blood. Your other friends will fall before you as well. Surely you have seen that this is so.
Cara: I have, and
Hugin: It was there, in the woods, when the beast attacked. Her curse called down an abomination of fur and magic, meant to eat her, she was sure. It was there, in the church, when that man's hands and teeth changed so hideously. It was there, in that basement, when that horror from beyond came so close to you that she could almost feel its breath, lusty and hungry, on your neck. You have told me these things, and I have witnessed them!
Cara: I thought that
Hugin: The attacks are getting more frequent. Each of your new associates is victimized in turn. Death follows in your wake!
Cara: That woman. . . and Walker. . . no! I have to save them! I won't let them die! I won't kill them!
Hugin: That remains to be seen. Their eyes call to me of late.
Cara: That's horrible! How could you say that? Is that it? They die to feed your stupid ban?
Hugin: I am what I am, and of that there is no escape. You know that, and so do your friends. But I see something else. I see a possibility; you may yet find escape. Listen now: your curse grows in many ways, but fate protects you. You must seek the sepulcher and claim your birthright. The way is secret, but I can reveal it to you. You will be harrowed by three, of you, against you. One would drive you past, one would hold you back, and the last would cast you out. If you pass three, the fourth is you.
Cara: Show me! Take me!
Bill Friendly: Skuld?
Hugin: We go!
At that, Hugin discorporates in a shower of black feathers and glittering dust. As the feathers and the dust fall around the room, something happens. The sound of a babbling brook and a laughing child can be heard, softly, though without an apparent source. Bill sees Skuld swoon into a near breathless slumber, her skin turned white as though porcelain. And behind him, there is the low growl of a threatening wolf. Bill turns to face it, and yet the sound remains behind him. What has happened to this place, and what has happened to Skuld?
