An ominous ceremony

From the very first moment that she had taken Nicole under her wing, Seanna had thought of herself as a guide and a leader-- even more so after the pair came to a poverty-stricken, war-torn nation like Lumumba. It is her duty not only to teach, but to look after her young charge; and this obligation she takes very seriously.

So why, she thinks, am I allowing some strange old man to lead us into this dark hole? In defiance of all reason and self-control, she cannot muster the will to turn away, or halt, or protest. Even turning her head to check on Nicole, who walks compliantly in Seanna's peripheral vision, is too much to ask. All she can do is look straight ahead at the path laid out for them, and at the man leading them through the abysmal hallway. Reaching the end, he looks on her worried face and chuckles as he opens up a large black door, ushering the pair inside.

No! Stop! Don't go in! Seanna silently screams, but to no avail. Her body steps into the dimly lit room completely on its own volition, ignorant or irreverant of its owner's wishes.

What's happening to us?

The witch doctor, of course, knows exactly what is happening to them. In fact, he is in full control over the bodies of these two pale-faced treasures, and he chuckles again at his own power.

"Btugu!" the old man calls.

A young man about Nicole's age enters through the big black door, shutting it as he greets the shaman. "Hail, Umundi," he says, immediately exchanging his casual jeans and tee for more exotic looking wear. "I am ready."

Umundi the witch doctor looks pleased. "Good," he mutters, "now let us begin," and with a skeletal hand he directs the docile young women to the center of a painted white circle, with various symbols and pictographs drawn all around.

Trapped by the wizard's strange magic, it seems there is little that the hapless victims can do.