Bounty Head Bebop Comlink
Role Playing Games => BZ's Games => Disciples => Topic started by: BerkaZerka on February 03, 2018, 03:16:09 pm
-
High Oaks Castle; Saturday Evening, February 3rd 2018
The Sound of the buzzer indicated that Emend and UsdiYona's pizzas were finally ready to be brought out of the oven. There were four of them - one Emend had made, with all his favorite toppings, and three that UsdiYona had put together "funk-free" as she liked to say.
The bear-girl was certainly becoming quite the prolific cook, after having learned that 'human food' could be made with recipes and didn't just 'grow' pre-packaged (as she had previously thought).
As UsdiYona placed the pizzas on the counter to cool, one of Emend's security measures suddenly alerted to something at the front gate of the estate. Emend tapped his cell phone to bring up the camera by the gatehouse, seeing a single black limousine stopped in the snow swept drive.
The driver's dark tinted window rolled down to reveal a tall slim black gentleman in a dark tailored suit with a red driver's cap.
"Nicolette de Corday, Ambassador of Prince Augustus Coleridge of Washington DC, and one," he then spoke into the intercom, "request diplomatic audience with the Disciples of the Eastern States. Will you receive them under the assurance of peaceful parley?"
-
Not wanting to possibly have to deal with no backup, Emend sends a screenshot of the gentleman on his phone to the other disciples, and informs them that they have guests. He then brings his attention back to said guests.
"We will," he responds back. Emend will then cast Third Eye and Supernal Vision on himself, so he can get a better idea of the 'people' as they arrive. If these were indeed enemies and they were already aware of the disciple's residence, he would have to at least wait until the others were around before making any sort of hostile move.
"You want to be a part of this meeting too, Usdi?" He asks, turning to the bear-girl.
-
"Why yes," UsdiYona replied; "I thought DC had a President, not a Prince."
-
Once the gate had opened, the limousine drove through and parked outside the currently closed portcullis. It would be a simple matter for Emend to remotely open the portcullis, after seeing who was going to get out of the vehicle.
The driver got out first of course, then went around to open the rear passenger door.
A stunningly gorgeous woman with long wavy platinum blond hair stepped out, dressed in a low-cut formal white pantsuit with silver accents and matching high heels. Aside from her unearthly beauty and regal poise, she didn't look anything but human.
Following her, was a huge black man with startling yellow eyes in an over-sized red and black striped zoot-suit, complete with feathered hat, long silver watch-chains, and saddle shoes. If he wasn't the size of a professional wrestler, one might envision him pimping girls out on the street in that outfit or something. His eyes though... something serial-killer in them - aside from their uncanny luminous glow.
As Emend and UsdiYona watched the arriving 'guests' on the cameras, they saw the large black man pull something out of the trunk of the limo. It was in a medium-sized hatbox and draped with a red satin cover. He held it out in front of him with both hands - it perhaps being a courtly gift or the like.
Once the two passengers were situated in front of the portcullis, the driver then closed the car doors and returned to the driver's seat to wait in the limousine.
It was now up to Emend to open the portcullis and go meet them. Normally, that would be done by bringing them in through the Armory, up the stairs through the Pub, and into the Drawing Room.
With his third eye and supernal vision active, Emend could tell that these were some kind of awakened beings, though their magic flowed in their blood specifically. The woman had some effect going to enhance her diplomacy, and another that suggested the power to read surface thoughts.
The large black man also had access to this 'blood magic' though he did not currently have any spells active.
What caught Emend's attention the most however, was a powerful eldritch magic, radiating from whatever was inside the draped hatbox. There was a discernable resonance of time associated with it, but the rest was a complete cipher - something Emend couldn't even begin to guess at.
-
"It looks like these are vampires," Emend tell Usdi.
"Well, better be off," he continues, heading out to meet them. He'll also activate One Mind, Two Thoughts. Perhaps if he's thinking about whatever newest recipes Usdi and him should make later on it will prevent the woman from properly analyzing his true thoughts.
Emend gives a quick glance at Usdi, before deciding her thoughts are likely no issue.
-
"Eeeww, blah," UsdiYona replied, "Aren't they blood suckers? Gross!"
-
Emend and UsdiYona went out to the courtyard to raise the portcullis and receive their guests. The two vampires waited until it had been raised all the way, but stayed on their side.
"Greetings!" The platinum blond-haired woman spoke, exuding charm - "I am Nicolette de Corday and this is my manservant 'Friday'. May we come in?"
Emend had to wonder if this was a formality, a subtle trick to mislead them about their weaknesses, or they genuinely couldn't enter unless invited, like the legends of old.
UsdiYona meanwhile, could smell a strange scent on the two vampires with her extraordinary senses - like spoiled beef jerky. It left her both hungry and wanting to gag, all at the same time!
-
"Of course," Emend replied, motioning them forward.
"I am Emend, and this is... UsdiYona," he begins, resisting the urge to refer to her as their pet. "So, what brings you to our humble castle?"
As they speak, he'll lead them to the drawing room through the normal path.
-
"Emend; UsdiYona; A pleasure to meet you both," Nicolette replied with a nod. "I represent the head of a powerful and influential faction of DC's elite. We already know about you and the rest of the Disciples (and the Angel Sarapheen); so we thought it only fair that you should get to know us as well - to avoid any... future misunderstandings."
Arriving in the drawing room, everyone took a seat - Emend behind a large desk, while the two guests sat in button-back leather captains chairs (or at least the woman did). The huge black man more or less sat on the leading edge of his chair, being too big to actually get down into it. UsdiYona meanwhile, elected to hop up onto the thick stone ledge of one of the drawing room's two large window frames - looking much like a cat slinking into its favorite napping spot.
"Like the Disciples," Nicollete continued, "we Camarilla are a faction of Rule and Law. We at least have this in common with each other. I presume you already know that we are the undead. Vampires. But let that not trouble you. True, we must feed on human blood, but we do not kill our kine. Most actually find the experience quite enjoyable in fact. Nor do we go about flaunting our gifts. We seek to live a peaceful masquerade, hidden among humanity, and have strict laws and punishments for those of our order that break it."
"This brings me to the crux of our visit. There is another faction of vampires that do not follow the masquerade, but actively revile against it. These are the Sabbat. They believe themselves to be superior to humanity in every way, and embrace their monstrous natures wholeheartedly. They are enemies of Camarilla in every respect and we want to reiterate that this is not who we are."
"Our Prince, Augustus Coleridge of Washington DC, wishes to extend the olive branch of peace to the Disciples. He wants a truce between our two factions. You continue to do what it is you do - going after demons and their ilk - and the Camarilla will continue to go about the masquerade. We vampires are not demons after all - and in fact, both we and the Sabbat, monsters as they are, do not allow demon worship to any degree. We seek out and destroy any we find that practice it."
"We have heard through our sources however, that a cult of demon worshipping vampires, calling themselves Belials’ Brood, have recently infiltrated the DC area and seek to raise hell soon, in order to stir up trouble between us and you. We cannot let ourselves be manipulated like this - and should agree to work together to root out and destroy this common enemy."
"What say you?"
-
"If there are vampires that are worshiping demons they must be eradicated," he replies. "But how exactly are you proposing we work together?"
-
"Well, for one thing," Nicolette replied, "simply not killing all vampires just for being vampires, before finding out whether they are peaceful members of the Camarilla."
"It would be one thing to encounter the Sabbat, hanging victims from the ceiling to torture and drain them dry - Another to chance upon a Camarilla member feeding on a willing ghoul."
"As for members of Belial's Brood, you will have no trouble distinguishing them, as they are violent sadistic monsters who have long ago abandoned any shred of humanity that may have once been in them."
"We also came to warn you that Belial's Brood may try to target one of your Quorum, in retaliation for an incident that happened between them almost two years ago. Word on the street, is that they will make a move very soon."
"As a show of our willingness to forge a new alliance with you, in the face of such evil, Prince Augustus Coleridge would like to give you this gift."
At this point, the large black man stood, to set the covered hat box on Emend's desk, before sitting back down again.
"This is an enigmatic artifact from countless generations past. It's magic is beyond our kind to understand. Maybe it is something you can make use of - and, if not... well, it does make quite the conversation starter haha!"
Pulling the red silk off and opening the box, Emend saw a life-sized, anatomically correct, clear glass human heart. The glass had been dulled and scratched by age, but was still clear enough to see a small swarm of black houseflies sealed inside - still alive and crawling around.
"It's called 'The Heart of Flies', for obvious reasons," Nicollet pointed out.
Just then, Emend's cell alerted to an incoming text - thought to pull his phone out and check it right now, might be considered a bit rude in higher circles.
-
"You speak as though we're about to suddenly see a lot more of your kind," Emend replies with a chuckle.
"Very well. We'll accept the truce, and agree to work with you," he then looks at the glass heart, before bringing his attention back to Nicolette.
"We'll accept your gift as well. I should be able to identify its purpose with some time. As for who the Belial's Brood may be targeting, I can only say for sure it's not me. Hopefully the others return here before they make their move. In the meantime, do you have any suggestions as to where we can begin looking for the group?"
Emend will consider checking his phone, but ultimately decide against it for the time being.
-
"Yes, actually," Nicolette replied to Emend's question - "Belial's Brood tend to hide like cockroaches in dark damp places - only coming out to cause trouble and kill. We have reason to believe they have set up a haven in hidden portions of the city's unused rail tunnels."
"We don't go looking for them down there of course, because that's also the territory of this city's Sabbat vampires. We don't know what (if anything) the Sabbat are currently doing about the steady infiltration, but you can bet that it's all bad down there in those filthy sewers."
-
"Excellent," Emend replies, pleased they have a lead to go on. "Once I meet with the others we'll be able to begin investigating the sewers."
"Is there anything further you wish to discuss?"
-
"Emend, were is our manners?" UsdiYona asks. "We have guests."
To Nicolette, she then says, "We made pizzas, would you like some?"
-
"No thank you," Nicolette replied pleasantly to UsdiYona's offer - "we just ate."
Then turning back to Emend, she concluded with a smile, "We should be going. Here is my card, if you need to contact us again for any reason."
Nicolette and the black man stood; Nicolette handing Emend a small business card. It read "Nicolette de Corday; Linguistic Anthropology; Translations." and had her cell number on it.
-
Emend will thank Nicolette, then escort them back to the front gate. Once they have left, he'll check his phone to see what the message was that he received.
-
Checking his messages, Emend saw one from the Saint, about twenty minutes ago, that read "There was an explosion nearby, I'm going in with Miguel to investigate. Tell me if you need help."
---
(Continued From Payback's a Bitch (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=2216.msg129261#msg129261))
A moment later, his security system alerted to someone moving it the attic space outside the attic laboratory.
-
"Well our guests just left, I guess Emend's still here alone then. I'll send him a message letting him know we're still here. We can see what they wanted. I'm following their car right now, see if I can find out where they're headed."
Killer keeps a bead on the driver. He wants to see where the car goes, for as long as he can follow it.
He also texts Emend - "Just arrived with Sarapheen. I've got an eye on the driver. I can probably puppet him from here if necessary. Should we fight or were they friendly?"
-
After the vampires leave, UsdiYona goes to get her pizzas and stops dead in her tracks. She suddenly realized what the vampires must have meant when they said they had 'just ate'.
A shiver goes up UsdiYona's spine.
"That gives a whole new meaning to people food! Gross."
-
"If we are to believe her, then their 'food' is very much still alive," Emend responds with a chuckle.
"Saint seems to be here with Sarapheen now, no word from Beats or Robor though. We should go see them and inform them of the current situation," he continues.
-
As the Saint (Killer) continued to scry the limousine, Sarapheen went down into the library to wait for Emend and UsdiYona. The Limousine meanwhile, looked like it was heading back towards DC.
-
Not wanting to waste time, Killer casts two spells - one, a combination casting of Finder (space 1) with elements of Life on the driver to keep track of his location no matter where he might go, and a second casting of Finder on some small, insignificant object on or inside the car - a pen, the ornamented hood, some accessory hanging off the mirror, etc, in case the tracking spell on the driver is noticed.
He joins Sarapheen right after.
-
Once everyone had arrived in the library, Sarapheen informed Emend and UsdiYona of the situation in DC.
"It looks like Beats and Robor were caught up in some kind of attack this evening, by extremists in the metro DC area. Apparently, they fought a suicide bomber away from a crowd, but were caught in the blast when the man's explosives went off."
"Both are currently in emergency surgery in the Georgetown University Hospital."
"I'd like for us to go there, once they are placed in a more private setting, and spirit them away - so that we can heal them here at the castle. Emend, we'll need you to erase any mention of their names and information from the hospital's system."
"The Saint, also suspects that there may be more to this than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We'll have him see what the dead have to say about the situation, while the rest of us keep a watch over Robor and Beats until they can be moved."
-
"I don't want to jump to conclusions too fast, but they may have been vampires targeting one of the two," Emend replies. He then explains to them the meeting he just had with Nicolette, including how she stated one of them was likely being targeted.
"We can deal with them later though," he finishes. "For now we need to focus on recovering Beats and Robor and figuring out what happened to them.
-
"Oh," Sarapheen remarked; "Robor was attacked by a particularly vile sort of vampire, back when he was first chosen to be a disciple. If that's the sort of thing we are dealing with now, then Robor and Beats may still be in danger."
"It's even more of a reason, not to leave them helpless in the hospital."
Then to the Saint, she added, "Better hold off hitting the city morgue alone Saint. If they are vampires, then bullets will certainly not have killed them. They probably have someone working the night shift there, to revive them the moment they are brought in. It is even possible that they are only feigning death, while not even being in torpor at all."
-
"Well, I wouldn't be going alone. Miguel would be with me, and I imagine he could take over the mortician in charge of their care - if there is one. Maybe Emend should come too, they don't like fire right?
Anyway it makes it all the more important that we go there. If they are only feigning death we can turn the act into the real thing. Maybe capture some of them even.
I imagine I'll be able to distinguish their servants from normal humans, I should be able to remove them before they become an issue as well."
Clearing his throat, Killer then adds - "We should hurry, I don't want to give them any time to get away."
-
"Yeah, let's go get em!" UsdiYona says.
-
"Agreed," Sarapheen said, though it was unclear if she was replying to UsdiYona or the Saint (Killer).
"Saint, do you happen to know which morgue the attackers were taken to?"
-
"Hmm, I couldn't actually verify but i'd assume it was the station closest to the incident."
-
"Given the high profile nature of the attack, they would likely have been brought to the city morgue to help with the investigation," Emend says, correcting Saint. If he's able to, he'll then attempt to scry the location.
-
Scrying out the area, Emend found the city morgue to be a large seven story building, tucked unobtrusively between the Hyatt Place hotel and the Residence Inn by Marriot - being directly across the street from the NASA offices and behind the Federal Center SW Metro Station.
Looking around a bit, he noted activity in the back of the building, where coroners vans where currently unloading a number of bodybags and wheeling them into the facility.
-
"Well, shall we go then? I don't think i'll have any issues with anything or anyone they have at the station but it's your call Sarapheen."
-
Sarapheen opened her own scrying window to check out the scene.
It appeared that the men unloading the bodies were taking them into a basement cooler area, where a single twenty-something Goth Chick was the only technician working. Once the five bodybags where signed in, the drivers all left.
"Huh..." Sarapheen remarked, "Yes, lets go."
"Saint, the girl is not to be harmed, but we'll need her restrained. I can't sense that she's involved in any way and may be an innocent, regardless of her peculiar appearance."
"Emend, you got the security cameras? We can portal into the hallway outside the lab and then get in through the security door with your forces."
-
"They're nothing I can't handle," Emend replies.
-
Before they go Killer casts Analyze Life on both the driver and the technician through a scrying window of his own.
Then, if the girl is clean he says to Miguel - "Once we're in possess the woman and remove her from the scene. Just walk into the bathroom or somewhere private and wait so that she doesn't interfere. I'll come by and put her to sleep when we've secured the area so you can leave."
-
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington DC; Saturday Evening, February 3rd 2018
As Sarapheen had pointed out, there was nothing unusual about the Goth-Girl. The driver of the limo on the other hand, read as human with some unusual supernatural vibes that the Saint (Killer) had never seen before. He was definitely more than human, but still mortal for the most part.
"As you wish," Miguel answered, regarding the plan to deal with the lab tech.
Sarapheen then waited for Emend to give a thumbs up on security and opened a portal into the empty hallway outside the door leading into the morgue. Everyone moved through the portal and readied themselves in the hall.
As the Goth-girl opened one of the stainless steel slab doors and wheeled a bodybag up to transfer it, Miguel went into the lab and slipped into her body, taking control.
"I'm in," Miguel said through the girl, turning to walk toward the security door, so that he could open it for the others waiting on the other side.
Out in the hallway, as everyone waited for Miguel to come to the door - a woman's startled cry, followed by a short scuffle, was suddenly heard from the other side.
Seconds later, Miguel came back through the wall, in his usual ghost form (visible to everyone but Emend). "Aiya!" Miguel said in his native Spanish; "I think I just died again! They tore out of their bags and jumped on me - I mean the girl. Three of them! I felt them drinking her blood clean out!"
A pair of bone-like claws then pierced through the edge of the steel security door - which groaned and began to buckle under a supernatural strength ripping it free!
-
Killer cancels his two life sights to give himself more spells to work with.
To Miguel he says "If you can possess one of the vampires do so. If not go upstairs and take control of the driver who brought the bodies in then come down to assist us."
(If Life works on vampires):
Killer focuses on the bony claw reaching through the door and visualizes the flow of energy through all living things - a hundred thousand lines of electricity pulsing from the brain to various other parts of the body, lines pulling and moving each as if they were linked to a puppet's strings. He reaches out and severs them at the neck where they all cluster and extends lines of his own to fill the gap from his fingers as he speaks the enochian spell for puppetry (Flesh Puppet).
(If Life does not work)
Killer alters his body chemistry so as to gain the ability to excrete an extremely flammable and long burning liquid from his nose and mouth. He cancels the spell almost immediately after coating his sword with the substance.
He then scrapes his sword against the (I assume) concrete walls of the basement hallway (if not concrete ask Emend to ignite with lighter, tiled floor, etc), having the sparks ignite the coating on the blade. (Fantasia)
-
UsdiYona changes to bear form and waits to claw the heck out whatever comes through the door.
-
The Saint (Killer) found that he could not lock his life spell onto the undead creature coming through the door. He still had time to enact his backup plan however, belching up a viscous bile and coating his sword with it. It was not a pleasant sight for the rest of the team to behold - the priest drooling his belly heavings along the weapon's blade.
One spark later and the sword was flaming nicely.
"Get ready," Sarapheen said, holding her portal stone tight.
The steel security door then tore free from the frame - the three vampires on the other side, surprised to find the disciples standing there. They were nasty looking things, covered in the lab tech's blood, bullet holes, and an assortment of gang tattoos. They were not even Middle Eastern, but Latino - simply dressed to look the part.
One of the vampires had grown long calcified claws to rip open the door and had other bony spikes and spurs jutting through his flesh in various places, making him even less huggable than the other two. They on the other hand, looked only slightly less intimidating and bared fangs with a his - ready to spring at the nearest blood-bag.
Something about the sound, brought primal fears rising to the surface; and the disciples had to steel themselves, instinctively knowing they were prey, facing down their own predators.
UsdiYona meanwhile, activated her savage mauling gift with a fierce roar and swiped at the spikey vampire with both claws and a bite. The repulsive thing dodged back, deftly avoiding all three attacks.
Sarapheen then opened a portal behind her, to a remote spot over the pacific ocean, where it was early morning. Sunlight poured through - though the angle of the sun didn't align perfectly with the portal, meaning the light was indirect. Even so, it startled the vampires, who after a second of smoking and sizzling, all leapt backwards into the lab to get out of the radiance!
-
Killer runs forward, holding his flaming sword out slightly in front of him - as he does so he enacts a casting of Lizard Brain, exploiting their natural fear of fire and amplifying it.
Something told him if those things got their hands on him he was dead - call it a seasoned predator recognizing another - and he wanted to keep them away from him.
-
"Stand back," Emend commanded, using a combination of Control Fire and Influence Fire to shoot jets of flame from Saint's sword at the vampires. If he's able too, he'll attempt to do so without setting off any nearby smoke detectors.
-
Emend willed a long gout of the fire encircling the Saint (Killer)'s blade to shoot out after one of the fleeing vampires. The intensity of the fire had been greatly intensified, and when it hit the sorry creature, it seared through its back like a burning laser!
The vampire, already suffering blood loss and a deep scorching from Sarapheen's light portal, burst into flames with a dreadful shriek! In a moment, the fire consumed it completely - as if it were naught but a burning wax figure.
The sudden conflagration caused a rising column of thick smoke and stringy black soot to set off the fire alarms and subsequent sprinkler system. While Emend had anticipated the possibility of this occurring, he was unable to prevent it. It would be a simple matter to override the system and shut everything off if he desired, though perhaps the vampires were the more pressing matter.
The Saint (Killer) meanwhile, reached out to tap into the primal fear of fire and triggered a terror frenzy in the other two vampires. It really didn't take that much, given the circumstances.
At the other side of the slab room was a large window, looking in from an adjacent corridor, where people would sometimes come to identify the dead. Next to that was another steel security door.
In a blind panic, the two vampires sprinted with remarkable speed towards the door - the presumably weaker vampire getting there first. Not being able to open it quickly enough for the bone-spiked vampire behind it, the weaker vampire suddenly found itself being heaved up and bodily thrown through the large glass window!
The bone-spiked vampire then jumped through the opening and took off up the hallway - while its less fortunate companion scrambled amid the shattered glass to get back to its feet.
As this happened, UsdiYona charged after - leaping through the window to land heavily on the prone vampire! She sunk both claws in as she came down - then clamped her wide bear jaws around its head and yanked back violently to completely tear it free! The vampire immediately went limp, leaving UsdiYona to spit out the disgusting mess.
"Padre," Miguel called to the Saint (Killer) - "I cannot get into their bodies. They are too... primeval."
Sarapheen meanwhile, left her portal opened and moved into the room to check on the lab tech. Unfortunately, the girl was well past revival.
-
Killer takes off after the vampire, knowing he won't be able to catch up to it but closing the distance for Emend.
"Emend, finish him!"
Alternatively, if Emend finds a way to root down the last vampire he will attempt to do the finishing himself
-
'Blech!' UsdiYona thought as she spit the head out. 'Spoiled beef jerky and swamp water would be an upgrade from this insult to my tastebuds!'
-
Emend shoots Saint a short glare, wondering how he could have the audacity to order him around. He then quickly brings his attention back to the matter at hand.
"I have a better idea," he states, attempting to use Finder as a sympathetic spell on the shoes of the vampire. This one was clearly one of those they had to hunt down, and in his panic he would hopefully lead the disciples right to his hideout. Even if he didn't, they would at least of a chance at catching him later, something they would miss out on if they failed to kill him on their next strike.
-
Emend's finder spell successfully latched onto the vampire's footwear, even though Emend had only gotten a brief look at them during the initial confrontation. Doc Martin steel-toed boots to be exact. Funny how those sort of details stand out at the oddest times.
The Saint (Killer) and Miguel meanwhile, pursued after the fleeing vampire, but a burst of celerity opened a gap with no hope of closing. The vampire shot up stairs and through a security checkpoint at the main doors onto the street. He crashed right through the plate glass revolving doors and took off into the night.
The two security guards on duty had been talking with a gathering crowd of employees concerning the fire alarm currently going off, and were completely flummoxed by what just happened. Neither of them, nor the employees had seen any details, due to the vampire's blur of speed. All they knew, is that some maniac just ran through their front door and kept on going.
The guards radioed the incident in and went to inspect the damage, while the employees filed outside to wait for the fire marshal to come check the building.
It occurred to the Saint (Killer) that he might be stopped and questioned about his presence in the building, if he decided to head on through the small crowd.
-
"Dammit..."
Killer goes back downstairs and will hold his sword under the active sprinkler to put the fire out.
He'll also cast corpse mask on the girl and the vampires - changing cause of death for the girl to stabbing by those german knives the "terrorists" had been using, and changing the cause of death of the vampires to mass bullet wounds (as they had originally been). Hoping to make it seem like the bodies had just been displaced when the terrorists came to get the bodies of their fallen brothers back.
-
With the vampire gone, Emend turns off the sprinkler system (after Saint removes the fire from his sword).
"We should go now," he states. "I cast finder on the boots of the one that got away, so we can find the location of the rest of his group."
-
UsdiYona changes back to her normal self and says, "Let's get the heck out of here. Our friends need us if these things are still after them."
-
"Good thinking Emend," Sarapheen remarked, then closed her gate and opened another scrying window.
"Hm..." she continued, checking on the status of Beats and Robor - "They are moving Robor to a room in the ICU now. Beats is still in surgery. I'll open a portal into the hospital on that floor and we can get into Robor's room from there."
Sarapheen then opened a portal into a closed housekeeping storage room. The overhead lights were currently off, but that wouldn't be a problem, as there were small baseboard lights that cast a dim glow when the main ones were off.
"That's a handy trick," Sarapheen remarked to the Saint (Killer), concerning the corpse mask.
Then to Emend, she said, "First order of business will be counteracting the security cameras, so we can get over to Robor's room without leaving a record of our presence. Then we'll need to remove their information from the hospital system - but we should wait to do that until after they get Beats into a room. We don't want to risk creating a problem when they enter the room assignment into the system."
Sarapheen then went in through the portal and waited for the rest to join her.
-
You have no idea
Killer follows through the portal.
"That driver was probably one of their servants, you think we should do something about him?"
-
"That won't be an issue," Emend replies to Sarapheen, heading through as well.
-
High Oaks Castle; O'Darkthirty Sunday Morning, February 4th 2018
The disciples were able to get Robor out of the hospital and remove his records from the hospital system with little trouble. Between Sarapheen and the Saint (Killer), his wounds were closed up and he was made nearly whole once again - only his left hand missing, the flesh sealed into a smooth stump.
While Robor was physically healed, he still had a chemically induced coma going. Sarapheen suggested waiting to purge the effects until they had both him and Beats back at the castle.
Beats on the other hand, was much worse off than Robor, and his surgery took quite a bit longer.
During the wait, the Saint (Killer) checked in on the dark limousine he had been tracking and saw it pull into the private parking garage for the Old Post Office Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC. The place was large historic edifice and clock tower, having once been DC's primary post office. As the vehicle went up the entry ramp, the Saint (Killer)'s spells suddenly dropped - being unraveled by some sort of space ward.
It was after 1:00 am, before Beats was finally settled into a recovery room.
Emend did his thing with the system, while Sarapheen and the Saint (Killer) did what they could for Beats' injuries. When they were done, Beats was healed as Robor had been, but his legs were now stumps at the knees and his right eye was just a smooth flesh-hollow.
Concerning the odd silver painting of Beats' forehead, Sarapheen remarked that she had seem something similar before, and that it was a result of extreme paradox.
Sarapheen then opened a portal back to High Oaks Castle and everyone went through, leaving the hospital behind.
Of course the staff would all remember the two 'heroes' that they had saved on the operating tables that day, and their images would be played on the news cycles in grainy detail over the next coupe of weeks. Their mysterious disappearance from their recovery rooms and apparent hacking of the hospital systems to erase mention of their presence would become news for a while too, only deepening the mystery.
---
(Continued from Payback's a Bitch (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=2216.msg129190#msg129190))
The next thing Robor and Beats knew, they were waking up in the library of High Oaks Castle, as the Saint and Sarapheen having purged the medications from their systems. Emend and UsdiYona were also on hand, looking at them with concern.
"Yay! You're back!" UsdiYona said with a clap.
"Remain calm," Sarapheen then said with a reassuring tone - "You both have some significant permanent injuries. This is the work of a faction of devil-worshipping vampires, who appear to be seeking revenge on Robor for the events surrounding his calling to Discipleship. Can you tell us what happened?"
-
Robor shakes his head.
"What? Uh, yeah I was just clearing out the crowd....
"This is the Castle right? What happened? How long were we out?" Robor says. "Did the civilians get out of the way?"
-
"Yes," Sarapheen replied to Robor's questions; "You have been out for about six hours. We brought you here from the hospital, after you got out of surgery, then healed you. Emend has ensured that your identities are protected, by having removed them from the hospital records."
"As for what happened, you have a better idea of that than we. The news reports say it was a terrorist attack, but we know it was the vampire sect Belial's Brood covering their attack on you with that theme. The fact that they would harm so many for the sake of one target speaks volumes of their inhuman brutality."
-
Beats thinks for a moment as she talks then finally responds "I think we got hit with paradox, The bloodsuckers were killing people left an right and going for Robor. I punched one damn hard an it felt like it didnt even feel it so I used magic... Went wierd den dere was an explosion..." He tries to move a little, finally and abruptly realising his feet are missing and his perception is off. feeling up for his eye.
"Oh Farking XxXxXx Fark."
-
"It will be OK Beats," Sarapheen offered; "It is within the Saint's ability to temporarily regenerate your limbs. And I will speak to the Archangel Benjamin about a more permanent fix, but until then, we must make due. These vampires are still out there and need to be eradicated for everyone's sake."
-
Despite the reassurance of being healed up it still takes Beats a moment to calm down "Yeh, K, Right... gonna get healed up. Just need ta kill da bloodsuckers first..."
-
"It will take me a while to prepare a regeneration casting strong enough to restore you for good amount of time - I'm thinking maybe a week. The casting might take most of a day. Tell me when you're ready.
I'm not sure I can do anything about the silver spray on your head - or rather, I'm not sure it's worth the time and energy when you can just wear a hat or change your features yourself using your current life mastery."
Killer looks to Robor as well.
"Your injuries should be a lot easier to restore, if you want them to be."
-
"Fark." Robor says, looking at beats.
"We're gonna have to destroy them all, Serapheen."
Killer looks to Robor as well.
"Your injuries should be a lot easier to restore, if you want them to be."
"...What injury?" Robor asks, looking down.
"Dammit." He says, waving his stump.
"Uh, well, I don't really need the hand compared to like, other important spells...." He mutters, looking around.
-
"Might be too soon... but I think it was your finger that stabbed my eye out..." then to Saint "Yeh, lets get it done and deal sid da Pointy teeth."
-
"It would be prudent to wait for the sun to rise first," Sarapheen replied to Beats.
To Emend, she then asked, "Do you still have a lock on that vampire?"
According to Emend's finder spell, the vampire they had encountered in the City Morgue was now stalking some location approximately twenty miles south-east from High Oaks Castle. That put him in DC, about a mile from the Potomac River. Of course Emend could scry the location to see where it was or look on his phone if he wasn't feeling excessively magical at the moment.
"Oh, there's another complication," Sarapheen abruptly added, addressing Robor and Beats; "There are two other factions of vampires in DC that you need to be aware of. The Camarilla, which most disciple quorums maintain a tenuous peace treaty with; and the Sabbat, which will try to kill you, just as readily as Belial's Brood."
"You can distinguish the difference between the two, pretty much by the Camarilla's snobbish elitist airs and the Sabbat's cunning and sadistic brutality. They tend to look the part - pretentious well-dressed businessmen and rugged bikers respectively, but they have their spies among each other's ranks as well."
"Generally, just destroy the ones actively trying to kill you, or who you find harming innocents, and there should be no problems."
-
"Oh, there's another complication," Sarapheen abruptly added, addressing Robor and Beats; "There are two other factions of vampires in DC that you need to be aware of. The Camarilla, which most disciple quorums maintain a tenuous peace treaty with; and the Sabbat, which will try to kill you, just as readily as Belial's Brood."
"You can distinguish the difference between the two, pretty much by the Camarilla's snobbish elitist airs and the Sabbat's cunning and sadistic brutality. They tend to look the part - pretentious well-dressed businessmen and rugged bikers respectively, but they have their spies among each other's ranks as well."
"Generally, just destroy the ones actively trying to kill you, or who you find harming innocents, and there should be no problems."
"Are there really so many of these bloodsuckers that we have to have peace with them? They can not be so all encompassng that destroying them all would be impossible. Especially with our gifts."
-
"Well for now we could start with da brood ones... but killing a lot of dem might take it's toll too." be says as he indicates his eye
-
"Vampires have been living among humanity since the fall of Caine." Sarapheen replied to Robor. "They are not nearly as prolific as the mortals they masquerade among, but there are enough of them in the world to influence the course of Nations."
"And they are the children of the same Creator, as you and I, just cursed with their affliction as punishment for the sins of their father Caine. To our cause, they are as everyone else - to be judged for their actions and how it influences the balance of good and evil in the world."
"They are not demons - though many do become corrupted by them."
-
Emed looks up the location on his phone, before addressing what Sarapheen said.
"Yes, it appears the vampire is in DC," he answers. "What is the reason the other disciple quorums maintain peace with the Camarilla? While Nicolette claimed they don't kill their humans, and that many enjoy it, that doesn't at all mean they're there willingly. I simply agreed to it because for the time being there seemed no reason to create an additional enemy. The information they provided was suspiciously too late to be of use, and 'The Heart of Flies' could simply be a tool they want to use against us. If anything, them extending their hand to us right now could just be part of a larger plan to act against us."
-
"You hit the nail on the head," Sarapheen said to Emend; "It's mostly about not making another enemy, when there are more dire threats to be dealt with."
"That, and the way vampire factions work, you would be helping one faction prosper over the other by engaging them. I'm sure Nicollet and her Sire count on Sabbat casualties in this purge of Belial's brood, which assuredly serves their own ends."
"You and this quorum must decide for yourselves how to handle the treaty the Camarilla has extended."
"As for this 'Heart of Flies'," Sarapheen continued, "may I see it? There is something strangely familiar about it..."
-
"And they are the children of the same Creator, as you and I, just cursed with their affliction as punishment for the sins of their father Caine. To our cause, they are as everyone else - to be judged for their actions and how it influences the balance of good and evil in the world
"No matter what they do, they definitely aren't influencing humanity for the good." Robor says.
"But yeah, that discussion can be tabled until we deal with 'belial's brood'. But not for much longer."
-
"I put a lock on the Camarilla driver as well, not sure how much use it'll be but my spells failed at an unknown ward in the Old Post Office Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC," Killer adds into the conversation.
When the Heart of Flies comes out Killer will cast Analyze Life on the flies inside the glass.
-
"Of course," Emend replies to Sarapheen, heading over to the drawing room to retrieve the heart.
-
As Emend brought the Heart of Flies into the room, everyone experienced the strange sensation on dejavu - as if they had already done this before.
Emend seemed to recall walking into the library and placing the artifact down for Sarapheen to examine (which he had just done), while Robor and Beats seemed to remember this action as well.
The Saint (Killer) meanwhile, thought to himself, 'the flies are not alive', as he cast his spell. Sure enough, they did not read as living creatures, though they certainly looked and acted as if they were.
UsdiYona felt like Sarapheen would react with surprise at the Heart of Flies for some reason.
"Oh!" Sarapheen gasped suddenly, realizing what she was looking at; "This is the Legacy of a Descended - one of the Demon Imperators that Transcended the Final Curtain and crossed Outer Darkness! I'm not sure which one, but we must destroy this thing immediately!"
She stood up suddenly and began to cast a spell but stopped abruptly.
"Wait..." she hesitated, concentrating on some profound thought.
"We already tried that..." she vocalized, mumbling to herself, as if trying to piece together the ethereal memories of a quickly fading Dream. "No, then it can't be destroyed. Then it must be taken and hidden from the world. I can take it into the Light... No... already tried that too..."
A rather frustrated look crossed Sarapheen's face, as she stood with her hands on her hips and considered the strange glass heart.
After a few moments she tried to offer an explanation for her unusual reaction.
"I think this thing keeps looping us back in time. Specifically, to protect itself from destruction. I'm not entirely certain, but I feel like we have already tried to destroy it - both physically and magically. I even think I attempted to take it into the Light to hide it away from mankind, but that likely destroyed it as well, given its infernal nature."
"We could try this all again - and who's to say we have not already done so a thousand times before? But that would keep us in an indefinite time loop; and if my theory is correct, that doesn't serve the purpose of this wicked artifact. That may be why this all seems so familiar - it wants us to move on from the time loop, so it can have its evil influence."
"That leaves us only one choice. We can't get rid of it, for fear of it being found and used by the Infernal. We must keep it hidden away here, kept under watch, lest it fall into the wrong hands."
-
"But what is its actual purpose?" Emend asks, attempting to analyze the artifact himself. (using Analyze Enchanted Item)
-
Legacy of a Demon Imperator? Interesting enough...
"The flies in it are neither real nor living, if that means anything. I wonder if we could extract one of them with apportation."
-
"I can't say," Sarapheen replied to Emend; "Other than something truly wicked or apocalyptic in scale!"
"The Demonic Legacies would not invest so much of their power into an artifact like this for trivial gain. I'm afraid the heart's true purpose may be something that only the Demon Imperators themselves would know. And that would be information they would only trade to their most loyal thralls for a very steep price."
As Emend tried to analyze the Heart of Flies, he was met with a weird euphoric sensation that seemed to cloud his mind. Powerful eldritch forces swirled around the artifact, but other than a strong resonance of time, they were unreadable. He stumbled backwards and had to sit down, when his balance suddenly failed him and he realized that he felt "high as fark!"
The words slurred out of his mouth unbidden, sounding like he had just said, "Imhee sas ffffuuuuuuuhhhhhh..."
"Are you all right?" Sarapheen asked with concern, but Emend passed out before he could reply.
After analyzing Emend's condition, Sarapheen cast purify bodies - following which, he quickly regained both consciousness and his senses.
"Odd," Sarapheen said to him, "Your endorphins and dopamine level were going crazy - much like the effects of a powerful drug. I think it had to do with you casting your spell on the Heart.
To the Saint (Killer), Sarapheen replied, "You could try, though I'm honestly worried about what that might do."
-
Beats activates his temporal senses to try and get a handle on what was being said regarding the time loop
-
"Thanks. Guess we can't get any direct use out of it," Emend announced, composing himself. "If we were versed in Time we might be able to take advantage of a loop, but for now it's as you said; we should hide it so that the Infernal can't get a hold of it."
"It also calls into question what the Camarilla were doing with such an artifact. I have a hard time believing they just stumbled upon it at some point."
-
Killer casts Body control on Emend and asks - "Try again. I doubt it will be enough but maybe you'll be able to glean something more tangible before it overwhelms you again."
-
Emend looks at Saint before shaking his head.
"No," he simply states.
-
Killer nods and gives Emend a look of empathetic pity - or as near to one as he could muster.
"I understand. If you're too weak to try then I suppose your mentor would probably have a much better chance anyway."
-
"Ooh. Any guesses as to what would happen if I touched it with the sword?" Robor asks
-
Sarapheen gave the Saint (Killer) a look that suggested she was surprised at how he was speaking to Emend.
"Actually," she corrected, "Robor's Mentor Morrow Wind would be the one to take a second look. He's more adept with prime than Jarome."
Then to Robor, she answered, "I doubt it would show anything other than our current timeline."
"The artifact seemed to... for lack of a better work, 'drug' Emend when he tried to analyze it, but did nothing unusual in response to the Saint using life on it to check out the flies within."
"Emend," the angel continued, "Do you feel any compulsion to try analyzing it again?"
Indeed, Emend actually did feel a rather strong urge to do so, if only to experience that amazing high once more. A lesser man would definitely find the effects highly addictive, but Emend's willpower was something to be proud of.
-
Emend gave Saint a look of annoyance."I guess we'll need to have talk about what's going on with him later," he thought to himself, before bringing his attention back to the matter at hand.
"I do, but I'm able to resist," he responds. "Why do you ask?"
-
"I suspected as much," Sarapheen replied to Emend. "Addiction is the vice of the Demon Legacy Beelzebub. I think when you tried to analyze it, it showed you its base resonance by inducing an overwhelmingly pleasurable sensation. I imagine that using it for whatever purpose it was created will continue to gratify the user in such a manner and become an unbreakable addiction."
"So, while we still don't know what it does, we can safely guess the creator."
-
"So we got to... well store it someplace safe or somthin? Could it be like da Trogan horse?" Beats asks.
-
"Perhaps," Emend says, replying to Beats. "It could be that the gift arriving when the two of you were attacked was planned, and that us holding it will somehow benefit the vampires."
Emend considers just asking Sarapheen to bring it to Morrow Wind, before deciding it's best if the disciples handle their issues without using her as an errand girl.
"Beats, you should be able to hide the heart somehow using Space, correct? I believe you could even give it it's own pocket universe if you wanted. Once we've dealt with the vampires we can bring it to Morrow Wind and hopefully find out what can be done with it."
-
"I can try. Not done that one but I'll test it out."
Beats hilds his space tag tightly and attempts to cast 'Safe keeping' on the heart so it is safely stored away.
-
"That's a good idea Beats," Sarapheen pointed out, "But that requires you first creating a pocket realm - and that is temporary. You are expert enough with space to use advanced prolongation however."
"I would suggest placing the artifact in the castle vault and simply using a ward to keep anyone from portaling in to get it."
-
"Until then I'll begin preparing the ritual to restore your body, Beats. Join me at the pool whenever you're ready. I will have you lay in the water and i'll draw on the magical energy that has seeped into the water to help you heal. It should be more comfortable as well."
Then, to himself as he goes - "Now where can I find some water-proof permanent marker to write the runes with... Unless Beats is happy to let me just carve them into him?"
-
"Lets use da marker, Don't wanna ruin my ink." he replies to saint, making a mental note to follow up on whether this is a joke later. "Ah, dat would be easier I guess... k I'll set up wards over da vault then Maybe hide da Castle itself, I can make it hard for people to find, maze like. Though... Could we like, open like a cave just under da castle dat only we can portal too and can't be scried on?"
-
"Batcave?"
-
"Stop right there misters," UsdiYona says; "We don't need no bats!"
"Aren't vampires bats? Can't it be fairy cave? Or a gem cave? Or a drive though burger cave?"
-
Club Perdition; 8:00 am Sunday Morning, February 4th 2018
With the Heart of Flies secured, and Beats given a new set of legs and his full vision back, everyone retired for a few hours to await sun up. Sarapheen meanwhile, left to seek the council of the Archangel Benjamin, leaving the purging of Belial's Brood in the hands of her capable disciples.
Emend's phone showed the location his tagged vampire to be that of some nightclub called Club Perdition. A quick googling of the place, revealed it to be a relatively new establishment, just over a year and a half old. Reviews were mixed, with the best touting it as the only place to party in DC, and the worst complaining about its nasty clientele and how grope-happy they all seemed to be. Another website, dedicated to rating the risk of getting a date-rape drug slipped into your drink, listed Club Perdition as the number one nightclub to be on your utmost guard at.
After a quick scry to make sure the coast was clear, Beats opened a portal onto an empty loading dock in the back of the establishment. As everyone made their way through, it suddenly donned on Robor that he had been here once before.
This was the old printing company that had been 'for lease' almost two years ago. The one he had tracked Tiffany Brandt to. The one were the vampire had been feeding off young girls attending his raves. The one where he had first met Sarapheen and his life as John Sterling had ended.
If Belial's Brood was here, it meant they were still up to their old tricks - only now, it seems that they had actually 'incorporated' - establishing a permanent party place to ensure the nonstop flow of fresh blood.
-
"Well, this is a step up from the sewers," Emend remarks as they exit the portal.
"Beats, try to take a look inside so we can get a handle on how many people are around."
-
"They never stopped huh." Robor mutters. "Didn't even move out to a new location. Just continued doing the same damn thing."
"Theres gonna be civilians here. Lots of."
-
Beats casts spacial shielding on everyone as they arrive.
"Whatcha Mean?" Beats asks Robor as he begins to scry inside the building to get a good layout and assess numbers
-
Beats casts spacial shielding on everyone as they arrive.
"Whatcha Mean?" Beats asks Robor as he begins to scry inside the building to get a good layout and assess numbers
"It's a club, but they keep the partyers around." Robor says.
"I was here when Serapheen enlisted me, except last time they were just taking advantage of an abandoned place. Now it's all official. They probably keep their victims in there."
-
"Beats, can you find out where the vampire Emend has marked is? Miguel might be able to possess him, with him out of the picture there hopefully shouldn't be anyone who instantly recognizes us - except for maybe you, Robor."
-
"I guess I could try an scry on him but I don't really have a connection so might not work? Maybe we just... like pull the fire alarm or somthin?"
-
Looking in, Beasts could see a multi-bar club with a large dance floor, raised stage, multiple private rooms, and ample leather booth seating in recessed alcoves with dark granite tabletops. The décor was a punk/gothic mix - complete with iron manacles and hanging cages on the ceiling and gas-burning torches on wall sconces. Red and black color schemes mixed to create the feel of some hell pit inferno - albeit with an energetic party vibe.
The place was obviously closed for the day, but Beats noted eight biker-looking guys passed out in various booths with another dozen skanky looking bimbos curled up in their arms.
Beats could not see the vampire they had fought at the morgue.
-
"You have the lifesight as well, can you tell if they are vampires or their servants?
If they are only servants we can deal with them all from here, it should make things a bit easier on us. If they are vampires perhaps Robor could render the roof transparent and burn them all?"
-
"Their Servants are victims, Saint. We can not indicriminately kill them."
-
Killer raises an eyebrow
"If you think we can save them, I'd love to hear how. I don't want to kill anyone either, but we have to don't we? We've had to do terrible things in the name of Heaven before. That Doll girl still haunts my dreams at night, I lost a part of myself when I destroyed her but the only thing we could do to help her was let her pass on. Hans didn't deserve to die the way he did - like an animal in the dark, alone, burned to death and broken apart. It was the same with Kark, it was the same with Jack. We have had no recourse up until now. But if you think there's a way, I will gladly hear you out. I didn't sign on to become a killer, even if that's all that we seem to be doing lately.
Now, maybe i'm overstepping, I don't know much of anything about vampires beyond what I could glean from my analysis of the ones at the morgue - I don't think any of us do - but i'm pretty sure that even if we killed their masters they'd still try to kill us for doing so. Am I wrong about the lengths to which their loyalty extends?"
-
"If they attack us we'll fight back, but we have no reason to proactively try to murder humans," Emend responds. "Unlike the others we've faced, these ones are simply being used as food so far as we're aware. Save your judgement for when we know more about them, Saint."
"While Beats takes a general look around, I'll look specifically for our friend from the morgue," he continues, attempting to scry the vampire he placed the tracking spell on. He'll first active Supernal Vision, along with Aura Perception, to easily tell the vampires apart.
-
"I never said I'd kill humans. Their servants aren't human, or at least, we can tell the difference with lifesight. There's a difference between their servants and their food", Killer answers back angrily
-
While Emend could sense that the vampire he was tracking (or at least its Doc Martins) was about 65 meters below the building, he was unable scry in on it. This was not due to any ward or defense on the part of the vampires, but simply Emend's lack of sympathetic connection to the target.
-
"Seems like da bikers an Bimbos are just humans. Prob brainwashed like wid dracula and his food. just need ta knock em out then head down da secret tunnel Robor mentioned right?" Beats starts flexing his muscles and casts better body on himself in preparation.
-
"If they're humans we need to be careful about use magic around them. For now let's just try to sneak in," he remarks, attempting to find the backdoor. "Our friend is waiting for us underground."
-
"The doll girls, and Hans, were souls forced into doing evil. They were a mockery of life that had to be freed. And yet it still felt wrong. But here we can do better."
"I saw that, in the visions. Their Servants are the victims. We can help them. We have to help them." Robor says, frantically.
"I can make our presence close to unnoticeable. That should make it easy for us to destroy the vampires. Afterwards we will save everyone here." Robor says, looking down to his hand for his iron ring.
".... oh shit. Did I lose my ring in the explosion?" Robor asks, mortified.
-
"Oh, yes, that's right."
Killer takes out the ring and hands it to Robor.
"I forgot but I found it at the scene. It's what led me to realize you two were hospitalized.
-
Robor nods.
"Thanks Saint. That coulda been bad." He says, as he focuses, pushing an Incognito Presence the crowd.
-
"I suppose if Emend silences us combined with your efforts we should be able to sneak past without issue. If one of them wakes up I can put them back to sleep as well. Everyone agreed to sneak into the club?"
-
"Let's go," UsdiYona agrees. "Think they have a buffet?"
-
"I'll wager it's not the kind you'd enjoy"
-
"In that case," UsdiYona says, "I'm glad I brought my travel snacks!"
-
As Emend continued to try scrying out the vampire, with little in the way of luck, Robor cast incognito presence on himself and everyone else. As long as they did nothing to overtly draw attention to themselves, they would seem like they belonged in the nightclub by anyone (human at least) that happened to casually observe them.
Taking a moment to 'feel-out' the security system with forces, Emend was surprised at how little of it there actually was. Cameras watched only the front entrance of the nightclub, the cash registers at the two bars, a money counting room, the alcohol and spirits storage area, and a hallway outside two band lounges behind the stage. It was a simple matter to make sure they did not record the team.
Emend also telekinetically opened the deadbolt on the back door, allowing everyone to go inside. None of the sleeping occupants stirred at the intrusion.
Robor meanwhile, remembering the general direction of the grate in the old warehouse floor, led the group across the dance floor to some administrative offices, marked "Employees Only".
After slipping in and meeting no resistance to their explorations, the team came to an electrical maintenance room behind the room used to control all the club's music and lighting. This would be where the shaft dropped down into the old tunnel Robor had once traversed, but there was no sigh of it now.
-
Killer starts knocking on the walls and tapping the floor, looking for a false wall/floor.
-
Emend casts The Electric Invisible to see if he can follow the path electricity takes to get underground.
-
"it's supposed to be right here." Robor says, examong the floor. Focusing his knowledge of matter, he searched for the steel grate hidden beneath the floor, with Matter Sight.
-
Beats casts post-cognition on the room to see if he catches anyone opening a secret door. He aims at closing time for the club thinking that might be when they take victims down.
-
The Saint (Killer) couldn't find anything out of the ordinary with his outdated methods.
Emend meanwhile, took a look at the building's electrical system with forces, and could see that there was nothing coming from, nor going down, below the building itself. The source of the nightclub's power was a telephone pole on the main street outside.
As this went on, Robor remembered a matter spell specifically designed for just such an occasion - Find the Hidden Hoard. If there was a secret door or passage in the room, that would be the spell to find it.
Sure enough, upon casting the spell, Robor could sense the fifty foot deep shaft and iron ladder under a particular section of the floor. Unfortunately, there was no existing mechanism to actually open it - the six inch concrete slab that constituted the nightclub's refurbished foundation having been poured right over it.
What Beats saw with postcognition however, answered the question of how anyone would actually get through. In peering back to the time around the nightclub's closing, Beats saw a freaky-looking gothic man enter the electrical room, dressed in black leather pants and frilly operatic blouse with a fishnet shirt and sleeves. He looked Eastern European, and in spite of being middle-aged, carried himself like a 1980's rock star - complete with the big hair, black eyeliner, and black painted fingernails.
As Beats watched, the man bit his own wrist and let the blood drip onto the concrete floor - chanting words that sounded Latin. A moment later, the blood soaked into the floor, the man's wrist sealed up, and the concrete opened like a mouth to reveal the shaft and ladder beneath.
Following that, six more men entered.
Four looked like young party-goers, dressed flamboyantly and clearly gay (judging by the way they tittered and carried on with each other). They were also completely sloshed, stumbling around and giggling like fools, as they were led in by a mature overly-muscled man in a cheesy leisure suit and bling bling that looked like he could have been a stand-in for the role of King Leonidas in Frank Miller's 300.
Following them was the vampire from the city morgue, only now dressed in black skinny jeans with his Doc Martins and wearing a leather jacket over his shirtless chest. He looked remarkably homoerotic, and gave smoldering looks of lusty desire to one of younger guys in the group.
"This is Vesh," the older man said to the group - his voice unnaturally rich and compelling.
"Hi boys!" the goth guy replied, motioning to the ladder in the floor. "The fun's down here, come on!"
He then climbed onto the ladder, gave a hoot, and slid down the side rails with amazing finesse.
"Don't try that at home kids," the older man quipped, "Vesh was a trained circus performer back in the day haha!"
The young party-goers all went down the ladder after Vesh, one-by-one.
When it was just the older man and the vampire from the morgue left at the top, the older man directed - "Go get four of the ghouls. Tell them they are being 'promoted' tonight. We need to replenish our numbers."
"Yes Ductus," the vampire from the morgue replied.
-
"Seems like the only way we'll be getting down there is through you Beats. You can open a portal there now that you've seen it through your vision right?"
-
having seen a little down Beats uses scryingnon the bottom of the shaft to get a good reference point before casting the portal spell (With a portal key that only the deciples can use it)
-
Opening a gate into the bottom of the sealed shaft and getting light in there, everyone could see a dark concrete tunnel that ran under the length of the nightclub at least a couple hundred feet. There were no heavy power cables following along the wall (like Robor had seen the last time he was here), but instead, weird symbols and satanic verses, spray-painted onto every surface of the corridor in black, red, and bronze colors.
Once everyone had stepped through the portal and Beats 'locked it', the group began making its way down the hall. After only a few yards from the shaft and ladder however, everyone but UsdiYona was suddenly gripped with a feeling of pure dread. There was an astounding malevolent presence in the hallway that triggered the fight or flight response in them and made it mentally impossible to force themselves to take even one more step further down its length.
Whatever it was, UsdiYona seemed unaffected.
Looking with spirit sight, both Robor and UsdiYona could see shadows fliting and stretching along the walls a little ways down - spirits of some kind, but not nearly powerful enough (Robor could tell) to warrant the pervasive feelings of dread.
-
"It seems these creatures are no joke," Emend says, as he attempts to use his emotional urging ring to calm himself down.
-
Emend's emotional urging took the edge off, but there still remained a mental wall that prevented him from going further. This prompted him to take a look at things with prime and sure enough - he realized the way was blocked by an unusual ward/ban against humans (or at least humans not meeting certain criteria of the ban).
-
"Miguel, scout ahead," Killer orders.
He attempts to use Trigger the Lizard brain to erase his own fight or flight response in an attempt to get through the ban.
-
Beat's activates his spacial sight to try and see the ward snd effect better "Is dis ban all da way though da walls too or just in da tunnel?" Beats almost muses alloud.
-
"Regardless, I'll see if I can handle it," Emend says, attempting to use Controlled Dispellation along with his Undo the Art rote, to prevent the ban from affecting the group.
"If all goes well they won't even know it's been tampered."
If he can, Emend will attempt to determined what the actual conditions are behind the ban as well.
-
"Watch out. The spirits here might be scouts." Robor says, as he oureaches his arm.
"Fall beneath me, spirits of shade." Robor says, asserting his power over the spirits.
-
"There seems to be evil spirits in the hallway ahead," Miguel answered the Saint (Killer) - as his spirit halberd appeared in hand. "I shall see if they intend to impede our passage."
The Saint (Killer)'s spell meanwhile, had no effect on the ban - other than muting the dread. He still could not push himself to step past the invisible boundary.
Beat's spatial sight meanwhile, revealed the ward to be quite extensive, covering an area about three hundred feet in diameter, and extending downward just over half that distance. Interestingly, it did not extend up farther than ten feet beyond the ceiling of the tunnel itself.
Emend took a moment to analyze the ward, subtly changing its pattern to ignore the disciples and those with them. As he did, everyone immediately felt the grip of the ban release its hold on them.
The ban itself was designed to prevent anyone who had not sworn a 'Blood Oath to Belial' from entering - unless physically touching a vampire that had (with that vampire's intent to allow passage through the ban). Emend noted that the ban also kept anyone from leaving its confines in the same manner.
Emend could also tell that the ward and ban radiated outward from a central point - suggesting not a spell, but an artifact was at work. Furthermore, the type of magic used, seemed to be blood-based, very similar in resonance to the spells that the Camerilla vampire Nicollet had been using during her meeting with Emend at the castle (only this one far exceeding her level of power).
As all this went on, Robor took control of four out of the six shadow spirits down the hall - forcing them to manifest from twilight into the physical world (being shapeless two dimensional silhouettes that traveled across the surfaces of the corridor). The other two, sensing his attempts to override their freewill, fled from his presence - traveling straight down into the floor and out of 'sight'.
Way down at the far end of the hall, Robor could also sense another minor spirit - that of a single large eyeball near the ceiling, watching the length of corridor and what was currently transpiring therein.
-
"Did, you get 'em?" UsdiYona asked Robor. "Let me know, I'm ready for 'em!"
-
"Some sort of artifact is what is creating the ban," Emend announces, explaining how the ban works.
"Robor, will the spirits be an issue?"
-
"there's a Eye watching the corridor." Robor says, plainly.
"And the shades won't be a problem. They're under my jurisdiction."
"Come forth Shadows, and tell us of this artifact. Where is it?"
-
Beats lets the others deal with the spirits for now saving his magic for things he is better against "Hey, you guys said fire was good aginst dem right? Can I borrow a lighter?"
-
Killer repeats his earlier casting of Fantasia, coating his sword in extremely flammable and long burning liquid. Seeing what Beats is trying to do, he offers to do the same for him (though he doubts whether or not that would be as good of an idea with caesti).
He also keeps an eye out for any corpses that happen to be laying around for quick and easy resurrections/fodder.
"Miguel, keep guard against spirits like the one robor summoned. If you see any destroy them.
If we come across anything living that you can possess on the way forward do so."
"Here Usdi, a gift for the coming fight - you've always wanted to breathe fire right? Just clench all the muscles in your throat to use it."
Killer then goes to Usdi, and lays a hand on her head. Concentrating, he casts Fantasia on her, giving her the ability to breathe fire at will through a collection of glands that violently excrete liquid that burns on contact with the air when she clenches the muscles in her throat, squeezing them. Along with this he adds a protective membrane in her throat, mouth and around her lips to protect her from the fire.
-
"Come forth Shadows, and tell us of this artifact. Where is it?"
The four shadows stretched across the walls and floor, until they were massed together submissively at Robor's feet. While they did not seem to be able to speak, Robor could telepathically sense what they were trying to communicate.
<What artifact do you seek master?>
-
The four shadows stretched across the walls and floor, until they were massed together submissively at Robor's feet. While they did not seem to be able to speak, Robor could telepathically sense what they were trying to communicate.
<What artifact do you seek master?>
<The one hidden by the servants of Belial. The vampires.> Robor sends, as he takes a look at the Eyeball, and raises his arm to control it.
"Don't move forward yet. The vampires don't know that we broke the ban yet. I might be able to keep them thinking that."
If he succeeds in controlling the eyeball, he will order it to relay that the Disciplies have continued to be held back by the Ward.
-
Beats shakes his head at the Saint "Nah, don't want da fire stuck ta me, might be hard ta get off it it goes bad."
-
"Breath fire?" UsdiYona says to the Saint, "how cool is that?!"
She then changes to bear form and gives it a try.
-
Something about seeing a large black bear breathing a hot gout of flame from its mouth was comically absurd. UsdiYona certainly seemed to be amused by it anyway.
Miguel meanwhile, had already moved down the hallway, scouting ahead - visible only to The Saint (Killer) and UsdiYona in the dark passage.
Robor easily took control of the minor watcher spirit. It did not respond to his directives however, simply existing to watch something. In this case, it was the hallway - and as soon as Robor had usurped command, he could close one of his own eyes to see what the floating eyeball was looking at. He also realized that he could tell it what to go watch - though its intelligence seemed slightly above that of a common houseplant - which meant, 'show, don't tell' probably applied here.
As this went on, the shadows considered Robor's answer.
<We know the vampires of Belial,> the shadows replied; <They secured our services - to enervate those who force their way through the ward. We are not privy to their haven however; Nor what may be in it.>
-
Robor nods
<How many of Belial's brood are there?> Robor asks, as he keeps one eye shut.
<And you. Go forth into the Warrens.> Robor orders the eye.
"Let's go. They don't have their eye. Keep a watch, there might be more shades around. They were bound to enervate Intruders."
-
Beats readies his Cestus to strike at any wierd shades or things moving his way and follows Robor
-
"Good, we'll leave the shadows to you then," Emend tells Robor. "With the ban out of the way we should head forward," he continues, drawing his lighter and moving forward.
"And be careful with that..." Emend warns Usdi, although confident the warning won't do much good.
-
"Usdi, do me a favour and light my sword", Killer says as he follows the others forward.
-
FAWOOOSH!!! ;D
-
After the Saint (Killer) put his sleeve out and healed the burns on his hand...
One had to admit, Saint (Killer) had nailed the whole fire-breathing fantasia thing - now UsdiYona had only to work on controlling the area she doused in fire. To her credit though, the sword was now flaming nicely, as the Saint (Killer) had requested.
<There are four regulars,> the shadows answered Robor meanwhile, <Claude Van Jean, the Ductus; Vesh Raventon, the Priest; Pimp Master McHoe, Keeper of the Haven (and Hoes); and Lit, the Ductus' right-hand man.>
<The rest, typically four, are the expendable shock troops and go through a constant rotation. They also keep a handful of ghouls, a herd of women, and some drug mules.>
As the shadows spoke, the spirit eye flew over to Robor and hovered nearby - clearly not knowing what 'warrens' Robor was talking about.
Moving the rest of the way down the corridor, with the eyeball and shadows following, the disciples came to its end. An old electrical junction box hung on the right side of the wall, while an excavated tunnel was on the left.
The cover of the junction box was missing, and faded red paint, above the box, warned 'DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE! ELECTROCUTION HAZARD!'.
An ancient-looking knife switch was inside the box, labeled 'To Mill' - though it was not currently hooked up to anything and was in the 'off' position.
Above the junction box, cables came down through the ceiling, through the box, and then on down through the floor. The cables, labeled 'Rail Main', were wrapped in old-looking insulation that was cracked and brittle and gave off an ominous electrical buzz.
The excavated tunnel meanwhile, led only a short distance before exiting through a brick wall onto a fifteen foot wide concourse of brick-laid stairs, divided by a rusty handrail running down the center.
To the right, the stairs rose up only eight feet, before ending at the backside of a crumbling concrete pouring-form - the other side of which, was a concrete slab, cutting the stairs off in that direction.
To the left, the stairs dropped down well into darkness - though Robor already knew that they descended a hundred and fifty feet to an old abandoned subway platform.
Something about the stairs was new to Robor however.
He had been a sleeper the last time he had gone down them, but now - being awakened - he could sense an evil resonance emanating from the bottom. He could also tell, with spirit, that the place was a locus (the strength of the gauntlet between worlds having been worn thin, making it easier for spirits and demons to cross over).
-
"Pimp master Mchoe? He sounds like a formidable opponent. How could we ever hope to defeat something so powerful?"
Killer casts Sense Life, extending it as far downwards as he can. He wonders what life might have made it through the vampire's ward - how many ensorcelled servants might be present, etc.
-
Beats switches between his various sights to check for spzcial distortions, temporal ones then finally to check for the powernlines and how they flow in the hopes of using them to get a layout of the area below.
-
Robor looks down the stairs.
"Man, I really had no idea what I was getting into." He says, wide eyed, as he directs the Eyeball down the stairs.
"This place is a locus. You guys know what that means." Robor says, weary of demons popping out of the walls. "It's a long way down to the abandoned railway station."
<So, are the vampires skilled in controlling spirits? What are their abilities?> He asks the shadows.
-
With life sight, the Saint (Killer) could detect six humans about two hundred feet below, along with menagerie of rats rooting around a large open area.
With their forces, Emend and Beats could see that the power in the electrical cables came from a main line below the street and headed down a hundred plus feet to a third-rail system. A few leads tapped into the third-rail, here and there, to apparently power a sparse few electric lightbulbs.
-
<So, are the vampires skilled in controlling spirits? What are their abilities?> He asks the shadows.
<Who can say?> the shadow spirits answered, <They made a pact; and we carry out our part of it. What more is there to know?>
-
"Into the darkness we go then," Emend remarks, heading forward down the staircase.
-
"Six people below, they might be servants, sacrifices, those people Beats saw earlier - be careful."
For a second Killer was going to cast a spell to give himself and Robor a cat's eyes but he realizes he has too many spells active, so he just follows Emend down the stairs.
-
Beats follows, keeping an eye our for danger and tryig to thing of good ways to deal with Vampires that doesn't garner too much paradox .
As he moves he tries out Augery to try and gain an advantage. Concentrating on Emend, who is in the lead, Beats reaches up to his tiny hourglass earing piercing and questions "Will Emend get ambushed on the subway platform?"
-
"sooooo any chance I can borrow a phone? Mines at 4 percent..."
-
Beats' augury suggested that Emend would not be ambushed on the subway platform.
The stairs went down a hundred and fifty feet, opening into an old subway platform with a high vaulted ceiling. At the very bottom of the steps was a huge pentagram, painted in dried human blood - being too large to step over or go around. At each of the pentagram's five points, was a huge squat candle - glossy blackish-red with bits of a woody substance throughout and a fat ropy wick. Flames licked up from each of them and burned with an oily sputter, sending ripples of bitter-smelling smoke into the air.
There was no mistaking for Emend - these were the same type of candles that had irritated his sinuses, back when he had first visited Blume and Blumenthal's office in... was it twilight or the shadow maybe?
The gauntlet was also very thin at the center of the pentagram; and Robor could see dozens of minor spirits lurking about in twilight, though nothing (as of yet) that would give them any more trouble than perhaps a case of the goosebumps.
Miguel waited for the Saint (Killer) on the stairs, this side of the pentagram.
Beyond the pentagram was the subway platform, tagged in the same black, red, and bronze satanic graffiti that had adorned the corridor above. Someone had set up sofas and a coffee table at one end of the platform, along with a few shaded lamps that gave the space far too little light. The lamps were plugged into long extension cords that ran across the platform and dropped down to the tracks, where someone had tied them into the (still live) third rail.
A dark alcove, visible in the dim light (and which Robor had failed to see on his first visit), lead off the platform to a set of public restrooms.
Resting on the trash-strewn tracks at the far end of the platform was single derelict subway car, eerily illuminated by a red light on the back of the car. Emend could sense that the source of the vampire's ward emanated from within. Beyond the subway car itself, was a yawning tunnel, through which the tracks continued into deeper darkness.
Two emaciated men lay on thin futons by the subway car, among a collection of discarded heroin needles - apparently handcuffed to the car itself.
The vampire from the city morgue and four rough-looking men, dressed like club bouncers, appeared to be sleeping on the sofas - though the Saint (Killer) could read no life signs from any of them. He did however, confirm the mortality of the two men cuffed to the subway car and also detected the presence of four more humans in the restrooms off the platform.
Robor's attention meanwhile, was drawn to the toxic industrial demon, that watched from twilight, under a pile of illegally dumped chemical barrels along the outer wall of the tunnel. Thankfully, not as powerful as the Internet Prince, but still quite formidable and certainly dangerous if it chose to manifest.
-
Killer looks to Emend and puts his finger to his lips then motions to the rest of the group, hoping he would get the message (and not ignore it this time).
-
Emend, not sure what Saint's plan is, decides to ignore him until he explains further.
"Beats, mind setting up a ban here to prevent other humans from passing through? Wouldn't want those up stairs helping when we least expect it," Emend whispers to Beats.
-
Annoyed again, killer rolls his eyes and whispers, "there are five vampires on that couch can you create a sound bubble so that we don't wake them up and get killed?"
-
Beats doesn't hear Emend because he immediatly scrys above the ground to get a good view of the angle of the Sun. The moment he knows what angle it is, he plans to open the largest portal he can in the air above the sleeping Vampires burning mana for sucesses, his plan, to angle the portal in the air to match the angle of the Sun above so it falls directly on them all.
"I'm bringin da Sun." is all he says aloud
-
With Saint's intention now clear, Emend attempts to control the sound around the so that they can not be heard by the vampires.
-
"There's a really strong demon nearby." Robor whispers.
-
Still in bear form, UsdiYona jumps across the pentagram and prepares to roast her some vampire fiends!
-
Beats failed to open a portal on the first try, which gave Emend a chance to put his sound bubble in place, before Beats' second attempt succeeded. Good thing too, as the chamber was suddenly flooded in blinding sunlight - and immediately, the vampires asleep on the couches burst into flames. They awoke shrieking in a crazed frenzy - conveniently silenced by Emend's spell.
The four fledgling vampires didn't last long enough to even attempt escape - the skin simply charring from their bones, leaving scorched skeletons to clatter to the floor. The vampire from the morgue meanwhile, used his amazing fortitude to remain whole - at least long enough to spring toward the restrooms like a fire-trailing comet!
UsdiYona tried to get him with her fire breath, but she was too far away at that point, and the vampire moved significantly faster than she did. Before anyone could react, the vampire had dove into the still darkened restrooms beyond the alcove.
The Industrial Waste Demon meanwhile, remained unmoving in twilight - but one of the barrels of toxic sludge abruptly burst open - spewing a strange glowing blue liquid all over the tracks. To Emend's forces sight, the substance was alive with energy - atomic partials flying off it in every direction and filling the area with deadly radiation!
-
Robor instinctively kicks away at the pentagram candles, and attempts to scrap away the pentagram. The Decsciples do not need more demons.
Afterwards, he'll direct the shadows to follow the vampires and enervate the vampires inside, as he raises his ring to begin draining the demon's Essence with Sacramental Chain.
-
"Miguel, I can't see the demon but if you can go after it!"
Killer backs away and thinks to himself for a second.
"Beats, your spell will not protect us from the radiation, but my life shield should. I'm going to have to release the spell keeping your eye intact in order to cast it."
With that, he releases the regeneration spell on Beats' eye and casts organic resilience on the whole party.
-
Seeing Saint handling the goop, whatever it is, beats pepares to use forces to direct as much charge as posible feom he live rail to the first enemy he sees taking agressive action
-
"Come on. The last one is getting away," Emend says, walking towards the bathrooms.
-
UsdiYona steps sideways to go join Miguel against the demon hiding in twilight.
-
Beats reached out with forces to tap the high voltage rail, waiting for the opportunity to use it against an enemy. As for the moment however, none were making themselves known.
The Saint (Killer)'s organic resilience spell successfully reinforced everyone against the radiation - at least at this distance...
UsdiYona, then disappeared from everyone (but Robor)'s sight and joined Miguel in twilight.
The two of them approached the industrial waste demon and it roused to defend itself from them - towering up at least three times their height! Its form was roughly humanoid, being made up of broken concrete, scraps of machinery, and asphalt, all bound around a two cubic yard block of glass slag and wrapped together in thick bands of rusted rebar.
It raised up the equivalent of an arm - a large bulldozer blade in its hand, wielded like a giant clever!
Undeterred, UsdiYona launched into the monster, activating savage mauling! She was a flurry of claws and teeth - ripping some of the rebar out of the concrete and scoring long furrows in the surface of the glass slag!
The thing was literally hard as a rock however, and as UsdiYona spit out a mouthful of crushed asphalt, one of her teeth went with it!
In return, the industrial waste demon brushed UsdiYona off (like so much as a piece of lint) and smashed her into the spirit-ground with the bulldozer blade across the back. UsdiYona gave an involuntary yelp - as her spine spider-fractured under the impact.
A primal rage began to glaze UsdiYona's eyes, obscuring the pain of the nearly mortal blow.
Miguel meanwhile, swung mightily with his halberd, which he had begun to refer to as the 'soul blade'.
It bounced off the side of the demon's hip in a clash of sparks - leaving a small dent.
In the physical world, Robor's shades stretched away across the floor to follow the morgue vampire into the restrooms at the other end of the subway platform.
This, while Robor attempted to siphon essence from the industrial waste demon - but he could not overcome its resistance to his magic.
As Emend followed the shades in the direction of the restrooms, some screams and fitful pleas for mercy abruptly echoed out of the darkened alcove.
"NO! PLEASE! AIIHHHEEE!!!"
"SOMEONE HELP US! Urk!"
"MY PARENTS HAVE MONEY - AHHHH!!!"
-
Noting how Robor and Miguel seem to be struggling, he backs up, keeping his distance from Robor, and repeatedly mumbles the words for a healing blessing. He waits for the inevitable horrific injuries to begin, keeping track of all the disciples. If any leave his sight he'll keep up Sense life on them (sacrificing his spirit sight) and proceed to heal them if he judges that they are in a critical state.
If we can't deal with that demon we need to leave. Now.
He anticipates Emend (and soon Beats) to be walking into a trap and for Robor to take a serious beating from the invisible demon.
-
"Is dere a demon again? Someone drag it where I can see it already dammit!" Beats calls angrily.
He gives up on the rail and instead begins casting a spell to entangle the next big threat he can see (or get the location of) Using suspension.
-
Robor nods.
"Spirit of filth! To the Material Realm!" Robor commands, dragging it in with Greater Spirit summon, and then he runs off to follow Emend. Someone needs to be with him when he approaches the vampires.
-
Deciding he needs to help the screams of those in need, Emend begins to run towards the bathroom.
-
"I think we better cry 'uncle' for a bit," UsdiYona spirit talks to Miguel. "That really friggin hurt!"
She then heads over to the Saint and steps sideways to materialize next to him, howling in pain.
'Help! I just got bitch-slapped by a demonic walking parking lot!' she thinks to the Saint.
-
In twilight, Miguel continued to strike at the lumbering titan - his halberd chipping off some chunks, but hardly seeming to slow the giant brute down in any way.
It was about to level Miguel back, with its bulldozer blade, but Robor's spell abruptly caught its attention and it hesitated.
In the physical world meanwhile, the Saint reached out toward UsdiYona's mangled back and restored the majority of it back to normal.
For UsdiYona, it was instant relief; and she spun back around to see what the giant demon was doing, ready to get back into the melee.
Robor's greater summoning struggled against the strength of the demon, but making it a matter of will, Robor finally managed to force the thing to manifest in the physical world.
<"I am not sorry to see it go,"> Miguel remarked to himself in relief; once again alone in twilight.
Beats meanwhile, caught the towering thing in his suspension spell - trapping it in place next to its pile of illegally dumped chemical barrels.
The thing was quite intimidating, now that Beats could see it. He almost wished he still couldn't.
In rage at the indignity of being summoned by Robor, who didn't even have the decency to stick around afterwards for the traditional 'bartering for his soul, etc, etc, etc... the industrial waste demon used its influence to fling one of the rusting barrels of toxic sludge at Robor, as he ran across the platform toward the restrooms.
The twenty-five gallon drum flew over Robor's head to crash into the wall beside him - crumpling the side of the rusting barrel with a loud crash - but miraculously failing to break it open.
As the apparently reinforced barrel fell to the floor, Robor could make out a peeling label in both Chinese and English - "DANGER! Hydrocyanic Acid."
At the entrance to the restrooms, Emend could see Robor's shadows moving into the darkness, where they instantly blended in and disappeared from sight. There was no light beyond the entry and it was now deathly quiet within.
The stink of human blood filled the air and Emend got the feeling that he was staring into the den of a cornered animal.
-
Killer looks to the monstrous thing in front of him and then to Usdi.
"If I kill it first you have to make your own dinner for the week."
Killer runs at the monster and tries to jump off its massive arms to strike at its chest and head.
(Burning willpower on attack roll).
-
Depending on his suspension Beats Also charges in at the monstrosity, casting knife fist before making a boxing combo of blows against it.
-
Robor hurries to catch up to Emend, brandishing his sword, as he looks to make sure his shadows are still under his control.
-
"Humph!" UsdiYona grunts at the Saint.
'He'll be cooking for me for a week when I kill it first!' UsdiYona thinks to herself, charging forward to do some more Savage mauling.
-
With the demon now visible and barreling towards him, Emend decides he should focus his attention on it first.
"I guess they need me for everything," he thinks to himself, casting his Mind Arrows rote on the demon.
-
As Beats, UsdiYona, and the Saint (Killer) closed in on the industrial waste demon, they could feel an unusual energy emanating from the area. The radiation from the glowing blue ooze - which the colossal fiend now stood in - rapidly grew more intense the closer they got.
Beats stopped, knowing that he would have to tread through the ooze to attack the demon - which was completely unnecessary, as he could hit it from range for the same effect (if he just took the time to set up the right spells first).
Even here, as the Saint and Usdiyona pressed on farther, Beats could tell the radiation was eating through the organic resilience the Saint had given everyone.
Oblivious to the danger, UsdiYona splashed right on through, to tear back into the demon.
She slammed into the glass-slag center of the foe with her claws, putting a nice fracture down the middle and then pulled out a massive rusted gear of some kind with her teeth. As she did, the fur began falling off her forelegs and paws, though she failed to notice until the blisters started to well up. Something was hurting her - something bad!
The Saint (Killer) knew enough not to walk through radioactive waste, and leapt over it onto the demon itself - using the stony bulk of its leg to propel himself up high enough to jam the point of his flaming sword into the analog of a face. It was hard to tell if it was actually hurting the monster, but the action did elicit a response.
The demon shot a hand out and clenched it around the Saint (Killer), squeezing like a hydraulic press. Had it not been for the organic resilience, the Saint (Killer) was sure his eyes would have popped from his skull. The intent of the demon was not to crush the priest however, but to throw him across the subway platform - which it did, sending the Saint (Killer) flying seventy-five feet, into the graffiti covered wall near the stairs.
The impact was again absorbed by the spells protecting the Saint (Killer), but it certainly didn't feel good; and a rib (or two) had cracked in the process. The Saint could also feel an irritation on his skin and looking, noticed small blisters beginning to form. It seemed the radioactive goo was quite potent after all.
In twilight, Miquel wondered if it was possible to possess a demon.
<"Well, who will ever know, if it is never tried?"> he asked himself rhetorically, trying to go into the demon's form.
It was a short trip however, as the demon's psyche immediately overwhelmed Miguel's and kicked him out on his ass.
<"Ah, there's that,"> he said, getting back up; <"Perhaps I should start with something smaller next time.">
Over near the restrooms meanwhile, Robor caught up to Emend, and could feel that the shadows were still under his sway - though he could not tell what they were doing in there.
Then abruptly, a loud crack split across the ceiling - and a chunk of concrete fell out of it directly above the two disciples! The demon was using its influence over entropy to bring down that portion of the subway tunnel!
Robor and Emend dove out of the way of the initial collapse - but in a matter of seconds, the entire area in front of the restrooms was going to cave in! They had only two options... dive blindly into the pitch black restrooms, or sprint toward the subway car and hope they could outrun gravity!
Emend, confident that he could both run for his life and concentrate at the same time, shot out mind arrows at the industrial waste demon - only to be disappointed by its level of resistance.
-
Seeing the issues affecting the others Beats falls back a couple of feet then begins using his old favourite combitnating. Having activated knife fist he begins Using ranged blows at the Demon
-
Killer looks at the situation briefly, and starts thinking
I can save Emend and Robor or I can destroy the demon's armour.
There is a chance that the death spell will not weaken its body due to its nature, but if it is the demon wearing the body as armour as I suspect then a destruction spell should weaken it enough for Usdi to finish the thing off. I'll be stuck making dinner for her for the next week. Admittedly this changes nothing. Emend and Robor will be stuck in the restrooms, but Beats can either create a portal in or create a portal under the rubble to teleport it away. Alternatively I could destroy the rubble with a destruction casting. They might be killed by the vampire(s?) inside while under total darkness, especially if the one who ran in is turning the surviving people right now.
If I harden the shadows under the ceiling I might be able to stop it from collapsing long enough for them to destroy the demon and get out from under the ceiling. We can kill the demon and go in in force. But if the demon has not been injured thus far due to its armoured body then whoever it next attacks - most likely Usdi - might be killed.
Well, I can't save them from everything. If one of them dies so be it.
Killer extends his prayer beads towards Emend and Robor, and mutters in enochian - "Be saved by the shadow of death looming over you."
He uses Summon Shadows (Death 3) to harden the shadows in the area into the shape of support beams, that they might (even if temporarily) keep the roof from collapsing. He expends a willpower point on the casting.
-
"Damn demon," Emend remarks, before jumping into the totally safe restroom.
-
Robor rushes into the bathroom, brandishing his blade menacingly towards anything.
-
Inspired by the thought of more free dinners for a week, UsdiYona gets a surge of energy and continues the mauling, trying to rip the demon to shreds!
-
Beats lashed out with his telekinetic strike, rocking the demons head back. A satisfying chunk of concrete broke free from the blow - tumpling to the ground with a heavy thud.
UsdiYona plied her attack, headless of the radiation, as it continued to ravage her body.
Her teeth tore away the rebar and banding holding the central mass of glass-slag in place, as she pulled mightily with her claws! A sharp crack pierced the air, and the massive lump split completely in two - the front half sliding out of the demon's body and crashing into the slick of radioactive goo at its feet.
Severely wounded, the lumbering titan stumbled backwards, swinging the great bulldozer blade like a tennis racket - trying to serve UsdiYona into the wall. The bear girl ducked under the huge blade - glad that the demon had missed!
She had her mind set on winning those free dinners by thunder! Demonic walking parking lots be damned! She could even imagine the cooking now - and it smelled delicious!
Wait a minute... that smell was coming from her! UsdiYona's skin was literally beginning to cook in all the radiation!
As this battle raged on, the Saint (Killer) created a bridgework of hardened shadow across the underside of the collapsing ceiling. It held in place almost a full three seconds, before the tons and tons of stone and rubble above it broke through!
Emend and Robor darted into the restrooms, before half of the subway platform disappeared under the cave-in - sealing them inside.
With his aura perception going, Emend could see three active entities in the darkness. The first - coming right for him - was pale mottled orange (indicating frightened and confused vampire?); the second, was pale red and black (the morgue vampire, hateful and angry); the third, also a vampire, was a hypnotic, swirling of colors with heavy violet accents (psychotic and excited).
In the tiny amount of light given off by Robor's phone, both he and Emend could see two vampires leaping out of the darkness at them!
The first was covered in blood and looked like a young partygoer - but now scantily dressed in leather bondage gear. It looked like he had recently been chained up too, as short shackle leads hung from the spiked cuffs around his neck and wrists.
"REEE!!! BLOOD!!!" he shrieked - clutching Emend in a tight embrace and sinking his long canines into Emend's neck.
Blood left Emend's body through the wound at an alarming rate - though the body control the Saint (Killer) had given him, provided a measure of resistance. Even so, the loss was staggering; and while Emend imagined that it should have felt painful at the least, he found it quite the opposite. The strange sensation was actually quite enjoyable - way more intense than the sexual climax he could get with Trucy.
Maybe the Camarilla vampire Nicolette was telling the truth about how some were actually willing to allow vampires to bite them.
Then an errant thought struck - 'Wait... this is a guy making me feel this way... Ack!'
"Bitch! I told you not to bite da sun-bloods!" a pimp-sounding voice cackled from the darker recesses of the restroom. "Dats whatchu get, haha!"
The vampire holding Emend abruptly gaged and then spewed up some of Emend's blood. Releasing Emend, it fell backwards in apparent shock - its veins starting to glow with a golden hue, as they broke out into a filigree of phosphoric lines all over the creature.
The morgue vampire meanwhile, refrained from trying to bite Robor, and simply raked him across the face with his long bone-like claws. Robor could feel the skin of his face tear away from the skull - under his cheeks and around his mouth! He let out an involuntary cry, but it sounded wrong; and he found his jaw hanging off one side - completely dislocated and severed in multiple places!
Fighting for his life, Robor swung his imbued sword at the vampire - lopping off part of the creature's scalp! The beast hissed angrily at Robor - clearly not going to let it stop him.
Then Emend felt some kind of mental assault - assailing his psyche - as if it was trying to rapidly unravel his mental stability. He resisted a hundred sudden and irrational impulses that coruscated through his mind in an instant - noting that the attack had come from the psychotic vampire hiding further back in the restroom.
The vampire that had taken his blood meanwhile, collapsed onto the floor and burst into flame and cinders - briefly illuminating the area, before being reduced to a pile of charred earth.
The restroom was spattered in blood everywhere, while the bodies of three exsanguinated male party-goers (in more bondage gear) hung by their wrists from chains attached to the ceiling. A forth, empty set of chains, would have been where the vampire that bit Emend had been turned. The poor bastards.
Lurking in the farthest stall, barley visible in the flickering light of the corpse-fire, was a black-leather-and-zipper clad gimp, with a wide-brimmed leopard-skin hat and matching cape. He held a ridiculously long black leather dildo with nails hammered into the 'business' end.
It could be none other than 'Pimp Master McHoe' himself.
-
"Beats, open a portal and get them out of there! They won't survive a second in a dark enclosed space with a vampire like that! Usdi, finish off the demon yourself and i'll make you dinner for two weeks!"
Killer reaches out towards the two using the Sense Life spell he'd cast earlier. Focusing on their life signatures (presumably the very very badly injured life signatures), he spends a willpower point on a healing spell directed towards both of them.
-
Hearing Saint shout, Beats turns to see the collapsing rubble having fully trapped his friends. As much as he would like to get a cheapshot in on the demon again, allies come first.
Beats quickly casts portal directly under the sunlight portal he already had open, aiming to open a gate to inside the restroom area and lock it to only allow deciples entry.
"Usi, finish it or get outa dere fast! It can't move from dat spot yet!"
-
"Shadows! Possess these monstrosities!" Robor shouts, granting his shadow s the power to posses in one fell swoop, using his willpower to pass the power to all of them.
From there, he'll attack the avmpires that he failed to turn to his side
-
Emend uses control fire and influence fire to shoot a stream of fire (using his lighter) at whichever vampires Robor doesn't control.
In addition, he'll set the corpses above him on fire as well so they don't have to deal with more vampires (assuming they are corpses).
-
"Sorry demon," UsdiYona says; "I must finish you now.I can't be late for dinner!"
-
Beats opened a second portal, aligned with his first, into the restrooms directly behind Emend and Beats. The casting threatened to warp with paradox, but Beats managed to absorb the backlash and contain it.
In the restrooms, indirect sunlight flooded in through the portal, much to the horror of the vampires within - fully illuminating the filthy sty. Stall doors were torn off their hinges (or hanging at broken angles), while the sinks and toilets had all been smashed - littering porcelain among the soupy trash that floated in an inch of foul standing water. Once polished metal mirrors, on the wall, were blood-smeared and cloudy and the old-school handle-to-floor style urinals all had a collection of human skulls stacked up in them.
"Mother Farker! Not Again! - EEEERRRGH!!!" the morgue vampire cursed, trying to shield his eyes from the light. He once again burst into flames - his arm crumbling away into ash, as the rest of him threatened to follow.
The gimp-pimp meanwhile, retreated into a stall, out of the light. It was unclear if the light had hurt him, but he could be heard complaining about it from within. "Man, dis shit be cramping my style cool! Damn bitches! Don't make me come out dere an pimp-slap ya fools!"
As they took in the scene, Emend and Robor felt a sudden wave of healing magic wash over them - courtesy of the Saint (Killer). Emend immediately felt less anemic, while Robor's jaw and face completely reformed themselves - leaving only a slight scar on the side of Robor's chin to remind him of the incident.
For his part, Robor empowered the shadow spirits to possess the living, directing them to the vampires. All four of them went into the gimp-pimp, as none of them felt like experiencing 'death by fire'.
"Getchu da fark out my head!" the vampire in the stall was heard to say. "No? Den eat it! Eat it all bitches! Haha haha!!!"
Emend could feel another psychic power being used, when Robor's control of the shadows suddenly broke, and they all flew out of the stall and across the ceiling in weird spiraling stretches.
Emend could guess that the spirits had suddenly been driven mad; and the fact that they continued to spiral out of control - until disappearing back into twilight - seemed to back up his theory.
Taking his lighter, Emend then enhanced the flame to douse the morgue vampire in even more fire. It was enough to finally finish it off - the monster collapsing to the floor and combusting into a pile of hot cinders.
Out in the rail tunnel meanwhile, UsdiYona slammed all her strength against the other half of the giant lump of glass-slag, still secured in the center of the industrial waste demon. The chunk shattered the rest of the way under the powerful blow and almost immediately following, the massive pile of scrap came tumbling down!
The entire thing then disincorporated, leaving UsdiYona standing alone near the tracks - most of her hair falling out and severe burns on all of her legs and underside.
-
Killer turns his attention to Usdi and casts another healing spell on her:
"Get out of that sludge while you still can Usdi!"
-
Seeing things out here under control "Usi get outs dere before it burns ya more!" He shouts before stepping through the portal to the restroom.
"Dey all dead in here?" he asks as he takes in the scene, then hearing the mumbling in one stall he picks up the nearest heavy object (Piece of rubble?) and throws it hard at the stall wall to try and break it to allow light in.
-
"It's been fun, Pimpmaster McHoe." Robor says, as he raises his iron ring, focuses his powers on the toilet stall.
"Gaze through the Mountains." He mutters, allowing the sunlight to pass through the stall
-
"I'll assume Saint is behind my sudden recovery," Emend thinks to himself. He then turns to Robor and continues to think. "And what part of this was fun?"
With the pimp now hiding, Emend decides to be on the defensive and let the others deal the finishing blow. He'll use Rend the Weave if McHoe tries to do anything, otherwise he'll use his control fire and influence fire combo to deal with any other surprises.
-
Moving through the portal, Beats picked up a large piece of broken porcelain and threw it at the far stall. It smashed into it with a loud crash, but failed to do any damage to it.
Robor meanwhile, activated his gaze through the mountain rote and turned the entire row of bathroom stalls abruptly transparent - allowing the sunlight to flood in on the cowering gimp-pimp vampire in the last one.
"Aw Hell No!" Pimp Master McHoe complained, as he began to sizzle audibly. "Dis shit ain't gona impress da bitches! Damn!!!"
Moments later, his wide-brimmed leopard skin hat and cape went up in flames, and he was quickly immolated (right there, in his gimp suit). The now burning leathers, collapsed into the nasty water covering the floor, to continue smoldering with a foul-smelling stench.
As this went on, Emend stood at the ready, but the restrooms offered no further surprises.
Out on the remaining half of the subway platform, the Saint (Killer) healed UsdiYona of her burns, as she finally moved off the tracks and back onto the platform. UsdiYona continued to feel a painful burning however, and the Saint (Killer) realized that he would have to cast purify bodies on her, in order to purge her of the radiation poisoning she had picked up from exposure to the radioactive sludge.
Come to think of it, the Saint (Killer) would need to cast it on himself too. Apparently, he had also gotten close enough to the sludge (not physically touching it aside) to receive a lethal dose as well.
In twilight meanwhile, Miguel went over the subway car, noting that the two men handcuffed outside the car had no souls. Or at least he assumed so, as they appeared dull and almost two-dimensional, compared to what everyone else looked like, from his ethereal vantage point. As he observed them, they up and expired, from exposure to the radiation they were receiving. His theory seemed to be confirmed, when no spirits rose up out of the now dead corpses, and no 'tunnel of light' appeared for them to head off into.
Back in the restrooms, Beats felt a sudden blip on his spatial awareness, as something nearby opened a bridge between dimensional boundaries. Robor felt it too - and identified it as someone (or something) creating a spirit road.
It was happening back in the old subway car out on the tracks...
-
'Whoo Hooo!!!' UsdiYona thinks to herself, 'two weeks of free dinners! Yay!!!'
Her mouth waters at the thought and she does a happy little bear dance in celebration!
-
"Dere's somthin arrivin on da train." Beats quickly calls and heads back through the portal to see what is coming.
-
"Dere's somthin arrivin on da train." Beats quickly calls and heads back through the portal to see what is coming.
"Something that knows how to travel the spirit road." Robor says.
"Nothing good ever comes out of that." He says, following Beats through the portal.
-
Killer casts the purification spell on both of them, then calls to everyone.
"Gather up, I'm running low on energy, I don't have many healing spells left. Let me get everyone at once."
-
"Something that knows how to travel the spirit road." Robor says.
"Nothing good ever comes out of that." He says, following Beats through the portal.
"If something's coming we should leave and return after," Emend says, following the two through. "We've finished what we came here for, and the area is too toxic for us to stay here much longer."
-
With everyone out on the subway platform, Saint (Killer) cast his healing spells, restoring the majority of the teams' vitality. Emend was right about the radiation however, but as long as they stayed on the platform, the Saint (Killer)'s body control spell could handle it. It was only when one neared the tracks that the levels became dangerously high.
Of course, the subway car was within those elevated levels, which is why the two heroin addicts, cuffed to the car, had up and died.
Watching the subway car for a few moments, the team saw no new threats.
Then it dawned on Robor, that the spirit road had probably been created, not to bring something in, but for the two remaining Belial's Brood vampires to escape through...
-
"Fark." Robor mutters. "They're escaping through the spirit road."
He puts his palms to the ground, opening a spirit road.
"Usdi, chase after them. We'll be right behind you. Can't let any of them escape."
-
"Erm, I'm kinda low on da big spells. Can you get us dere Robor?" Beats asks geting very weary of paradox.
-
"Erm, I'm kinda low on da big spells. Can you get us dere Robor?" Beats asks geting very weary of paradox.
"Yeah I'm ripping open the gauntlet so we can pass through it all." Robor sYs, nodding
-
"Miguel, see if you can find out where they're going."
-
UsdiYona steps sideways to go join Miguel in seeing where the vampires went.
-
Miguel and UsdiYona cautiously moved into the subway car (or the twilight aspect of it at least).
Once inside, they could see that the subway car had been made into some swanky-looking bachelor pad - complete with red and black artistic décor, reminiscent of the nightclub's 'perdition' theme above.
A huge round bed dominated the center of the car - the passenger seats of which had all been removed - and both the bed and floor was covered in Siberian white tiger-skin rugs.
Huge elephant (or demon?!?) tusks of ancient appearance, and gold candle-stands with more giant candles, framed a large stone sarcophagus at the far end, while a life-sized red brass statue of Baphomet - a satanic-looking figure with a goat's head, black wings, and full breasts of all things, was set up in the entryway.
Painted on the windows behind the large statue was the Sabbatic Goat - or Sigil of Baphomet.
To the side of the car, one of the tiger-skin rugs had been moved, to reveal an open trapdoor in the floor. The trapdoor appeared to lead simply to the ground beneath the car, on one side of the tracks. It could be an escape hatch, but something seemed unusual about the ground under the trapdoor - as if it was not your run-of-the-mill dusty construction gravel. In fact, it actually looked quite rich, like someone had emptied a truckload of a dark woody planting soil of some kind under the subway car.
As for the vampires, none were in sight, but when UsdiYona peered into the shadow (something Miguel could not do apparently), she saw some non-descript distant movement, hurrying away down dark cavernous passages.
Scary dark cavernous passages.
-
"Hey Miguel," UsdiYona says, "I think they got away. Could you tell the others and ask what we should do?"
"And if their answer involves me going into this deep dark scary hole, then it better involve me getting a pizza as well."
-
Miguel nodded to UsdiYona and went out over to the Saint (Killer) to explain the situation.
"The rail wagon has been abandoned. There is a trapdoor, but the bear girl says they went into a deep dark hole... I think? I did not see what she could see."
-
Beats waits for somthing to happen ready for new enemies to appear
-
Killer enters the rail wagon and goes to take a look at the hole in question itself. He casts his life sights on the rich dark soil - his suspicion is that the ground has been fed the blood of a large number of victims.
-
"If we missed some and they're running away we should let them. There's no telling if they have more traps waiting, or if they have allies at their destination," Emend remarks.
"We should head back and fortify our defences."
-
Heading into the subway car, the Saint (Killer) was immediately taken aback by the large satanic statue and sigil in the entry. Something about it triggered chills that ran up and down his spine - and suggested a certain familiarity, which he couldn't actually place.
Heading over to the trapdoor, he could see the smoky outline of UsdiYona's twilight form hovering nearby. Observing the dirt under the car, revealed nothing unusual about it - other than it definitely was not soil native to Washington DC or the surrounding area.
A strange 'buzzing' sensations in the Saint (Killer)'s stomach and limbs, reminded him of the radiation hazard not too far from his current position in the railcar.
-
“I agree, we should leave soon - because of the radiation if for nothing else. But before that, mind casting your sights on this place? Some of these things might be magical in nature, especially this statue”.
Killer looks for something he can use to scoop up some of the dirt and take it with him. He doesn’t want to touch the stuff with his own hands.
-
Emend takes a look at the statue.
-
Braving the radiation, Emend entered the subway car and gave the interior a look.
The large red-brass statue of Baphomet was the origin of the ward and ban that they had encountered in the long corridor; the one Emend had tweaked to allow them through. It was attuned to Deceit and empathically linked to a sleeping entity of some kind that probably resided in the Shadow version of the artifact.
The large tusks at the other end of the car were also enchanted, radiating Envy and cold blue fire to Emend's supernal vision. Emend got the impression that they were the spikey tines off the back of some draconic demon of old - and they apparently granted immunity to fire for some infernal price.
The Saint (Killer) meanwhile, had collected some of the strange dirt below the trapdoor, in a discarded plastic bag. Checking it out, Emend could see that it was not magical in any way, though it did carry an empathic connection to someone - one of the vampires perhaps?
-
"If we leave, the vampires can spawn more of themselves." Robor says.
"We have an obligation to get rid of them."
-
"The statue was the ward I altered earlier, and the tusks are used to gain immunity to fire, for a price. If the others used the tusks, then that leaves the sun as the only real weakness to them," Emend explains.
"That dirt has an empathetic link to someone, though I don't see why dirt would be that important to anyone. Perhaps Sarapheen would be able to take a guess. Regardless, we should destroy the tusk and cast a spell to keep an eye on the area, should they return," he says.
"The statue we should leave. We're already unaffected by it, it keeps outsiders out of harms way, and it's linked to something we likely don't want to awaken for no reason."
He then turns to Robor.
"We can finish them off later. Though if you insist on following vampires down a dark tunnel that likely leads to their allies alone then by all means, be my guest," he responds with a smirk.
-
"As much as I hate to agree with him we're in no condition to continue Robor. I used up a lot of energy keeping us alive up until now, I won't be able to do it again. We're all in rough shape after that, walking into a trap wouldn't help. You can take comfort in the knowledge that they will burn all the more for their crimes when we are done with them."
Pausing for a second, Killer looks to the others.
"Say, does anything about that statue strike you as familiar? Something about it felt... well, I recognized the feeling when I came in here. I'm wondering if maybe that heart we got was originally a part of this or something."
-
Beats shouts over as he gets closer but gives the radiation pool a wide bearth "Whats it look like? and wat was da heart called agen?"
-
"No, the heart and it are associated with different demons," Emend explains. "And it doesn't feel familiar to me. Perhaps you have some sort of personal history with it?"
-
UsdiYona steps sideways back into the real world, thankful that she does not have to go down that deep scary hole!
Changing back into a girl, she says "I'm glad that's over with! Now I'm starved!"
She fails to notice all the bald patches in her hair.
-
"As much as I hate to agree with him we're in no condition to continue Robor. I used up a lot of energy keeping us alive up until now, I won't be able to do it again. We're all in rough shape after that, walking into a trap wouldn't help. You can take comfort in the knowledge that they will burn all the more for their crimes when we are done with them."
"If we leave, they have the chance to escape. Give me a second to make it more difficult for them, at least." Robor says, willing himself to the spirit realm. He'll order the Eye Spirit to remain at the entrance to the tunnels, to watch for those entering and exiting it.
He'll also exam to see if he can spot any spirits in the tunnel itself.
-
"Maybe it was a part of my studies. It's been a while."
With his sword, Killer takes a swipe at both tusks on the statue.
-
As the Saint (Killer) cleft apart the ancient dragon tines with his sword, Robor stepped sideways into twilight. The transition was remarkably easy, in part due the gauntlet having been worn so thin by Belial's Brood and their unholy summonings.
Moving to a point where he could look down the tracks, Robor could see three small pinpoints of orange-ish light, flickering a couple hundred feet into the tunnel. Taking a moment to focus his vision between all three worlds, Robor concluded that whatever it was, existed only in twilight. He couldn't see anything in the real world or in the shadow - which really was a scary-looking dark hole of cavernous fear that UsdiYona had described.
Using mind, Robor could detect a large host of barely intelligent 'huminoids?' down the tunnel in the real world - perhaps two dozen and another two minds that seemed completely broken into multiple pieces - or maybe they were actually multiple minds fuzzed together? Yet broken by the process?
Checking the flickering lights in twilight, Robor could sense they were highly intelligent spirits of some kind.
Reaching out with his senses in the shadow, revealed no active minds within his sensory range.
-
Robor reaches out to take control of the flickering lights.
"What exists down this tunnel?" He asks them
-
Whether the entities simply ignored Robor, or were too far away to receive his commands, the three flickering points of light remained where they were (unmoved).
-
Robor tsks. He needs to become stronger. He changes his aim, focusing on the broken minds in the tunnel.
"What are you" he mumbles, as he tries to establish a telepathic link to one of the minds.
-
(Assuming Robor explains what he's trying to do)
Killer stays by and carefully monitors Robor as he establishes a mental link with foreign entities in the middle of a demonic lair, ready to wrest control of his body away from him if things suddenly go horribly wrong.
-
Robor tsks. He needs to become stronger. He changes his aim, focusing on the broken minds in the tunnel.
"What are you" he mumbles, as he tries to establish a telepathic link to one of the minds.
Robor managed to establish a connection to one of the fractured portions of a mind. It was not capable of communication via anything but exceedingly strong emotions and did not even appear to be aware of Robor's mental intrusion - offering no notable response to his questions.
'ANXIOUS! ANGUISH! HATE! RAGE! SMASH! EAT!'
In the physical world meanwhile, everyone else heard a god-awful guttural sound reverberate up the subway tunnel - like the combination of a lion's roar and the hoarse braying of a donkey!
-
"Not sure this is worth the trouble Robor. At least not while we're all still so tired and the place is so unsafe."
-
Beats looks around suspiciously "Is dere anythin worth fightin still here or do we go and like come back later?" then glancing around "Just let me grab a few things so we can find dem agen." He then edges into the train car looking arpund the platform and inside the car for small trinkets that may have belonged to the vamps.
-
Beats found a number of small personal effects near the large stone sarcophagus, and took one that seemed to have a strong empathic link to its vampiric owner - a pewter goblet fashioned from the upturned half of human skull.
The dirt that the Saint (Killer) had already collected, seemed to be linked to the other vampire.
-
"Robor!" UsdiYona says to the twilight disciple with her hands on her hips; "I thought we were leaving."
She then turns to Miguel. "Tell him, Miguel. A growing girl's got to eat!"
-
Miguel, chuckled at the bear-girl's impatience and moved to stand by Robor in twilight. It was one of the few occasions that Robor could see the ghost clearly - being that he only ever saw his blurred form through the wrong arcanum.
"What is it that you see?" He asked.
-
With this and da dirt, I can find dem again when I want." he tells the others
-
Miguel, chuckled at the bear-girl's impatience and moved to stand by Robor in twilight. It was one of the few occasions that Robor could see the ghost clearly - being that he only ever saw his blurred form through the wrong arcanum.
"What is it that you see?" He asked.
Robor points down the tunnel.
"I'm not sure. Angry minds." he says with a shrug. "Might be spirits stuck in mortal bodies?"
"Robor!" UsdiYona says to the twilight disciple with her hands on her hips; "I thought we were leaving."
She then turns to Miguel. "Tell him, Miguel. A growing girl's got to eat!"
"yeah yeah, I hear. Just hate leaving them when we have them cornered." He mutters, he turns to Miguel.
"We should chat sometime. Was a historian in my otherlife. We could go over some of your history, see what the world got wrong." He says, and then sidesteps back.
-
With this and da dirt, I can find dem again when I want." he tells the others
"Then let's leave," Emend replies.
-
Returning from the twilight, robor looks to the group.
"They got some broken people in there. Tortured or something." He says.
-
Killer casts Sense Life and casts it out as far as he can down the tunnel
-
"Just down da tunnel?" Beats asks then quickly begins scrying the indicated area "I'll check wat I can see"
-
Well down the tunnel, at least a couple hundred feet, the Saint (Killer) picked up the lifeforms that Robor had detected with his mind magic. There were twenty four humanoid, yet sub-human, species that the Saint (Killer) had never before encountered. In fact, after taking a moment to really analyze what he was sensing, he could tell that they had been altered in some manner similar to his fantasia and body honing abilities - only in more visceral and entirely alien ways. It was suddenly unclear if the creatures had been brought up to sub-human or near-human, from a lower species, or... reduced to sub-human from a higher form.
Then continuing his scan, he felt out two incredibly disturbing amalgams of sub-human and animal life. Giant abominations of fused creations - as if a multitude of living flesh had been sewn or merged together to create perverse golems of colossal proportions. Whatever they were, they were both equally as massive as the industrial waste demon had been, but incredibly, monsters of the living world! Somehow neither demonic, nor creatures of the shadow!
Beats meanwhile, opened a window into the distant darkness, unable to see anything in the pitch black. He could hear a multitude of things breathing heavily in that portion of the rail tunnel however, and the lumbering movements of huge creatures jostling about, like a herd of cows milling around in a pen.
-
"I cant see dem in da dark but I can hear dem. Want me to light dem up? If so, gonna need some fire." he says outloud.
-
"I really don't think we should mess with whatever is in there. Or at least, you shouldn't. I might be able to finish them all off from here but it's still risky if they get any closer."
Pausing a bit then backing up to explain to the others, Killer continues "Have you guys ever seen a kid make a bunch of little things with playdoh? Like little people, or animals? Cows, dogs, a family, etc? You ever seen them mash them all up together into a big ball once they're done playing?
That's kind of what happened down there. I'm not completely clear on the magic behind it but it's more or less like if I went completely insane and started experimenting on raising various animals into human and inhuman forms and fusing them together. Or at least I think they're animals. They're definitely not human anymore if they used to be. I don't think I possess the level of mastery necessary to undo what's happened, and we would need Morrowind or an even greater master to undo the damage to their minds. Would be a lot kinder to just put them out of their misery. I'd guess they're in about as much pain as Miguel was back in hell, probably moreso considering their flesh is still alive. Would be surprised and a bit horrified if the big ones were even still sentient."
"There are twenty four individual... things, and two of the large, golem-like masses of them. As savage and animalistic as they are I could have them turn on each other and then finish off whichever of the two golems wins. Or we could leave them here as bait, the vampires might come back to reclaim them - I imagine it took a lot of work to make them. Might even be able to turn them on the vampires, but I don't know just how strong their control over these things are. We might even consider asking Sarapheen to bring down a greater angel to undo the damage, if they could be bothered. Feel free to consider our options."
-
"Ah, I was just gonna send fire through da scryin window." Beats replies having missed half of the exposition
-
Robor grimaces.
"They've been corrupted, there's nothing left in their minds but hate. We can't leave them to suffer like this anymore."
-
Nodding in agreement, Killer sits down and concentrates. He reaches out to one of the large golems and begins speaking words of suggestion, hatred, strife and pain. He amplifies the creature's animal instincts - or rather, as many of the creatures inside the golem as he can, demanding it protect it's territory. He amplifies its anger at all life, including that life which surrounded it right now. He amplifies its fight or flight instinct, that its natural response to its constant pain might force it into a fighting state.
He spends a willpower point on the attempt.
If all this is not enough he will even try to use his sword's enchantment to try to force a fight out of the golem.
(Lizard brain on one of the Vozdh, try to make it turn on the other ghouls in range).
-
At the Saint (Killer)'s instigation, a terrible row abruptly broke out down at the far reaches of the darkened subway tunnel!
Rancorous howls and savage snarls echoed up the passage, along with thunderous blows that shook the ground and sent a keening ring up the rails. This was all followed by lamenting yelps and shrieking squeals, that seemed to flee away from the focal point of the loud raucous.
-
Killer reaches out to the ones fleeing the fight and tries to influence them in tirn, reversing their fight or flight instincts - trying to make them fight that which threatens their lives instead of fleeing it. He suppresses their fear and amplifies their urge to fight (again Lizard Brain).
-
The Saint (Killer) could feel a few of the lesser creatures succumb to his manipulations, each staying to fight it out with the psychotically enraged greater one. The sounds of battle continued to echo up the tunnel along with the occasional tremor shaking the ground.
As this went on, Emend was able to deduce that the creatures fighting each other were actually outside the bounds of the ward that Belia's Brood had set up through the profane statue.
-
Killer waits it out. When he senses only one lifeform remaining he’ll begin to cast killing curses one after the other, until he is sure that there is nothing left there alive.
-
It was not too long, before the sounds of battle died down.
Checking with their relative mage sites, the disciples were surprised to find quite a lot of the creatures still waiting - just beyond the ward that prevented enemies of Belial's Brood from entering the area.
The number of lesser creatures seemed to have been whittled down to about twelve - while both of the gargantuan monstrosities still remained.
It was questionable, given the Saint (Killer)'s quickly dwindling mana, as to whether life force assault was even worth the effort.
Additionally, all this standing around - bathed in enough rads to kill a horse - was slowly beginning to take a toll...
-
"What are we waiting for?" UsdiYona asked curiously. "What's making all the noise down there?"
"Robor, go see what it is!"
Noticing a patch of Emend's hair falling out, UsdiYona also asks, "Emend? What is wrong with your hair?"
-
“I halved their numbers and I would imagine at least one of the big ones is heavily injured by now, some might die on their own. But this is getting exhausting, the radiation that demon left behind is still wearing me down. Emend, can you do anything about it or do we need to leave?”
-
"There's nothing worth doing at the moment. We'll head back to the castle, rest up, and make sure we're ready in the event of a counter-attack," Emend responds grabbing at piece of his falling hair.
"We've clearly over-stayed our welcome after all."
He then turns to Usdi.
"Nothing at all. I'm just trying out a new style. What do you think?"
-
"So we need ta portal outa here or take the route out dat we used to get here?" Beats asks the group
-
“The route we took here both involved a nightclub filled with vampiric servants and a portal, It would be more prudent to just teleport back from now. Maybe not directly there, in case they have some way of following through the portal as we sometimes do.
-
Fair enough, let me think.
Beats then thinks of a well hidden alleyway a few blocks from the church they can portal too then walk the rest of the way. Scrying first to ensure no sleepers are nearny he opens the portal out.
-
Robor nods.
"We should search for the vampires when we return,"
-
Washington National Cathedral; Sunday Morning, February 4th 2018
After portaling out of the abandoned subway tunnel, the disciples carefully made their way to the east side of the Washington National Cathedral. Being Sunday morning, a mass was in progress and the disciples had to slip in through a delivery door. It did not help that they all looked a terrible mess.
Once in their usual meeting space, down in the lower levels, the Saint (Killer) used his magic to purge the radiation poisoning from everyone.
Beats meanwhile, tried to use the items he had collected to locate the remaining Belial's Brood vampires, but was unsuccessful. According to his spell, the owners of the sympathic links were not anywhere on Earth.
-
"Dese Vamps aint on Earth. Maybe da shadow or... some other plain but I can't scry dem at all. I'll Keep tryin a few times each day though." Beats tells them after a few fruitless attempts.
-
"They'll have to come back eventually, for blood if for nothing else. They will not hide from us forever, we can simply wait for them to return while we recover and investigate their lair further. For now I say we wait," Killer offers.
-
"Dese Vamps aint on Earth. Maybe da shadow or... some other plain but I can't scry dem at all. I'll Keep tryin a few times each day though." Beats tells them after a few fruitless attempts.
"What if I pulled you into the Shadow? Would you be able to svry them from there?"
-
"If dat is where dey are then sure? I think at least" Beats replies
-
"We should head back to the castle and attempt to find them from there," Emend says.
-
"We should head back to the castle and attempt to find them from there," Emend says.
"Yeah fine. But it's important we get to them.as soon as possible. I'm tired of always reacting to evil."
-
High Oaks Castle; Sunday Afternoon, February 4th 2018
Regrouping at High Oaks Castle, Beats healed his companions, while Robor created a spirit road, so that he and Beats could head into the shadow to scry out the location of the two missing vampires.
As this went on, The Saint (Killer) retired to the pool to soak up some mana, while UsdiYona hit up the kitchen.
That left Emend a moment to reflect quietly on things by himself (as long as he didn't let all the noise coming from the kitchen distract him). Of course, UsdiYona was part spirit... and the last spirit to go hog wild in the castle was the Sclorch... and that certainly did a number on the library...
Maybe he should go see if UsdiYona needed any 'help' after all.
---
Beats and Robor Continued in (Shadows of Things Past) (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=2221.0)
-
Feeling that the defences should at least give them good warning, Emend heads to the kitchen to make sure Usdi is taking care to not burn the mansion down.
-
UsdiYona greets Emend as he come in. She has created a huge buffet and is trying to balance a ridiculously high dagwood sandwich on plate.
At least she's using a plate, regardless the fact she's sitting indian style atop the table itself in the middle of all the food!
-
"I notice there is a distinct lack of fire this time. Well done," Emend praises, grabbing himself a snack as well. Just to make sure nothing sneaks up on him, he'll activate spatial awareness now.
-
Down in the basement, the Saint (Killer) had just finished his oblation at the hallow, when his cell phone rang. It was an Arlington Virginia number, but not one he was familiar with.
-
Normally Killer would ignore the call - probably nothing but a telemarketer.
But given the circumstances - especially that the number is from Arlington, he answers it - "Hello, who am I speaking to?"
I wonder why they didn't call Emend? Or is it part of the brood?
-
"Father Giles Moreau?" A voice asked, continuing; "I am Robert Swane. I represent the Estate Panning and Acquisitions Firm of Blume & Blumenthal, here in Arlington."
"It has come to the attention of a client of ours, that you may have recently come into possession of an unusual curiosity of ancient origin. A glass figure of a human heart, if I understand correctly."
"If you have such an item and are interested in learning more about its provenance or would be willing to entertain prospective offers for it, I would love to schedule a meeting with you at your convenience."
-
"Well now, I thought it an interesting curiosity. I didn't realize there were others who had their eye on it - tell me, are you aware of the nature of the figurine or are you simply representing people who are?"
Aren't these Emend's enemies? Didn't Emend first receive the heart? Why are they calling me?
They must know I'm a disciple, why would they assume I would sell them a demonic legacy? Have I been found out?
Killer starts up the steps upstairs as he speaks, searching for Emend.
-
"I represent an interested party, who has an extensive knowledge of the item's background. I personally, have not known anything about the item until today, but have been provided a detailed portfolio of its description and the legends surrounding it."
"I must admit that it all sounds completely fantastic to me, but the client is quite serious about making a very generous offer - If... the item turns out to be the original piece and not simply a replica or fake."
-
"I'll need some time to consider my options - can I call you back at this number if I want to set up a meeting at a later date?
Also, if I may ask, how did you find out I'd come into possession of the thing? A friend gave it to me in a rather personal transaction, did they blab?"
-
"Of course," Mr. Swane answered; "Call me anytime. I can be reached at this line directly, or through the Office of Blume and Blumenthal."
In regard to the follow up question, he explained, "Our Office was contacted by the client to act as mediator between your two parties. I was only informed this morning that you might have the item, which is what prompted this cold call."
"My apologies for bothering you on a Sunday, but the client is quite eager to confirm authenticity and move into negotiations (as appropriate)."
-
"Alright, I'll let you know when and if I can set up a meeting by tomorrow, thank you for the call."
With that, Killer hangs up and tries to find the others.
-
The Saint (Killer) found Emmend and UsdiYona in the kitchen.
The place was a disaster area. Not that he hadn't seen them same in his own kitchen from time to time.
-
"Are Robor and Beats back yet? I just got a pretty important call. We might have to delay our vampire hunt for a bit."
-
"No, they're both still out. What kind of call was it?" Emend asks.
-
"It was a call from your old friends at Blume and Blumenthal. Apparently someone knows we have the Heart of Flies and is looking to buy it. They know what it is too, so probably not a human. Blume and Blumenthal is supposedly only an intermediary but I somehow doubt its involvement is a coincidence.
I assume they know we're disciples so I'm not quite sure why they would even call to ask instead of launching an attack to recover it but i'm thankful we've been given the chance to organize. I think you should contact Miss Corday and ask about who this mysterious buyer might be. You don't think it could be the surviving brood members do you?"
-
"Maybe they want to be invited, or confirm its location before making a move. Perhaps they know the true nature of the Heart, and think we can use its powers," Emend replies.
"The only people outside of ourselves and Sarapheen that know we have the heart would be the Camarilla. Either they leaked the information, or we're being spied on. Either way, it's worth a call," he finishes, pulling out his phone and making the call to Nicolette.
-
"de Corday Linguistics," a female voice answered Nicolette's cell, though it was not her; "How may I help you?"
-
"This is Emend. I'm looking to speak with Nicolette," Emend answers. "It's concerning a gift she brought when we last met."
-
"Hello Mr. 'Emend'," the woman replied; "Nicolette is currently overseas with another client, but if you will leave a callback number, I can pass a message along. She should return your call this evening after 9:00pm, due to the time zone changes. I hope that won't be too inconvenient."
-
"That's fine then," Emend replies, hanging up the phone after saying goodbye. He then turns to Saint.
"Nicolette won't get back to us until the evening. Did the demons mention when they wanted an answer by?"
-
"No, but I said i'd let them know by tomorrow. Don't want them getting impatient and acting before we can."
-
"It's unfortunate timing to have them looking for the heart while we're dealing with these vampires," Emend replies, he then ponders for a moment.
"Can you hand me your phone for a minute? I want to see if I can trace back the call and then look through their records to see who contacted them."
-
Continued from (Shadows of Things Past) (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=2221.msg129982#msg129982)
---
Just off the castle grounds meanwhile, Robor and Beats returned from their brief foray into the Shadow.
-
"Lets get inside fast and tell da others whats goin on." Beats says as he opens a portal to a safe location in the building
-
Killer hands Emend his phone, "I doubt they'll be using their real name"
-
Emend attempts to do the trace he mentioned early woth the phone now in his hand.
-
Using forces, Emend was able to see the account of the person that had called the Saint - a Robert Swane, using an AT&T cell service in the Arlington Virginia area. Trying to find the guy's call logs however, was a little more difficult, as there was an overwhelming number of places they could be on the internet.
Emend got the feeling that he could get what he was looking for faster, if he could actually connect to the guy's cell via a call. Baring that, he could try spending time at his computer, trying to root the info out - or maybe try to tap into the guy's phone while he was making a call himself.
-
"I cooked, someone else can clean," UsdiYona announces, getting up to go digest on the couch.
"Better grab this for latter," she adds, swiping a bag of chips and some cold pepsis.
-
As UsdiYona was getting ready to head to the living room, Beat's and Robor abruptly appeared in the hall outside the kitchen, having returned from their mission into the shadow.
Their pantlegs were exceedingly muddy for some unknown reason.
-
Hearing noises from the kitchen Beats heads in "Hey, we got some info we need ta share. Also Robor made a deal with some demon."
-
Hearing noises from the kitchen Beats heads in "Hey, we got some info we need ta share. Also Robor made a deal with some demon."
"That dumb mutt wouldn't leave us alone otherwise." Robor says.
-
Clarifying, Robor adds,
"That dumb mutt that kept chasing us, the one who stole my sword forever ago? He caught us in some magic Ward and wanted a deal.
I go and collect the fragments of his treasure that we broke, and in exchange he serves us for 101 years."
"(Is 101 a special number?)"
"Also, the vampires are in some kind of fortress. The spirit world just keeps getting weirder."
-
"Emend, do you think you'd be able to kill them using sympathetic magic from the spirit world or will we have to leave off finishing the vampires for now?
We have some news of our own, someone contacted me using an intermediary from Blume and Blumenthal about the Heart of Flies, they know what it is and they want to buy it."
-
"the lawyers from hell?"
-
“Their company, at least, I don’t know if the lawyers themselves are involved.”
-
"Guessin dey are involved. Someone had ta be spyin on us to know we had it didn't dey?" Beats adds mentaly vhecking his wards against scrying over the area
-
"Doubtful," Emend replies to Saint. "We'll just have to wait a bit to see if they strike first, and this time we'll have the home advantage."
He then considers calling the the number from his own cell phone, before deciding against it. He could get Saint to call him back, but it'd be a bit too early to give him a decision. With those thoughts, he decides to go onto a computer and see if he can find anything on Robert Swane.
"In the meantime, I'll see what I can dig up on the potential buyer of the heart."
-
With a little time on the computer, Emend was able to access Robert Swane's call logs. They appeared to be pretty mundane, being daily interactions between business clients, the office of Blume and Blumenthal, and his wife.
Nothing stood out as unusual, even when Emend spent time rooting out the clients themselves.
-
END?