Case 13: Entry 3

Three different rituals. Three different failures.

First I tried putting the kid in a circle and exposing him to a tonic made from wolfsbane, mistletoe, and a few herbs known to absorb or interfere with magical energies in a window of time between the halfway point of the wolf's decline in strength and the moment when it begins to feed on the boy. I was hoping the tonic would have a more dramatic effect on the wolf than on the boy during that time, allowing us to kill it while only causing minor irritation to the boy. The problem was that apart from the zauberstaub I don't have any tools that can really measure the strength or presence of the spirit. Once the physical signs all disappeared I had no way of knowing whether or not it was still there. We went as far with the ritual as we felt we safely go, but apparently it wasn't enough. All physical signs returned within twenty minutes of breaking the circle.

I tried that method first because it was the one that I thought had the best chance of success. The other two were an exorcism and a shamanic cleansing ritual. Neither one had any effect on the boy. I have one other method to try, but that's kind of a last-ditch effort. Supposedly, there's a way to do a sort of Vulcan mind meld that I could use to drive the wolf out directly. The problem is that it can only be done during the change, otherwise the spirit is buried too deep to get at. Oh, and I have to be close--as in, in the same room as the great, big, hyper-aggressive monster--in order to pull it off. If it doesn't work I have some amulets and a bunch of silver that might keep me safe, but I'd have to be on my guard all night long. So we'll see how that goes. I've got about four hours to get ready.

If I survive the night, I'll finish this afterward.