Dresden Files M-80; Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?

Ken (GM) WHERE LAST WE LEFT YOU FUCKERS

Ken (GM) You had done the thing! Needfully!

---

In winters mournful chill, in a hazy light of day, you trekked across the city to evade the police and otherwise stalk after the boys you sent to the hospital…Stopping by La Maison Grammaire, you sought answers to the whole “thrall” thing, but instead encountered a wicked lightning storm INSIDE the building, doing battle with none other than Morgan (a White Warden)

Ken (GM) Morgan escaped into the NeverNever (the magic world behind our world) and you calmed down the tempestuous woman channeling the lightning and fury! Devita eventually revealing herself as a friend of Thierry, the store owner, and shooing you on to your business as she cleaned up in the aftermath

Your research then continued instead at the McGill university archives, where you discovered the strange Nautilus shell remnant from the terrible eel-thing was, in fact, known as a ‘Devilfish’ and that the most recent articles published on it were well researched by a Montreal Native! You seek him out at his Faculties, round the way at the Biology wing, now just a short jaunt away.

---

Ken (GM) As night falls, the hush of the city surrounds you. Dinnertime smells mingle with fresh woodsmoke, as hearths are lit and supper is served across the city. Your stomachs growl with anticipation as you stalk the wintry streets, coming upon ‘817 Rue Sherbrooke O‘, a maintenance yard facility for Montreal’s McGill University…

Anne jaunts bravely with her little nose in the air, the girl all sharp and ready in the eveningtime chill, ignoring the hunger that slowly, distractedly builds in the teenager as they work the way to the address. “This is the place, oui?”
Nick:“Might as well be. There a doorbell?” Nick looks for one; if he cannot find one, he shall knock.

Ken (GM) The facility yard is revealed as you round the block; a squat building in the back of several others, encircled by it’s driveways. Heavy truck access to either side with gates, and a short parkade in front. A few cars are parked there. A broken down sedan, a bright red muscle car, and a silver and black luxury rolls royce from the previous decade…

P.P.A.:>manhole icons conspiciously sticking out of the background, like cels in old hand-drawn cartoons which you can tell are going to move in that scene
I expect something to emerge from the sewers
Ken (GM):~waggly GM eyebrows~
[sorry for the low res/high res contrast]
Anne hopes the manholes aren’t the important part, and instead it’s the crappy old cars.
P.P.A.: well one has skulls on it, I now see

Anne walks with Nick, looking around and rubbing her thumb across her ring as they look for the door to 817.
Maurice takes up the rear, and whistles low as he sees the cars “Thats a nice Rolls…” he says, impressed by the car
Nick nods. “It is. Quite old, though.” He appreciates the car, but doesn’t dwell on it—there’s a door to be found.
Anne: “Oh, it gleams.” She sounds surprised as she looks to the cars parked there, walking with the men to the door, looking at the custom job on the red car next and tilting her little blonde head to the side.

Ken (GM) the building is unassuming, emblazoned with the smallest signage that states “McGill university: Maintenance Faculties Yard”. Two unassuming doors on the front of the building, steel with no windows, on a cinderblock frontage

Ken (GM) the cold wind picks up, and an icy chill whines down the dark street. Ice crystals twinkle in the streetlights…

Anne shivers, wool stockings, skirt and fluffy sweater do enough to keep her warm most of the time but she always feels it more when she’s hungry. If the winter weather gets worse she might have to burn something just to chase the chill away.

Ken (GM):[GM remembers to plant light source…]

Nick looks for a doorbell; if there is none, he knocks.

Ken (GM) The building is quite unadorned, faced with a steel door, Nick BANG BANG BANG’s on the surface to great effect.

Nick waits patiently—for his standards—for a response. Like, maybe 20 seconds.

Ken (GM) …a good twenty seconds pass with no response

Maurice shivers, and waits, staring out, scanning the dark and cold street

Nick knocks again, and calls: “Professor— uh…Professor Fitzgeral?”
Anne nods. “Shall we check inside? All of this seems enough of an emergency to justify the intrusion, no?” She steps in and examines the door, then test to see if it’s locked.
Nick: “Given all we’ve seen… yeah.” Nick runs to the other door to see if it’s unlocked.

Ken (GM) no answer calls back; Nick’s words echo flatly in the snowy night. Anne finds the handle firmly stuck in place, locked with a deadbolt.
Maurice stamps his feet and slaps his hands together, dancing the dance of “the cold man from the south”
Nick: “This one’s shut too,” Nick calls over. “I’m gonna take a look around the corner.”

Ken (GM) The south side of the building has a similar door, and a large chain link gate as well, chained shut and pinned to the lot floor

Nick returns, shrugging.

Anne nods and waits by the door, looking after Nick a moment then testing the lock again, studying the door. “I do not suppose you pick locks, monsieur Maurice?”
Maurice: “Sorry, no, I’ve never had the knack for it. I’ve always been more of a people person” he shrugs.
“This place is locked up tighter than a nuns asshole…I wonder how we can negotiate our way inside…”
Nick: “We could try climbing over the gates.”
Anne lifts her hand and calls up argent flame, silvery and bright dancing among her fingers. “I could open the door..”
Nick: “…let’s not burn the place down, shall we.”
Maurice: “Yeah, here’s hoping they don’t have tanks of Diesel just sitting about”
“C’mon” he waves over Anne” You’re the lightest. We could probably chuck you right over this fence between we two strapping young men “

Anne droops, nodding and looking properly chastised as she lowers her hand rather then trying to burn off the lock. Walking around the corner and looking at the fence, then nodding. “Oui.. boost me up.”
Maurice plants his feet and makes a cradle with his hands
Nick does likewise
Maurice:”allez oop!”
Ken (GM): Anne! DX +2 please
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14(1+5+4) = 10
Anne steps into their hands and pushes off as they lift up, jumping, reaching up for the top of the fence to vault over with their help in a flurry of pleated skirt.
Ken (GM) POOMF in a flash she’s up and over, and a plume of snow flies on the wind as she lands.

Anne nods to the men with a smile, proud of sticking the landing then jogging lightly over to check the door on this side.. after making sure there’s no easy way to open the gate from this side.

Ken (GM) the gate remains stubbornly chained up with a fat padlock, no key in sight. The side door is much like the others, however, it is unlocked! It pulls away from the wall with a quiet CHNK as it releases

Anne calls over. “Will you climb or shall I try to get to the other door and let you in?”
Nick: “Lemme try climbing.”
Maurice offers a hand and a push for Nick
Nick: No sooner said and done, Nick tries climbing. (Roll against DX? ST?)
Ken (GM): DX please!
Youve got no climbing, but youve got help, so flat DX please
Nick: 11v11
Ken (GM): huzzah
Joush M.: Stop at the top of the fence and pull Maurice over so he has help too?
Ken (GM): SMRT
I likey
Nick manages to get up to the top. He turns around, and offers to pull Maurice up to him.
Anne nods in approval to the boys and gives a little clap at that. “Very fine work.”
Maurice:rolling 3d6 vs DX (1+1+6) = 8
Maurice takes the hand, rolls overtop, and nobody dies as you guys climb 8 feet of icy chain link fence
(To Anne): perception
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 (1+2+2) = 5
(To Anne): You hear the distinct sound of someone on the other side of the door, clomping up on shuffling feet…

Nick: “This door is open, you said?”
Anne nods and stands back. “Would you care to go first, Monsieur Nicholas?.. There’s someone inside. I can hear them move”
Nick: “Gladly.” Nick knocks once, and swings open the door. “Professor Fitzgeral?”
Ken (GM) Inside, darkness reigns…nobody is in sight in the inky darkness
P.P.A.: Inky, you say…
Anne takes out one of her glowsticks, offering it to Nick.
Ken (GM): UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE
Nick: The American was about to ask for one. “Thanks,” he accepts with a smile, and steps inside.

Ken (GM) the lime-green lights up Nick in stark color, and he steps into the brackish shadows. The facility echoes with his boot-steps, CLOP CLOP

Anne speaks softly. “I do not think that is the professor”

Ken (GM) Cinderblock walls reflect little, gray painted and peeling. The room is cool, not warm but not as chill as outside. Nick’s breath is revealed in green puffs.

Nick has his other hand on his holster. “…anyone here?” he calls out with suspicion.

Ken (GM) you hear a sudden movement in the dark, echoing. A scrape…or a scuttle

Nick ‘s eyes are fixated upon the direction of the sound. “You got another one of these?” he asks Anne, waggling the glowstick.

Anne shakes her head. “Non.. but..” A silvery cigarette lighter is taken from a pocket, then a white wax candle, lighting the second with the first and holding it up.

Nick: “Good enough.” Nick then tosses his glowstick into the darkness, towards where he heard the scraping sound from.

Maurice , from outside, lets out a long deep sigh…and takes in a sharp breath! He arms himself with his pistol, and racks one into the chamber

Nick takes out his gun, now free to hold it with both hands.

Ken (GM) the glow stick flies, and lands with a click clack. The green glow reveals more stark concrete floor, and the edge of some asphalt loading bay. Some shine of metal from the shadows that disappears as quickly as the stick flies…and nothing else…

Ken (GM) the candle light from anne is pure and bright, but only so strong…it flickers a touch in the open air

Nick: “I pray these are just vermin, and our good professor has not become another ghoul.”

Nick slowly moves forward, eyes and ears wide open.

Anne stands holding the light, following Nick.

Ken (GM) from the far end of the room, you hear a mewling growl….a kind of hiss and rumble. Unlike anything you’ve ever heard

Maurice: “The FUCK was that….”

Anne lights one more candle off the first, putting the first down on the ground to glow in the darkness behind her as she walks with the second fat candle. (Made to stand on it’s own, like an emergency candle or something she bought to put in the points of a pentagram for rituals. Sturdy wicks)
Anne: “I do not know, Monsieur Maurice.”

Ken (GM) scuttle scuttle, from the darkness. and now, a HISS like some massive cat

Nick contemplates barking back at it for a moment, but opts for a different response: “In the name of the Lord, reveal yourself, demon!”
(To Nick): You feel a twinkle of power there, invoking the lord…and you feel the pressure of something else here too, pressing back

Ken (GM) above you, the steel sheet roof rumbles in a sudden gust of wind, rattling the fixtures above. Dust falls from swinging lights…

Anne shivers. “Nice kitty…” She says hopefully as she looks around the eerie room they find themselves in. “What IS this place?”

Ken (GM) to the side, you see a large steel door and some large switch controls with fat wires. To the outside wall, you see green and red switches marked UP and DOWN leading to a chain and motor near the loading pad

Nick squints. “…yeah, this ain’t no stray kitten.”
Nick puts his rosary around his neck, just in case, and takes his Benedict medal in his hand, putting it between his palm and the grip of his gun for now.
Nick looks at the steel door before him, and looks back to the switches. “I guess those open the door?”

Ken (GM) the candle glows and shimmers, the dust twinkling from above.
P.P.A.:I think he’s trying to tell us to look up
Ken (GM):[:P]
P.P.A.: or that there is something with the ceiling
too back Nick doesn’t take note of such subtleties
Ken (GM):hahah

Anne looks at the industrial equipment curiously, then to the men for a moment before again her eyes search for whatever was making that sound.. looking up, hunting amid the rafters.

Ken (GM) the dim shadows slowly burn away to candle’s flame, and you scan the dim room. It’s definitely some kind of loading bay, and as you stay vigilant watching the shadows, they slowly retreat as your eyes adjust
Ken (GM):[revealing some more map details, you’re running at about -5 darkness penalties FYI]
Ken (GM) the candlelight reveals you’re at the edge of a loading bay, two large rolling doors with chained motors hanging. Above you, a high scaffolded ceiling with exposed rafters and hanging lights. And the switches on the left seem to lead to the lights

Anne asks Nick. “Should we test the buttons?”
Nick: “Buttons are made for pressing,” Nick affirms. Nonetheless, he takes a look above his head to make sure nothing is going to fall on him.
Ken (GM) No anvils on ropes are hiding above the big electronic button switches
Nick: “Yeah, go ahead.”
Anne tests the UP button.
Ken (GM):lol
labelled
[who doin what now?]
P.P.A.: er, let’s switch places
since Anne was pressing the Up button, which is probably on the doors
while Nick turns the lights on
Ken (GM): kk 😉
Anne tries to turn on the lights first, given there is no up button on the lights side!

Ken (GM) CHUNK a circuit trips and a loud noise issues from the old power box. The lights flicker and begin to glow, revealing the dusty room and it’s contents…

Nick presses Up on his panel.

Ken (GM) WHIRRRRRRRR as the motor starts, and the RUMBLE of clattering metal as the back door slides up and open

Ken (GM): PERCEPTION
Nick: 12v10
Maurice: rolling 3d6 vs 11PER (4+4+6) = 14
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 (1+5+1) = 7
Nick: “Argh, Pretty loud.”

(To Anne): You notice at the far end of the room, a figure in black crouching by the edge of the wall, with a clawed hand and ragged scraps of cloth hanging off him. A bald head with beady black eyes stares at you, from the no-longer-shadows
(To Anne): WAT DO?!
Ken (GM): whispering intensifies

Anne stares at the far end of the room, then points to somethin; staring at the creature, then calling out “Hello” to it, as if trying to have a calm conversation even as her hand points to it, ring faintly gleaming in the industrial lights.

The Creature chitters, and looms closer; you can see his face is a mass of tenticular wriggling, and his arm glistens with black scales…
WARBLEGARBLE it chitters, head cocked

Maurice SCREAMS and clutches his head
Ken(GM): Aside in discord chat, Maurice has been struck with horriffic visions of the DEEP yet again, and is assaulted by some mangling psychic force!
Ken (GM) the screaming turns to retching, as a gout of blood shoots from his face

Anne looks to Maurice sympathetically then to the creature. “Non! Stop or I shall stop you!” She says, blaming the beast for Maurice’s suffering!

The Creature steps forward on froglike-long-limbs, arms gawking at odd angles, and it’s ‘mouth’ twitching incessantly, undulating, hypnotizing…

---

Ken (GM):[Nick? Wat do?]
P.P.A.:(sorry, discovered the AC was leaking, had to step away… at exactly the wrong time it seems)
Ken (GM):[oh dear]

---

Nick looks back and forth between Anne and the monster. She reasons with it, so he doesn’t raise his gun. He does, however, take his Benedict medal in his hand, though he doesn’t raise it yet either. “What the fuck are you?!”
The Creature turns to regard Nick
(To Nick): You feel something utterly alien strike you full on in the face; roll WILL for me
(From Nick): 9v12
Maurice sputters, and trails off his scream

Anne makes a small, distressed sound. Knowledge is the key to being a mage. A real mage, not just a crazy person with dangerous super powers. She wants badly to go to Maurice, to help him, but she can’t turn her back on the creature and doesn’t want to kill it just because she doesn’t understand.

(To Nick): An assault of images, strange visions, the sea, the dark, chitin and claw, tooth and maw, pursuit of prey in the dark; it washes over you like a wave and carries your thoughts with it! And then it passes with you standing there, in place, gun raised and your body aching all over. You feel blood on your lip, hot and wet from your nose
Nick twitches, and gets a nosebleed, but only grunts once in obvious pain
Nick:As Nick becomes aware of himself again, he looks pissed. He reaches for the larger crucifix somewhere in a pocket, and holds it out towards the creature. “I don’t know what watery depths of Hell you’ve crawled out of, but you better go back there. Vade retro satana!”

Ken (GM) the room rumbles as the clattering door rises, the night wind climbing into the room now, dust swirling in the bright phosphor lights

The Creature HISSES and sprays black spittle forward from it’s weird maw, and then it DARTS forward, leaping on those too-long legs, coming right at you!

Ken (GM):wat do?!

Anne steps forward and almost talks.. but instead, it’s to yell ‘Kenaz!”
Joush M.: Fire, and lots of it
Ken (GM): OH BOY
Nick traces its movement with his outstretched arm, unflinching in unwavering faith.
Ken (GM): Anne! Roll to hit!
NICK! Shooty or Aimy?
Maurice retches
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 for Innate Attack (+3 aim? -x distance?) (3+6+6) = 15
Ken (GM): Oooh
the shot goes wide!

Nick raises his gun to the level of his crucifix.
Nick: (supporting the gun-hand with the hand holding the cross)
P.P.A.:Is it running towards Nick or making for the door?
Ken (GM): who knows?!

Ken (GM) the fireball flies wide and splashes against the concrete wall and metal door, scorches streak up the wall and a plume of greasy smoke goes up!
Joush M.: if he knows what’s good for him he is running from the Firestarter here

Nick takes a step back, allowing the creature to make its way out; if it comes for him instead, he is ready and waiting to pull the trigger.

Ken (GM) the thing scrambles past Nick, and kicks sideways, into the icy air of the alleyway yard behind the building! It lurches to a halt on the manhole cover!

Ken (GM):NICK
Nick: Even if it’s a demonic abomination, he feels uncomfortable shooting something in the back. He yells at it, instead: “What happened to that professor?!”
Nick aims all the while, though.
Ken (GM):gotcha, ACC+1 now

Maurice chokes back more retching, makes an uncomfortable sound

Ken (GM):ANNE!

Anne looks after it, then risks going to Maurice.
Anne moves to him, next turn planning to try and think of some way to help him
Maurice is fighting a flowing nosebleed and a retching cough. He seems to have thrown up all over…and it stinks of salty water?

The Creature flings the manhole off the ground, and slithers down into the dark in one slick motion. The heavy metal doesnt even land before it’s disappeared

Nick stares after it with ferocious eyes. Finally, after a few moments of it staying gone, he makes the sign of the cross, and puts away his weapons (though he clutches yet his cross and medal.)

Ken (GM) BANG CLANG-CLANG-CLANG the metal rings as the manhole cover falls back to earth once again

Ken (GM):Anne! Diagnosis/first aid?
Anne makes a small distressed sound, glancing after the monster then turning her attention to Maurice..
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 for First Aid (2+2+4) = 8
Nick:“Maury!” He turns around, worried.
(To Anne): He’s gonna be okay; it was a dramatic burst of blood but it stopped and didn’t continue. He’s also breathing okay. He is just really really out of it! Hes breathing is clear. How did he drink so much seawater?!
Maurice gasps and wheezes, but Anne gets him calming down. He’s flailed about clutching his gun and grasping at his face. He looks a wreck
Anne pats his back. “Calm now.. easy.. but how so much salt water? Perhaps some maligner magic?” She says, distressed. “Slowly. Breath now.”
Maurice belches and wheezes
Maurice mumbles desperately in Cajun
Nick: “When that thing stared at me, I— uh… dunno man, images of the sea, darkness, ugly… skittery shit.”
Maurice: “Beware the DEEP” he manages, clearly
Nick: “Maury, get yourself together. C’mon, try the Jesus Prayer or something; we needn’t fear these monsters, our Lord is greater than them.”
Maurice: “Oh sweet mother of gumbo what the FUCK “
Anne: “This is terribly dark magic.. to invade the mind..” She shivers, then nods. “You will be okay. Rest. a moment.”
Maurice: “Oh fuck my shirt” he looks down at the watery disgusting mess he’s made of his clothing
Anne: “Oui.. I think there is no saving it.” She says. Glad he is feeling well enough to worry about his clothes. She looks where the monster went.. then where it came from.

Ken (GM) the creak of the wind swinging the lights is the only noise now, the icy air rattling the fixtures. The loading bay door is open to the night, the phosphor glow shining white on icy white.
Steam rises from the sewer entrance, and disappears in the icy wind

Ken (GM) scrapes in the stone floor track where the thing landed when it leapt…and where it leapt from is also scored from sharp claws. Right into black stone

Nick takes a step back and takes a deep breath; they cold evening air is refreshing, although, somehow, he’d be more comfortable with a warmer, drier breeze right night.

Maurice checks his gun, but stays panting, clutched to the wall, quite shaken

Nick turns to Anne: “Any idea what that thing was? Other than some kinda demon, I mean.”
Nick: “…though I’m kinda reminded of that… black devilfish shell.”
Anne: “No. I’ve never seen something like that.. it was a plagic horror though. Something born of the sea?”
Maurice shivers
Nick: “Probably. Let’s ask our marine biologist, if he’s still alive. Maury, you okay now?”
Maurice: “Oh man I’m gonna boil these clothes” He chuckles a bit “Yeah, just…Ill cover you from here.” He stands, shakily, on jittering legs
Nick: “Let’s go slowly then.” Nick pats him— well, wherever he can touch without having to wash his hands afterwards, and heads in.
Anne nods and walks with them. Careful now, worried a bit.

Ken (GM) you sweep the room, and in clear calm light the rest of the room is revealed. Bare, unburdened with anything other than dirt tracks and…a hole in the floor….burst through from below….which reeks of sewer

Nick:“…this was the address of the prof, right? Or was that in some adjacent building?”
Maurice: “Yeah, this is it. Think he’s holed up inside?” He knocks his hand against the cinderblock inner room
Nick: “Wise.”
Anne looks around. “Oui.. I think this is the right address.” She looks around, worried, then looking at the sewer opening before looking to the other closed door, walking after Maurice.
Nick: “Oh, didn’t see that door until now.”
Nick knocks on it. “Professor? Are you inside? That, uh, thing that was here is gone now.”
Nick walks back to the panel and looks for other buttons to press.

Ken (GM) the knock rings hollow on the industrial steel door; nobody answers from the other side

Maurice jiggles the handle…and the door pops open
Nick:“…oh.”
Anne nods to him as he test the door, standing by. “Careful”

Ken (GM) inside, darkness. The bright light from the loading bay reveals tall shelves near the door, a tall canyon of bureaucracy as you see shelves of forms and line drawings spilling out of every shelf.

The bare ugly linoleum floor shines and Maurice trains his gun on the dark gap between shelves
Anne picks up the glowstick and tosses it inside the next room.
Nick raises his gun, and carefully peeks inside.
Ken (GM) lots of lino floor and tall shelves of paperwork
Anne steps inside and calls out. “Professor?”
Ken (GM) No voice betrays the darkness. But a spell blooms on the air in here. Dust, dry heated air…and something ripe

(To Anne): Lightswitch on the wall behind you
Anne test the light-switch.

Ken (GM) the lights CLACK on

Ken (GM) there is a body

Nick grits his teeth as he approaches it.

Ken (GM) the room is row upon row of tall heavy wooden shelving units stuffed with papers and plans of some kind. An office dump of paperwork. In the South end; a red, skinless body lies on the linoleum floor, fresh and smelling of raw meat. It’s guts are opened neatly, and empty, a big red hole. A lone desk aside sits…with a big golden bird statue on top…

(To Nick): The body is defiled; emptied and cut up. Neatly trimmed of all skin as if dressed butchery. There is nothing in the stomach…just a black void and bladder, like a meat sack dyed with ichor. The cleanest corpse you’ve ever seen

Maurice “Huh. What the fuck” The southern gentleman seems quite amazed at the sight
“Avert your eyes, Petit Cherie, You don’t wanna see this”
Anne: “Oh, no!.. We are too late.” She says as she stares, eyes widening as she looks to the body. Walking very reluctantly closer, staring a moment then looking firmly away, nodding in agreement with Maurice’s words. “The poor man”
Maurice: “I don’t wanna be seein’ this” he mutters to himself

Nick shakes his head and makes the sign of the cross and offers a quick prayer to the dead.
Nick:“…although we hurried here… Fuck.”
He steps towards the desk at the corner of the room.
“Let’s at least see if he left any notes that could help us, and then let’s get outta here.”
(To Nick): The desk is a mess of paperwork and bricabrac; some kind of water pump and a half-broken motor in pieces on the desk. The thing that stands out is the bird. Golden, shiny and very pretty

Anne nods, comeing down to help Nick. “Oui.. we should call the police once we have left.”

Nick looks at the bird statue. He picks it up and turns it around to see if there is anything inscribed on the bottom or something.

Ken (GM) the golden statuette gleams in the incandescent light. The body is heavy and dense. Solid. The detail is simple but elegantly carved in straight angular lines. Like some kind of South American idol of gold. It’s a hawk or an eagle, with blocky features and sharp beak
(To Nick): It tingles in your hand…like ~magic~ [passed secret PER roll]

Maurice takes a silly tone “Yes, Bonjour, Police? We have a fish-faced ghoul and a skinned body here. Come pick em up! Chop Chop” He laughs to himself, sounding a bit unbalanced

Anne: “We cannot simply leave him here. It would be wrong.” She pouts faintly, assuming Maurice is mocking her and her accent as she studies the things on the table. Looking to the golden bird thoughtfully. “That is not from around here.”

Ken (GM) rolling from the clutter on the desk, under the bird idol, is a bundle of bright red TNT…

Nick raises an eyebrow and hands the state over to Anne. “Hey, can you take a look at this thing? I feel… something from it.”
Anne: “Ah!” She stares at the cheerful wrapped bomb, seeing if it’s fused.
Nick: “…I see you found something more exciting there.”
(To Anne): the sticks of dynamite are bundled with black electrical tape and twisted off with a short fat fuse. Theres 7 sticks…
(To Nick): the sticks of dynamite are bundled with black electrical tape and twisted off with a short fat fuse. Theres 7 sticks…

Ken (GM) the bundle of red sticks sit menacingly on the desk…and nothing happens

Anne lets out a breath. “It’s not lit.” She says, then winces as she very carefully sets it aside. “What was a marine biologist doing with such a thing?” The slender blonde ask before she turns her attention to the statue. Examining it very carefully.
(To Anne): The very obvious tingle of Magic comes from this thing. You feel the great and sleek gaze of the great spirit looking down on you from the warm winds above… and a short wave of vertigo as that passes
Anne shakes her head, a shiver running from head to toe then very carefully setting it down. “It is connected to something. Some spirt in the Nevernever.. it’s a powerful object”
Nick: “I don’t condone theft, but I figure we should take it with us. Maury, found any interesting papers?” Nick looks over the writings on the desk, occasionally glancing at the TNT.

Maurice looks up from the shelf where he was half-resting his head in a daze. He flips some papers about and says “Yeaaaaah not really much here just….Sewer diagrams?”
Maurice: “What about you two?” he expertly deflects “What’s with the bird?’
Nick: “Dunno, it’s some magic shit.” Nick raises an eyebrow. “Those diagrams might come in handy.”
Maurice shrugs and affirmative, and stuffs fistfulls of loose diagram paperwork into his jacket

Nick takes a look around away from the desk. He doesn’t exactly enjoy the company of the man’s eviscerated corpse, and hopes they can leave soon.

Anne nods. “Oui.. we can’t simply leave a bomb here.” She agrees. “Or we could leave it for the police..” She says, then looks at the papers.

Ken (GM) you search for a few intent minutes; patently ignoring the body on the floor, leafing through diagrams, schematics, architectural drafts and sidelined project work folders.

The mountains of drawings are evidence to conclude one thing; this is a paperwork dumping ground

The ones on the desk do catch your eye though. A smear of lime green something sticks out on the papers; a big handprint near the ‘municipal designation of the implemented water siphon’
Ken (GM): “Sub-basement 4, Rue Rielle, Montreal“
Rue Rielle! …is where you first found each other! The street near the river! The alleyway and the tunnels below!

Nick forgot the street name.
Ken (GM):[well yeah, he’s a silly American :P]
Maurice nudges the body with his foot
Ken (GM) the body jiggles

Anne nods, the girl’s eyes wide and frowning at the paperwork. She carefully starts to pick up the paperwork from the table and put it in her bag, along with the bird.

Ken (GM):and ze bomb?
Nick: “I’m already illegally carrying a gun, I needn’t be caught with a bomb as well. Plus I dunno how to defuse one.”
Ken (GM): lol
Nick: 9v12 (Overconfidence)
Nick is not confident in his ability to handle a bomb without having any idea what he’s doing.
Anne displays how to defuse the bomb by reaching out and gently, firmly working the short fat fuse out of the sticks.
Nick: “…fair enough.”
Anne nods. “Ze pyrotechnical fuse is fitted into the small holes on the top of the tubes, ‘sticks’.”
Nick nods.
Anne wrinkles up her little nose. “Or you could put in an electrical blasting device in the same holes.”
Maurice: “…I gotta say, surprised you know that” he looks with obvious surprise “not super enthusiastic about our flammen-vitch being versed in explosives though” he mutters darkly
Nick: “Do they teach that in witch-school?” Nick jokes, and laughs. “Well, with how much fire you’re throwing around, it’s probably good to know what it can ignite.”
Anne blushes and blinks innocently. “I just like.. fireworks.”
Maurice: “Ahhhh” he sighs knowingly “Nick, no slipping her any M-80’s, okay? I wanna keep all my fingers”
“Okay, so, he had a bomb, and had the address to where we first met. Is that some kind of coincidence? or what?”

Maurice:”Did we dodge a proverbial bomb that night? or was he somehow involved?”
Anne: “I imagine he had a lead on the monsters and sought to undo them.”

Nick eyes the bomb. “…we’ll pick up his torch. …dynamite stick.”

Anne checks the box next to the table.
(To Anne): A compact trunk of handymans tools. hammer, snips, pliers, wrenches etc
(To Anne): Also, a snub nosed revolver in a leather harness
Anne searches amid tools in the tool box, then blinks and slowly, carefully holds up snub nosed revolver in a harness.
Maurice: “Damn, that’s a thirty eight, like mine” He holds up his revolver to the light. Same make and model
Nick whistles. “Nice.”
Anne: “Non, it’s trinitrotoluene. Much safer to handle.” She says of the bomb, then nods to Maurice, offering him the firearm. “I imagine if we are to take up his mission, you should have his sword then?”
Nick tries not to look at the corpse, as his shoulders sag. “…now I wish we’d gotten a chance to talk to him. Feels like he was fighting the good fight, God bless him.”

Joush M.: I’m totally buying her a point in demo after this to justify it because I really like her randomly knowing a bit about bombs.
Ken (GM):[sagely nod of approval at bomb-witch]

Ken (GM) the body twitches

Nick turns around, seeing the movement from the corner of his eyes.
Nick might be Overconfident, but this is hella creepy.

Ken (GM) the stomach bulges, and slumps to one side. Something pushes against the underside of the dark flesh bag

Anne looks to the body and considers. “They’ve done awful things to the corpse.. shall we.. would it be respectful to burn it?” The whole room could go up, but she’s already starting for the door, ring trained on the body.
Nick: “Shiiit—” Nick steps back and draws his gun. :“…I think that might be honorable. Just make sure not to hit the bomb.”
Maurice also steps back
Nick steps around the corpse, eyes and barrel fixed on it.
Anne collects revolvers and bombs as she starts for the door. Once they are past the body, she will call up flames.

Ken (GM) something black and probing slithers free…

Nick: “His soul is surely departed; whatever infests his carcass now is better burned.”
Anne:”Kenaz!”

Ken (GM): BOOSH

Ken (GM) Fire leaps from the little witch and engulfs the still twitching corpse. The smell of immolating flesh charring hits you like a wave, and a blossom of heat rises up in the small room

Anne: “We should go”
Maurice: “Shit, the candles! The glow sticks!”
Maurice moves frantically as he dashes for the door with you, grabbing your lights from the floor where you dropped them
Nick: “Good thinking!”

Ken (GM) the crackle of flames rises to a roar as you hear something BIG in the other room catch fire

Ken (GM) smoke billows along the ceiling as you three escape into the yard

Maurice: “Shit! The gate!
“It’s still locked!”
Nick: “We’ll just climb over it again.”
Maurice: “Anne, you first again!”
Anne jogs over and nods. “Same as before?” She gently tosses her bag over the fence.
Anne climbs!
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 12 (4+1+5) = 10
Nick gives her a hand.
Maurice motions for Nick to go next!

Ken (GM) smoke is now issuing from any gaps in the roof that allow it!

Nick: 8v11
Ken (GM): nice, and as before, he helps up Maurice!
Nick helps Maurice up after him, as before.
Maurice: rolling 3d6 vs DX 10 (2+6+1) = 9

Maurice: “Quick! Walk fast but casual, don’t wanna look to conspicuous!”
Maurice begins powerwalking away
Nick makes sure his gun is inconspicuously stowed away, and walks off.
Anne walks like she hasn’t committed any arson.. “Oh, did anyone see keys?” She looks longingly at the cars.. but really, they shouldn’t steal the professors ride.

Ken (GM) you three slink into the dark icy wind as the building behind you quickly erupts into roaring flames.

Ken (GM) as you round the block…you hear a muffled WHUMP and feel the pressure wave through the ground as something big back there EXPLODES

Ken (GM) sirens begin to wail in the distance

P.P.A.: We took the bomb with us, didn’t we?
I forgot (if not, that’d explain the WHUMP)
Oh, we did
there must have been another there
Anne yelps, turning, staring at the explosion and holding her bag of guns and bombs close.

Ken (GM):You suspect, as it was a fleet maintenance yard, and there was a fueling station round back…

Ken (GM) as night falls, you abscond to the dark corners of the city, fire engines rushing along snowy roads to beat back the cleansing flames of retribution…

Ken (GM): UNTIL NEXT WEEK

---

Joush M.: Oh my! Whelp, Anne can take the blame for this one
P.P.A.: Thanks for the session!
Ken (GM):hah, no problem
Ken (GM) Next Week; WAT DO?!
P.P.A.: eat dinner, probably
although the experience might have stifled out appetite a little
especially Maurice’s
Ken (GM): White vamp need food BADLY

alright. so 4 xp each.
ive got fiss updated, hes sorry for having missed but approves of the insanity in his absence
Joush M.: Thanks for the game Ken! Those 4 points shall go to justifying things she did this time
Ken (GM): fingerguns
muffled explosions and sirens wailing
PPA, any major purchases?
P.P.A.: pretty good ending to the episode
Ken (GM): lol
P.P.A.: I have something planned but I need to look into it abit more
Ken (GM): you guys never disappoint to resort to massive fire damage
P.P.A.: pls ping me tomorrow so I don’t forget
basically True Faith
Ken (GM): sets appointment “pester friends”
oh well, certainly pre-approved
P.P.A.: (but I figure my character might have to brush up on exorcism 101 to be truly effective)
Ken (GM): weird limitations? work out the math, let me know
P.P.A.: Aye, but it’s late now
Good night o/
Ken (GM): go sleep the sleep of ages
GOODNIGHT MONTREAL

Dresden Files M-80; this feels like it’s all building up to something…

Ken (GM): I live, just barely
you boys enjoy your week off?
Joush M.: I slept in, it was okay. Did miss the game
Ken (GM): [so did I]
😉
fiss incoming!
he will be 5 minutes; tele-telecommuting from another province
Joush M.: Ahh, Fiss is out at the ends of the earth?
Ken (GM): something like. He took a week off for a road trip and is incoming form some backwoods locale today
PPA, you alive?
P.P.A.: yup
Ken (GM): good!
P.P.A.: Indeed!
Not a Ghoul yet
Ken (GM): yet
the heck did you get up to?
P.P.A.: Enjoying the holiday on Thursday after not having had a weekend last week
Fiss: Sorry for the delay, laptop needed powar brix
Ken (GM): MOTHER OF GOD
you cant just ambiently power things by touch, via jolt inffusion?
WHO ARE YOU
Maurice hobo-mode activated
Ken (GM): ah, nice
Maurice: [have to conserve jolty power….it’s expensive]
Ken (GM): TO ARMS
P.P.A.: I read “conserve” as “conjure” there

---

Ken (GM) Where last we left our heroes!

Ken (GM) Teenage hoodlums had been threatened with brandished firearms, and the healthcare system had been defrauded! Marcel and his entourage scattered to the winds as you responsibly shoved an unbalanced youth armed with sharp wood and seasoning vegetables into the care of Canadian mental health workers!

Ken (GM) Your trio had decided on tailing them AFTER they had been seen to by the proper medical authorities, as Jerry the young hunter had been victim to some ghoulish wounds, and none of you had specialized in that particular brand of veterinary medicine

P.P.A.: I must have dozed off during the first aid course where they covered black goop
Maurice: Yeah, clearly that boy has been operating on a different level of what I consider ‘fun’
Anne: “Is Monsieur Jerry a.. ah, white supremacist?” She ask her companions with a little frown on her lips, the pale girl Not Approving of that sort of thing. “Shall we go to the hospital?”
Nick: “Given all the Nazi regalia on him—yea, that’s about my guess.”
The Boy: “He is NOT” insists a voice from nearby
Nick: “That said, he said he thought Marcel was a— …thrall, I think. He seemed pretty normal when I was talking to him—well, aside from the crossbow wound—but…”
“Huh?”
Maurice: “I’d make a joke about St Lawrence Nazis but I worry I’d be right…” turns to voice
Anne: ‘Ah!” She turns and faces the nearby voice, hand lifted, but gesturing at the ground rather then at anyone just yet. “Who is there?”

Ken (GM) One of Marcel’s friends seems to have not run far off; he’s cowering behind a nearby tree and has gone wide-eyed and terrified now that you’ve spotted him
Anne: “I won’t hurt you. How do you know about Monsieur Jerry?”
The Boy stammers a bit, and shivers more from the fear than the cold “I…I dunno….it’s stupid”
Maurice laughs merrily
The Boy: “We just….used to h-h-hang out, back in the day”
Maurice: “Don’t worry young sir, stupid is our line of business.”
Anne: “I would like to hear about that. I judged him harshly by his actions of the day, but… you could tell us what he is really like? Who he might have fallen in with?” She ask, making her voice gentle and sweet. Trying to put the boy at ease.
Nick: “I don’t wanna judge a cover by its book, so I’m all ears.”
“Er, the other way round.”
P.P.A.: IRL typo, but it works in-character too
Ken (GM): [convenient ;)]
Anne stares at Nick a moment. Two idioms in one sentence, one of them wrong, seems enough to leave the French girl helplessly confused for a moment.

The Boy is younger than the others; maybe a tagalong, but you see the build of an early bloomer, the rash of peach fuzz hair. “I used to hang out with him, back when we were kids, y’know? He was like an older brother, lived in my ‘hood ” The slang is awkward on the kid, forced, like he’s trying very hard to be older than he clearly is.
“His parents sent him away though, military school or something, some academy in Europe. When he came back…he wasnt the same cool guy anymore. He was just a dick”

Anne certainly lets him get away with it, just another gentle, encouraging nod. “I am sorry to hear that. I hope the truth of him is still the good brother you knew and not the ‘dick'”.
The Boy: “Yeah, me too” he says, sadly.
“You guys gonna off him?” he looks at you, brow furrowed in a grim kind of fear
Maurice: “My personal rule is that so long as someone’s not trying to off me, I don’t off them….can’t learn nothin if you’re dead.”

Nick looks indignant. “What do you take us for, kid? We wanted to see if he’s recovered, and ask him what this whole act was about.”
Maurice nods
The Boy: “Shit! Sorry…jeeze” the boy feigns attitude over his increasing unease
Nick shakes his head. “…guess it’s a pretty bad situation for ya. No worries.”
The Boy: “Just like,…if you end up needing to….don’t? please?”

Anne shakes her head gently. “No. He could get hurt if he keeps up what he is doing, but I will help him if I can.” She assures him, then reaches into her handbag for a pen and notebook. Scratching down a quick note, she walks to the boy slowly and offers him the bit of paper torn from the book. “This is the number of where I am staying, I wrote down the hospital name they took him to also. I am Anne. I hope we can help your friend.”
The Boy looks at the young woman, incredulous…then he bravely snatches the note and stuffs it in his jacket.
The Boy: “Yeah, sure, whatever. I might call you babe” again, machismo over excitement

Maurice can’t help but roll his eyes but figures the young witch can fend for her own in these circles

Liam Lynch is a vibe

Nick smirks at the kid’s attempts to be cool. “Would do well to better your manners though.”
The Boy flips nick the double bird, and scoots off, scrambling to run in the snow
Nick laughs.
The Boy: “fuck you old man” he calls over his shoulder
Anne: “Oui. If you do call me I’ll tell you what I have found out about your friend.” She assures him, nodding to him and allowing his bravado, preferring that to fear as she turns back to the others, then pauses to ask the boy. “We are going to the hospital now. Would you care to join us Monsieur?”
The Boy flees the ire of Nick
Maurice: “Old man…” he chuckles
Nick: “Do I look that old?” Nick turns around to the party, amused.
Anne: “Not a day over.. fifty?” She teases him, fluttering her dark eyelashes a moment.
Maurice: “Maybe we can get the Senior’s discount on the bus with you leading us.”
Ken (GM): lol

Maurice smiles and pats him warmly on the shoulder (though briefly)
Nick: “An old man, a hobo, and— We need to find another identity for you, too, Anne.”
“Junior hockey prodigy?”
Maurice: “Rocker works. You’re a little too nice for Punk.”
Anne: “I shall be Annette, mysterious and lovely fille fatale.. I shall need dark eye makeup and a slinky black dress” She says with her chin in the air as the men tease her a bit, relaxing some on the way to the bus stop. “Hockey prodigy would be too close to the truth, oui?” She says with a grin.
Nick: “Haha. That reminds me though, what are we gonna say at the hospital? I doubt they just let anyone in. You could be a classmate of his, buy us…?”
Nick would just try whatever but they need to wait for the bus anyway.

(To Maurice, Anne and Nick): You hear something rustle in the bushes nearby…accompanied by a guttural growl you’re all too familiar with…

Maurice glances around at the bushes
Maurice: “you all hear that?”
Nick puts a hand on his gun and turns around.
Nick: “Yes.”
Anne turns fast and brings up her hand again, pointing it at the bushes.
Maurice readies his hand on the 6 shooter in his pocket

Ken (GM) from the underbrush, coated in icy snow, you hear a hiss, and a trilling rumble. like a massive reptile… or something worse

Ken (GM) then a mewling voice! “MUST. FEEEEEED” it whines

Nick draws his gun.
Maurice: “There’s a Denny’s nearby man, but I’m thinking that’s not what it’s asking for.”
Anne: “Come where I can see you.” She says in a voice with only a faint quiver of fear, thumb stroking across the silver ring.
(From Maurice): you said I was familiar with this kind of growl? What from?

Ken (GM) shambling from the underbrush from behind a tree, behind you towards the river, steps a pale-fleshed and steaming person… their flesh hanging off in strips and lengths

The Ghoul: “MUST….” GASP… “FEED!”

Nick: “…didn’t know these things could move in the sunlight.”
Maurice turns to Nick and sighs
Maurice raises pistol and aims
Nick: “Dear God, what a monster.”
Nick does too
Nick: “If you’ve got any sanity or soul left, freeze!” he shouts at the abomination

The Ghoul steams, and smokes! You see the flesh on it boiling and burbling in the bright winter daylight. It staggers after you, shambling at a broken pace in your direction!

Anne says something in French and unleashes a lance of argent fire into the ghoul.
Ken (GM):You have aimed! Make your roll!
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 16 SL -2 for distance I think for 14 (5+4+3) = 12
Ken (GM): lol
Anne: “Va avec dieu”
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs dodge (3+1+2) = 6
The Ghoul ducks the bolt of fire, which flies off into the brush, incinerating the old growth behind him

\Ken (GM): Nick, Maurice? actiones?

Nick shoots when he sees that the creature is quick enough to dodge!
Ken (GM): rooty tooty!
point and shooty!
Nick: all-out I guess
15v12
P.P.A.: nope
Ken (GM) a shot is squeezed off, and ricochets into the woods!
Ken (GM): BLAM
Nick had only shot at inhuman things crawling in the dark before—this barely-still-human creature shambling towards him in the open makes him uneasy.

Maurice: Going to see if this thing is immune to bullets and hope cops aren’t going to hear shots.
Ken (GM): Maurice, shootan?
Maurice: 14 target assuming 1 rd of aim
rolling 3d6 (1+2+3) = 6
Ken (GM): nice!
Maurice: do he derge?
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs dodge (3+6+6) = 15
NO
The Ghoul leans INTO the shot, apparently, shambling as he is
Maurice: rolling 2d6-1(2+6)-1= 7 Pi+
The Ghoul is struck with a slug of lead, and shudders!
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs HT (3+5+3) = 11

The Ghoul staggers, and tips over, losing his footing and crumpling to the ground in a black and red bloody heap
Maurice looks down at his gun and shrugs, thinking he should pick up more of those bullets as he walks forward, keeping the shooty-end pointed at the heap
The Ghoul hisses and writhes, something inside very broken. He leaks blood like a sieve…as well as some black ichor
Maurice: “It’s already on death…or re-death’s door.. what the hell is going on? Where do you come from, monster?”
Anne hesitates, not at all eager to come closer but walking after Maurice slowly. “Poor beast. I hope it’s pain is over soon.”
Nick holds on to his gun in one hand, and a benedict medal in the other, as he approaches the thing.
The Ghoul continues to struggle, snapping and snarling weakly as the medal is brandished upon it
(To Nick): You feel a presence as you brandish the medal, a distinct pressure pushing back to you as you wield the holy thing
Nick raises an eyebrow.
The Ghoul is dying, painfully, and something….else…stirs under it’s skin as it boils away
The Ghoul: “reeeeeekk-k-k-Kill….meeeeee” it manages to form the misshapen words

Anne nods and lifts her hand, calling up fire again to do as the ghoul asks
Ken (GM):dang, cold!

Nick tries loudly proclaiming the formula that is only abbreviated on the medal:
Nick: “Crux sacra sit mihi lux,
Non draco sit mihi dux
Vade retro satana
Numquam suade mihi vana
Sunt mala quae libas
Ipse venena bibas!”
P.P.A.: [Although I think he should roll something to see if he remembers it in full]
Religious Ritual (Cahtolicism) I guess
Nick attempts to actually recall and speak the above, properly: 9v11
Ken (GM): ah, all covered then!
(To Nick): The words strengthen you, you feel, providing resistance to the evil presence you feel in the thing

Ken (GM) the litany of Latin rolls out of Nick, as Anne calls up her magical strike!

Anne thinks of it like a suffering animal. There’s nothing they can do to undo the ghoul’s suffering save put an end to it… She certainly isn’t happy to blast a ghoul to death with fire.
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 16 to shoot ghoul with fire (1+2+5) = 8
rolling 3d6 for Burning damage (4+6+2) = 12
The Ghoul erupts in flame!
Maurice watches patiently as the monster burns, taking only a tentative step back to avoid splatter.

The Ghoul SCREAMS hissing and wailing as it boils down to flailing limbs covered in molten magical flames!

Ken (GM) something inside that flaming wreckage LEAPS form the fire into the underbrush!
Maurice: “Get it!”
Ken (GM): HISSSSS

Nick ‘s eyes follow the something, his weapon and his talisman both trailing its movements. “What’s what?!”
Maurice: Can I pop off a shot?
Ken (GM): Give it a try! SM -4!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (2+3+5) = 10
Nope
Just for shits and giggles, I will use luck and see if I get that 7 or better
Ken (GM): ooh
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (2+3+2) = 7
rolling 3d6 (3+5+4) = 12
Ken (GM): lol
Maurice: lol! Nice
I’ll go with the 7 please. 😛
The Creature: rolling 3d6 vs dodge (3+4+4) = 11
IT HITS
oh lawd
Maurice: rolling 2d6-1 Pi+ (1+1)-1=1
lol
MINIMUM DAMARGE
Maurice: Still, it’s a worm… Hopefully there’s something left to investigate lol

The Creature POPS as the bullet strikes home!

Anne follows the.. THING with her gesture, but won’t fire when Nick is in the way.

Ken (GM) the remains bursting into flames! As if made of gasoline!

Nick was about to run over and step on it, but stepping on fire doesn’t seem so nice.
Nick: “Was… was that controlling the Ghoul? INside it?!”
Anne stares, disgusted at the strange thing and shudders. “That is so very repulsive!.. It was.. inside the ghoul?”

Black greasy smoke issues form the smoldering wreck of eel thing

Nick steps closer once the fire expires
Maurice: “That….might make a lot of sense, actually. Any….supernatural elements in the city will likely be well adapted to hiding in plain sight. It’s strange to see anything at all…but these are moving around in daylight! Way against character”
Ken (GM): that and everything you read about Ghouls insinuates they were night stalking creatures, weakened in daylight
Nick brushes over the spot where the creature expired with his foot, hoping to uncover any remains or hints.
(To Nick): the charred lump left by the fire is smoking heavily in the snowy ground. Steam and smoke mixing over the hot lump of blackened flesh
(To Nick): The sticky-hot remains crumble under your boot, and something glistens in the light as it breaks apart. Something glossy and black

Maurice: “Also, I was thinking of the other clue we got….” turns to Anne “We’ve got a dog tag and now anecdotal evidence that a boy’s personality shifted after going to a military school.” shrugs “Army conspiracy?”
Maurice: “As trusty as my little revolver is, I ‘d like to avoid going up against folks with better toys.”
Ken (GM): yeah, standard army issue stuff is deadly
Maurice:[undeadly!]

Nick bends over and takes a closer look at the ground. He puts way his gun and picks something up.
(To Nick): The glossy bit of the body…is a perfect spiral of black shiny stone. Like a flat shell, the size of your hand….

Anne tilts her head to the side, considering a moment. “Perhaps.. or perhaps simply a man at this school recruited him. It will be best to question them directly, before we assume conspiracy.” She suggest, the young woman looking to the repulsive mess and shuddering again. “I hope no more are in the park”

Nick:“Look at this,” Nick states as he turns around, holding in his hand something the size of it: a shiny black spiral of some sort.
Ken (GM) the thing is like a nautilus shell, shiny black, chitinous, and glossy.

Anne steps in reluctantly, staring at it thoughtfully. “What could it be?”
Maurice examines it and frowns
Maurice: “Looks like a sea shell trinket, but maybe the exact pattern or shape can be hunted down.”
Nick: “Were there any biology books in the library?”
Anne: “Oui. There are many types of book there. Perhaps we could learn something. Should we try this or the hospital?”
Nick: “Or, uh… occult biology.”

(To Maurice): you feel the rush of the deep, and the cool of the sea calls to you
Maurice turns to Nick
Maurice shivers
Maurice: A joke forgotten about books, Maurice looks a little distracted” “I keep….having these…” *trails off*
Maurice sighs and puts his gun away
Nick: “Something wrong?”
Maurice: “Maybe I’m just hankering for fish-sticks. Nah, it’s nothing.”
Maurice: “Books remain, but people are a little more fleeting.”
Anne looks at Maurice thoughtfully, trying to see if there’s anything wrong with him.
Nick: “I dunno; given how bad of a state the both of ’em were in, I figure they won’t be allowed to receive visitors right away.”
Maurice: shrugs and nods “We may be in for a wait at the hospital anyway…the witchy library first?”
“We could use our time to read.”
Nick nods. “Sounds good.”
Nick: “Hopefully they fixed the window already, might be a bit chilly otherwise.”
Anne nods. “Well, it is closer..” She hopes things will be calmer at the library this time.

---

Maurice walks off and sees if he has his government issued ‘Look! We’re helping the Homeless!!!’ library card
Ken (GM): lol
Ken (GM) When faced with dire consequences and even more cryptic creatures…TO RESEARCH!
P.P.A.: If it was a few decades later, Nick would just pull out his smartphone and google “black spiral shell”
Fiss: [4 results. 39908 porn results: would you like to turn off safe search?]

---

Ken (GM) The bright day burns on coldly; the sunlight barely warming the icy city. The blocks mill away underfoot and then a short stint by bus. The afternoon light low already in the scant hours of daylight in the North. As you round the bend to La Maison Grammaire, the thick scent of woodsmoke and ozone strike you clearly in the still cold, hanging like a pallor.

Anne is a touch jumpy and looks around almost as if expecting another monster. Then frowning, walking a little faster at the scents. “Thierry? Is everything okay?” She ask as she jogs up to the door.
Nick runs towards the door as well
P.P.A.: Any smoke or other signs of a fire?
Ken (GM) there is no visible cloud of smoke, but the smell is intense, and permeates the air
Nick opens the door
Nick flings it open, rather, feeling it urgent
Ken (GM) creaking open, the door swings inward, inside, a dim hazy room. the stench is even more prevalent here
Nick: “Anyone in he—” Nick shouts, before remembering that this is a library. “Anyone in here?” He asks in an urgent but hushed tone.

Ken (GM) The dim, smoky room is hazy with the stench of ozone and burned paper. You hear the crackle and hum of something in the distance, like a neon light buzzing loudly

Nick pulls his shirt over his mouth and nose and steps inside.
Anne: “Monsieur Thierry!” She calls, worried as she steps into the lovely bookshop and the haze of smoke.

“Anne? Is that YOU ?!” A man’s voice calls out from the back room “Get back!”

KRAKKAKOOM!

Nick takes a step back

Ken (GM) A burst of blue lightning crackles through the hazy darkness, and crashes into the stone wall over the front desk!

Nick: “What’s going on here?!”
Nick doesn’t know if this is just wizards doing wizard things, or demons doing wizard things
Maurice winces and pulls Nick away from the line of lightning

Ken (GM):the room is lit with near-blinding light! The haze sizzles and illuminated in there you see a man with a cloak and a sword, framed in the doorway!
(To Anne): Was that Morgan?!
Nick puts a hand on his gun; the man is bearing a weapon!

Anne yelps, ducking back a moment then looking into the dark, stareing at the figure. “Monsieur Morgan?! What is going on.. Don’t shoot! Don’t!” She says, for Nick’s safety more then anything else.

The Man shouts some unknown word, and makes a slashing gesture with his free hand, a tear in the world forming nearby!

Nick hasn’t drawn the gun yet, but is ready to.
Nick:“…what.”
Ken (GM):what do!?
Maurice growls and begins running toward the wiz-biz
Nick:“Y’all need to lay off the wizardry and go to church,” Nick calls over to the swordsman.
Ken (GM):Anne? Nick?
Nick runs after Maurice, not sure why they are running, but unable to think of a better plan
Anne stays back as the man tears a portal to the Nevernever, shielding her face with a hand. “Careful!”

Maurice: I can reach him next turn with a run
6 away and I just did 5
I’m going to try to knock him into the wall to stop whatever bullshit is happening
unless he does stuff

The Man defies reality, and slips through the hole in the world. In the next room, you hear something BIG crash into something breakable
(To Anne): He sees you in that moment, and has a look of torn fear cross his stalwart grim face

Maurice stops running for the portal, knowing enough not to want to fucks with it, but runs on into the back room
Nick follows him, worried about the librarian
Maurice:”What’s going on?”

Ken (GM) something big and crackling rumbles in the next room, a misshappen heap of a man made of power and angry light!
Maurice: “What on Earth?!?”
Anne seems shocked, jogging after the others a moment later, worried as her eyes look to the Tear, then to the others. “What.. how?”
Nick: “Is that another… golem?”

Ken (GM) the great crackling thing swivels towards you newcomers…and rumbles
Ken (GM):you feel the hairs on your skin stand on end

Maurice looks around for cover and decides he can make it to behind the sofa before getting exploded
Maurice: dives behind it
Ken (GM): HUARGH it bellows
KRAKKOOM
LIGHTNING FLASHES
Maurice: and an old man dies? lol
Nick: “Calm down, sir,” Nick urges the… thing.
15v12 (Overconfidence)
Maurice:[YOU GOT DIS]
Nick doesn’t step back as might be wise, but steps forth instead.

Anne comes closer, worried as the creature rages… and worried that the portal to the nevernever is still open.

Ken (GM) the smoldering couch eats the blast of power, and the furniture burns freely

Ken (GM) the hole in the world quivers, ominously

Ken (GM) IT turns to nick and calls out “CALM DOWN?!” incredulously, in a crackling, rasping voice

Nick:“Yes.” Nick looks at the monster somewhat annoyed.

Maurice pulls out his gun, wondering what the fuck he’s going to do with it, but feeling better with it in hand as he crawls to the end of the couch to look for openings to use it
Anne thinks it unlikely but ask anyway, worried.. “Monsieur Therry?”
Nick: “You don’t seem to be a ghoul or something—you can talk, even. So mind telling us what all this hubbub is about?”

Elemental: “CALM…..down?” the voice drops an octave…and a few hundred decibels. And sounds more feminine
Ken (GM) the creature…the lightning thing….shrinks
Maurice watches, curiosity replacing fear

Ken (GM) the crackling subsides, and a human body appears underneath the light show… and a young woman in a leather coat and spangled red hair appears, slumping under the weight of her exhaustion

“Yeah…I gotta…calm….down” she manages, woozily
Anne: “You are not Thierry” She says, coming out from behind the bookshelf she’d been hiding behind. “Who are you?”
The Woman leans heavily against the nearby chair, sweating and gasping

Nick nods approvingly. “Nice to meet you, miss; Nick Ferencz my name. We smelled… well, this carnage, and came to see what was the matter.”
Maurice stands up, gun lowered
The Woman looks up between you each, a bit wide eyed, drowsy “Get out! You cant be here! Can’t see this!” Lightning crackles on one hand, along fingers
The Woman staggers, struggling to stay standing
Nick: “Miss, I’ve seen quite a lot of shit these last two days, but if you prefer we can give you a moment and then we can talk in the other room or something.”
The Woman considers nicks words….
Maurice walks up, gun in pocket, and offers a hand
Maurice: “Maybe you should sit down, ma’am”
The Woman sighs heavily, and sits
Maurice sits down on the chair next to her, albeit on the edge of the seat
The Woman: “Dios maldito” she manages
Nick: “Let’s not speak the name of Our Lord in vain, now,” Nick says as he sits down on the not-burned half of the couch.

Anne: “Easy!.. We aren’t here to fight, and we’ve seen it already.. Ahh.. This portal to the Nevernever is shrinking very slowly. Was that Morgan, the White Council Warden you were having a disagreement with?”
(From Maurice): did I recognize the wizard at all?
(To Maurice): Roll IQ; he did look familiar
Maurice:(To GM)rolling 3d6 (5+1+3) = 9
(From Maurice): beat by 2
(To Maurice): And when Anne mentions the name again, yeah, that was likely Morgan of the Council. A wizard hunting jackass who hates anyone not in the right. Tends to chop heads and be a dick

Nick: “Mind telling us what— …happened here, please?”
The Woman: “There was…a fight” she manages weakly
Maurice leans back in his chair
Nick looks around. Believable, so far.
The Woman: “Are you also with the council?” she asks, darkly
Nick shakes his head.
Maurice: “Most assuredly not.”
Anne: “Non.. just a petite sorcière.” She says, though carefully as she looks to the woman, then around the ruined room before she peeks into the little alcove off to the side. “Is.. ah, Thierry around?”
The Woman: “Good, I am so SICK of those perro sucio lamiendo wizardo’s nosing about here.” She shakes her head. “No, Thierry is absente“
Devita: “I am Devita Tormente, a friend of his and the Maison” she gestures around you with a little weak flourish

Nick: “Was that ‘mansion’ or ‘house’ in English?” Nick whispers to Maurice.
Maurice: whispers to Nick “Either one….House works.”

Maurice pats a smoldering part of his chair until it stops being almost on fire
Maurice: “A pleasure to meet such an…electric personality this fine day.”
Devita grimaces and tries to rub out a smudge on her own chair, and gives up
“Gracias” she sighs ” I have really mucked this one up”
Devita looks at you three, gravely now “What are you three doing here then? Banditos?” she asks
Devita: “Or Amigos?”
Maurice: “Even worse, my dear. We’re here to use the Library”
Anne: “You were really fighting a Warden?” She ask, voice troubled as she turns back to the woman, looking to Devita, breathing deep then letting it out. “We came to ask Monsieur Thierry about something we found. I consider myself a friend of his.”
Nick: “I came here on vacation because I heard there’s vampires and stuff running amok—turns out that’s actually the case, so these two fine fellows and I have been killing Ghouls for two days now.”
“What’s a ‘Warden,’ in this context?”
Devita:”Ci” she nods at Anne “The Warden struck first, shouting madness about infernal creatures, HA, as if I would be victim to madness and dark sorceries”
“Grupo de bastardos altos y poderosos” Muttering

Maurice: with concern “Seems the Wardens are on edge too…maybe they’ve been seeing some of the same stuff we have.”
“That gentleman…and I use the term ironically…isn’t known for his restraint on the best of days, but I’ve never heard of him running and gunning like that.”
Devita: “They are mad, senor, and not worth the trouble to even spit upon” she curses
Anne: “The Wardens of the White Council are keepers of the Laws of Magic” She explains, trying to keep the tone neutral. “It is my understanding they do not bother many that keep those laws”
Maurice nods: “They like to enforce, not lead by example.”
Devita: “Exactly!” she exclaims, gesticulating to Anne “This little one speaks the truth”
Maurice smiles at Anne
Maurice: “Well, we already know that, she’s a good kid.”

Nick: “I see. Makes sense—to keep things secret and to curb, uh, malpractice and stuff, yeah.”
Devita: “And we adhere to their unintelligible muttering stupid laws. We have no need for their sword wielding maniacs in our homes!”
Nick: “Speaking of which, what did he do with that sword?”
Devita grins wickedly :”He failed to stick me with it”
Devita: “So I taught him a lesson”
Nick:“Well, that’s a good start.”
Maurice: “Why was he here then? I don’t doubt you are a fine, upstanding person, but was there a reason he came knocking?”
Anne:”Oui.. though technically the laws have no requirement of secrecy.” She says and frowns a touch. “He opened a Doorway to the Never-Never. A world that exist beside ours. A world of the Fae.”
Nick stares blankly at Anne for a moment before remembering to nod politely.

Devita: “What is your name? And yours?” she startles for a moment, pointing at the men ” I understand who Anne is, even by reputation”
Maurice bows his head and reaches over with a handshake
Maurice: “Maurice.”
P.P.A.: how rude, Nick already introduced himself
Maurice: lol
Nick likewise offers a handshake. “Nick Ferencz, my pleasure.”
Devita: “Nicholas, Maurice” she nods at you both “Get out of la Bibliotheca. It must be cleansed” She stands, shooing you with open hands “Anita take your boy toys and go, it is not safe here at the moment”
Nick: “Please don’t burn all the books though, we wanted to look something up first.”
Nick complies, however
Devita: “I must summon Thierry and you cannot be here right now”
Anne frowns a touch as she looks around, then nods.. not at all sure she trust the pretty redhead and quite sure that the bookstore is not a place they can stay and research things at. She walks with the men and bows her head just a moment to the woman.

Nick asks Anne: “When she says ‘summon,’ does she mean the normal way, or… like, summoning?”

Devita: “Shoo, you scmaps, shoo” She ushers you to the door, straightening books and scorched tables as you go “We shall send word to you, but please, go, for now”
Maurice: “Best to listen to the lady of the maison at the moment, man.” smiles to Nick
Devita playfully smacks Maurice on the butt on the way by
Devita: “Out!”
Maurice blinks, then continues on with a bit more of a smirk
Devita slams the door behind you, but steals a wink and blows a kiss to Maurice on the way out

Anne: “I don’t know what she means.” She walks out, frowning deeply and looking at the door, then taking a deep breath before the small blonde steps away and stands there. She whispers to Maurice after a moment. “Careful, Monsieur.. she is dangerous.”
Nick: “You mean the lightning bolts, or her appetite?”
Maurice decides not to remind Anne that his first interaction with the woman was dodging her lightning blast and he simply nods sagely at her warning

Maurice: “So….public library? Or should we head to the Hospital and see what’s up?”
Nick shrugs. “Whichever is closer, I guess.”
Ken (GM):The university libraries are a few blocks away, with the hospital just a few city blocks around the hill from there
Maurice: University!
Anne: “I am but a novice.. but those that fight Wardens are.. often not on the side of the angels” She says thoughtfully, then nodding a little. “Oui, the university, but I want to make it to the hospital when we can.”
Maurice: “The Righteous can be easily blinded by their own desire to do good. That particular Warden, though, is just a sword-happy fuckwit, if you’ll pardon my language.”
(To Maurice): The few times he was in town to “mete out justice” resulted in beheadings and burned out properties…
Maurice turns to Nick
Maurice: “Doing good is doing good. Too many people pretend to do good and pat themselves on the back. He tends to leave a lot more heads rolling and fires started than the usual folk.”
Anne: “He has never been anything but polite to me.” She says, troubled a touch… but nodding, she walks with them. “To the library?”
Nick nods. “Matthew 21:28-32.”
Nick: “Let’s go then.”

The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32

---

Ken (GM) Some time passes then, and the afternoon wanes on further. Meandering busses and brisk walks in the cold bring you to austere buildings of brick and stone on the hillside of central Montreal.

Maurice struts to ‘stayin alive’ in his head
Ken (GM): so what exactly we researching then?
P.P.A.: Marine animals with shells like the one we have
Maurice: Yep, the shell and specific parts of it. I’m also going to see if there is a list of military academies handy for the area
Anne gets them settled and tries to contact Morgan, calling whatever number she has for Him then dropping a letter in the mail stating her concern plainly.
(To Anne): You have a PO box to reach, and a messenger line he checks. He usually gets back to you afterwards. A phone call to the line then?
(From Anne): Yes, that sounds good. She will just say she thinks she saw him but he had to run, and she hopes that everything is okay

Ken (GM):nice, so Anne is the most familiar with Dewey decimal indexes and organized research items. Research roll from her at least
Maurice will assist by running books back and forth
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (4+2+1) = 7
Ken (GM):lol, good good
Maurice: And that’s on 10/11 for brains
depending on skills
P.P.A.: rolling 3d6 (2+3+3) = 8
Maurice: nice, we’re all smrt
Ken (GM): lol
Nick has IQ 10
Ken (GM): annie?
Maurice: Whoo! SUFFICIENT BRAINS!
Anne rolls 3d6 vs 12 Research rolling 3d6 (6+6+2) = 14
Joush M.: D’oh!
Ken (GM): heh
Maurice: Anne is distracted by Dewey and his hot, sweet, manly decimals

Ken (GM) a few hours wane on in the library, and between the three of you you stay organized quite well. Its all just a matter of Time
By dinnertime, as the light outside dims to twilight and dramatically to the sunset, you come to the right series of books (with illustrations this time!)
Maurice: woo!

Ken (GM) The closest natural approximation to the item is an ancient breed of sea life found on the Atlantic coast; the diabolus piscis, or Devilfish shell
While it isn’t an exact replica, it has some very interesting footnotes in the books.
Maurice snorts loudly about the name, earning glares from other library patrons I’m sure
Nick: “Now that’s an ominous name.”
Ken (GM): -The devilfish is found all along the Atlantic shores, top to bottom, but mainly along the NE united states and Canada.
-no biologist has determined the native home of origin, though speculation puts it at the deeper points of the Atlantic expanse
Anne: “Some cthuloid horror from the sea?” She ask with a frown, looking at their burnt shell to the one in the book.
Nick: “Maybe there’s another reason, then, that these usually dwell in the sewers.”
Ken (GM):-Recent research into the origins of the species were performed by a researcher Claus Fitzgerald, of Montreal Canada

Nick looks at the date of the book to figure out how recent ‘recent’ is
Ken (GM): 1974
Maurice: “Claus Fitzgerald…. huh.”
(From Maurice): any bells ringing?
(From Maurice): or is the name just ‘Generic Naziesque’
Nick: “That’s pretty recent. How about we pay this man a visit tomorrow?”
“…here’s hope this time we won’t find police tape.”
Maurice smirks
(To Maurice): The name is definitely Germanic, but its not specifically reminding you of anyone
Anne: “Or perhaps tonight? We don’t want to fall behind the wicked ones that might hunt him.”
Anne excitedly hurries off to find a huge Montreal phone book.
Nick thinks. “…yea, why not. Let’s be a step ahead of ’em this time.”
Maurice to himself “A booky german dude writing about shells…sound like Academia vs Private Sector to me.“

Ken (GM) Anne retrieves a phonebook and scans through the greater metro listings.
Ken (GM): [– Fitzgerald, Claus – Private number – Unlisted Address –]
Maurice looks over at the Faculty listing for the Montreal university they are sitting in
Anne strikes out with her initial investigation. “How very private a man.” She says with a huff, then looks to Maurice, eyes widening and nodding at his clever idea. “Oui!”
Ken (GM): Aha!
Ken (GM): One big leather-bound book from a high shelf later…
Ken (GM): Universite Montreal – Staff – Chercheur en biologie, troisième classe – Claus Fitzgeral
Maurice grins
Ken (GM): Biology Offices – Basement – Room 344Q – “Maintenence faculties”
Maurice: “And here I was worried that we’d have to go over to DeVry or some other hellhole.”

Maurice makes a quick note on a slip of paper and photocopies some of the bits from the book
Ken (GM): 817 Rue Sherbrooke O #270, Montréal, QC H3A 0C3
Anne: “Victoire! To the Biology building” She says with a note, the girl picking her things up and squaring her slender shoulders. It might be after office hours, but she’s ready to go check there.
Maurice looks at himself in the glass and ponders
Maurice: “With a tweed jacket I could pass as a professor….do you think he’d respond better to peers or excited students?”
Ken (GM): lol
“Quick, lets mug a professor”
Maurice: ALL THE TWEEEEEED
Maurice shakes it off and figures he could pass as a Tenured prof anyway, as-is
Nick: “…I don’t think we can pass as academics. Let’s just say that Maurice and I found this thing and wished to know more about it, and a friend of Anne’s told us about the professor, or something.”
“On the other hand…”
Nick glances at Maurice.
Nick: “…could work? But we’ll see when we get there”
Maurice: “Deal.” nods “play it by ear seems to work for us anyway.*
*when not being shot at by lazors
Anne: “Or we shall tell him the truth. He could be in danger and may know more of the danger then he would share with people he thinks are innocent of this wickedness that infest the city.” She seems excited to be moving forward and ready to play things by ear…
…and she hasn’t shot EVERYTHING with lazors. 😛
Maurice: “The TRUTH?” he smiles “What a novel idea…might just work.”
Ken (GM):hah
Nick: “Eventually, yeah; but dunno if we should open with ‘we got this from a living dead’.”
Nick: “Or we should. We’ll see.”

---

Fiss: [A-BALEEE BALEE BALLEEE, THAT’S ALL FOLKS!]

Fiss ‘s gotta run, don’t blow up Montreal without me!

Ken (GM):WE PROMISE NOTHING

Ken (GM):you boys wanna pause here then for the week?
P.P.A.: seems like a good spot
Anne: Ahh.. Sure. We don’t want to go on without our Fake Professor!
Ken (GM):mm
Joush M.: Thanks for the game man, it was a lot of fun
Ken (GM): YW joush! Always a blast for me too 😀
P.P.A.: I like how this feels like it’s all building up to something
P.P.A.: We get to meet new characters, learn of new conspiracies, and slowly gather hints
Ken (GM): [all part of the master plan to devour you with ghouls, I assure you PPA]

Dresden Files M-80; Freeze or I’ll Shoot!

Ken (GM): PPA, sound off? You alive?
P.P.A.: I’m here
Ken (GM): huzzah!
Hokay, so fiss is incognito right now; He may have gone to the comic expo in town, forgot to tell us 😦 BUT I can still run for the statistically relevant number of you here
Joush M.: Yay, I’m relevant!
Ken (GM): statistics
ALSO speak of the devil, fiss is awake 😛
P.P.A.: \o/
Ken (GM):[please excuse map magic bridge. The hole was bugging me and I came across an awesome tile set the other day]
Joush M.: Now I feel much more confident if we have to flee across that bridge
Ken (GM): mm, and I feel confident I wont have to explain the hole isn’t there.
P.P.A.:At least the marking on the street that said something about a school is gone

---

LAST WEEK, IN MONTREAL; The kid had an arrow in him, and I swear it wasn’t my fault!

The trio had done quite a bit by lunch; fended off a ghoul attack, saved a girl from the sewers, and even ridden public transit! A banner day. Now, they were tracking down a lead; Maurice, the kid who had fed a poor teenage girl some beer and ominously been referred to as “rebellious”. Here by the frozen riverside, they confronted him and his gaggle of friends, JUST as he was pounced upon by a crossbow wielding maniac! It’s almost as if the universe was contrived against them…

Ken (GM):LAST COMBAT ROUND Maurice had finally tackled the maniac, and was grappling him about the chest-like area!
Fiss: WOO
Anne feels pretty accomplished by that standard. Getting a whole lot done by so early in the day.

Ken (GM): NICK, You’ve got a gun out, and are quite excited; WAT DO
P.P.A.: Hmm
Lemme look up the sprinting rules
I forgot if it was 1 FP for 1.5x or 2x move
Ken (GM): lets call it a FP to double it, and look her up later
Im a fan of DO IT NAO
P.P.A.: k
Nick runs fast!
Ken (GM):HUFF HUFF HUFF
P.P.A.: oh
it was just +20% move
so, uh
Ken (GM): NEAT.jpeg
P.P.A.: back four spaces
Ken (GM): kk
P.P.A.: (B354)

Ken (GM) tree parts fly every which way as nick bashes through the frozen undergrowth!

Marcel has an arrow sticking out of his chest, right through his winter coat. He’s lying on the ground under Anne, and looks quite surprised by the situation. He may be in shock

Stephen: “Oh my GAWD he’s gonna kill us all!” The young man seems to also be panicking

The rest of the boys are split between hunkering down behind the stone path bridge, or scrambling through the underbrush themselves

Ken (GM):ANNIE
Anne applies pressure and tries to keep Marcel calm and from bleeding to death there on the snowy ground. “Help is here! Stay calm.” She gives Stephen a look. “It will be okay, stay down”

Ken (GM): your choice; first aid or diagnosis
roll either at +1 for the appropriate response

---

(To Joush M.): no sleeping at the table 😛
Ken (GM): joush?
Joush M.: Ah! Sorry, ran AFK for a second
Ken (GM): naughty

---

Anne: rolling 3d6 for First Aid (3+2+5) = 10
Joush M.: Passes by 5

Ken (GM) The wound isn’t bleeding yet, and putting a hand behind his back, you feel no exit wound; as long as he doesn’t panic, and doesn’t move, you should be able to get the arrow out pretty easily. And hes not dead, so its not like it went into his heart or anything!

Anne mostly works to keep him calm then, out of shock and from doing anything foolish

The Man struggles in Maurice’s grip, shouting angrily without words; He drops the crossbow to the rocky ground, and yanks a long knife from his belt!

Ken (GM): Maurice! You have him grappled, and he’s armed himself, WAT DO?
Maurice: I believe now would be a perfect time to try to lay him flat on the ground and distract him by [REDACTED]
Grapple to try to knock the guy over to prone? [Takedown/Pin]
er…Brawling?
Ken (GM): you roll best of ST/DX or grappling/brawling. He resists with similar
Maurice: Cool target is 14 regardless of ST or Brawl
rolling 3d6 ( 2+6+5) = 13
Youknowwhat…I’m going to risk using Luck
Ken (GM):lol
Maurice: rolling 3d6(1+4+6)=11
rolling 3d6 (5+3+3)=11
Ken (GM):LOL
how, average
Maurice: eh…well…it’s better….? lol
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs ST to resist takedown (1+3+3) = 7
OOOOH

P.P.A.: It was not meant to be
Maurice: Ahhfuek
The Man: funny story
Ken (GM):You find, hes not particularly strong

Maurice: Indeedy? lol

The Man the man slips beneath Maurice!

(To Maurice): You also find, up close like this, he’s wearing a beard and overcoat, but he’s like, maybe 19 or 20 years old. He’s put on a good show so far

Maurice growls and tries to lay the kid out but it’s not happening.
Ken (GM):?
Maurice: (dramatic retelling of the round, I’m all done)
Ken (GM): …except you DID lay him out.
you won
the opposed contest
Maurice: ..OH
Ken (GM): lol
Maurice: fuckyeah
lololool
Ken (GM): GOOD MORNING
P.P.A.: “Don’t trick me like that again!”
Ken (GM): hahahah
Maurice pins the man down and glares into his eyes.
Maurice:”You just shot a kid, man…This ain’t ending with you walking away…stop or it will end with you not breathing”

(To Maurice): Im pretty sure the white court leeching is uncontrollable with physical contact, if its not yet factored in we’ll retcon what we need
(To Maurice): So he loses 3 HP immediately yeah? you bought that up
(From Maurice): 10-4 on that…makes it more interesting anyway, haha, and I have 15 spare points to re-balance and retcon if needed
(To Maurice): JFC yeah that should do

Ken (GM): NICKO
THE SICKO
Ken (GM):NOT QUITE A PRICKO
Nick continues running, putting his gun away mid-sprint. “Good, keep him down!”
Ken (GM): safety first!

Marcel tries to keep it together for the pretty girl keeping him calm
Marcel: rolling 3d6 vs WILL (1+2+4) = 7
Marcel is a hindu cow

Stephen: rolling 3d6 vs WILL (composure) (3+3+5) = 11
“What the shit what the SHIT” while slightly losing his shit

Ken (GM):Anne, your patient is calm but his friend is not keeping his chill; wat do?

Anne risk a peek in the direction of the men fighting.. <“The Shooter is down, Mister Stephen. Compose yourself“>
Joush M.: <“Translated from French“>
Ken (GM): nice touch
Stephen: rolling 3d6 vs losing his shit (Encouraged by Anne) (5+6+3) = 14
MERDE

The Man struggles against Maurice, but its a losing battle! He struggles to try and leverage the knife desperately!
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs arm hit on maurice(-2), losing in a grapple(-4) (5+1+4) = 10
The Man misses, only succeeding in contorting in the fracas

Ken (GM):Maurice!
Maurice holds him tight against the ground, all but ignoring the knife
Ken (GM): [“Ima hug you till you love me”]

Maurice: “Who the hell are you? Why are you hunting a bunch of kids? What the fuck does this have to do with the weird shit happening?!”
[INTERROGATION HUGS]
(To Maurice): and you drain him another three HP; he’s struggling weakly now, his rage a mighty thing but its extinguishing like a candle in the wind.

P.P.A.: Is The Man visibly holding a knife? Has he stopped his crossbow yet?
The Man had a glazed look now, and weakly struggles against Maurice. He’s got a long slender knife with a crossguard hilt: Looks like military, but old. The crossbow is on the ground, on the other side of the rock

Ken (GM): wat do Nick?
WAT DO?
Nick: The gleam of the knife’s blade hits Nick’s retinas, and he homes in on it. He rushes ahead (All-Out Attack so I can move half distance) and attempts to pry/punch the knife out of the man’s hand to make sure nobody else gets hurt here!
P.P.A.: is that Brawl then?
or Wrestling
Ken (GM): Striking the hand? or grabbing the knife?
P.P.A.: (He’d try to grab The Man’s wrist and take the knife away from him)
Ken (GM): ah, a disarm, brawling to hit then please; call it a NET -2 for posture and target, etc.
Nick: 11v13
Ken (GM): nice; now ST +2 (for using two hands) to disarm him
Nick: 8v14!
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs retain weapon (-4, one hand, grappled to fuck etc) (2+3+4) = 9
The Man loses the knife to Nick!
Nick: “You got any more deadly weapons on you?” he angrily yells at the man as he secures the knife from him!
(To Nick): Big old swastika on the handle.

The Man ceases struggling against Maurice “Don’t kill me! please! I give up!”
The Man ‘s voice cracks, and you see the desperate tears in his eyes now. He is just a boy…

Nick raises an eyebrow as his eyes fall in the knife. “Are you some kinda Nazi?!”
P.P.A.: wait, so The Man was The Boy all along?
Ken (GM): DUUN DUN DUNNN
P.P.A.: GASP
Nick blinks and tempers his fury slightly when the guy turns out to be younger than expected.
Joush M.: You are under Canadian Arrest. You have the right to an advocate. If you cannot afford french fries with gravy and cheese it will be provided for you.
Ken (GM):also; sorry

(To Maurice): You gonna lay off this guy before you eat his soul?
Maurice nods at Nick, certain we have this guy under control, and gets off him with a loud huff
Ken (GM): HUFF
(From Maurice): soul-eatin off

Nick walks around them and picks up the crossbow, too.
Nick tosses it behind him into the shrubbery, keeps the knife for now.
Nick turns around: “How is the boy?” he shouts over to Anne, worried.
Anne: “Very, very lucky! He should be fine”
Nick breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God!”

Anne speaks gently to Marcel. “This can be removed, but it will be painful. It can safely remain in for a moment if you are very careful and don’t move much. While we wait…” Her eyes narrow. “Do you think you could tell me what happened with Mina?”
(To GM): whispers to Anne “I have an arrow in me, and you want to know about Mina?” His wide eyed and a bit terrified at that

Ken (GM) The young men about Anne stay back, meekly, mostly keeping Stephen in check as she works her patient

Nick: “Now you’ve still got some answering to do, young man!”
Anne talks to the boys. “What did you boys do last week with Mina?”
Stephen and his entourage immediately step back at the mention of Mina “Hey, who, we did absolutement nothing with her, girlie. You cant prove shit”
Marcel: “Dude, chill” he lifts a hand to his friends “shit has gotten way to weird to keep frontin’. I have an arrow in me man”

The Young Hunter stays still on the rock, below Maurice
The Hunter: “I…sniff … need to stop him!” he snivels
“your kind wont win!” He shouts weakly, cross the distance “Goddamn blood sucking…”

Maurice: “Let’s say…for the moment, that you’re safe, and we’re done fighting…and we might even be willing to listen to why you are out here. But you gotta tell us straight, kid…this isn’t 20 Questions.”
Nick: “What are you talking about?”
Maurice: “And I ain’t never sucked blood except when I’ve bitten my own tongue, so you’d better keep your imagination in check, kiddo”
“So who do you think that kid is, first of all?”
Nick: “You see’in a vampire? Look, kid, we’re willing to believe you a bit, we’ve seen some sinister things these past two days, but you gotta spill the beans.”

The Hunter: “The hell are you talking about!? YOU BASTARDS are the vampires!” he gesticulates at you both, weakly

Maurice glances over to Marcel, then back to the Crossbow Kid

Anne does look kind of like a vampire, but she’s also in sunlight and isn’t even tempted a little to taste the blood on her hands as she works, considering with a frown. “I need prove nothing Monsieur. No more lies, tell me what happened” The teenager insists, looking to Stephen with a frown as she tends to Marcelle

Nick takes a rosary out of his pocket. “I’m not gonna eat some garlic here to convince you otherwise. Besides, why were you shooting at the boy then? Or did you just miss Maurice here?”
P.P.A.: err, crucifix not rosary
(actually doesn’t matter since he’s carrying both)
Ken (GM): *’ religous regalia” gotcha
Joush M.: He’s a suspenders and a belt type. He’s also got a star of david and a bag of weed on him

Ken (GM) Visible confusion crosses the young man’s face. He sits up on elbows, weakly, sweaty, and looks at you both. He squints at the cross. He squints at Maurice.
Hunter: “Wait, if you’re not vamps….then why are you helping that thrall over there” he points to the kid with an arrow in him
Maurice: “Kid, you gotta look at this from our point of view. We think you’re fucking nuts…we are armed… and we just witnessed you in an attempted murder. You’re going to have to calm yourself down a bit if you wanna make sense without us sending you to the hospital.”
Nick: “That what?”
Maurice: “Yeah, let’s start with that. What the hell is a Thrall?”
Nick: “I see a kid with a bolt stuck in it that barely didn’t die. We did come here to investigate some shady stuff, but you expect us to ignore some kid with a crossbow shooting people?”
The Hunter: “HEY im no KID” he shouts, then looks woozy “I am a trained vampire hunter and you…. ugh man I’m dizzy…” he trails off

(From Maurice): regardless of how much I ACTUALLY know, being of White Court background, I’m going to play it off as 100% noob
(From Maurice): acting if needed
(To Maurice): noted 😉

Marcel stays still on the ground, but addresses Anne quietly and seriously
Marcel: “Mina’s a nice girl. I like her, shes cool. We partied, but she bailed on us hard. Just kinda wigged out and disappeared, left her shit at our place even. Didnt even take her purse”
Anne stares at the young man, seeming to judge his reply, to try and understand if it’s a lie or not..
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 for Body Language (5+4+4) = 13
(To Anne): Marcel is being honest with you; he’s maintaining eye contact and despite the pain seems quite composed. So brave and calm he is!

Maurice: “Yeah, getting laid out by a hobo charging you and flattening you against a rock tends to do that. But you gotta earn us calling you Sir so let’s get talking, Kiddo”
Nick grabs the kid. “All right, calm down now. Take a breath.”
Nick turns to Maurice: “You know if there’s a telephone booth nearby?”
The Boy is bleary and sweaty, and looks like he’s just run a marathon. He’s not quite conscious anymore either
Maurice :to Nick “Yeah, I think there’s one up street level, you wanna run up? I can make sure this guy doesn’t bolt….or use anymore Bolts.”
“Or I can.”
Nick: “I’ll go.”
Nick gets up and—
Nick: “Uh, what’s your number for emergency services here?”
Maurice:”514-LE-FUZZ” not entirely joking
The Hunter: “NO! no police! No ambulance” he half gets up, falls over
“you cant get them involved!”
The Hunter belches, and then vomits, black
Nick: “No police, but I see two youths here who really need an ambulance—”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back-”
The Hunter: “Ill be HURP fine!”
Maurice steps back in surprise but doesn’t move out of arms reach
Maurice: “Sit down, then, Jesus dude…you’re going to kill yourself and then nobody’s gonna be happy.”

Nick runs towards where Maurice said a telephone booth was
P.P.A. will let Ken move his token in the right direction, if it need to be moved
Ken (GM):[lol, there’s one up the way, just outside the park entrance. None too far away]

Anne: “You did not see when she left? Or with who?” She sounds cross and disappointed, the girl still tenderly working on that wound however, then blinking. “Do you need help Monsieur Maruice?”
Maurice: “We’re fine over here. I just hope I didn’t throttle the kid too much.”
(To Maurice): You notice now, under his coat is a leather vest with honest to god, stakes and garlic hanging from it. And under that seem to be some bandages and bloodstains…

Nick will instinctively dial 911 anyway, turns out that’s Canada’s number too. He’ll explain ‘…that he and two companions were taking a walk and saw a few kids playing with a knife and a crossbow, two got hurt before they could intervene. Requesting an ambulance.’

Maurice: “Dude, what the hell have you been up to??”
Ken (GM): Anne rolling first aid to treat the wound?
NICK! Fast tlak!
talk even!
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (4+2+5) = 11
Nick: 9v14
Ken (GM): nice, each of ya

Ken (GM) Nick convinces the emergency services folks to send an ambulance and hangs up before they get too concerned with further details; the operator seemed convinced it was dumb kids so they might not send the cops too fast on the heels of the ambulance…

Nick is too Overconfident to worry abut the guns they carry.

Ken (GM) meanwhile, Anne works the bolt free and keeps pressure on the wound; the thing comes free with barely a drop spilled! (he used a raw wooden tipped bolt, so an easy extraction, no serrations!)

The Hunter meanwhile struggles to focus, and dribbles a bit of black goo from his lips as he slurs “Ive been….busy…heh hee. Taking down the mon…monsters. Keeping the town….safe”
HACK
COUGH
-black spittle-
Maurice: “I ain’t got no problem with that, kid. How about you tell me your name first.”
Jerry:”Je..HACK-cough…Jerry” He points a finger-gun, then slumps over, out for the count
Maurice reaches over to check his pulse….then stops himself
(To Maurice): Wont kill him 😛

Anne looks to the wooden bolt and is quite glad it’s not splintered or damaged, then nods and puts it aside as she looks to the young man. “She had quite an ordeal. You never reported her missing or looked for her?”
Marcel hisses in pain now, as the bolt comes free, tipped red.
Marcel: “No! Merde! She’s a big girl. She was just being trez-weird, non?”
Anne: “How?” She asks pointedly as she bandages the boy with something from her purse.
Marcel: “She got real loopy, real quick. I don’t think she can handle her booze, because she had like, one beer and went off the deep end. I thought you girls at the nunnery were all wild-child cool?” He immediately regrets the barb, realizing you’re bandaging his wound. “Sorry ” he manages quietly

Nick comes back quickly. Nick calls over to Maurice: “How is the boy?”
Maurice: “Not good….can you check him over? About the only first aid I know is mouth to mouth and I ain’t thinking that will help much.”

Anne “She was hurt and could have died” Her voice cold and stern, frowning at Marcel before she nods swiftly to Maurice, hopping up. “Don’t move! I have more questions” She says to the teenager, then goes to treat the hunter..
Anne joins them, going around the bile and examining the passed out boy.

---

P.P.A.: fug, I forgot I wanted to add First Aid between sessions
Ken (GM): [do you have the points ppa?]
P.P.A.: yeah
27 right now
Ken (GM): […dude]
P.P.A.::DDDDD
Ken (GM): [you HOARDER]

---

Nick tries to remember first aid courses from years ago, dimly does, but now that Anne is here he leaves it to her.
Anne works, and a person watching could learn from it.
Nick walks over to the other boys. :“You holding up?”
Marcel is staying still, holding down a bandage on his chest. He’s blanched, but calm. The other boys are fidgety and whispering to each other when Nick approaches

Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 to First Aid this weird hunter guy (3+5+3) = 11

Nick will have lingered a few minutes to watch and learn then
Nick will THEN have gone to the other youths
Ken (GM):jfc
lol
Maurice: lol

(To Anne): He’s got previous wounds under his shirt; he’s bloody from them and bandaged, and has some ragged cuts there. Poorly handled, and they smell like he tried and failed at branding them (le ew). He’s also presenting as inexplicably exhausted, as if he’s been running for miles. Thready pulse, pupils dilated, pale

Nick: “So, I’d appreciate it if you couldn’t make a fuss about our, uh, guns.”
Ken (GM) the boys take a collective step back…
Nick: “As you saw, we don’t shoot at people. Had to use them earlier today when we found that girl, Mina, attacked by some wild beast, though.”
The Boys: “Uhhh, you know, Marcel should be fine. We should like….go”
“Yeah, like, we have appointments”
“and stuff”
Nick shrugs. “Yeah, whatever, go be off. By the way, stop drinking and doing drugs at your age, that’s not good for ya.”
Ken (GM) the leftover thug trio struggle to keep an eye on the crazy guy with the gun and push through the undergrowth backs first
Marcel: “You DICKS”
Nick doesn’t mind. They can’t tell the ambulance staff when they’re not here, so this just removes a risk factor.
Marcel: “You cant just leave me here…with….them” he calls back to his ‘friends‘

Ken (GM) a familiar siren can be heard, wailing in the distance

Nick: “Haha, sorry for the fuss.” He turns to Marcel, sounding genuinely concerned. “You holding up well enough?”
Marcel quietly nods, wide eyed, lying very still. Not provoking the gunman
Nick: “Good, keep it up. There’s an ambulance on the way.”

Anne shakes her head in disapproval as she opens the Hunter’s shirt, studying injuries, marks on him then checking his pulse. “He is seriously hurt, Monsieur Nick. He could use antibiotics, fluids and somewhere to rest. He may also be drugged.” She says with a touch of worry, doing what she can to keep him stable for now. “It would be easier if he was awake to tell us what he has taken and done.”

Nick is worried by Anne’s words, though. “Do you know that kid? He said his name was ‘Jerry’, and he was actually aiming for you, it seems.”
Marcel shakes his head no. “Never seen him bef….wait….Jerry?” He sits up, and hisses in pain.
Nick: “Careful.”
Marcel: “Is he a white guy? Beard? Long coat?”
Maurice: “Yep”
Marcel holds still. “Merde.”
Marcel: “I thought they were just being paranoid”
“I got told the other night, at the club, that some nutter named Jerry was skulking around looking for me”
“He’s been creeping around all over, creeping people out! he’s crazy man!”
“fucking nazis” under his breath
Nick: “…so he is one?” Nick points to the knife he’s still holding, and the swastika on its handle.
“What are Canadian Neo-Nazis doing playing vampire hunter though. He called you a ‘thrall,’ is that some German-nazi word?”
Nick is not as literate and verbose as his player
Ken (GM): lol

Maurice looks at Nick, then laughs
Maurice: “Man, you almost got me there…”

Anne does what she can for the Hunter, waiting on the ambulance.
(To Anne): keeping him warm and not moving him might be best; you could harm him worse without even knowing whats wrong.
Anne covers the Hunter with her coat and keeps him still, not trying to wake him up.

Nick scratches his head. “…or it was some Viking thing, I think.”
Marcel: “Man, I don’t know. He’s the wacko, ask him”
Nick shrugs. “If he makes it.”

Ken (GM): [allright; so waiting for the authorities? or another plan?]
Maurice: We need to make sure these kids survive, and if the authorities are going to be reliable in these cases anyway
Joush M.: It’s that or steal the hunter… maybe search his pockets while they wait?
Anne checks his things.
Maurice: “That would be a good middle ground, yes”

Ken (GM) The young hunter seems to have been armed for bear…or worse; several stakes are lashed to his leather vest, alongside bulbs of garlic. He’s wearing what seem to be biker’s riding pants overtop jeans: his wallet appears, with no ID cards, just some cash and change.

Ken (GM) He has a sheathe on his belt for the knife; with an old worn nazi insignia on on the strap. and in one coat pocket…he seems to have a sheet of vellum paper with some scribbly writing on it and a prominent symbol marked out in streaky ink in the middle.

Anne: “So.. do we allow him to be caught with his weapons, or conceal his crime? If he truly hunts vampires, we are allies, of a sort, non?”

Nick pats Marcel on the shoulder and walks over to Anne
Nick: “He needs medical attention, and we aren’t relatives or anything. If there are any… clues on him, like another address or something, we could follow that, but…”
(To Maurice): you recognize the scrawl of the paper. He has seen the book, as you have
Nick: “Would also be bad if we showed up at the hospital they take him to to inquire about him and he’d told them about our, uh, equipment.”
Maurice: “We could make a tasteful tactical retreat once we hear sirens.”
Anne: “No cops then?..” She sighs “He needs a real doctor. I can’t keep the authorities out of it. If you know a doctor we could take him to without… ‘questions’, we could do that.”

Nick looks to Maurice and nods.
Maurice: How about our new friends at the Coffee Shop?
Anne: “I do not think Thierry is a physician.” She says with a faint smile.

Nick: 13v12
Nick does NOT make the reasonable objection that the kid seems to be in no condition to be transported by them, being Overconfident that they could somehow.
Ken (GM): hah
Maurice: “Let’s just assume the Ambulance won’t ask questions and won’t frisk us. I’m sure just a trio of good Samaritans coming across a LARP gone wrong will satisfy the EMT’s paperwork”

wee woo

Ken (GM) wooo wooooo WEEEE WOOOOO WEEEE WOOOOOO in the distance

Maurice: “But…we should probably take that scrap of paper and any notes the kid has. I’ve definitely seen something similar in that book.“

Anne considers a moment, then nods. “Oui, I will bow to your wisdom on this, Monsieur Maurice.”
Maurice: “You two run off, I’ll flag the paramedics down. Nobody gives much thought to a bum in the town unless it’s around a soup kitchen.”

Nick nods.
Maurice offers my revolver to Nick just in case
Nick takes and hides it, makes off.
Ken (GM):sneaky
anyone taking the crossbow?

Anne considers a moment, then reluctantly she nods. “This hunter is our best lead, please take care of him.” Before she goes.
Maurice: “Leave the crossbow….they may wonder how an arrow got into the other kid, without it”
Ken (GM): very well then

Ken (GM) Nick and Anne scamper as the nice folks in white uniforms under thick coats come a running up the way. Maurice will remain and explain away what he must, because he can, and he likes to

Maurice flags them down and practices his ‘crazy hobo’ voice a bit before they get in range
Ken (GM): Acting!
Maurice: rolling 3d6(6+4+1) = 11
Ken (GM): and as well, how are you handling “the usual questions” ?
Maurice: 11 is good enough for Acting beat by 1, and I’ll basically just explain it away as “I was pissin in the weeds over here, and suddenly I see this kid shoot the other with one of them Warewolf shooters! Like in the mooooovies!!!””
“So I’s tackle him and he starts spittin out black like I do when I drink that cheap shit whisky at Louie’s Tavern, and the kid over there is passed out but he pulled out the arrow-thing, so I think he’s not a Waaarewoooooff…maybe..”
Maurice gasps
Maurice: “Unless ya need silver!”
Maurice inserts barely-sober rambling and speculation of an appropriately unhinged level, so I’m not seeming DANGEROUSLY insane, but just ‘leave the poor bum alone, he’s crazy but harmless”
Ken (GM):nice; Fast talk at +3 as well then MistaFiss
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (6+4+2) = 12
Beat Fast Talk by 1
Maurice: Oops, fast talk beat by 4 with the bonuses

Anne: “So Monsieur Nick.. the boys seemed to not understand where Mina had gone when she fell in with the vampire. But the hunter knew of vampires and was hunting the boys… when the Hunter is recovered enough, perhaps he can tell us”
Nick nods. “That Marcel said he had heard about some Nazi stalking him who matched Jerry’s description.”
Nick: “Maybe we should ask around at the establishments he frequents if they know more about the vampire hunter, if they were aware of him.”
Anne nods again, trying to focus her mind despite the excitement of the day and her fatigue. “Oui.”

Ken (GM) The paramedics arrive, tromping through the snow with a gurney and looking pissed at the call out, but once the crazy bum walks them through what happens, they nod nicely to the man and pass him along with little questioning. “We’re taking these boys to the Montreal General Hospital, sir. If you’d like to come along and get a hot meal, we can drop you off on the way”. Maurice plays along with the story, apologizing for making such a fuss
Ken (GM): Marcel I mean
Maurice does what a Maurice will do; the kid with the arrow-hole plays along with his story

Maurice wisely doesn’t split the party, and explains to the paramedics he just ate a bunch of toast and is feeling good, but he might swing by later to make sure the poor kids ain’t dead.
Anne: “Perhaps the vampires will try to silence him at the hospital.. should we go there?”
Nick: “He might have attracted some attention. …yeah, I think we should drop by.”

Ken (GM): [heheh]
[knowing sigh]

Maurice glances to his hidden party and changes his mind
Nick returns the revolver to Maurice as soon as they reunite
Ken (GM): [the party reuintes]
re-unites, even
Maurice: [wait, yeah, re-unites]
Ken (GM):lol

Anne nods and starts across town to the hospital. “Thank you for your quick thinking, Monsieur Maurice.”
Maurice walks over to their hidey spots and takes back his iron with a smile and a bow
Nick: “Yea, well done.”
Ken (GM):[It pays to look like a drunken weirdo hobo sometimes!]
Maurice beams slightly “I do what I can.

Ken (GM) so, the trio are safe from the interrogation of the medics for now; heading to the hospital to follow-up on the poor boys, once they’ve been treated by actual doctors (?)
Joush M.: Yep!
Ken (GM): Combination of Bus and walking? The MGH is on the hill, on the main drag, so its a nice big public building with easy access

Nick: “Oh yeah, Anne, what did Marcel have to say about the girl?”
Anne: “He said that Mina was suddenly drunk after a single drink and vanished from the party. It seems to me SOMEONE drugged her, perhaps this ‘vampire'” She scowls and huffs, the blonde flexing her hands. “They should have watched out for her better1”
Maurice: “They should have, but youth is rarely fully aware of the trouble they are about to be in…until they’re in it. That’s what makes it such an exciting time.” smiles
Anne nods, then gives him a look as if Maurice might be making a comment on her own foolhardy nature.
Maurice: maybe he is, but it’s certainly not unkind 🙂
Nick nods, remaining quiet about his own sinful escapades when he was younger.

Fiss: [I’ve got to head out in a few minutes unfortunately, anything you need me to roll or act let me know]
Ken (GM):[booo fiss]
P.P.A.: (I wouldn’t mind quitting early today since I’m really out of it for some reason, so I’m only burning on a low flame.)
Ken (GM): [considering the narrative moment and quick absconding of the fiss, wanna break for now here. Call it a 3 hour day?]
ah!
coincidence
Joush M.: Sure, we can do that. I’ve been almost nodding off

Ken (GM): NEXT WEEK Pursuing the wounded and sorting out who drugged who with what when, how, and why?

P.P.A.: In my case it’s probably hay fever not not having gotten outside today
*or
Ken (GM): IMMA GO RAKE WEEDS IN TEH SUN
Maurice: WOO
Ken (GM): take 3 xp then ya gits
and I swear
Fiss: I mean, WOO
Ken (GM): ppa
P.P.A.: Destroy the bloodroots!
Ken (GM): SPEND SOME OF THEM
Joush M.: Rake that shit
P.P.A.: :DD
Fiss: o/ later peeps, lots of fun, thanks for the game1
Ken (GM): Dont make me retcon dwarves as hoarders
P.P.A.: Cavern Kulaks
Ken (GM): glorious walls of canned goods

Dresden Files M-80; Dirty Trails

P.P.A.: Good evening gents
Ken (GM):YOOOOO
Fiss: ZUPDAWGS
Joush M.: Oodles and oodles
Ken (GM): how is ya? Sorry I was late there
I blame taxes and tired wives
P.P.A.: First heat (well, “heat”— >25°C at least) wave this year, and I’ve already had enough
winter all day erry day
Fiss: I will be cooking and stuff as I game, so please forgive any minor delays
Joush M.: Well it’s winter in Montreal
Ken (GM): Jealous. Weve just hit our first positive temperature week here.
I fully expect snow again before may

BUT

INITIATIVE

---

Ken (GM) SPOOPY things are afoot; A mysterious voice in the basement magic den appears to be a GHOUL, now illuminated by a convenient chem-light!

Maurice: rolling 1d6 + 5 (2)+5= 7
Nick: rolling 1d6+5.75 (4)+5.75= 9.75
Maurice: No Combat Reflexes…for shame Maurice!
Silence, Maurice!
Maurice quirk added, talks to himself in third person
P.P.A.: oh, I forgot, Nick DOES have C.R. so that’s +1 for everyone at least, right?
Ken (GM): lulz
and miss anne?
Joush M.: rolling 1d6+5.75 (4)+5.75 = 9.75
There!
Ken (GM):rolling 1d6 + ? (6) = 6

The Ghoul clambers up the tunnel walls, quick as a cat, hissing and drooling a viscous black spittle! It swipes at ANNE!
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs wild swing!(9) (1+3+2) = 6
Ken (GM): does Anne defend?!
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 11 to dodge (retreating!) (3+2+5) = 10
gasp!
Maurice: noice!
The Ghoul swings a clawed hand, but the wee miss steps JUST out of the way

P.P.A.: IIRC Nick had his gun drawn already
The Ghoul: yus
Ken (GM):*
P.P.A.: what a helpful ghoul
Ken (GM): [of note from last week Nick and Maurice had guns out, and Anne her red stone ring. Very very wary]
Nick takes a step back and aims at the Ghoul
Ken (GM): allrighty!
anne!

Anne lifts her hand and calls out ‘Kenaz‘ with a surprised yelp, sending out a blast of argent flame!
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 to Innate Attack (3+3+1) = 7
Anne also steps back.
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs dodge! (3+6+3) = 12
The Ghoul is struck with a fore-mentioned argent flames!
Anne: rolling 3d6 for Burning damage (1+5+6) = 12 Bur
The Ghoul: “AIIEEEEE!!!” The flesh blackening and boiling in the heat!
rolling 3d6 vs HT (4+1+4) = 9
The Ghoul burns, but remains standing! IT SCREAMS in the burning pain!
Joush M.: Yay! Burn, bitch!
The Ghoul: MOOOOREEEESE
Ken (GM):*

Maurice raises his gun and tries for a quick shot
Maurice: Target 13 for range and all that
Ken (GM): kk
Maurice :rolling 3d6 (4+6+3) = 13
Hah, nice
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs dodge(3+2+2) = 7
Maurice: [somewhere, across the Multiverse, an elf chuckles]
The Ghoul ducks the line of the shot, and stone flies form the wall as the bullet misses the creature!
Maurice: Dang, they can move….

The Ghoul hisses, clutching it’s burned skin, and dives down the hole, headlong

Ken (GM): NIKO
P.P.A.: >was distracted, please excuse
look at this window
ghoul is gone
:DD
Down the hole, huh

Nick remains cautious and keeps aiming at the hole, in case it re-emerges.
Nick: “Any chance it might pop out of that gutter in the other room?”
Maurice glances at the other room
Ken (GM): cautious? Isn’t he Overconfident?
and Impulsive?
😀
Ken (GM): hehehe [playing devils advocate here :P]
P.P.A.: Well
He is, however there is nothing to be overconfident about now
Maurice: “That was gated pretty hard but you never know”
P.P.A.: I mean, he could jump after the ghoul into the hole, but I’d say that’s well beyond Overconfident
P.P.A.: That said, if it doesn’t reappear next turn, he’ll get tired of aiming and maybe take a peek or kick another pebble down the hole
Ken (GM):ANNE

Anne stands, the rune on her ring glowing faintly and covering the hole, breathing fast and watching it with wide, lovely eyes as she stands there. “Careful!… Let’s see if it returns, non?”
Ken (GM): maurice?

Maurice: Same thing….he’s curious and confident, but not dumb. Maurice walks up, gun still at the ready “Nice work, young lady, remind me not to stand in front of you when you sneeze, hehe”
Anne blushes a touch. “My apologizes. I don’t enjoy using magic for such destructive ends, but… it is what is required, Monsieur Maurice“
Maurice nods thoughtfully at Anne
Maurice: “Say no more, young miss, we all must do what we must in the face of evil.”

Ken (GM) You all stand, poised on the hole…waiting.
Heartbeats pound in your skulls and the smell of cordite and magic fire mingle in the room. As the thunderclap of gunfire echoes away….silence follows.

Ken (GM): [so what now?]

Maurice: how deep is this pit? Can I tell? [I’ve got some Nightvision]
Nick kicks another pebble down the hole and edges closer to it “Come back out, will you? We’re not done with you yet!”
“Or, uh, if we can still cure you, we could try that.” Nick calls into the hole.

Ken (GM): The hole is just wide enough for a man, and slopes down steeply a few feet. It breaks through some stone wall on the South side, into a dark space below. You hear flowing water and the smell of the sewer down there.
The young mans voice is lost in the space below, dull echoes returning, muffled by a hiss and thrush of water.

Maurice: “Damn…If they’re in the sewer they have access to everywhere…especially the government buildings.” smiles lightly at his own joke
Nick hesitantly holsters his weapon. “I guess this connects to the place where we were yesterday?”
Anne covers the hole, then at last moves a little closer, at last slowly lowering her hand. “I would not follow him down there, I hope it is not your plan to either?”
Maurice: “What other leads do we have?” looks again around the room “Unless you think we could glean more from here?”

Ken (GM) From the sewers, you hear a feeble voice cry out suddenly, in pain and fear “Hello?! Is there someone there?! HELP?!” It sounds like a young woman…

Maurice jumps on down

Anne wrinkles her little nose and stares at the hole. “Another trick? oh, non” She says as Maurice drops down. Seeing a future where she ends up going down there too.
Nick: “Well, can’t have him one-up me like that!”
Nick hops down after him, after making sure he’s out of the way.
Maurice: [best case: Heroic charge! worst case, he’ll soften the landing for Nick and Anne!]
Ken (GM): SHWOOP
anne?
Anne follows, more carefully.
Ken (GM):[map magic]

Nick draws his gun again once they have landed.
Maurice: “Follow your nose!” sung to the tune of Fruit Loops commercials
Nick: “Miss? We’re someone, and hopefully help. Where are you?” Nick calls out into the dark.

Ken (GM) Rubble is strewn about here, where the walls and supports have caved in together to form a kind of hollow in a sewer wall. The stone is old and slick with scum and slime, and the entire place reeks of black stench. Water bubbles somewhere nearby in the dark ahead

The girl cries back from the blackness “HELLO?! Where are you! Its so dark…” And you hear her break into panicked sobs.

Anne takes another glow stick from her purse, snapping and shaking it, walking forward to keep up with the boys, carrying the eerie glowing thing high in her left hand.
Nick: “Oh, thanks. I got some matches on be, but those might’a been too dim.”
“…remind me to buy a flashlight later.”
Anne nods to Nick. “Oui. Perhaps I shall get one too.”

Maurice moves slowly but confidently in the low light, revolver lowered but ready
Nick moves slowly and overconfidently in the low light, catching himself from stumbling a few times.

Ken (GM) The chemlight is fresh and masks everything in a weird light; the surroundings clear up a bit, and you are standing on a blocked outflow, covered in stones, with a stream of meltwater running nearby

From the darkness, you hear a rattling HISSSSS

Joush M.: Did Maurice just NOPE at the hiss?
Ken (GM): [i think he’s just heading to grab the other chemlight BUT NONETHELESS]
Maurice: Which way are we going, is the blood going off in this direction or…?

Nick has his gun pointed forward, eyes peeled in the pitch black darkness. “Come out, you demon! Your fight’s with us!” Nick shouts into the darkness, worried about the woman.

Ken (GM): PERCEPTION CHECKS
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 (6+6+3) = 15
Nick: 13v10
Maurice: rolling 3d6(4+1+3) = 8
8 on 11, with 1 level of Night Vis
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs STEALTH!!! (6+2+2) = 10

Ken (GM): MAURICE spots the thing rushing from the darkness and gets an action in the surprise!
Maurice: Shootan
rolling 3d6 (3+6+1) = 10
Solid hit even with range
Ken (GM) the shot whizzes past Anne’s ear!
The Ghoul: rolling 3d6 vs dodge! (5+5+4) = 14
The Ghoul is struck with the gunshot!
Maurice:rolling 2d6 + -1 (5+1)+-1 = 5
Ken (GM): KABLAM
Maurice: 5 Pi+
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs HT(1+6+3) = 10
Ken (GM):lol

Nick jumps a little as the grisly creature (that is, a Chinaman) pops up in front of him from out of the darkness

Ken (GM) flying through the darkness, the creature is hit midair with a bullet, slamming into Maurice and splattering him with hot blood

Maurice:….uhm. I’m Maurice lol
P.P.A.: Into Nick, you mean?
The Ghoul lands in a heap, twitching, at his feet
The Ghoul: NICK
Ken (GM): not momo
jeebus
Bad GM, bad!

Nick takes a step back and aims downwards at the Ghoul, in case it rouses again.
Nick glances over to Anne. “Anything we can do for him, other than put him out of his misery and pray for his soul?”
Anne shakes her head. “It is not a spell or curse I could think to break… eh, Monsieur? Is there anything to be done for you?” She aims the ring at him, the rune dull glowing with the trickle of power running though it.

Joush M.: Anything in what she read about ghouls about them being fix-able, or is this one of those things that is cured with Fire, and lots of it?
Ken (GM): [from what you learned in the books, this is an accursed affliction. No coming back from it.]

The Ghoul writhes a bit, shivering, weak. The black spills out of him in the darkness. In the distance you hear the girl scream-crying, terrified

Nick: “Mercy upon your soul, poor fellow.” Nick puts a bullet through the Ghoul’s head.
BLAM
Nick:“Let’s go look for the girl.”
“The monster is dead!” he calls “Where are you?”
Anne nods and speaks a moment in French, a prayer for the fallen soul before she tosses Nick the glow stick underhand, a candle taken from her purse and lit with a fingertip.
Maurice bows his head for a heartbeat, then looks onward into the darkness

The girl cries out a shrill wail when she hears the second gunshot. You hear her scramble, slip and splash into water somewhere in the distance
Nick: “No, careful! Come back!”
Nick runs after where he hears the splashes.
Anne speaks into the echoing darkness. “Do not be afraid, we aren’t here to hurt you!”
Anne follows after.
Ken (GM): [adjusting your running, one sec]
Joush M.: Ooh, that’s where he was going
Ken (GM): lol
P.P.A.: 😀

Ken (GM) The sewer walls appear before you, drawn by the green light like silhouettes of slime. The water flows nearby, chill and disgusting. Ripples in the water from where the flow meets…

P.P.A.:so in the north that’s the hole and solid wall around it, good to know
Ken (GM): [ so to clarify, the scream-crying girl is somewhere nearby, splashing in the water of the sewer. You’ve got a thin chem-light piercing the pitch darkness, and can see the flowing water down below you]
P.P.A.: Down as in waterfall-y?
Maurice: Or downstream with the poopywater?
Ken (GM):you guys are standing up on a ledge, up above the water flowing below you
Maurice: How’s the ledge height….’do not pass’ or ‘risk of poop-splashing’?
P.P.A.: How high is the ledge, roughly?
(To P.P.A.): Youre about a foot over the dark water

The girl wails, pitiful, a kind of sad noise. You hear her gag and retch, splattering somewhere

Anne walks with the boys, following the sound and trying to see the figure. “Is it another trap? Another ghoul?” She asks, worried and wincing. “Please, we don’t wish to hurt you. Come to the lights!”
Nick looks to his comrades. “…hope she’s not also turning into a ghoul.”
Nick: “Miss, are you alright? Did anything attack you?”

Maurice: “Optimism, please! Maybe she had some bad oysters.”
The girl: “Anne?! Annie is that you?” the girl cries out in recognition
Maurice glances at Anne in surprise

Anne blinks, eyes huge. “Oui.. It is I. Please.” She steps forward, holding the light high.
Nick: “Cover me,” Nick says as he drops down the ledge into the water below.

Ken (GM) SLOOSH SLOOSH SLOOSH goes the water, as you hear the girl splashing toward you from the darkness

Joush M.: Sewer shark attack!
The girl: “Oh my god, ANNE, from homeroom?!” the girl is frantic, and panicky, her voice trembling
P.P.A.: oh boy, another scene girl

Ken (GM) she splashes into view as Nick drops into the chest deep water below.

Anne: “Oui, it is the little witch.” She says as she comes to the edge and holds the light, looking into the eerie green darkness for the girl. “We would help you if we can? Please, come to us.”
The Girl is slathered head to toe in muck, and her spiked hair is matted down to her face in places. Her mascara running into the other black and brown all over her
Anne offers a hand out to help her up from the water.
Maurice covers Nick as he rushes in
The Girl beelines for Nick, collapsing against him in the murk
Joush M.: Nick, you player!
She breaks down into panic crying and weepy elation
Nick catches the girl. “Whoa!”

Maurice smiles, but keeps a keen eye on the dark beyond
(To Maurice): PER check!
Maurice: “Friendly folks here in the refuse” he squints
rolling 3d6(2+4+3) = 9
9 on 11 + N.V.
(To Maurice): The darkness is still and slimy, unmoving, and aside from the splashing and echoes you hear nothing else…

Anne tries to recognize the girl under her makeup and filth.
(To Anne): She’s that girl from homeroom! You thought she just dropped out last week, and cut class, but here she is!
Nick is wary of her, but glad that he only needs to be wary – there’s still hope! Could be shooting at her right now.
Nick stows away his gun with one hand. “Let’s get her out of here first, I think that’s got priority.”
Maurice: “Let’s get her up out of the water and back up the tunnel.” nods
Nick picks her up (princess carry) and lifts her up to Maurice.
Maurice implies he will handle the shooting if needed with a quick sweep of the darkness

Anne nods. “Oh! You poor thing. We worried about you. Melissa said you had run off and was cutting classes”
Maurice: [urge to Attack The Darkness increases as Mountain Dew flows]
P.P.A.: [oh wait, she’s still conscious?]
[actually, nevermind, doesn’t make a difference, same diff]
The girl is a shuddering mass of weepy crying, but moves when you make her
(To Nick): Something just grabbed your leg
Nick: “Now now, it’s all well ag—”
Nick looks down on his leg.
Nick jerks it away, too.

Anne finds herself firm in her conviction that Melissa is a bitch that talks shit, nodding thoughtfully and looking back the way they came. “I know this is hard, but you must tell us, is there anyone else down here?”
(To Nick): It’s clinging…and slithering around your limb!
Nick: “Shit, something’s on my leg!”
The girl SCREAMS
Maurice: WAT LEG DO?
Nick pulls his little wooden stake out of a pocket
Anne doesn’t have a clear shot, and water blocks her magic anyway. She attempts to pull Nick from the water!
Ken (GM):MAURICE DX or ST! Roll one!
Maurice: Doing ST
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (6+2+3) = 11
Maurice: 11 on 14

Nick jabs the stake into where he feels the slithering thing to be.
Nick will also gladly cooperate with any attempts to pull him up.

Ken (GM) Maurice nearly tips into the river of sludge with the screaming girl when she flails, but recovers!
NICK stabs at the darkness in the water!
(To Nick): it lets go as its stabbed, and slithers away; Roll ST to retain your stake as it pulls away!
(From Nick): 12v12
Maurice pulls her back once his footing is secure, trying to maintain an eye on Nick
Maurice:”What is it!?”
Ken (GM) Nick yanks his hand up out of the water with his stake…and something dangling from the tip…
Nick breathes a sigh of relief. Stake in hand, he scrambles to higher ground. “It’s gone. Well, for now.”
Nick: “It didn’t like being stabbed with a stake.”
Maurice decides to save steak/stake jokes for later with less immanent danger in the water
Anne helps Nick from the water and looks at the Something in that eerie green light.
Nick looks down at said stake.

Ken (GM) The water around nick ripples….in several different places, against the current
(To Nick): A chunk of flesh, wriggling. Its black and skittery…

Nick shows the stake, at which a bit of black flesh wiggles, to his party members, trying to keep it out of the girl’s field of vision. “Should bring this back for examination, I suppose. Anyone got a bag?”

Ken (GM) Once out of the water…the slithering things slink back below the surface…
The girl weeps and tucks against Maurice, shivering and weeping

Ken (GM):[so…now what 😀 ]
P.P.A.: so right now we’re all on the ledge, girl in Maurice’s hands, stake with wiggly bit in Nick’s?
Ken (GM): yep
Maurice: “Back to the safety of civilization?”
Nick: “The US border is a bit far, so much for that; but back to the surface will do for now.”
Nick jokes, takes a last look around, and escorts the others back to the basement.
Anne winces and shakes her head at the question, but does take out a 35mm camera. A flash of light, (taking a picture of the wiggler) then getting one of the dead ghoul. Documenting this then nodding to the question. “Oui! We should get out of this place, please”

Ken (GM):[Very good, evidence, and evacuation]

The girl manages a weak moment of lucidity “Mina….my name is Mina”
Maurice: “Let’s get you up to somewhere dry, Mina.”
Ken (GM):[map magic]
P.P.A.: The laboratory-room was magically warm, right?
That’d be a good place to help her warm up
(close the door tho)
Anne ask gently. “Are you hurt Mina? Would you like help?” As she takes out her first aid kit and walks with the others.

Ken (GM) You manage to help her up the steep hole, and once you’re free of the stench of the sewer and into the lamplight, you see how disheveled and tired Mina looks. Her skin has a chill, and her eyes are sunken. Her skin is sallow and pale under the slime
P.P.A.: well, I mean, we should bring her to the other side of the door
P.P.A.: and then close it behind us
P.P.A.: so the door is between us and the hole while we’re in the warm laboratory room
Ken (GM): AH good call
Joush M.: Ahh, away from the creepy sewer hole
Ken (GM):savvy

(To Nick): Roll PER
(To Anne): Roll PER
(To Maurice): Roll PER

Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13(2+6+1) = 9
(From Nick): 9v10 if still relevant
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (2+5+3) = 10
(From Maurice): sorry, meant to GM roll. 10 on 11
(To Anne): Youre sure, some sort of warding just went off on the door as Nick closed it. It’s weak like its damaged and leaking power

Nick: “Nick Ferencz, nice to meet ya.”
Nick: “Must’ve been hell down there.”

Ken (GM) The stone door slides into place noiselessly, then CLUNK pulls itself closed against the frame. There is a tingle in the air as the wall reappears overtop and you feel a magical… something fizzle in the air

Mina sits where you leave her, shuddering and weepy still, but more in control of herself. She gulps in breaths as she calms down
Mina:”t-t-t-t-thanks” she stammers out, chilled “Anne, what are you doing here? Who are they?”
Nick looks around the room if there are any rags or bottles of water.
Mina:[rags yes. No bottles of water, but there is the cistern]
Nick will gather some rags and point the girl towards the cistern so she can wash off the muck on her.

Maurice looks her over, looking for wounds that might have been caused by those black tentacles (at least on her exposed skin, doesn’t want to be mistaken for leering)
(To Maurice): She looks beat up, bruised around her neck and arms. You don’t see any bites or sucker holes
Anne blinks in surprise, staring at the door owlishly for a moment, almost reaching out to touch it. “Hmm.. some kind of ward remains..” She muses, then turns to Mina, nodding to the poor girl and setting out the first aid kit. Studying her, trying to see if there are any injuries to tend to. “I came here investigating a crime. My companions are Monsieur Nick and Monsieur Maurice. I’m very glad we were able to help you.”

Anne: “Monsieur’s, this is my companion from school, mademoiselle Mina.”
Maurice:”I’m very glad we heard you call out, Mina,”

Ken (GM): [Anne! first aid!]
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (2+6+5) = 13
(To Anne): You see to her needs; she’s bruised and banged up, but the scratches are superficial and take a second to clean with sanitary wet-wipes. She’s chilled and sallow, likely needs a hot meal and a ton of rest

Maurice: “You’re safe now.” he says hopefully
Mina gently complies to Anne’s needs, and gets cleaned up and wiped a bit clean. She is still soaked with sewer water though, her leather vest and torn jeans clinging wetly
Nick: “Er, if we should turn around or stand guard outside…”
Anne: “You seem to have come though this with no serious wounds.” She assures the girl as she kneels and cleans a cut on the punked up teenager’s leg, pulling back ripped fishnet to clean pale skin then covering it with a bandage. “Hot food and drink and rest should put you right.” She assures Mina, then helps her out of the wet vest. Taking off her own coat to wrap up the young woman.
Mina manages to blush
Mina takes the jacket with a muttered “thanks“
Mina: “what the hell happened? Where are we?”

Anne risks, just a moment, looking at Mina with her magic sight. A personal thing, but she wants to make sure no other things have hurt her in ways that don’t show on the skin.

Maurice looks over to Nick “Let’s stand guard, surely she’ll be more comfortable telling the tale to Anne”
Nick nods.
Maurice: once they are out of sight “Jesus…what was in the fucking water?” whispering
Nick: “I have no fucking clue. Thank got whatever it was didn’t get the girl.”

Anne: “We are in North Montreal. Nearly out of the city.” She explains gently. “I do not know how you came to be here. We came here following a clue found in the pocket of a dead man.”
Mina manages to blanche again at ‘dead man’ despite her current complexion
Mina: “oh my gawd“
Anne: “Oui, luckily He is with us today and you are lifted up from the darkness.” She says gently to Mina. “Can you remember anything?”

Nick speaks in a hushed voice so as to not scare Mina. “It had wrapped ’round my leg. After I stabbed it, it retreated. Didn’t see what it was though, only got a chunk of foul flesh of it.”
Maurice: “If it’s in the sewer….it could move anywhere in the city. It might have trouble going through the treatment plants, but it seems able to break through walls. Half of Montreal’s underbelly is brick and mortar.”
Nick: “Could it be what made all these Ghouls?”
Maurice: “Seems likely…I can’t imagine the odds of discovering two entirely separate vile evils in the same week.” He grins toothily “We aren’t THAT unlucky, are we?”
Nick: “So much for Canada as that peaceful, quiet place where nothin’ happens…”

Mina scrunches up her face, concentrating, hiding herself in the folds of the winter coat
Mina: “I…” she shakily begins ” I remember class ending, and I went out. I was gonna go hang with Marcel and the boys….”
“we got together, and Marcel had some beers for us.” She smiles at that “he’s so cute and rebellious”
“But I got sleepy… and when I woke up it was dark, and scary, and cold, and I just hurt everywhere…”
Mina trails off into little sobs, huddled in the coat
(To Anne): that…was a week ago.
(To Anne): You remember seeing her head off with her group of friends… last week after class when she disappeared
Anne nods, gently encouraging even if she finds this ‘Marcel’ very suspicious, the blue eyed girl is glad for the smile and Mina relaxing. Making sure she’s patched up, then gently hugging her when Mina cries again. “It will be alright. You were missing a whole week… if there is anything else you remember you will tell Annette, won’t you?”
Mina: “What?! A week?” she seems incredulous “That’s crazy!”
Anne nods to Mina. “I know, it is very strange, but it truly has been a week.”
Anne looks thoughtful and frowns so intensely.. nodding to her. “For now, we must get you home, no? Are you a resident at the school or do you live at home?”

Nick sits down on the stairs and takes off his boot, rolls up his trousers leg and takes a look at his leg beneath.
Ken (GM) A fat black stain covers Nick’s calf. A neat spiral of spidery black on his skin, like ink
Nick: “Yuck.” He tries to rub it off with a handkerchief.
Ken (GM) the mark smears and stains the rag black, but still what remains on him is a neat bruise in the flesh, a spiral in dull red and black.
(To Nick): It hurts like you got smashed with a rock, tender and bruised

Maurice rummages around in his clothes and pulls out a thermos. He quickly downs the rest of his cheap coffee and cleans it out with a bit of his coat
Maurice: “Put the rag and the fleshy bit in here. Seal it up.”
Nick: “Good idea.” Nick does so.
Maurice: “I can get a new thermos at the mission…looking homeless has it’s advantages sometimes.”
Ken (GM):CLATTER SQUISH, neat and tidy, sealed in steel
Maurice tightens it up and wraps a scrap of his coat around it, just to be sure.

Nick: “Shit, now that the adrenaline wears off, hurts pretty bad. The thing had quite the grip. Looks like it was a tentacle or something? Didn’t feel like a snake.”
Maurice: “I didn’t see any of the same marks on her…either it saw you as a direct threat and attacked you outright… or….I don’t know.”
Maurice sighs and shrugs, sitting on the steps, taking a moment to replace the two rounds in his revolver
Ken (GM): click clack two in the top of the mag
Joush M.: Everyone knows sewer squid love the taste of hobo
Ken (GM): its like human-unagi!

(To Anne): Mina look smore and more confused as she mulls on your revelation. She apparently has no recollection of the week passing…
Anne puts a reassuring hand on Mina. “It’s okay. Let us get you home for now.” Anne wants to talk to Marcel. Part of her just wants to hunt him down and burn the answers out of him…

Nick: “Well, all the better; I can take it. Let’s hope whatever it is stays in the sewers though.”
Maurice: “I worry that something that bold isn’t going to be content being shat on forever…”
Nick: “Your manhole covers here all sealed on tight? Or is the public works lazy up North?”

Mina takes Anne’s cue and her hand, and is led up off the floor, gingerly. She shakily gets to her feet and can stand and walk on her own
Mina: “Hey, thanks Anne.” she manages to say
Maurice stands and nudges Nick as he hears the girls wrap up
Maurice: revolver on Safe and back in pocket for now
Anne: “You are very welcome. I’m just glad that you are well.” She says, walking her gently to the door. “We should head back to the school and get Mina home, then continue our investigation.”
Nick: “Ah, good.” Nick rolls down his trousers and puts on his shoe again, and likewise inspects his gun before tucking it away safely

Nick ‘s player remembers to subtract a bullet from his inventory.
(To Nick): Oh gawd, the gun is stained with brown and black. Ew
(To Nick): Gonna need some TLC later
(From Nick): TLC?
(To Nick): Tender Love and Care.
(From Nick): oic
(To Nick): Poor automatics, so many moving parts

Mina: “I live in the dorms. The loner halls” she says, referring to the orphan’s homes
Anne nods to Mina sympathetically and gently pats her hands. “I’m sure they will be happy to see you returned.”
Nick: “The young lady’s well?”
Mina: “Hey! That means I missed that stupid math test” she giggles a bit to herself

Ken (GM) the girl seems healthy enough to move, which means you can get her home. She’s still ragged looking, and reeks, but she should clean up nicely.
Ken (GM):[whats the plan of egress then?]

Nick hobbles a little, his leg still in pain; he tries not to show it, though.
Anne nods to Nick. “Oui.. I worry a little for you. Does your leg trouble you?”
Nick: “It’s not so bad, but yeah, hurts like a bitch. I don’t think it’s seriously injured though.”
Maurice: “I’ll make sure those kids haven’t come back itching to be arses”

Joush M.: Hmm, any cafe near here they could wait for a bus at? Trying to get Mina home to start.
Maurice goes up the steps to scout ahead first
P.P.A.: Wait for the bus, bring the girl back to her place, go home and take a shower, then meet again in the afternoon or on the next day?
Joush M.: Shower then back on the road today. Anne has an idea where to find this Marcel dick right?
P.P.A.: I’m more worried by how she said ‘she and some others were hanging out with Marcel’, and he handed out beer to all of them
We should ask her who the others were, and check back with her a day or two later to hear if they’re missing, after she’s had a chance to ask around at her place.
Joush M.: Oh! Yes

Ken (GM):You’ll get a few stares on the bus, but you wont be refused service. Just side-eyed. Its a longish ride back downtown but its warm on the bus out of the wind

Anne nods. “If you give me a chance I will clean and bandage it for you. If your Tetanus immunization is not up to date you should get a shot… or perhaps begin anti-biotics now as a precaution?”
Anne cleans and bandages Nick’s leg on the bus, because fuck it, who are they to judge?
Nick appreciates it.
Ken (GM): Anne, you notice, on inspection, Nick is only bruised and his skin remains unbroken. The weird stain is like ink, through his pant leg above. The bruising below is as if he was struck…or sucked on
Anne frowns, considering it. “Unbroken skin?.. hmm.. I don’t know if I can do much for this. But here..” She offers him a couple Aspirin, at least.
Nick: “Thanks.”
Mina dozes on the bus, exhausted
Mina snores lightly

Nick: “Was there anything about, uh, infernal octopuses in those books at the library?”
Maurice watches the city slip by as they travel “Cold….wet….it certainly sounds like it might fit here.”
Ken (GM):[the fiendish parasite that makes a ghoul is sometimes described as a massive soul-less leech, but those passages all seem allegorical…or so you thought until now]
Anne shakes her head. “Perhaps some kind of leech.. it may bare more research.” She admits, not knowing enough to really help.

Ken (GM) eventually, the bus reaches downtown again, and the driver happily leaves the stinking nick and Mina behind
Maurice quietly thanks the driver as they leave. “Kids these days….party pretty rough, eh?”
Nick: “Sorry for stinkin’ up the place, sir,” Nick apologizes on the way out of the bus.

Anne: “A quick shower, a meal, we shall meet in an hour and a half to follow our new lead?”
Nick: “Sounds good to me.”
Ken (GM) Everyone’s stomachs growl, in response to the prospect of lunch

Ken (GM): The driver is an old potato-looking man with a thick mustache. He chuckles a bit at Nick and Maurice, and wishes you all a nice day on your departure

Anne ask Mina gently. “Can you remember who else was with you?”
Mina sleepily is lead home, and thinks hard
Mina: “Marcel…and his friends. Those boys from his apartment or whatever. The ones he hangs with. I barely know them, but I remember the black one was there…Stevie? I dunno, its all really fuzzy”
Nick: “Ask around if they’ve also disappeared, please.”
Maurice: The kids that I chased out of the burned out house, they don’t match the description I hope?
(To Anne): Marcel has a half dozen boy she hangs with. You seem to recall Stephen as one of them.
(To Anne): And no, those punks from earlier were not them
Anne nod tries not to let it show on her face how little she approves of Marcel. “Non. Those boys and girls were unknown to me. Not Stephen and Marcel at all”
“Mina, I think I can find them. I will try to help… Now get some rest, please.” She assures Mina tenderly. Gently patting the dark haired girl’s hand.
Maurice nods, glad he didn’t accidentally scare away leads…or kids in trouble.

Ken (GM): So a hot meal and some cleaning up. Mina is tucked away safely back at the rooms, with some hurried and apologetic explanations to the nuns on ‘where shes been’

so, how do you wanna track down Marcel and Stevie ?

Joush M.: Yep. Time to find these boys
Nick also cleans his gun on his room, might be fashionably late again as a result
P.P.A.: Asking around at the orphanage would be the best way, but also kinda impossible, except for Anne. The two shady men might look a bit out of place there questioning random orphans and nuns, unable to explain why exactly
Joush M.: Oh, she knows the apartment building the boys hang out at, for a locale. Good place to start. And Maurice and Nick can lean on the boys if they don’t want to talk to Anne
Maurice: unless we get a better timeline of how Mina got lost, our only real start. nods
P.P.A.: Aye
(To Nick): The sewer washes off okay, and the ache in your leg dulls eventually. Youve got a nice dark spiral shaped bruise on the back of your leg, but it only really hurts when you touch it now.
(To Nick): The gun comes clean with a quick pass of a rag when its in pieces. Takes maybe ten minutes, and youre practiced at it.
(From Nick): good, good

Anne let Mina keep her coat and got a fuzzy, oversized sweater to replace it from her closet, a scarf wrapped around her slender, fragile neck.
Nick dons a spare change of clothes and has the others set aside to be washed.
P.P.A.: Maybe he’ll ask Maurice and Anne if there’s a laundry nearby, if the place he’s staying at doesn’t have one
Maurice heads to the Goodwill and comes back out with a new thermos that has ‘we-tried’ scrubbed-off, lipstick marks, and is full of fresh coffee
Ken (GM): hah, awesome imagery
Joush M.: I could see Maurice the kind of guy that just buys new clothes at a thrift store when his old ones are dirty..
Maurice: hmmYep. 😛
RECYCLE!
ALL THE THINGS!

---

Ken (GM) Gathering yourselves, the day brightens to a dim wintertime noontime sun, shining on an icy sky and frozen city. You bundle back up and gather together again. Anne’s lead will bring you to the ‘Tower apartments’ a tenement complex built with a kind of classic ‘turn of the century’ and ‘low cost of living’ style. Cheap and plentiful housing, with plaster thin walls and rusty cast-iron fixtures everywhere; it evokes an old Victorian castle, if it had fifty families stuffed living in it.

Ken (GM) The neighborhood is abustle with children frolicking in the snowy yards, playing outside despite the chill. An older man in a threadbare overcoat salts and chips away at ice in the walkway. The street is packed with Studebakers and wood panel station wagons, and the nearby parkade is jammed with snowy cars.

Ken (GM): [how you folks tracking the boys down? Asking around? breaking thumbs and kicking over snowmen? Yelling wildly?]
Nick: “Let’s first get our story on order. Why are we looking for these kids? Did they break our window? Did we hear about them doing drugs and are here to help them turn their lives around?”
Ken (GM): [very good point]
Anne will try sweet before they try wicked. Walking up and looking around for anyone to ask about Marcel and Stephen. “Oui… I suppose it’s easy for me. Flutter eyelashes, pout, no-one will question why I want to know where the bad boys are.”
Maurice: “I can act like their concerned uncle or something, say I got an e-mail that sounded scary, something about viruses and all that”
Maurice looks at them both
Maurice: “What, you’ve never been on a BBS?”
Anne blinks. “Non?”
Nick: “What’s a BBS?”
Ken (GM): [“Oh Myyy” /George takei]
Maurice: “Nevermind…Apparently I’ve been hanging out with some forward thinkers…”
[maurice apparently has one of 920 e-mails in the country]

Anne nods to Maurice, putting BBS out of her mind and instead going to try and seek out Marcel and Stephen.
Maurice puts on a concerned-confused family member look and follows Anne’s lead
Nick volunteered for some community work a few years ago, and puts that to use.
Ken (GM): ?
P.P.A.: by posing as a kind concerned community worker! Concerned about kids who might’ve gone wayward, trying to bring them back to the good fold and all that
Ken (GM): ahhh solid
allrighty; Anne, drop a fast talk at +2 for us. Nick, do the same.
Maurice doing his own thing? Backing up one of the others?
Nick: 4v14
P.P.A.: oho
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (5+1+6) = 12
Ken (GM): DAMN man, save some skill checks for the rest of us!
Nick doesn’t even need to lie about being concerned for their souls, given all that’s transpiring in this town.

Ken (GM) with little time wasted, Nick strikes on a lead near-miraculously; a concerned neighbor also of the faith and also fearing for the poor boy’s souls saw some young men of the description JUST TODAY. She indicates they had been acting strangely of late, taking on late hours and bad habits, talking back to authority and just plain worrying her. Her keen hawkish eyes (and a lack of anything better to do) led her to observing the boys regularly hanging out down by the river nearby, under the bridge.

Ken (GM) She is CERTAIN they will be there now, succumbing to the devil, as she fears
Maurice: [THE DEBBO!]
Ken (GM): [apparently, up the street from a secondary school [École secondaire Monseigneur-Richard – Édifice Rhéaume where her ‘darling nieces’ study] the boys hang out up the park side of the river, under the #15 bridge
a short jaunt away
Maurice: “Shall we Jaunt?”
Anne is impressed with Nick’s haste and efficiency, nodding to him and carrying her field hockey case fiercely. “Certainement! I am eager to confront these boys.”
(To Anne): You find some additional information from your personal angle of inquiry; the boys seem unlikely to find your advances receptive. Theyve been “acting all weird n shit” as the local girls say, ever since last week sometime when they had a rough party and came back ‘all fucked up’
(To Anne): They’ve stopped their constant amorous advances on the girls, mostly concerned with hanging out with each other. “Buncha fags” gets tossed around by the girls you speak to
Nick: “Let’s save some souls—which we just might.”

Ken (GM):theme music cuts in
montage of purposeful walking

Anne: “The boys have been acting strangely. The girls said they had a rough party, Last week. So, perhaps they did not drug poor Mina. But we shall find out.”
Maurice: “Restless times breed restless minds.”
Nick: “There’s probably more to it than just a rebellious phase. …although that should be straightened out too. People become susceptible to, err, negative influences through their own vices.”

Ken (GM) The walk is cold, as is everything, but as you round the paths the smell hits you too; nearby is the Coor’s brewery facilities. A massive sprawling factory on one side of the busy road reeking incessantly of fine beer and ripe fine beer production remnants. On the other side, the spar of the bridge leads to the Expo island. You stride with purpose to the underpass walkway, the park alongside the river St.Lawrence. Here is where you may find your quarry

Maurice: “Ugh….” makes a face “Coors….”
Nick: “Not a good brand?” Nick doesn’t mind the smell. Beer is good, and smells better than ghoul-infested sewers.
Anne wrinkles her little nose, finding beer far too bitter for her, not something that appeals to the palette of the pale beauty… and she is much more focused on her hunt. Seeking out the quarry, looking for them under the bridge.

Ken (GM):[map magic]

Ken (GM) You are trudging along icy park when you hear the sound of young men joshing each other; yelling and laughing about dumb shit to each other in a smattering of French and English and good old Hooligan.
The heavy use-bridge hangs in the sky ahead, on massive stone and iron pilings, driven into the park grounds. Monolithic.

Maurice: “Kids these days….don’t they know trolls live under bridges?”
Maurice smiles but doesn’t look completely joking
Nick: “Please; for all we know, there might be actual trolls here.”
Maurice: “Well, of course…that’s why I mentioned it.”
Anne fiercely follows the sound, walking closer. “Oui.. we shall be careful.”
Nick keeps an eye on his surroundings. Feels good moving about in naked daylight though.

Ken (GM) the noise gets more clear as you head for the treeline toward the river. The hiss of traffic above as cars and truck pass by puts a din in the air, but the voices of young men carry here, shouts of excitement and laughter. Boys being boys

Anne closes in, trying to spot Marcel or Stephen.

Ken (GM) here in the brush, you see them now ahead. They laugh and jest, passing around bottles from a 12-pack of beer, at the icy waters edge

Maurice:[Awesome icons, btw, lol I wanna punch half of them and tell them to get off my lawn]
Maurice watches over the scene with heightened alertness…. maybe his joke about trolls wasn’t a joke after all

Ken (GM): Perception All!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (1+1+6) = 8
Beat by 3
Nick: 15v10
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 (6+6+4) = 16

Ken (GM) the boys haven’t noticed you three stalking over; preoccupied with throwing rocks into the water and pestering each other. One young man, the haggard looking pale one, seems less interested in everything, absentmindedly drinking from his bottle. He appears to keep close quarters with a mohogany-skinned boy with a nose ring.
(To Maurice): You also spot another fellow, some yards off to the West side, perched out of sight on a rock face. He’s lying down on the stone…and also surveiling the boys?
Anne walks closer to the pack with her chin up and a frown on her pink lips, the pale witch looking to them then calling over. “Marcel!”
Marcel comes out of his reverie instantly as his name is called out loud. He steps aside from the others and looks at the girl approaching who shouted
Maurice begins to work the bushes for stealth, zeroing in on the auxiliary foot bridge
Nick follows at some distance, looking relaxed. They’ve fought two ghouls, a cowboy golem, and a slimy something. Some unruly kids barely faze him.
Ken (GM): Maurice! STEALTH!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (5+4+2) = 11
Damn, fail by 1, but hopefully the bushes help
(To Maurice): The man hasnt spotted you, but when Anne yelled for Marcel, the guy pulled out a crossbow!
Maurice makes a surprised gasp and runs openly for the bridge. “GET DOWN!”

Ken (GM) the boys startle at that!

Ken (GM):INITIATIVE!
Maurice: rolling 1d6 + 5 (4)+5 = 9
Ken (GM): rolling 1d6 +1d6 (6)+(2) = 8 [For the boys and the Man – KenGM ]
Nick: rolling 1d6+5.75+1 (2)+5.75+1 = 8.75
Anne: rolling 1d6+5.75 (1)+5.75 = 6.75

The Man reveals himself from his hiding spot at the shout! He stands in a heavy overcoat and wields a crossbow with a wicked looking barbed bolt loaded!

Ken (GM): Maurice!
Maurice: I don’t see him on the map, am I needing a refresh?
P.P.A.: me neither
Ken (GM): ?
sorry, direct West of you all?
P.P.A.: ooh, there
Maurice: oh, shit, okay….sorry I thought you meant he was at the bridge.
Ken (GM): yeah, he’s a sneaky hider
lol
Maurice: Can I ret-con my token where I was running?
Ken (GM): was Maurice “stalking toward him”? yus, good on ya son
Maurice: based on when I saw him
Ken (GM): lol
lets call it…there
Maurice: yeah, you just place me where I should be lol
Ken (GM):haha
SO
WAT DO

Maurice running toward him
Ken (GM):gotcha
Maurice: Is the ground difficult? Or do I get my full 5 hexes
Ken (GM):take your five; its snowy but firm
Maurice:10-4

Ken (GM):NICOLAI
Nick fast-draws his gun 14v12
Nick slow-draws his gun
Ken (GM):LOL

Ken (GM) The boys are startled and confused, but they see a guy with a gun, then they point and shout!
Nick is paying attention to the strange man
Nick is not eyeing the boys angrily
Ken (GM): yet

Ken (GM): ANNE
Anne looks to the man, eyes wide, then demanding “Who are you? Why are you armed like that?” Her questions surprised, rather then angry, and she isn’t pointing anything at him.

The Man calls out, the sun streaming around him in a kind of nimbus
The Man: “DIE ABOMINATION!”
The Man fires a crossbow bolt into the boys
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs crossbow (6+4+6) = 16
Ken (GM) the bolt whistles into them, and you hear the dull THWAP and grunt of a landed strike!
Marcel drops!
Nick: “Get down!” Nick calls over to the kids!

Ken (GM):MORICE
Maurice flails an arm at the bolt futilely as it flies past him, then growls and redoubles his attack
Maurice leaps onto the man for a wild punch/tackle!
Ken (GM): he has the high ground up on that rick fiss what do?
Maurice: oh…
shit…
How high? lol
Ken (GM): the rock is about as tall as you, so leaping up to grab him COULD work
Maurice: …fuckit gotta try!
Ken (GM): gotta hit!
Maurice: brawling?
at minus a millions?
Ken (GM): yes, at the +4 for the tackle, -2 for hitting legs, nothing else
Maurice: Cool, 16 target then
rolling 3d6 (5+3+1) = 9
I’m basically sliding up the rock and scrambling to pull him down by his legs
Ken (GM): exactly
Maurice: and I get you maxing this at 9 to allow for ‘wildish swing’
Ken (GM): lol
The Man: rolling 3d6 vs dodge+retreat (3+1+6) = 10
The Man skids back a step, JUST out of Maurice’s reach!
Maurice: Dammit, can I pull myself up or is that next turn?
Ken (GM):NEXT TURN!
Maurice: kool

Ken (GM): NICKY!
Nick: “You madman! Put down your weapon!” Nick shouts at the man, his own gun drawn. He paces towards him, trying to move between the trees and bushes to retain some cover
Ken (GM): gotcha

Ken (GM) the boys seem confused and afraid
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs “morale and composure” (3+1+4) = 8
Ken (GM) the boys seem to get their shit together!
Ken (GM) they mostly drop behind the pedestrian bridge [here and here] diving for cover and hiding from the crossbowman. Two of them flat out scatter and bolt

Ken (GM): Anne!
Joush M.: are the runners Marcel and Sebastian?
P.P.A.: Marcel was the one who got hit, right?
Ken (GM): how confusing!
Joush M.: Oops! Yes
Anne hesitates, then goes to check on the boy that was shot. Marcel
Anne walks 4 yards, end turn
(To Anne): Marcel is pale, and has an arrow sticking out of his chest, very near his heart!

The Man racks the action on the bow, the cord yanking back with a CHACK
The Man: “What are you doing? IT HAS TO DIE!”
Nick:“What are you doing shooting at people?!”

Ken (GM): Maurice!
Maurice: Definitely trying to pull the bugger off his ledge so he can’t shoot anymore
Pull myself up
Get in his face.
Ken (GM): kk
Maurice: Me vs kids
Ken (GM): all up in his steeze?
Maurice: Hell yez
Ken (GM):wild swing with anything?
Joush M.: [Try to kiss him! Sex appeal as a free action!]
Ken (GM):or all out to avoid penalties?
[oh gawd]
or just steeze?
P.P.A.: uh-oh, 5 minutes till midnight)
Ken (GM): GASP
YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS

Ken (GM) UNTIL NEXT WEEK

P.P.A.: well
let Maurice finish his turn
Ken (GM): lol
quick fiss! fuck him up!
Joush M.:Rip your shirt open “If you want to shoot someone, shoot me!”
P.P.A.:A mid-turn cliffhanger would be a bit too cliffhangery!
Maurice: Oh, cool, if I got time, I’ll grapple the fucker. 😛
BRRAWWWWLLLL!
rolling 3d6 (6+3+6) = 15
LUUUCK!
Ken (GM): lol
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (5+4+2) = 11
rolling 3d6 (2+5+5) = 12
Ken (GM): nice
Maurice: That’s a solid Yup with the 11
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs dodge (1+6+5) = 12
YUP YUP
Maurice: lol
Oh, hey….guess who has spooky powers too?
😛

Ken (GM) Next week; as Maurice the beast clamps down with a grapple on the man, what will happen next? Who is this crossbow wielding maniac? Why is he firing on the young men in the park? Just what is his sexy sexy deal?

Maurice: SEXXXYYYYY!

Ken (GM) TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO…DRESDEN FILES

---

Fiss: Wooo
P.P.A.: \o/
Ken (GM): take your 4 points before the clock hits 12!
P.P.A.: Thanks for the session
Fiss: So glad I didn’t blow luck on the stealth lol
Ken (GM): gtg
Fiss: Yeah man, lots of fun glad this was a day I could stay till 4
P.P.A.: we burned through 2 new maps today!
Good night
Anne: Take care!
Fiss: o/
Anne: Ahh, we did. made it though a lot of stuff didnt we?

Dresden Files M-80; Unearthing Leads

yo dawg
Joush M.: g’morning. How is it going?
Ken (GM): bretty gud
Joush M.: Mostly I’ve been trying to get anything done while I’ve been sick. Hey PPA. How are you?
Ken (GM):It is plague season
P.P.A.: \o
Hay fever actin’ up, but otherwise well
Ken (GM): you just had to get all hot n bothered about haygrass, you filthy animal
P.P.A.: Put a point in rasslin’, and upped Latin literacy to Accented (in-universe explanation: sifting through all those books in the library refreshed his memory after a long lack of practice)
Ken (GM): scooby dooby; approvededed
Is Anne upgrading anything major?
Joush M.: Uuuhhh.. No? I gotta admit, I forgot to level her up.. I’ll just have to do it after today
Ken (GM): lol
today, Joush realizes he’s made a huge mistake
thank god for spending CP on successes
Joush M. is filled with regret and shame. Like a man looking at a large pizza box and realizing he finished it alone.
Ken (GM):I don’t follow :V
hokay so where were we?

---

Y’all had just had a sit down with Thierry and Butch, yeah? came to a gentleman’s agreement on the ghouls in town and their involvement
P.P.A.: yea, basically
Joush M.: That’s right, yeah. We were trying to be chill and avoid shooting each other
Ken (GM): BE COOL HUNNY BUNNY!
Fiss: Sorry for the delay folks
Ken (GM): A WILD FISS APPEARS
P.P.A.: \o
Fiss: o/
Maurice: So, what are we fine crazy folks up to today? Any chance I can get some alone time with the book we got to check it out?
P.P.A.: Nick was going to ask about that, since he’s suspicious of how Maurice eyed and fondled it two sessions ago
Ken (GM): Pepe la pew: OH MY SWEET LITTLE BOOK OF MAGIC kissy noises
Joush M.: It’s okay
The book is about ghouls right?
Ken (GM): The books in the Library had passages on ghouls; so far, you haven’t been able to corroborate anything in the scaled tome at all… All your research was separate for the monsters, not the tome
Joush M.: Oh! Other book. Evil Book

Maurice: “I say we get right to the source. That book’s been…haunting the back of my mind for the last few hours now…I’d appreciate Miss Good Witch being present just in case some… bad mojo occurs, but right now it’s our best lead.”
Anne will let him see the Evil Book, but warns him. “Please, treat it with the upmost of respect, oui? It is a dangerous book.. We also have the address for the poor man. Shall we check that instead before we risk the book of shadows again?”
Maurice ponders for a moment
Nick nods, with an askew glance at Maurice. “I’d like to be present too. I don’t know much about the stuff in the book, but I think I can tell when someone is at the risk of becoming dangerously obsessed with it.
Nick: “But yeah, might wanna tell the poor family of the man what befell to him.”
(To Nick): You have tangible bad feelings when that thing appears. Give you the willies
Maurice: “I’d honestly wish to confront any surviving family or loved ones with a spot more than ‘Yep…he’s fishfood’ but then again, they may be able to force the hand of the police in a much more public and official sense.”
Anne: “Perhaps we could find a reason he was killed. Some enemies or associate that might explain who would want him dead?” The petite blonde ask, a thoughtful frown on her lips and a hand brushing though her long hair.
Maurice sighs reluctantly, but nods “Reviewing the book may take a while. Perhaps you are right.”
Maurice drains the rest of his coffee and stands
Nick eyes the book suspiciously. “…I’m still of the mind we should’ve just burnt the damn thing.”
Maurice shrugs at Nick “Perhaps those responsible would like nothing better…. A burnt book has no more secrets to tell. Dark or otherwise.”
Anne nods. “We should surround it in salt and a magic circle, perhaps inside the Threshold at a chapel” She says thoughtfully. “It would be able to harm no-one there”
Nick crosses his arms and nods. “That’s appropriate.”

(To Maurice): but if the book is destroyed…you’ll lose all those beautiful dark secrets it holds….
(To Maurice): Such wasted promise…
(To Maurice): such squandered opportunity…
(From Maurice): yes…I’m trying to play it off as casual, but very interested in the book lol

Anne:”Come then, Gentlemen. We are only a little way from my school.” She leads them with her chin up, the slender young woman guiding the way to the catholic school then heading to the chapel, a place that should be relatively quite on a Saturday.

Ken (GM):[so whats the immediate plan then?]
[he asks, as they declare a plan]
P.P.A.: Seal the book for now, then visit the address?
Maurice: nods
Ken (GM):[very good; you head out into the Montreal morning]

---

The chill of the city barely rises in the shining dawn. Mid-morning already passed, the weak light barely punches through the grey skies above. The brilliant dawn touched by a firebird is softer now. More folks are up and about, cars moving through the icy cobbled streets, midtown city life never ending

P.P.A.: also keep an eye on the sky for any strange bird that’s owing an acquaintance of ours a new window
(To Nick): PER roll for me?
(From Nick): 16v10
(To Nick): You spot nothing out of the ordinary. You’re not sure if that makes you feel any better or not…

Maurice: “One of the most interesting mornings I’ve had in a while, that’s for sure.”

Anne draws her coat closer around herself, an overcoat wrapped around her slender form over her uniform and tilting her head back. Curious about the firebird they’d seen, then slipping into the chapel as she finds a safe place for the book. Drawing a line of chalk and salt, sealing it with a trickle of magical power to insulate the book from the outside, and the outside world from the book’s influence.

Joush M.: Is that okay? Any problem finding a quite spot to store the book for a while or roll to draw a circle?
Ken (GM) Well, heading to the church is a simple affair; open to the public with the morning rise and the certainly quiet on a Saturday morning.
Now, getting settled in a quiet spot long enough for some magic, that might be tougher.
The three of you are mildly conspicuous, and the place is an occupied building; how do you wanna go about getting a private spot for your work?

Maurice salutes loosely to the Jesus at the front… it’s not a respectful crossing of himself, but not an entirely unkind gesture. Begrudging respect if anything

Anne looks around and watches quietly, thoughtful as she waits for a silent moment, crossing herself and curtsying to the alter. She looks around and pads confidently over to check out the organ and storage rooms. A curious explorer, she tends to poke around odd places anyway.

Nick dips his fingers in the holy water and crosses himself, and kneels briefly as he steps into the nave.
Maurice: Is there anywhere under construction or off limits to the general public? Renovations in these big touristy churches is pretty common.

Nick looks around, and speaks quietly: “Maybe there is a secluded spot on the empore, or somewhere behind the organ.”
Ken (GM): Nick! Roll vs Religious ritual +4 for me? (15)
[I realise now, he’s specialized in this]
Nick: 9v15
Ken (GM): Nick points you guys beck to the most likely unused area in the holy building; upstairs and back of the organ; there shouldn’t be anyone around there until tomorrow morning, if the habits of nuns and priests can be predicted.
Maurice smiles and nods, letting the pros lead the way
Anne knows nuns are creatures of habit.
Ken (GM): HAH

(To Nick): You feel a tangible magical tingle going on, where you have the book clasped with you. Like you’re over-hot and humid, sweating through your coat…
(To Nick): Waitiaminit; you’re not Maurice !
(To Nick): You do notice, Maurice is poorly hiding an uncomfortable composure in here though…
(To Maurice): You feel a tangible magical tingle going on, where you have the book clasped with you. Like you’re over-hot and humid, sweating through your coat…

Nick was inspecting the church, but his eye is caught by Maurice, who he thinks looks uncomfortable.
Maurice whispers to the others “I think the book is nervous we’re going to dump it into the holy water…” chuckles…not without a bit of nervousness himself
Nick: “Hah, good!”
Nick puffs his chest. These magic abominations know their place, at least!
Anne nods a little. “Oui… It shall be locked away une moment, monsieur“
Anne opens the door and boldly heads into the second floor, behind the organ where things should be silent and nothing should be disturbed.

Ken (GM) Up a dark stairwell to the higher level, you find a secluded back room stuffed with cloth-draped furniture and some boxed marked “storage”. Seasonal decorations not in season, a thin layer of dust everywhere. You quickly deduce it is a not-often travelled room; prefect seclusion for the moment

Nick keeps a wary eye on the little witch to make sure she doesn’t try to desecrate the place, although he has enough trust in her not to expect that
Anne does her witchcraft, trying to make sure the book will do no harm.
Ken (GM): Maurice, the book?
Maurice: “Of course…” he hands it over quickly, trying not to let his hand linger
(To Maurice): At your breast, the book clings like a wet dead fish. Sliding it free feels like slipping a knife through scale and flesh. Handing it away lessens the weight a touch…

Ken (GM) the book, bound in scaled hide, is warm to the touch and slightly damp. Water beaded on the slick dark scales.
(To Anne): Roll Will -3 for me
Nick takes a glance at Maurice hands; they can’t be that sweaty, can they`?
Anne:rolling 3d6 vs 10 (1+2+2) = 5
Maurice looks relieved, as if just having thrown up a stomach full of something off-putting
P.P.A.: noice
(To Anne): You feel the magic aura of the book plainly, and the presence behind it. Certainly a tome of some power. You also know, it is owned…
(To Anne): Your mental picture of the owner…

Anne swallows hard and shakes her head, focusing a moment… then with her lips twisted in a scowl, she focused on closing out the book’s influence. Drawing with the chalk, then laying salt over the line. Closing the circle with more power then she needs to, filling it up so it will last longer then a few days and sealing the magic in, away from her so long as nothing breaks the circle.
“What are you?” She asks afterward, staring at the book.
(To Anne): The book is a serious investment of magical power; the unmistakable instinct of a predator beneath icy water. Scales shedding passage in the deep. Fang sinking in flesh. Unmistakable power…

Maurice:” We’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure. Shall we relay our condolences to the poor chum’s family and see where that leads?”
Anne: “Some strange and pelagic power created this book. It is of the sea and so very cold… I would NOT care to touch it again.” She says as she rubs her arms as if she’d been dipped in tidewater, staring at the book a moment longer then nodding. “Let us go?”
Maurice: nods
P.P.A. nods.
P.P.A.: :DD
Nick also nods.
Nick will light a candle and stick a dollar into the donation box on the way out. US dollar, of course. The good one.

(To Anne): just calculating a total Ritual Path Magic level to roll against; you’re taking time to gather energy and perform a rite, but you’re not under stress…
(From Anne): Humm.. Path of Magic at +3? 1 for extra time, 2 for circles being dirt simple?
(To Anne): Yeah, looks like. so 13 and a minute of gathering/casting
(From Anne): You want to roll so I don’t know if this worked or not, or should I?
(To Anne): Good point [The GM rolls in secret at this point; a near critical success, 5 vs 13]
(To Anne): You gather the energy and cast. You feel the power sink into the ring and the malevolence quiets almost completely. The sacred ring should last a few days, easy

Anne gives just a brief prayer to mother Mary on the way out of the church, pulling her coat tight around herself. “To Mister Prince’s address?” She seems glad not to be with the book now, remembering cold water and a hint of something.

Ken (GM) Nick and Maurice feel an invisible weight of…malice leave after Anne finishes her work
(To Maurice): You in particular feel a thread of something snap as she does her work. That clammy unease is completely gone now…

Maurice looks surprisingly upbeat now that the book is safely away.
Maurice takes a quick look at the address….bus ride? Or something local?

Ken (GM): [the address is on the other side of the hill, just outside what you’d call Montreal, on the outskirts of the rail line in the North East end. Kinda shady place
[At least an hour on the bus, and some walking…]

Nick: “I’m the stranger here, so I’ll leave planning the route to you guys.”
Anne nods. “Oui… The train to the end of the line.” She says thoughtfully. The little blonde getting ready for a few hours of working though the cold day to reach the address. “Do you drive?” She asks curiously. Lots of time to walk, traveling like this.
Maurice: “I’m afraid my…minimalist lifestyle has not afforded me a car. To le autobus I suppose.

(From Maurice): as my vampire feeds on emotional strife, I think he’ll plan on breaking the news not gently…though as kindly as he can…to any loved ones there.
(To Maurice): Hah, nice.

Maurice: “I never had the need to. I suppose one day I should learn. We should also get our story straight…are we witnesses to a murder or just a rag-tag group who saw this poor soul’s wallet and are returning it?”
Nick: “Plenty at home. …where I left my car, though. Hmm…”
Nick ponders. “We need a… harmless opener, of sorts, till we know how much his family knows.”
Nick:“…not sure if the police would have informed them yet. They probably didn’t go down there, otherwise the corpse would have been gone.”

Ken (GM) The bus is warm enough and mercifully empty on a cold day. The ride is long though, uptown on winding narrow roads

Anne nods. “We shall simply say we have recovered the wallet and wish to return it. Let us not tell them of the murder until the time seems right?” She looks thoughtful “I should learn to drive as well”
Nick: “Maybe something along the lines of ‘We found your husband; we figure the police has informed you of his passing now, but we kinda felt involved since it was us who found it, so we came to express our condolences.’ ”
P.P.A.: We don’t have his wallet though, do we
just his dogtag
Maurice: Oh yeah
lol
Ken (GM): right, and a silver cross
Maurice: “Then we’ll simply say we found this ‘near the scene of a crime’…we have no idea if he was part of it, but figured it wise to return it to loved ones in case…. I think providing the address of the alley might be alright. I don’t think we need to incriminate ourselves further, but that would give the family ammunition to ask the cops to at least pretend to investigate…and maybe we can see if they do.
Nick: “That’s a good approach, and true too.”
“Let’s go with that, then.”
Anne nods at that in agreement as they ride the bus, watching outside the window and seeing parts of the city unfamiliar to her.
Maurice: “The best lies are the ones snuck in with truth. And besides…we are not out to cover our own tracks…only expose the ones of the city’s foes.”
Nick also looks out of the window often, trying to familiarize himself with the place.

Ken (GM) Uptown spills away around you; natural green spaces blanketed in ice and snow, salted heaps of snow plowed to the sidewalks and ragged homes mixed with broken down businesses the further North you go. This end of town doesn’t seem to have the affluence of the historic downtown, or the investment of it’s inhabitants in the community. You see more than one burn barrel filled with ‘found wood’ warming the hands of destitute vagabonds.

The bus takes about an hour to meander to the end of it’s route, where it deposits you for your short walk across to the bad side of the wrong side of the train tracks…

Maurice quietly salutes the bums as they travel past

Anne keeps her head up and look confident, carrying her case for the field hockey stick and slipping her ring back on as they make their way to that address.

Ken (GM) The roads here are still thick with slushy frozen snow, mostly cleared with ruts from industrial-style trucks that head up and down the path. The sidewalk is narrow, unshoveled and also ankle deep in fresh icy snow. The homes here near your destination are unkempt or outright abandoned. The businesses are hung with unfashionable hand painted signs or gaudy neon advertising “cheap deals” “we buy gold” or “pawn for le$$”
You pass the train yard, turn the bend and come up the block of 54e Ave
Ahead, the yellow sticker tape of “crime scene” stick out in the frosty bank of post-war houses

Maurice sighs as they approach
Nick looks blankly, his shoulders sagging a little.
Nick:“…not again.”

Ken (GM) the residence of Lenny Prince is a burned out brownstone home converted to a two story tenement. The upper floors are a charred mess, the lower still barely standing in defiant burned brick. A door lays on the porch, unhung from the frame, and an old 50’s era gas guzzling ford sits in the icy driveway

Anne increasingly wonders if they will find anything here as they draw closer to the place, then steps off the road and into the heavy, wet snow as she sees the crime scene tape, closing in on the house. “They beat us here.”

Ken (GM) from inside you hear the jangling sounds of some kind of angry music…

Nick checks if his gun is loaded.
Maurice: “Shall we?” smiles and thumbs the safety off his revolver in his pocket
(To Nick): Shoulder holster?
(From Nick): honestly didn’t think about this before, but that’d make sense
(To Nick): Easy holdout, -1 for fast draw, but great for hiding a gun in a winter coat from prying eyes
(From P.P.A.): sounds good then. I never spent all of my starting money since his assets at home are kinda irrelevant
(To P.P.A.): Assume like, a big duffel army bag full of stuff. Clothes and misc.
(From P.P.A.): alright, that’s reasonable
Anne nods and restrains herself enough to let them go first.

Ken (GM) as you approach the house, the distinct sounds of The Clash transition jankily to The Ramones. From inside now, you also hear the sound of clinking bottles and raucous laughter from young voices. Also, the smell of smoke…and marijuana

Maurice: “Ahh, there is either still life…or some rather well-listened ghosts within.”
Maurice: THE DEBBO’S LETTUCE
Nick doesn’t know what marijuana smells like, that’s for hippies and commies and whatnot
Ken (GM):lol
Anne: “Fools that party amid the ruins” She guesses, motioning for the men to go first… she might lead the way into a ghoul nest, but she’s a bit intimidated by the idea of facing punks in close quarters.
Maurice puts on an air of a drunken stagger and pulls out a pocket thermos his companions know to be full of coffee… but could be anything to a casual observer
Ken (GM): [social camouflage +2!]
Nick: “If you’re gonna occupy a building for your degenerate hippie parties, at least don’t occupy a recent crime scene, really.”

Ken (GM) Inside, a gaggle of mohawk’ed and rough leather wearing punks sit and lounge around a makeshift firepit in the rubble. The carpet and walls are ragged and barely visible under soot and wreckage, but a couch and some chairs and a boom box encircle the pit.
The revelers are passing about a joint, and have malt liquor 40’s in hand; they barely pay much mind to the lanky man walking up to the door

“I DONT GIVE A DAMN BOUT MY EDU-KAY-SHUN!” BLASTS out of the music box, and many head bangs are had.

Maurice walks-ish inside and leans against the wall for support as he takes a swig of [highbrow coffee], but then passes it off as whisky
Nick peers disapprovingly at the youth, but he can lecture them after they’ve searched the place. Though they might be too high on that anyway.
Nick takes another look at the slip of paper where he’d written down the address, hoping that he might have misread it—but no, this is the place. He takes a look around the rubble for clues—maybe a family photo.
Anne opens her mouth to say something then lapses into silence, unsure what she might even say to them, eyeing their leather spiked jackets and patches and odd clothes before she looks around the building.
Maurice: “Que diable faites-vous à la maison?” he shouts just loud enough to be heard over the music
Maurice: [WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!]
Nick catches on and steps back, letting Maurice act as he does.

Ken (GM) the quartet of teens startle and half-freeze from the shouted question
Ken (GM): [Fiss! INTIMIDATE +3]
Maurice: watches the teens for a moment, drunken-lazy eye sizing them up
rolling 3d6 (3+2+5) = 10
What’s
the default?
lol
Ken (GM): hahahah, always with the checking after the rolling
rolling 3d6 vs punks resisting the ruse (4+5+4) = 13

the boy: “OH SHIT, SCRAM!” yells the largest of the youths, kicking his chair into the fire and diving for the back hall.
The rest jangle about in a half-drunken stupor of panic, as well, but in less definite avenues of escape

Maurice stands up straight with a chuckle once the teens clear out
Anne winces at that and watches them scatter away from their Boom Box, the pale girl making no effort to intimidate the punks away. Even a drug addled mind could easily spot she doesn’t belong here.
Maurice: “I like punk kids…” takes a sip of coffee “They still have respect for the homeless.”
Nick crosses his arms and smirks. “Nice.”
Maurice laughs

Ken (GM) the teens disappear into the cold, their fire pit reeking of miss-spent youth and squandered afternoons

Anne watches their car go, leaving the other boy behind. “Oh, of course the leather-clad strumpets have a car.” She says, mentally noting that. She will use this as proof to her father she requires one.
Ken (GM):lol
Maurice smiles at the very Teenager reaction to the old Ford
Ken (GM): FORD
Maurice: “I think you might want something a bit safer than that old bucket. Then again, you charge into Ghoul’s dens…so maybe you’re safer than most.”
Nick: “Or any more sealed passages leading into ghoul dens.”
Nick: “Let’s see if we can find any clues in this mess.”
Maurice returns his attention to Nick, nods, and returns his revolver to safe

Ken (GM) with the escape of the youths, the boom box plays on, a cassette of angry music screaming about displaced faith in police and authority in general. The building is a horrible mess. A fire on the upper floor apparently closed down the building, with scorch marks creeping down on the lower level evident.
The building was saved, but perhaps only the bones of structure. Wind whistles through broken windows and frozen soggy carpets. At least a week old, not yet torn down, left to rot a while in the winter wind.

Maurice looks around, turning the music down a bit to mask their prowling, but low enough not to broadcast outside
Anne walks to the boom box and leans down, gently turning it down, then off with a click as she stands in the ruins of the building, looking around a moment to try and see any evidence of what happened. Where the fire started.
Joush M.: Oops! No turning off the box then
Ken (GM): [box-mind]
Maurice smiles and nods indicating he’d rather have the Ramones cover their creaky footsteps

Ken (GM) Cursory examination of the lower level reveals a back hallway, a collapsed upper stairwell upward, and a modicum of ruin all about. The furnishings are mostly gone except for what was damaged in the fire, abandoned here.

Nick look for documents, photos, or anything else of the sort.
(To Nick): you find nothing with a name or a photo anywhere; the place has been stripped of valuables and belongings, either after the cleanup or by looters perhaps…
P.P.A.:So the staircase is collapsed and impassable?
Ken (GM):@ppa[adjusting map a touch] yeah, the upper floor is a ruin, dangerous looking to traverse.
(To Maurice): You dont find anything else upstairs other than the evidence it’s been picked clean after the fire. Lots of stuff removed after the carnage, picture frame-shadows on the walls. They took their stuff and left , apparently

(To Anne): You suspect the fire started somewhere upstairs, but you’re not much for forensics. You do notice though, a smell of exotic spices? or something like it on the East side of the house. Something familiar somehow.
Anne slows, pausing and sniffing the air thoughtfully. Following a odd scent where it leads, the girl brushing her hair behind her ear. “What is this?” She ask nobody, trying to find the source.
Nick scratches his head, finding nothing. “What’s what?”
(To Anne): out the back hall, to a broken door, there is the distinct smell of lavender, cinnamon and clove. Pungent. And a stairwell down to a basement, half buried in old tires dumped here recently
Anne: “A scent. Something different.. Like.. Spice?” She ask, crinkling up her adorable little nose then giving a sneeze before she calls over. “The steps to the basement.. it comes down here? Lots of old wheels and trash… but the steps are intact. We could go down there..” It’s not a very safe idea, but she sounds curious enough to try it.
Nick:“…basement, huh?”
Nick puts a hand on his gun.
Anne: “Oui” She starts picking her way carefully to the steps.
Ken (GM): [map magic!]
Nick: “Let’s be prepared for the worst.”
Maurice: “We didn’t brave the Public Transit system for nothin….advance!”

Ken (GM) past the grimy heap of old tires dumped on the property, a Stair leads down to the heavy fieldstone foundation of the place. Past a few garbage bags and some collected rubbish is an old heavy oak door, and a chain.
The smell of odd spices and perfumed air wafts up from here, thick

Nick: “Probably chained up for the same reason that trapdoor was locked.”
Anne looks carefully at the bar and door. “To keep something inside, not outside?”
Maurice: “Curiouser and curiouser…”

Ken (GM) upon closer inspection, the chain is nailed into the doorframe, on both sides. No lock, just a strung length of thick iron over the door. The old brass handle in the wood is wet with ice and condensation.

Nick inspects the chain to see how to loosen it, and listens on the door for sounds.
(To Nick): You hear nothing on the other side of the door.
Maurice: “I’m no fire-fighter but if I was here to respond to a blaze…I’d probably search the basement.”
Ken (GM): [Curious; why didn’t they, eh Maurice?]
Nick: “Huh, this doesn’t actually close the door. Is this like that chalk-salt circle thing, some kinda ward for magic creatures?”
Nick touches the chain, and quickly retracts his finger because it’s cold to the touch, what with all the ice.

Ken (GM) the chain vanishes

Nick: “…er”

Ken (GM) as if it was never there, the chain disappears from view as Nick prods it with a finger

Nick raises an eyebrow. “…no turning back now, I guess.”
Nick cranks the handle to see if it opens.

Ken (GM) Creak POP the icy crust breaks free as the door swings inward, and warm air meets you, musky and thick with that odd scent again.

Anne nods, standing back and watching there.. a deep breath as she strokes a finger across the silver ring. She nearly sneezes at the scent. “Be ready.”

Ken (GM) inside, you find a well lit room, gas lamps ablaze with a golden glow. Shelves of boxes and barrels, tables of bric a brac, and a burbling cistern of water.

Maurice flicks a safety-lever sounding device in his pocket and advances
Nick likewise readies his gun.
Nick:“…pretty pristine for being right under that ruin, and what with all the punks about.”

(To Maurice): You feel a weak threshold here break as you trod over it. This place was a home once, but the power is gone from it
(To Anne): You feel a weak threshold here break as you trod over it. This place was a home once, but the power is gone from it

Maurice hums ‘home, home on the range’ quietly as they search

Anne blinks as she steps inside, surprised to feel something. “A threshold. I don’t need to be invited, it is old and weak, but someone lived here. There was none upstairs.” She says as she walks in behind the men. “I would have had to leave much of my power behind if I’d entered without invitation across a strong threshold.”
Anne examines the south end of the room, gazing at the cistern curiously.
(To Anne): The burbling pool of water is clad in a polished wood and brass cap, the lid missing. the water swishes and gurgles inside.

Maurice wordlessly begins examining the boxes and crates
(To Maurice): Bundles of raw spices, animal hides, other bits and pieces of animals, bones, teeth…its like a Chinese merchant house in here…

Nick looks at the dark corners first, then inspects the details.

Ken (GM) the dark corners do not look back; the room appears unoccupied, aside from you

Nick relaxes slightly and reluctantly, and starts nosing around
(To Nick): Bundles of raw spices, hides, bits and pieces of animals…its like a Chinese merchant house in here…
Maurice: “Quite a collection of spices…or ingredients for something more up your alley I suspect, Miss Witch. Clearly the man we saw was at least aware with an art, either magical or close enough to be suspicious.
Anne: “What could you be for? Are you somehow part of that pelagic sorcerer’s things?” She questions the water, but gets no answers and turns around to look to Maurice and Nick. “Oui, this is the lair of a magician.”
Nick: “Does look like the typical potion-brewing lab, I s’ppose.”
Maurice: “I wish I had a lair, I like the sound of that.” He putters around, looking for anything particularly interesting or weird.
Nick also looks around aimlessly for anything that doesn’t seem like a brewing ingredient, or like a really gross brewing ingredient.
Ken (GM): There are so many gross brewing ingredients

(To Maurice): You suspect, after some time…that you have no idea how this place is heated. The air and stone are warm, but there’s no furnace…or fireplace
Maurice: “Mighty fine for the folks leaving this to have paid for heating…huh?”

Maurice looks over to the sewer grate
Nick also peers into the grating in the floor

Ken (GM) the grate is cast iron and old; it appears to lead to a still water trap. It is very large for such a small room…

Anne examines the neatly coiled rope and other items, then looks curiously at the crimson.. jar?.
(To Anne): the rope and items appear to be tools, bundled and kept meticulously in organized shelving here. The jar on top seems to be a red glass jug of clear viscous fluid. It smells of exotic oil

(To Nick): After a fashion… you notice its also not cold down here. The door is wide open and the cold outside hasn’t invaded the warmth of this place, at all

Nick unthinkingly opens the zipper of his jacket a bit wider. “…hey, pretty warm here.”
Nick:“I guess we need to go deeper, huh?”

Anne risk reaching out magically, a moment of Sight to try and spot any clues left in the magic of this place.. bracing herself for perhaps seeing too much, at that.

(To Anne): BAM; there is a door hidden in the SW corner of the room. The line o f this place are criss-crossed with fading enchantment, and the threads are ragged and bloodied. Like sinews strung on a hunters bow. A vision of violent ends to someone’s magic power
(To Anne): The magic here is old, a lifetime of care and meticulous caretaking. The cistern is a cleansing bath for rituals of discharge. The ingredients are stored and sorted categorically and lovingly. The place is packed with a fading and dying love that gutters like a fire kicked open.
(To Anne): You’re certain the stone wall there is another illusion. Immaculate, but fragile
Anne gasps in surprise, staring at the southwest corner of the room like a cat seeing something that isn’t there. The lovely girl then closing her eyes, shutting the sight down carefully to keep from being overwhelmed. She was very careful NOT to look at Nick or Maurice when she was ‘open’.
Anne wipes at her eyes. “There’s a door. Hidden there. The wards are dying but still be careful of them.. whoever.. they loved this place. It was their home.” She sniffles and shakes it off, the emotion choking her up a little. “It is wrong, that he died like that. Oh, and the basin is for cleansing.”
Anne moves almost regretfully to a wall, reaching out to touch it.

Maurice watches her work, less worried about needing his gun but not being so foolish as not to have it still off of ‘safe’

Ken (GM) with a GASHUNK a section of the stone disappears, and another cast iron constructed door appears here. It has well worn handles and a smooth clean surface. Untouched

Nick wonders what this is all about, but is content to move on.
Anne reaches out to the door, trying to open it

Ken (GM) the handle turns easily, the latch catches, and the door slides into the wall pocket style.
Behind it, a stone door, very old, with a wooden latch handle. A dirt floor here too, not stone

Anne almost hesitates at that, looking to the door then the others. “After you, monsieur?”
Nick: “Very well!”
Nick moves ahead, again ready to reach for his gun
Nick opens the stone door

Ken (GM) it swings in smoothly

The room beyond is rank with a smell of rot and sewage; a vibrantly colored circle of elaborate runes is etched in the dirt floor, alight with a blue colored sand

Nick stops. “There’s some kind of circle on the ground, that mean anything?”
(From P.P.A.): can he tip-toe around it?
(To P.P.A.): Maybe? Roll DX for me
Nick tries to tip-toe around the circle without touching it. 9v11
Anne nods fast to Nick, careful to keep him from crossing it and looking at the circle. “It’s to keep something out or in”

Ken (GM) in the immediate vicinity; a table covered with scraps of bone and odd occult-looking items. A table with scrolls and writing and blood stains , a book case half emptied, a disheveled bed and a couch

Ken (GM):Nick enters the room successfully avoiding the circle with a little hop
BUT MAURICE JUST STOMPED ON IT DUDE WHY
Joush M.: Oh No!
Maurice: oh

Ken (GM) When Maurice trods into the room he steps on the blue ring of sandy writing on the floor! And there is an electric POP in the air!
(To Maurice): You feel like you licked a battery. Mildest of noticeable electric shocks.
A visible JOLT of something pops from the floor into the man!
The blue of the sand fizzles away and disappears…left behind on the floor is a smear of white lines seeming etched in the earthen floor

Nick:“…you okay?”
Maurice: …Yes?” He looks himself over “What was that supposed to do?”
Nick shrugs. “I’m the wrong person to ask.”
Nick doesn’t note the GM shifting some props around on the left side of the room
Maurice shrugs and happily walks on
Maurice:…OR TRIES TO
Nick decides to look around the room, wary of spooky things.
Anne winces, studying the man, hesitating. Then entering, very careful of the circle. “I imagine it was a trap… if I’d had longer, I could have tried to interpret it. I suppose it was just…old?”
Maurice: “I’ll try not to set off any more…sorry about that.”
Maurice looks a bit guilty, but only for the potential inconvenience to his friends.
Maurice: “What do we have here?”

(To Nick): The table looks like someone half finished a Chinese takeout, beside a book open to odd diagrams, some Chinese looking writing, and a bunch of bones…
(To Nick): The shelf nearby is full of bottles of booze. Unmarked wine bottles full of greenish clear liquid
(To Maurice): The table looks like a bunch of ancient scrolls, contemporary books and writing implements. And a big bloody violent smear
(To Maurice): The smear leads to a big obvious hole in the floor, where a gaping hole has a bookcase half collapsed into it. The hole is dark, you hear water, and the smell of feces is pungent

Anne goes to check out the ruined area and the blood trail
P.P.A.: Is that a steel box down here?

---

(From Maurice): sadly, this is my short week. Will have to head out in 5
(To Maurice): Curses [NPC mode continues for the absent player]
Fiss: must be off my dear folks, sorry I have to jet early.
Joush M.: Ah! Fiss exploded. Now we know what that trap did
Ken (GM):[poor man with his exploded work schedule]
P.P.A.: See ya!
P.P.A.: The circle bound Fiss to his job, RIB

---

Ken (GM): [yes, unmarked, latched, and unlocked. There is a pull ring on the lid. It looks old, handmade]

Ken (GM):The table looks like a bunch of ancient scrolls, contemporary books and writing implements. And a big bloody violent smear. The smear leads to a big obvious hole in the floor, where a gaping hole has a bookcase half collapsed into it. The hole is dark, you hear water, and the smell of feces is pungent

Anne sneezes. “Down into the sewer..”

(To Nick): The big box looks like its a dull metal, maybe not steel?
Nick knocks on the box, which might be made of iron or something.
Nick will open it if nobody answers, or if the knocks don’t sound/feel particularly strange.
Ken (GM): clunk clunk
(To Nick): the box does not answer, so you open it. Inside, is a heap of bones….Full to the brim with them. Old, polished, clean and white
Nick: “…pretty macabre.”
Maurice: “well, this looks distressing. And not too fresh, though. Dried and old”
Anne goes to Nick. “What have you found, Monsieur?”
Maurice picks through the papers on the desk
Nick: “Buncha bones,” he shrugs.
Maurice: “Do either of you know…chinese?”
Anne: “Non, Monsieur“
Nick: “Not really, but this whole place has kind of a Chinese feel really, doesn’t it.”

Joush M.: Age and type of bones?
P.P.A.: 24/f/a metal box
Ken (GM): @joush; Mixed; you see a femur, a human jaw, fingerbones. But also many others. A snake’s spine. Rat skulls. etc

Anne frowns. A mixed ossuary…and clean? Human remains and animal don’t feel like they should be mixed, but she draws back and looks around, seeing another skull on the table here. “What were they doing with human remains?”
Anne checks the papers on the table.
(To Anne): A whole lot of chinese. Old scrolls of it, new journals of it. Inkwells and old style baboo looking pens
Maurice: “Yes, who were they” he says, pointedly “There are two beds here. One in the corner, kept. One on the couch…a dive”
“And what the hell happened here I wonder” The edges of the hole dropping scattered rocks in as he steps near “It smells like a sewer”
Nick walks over to Maurice, holding his nose

Ken (GM): The floor has collapsed down here, into a neat man-sized black pit. Sloshing water can be heard from below

Nick: “That hole looks, uh, unsettling.”
Anne:”Oui, I dislike the hole as well” She agrees with them, exploring, studying the scrolls a moment then turning to the bookcases. Trying to make sense of the place.
P.P.A.: Any pebbles on the ground that aren’t bone fragments?
Ken (GM): yes, a few scattered bits of packed earth and small rocks.
Nick Kicks a pebble into the hole/pool of water, ready to jump back.
Ken (GM): clack clack thunk; the pit isnt too deep, just dark.
Nick shrugs, and browses the northern half of the room.

Ken (GM) the bookshelves have half collapsed, one on the floor one in the pit, and three on the North wall. They’re packed with musty looking scrolls and leatherback books. Many of them have labels in angular Asian characters.

(To Anne): You notice, a picture frame tucked on a shelf at the edge
Anne reaches out to gently try and draw out a picture frame. “What is this?”
Nick: “Hm?”
Ken (GM): A black and white picture of two men, in an old wooden frame. A single dusty pane of glass. Two young men; one a Caucasian fellow in American army fatigues. The other, an Asian fellow in simple monks robes. They stand smiling, arm in arm, in front of a kind of Asian temple
Joush M.: Do they look at all like the dead guy from the alleyway?
Ken (GM): much younger, but he could be.
Maurice: “What is that, a Shinto temple?”
Nick: “Oho. So it looks like the fellow we saw down in the gutter hosted this chinky and his lab in his basement?”
Ken (GM): [goddamn, 80’s-era casual racism!]
Maurice: “Maybe Nick, maybe. So what happened to him?” He taps the Asian man’s picture, thoughtful
Nick: “I wouldn’t have been surprised to find his corpse here, but we haven’t yet. Maybe he’s still alive.”
Nick turns around
Nick: “Though those bloodstains over there…”
Maurice grimaces
Anne shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Shinto temples are mostly Japanese…” She gestures to the Chinese symbols on the books and scrolls, frowning thoughtfully at the picture. “We have more mysteries then we have answers. But a man died here too it seems.” She looks to the blood. “And was dragged down into the sewer? The work of more ghouls?”
Maurice:”yeeech, thats not a nice bayou to wade…”

Nick closes his eyes for a moment of silence for the man, however creepy his hobbies might have been.
Ken (GM): [a solemn habit to keep]

Nick: “I don’t wanna fish for his corpse in that hole though. Anyone find anything else that could provide some clues?”

(To Anne): Youre pretty sure you just heard some splashy footsteps down from that hole…
Anne turns fast, lifting her hand. “There’s something there!”
Anne aims her ring-hand at the hole and stands beside the couch.
Maurice finally draws his gun, and cocks the hammer
Maurice: “Merde“
Nick draws his gun as well.

Ken (GM) from below, for a moment, no noises disturb the air but for the soft gurgling of water…. but then a voice calls up from below. Weakly

Anne nods to Maurice. “[Literally, Sir?]” She says in the French.
She then moves closer to the hole, calling back. “Who is there?”
Nick aims at the hole, and at whatever is probably going to emerge from it.
Nick:“…anyone down there?” he returns the call.
The Man: “Lenny?….that you Len?” his voice is weak, and echoey

P.P.A.: [Was Lenny the name on the dogtag?]
Ken (GM): [yus it was]

Anne shakes her head, though he can’t see it. “Non, Monsieur. Are you injured? Do you need assistance?“
The Man: “They-HACK-COUGH-…they got me Len. They got me reaaaaal bad”
Nick: “Can we help you, sir?”
The Man: “I’m cold Lenny……why am I so cold?”

Nick doesn’t let down his guard, but closes his eyes for a moment, shaking his head. “…dangerous as it is, we got a rope or something to lower to— Wasn’t there a chain in the other room?”

Ken (GM) something big thuds down below, dirt falls in showers down the pits edges

Anne jumps at that, finding herself unnerved. “I’m sorry you are hurt, Monsieur.” She reluctantly goes to the pit’s edge, reaching into her purse and taking out a glow stick.
Snapping it, she shakes it twice then gently tosses it into the hole.
Nick: “Careful,” he warns Anne.

The Man: “I gotta get warm Lenny. I gotta get back up there…”

Below, the dirt walls falls down a few feet to a sharp slide, where stone and earth meet in a crevasse. At the bottom, a human face with wide black eyes stares back…and white fanged teeth bleached lime in the light!

Ken (GM):INITIATIVE!
NEXT WEEK!

---

Joush M.: Damn creepy guy!
P.P.A.::DDD
The Ghoul: HISSSSS
Joush M.: We are gonna put all the bullets in him
The Ghoul: NEXT WEEK
Ken (GM): lol
Joush M.: Thanks for the session. Sorry if I was a bit out of it, cold medicine and too little sleep this week. I can’t wait to run away and leave Maurice to fight that ghoul
Ken (GM): hahaha
P.P.A.: Thanks for the session!
Ken (GM):

yeah no worries guys. Take your 4XP, spend it wisely, and we meet NEXT WEEK for ghoulish confrontations!
P.P.A.: Also good ol’ cliffhanger ending
well
enemy’s on the bottom of the cliff, we’re safely at the top
good positioning so far
Ken (GM): ‘safely’
lol
P.P.A.: reasonably safely, given that there’s a ghoul jumping up at us once it’s his turn
See you o/

Dresden Files M-80; Dawning Realizations

Ken (GM): Alrighty, so you all got sheets in front of ya? Virtual dice?
P.P.A.: yee
Maurice: Ready willing and able
Anne: Oui
Ken (GM):To recap;

---

It is the deep winter of Montreal, 1980. Dark nights full of bloody victims has lead to interested parties flocking to the city.

A young woman with a magical knack, a nascent hunter of evil, and a Baton rouge fellow of some ill repute. The three of you met in a fated alleyway, discovered feral horrors below, and escaped together into the night. To better learn of each other’s intentions and information, you’ve agreed to meet at a local research library “La Maison Grammaire” for a morning cafe and hopefully a lead on what’s going down

Morning arrives, how do you?

Maurice sheds the outer layer of his ‘work clothes’ to something a bit less conspicuous and less likely to attract undue attention. Jeans, autumn coat, and a ratty old Canadiens hockey-cap sit on his head as he heads to the library with a well insulated 50c coffee.

Anne: Cut to Annette dressing in a dorm room on the grounds of her catholic school, a uniform laid out on the bed beside a bag with the tools of her craft. The slender young woman putting each things on in turn and pausing to check her reflection in the mirror before the fille fatale walks out into the Montreal morning, bound for the library.

Nick rises to the shrill noise of an alarm clock. He had not expected that he would need to set an alarm on the first morning of his vacation—but, as it were, he found the adventure he was looking for right away, and thus has a reason to get up early. He greets the morning with a rosary; he showered after coming home yesterday, so he skips that, and then proceeds with the rest of what makes a morning: getting dressed, a hearty breakfast, etc.

The winter day is breaking bright with a bloody red dawn…if only it wasn’t already so late in the morning. A dim weekend begins with downtown dragging itself to it’s feet after a lively Friday night. You catch the deep smell of coffee roasters on the icy air, but the wind is still enough that the cold only chills instead of cutting right through you. Shopkeepers unlatch and unlock as you stride past, most folks keeping bundled up against the public as much as the cold. Everyone wary of figures in the dark… Headlines on nearby newspapers gleam at you red in the morning light; “Qui va nous aider?” [Who will help us?] With another grim exposé shot of a body draped with a coroners cloth…

La Maison Grammaire is a cozy stone and brick building, cut with granite and red fired brick foundations. Glazed decorative windows high on the walls allow in indirect light, and the heavy oak door is rimed with frost from the foggy night last night. The warm scent of rich dark coffee seeps out from the building, and the lintel has been hung with the hand-carved wooden sign “Open for Business”. The proprietor Thierry, greets you at the door as you enter.

Maurice: The paper shakes Maurice from his usual ‘devil may care, keep my head-down look‘ and he sighs. This is his city after all… and it is in pain. Not the pain associated with growth and change…but the one that comes with a hidden knife in the dark

Ken (GM): Anne arrives first; living close and quite familiar with the place.
P.P.A.:I spy a huge creepy eye

Thierry: “Bonjour petit miss! I hope the day sees you well?”
Thierry is a not-young-not-old man of indiscriminate European looking roots. He speaks with a Parisian French and an unaccented English, dresses only in three piece or higher suits, and tends to regard abuse of books with a well-hidden fury

Anne walks inside, reaching down and curtsying properly as she replies in the French. “[Yes, I am having a very fine day. I hoped to do some research today, Mister.]”
Thierry: “Very good; you have the reign of the shelves, and any restricted volumes will need the usual signatures.” He gestures to the warm room of leather backed volumes and pristine wooden shelves. “If you require un cafe, I will have the press on shortly. Gratuit à un bon client“
Anne: “[You have all my thanks. Some gentlemen should be joining me soon.]” She wonders if she should warn him but can’t think of how to prepare him for the odd longshoreman and the lovely and strange man, so she simply smiles and nods to him before starting back to the stacks. “I shall need lots of coffee, you are an angel, Mister!”
Thierry: “Very good. I shall start another kettle directement“

The shop is open in the front, with a public reading and seating area in view of the counters, several examination tables for review of valuable books, and more accessible volumes in the back in the commons area. Thierry keeps a personal computer behind the desk for a card catalogue, and a chess table carved with rosewood and ironwood pieces nearby for his favored clientele.

Ken (GM): Maurice arrives soon after, directed to the building by helpful passerby and coffee-dealers who know of it by reputation

Maurice walks in and instantly dismisses the smell of his own gas-station coffee for the books and atmosphere (and much, much better coffee) in the library itself
Maurice: “What a delightful place,” he murmurs, mostly to himself, but with a happy smile to the young woman who has introduced such a joy to him already.
Thierry: “Miss Anne? Is this one of your guests?” He indicates to Maurice with nod and smile
Anne lifts a hand, waving to Maurice as the girl searches among the stacks for something to help understand the mysterious book they’d found near the scene of a murder. “Oui, Monsieur Thierry. This is Monsieur Maurice”
Thierry: “Well met Maurice; café?” Offering a tall deep cup
Maurice politely places his street coffee down on a table to clean up later, and takes the new cup with a bow.
Maurice:”A true pleasure, and well met, sir, thank you.”

(From Nick): If there is a phonebook in his hotel, Nick would probably look over it to see if the name from the dog tag is anywhere in there
(To Nick): Good lead; the name does hit quick, with an address, but the number is [private]
Nick wrote down the address on a slip of paper and took it with him when he left the hotel, then
P.P.A.:oops
(From Nick): ^
Ken (GM):IGNORE US
LOL

Maurice makes himself at home, and keeps an eye on the door for the last part of their Trio

Ken (GM): Nick arrives within the next twenty minutes, fashionably late despite the lack of fashion

Nick does a double-take on the street sign to make sure he came to the right place.

Nick sees the library’s sign soon after, though.
(To Nick): Name’s a bit on the nose eh?
(From P.P.A.): Well, he doesn’t speak French (even though that’d be easy to guess even without knowing French)

Thierry: “Bonjour. Is Anne expecting you today sir?”
Nick: “Good morning; ah, yes; so she is already here?”
Thierry points down the stacks, and looks at Nick past rosy glasses.

Anne sits on the floor in front of a shelf, sketching into a notebook a drawing from another book and then jotting down notes with a frown of concentration on her full lips. She doesn’t notice Nick’s entrance at first, absorbed in the task until she hears her name. Then bouncing to her feet, on tiptoes to see above the shelves and waving. “Bonjour Monsieur Nick!”
Thierry: “Will you also require Un café? We will have more in just a moment”
Nick shudders a little, not quite used to the cold yet. “I’d appreciate it, sir., thanks.”
He raises his hand in greeting to Anne, and walks over to her.

Thierry busies himself at the sink and kettle, the rich smell of fresh coffee building in the room.
Nick: “Ah, Maury, good morning too.”
“How’s the day find you? No haunted nightmares, I hope?” He jokes.
Anne shakes her head and holds up what she’d sketched. “This looks like the things we saw, non? This book calls them Ghuls. But it might just be someone’s imagining..”
Nick: “Well, we certainly weren’t imagining them yesterday. Let’s just go with ‘ghouls,’ that’s a nicely ghoulish name for ’em.”
Maurice: “No nightmares in a well caffeinated localé like this…” smiles
Nick: “Didn’t quite fit the image of a proper vampire either. You know, the fancy sort, cape and castle and all.”
Maurice has a look pass over him briefly, a stare, but his smile returns “I’m afraid I’ve never been one for the hallo-weenie theme.”

(To Anne): You’re certainly finding many plain correlations between the classic ghoul and your encounters. The descriptions are spot on in the “Creatures of Mystery and Horror”
(To Maurice): Traditional Ghouls are the underlings of Red Court vamps. Mindless beasts. Definitely fits the description
(From Maurice): yes…I’m just wondering how he knows I’m a vamp
(From Maurice): I mean, in character…did I miss that part where they learned I was one?
(To Maurice): Good point.
(To Maurice): He might be poorly alluding to the ghouls though. I don’t think he knows you’re white court in-character per se

Anne:”Oui, nothing like Monsieur Christopher Lee” She agrees with a nod, carrying a few books to a table and studying them for a moment. “They were terribly strong, non? And burned so strangely…” She shivers at the memory, despite the joking tone of the day.
Nick: “They acted more like animals, mindless and savage.” Nick shakes his head and reaches into a pocket to produce a slip of paper. “I found the name of their victim in the phone book. No number, but an address.” He hands it to whoever is closer. “…can’t really knock on the door there and say ‘Sorry to inform you, ma’am, but your husband’s dead, we found him mauled by Ghouls.’ though…”
Maurice: “A man might be known by his wife to be dealing in things he shouldn’t…perhaps asking his spouse would scare up a lead or two on where he was up to to be murdered in such a terrible way.”
Nick nods.
Anne nods sadly at that. “Oui… perhaps we can think of some way to speak to his next-of-kin without offering offense, no? I wished to see if I could find more about the book we found as well”

Maurice sighs and shrugs with his coffee
(To Maurice): Oh no, they should certainly follow the victim, not the book. That wouldn’t do to have them look for …IT
(To Maurice): You’re quite sure you all need to avoid the topic of the book entirely

Anne drinks from a massive cup of coffee, licking latte foam from her lips and passing Maurice a book to work on from the pile.
Maurice: “As much as I love the smell…books cannot talk to us like we need. We should deal with the living when we can…not the…dearly recycled.” chuckles and looks over the book handed to him
Nick: “Speaking of that book, you said it was created by some witch—or wizard—whatever, and has some magical connection to her?”
Anne: “Oui, I believe it to be a Book of Shadows. Sort of a journal and spell-book used to develop and record a person’s magic.” She says to Nick with a nod.
Nick: “I see, I see…” He crosses his arms. “…where do you learn that kinda stuff, anyway?”
Maurice: “Oh, Nicholas, we all bring a lifetime of learning to the table…Surely you know of things that might offend my sensibilities and I yours.”
Anne hesitates a moment as if unwilling to give up too much, then smiles a touch and nods to Maurice, glad for his reply. “Books, mostly, Monsieur Nicholas.”
Nick shrugs. “I s’ppose.” He knows a fair share of odd folk with odd hobbies himself at home.

The door punches open, banging against the frame and stone wall, and in stomps a man in long coat and tall hat; a cowboy-type complete with clinking boots with toe caps and a wide brimmed ten gallon hat enters the store from the cold

“Colder than a witches asshole, HOO-wee!” he calls to nobody in particular, banging the door closed behind him.

Maurice glances up from his coffee and book
Anne looks up and blinks at the man, watching him there owlishly then looking back to the books determinedly, offended despite herself at that turn of phrase.
Nick: “Yea,” Nick agrees, before taking a look at the man. Doesn’t look like a typical Canadian, eh?

Thierry seems nonplussed by the man, but grimaces as he treats the door so poorly as he enters. “Bonjour Monsier“
The Man: “Bon Joorno. Y’all serve the coffee here?” he clank-clanks up to the counter, long duster billowing, boots clacking through even the carpet to the hard floor
Thierry seems to die inside at the butchery of French language. He nods, and indicates for the man to have a seat, turning back to the pot and kettle
P.P.A.: Sounds more like butchered Italian to me

Maurice mutters “This should be interesting…”

The Man surveys the room; he’s wearing a long moustache and three-day shave on his face, and looks dressed for the range, not downtown Montreal. Leather vest over work shirt, Levi’s blue jeans, and bright belt buckle all under his leather duster. When he turns his gaze to you three, he grins wide, and tips his hat
“Ma’am” he nods to Anne. “Boys. Mornin to ya”

Anne keeps her little nose in the book, trying to ignore the man and research the odd book they’d found.
Nick returns the greeting. “Mornin’,” Strange man, but if he doesn’t keep shouting and stuff, none of his concern. He walks through the aisles and looks at the books to see if anything sticks out.
P.P.A.: What kinds of sections does this library have?
Ken (GM):[@PPA; the place doesn’t use dewey-decimal, but has more historical/occult volumes here in front in view of the counter. In back are more modern items, but the majority of what you see is leather bound and at least turn of the previous century]

The Man sidles over to the couch, sits in a heap, and spreads his coat wide. He rests with one leg crossed over his knee; he’s wearing metal-toed cowboy boots, tall to the knee, denim and leather everywhere. A lazy grin on his face.

Anne sneaks a look at the man, a thoughtful little pout on her lips as she takes a silver ring from her purse and puts it on, thumb stroking across the carved rune. Just in case.
(To Anne): [Rolling PER in secret for the player] You notice the flash of metal and polished wood; there is a pistol tucked in his coat, in a under-shoulder holster

Maurice: “I’m afraid yer a little far East, but the Albertans might have some cow poke manuals around here somewhere.”

Anne watches the man with slightly wider eyes then discreetly looks away, returning to her studies in the odd and obscure an occult. She works carefully, the books treated with a gentle sort of respect for the age and value of the volumes
Ken (GM):[the books Anne has brought out so far seem to be familiar to her, in the front section. Dusty heavy vellum pages, faded ink, and companion translation copies to compare]
Nick inspects that section, finding more books like that. “…interesting selection for a library. You got your knowledge from here?” he asks Anne

Thierry returns to the man with his drink on a saucer, and politely reminds him “Your bill at the desk sir, whenever you are prepared”
The Man nods his thanks, and happily drinks his mug

Nick leafs through a book but finds the contents both cryptic and probably heretical, and so puts it back after skimming through it once.
Anne:”Oui, some of it. What I did not learn from… a friend.” She says mysteriously, unwilling to reveal too much here in public as she sits at the table and nods up to Nick.
Nick: “I see.” Nick picks another book. Maybe he’ll at least find one about vampires. Whatever Anne read here, at least some of it seems to have been true. He’ll keep an eye out for “Shooting Green Fire For Dummies”.
Ken (GM):hah! [gotta sell some of your soul for that one :P]
P.P.A.: If that’s the case, he’ll know to scold Anne for messing with that stuff, and drag her to an exorcist some time

Within a few minutes, a second odd man appears at the door. This one respectfully opens and closes it quiet as a cat… but his appearance strikes you as odd with his sleeveless jacket, short cropped hair, and bronze complexion. The black tribal tattoos on his face and neck are also quite stark in the dim store light

Anne thinks herself worldly and used to the strange but still stares a moment at the man that so brazenly ignores a Canadian winter and wears ink on his skin.

The cowboy damn near leaps from the couch, striding over to the newcomer immediately. They nod, clasp hands for a moment, and stalk to the back rooms together without a word exchanged, marching past you in a huff. Thierry barely has time to turn to them before being rebuffed entirely for his offers of coffee

Maurice to the young lady: “Does this location often attract such interesting fellows?”
(To Anne): You’ve never seen either of them here before. And you have spent a lot of your witch time here. The place does attract weirdos tho.
Nick: “If our miss is a regular here…” Nick suggests with a smirk and a cheeky glance at the little witch. “They did look pretty shady, though,” he acknowledges more seriously.
Anne shakes her head. “Non.. I’ve never seen these men. I am here often too..”

Nick peers out of the isle to Thierry: “Do you have a room for these Dungeons ‘n Dragon games here that attracts these folks?”
Thierry looks at you as if youve grown a second head
Thierry: “Non… Monsieur“
Nick shrugs.
Thierry turns back to typing on his computer at the front desk
Nick: “Would have explained the costumes.” Nick highly doubts that whole demonic scare thing surrounding D&D, but buys into the depiction of such nerds sitting around a table dressed up as their characters.
Anne looks curious. “Dungeon and dragon?” She ask without understanding.
Ken (GM):[terrifying folks]
[degenerates to the extreme]
Nick: “It’s some kind of fantasy board game over at home, apparently popular with the nerdy sort. I don’t know much about it, but it’s about wizards and warriors, and you roll dice and stuff.”
P.P.A.: [“It’s also worse than this other game called GURPS, but that one’s favored by illuminati hackers or something.”]
Maurice:[hon hon hon]
P.P.A.: [oh wait, GURPS only came out in 1986]
Ken (GM): [hon hon hon]
P.P.A.: [D&D was already a thing though]
Anne: “Oh.. La Apothica Transmundane mentions dragons, it is in the section there? But not as part of a rainy-day game.” She assures Nick, nodding up to him then returning to her studies.
Switching gears, she tries to find more about ghouls rather then research the book.
Anne will also occasionally ‘visit the back room’ to check the men… wondering what the exotic pair is up to

Ken (GM): alrighty, so doing some actual [Research] then you three?
P.P.A.:Aye
Nick: 13v5 Research-Default
Ken (GM): k then; none of you genuinely has the skill 😛 but you can substitute Occultism here, from Anne. Nick has the advantage of knowing some dead languages…
and Nick is crit failing already
lol
P.P.A.: well, he’d be ‘spending extra time’ for compensating, but yeah
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13 Occultism (4+5+1) =10
Joush M.: Remind me to buy Research
Ken (GM): haha
P.P.A.: Nick also has Occultism at 9, in addition to Language: Latin
P.P.A.: mostly pertaining to superificial knowledge of old heresies and Renaissance hermeticism though
Ken (GM): mmhmm
Ken (GM): Maurice chipping in? or on to other things?
Maurice: Occult at 10 but that’s about it
Maurice:rolling 3d6(4+6+3) = 13
Maurice is firmly distracted by coffee
Nick gets variously disgusted, distracted, or disinterested not long after he picks up a book—not long enough to really look into them as deeply as he perhaps should, in any case.

The three of you poke and prod at old tomes for about an hour. Lots of corroboration of your encounter with big pictures in woodblock printed tomes. A few manual translations nearby and plenty more discarded out of hand, re-shelved when you can’t read their old gothic print.
You come to the conclusion you encountered ghouls, affirmatively. As well, that ghouls would be the carrion-feeder beasts enslaved by more powerful vampires above them, but the logic is a bit shaky between volumes. Some refer to the classic figure Count Dracula, others to the nosferatu, etc. As well, in this hour of research, you come to the conclusion the two men in back are doing something… ‘clandestine’.
When you take breaks to poke a nose in the back room or grab a book, they both clam up almost immediately at your appearance. By the time your second round of coffee is gone, the two have absconded to the private reading room all the ways back and drawn the velvet curtain behind them.

Anne occasionally has to ask for help for obscure and difficult words in English, the French volumes easier for her and all of them quite obscure. She shares what she’s found, trying to find anything about the weaknesses and powers of ghouls… she peeks again at the men next time she is in back and wonders briefly if they are homosexuals, itself something quite exotic. Are they kissing back there in that corner?
Ken (GM): hahahahahahaha
ahhhh
fuck
thats so fuckin cute
10 points to gryffindor
P.P.A.: Oh no, they’re possessed!

Nick stops and thinks. “I’ve seen some books with heretical rituals here and there, maybe these men are trying to re-enact one? …wouldn’t explain the cowboy getup, though.”
Nick: “…given how some of these books appear to hold some truth, might be unwise to allow them to, if that’s really what they’re doing.”
Anne blinks. “Hmm… If I was to do a ritual from these books…” She says with the tone of someone being Purely Hypothetical. “I would copy into my notebook all the details and perform it carefully in a prepared Place of Power with a magical circle. It is dangerous to do things in an unfamiliar place.”

Anne frowns. “Of course, that does not mean you are wrong, Monsieur Nicholas. Only that it would be unwise?”
Nick crosses his arms and thinks for a moment. “If they wanted to just conspire in secret, they would have met at their home? …maybe they really are trying something like that, or just copying notes as you said.”
Nick: 11v9 Impulsiveness
“Know what, I’m just gonna ask them.”
Ken (GM):[nice]
Ken (GM) Nick stalks off to just settle the whole affair in one go..
P.P.A.: [Is that blood seeping out of the room, or is thta just the curtains?]
Ken (GM):lol
just curtains, excuse the roll20
P.P.A.:[good]
Ken (GM): red heavy sound muffler
Joush M.: So you can’t hear them kissing
Ken (GM): 😡
Maurice gets the better’ed by his Curiosity and wanders near the back to learn what’s going on
Ken (GM):oh ho!

From the reading common room, each of you can hear the muffle and indistinct sounds of conversation. The voices rise and drop, but mostly rise… there’s a heated discussion or argument going on in there

Nick at least politely knocks on the curtain, before drawing it aside a few moments later. “Scuse me sirs, we’ve been wondering what you’re up to.”
Nick: “Everything alright?”
Ken (GM) clonk clonk clonk on the door
Ken (GM) the voices drop…
(To Nick): You hear a gun hammer click-clacking on the other side of the door
The cowboy pipes up from behind the door
The cowboy:”Yessir, what can we do fer yeh NAO?”

Nick jumps to the side and reaches for his gun!
Nick hurriedly motions Maurice to get to the side of the door.
Nick: “Didn’t mean to intrude, but y’know, not to be rude, ‘yall been acting kinda strange. You’re not on drugs or anything, are you? Wouldn’t call the police or anything, but I’m a bit worried.”
Nick has his own gun out at this point, and motions for Maurice to consider doing the same.

The cowboy: muffled cussin‘ “Shit I told you to dress more discrete like!”
The cowboy:”Ah yeah, sorry fer all that. Definitely doin drugs. We’ll make sure to stop right away. Now jus’ git on an let us alone to do so, al’righty?”

Maurice puts his hand in his pocket, frowning at Nick and nodding
Anne rises to her feet and pads silently back to peek into the back room, wondering what might be going on.

Nick: That’s an unconvincingly quick and guiltess admission. “Yea, alright. So long as it’s drugs and not, like, some kinda demonic rituals.”
The Other Man pipes up, his voice a rich baritone that pierces the wall easily: “Definitely not demonic, no sir. No evil sacrifices or rites to anyone here. “
“Just good old fashioned drugs….we’re real sorry.”

Nick isn’t quite buying it, but also has enough common sense not to want to open the door to the barrel of a gun.

You then hear the CRASH of glass breaking, and being smashed about forcibly, behind the divider.
The cowboy ‘s voice carries on in some loud indiscriminate cussin’

Nick tries to open the divider door (from the side, without standing in front of it ).
Maurice ‘s eyes grow wide and he opens the door
Anne watches wide eyed, wondering whatever might be happening there.

Ken (GM): [readjusting your two tokens fer a sec]
Maurice: yus… :3

Ken (GM) You grab the doors and yank them open; on the other side stands the cowboy, a bigass colt pistol in his hand; behind him, the window has been smashed out, and the shirtless tattood man has disappeared

Ken (GM):WAT DO?!

Maurice turns to the witch “Out the side! We’ll deal with this guy!”
Nick: “Drop the gun, sir. That’s illegal ’round here.”
Anne goes to run outside…
Nick stays behind the cover of the door

P.P.A.: sounds like a good opportunity to roll initiative :DDDD
Ken (GM):INITIATIVE THEN

Nick: 3+5.75 = 8.75
Anne: rolling 1d6+5.75 (3)+5.75 = 8.75
Maurice: rolling 1d6 + 5(1)+5= 6
Ken (GM): Ill put nick on the front, due to ‘startin shit’ then
Anne runs five yards in a second, a not at all unreasonable distance.
Ken (GM):in school shoes no less!

[Tokens adjusted, Anne is moving for the front of the shop and the main door, while Nick and Maurice handle the back room -Ken,GM]

Ken(GM): NICK you got the drop on the gunslinger, what do?
P.P.A.: ah, so it’s a double-winged door, eh?
Ken (GM): you have your half of door in one hand, pistol in other
rather; Yes, it swings out to you guys, into the common room
Nick: “I’m American and armed like one. You haven’t done anythin’ yet, but I don’t like having a gun pointed at me; drop it.”
P.P.A.: Might go for an Intimidation roll
Ken (GM): reasonable; drop her for me!
P.P.A.: (come to think of it, this would have been a good/fitting skill to have above default)
Nick: 7v7
P.P.A.: wew
Ken (GM): hah neat

Anne? scootily bootily?
Anne runs! and calls over. “Theif! He broke your window!”

Thierry looks aghast!

The cowboy promptly hangs his gun off one gloved finger, and turns hands up to face Nick behind the door. “Well….tarnation. Ya got me”
The cowboy backs up a step into the glass, boots crinkling

Ken (GM): Maurice!
Maurice: Well, sounds to me he’s making a break for it, so I’m thinking… tackle while his gun isn’t readied
Ken (GM):shta-bam!
Maurice: Besides, a little glass-in-the-back never hurt anyone! BRAWLING!
Ken (GM): brawlingu!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (3+6+3) = 12
That’s 12 on 14
or whatever that is for a Tackle
Ken (GM): lol
Maurice: it’s been a while since I’ve bum-rushed someone
Ken (GM): you get a +4 for bodily bum-rushing
so good jorb
rolling 3d6 vs dodge (4+2+6) = 12
Maurice: [STOP RESISTING!]
The cowboy fails to duck you
The cowboy: rolling 3d6 vs staying standing (5+4+3) = 12
Joush M.: “It’s CUDDLING TIME”

Ken (GM) Maurice throws himself into a bear hug tackle, and the Cowboy keeps himself up and standing! Maurice has his arms in a grab but they remain upright!
From outside, you hear a scream of some kind of terrifying voice, inhuman! And there is a flash of azure light!

The scream of some kind of bird cries out in the air!
Something rushes past the window!
(To Maurice): What the fuck…was that an eagle?
(To Nick): The fuck. Was that some kind of bald eagle?

Ken (GM):NICK
P.P.A.: Hmm
Nick perks up at the cry, but is more worried about Maurice right now.
Nick swirls around the corner and likewise tackles the Cowboy.
Ken (GM):tackly gunfight! the most dangerous game!
token seizure! [The GM struggles for a moment or two, stacking three tokens on top of each other in Roll20 -Ken(GM)]
P.P.A.: yeah, bit confused here
Ken (GM): lol
P.P.A.: Anyway, brawling it is then
Nick: 10v11 Brawling (to tackle, so +4 modifier)
Ken (GM): you’re on the corner of the doorway, half behind the big damn oak door. Maurice is in the room, bear hugging the cowboy
moving up and punching him?
tackling them?
P.P.A.: Tackling, basically finishing what Maurice started
Ken (GM): ah!
choo choo noises
The cowboy: “Aw hell”
The cowboy doesnt even try to dodge out of the hit
The cowboy: rolling 3d6 vs staying standing(-2 for already being in a grapple) (3+2+6) = 11

The cowboy teeters and falls, with the two of you on top of him. Glass crinkles below you three
Ken (GM):[are you staying attached and grappled to them or just knocking you three all over?]

Nick makes sure the cowbody can’t make use of his gun
Maurice: Will work with Nick best I can
P.P.A.: If it got knocked out of his hand, that’s good enough, else he’s staying grappled
Ken (GM): gotcha, staying involved then
The cowboy: [“Boys I gotta say, this is the most completely gay shit…“]

Ken (GM): ANNE
Anne runs out into the street and turns, ready to run over to the side, looking around.
Ken (GM) the brisk air and clear day are startling, the dim of the bookstore is flashed away in the brightness of morning light, clear and bright.

Ken (GM): MAURICE
or rather; THE COWBOY
*struggles with you two, but not too much…[Rolling behind the screen, failing to use his action successfully vs a doubled up grapple]

SO MAURICE
Nick: “Get his gun off!”
Maurice: I will attempt this
lol
Ken (GM): wrasslin skill!
Maurice: rolling 3d6(5+5+5) = 15 (opposed check, from defaults)
nooope
Ken (GM): jfc, youre defaulting from DX and ST arent you [Looking at his sheet at the time, noting a lack of anything beyond Brawling skill]
rolling 3d6 vs Cowboy Wrasslin defense (6+3+6)= 15
lol

Ken (GM) a wholly unmanly slap fight begins, the net result being the cowboy still has his gun in his hand in the end

Ken (GM):outside…
The Creature howls SCREEEEE
The Creature bursts into view, the sunlight skittering of gold and crimson feathers like a dazzling star! A massive bird of some kind, at wing a foot off the ground, swinging into view round the corner!

The cowboy: “Aw hell, Cruz, you asshole!”

Ken (GM): NICK
P.P.A.:Hmm
I could also try wrestling at default, or I could just punch him
Ken (GM): [zero wrasslin between you two. Jeez]
P.P.A.: gotta fix that between sessions
Ken (GM): nods
P.P.A.: Any attack bonuses from him being pinned on the ground?
Ken (GM): no, things pretty much cancel out
easy math
P.P.A.: All-out attack then, Maurice will cover me
Ken (GM): essentially, dodging is down 2 for everyone
Ken (GM): kk

Nick punches the cowboy. 5v15 “Sorry.”
Ken (GM):WHOO
rolling 3d6 vs dodge-2 (4+3+4) = 11
no crit defense there; whats your crit-hit effect?
Nick: rolling 3d6 (5+3+2) = 10
Ken (GM): aww, just GM embellishment time

Ken (GM) Nick sizes up a well timed punch, smacking the cowboy in his gut just as Maurice has him distracted. The wind blasts out of him and he buckles, dropping the gun from his finger

Ken (GM):punchu damagu!
Nick: rolling 1d6+2 (2)+2 = 4 Crush
Ken (GM): nice; opting for pulling back at all?
P.P.A.: well, he doesn’t want to injured him or anything, but also make sure he’s out cold
better safe than sorry
or better sorry than safe, in the cowboy’s case
Ken (GM): 4 crushing it is then!
Ken (GM) the denim clad man gets sucker punched and you slam home a wallop!
Nick: “Lord, forgive me,” he mumbles.

Ken (GM):Annie!

Bright like a bonfire in the street, the firebird is the size of a car of the same name, yet entirely more alive. What does the little witch do?

Anne stares in awe at the creature and stands back.. she can hardly use her fire on it, yet can’t look away either.
Anne retreats to the doorway and keeps an eye on the firebird
Ken (GM):gets the fuck outta the way, good call lol
(To Anne): You notice, Thierry is behind his bar…with a long iron rod in hand. Like a pipe or something

The cowboy tries to suck in a breath and really cant “Aw….shit…you dirty bastards….fuckin Cruz…” he wheezes, failing to do anything else

Ken (GM):MOMO
Maurice: In his sucker-punched state, will try to get the gun from the cowboy just in case
rolling 3d6 (6+4+6) = 16 vs DX
Ken (GM): lol
Maurice: ffs
Ken (GM): fuckin
Ken (GM) You scramble to pick up the gun, and end up knocking it into the corner
P.P.A.: good enough I guess
Maurice: Yep! I MENT TO DU THAT!
Ken (GM): lol
failing UPWARDS only

The Creature: SCREEEEEs The thing flies up into the morning light, straight for the sun like a rocket, a trailer of sparks and dazzling twinkling lights in it’s wake. It dives up and over a building across the street, rattling windows as it goes
The Creature disappears over the top of the brownstone building, into the morning sun
(To Anne): From Thierry “Miss Anne, would you be so kind to close and bolt the door? Keep your hands where I may see them though? Merci” and he points the rod at you…

Ken (GM):NICKO
Nick: “Did that thing fly away?”
P.P.A.: Anything lying around that could be used to tie him up? Torn curtains from the broken window or something?
Oh, I know
I will use Fast-Talk!
Ken (GM):OH GOD
Nick: “Looks like your friend’s gone. Look, I’ve got no clue what’s happening, here, just surrender and we can talk this over, or I’ll have to punch you again.” While holding a gun
9 v 14 Fast Talk

The cowboy considers Nick’s words for only a moment before nodding assent, holding still for him

Anne calls over. “Oui!… Oui.” She closes the door, surprised and drawing the bolt to lock it, then automatically turning the sign to closed as she watches after the bird, then looks to Thierry. “What is this?”
(To Anne): “Just trying to restore order, and we cant have that until things settle down. Now be a good little girl, ya?” He keeps the rod pointed at you. The tip of it seems to be getting blurry…

Ken (GM):MAURICE
Maurice holds the man firmly, giving a proper sounding / punching board for Nick to work with
Maurice: “We’ve seen some pretty shady stuff laddy, and you seem to be knee deep in it. I’d tell the nice man before he keeps punching.”
The cowboy nods

Nick gets up from the ground his fists hardened though. “So you were doing some kind of ritual here. And that bird was your friend, and he flew away? What where you ever trying to do?”
Nick: (also basically All-Out Defense to parrying, if he’s still resisting any)

(From Anne): “I’ve been nothing but a good girl, Mister Thierry. You can see my hands, yes? I have nothing.” She assures him as she stands there at the door, watching the rod… she could try to burn him, but she doesn’t understand the situation, and really doesn’t want to hurt the bookshop owner.
(From Anne): Oh, and speaking in French for that. You can tell from the lack of gratuitously French words
(To Anne): [Oh nice, touch. He seems to understand you just fine]
(To Anne): He nods, and holds up a finger to his lips, for quiet, pointing to the next room where the boys have started talking


The cowboy: ” ‘S’not like that son. Just get your pale friend off me and we can talk like gennlemen, hear?” He keeps mostly still, only shrugging against Maurice’s grip

Ken (GM): Moooo-reeeese
Maurice glares at him “I can leave if you want, for the sake of manners”
“You got him, Nick?”
Nick: “Yea.” Nick remains on guard. One false move, and he’ll regret it.
Maurice:[outside of door intensifies] [The token shuffles aside -GM(ken) ]

(To Anne): The bookkeeper waves you away from the door with his free hand, the rod pointed at you still. He seems calm, curious

Nick: “Sorry for gettin’ so rough with ya, sir, but y’know.”
The cowboy: “I git it. Some folks just gotta talk with the hand and not the face sometimes. Make a point”

Anne falls silent and stands by the door, making no sudden moves and watching Thierry, then the door…then starting to the middle of the room. Hips swaying and every movement careful.
Thierry: “If you men could be so kind, to join us in the Foyer, now?” The fine man calls from the front of the building

Nick picks up the gun and stows it away, along with his own. “Well, then, let’s go.”
(To Nick): Bigass colt dragoon. Looks old. but polished and well kept. Weighs a fuckton

Ken (GM):[dropping form initiative; you have the cowboy at your mercy…and something is happening out front!]

Anne calls to them lightly. “Slowly please… it would be best if we all were very calm now, non?
Nick raises an eyebrow and looks at Maurice and the cowboy, wary.
The cowboy gets up, slowly, hands out
P.P.A.: [I assume Maurice and Nick would walk in such a way as to make sure one has an eye on the cowboy]
Ken (GM): kk, nudingin you over to the door, whilst covering him

It appears, Anne is held much like the cowboy; Thierry has a rod of black metal pointed at her…the tip of which is a blurry smear in the air. How odd…

Nick: “I might be a layman but that looks like a magic wand,” Nick observes.
Thierry: “Un point à vous, monsieur” the man nods, the rod staying on the girl, unwavering “And if I am not mistaken, you have in your guard someone worth talking to. Why don’t we all come in for a chat?”
“Butch, drop the pretense; they’re In The Know“
Butch , the cowboy, apparently, chuckles a bit to himself “Aw hell”
Nick: “A fine idea, sir; though I’d prefer if you pointed that thing at something other than this young lass.” He steps forward, arms lightly raised.
Thierry nods to your suggestion, and takes your cue. He tips his arm back, rod pointed behind him, the arm crooked back over his shoulder. He slowly lowers it once he see you lowering your own guard…

Anne blinks in shocked surprise, looking from Thierry to the cowboy then relaxing as the rod lowers, breathing out slowly. “I am glad we haven’t gotten into a true mess.. but Monsieur, what is going on? Who is the man? Who was the fire-bird?”
Thierry: “He is a startlingly excitable man, I am sorry to say, miss. He tends to get bent out of shape when things don’t go his way….and then. Well it will all become clear”

Maurice raises an eyebrow
Nick is starting to think that Canada was a mistake.

Butch sighs a bit, and drops his shoulders. He seems smaller now, genuinely shorter…and then you see his face. His features are genuinely melting away and his nose, eyes and mouth each kind of…fade. In only a moment, the only thing left to his face is a white stone-like slate. As if it was erased…

Nick: “What the—”
Butch: “Shall we sit down now?” his voice appears from nowhere, his accent totally gone
Nick is startled
Butch:”I’d love another coffee…” he trails off, walking into the other room to sit down on the couches again
Maurice isn’t totally surprised…but tries to hide his curiosity
Nick stands there looking after the… man? with wide open eyes, and a lot of concern.

Anne makes herself remember they haven’t really done anything to provoke a violent response, trying to calm herself as she watches the faceless man, feeling as if she’s fallen down a rabbit hole. “What.. are?” She gestures to Butch, the question feeling too rude to finish as she walks slowly closer.
Nick: “Sitting down sounds good right now, yea.”
Thierry: “Please sit, we need to come to terms, Sirs”

P.P.A.: (I’ll leave it to ken to move the tokens to the proper seating)
Thierry: lol
Anne: [roll20 is such a bitch for furniture sometimes]
Ken (GM): augh that was me too 😛 Maurice sitting?
Maurice: Depends, are they still uncomfortable with me there? I can stand to the back if he’s giving me stink eye
Ken (GM):that was mostly related to the whole “tackled and grappled” thing. You’re not getting too much shit here
Ken (GM) they invited you to sit as well, invited and equal as the others

Maurice grabs a round of coffees and sits

Butch, the faceless cowboy sits quite relaxed, and aside from being a half a foot shorter now and featureless, still sounds much as he did before.
Thierry takes a seat, officiously, his rod tucked away into his jacket unseen
They both gladly accept a cup

Thierry: “Now; just so we can be clear about everything…” he says, gravely but firmly “My store is Accorded Neutral Ground. I plan to keep it that way, and it is my discretion in dispensing justice between parties here”
Nick has been clutching and playing with his little Benedict medal in his hand
Thierry: “Lets all agree: there is no grudge past this point between you all, yes?”
Butch: “agreed” immediately assents the faceless man, coffee disappearing into his blank slate
Nick: “I still don’t know what happened, but yeah.” He looks at the faceless man with a neutral expression.
Maurice nods diplomatically
Anne: “I don’t believe we have any reason to quarrel.. all a simple misunderstanding, non?”
Thierry: “Very good. It is agreed.” He visibly relaxes

Thierry: “Now that it’s out of the way…I am a wizard, and Anne here is a Witch. She likely didn’t know that I knew, however considering, the cat is a bit out of the bag now.”
“I represent an interested party of other like minded fellows. We keep the peace where we can. Anne has been tagged as…’a person of interest’ ” he gestures with air-quotes around the phrase

Nick stares blankly. “What the fuck is going on here in Canada?” he asks with some annoyance.
Maurice smiles in metric
Anne: “I thought you just did not like to be touched” She says with a thoughtful frown. She’d have felt it.. or at least, might have, if she’d touched Theirry directly. One practitioner to another… but without that contact… well, she should have suspected. He does run an arcane bookshop. “Are you with the White Council?”
Thierry: “Separately, but we are in Accord with their laws, yes. The Council is the law, and we abide by it.” The man adjusts his waistcoat, trying to get a bit more comfortable “This is Butch; he is, how we call him, a Golem“
Butch waves
Butch taps his face with the mug TINK TINK
Anne: “Like the creature of Prague? Is there a Shem in your mouth?”
Anne asks embarrassingly personal questions. She blushes.
Nick: “Is he… a person? Or some kinda magic robot?”
Butch wiggles a hand and chuckles
Thierry: “Not to worry little miss, he is an able bodied servant of the cause and takes no offense, I’m sure.”

Anne takes her ring off slowly, a show of good faith, and puts it in her handbag.
Thierry imperceptibly nods to her
Thierry: “Monsieur Nicholas, Maurice” he turns to you two “I take it you are assisting Anne with her work?
Maurice: “Of course, This city is my home, and I have a deep responsibility to ensure the chaos is managed.” Maurice grins a bit toothily
Nick: “We met by chance yesterday, and got attacked by a… ghoul. Decided to meet again to figure out what happened there, and how to get rid of them.”
Anne: “There are murders in the city. We must put a stop to them”
Thierry: “I see; no wonder you were so engrossed in the materials this morning then” he gestures to the mess of books on the table “No matter, we already agree on the directive: the murders must stop. “

Nick relaxes a bit (not much) upon hearing this; good that they can agree on this.
Nick nods cautiously.
Thierry: “Go then, and know you have the backing of our Order to assist you if you need. If you find yourself in dire straights, do come to us for assistance. We will stay in contact”

“But if you will excuse us…” he stands, again adjusting the nice suit “We must affect window repairs and track down señor Cruz”

Anne: “Who is he? Why did he run?”
Nick: “Yeah, what was up with that guy? Did he turn into that eagle we heard screaming?”
Thierry: “Sufficed to say, he is an untamed child some days with what most of us see as discrete powers” he grimaces “but no worries. We will regain contact with the man. Not a matter for today”
Nick: “Is he dangerous, like that? To civilians, I mean.”
Thierry laughs, a light chuckle “No, certainly not. Just flamboyant”
“A strutting peacock”
“However, those ghouls you have discovered…very worrying. Please, whatever leads you have, follow up on them. We will follow up on our own”
Nick breathes a sigh of relief, and responds with a serious nod to the follow-up.
Maurice: “I hope we can avoid confusion in the future with…a bit more honesty, now that we know we are on the same side.”
Anne nods. “Oui.. you will tell me if you find anything?” She asks. Sounding almost suspicious of that, as if he might hold out on her. A young woman, she half expects the wizard to keep her in the dark for her own ‘protection.’
Thierry: “Absolument” he nods to Anne
Butch: “And maybe less gut-punches?”
Nick: “Hah, sorry again,” Nick turns to the golem.
Maurice smiles
Nick: “Ah, and…” he hands Butch’s gun back to him. “That was yours.”

P.P.A.:[midnight in a minute, PC gonna shut down :DDD]
[anything left?]
Thierry:lol

Ken (GM) The librarian and his stone-faced compatriot wish you well, and see you out. You have a lead on the ghouls; their victim in the hollows has an address, and you now have allies

---

Joush M.: Good game, we pick up next week? Or.. goodnight to PPA, whom dropped?
Ken (GM): lol, yep, looks like he died
that boy needs a new maintenance cycle on that computer
Joush M.: Thanks for the game man, it was fun. Anne is a huge change of pace
Fiss: Thanks for the game! Will hopefully be a little more rested for next session…not sure though….people are taking time off at work
Sounds scary
Ken (GM): but yeah, 4 points. Shore up any missing skills (WRESSLIN) you think you need. Gimme a heads up on purchases.
oh shit fiss, how is hell right now?
Fiss: Can’t complain, less than hell. 😛
Ken (GM): huzzah
Fiss: But possibly OT central for a while
Anyway, better run!
Ken (GM): kermit flail
P.P.A.:(rebooted)
o ok
Ken (GM): lol, take 4 point mang
P.P.A.: all right, thanks for the session!
Ken (GM): always happy to run
spends something on wressling, yo? At least if you insist on tackling folks?
P.P.A.: Just did, lest I forget to later
Ken (GM): nods sagely

Dresden Files M-80; Narrow Defiles

Ken (GM): where last we left you, in Media Res! [Starting the day with just PPA and Fiss, Joush otherwise unavailable until later]

---

The den of villainy was dark and rife with the sounds of terror! Howls of the damned rising up to meet you, as the kindled ruins of their comrade burned away on the floor!

Nick: 14v12 (Overconfidence)
Ken (GM):[:D]
Nick: “Hah, this time we won’t be ambushed! Is there anything to block this hole?”
“If we can stuff it we can shoot them through the bars.”
Maurice: “There’s this dead body and the pile of flaming wood nearby.
P.P.A.:(What was that wood from? The hatch?)

The room is sparsely furnished; only the body of the dead military man and the burned ghoul decorate more than the mold or slime on the warm wet walls

Ken (GM):[the gate/hatch you will recall is a rusted iron gateway, with a broken frame allowing a hole roughly a person wide]
Maurice: “Well, if nothing else, it will provide a pillbox…”
P.P.A.:[Yeah; basically Nick is proposing to wedge something into the gate; I meant is the burning wood from the hatch that covered the hole before we broke it open?]
Maurice: [Is the flaming ghouley got anything non-fire to hold and maneuver around?]
[ie, can I pull it free or push it into the opening to close it off somewhat?]
Nick: “We could stuff the body into the hole, but they might tear through it quickly.” Nick glances at the witch. “Maybe the hockey— nah, they’ll break that.”
Ken (GM):[Ah! I see; you could certainly try to jam it in the way. There is a small heap of junk there under the hole down]
P.P.A.:[What is the nature of that junk]

Nick paces over to where they dropped down.

Anne backs up from the gate, clutching her heavy club in one hand, and brandishing her red ring of fire like a ward

Maurice pushes the flaming ghoul-bits back into the hole, hoping to make as big of a barricade as possible, all the while keeping his pistol close

Nick looks at the debris to see if there are any thick-enough wooden boards or metal bars in it

The debris pile crumbles a bit as Nick sifts through, but the frame of the old hatchway and it’s anchor-bits come up as a big chunk! Bones and worse scatter as you lift it free. Bugs and rats as well

Maurice:[EVERYTHING’S A CHOKE-POINT IF YOU’RE LEONIDAS ENOUGH!]

Nick shoos away the vermin with his foot and pulls out the frame and bits; he drags them to the— yeah like that

Nick makes sure they’re nicely wedged between the iron bars and cover up the hole, but leave some space to shoot through

The scorched ghoul is little more than skin and bones stained black; the bit of wet oak jams into the hole, propped up against the body. The gap is full, but how sturdy can it be?

From the dark, you hear the sound of feral growls and snarling; nothing like a dog, and all too large

Nick gives the stuffing a hefty kick.
P.P.A.: (roll vs ST or something? He wants to see if it holds up to force)
Ken (GM):IQ roll!
Nick: 11v10
Ken (GM) you don’t see any way you could improve the design; it holds up to a kick

Nick takes out a hip flask, sticks it through the bars, and pours out some of the (Holy) Water in it in front of the hole, trying to make a bit of a semicircle with it.
Nick doesn’t expect much from it, but it’s better than nothing.
Nick puts the flask away again and loads his gun with his garlic-filled bullets.
Maurice: “Wasting good Vodka? Or using God Vodka?”
Nick: “Haha, ‘God Vodka,’ I like that. Yeah, basically.”
“No idea if it’ll help but if vampires are real after all, I guess some their weaknesses might be too.”

On the edge of your lamplight, one of the creatures prowls. It is pale fleshed and long limbed, and looks like a man, but stalks on all fours like some great ape. It drools black ichor and it’s eyes gleam when they catch the light

Maurice smiles nervously

Nick takes aim at it immediately through the bars, though he waits to see what it will do.
Maurice aims as well
Nick aims for a few seconds, seeing what the enemy does.

The thing stalks like some kind of animal, to one side of your light, then immediately back again. It bares its fangs and it’s mouth opens much wider then you could imagine

Nick: 12v9 (Impulsiveness)
Ken (GM): [oh shi-]
Nick: “Might as well shoot it before it comes for us.”
Nick pulls the trigger
P.P.A.:(well)
(not while it’s behind the wall)
there we go
Ken (GM):[lol, its stalking, so yeah, first available shot]

It turns once, a moment goes by, and Nick wastes no further time!
Nick: 10v13(skill) -4(distance) +2(Acc) +1(extra time aim)
Ken (GM):-4 shooting through the metal bars/hole, then distance. The flashlight is bright in the cone you can see
P.P.A.: oh, so another -4 on top, kk
Ken (GM):so 10 on an 8
P.P.A.: fug, that’s low

Maurice winces at the gunblast, but keeps his aim on the creature
P.P.A.:I imagined this grating was more widely spaced
like prison bars or something
(he would have been aiming through the bars on the side that they weren’t stuffing with crap)

something like this?
Ken (GM): nah dawg, I meant to describe this

and you jammed it full of corpse and debris
P.P.A.: Only the middle part with the gaping hole!
the rest needed to be left open to shoot through after all
Maurice: It’s true, we were worried about the big hole, not the little ones. 😛
Ken (GM): trying to avoid grinding this to a screeching halt, the bars and crap you jammed in the wall to make sure you were safe blocks your shot sufficiently to be a -4 impediment to shooting through it
P.P.A.: ok
Ken (GM): if you’d like to avoid that, step up and shoot with your gun on the other side of the ghoul stopping barrier if you’d like, but we’re currently just dealing with the immediate fallout of you impulsively shooting from this side before taking careful aim
so
P.P.A.: Well, he did take careful aim :V
Maurice: >aiming intensifies
Maurice: lol
P.P.A.: but w/e, shots fired
Maurice: No worries, besides, it’s good to see if the thing reacts in fear or anger

P.P.A. subtracts 1 shot from his ammo
P.P.A.: easier to keep track of than magic dandruff

The shot strikes wide of the beast, and the gunshot echoes loudly in the cavern! The sound of the creatures reacting to the noise, claws scrabbling on stone! The big stalking thing lunges at the shot, emboldened!

The beast reacts in anger! Throwing itself against the bars in a mighty leap! The metal creaks!

Maurice sneers at the beast and pops off a shot.
Ken (GM):rolling 3d6 vs slam wall (3+2+6) = 11
Maurice: (once it does stuff)
P.P.A.: New initiative roll?
Ken (GM):[yes please; new initiative at least, to track the second by second happening right now. Separate to last week]

The wall shudders but holds!

Nick:rolling 1d6+5.75 (6)+5.75=11.75
Ken (GM):Maurice shoots!
Maurice:rolling 3d6 (3+4+5)=12
With aiming that should be good, what’s the max? Double accuracy?
Ken (GM):argh
accursed rolling before knowing modifiers
-4 for debris! + [one aim, so just ACC on your gun!]
which looks like a +2 for your old .38 special
Maurice: Ahh, damn, will pew off the bars.
Ken (GM): so a 12 roll on 12 modified skill
Maurice:12 on 10 😛
Ken (GM): dafuq? your DX is ten on this character sheet you gave me, but you bought up pistol to 14
Maurice: …
Yep. OK, nevermind then!
Sorry…
Yes I will hit, lol
P.P.A.: Sounds like you need some Overconfidence too!
Maurice: Wooo! Extra points! 😛
Ken (GM):hahah
damage please!
Maurice:rolling 2d6 + -1 (6+4)+-1 = 9 Pi+
Noice!
Ken (GM):maths
lordy

The slug buries deep and a black welt opens up in the thing’s belly; Maurice’s shot staggers it! It howls, maddened!

GM(ken) as Anne hangs back, a flicker of red on her hand as she sweats out the fear, holding an aim on the creature
Ken (GM): Maurice and Anne and the CREATURES now roll inititative! (outside of the first round of surprise/held actions)
Ken (GM): rolling 1d6 + 5.75 for anne(2)+5.75= 7.75

Nick takes aim at the monster once more, gauging its reaction to Maurice’s shot.

Maurice: rolling 1d6 + 5(2)+5= 7
Maurice: Noooo combat reflexes!
Ken (GM): so 8?
Maurice: Nope. Just 7. 😛
Ken (GM):or are you lamenting the lack of them?
ah
Maurice:Yep. 😛

Ken (GM) Nick keeps a close eye on the beast, and it backs away, black ooze leaking from it like a hose….and several other of the creatures stalk into view from the dark! They circle the wounded beast!

They may have once been men and women, but they wear ragged tattered clothes and behave more like beasts than people now.

Nick: “Are they gonna eat it now that it’s wounded?”
Anne: “Oh mon dieu what are they”

Anne continues to aim, trembling a bit

Ken (GM): momo!
Maurice: Another shot through the bars!
rolling 3d6 (4+3+1) = 8 vs 10 (skill 14 -4barrier)
Oooh! Should make up for the lack of aim
Ken (GM) the beast is wary now!
Ken (GM):rolling 3d6 vs 9 dodge (3+5+6) = 14
Ken (GM) but the slug buries deep again!
Maurice: rolling 2d6 + -1 (2+3)+-1 = 4 Pi+
ahh, not as good, but better than a zero
Ken (GM) black blood sprays again! and the other ghouls snarl, HUNGRY

Ken (GM): nick!
Nick:8v12 (Overconfidence)
“…looks like they’re going to pounce it. Now’d be a good time to bail.”
Nick stays still for the moment though, and turns his gun to face one of the other ghouls instead.
Nick takes a step too
Nick:“I mean, shit, that’s a lot of ’em.”
Nick says matter-of-factly, seemingly unconvinced by his own reasonableness

The creatures circle, and swipe, baiting the wounded one back and forth between them; their claws open up new wounds that bleed red and back, and the largest one is barely able to fend them off now…

Anne: “should we stay?” her voice bravely trying not to tremble
Nick: “Guess now’s as good a time as any for a tactical retreat!””
Maurice: “Let them beat each other up. It’s like a feeding frenzy with sharks at this point…” nods to Nick “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

Ken (GM):”tactique?! Oh, Oui, RUN”

You head back for the cavern entrance, your flashlight falling away from the beasts as they turn on their alpha. As you slink to the hole in the roof, the unmistakable sound of feral feasting reaching you; the crack of bone, the tearing of flesh. It sounds like someone ripping a mattress apart

Maurice looks deeper in thought than he should as they rise

One other thing you hear, is a feral cry they call out between their howling

“DAGHN! DAGHN!
HROO! HROO!”

---

Above, in the steamy room full of rusted pipes, the sounds disappear, the dirt and mud of the tunnel echoing nothing upward
Maurice: “Well then….that was sufficiently horrible. Are you all alright?”
Nick: “That sure was something.”
(From Maurice): I’m thinking feeding pit? Black Court garbage disposal?
(To Maurice): ~waggly eyebrows~
Nick: “Nice shootin’, by the way.”
“Do we have anything to stuff this hole?”
Maurice: “Look around, this is an engineered pit, it ain’t just missing a bit of two by four and drywall. Whoever made this designed it this way.”
Maurice: “I say we find out who made it, then get the hell out of here before they bring in the next load.”

Ken (GM) no spare boards or doors in this room, but the two heavy oak doors with steel latches loom open to the Montreal alleyway, North

Nick: “I’m more concerned about these things climbing out and attacking people; they didn’t seem too bright though.”
Anne makes the sign of the cross, and doesn’t let her eyes stray form the hole in the floor
Maurice holds his tongue, just nodding
Maurice: “Unless you got access to a TIG welder I think a few boxes or a rug on top isn’t going to do much.”
Nick also makes a sign of the cross, thankful that he escaped that possibly literal hell-hole; a moment of humbleness, and he puffs his chest again. “I think we combed this place thoroughly earlier; if we can’t unhinge the doors somehow, I—”

“POLICE! Whoever is in there, come out! Hands up! NOW!” a womans voice calls out from the street

Nick: “Well, shit.”
Maurice sighs and looks down at his revolver.
Nick looks around if there are any other exists.
Maurice: [Can he activate the trap door long enough to chuck the gun down unseen?]
Ken (GM): [there is no lid; the hole opens down to the dark below…]
P.P.A.:(I assume the doors are still closed and we’re just hearing the voice?)
Maurice: Nevermind… he still has a box full of bullets.
Damn.
DAMN YOU CANADIAN GUN LAWS!
😛
Nick:“…how shooty are your cops here?”
Maurice: “Oh, not too shooty normally, but it’s been a rough year for them. I wouldn’t risk it.”

Ken (GM) nick finds the room is still a fortress; one entrance from the street, the doors seeping mist into the cold night. The ceiling a dark maze of pipes leading into a rusted metal roof. Stone walls, and a hole to below

Anne:”Merde; I am out after curfew”
Maurice: “You thinking we should go up?”
Nick: “Looks like the only way.”
Maurice: “I’m game. Who needs a lift?”
“Ladies first?”

Nick looks up at the ceiling to see where one can best climb up the pipes, and where they lead—and where there might be more snakes hiding.
Anne blushes, but accepts the boost to reach the ceiling above

The patchwork of metal snakes upwards into a mess, but shoving aside a bundle of cables reveals a man-sized hole one could venture up into the darkness through…

Nick resolves to give it a shot, and climbs up, giving Maurice a hand to pull him into the pipe-vault if needed, and making for the hole.

You squeeze, and there is a gap wide enough to shimmy through; old smears of god-knows-what leave red-brown stains on you, but the hole lets you into a dark tunnel leading away East-ish.

In a few moments, youre all shimmying along what seems to be an access tunnel into another building.

(To Maurice): IQ roll!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (3+1+5) = 9
(From Maurice): oops, sorry, was out loud. Beat by 2

Ken (GM) Maurice heads up the rear, and realizes the panel should be moved back over the hole, so you’re not immediately spotted and followed
Anne: “These stains might never come out of my coat, ugh”
Nick: “You’ll get over it,” Nick dismisses her complaint as he crawls ahead, wary for any nasty surprises. “Better than a criminal record!”

The Officer calls out in the room behind you “Allo? Is there anyone here? This is the police!”

Maurice: whispers “Well, at least they’ll see the blood…I just hope they call for backup before going down into the pit.”
Nick whispers: “(Hope she doesn’t go down the hole, yeah.)”
Nick will be slowly advancing
Nick slowly enough to not make noise though

Ken (GM) the sounds of boots click-klak-ing on stone echo up from below, but the officer doesnt seem to have found you all

Ken (GM):STEALTH!
Maurice: rolling 3d6 (5+1+6) = 12
Ouch. Fail by 2
P.P.A.: trying to find the skill-default
Maurice: I am not the stealthiest bum
er…hobo
P.P.A.: DX-5, ah
Maurice: wait…french…
le Hobo
Nick: rolling 7 v 11-5
7 =7
P.P.A.:wew fail by 1
Ken (GM):ah neat [thank god its also an opposed check]
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 7[default stealth] (5+4+4) = 13

Ken (GM) your trio scootches along, careful and slow, the three of you sure you’re being careful when

BANG

Anne whacks her head hard, barely stifling a MERDE from her lips
P.P.A.:CLONG CLANG Eeek!
Ken (GM): wat do?
P.P.A.: I suppose we’re still in a cramped tunnel with nothing in sight? Might just wait a few moments then.
Maurice: Yeah, waiting a bit might be the best.

Nick looks back and makes a “quiet” gesture with his finger, and decides to hunker down and listen.
Maurice slows his breathing and listens
Anne bites her finger and rubs her affronted head, wincing slightly

From below, you hear nothing. A few seconds go by, and a bright flashlight sweeps the hatchway….

Nick was about to get moving again but the bit of light startles him into remaining still for a bit longer.

…and passes on. Klik clak, the boots march out of the room below, and you hear the heavy oak door slam shut and latch.

Nick exhales.

Maurice chuckles under his breath

Nick whispers still: “Do we go back, wait until everything’s clear, and leave by the door, or do we continue and see where this pipe leads?”
Nick:11v9 (Impulsiveness)
“Actually, turning around here would be a pain, let’s just keep going.”
Maurice: “There’s no way the cops would just leave a bloody room unguarded. Unless they’re in on this whole mess, in which case, I say forward.”
Nick crawls onward
P.P.A.: “Out of my way, unrevealed map sections!”

Ken (GM) the crawlspace opens up a bit to a small HAVC access room around the corner. Inside, a few small trickles of light come from above through a frosted up icy window.

There is room to stand up here, or lean against the machinery, but its still very cramped

Maurice: [is the young woman wearing Anne a skirt? If so, Maurice offers to go first so she doesn’t worry about peeping]
Anne raises an eyebrow at the chivalry, but accepts the offer
Nick stretches and looks around the room to see if there is anything interesting lying around; if not, the window warrants a closer look.
Maurice drops down next to Nick and looks out the window, removing the frost from a small part of it so as not to be obvious if someone has eyes on it

The window above you is small, maybe tall enough for a child to squeeze through; it looks out over the street below; you can see the officer who was looking for you. She is talking on a portable radio, on the back of her small car. Another officer stands watch nearby.
Otherwise the room you are in has pipes leading all directions, and a large old hatchway on the wall East leading somewhere else.

Nick:“What’s this…” Nick finds and inspects the hatchway.

Ken (GM) a rusty door, but unlocked, a quick peek in reveals a dark drop and a hallway below, like a concrete service tunnel under the road.

---

Ken (GM):[ayy its a joush]
P.P.A.:\o
[Relinquishing control back to Joush to his PC, giving him a side-rundown ooc of whats happened in the last half-session]

---

Nick: “Looks like we can go down here, but uh… Guess we have to.” No sooner said than done, he leans out to take another look in case the floor below is teeming with ghouls.
Maurice: “Sewer? Utilities vault?”
Nick: “Something of the sort, looks like.”
Anne frowns thoughtfully. “Vault of utilities?”
Nick: “We can utilize it, in any case.”
Nick drops down!
Maurice: “Yeah, they generally seal off the high electrical service cables from the gushing amounts of human sewage”
Maurice ditto jumps down

The walls are narrow but cleaner than everything else you’ve seen. Fresh concrete and red brick.
South, you see dim electric light. North, dark hallway

Anne: “Ah!” She wrinkles her nose. “Oui.” She agrees, then carefully follows, dropping down after the two men and looking around with bright, curious eyes, her thumb stroking across her ring.
Nick takes out his gun, just in case.
Maurice takes out my flashlight, hopeful he won’t need a gun just yet.

Ken (GM):here, a small locked door; old wood again, with a medieval looking handle and keyhole
it is very short, maybe 4 feet tall

Anne shuffles to the door and gazes at it curiously, leaning down and gazing at the keyhole. “I feel like Alice Liddle. We are past the looking glass, no?”
(To Anne): On the other side, a single bare bulb lights a stark room floored with rags. A tunnel digs down to the earth, with claw marks and soil everywhere
Nick: “I’d say we try to break out of here before we break into another little room. Or do you hear anything from inside?”
(To Anne): On the heap of rags, it takes you a moment to realize you’re looking at a severed human arm….its bloody and red/black. Like the ghouls
Anne: “A nest of wolves? I see rags on the floor and a tunnel dug deep into the ground.. Ah!” She draws back, covering her mouth and gasping softly, swallowing hard before she speaks. “And an extremity, without it’s owner.. Striped like zee things bellow”
(To Maurice): You have a feeling, bristling along the back of your neck, like that little room is not to be trespassed in…
Maurice frowns at Anne and nods “I think we are in the nest of wolves indeed. We should make our way out without waking any more of them.”
Anne: “I hope we can contact.. someone. The city is filled with monsters that prey on the helpless and unwary.” She says with a deep frown on her red lips, rubbing the bump on her head and looking south down the hall, then north before asking Maurice. “Lead the way, please? We shall have to explore to find our way out.. zee tunnel there is not it, I do not think.”
Maurice quietly walks to scope out, look around the corner North
Nick nods and advances too.

Round the corner, the hall extends to a small walkway. A heap of bricks on the floor and sacks of concrete mortar nearby. A pair of struggling water heaters whining and bare bulb lights hum in the warm air.

Maurice motions to advance, but doesn’t hurry as he walks around debris and objects “I’d suspect the way out includes a downward slope, but I want to check down the hall in case there’s something that will be chasing after us.”

You pass several small sacks of stuff; unlabeled but new, burlap, not dusty. Here and there small casks, bottles and tankards of brown glass. The smell of hops and barley fresh in the dry warm air here

Maurice: “Seems we might have an illegal gin-joint on our hands…but I suspect that’s not the primary purpose of this building.”

You sweep the area, but the hall seems quiet and empty, your gun finding no targets

Anne peeks around the south corner, then after seeing the door nods and turns to follow the men.

Up a short stair, where the cables for the lights gather and the pipes travel on the walls, a door leading upwards

Nick looks around but doesn’t linger longer than necessary to assure that the area is clear and there is nothing of interest around.

North, the hall recedes into darkness, a doorway filled with haphazard masonry and fieldstone wall.

Nick leans on the door and listens.
Nick if there is a keyhole, he will peek through.
Maurice finishes checking it out, but keeps his flashlight off as much as he can
(To Nick): The door is modern, light ply over thin wood. Listening at it you hear the distant thrum of some rock and roll music and the sound of many voices chattering. Maybe there is a bar or concert above you? The door handle is locked, but you see the latch is on your side of the knob
(To Maurice): It seems like recent work, the mortar is still wet. Are they trying to wall off the west side of the basement?

Nick steps back and calls the others over. “I hear music on the other side.”
Nick: “If there’s a party or something we might be able to sneak by unnoticed; would probably be better not to wave our guns around then.”
Anne looks at the door so crudely bricked off, thoughtfully frowning.. then looking down to Nick, waving to him then walking closer. “Oui? Music?.. Hmm.. yes, We shall be incognito?”
Nick: “If there’s a bunch of these vampires partying, I’d much appreciate it if you could throw your fire at them again until we’ve gotten our guns back out, haha.”
Nick stows his pistol away and unlocks the door with the latch; he opens it just a little to peek through the gap.
(To Nick): The stairs continue up; past a stack of kegs at the bottom of the stairs you see an open hall above and what looks like a barman pouring drinks. Throbbing techno and guitar hit you clearly now
Maurice comes back over to look
Nick: “Good news: it’s a bar or disco or something.”
Ken (GM): UNtissUNtiss
~jangly guitar riff~
Maurice: laughs “I’ve NEVER been so happy to hear ‘it’s a Disco’ in my life.”
Anne nods, holding her equipment bag and nodding firmly, hair bouncing around her fine featured face as her small hand makes a fist, ring at the ready.. then nodding to the door, ready to go.
Ken (GM): ~dancing queeeen~

(From P.P.A.): so this door is somewhere behind the bar and we’d have to sneak past the barman?
(To Nick): something like
(To Nick): You don’t see any other turns off the space; you’re in his basement, only way out is up

Maurice takes a moment to dust himself off, stowing his gun better and his flashlight.
Maurice: [I wonder what are the Curfew rules at the moment? Can we be the wee lass’s chaperone or is it a “Nope, kids in bed” kinda deal?]
Nick: “Looks like we have to get past the barman. If he asks us what we were doing down there, we’ll just say we got lost looking for the toilets, and then disappear in the crowd before he thinks about it.”
Maurice: “Sounds good to me.”

Nick opens the door and steps through.
Nick will be walking past the barman with a brisk pace, trying not to make eye contact.
Anne steps bravely into the ABBA, the slender woman keeping her head up and walking as if she belongs there.
Maurice follows the Uunssst Unnssst and synth

Your group stalks upstairs briskly in a line; the barman down at the far end passing out pints of pale ale. Neon signs at the bar shine in the sound-saturated place.

Without batting an eye, you step through the pass-thru door at the end of the bar and make your way out. The place is full of young pretty folks pressed in a sweaty embrace or spasming on the dancefloor; a few small tables have cigarette topped night owls sipping beer and cheap cocktails

Your trio raises only a few eyebrows, but most folks simply don’t give you the time of day let alone a second glance, and you make your escape easily.
Outside, the chill wind of Montreal. A lineup of hopeful rosy-cheeked university student types in too-light coats and too-short skirts. And a bouncer surprised to see you three exit into the cold.

Anne looks around, briefly surprised… for her attempts to play the adult, she really hasn’t been in a place like this before. She keeps her gaze ahead and walks out into the cool night air, glad to be away from the tunnels, the horrors and the smoke, then looks around. Listening for the police. “Who.. is there anyone we could contact about this?”
Maurice hesitates :”I can….ask around. Us bums are pretty well connected these days…only way to stay alive on the mean streets.”
Nick quietly makes the sign of the cross and turns around. “I don’t think a lone exorcist will do, but, uh. I’ll see if I can find a priest who knows about exorcising demons, for what it’s worth. This seems like more of a case for the military, though.”
Maurice blinks, then looks between you two “You guys are pretty serious about this, huh?
Nick: “Or the US police, I don’t think your Mounties are cut for the job.”
Anne: “People must be warned at least!.. I shall.. hmm.. I will try to send a message.. but..” She shakes her head. “Who will believe us? Monsters in the underground?”
Nick puffs his chest. “Now that I know that such foul stuff like vampires exist, I can’t just let ’em live. Or un-live, whatever; you know.”

(To Maurice): Your hunger turns in your gut like a shark; you feel the pang like a physical blow
(From Maurice): so….egging them on with feelings or rage/helplessness….that would count as emotional strife?

Nick: “Anyone got a video camera? We could try breaking in and going back down there, filming them, and using that as evidence.”
Maurice laughs “Evidence?” He looks at you both with a hard eye
(To Maurice): Gotta eat that rage
Nick: “Well, I’ll try and kill whatever I can myself, but these outnumbered us a good deal there.”
Maurice: “Two cops showed up to a slaughter room still dripping with bile and blood… and right now there aren’t three dozen cop cars rushing past us to the alley way. Do you honestly think evidence means anything here?”
Maurice looks up at the empty night “They’re part of it.” shakes his head “And I’m not talking some little rabble-scrabble in politics here.” He grins too-wide
Nick looks angry, but thinks about it for a moment, and nods. “And here I thought you guys up North didn’t have as much corruption and stuff.”
Anne: “I can’t afford anything like a video camera.. I’ve got a 35mm.” She says as she stands beside, frowning deeply at Maurice. “Perhaps a few policemen serve these dark ones, but.. no. I don’t believe it. All of them can’t be wicked”
Maurice: “And once they’re done mopping up at their leisure, they’ll move to the next nondescript shit-hole before the few people who DO give a shit can get mobilized enough to do anything.” Maurice yawns and stretches dramatically “Face it, kiddos. We can’t do shit. The evil owns the lease.”
Nick: “Didn’t you talk about that dark book belonging to someone? Maybe we just need to find the leader of these things. Talk some sense into them, one way or another.”
Maurice laughs “Sure. We’ll go send a strongly worded letter, as is the Canadian way.”
Nick: “Emphasis on another way. Unorthodox methods, maybe”
Ken (GM):hon hon hon
Maurice smirks “You got an army in that big overcoat of yours? I ain’t a marksman, but when something I shoot ain’t dead after two slugs, I tend to want a bit more Nothing To Do With It Anymore.”
Anne: “Non! We will do what we can to protect people. We will be back to check this place again and.. If you won’t help, I shall find someone who will!” She says to Maurice, impassioned and angry as the small blonde steps up close to him and glares at him with blue eyes shining. “You want to help. You don’t fool me with your nihilism.”
Nick: “Come on, you can’t face down a fucking demon, shoot it, and then just walk away like nothing happened.”

(To Anne): You could always ask the wardens for help. Or the Coven

(To Maurice): Now would be the time to feed on THAT anger
(From Maurice): what exactly is the process again? Do I need to touch her?
(To Maurice): A handshake will do. She’ll discover what happened AFTER [The power based on Leech, and with an accessibility limitation for “extreme emotional state required”]

Maurice walks over to the girl and grabs her by her shoulders, though it’s not rough
Maurice:”Now… THAT is what I needed to hear.” He smiles and sighs

(From Maurice): leeeeeechyyyy!?
(To Anne): You feel your anger, righteous as it is, dim perceptibly after his response
(From Maurice): does this calm her down? Or does she just feel something weird?
(To GM): Your hunger takes a nice big bite of that and is satisfied, +3FP and youre not missing any

Maurice turns to Nick and nods
Anne: “Tomorrow! The City Hall Library! I shall send a letter to zee Warden and try to talk to zee Coven. If they don’t come to help, I shall do what I can alone.”

(To Maurice): You don’t know who “the Coven” are, but the Wardens ring your inner panic bell. They wouldn’t take too kindly to meeting any vamp

Maurice frowns at the mention of her plans

(To Anne): You’re quite sure Maurice did something there to calm you down…or something. Perception + 1(magery)
Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (4+5+5) = 14
(To Anne): Either he suppressed your anger, or he did some sort of sophisticated-ass spell. There was some kinda magic at work with your anger

Maurice: “Warden?” He ponders “Are you sure you can trust them? I’ve heard that word before on the street.”

(From Maurice): acting maybe?
(To Maurice): Not at the moment, but if someone needs to respond, and rifle through your bullshittery 😛

Anne nods up to Maurice. “Yes.. The one I will send a message to is trustworthy. I do not know any others, I can’t speak of them otherwise.” She assures him, breathing a bit and standing back, smoothing her hands over her dress and then rubbing her head.. Looking thoughtfully at Maurice, those bright eyes pondering.

Nick: “I’ll hit up the… phone book or something to find out more about the poor sod whose corpse we found down there. I looked at his dog tag and remember his name, maybe he’s part of some larger group fighting these things.”
Anne then nods to Nick. “Good, very good. That is a clever use of our ‘lead’, monsieur”
Maurice turns to Nick and nods “It couldn’t hurt…if nothing else, help the poor sod find peace by getting word back to his kin.”
Nick: “Yeah…”

P.P.A.: Ken never actually told me the name when I had Nick inspect the dog tag, but that can surely be amended later
Ken (GM):[the GM will amend this to be you have the dog tag at least with luck and overconfidence involved. Yanked it off without thinking]
[how lucky for you]
P.P.A.: :3
(I considered yanking it off between the sessions but then forgot to do it)
Ken (GM):[military man background? stands to reason you take the tags at least when you find a downed soldier]

Maurice pats Nick on the arm. “If you two feel so strongly about this, I’m with you if you need a spare set of eyes and a pistol.”
Anne picked out a quite easy to find place for them to meet… and also one nearly legendary in it’s ugliness. She nods to the men and takes a deep breath. “I should return to my dormitoire. I may already get into some trouble.” Part of the reason she picked the library. Even if she’s busted, she should have no trouble getting there tomorrow.
Ken (GM):[neato; so some overnight downtime, then meeting at the public place at a time, later?]
Maurice: yus
Nick nods. “I’m gonna hit the hay too. God bless.”
Maurice: “Amen, brother.” He nods and then again to Anne Miss. “See you soon.”

The night closes up around you each, your paths splitting but destined to come together again. Snow falls, dancing in the moonlight. Montreal is quiet, smothered in the dark, and full of promise

---

Fiss: [gotta get heading out soon, folks, thank you for awesome gaming!]
P.P.A.:[Thank you!]
Anne makes sure not to get eaten by vampires on the way home
Ken (GM):suddenly, werewolves devour her
Fiss: hon hon hon
Ken (GM):cool beans then, take 3 Xp each
Joush M.: Good game, thank you.. ah, damn werewolves! There are so many different kinds!
P.P.A.: Thanks for the session!
Ken (GM): These being the yiffy kind, schoolgirls being a delicacy after all
P.P.A.: Facing the police was pretty spooky
We were basically the law in Grimwyrd so it’s unusual to face law enforcement

Anne will use those points for a Warden contact. She will also need some ice, aspirin and a long shower after those damn werewolves
Ken (GM):hahah
contact or contact group?
Joush M.: Good question. Maybe just a singular contact for Morgan
Ken (GM): I can imagine him receiving pen-pal style letters from a young wizardess, and him blushing like a total goofball when the subject comes up
but he absolutely lets her know “what she’s going through it perfectly normal Hahah”, and leaving her a contact for him in emergencies etc
Joush M. nods sagely.
Ken (GM): don’t forget Anne would have 4xp from session 1 as well
so 7 unspent?
Joush M.: Easier to keep tabs on a young witch.. Ohh, 7 unspent changes things. I can work with that

Dresden Files; Montreal, 1980: Down the Rabbit Hole

Ken (GM): woop woop
alrighty!
so we have you all here then; I have your sheets you made in October; Nick the military aficionado/PPA, Annette the nascent witch/Joush
P.P.A.: Mine says last changed on 22.10.2017, so I probably haven’t touched it since
Joush M.: Nice word
Ken (GM):Kev, you were just gonna LURK and check this out today?
Kev.:Yup. No way I’ll be able to make a proper char and charsheet atm.
Ken (GM):Ah, I understand that feeling
Oh shit, Joush you also had Grayson, right? As an alternate?
Joush M.:OH yeah! I also made Grayson
Ken (GM):The Not!Michael paladin feller?
Joush M.: Indeed. I’m proud of that one. It’s hard to get ST 18 into 150 points
P.P.A.: Anthro-Grey
Ken (GM):very much so. right, so, setting the scene

---

Ken (GM) Montreal lies frozen on river, a white and black shimmering jewel of old stone edifices, modern skyscrapers, and the grime of a million souls huddled together

The city sits frozen in winter, and gripped by terror as well. Savage murders have taken their toll on the city of late. Mutilated victims found by the police, shredded beyond recognition. Many of them have been vagabonds or derelicts, transients who could have fallen to foul play. Brazen headlines however have the city witnessing the terror firsthand though. Who will fall victim next? What innocent will become a red smear tomorrow? Your neighbor? Your friend? YOU?!

Darkness is not the only power here though; glimmers of hope kindled in the flame of those who bear the light. Flames of righteous fury, illumination of spirit, holy souls. Powerful people of the Ways of Magic. They also gather here, drawn to oppose the monsters that go BUMP in the night.

Some of you are such people. Though you may not even know it yet, yourselves

---

Joush M.: Annette confronts the grim news with a sort of rebellious determination to Do Something About It, the young student tying back her hair and filling a notebook with details on moon phases and everything she’s been able to find out about creatures that tear victims apart, seemingly at random, and the murders they’ve faced. Grayson does much the same when he isn’t working to restore an old and battered church in a bad part of town. The old man pinning what he’s found to a wall, a map with red pinheads marking out the details and locations he’s been able to discover. Paper tags of misery and mystery.

Annette DuClair

Fiss: Maurice LeBlanc… ‘Maury’ to his friends… wanders through the clubs and streets of Montreal, seeking out the frustrated and the rebellious as a moth to a flame. Some who know him well enough see him as perhaps a revolutionary working the streets, but in reality, he needs the ebb and flow of the subtle chaos as much as most people need water.

Maurice LeBlanc

P.P.A.:“It’s fuckin’ cold here,” Nick complains to himself, barely annoyed enough to curb his unfounded enthusiasm. He picks up his duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder; behind him, the bus closes its doors and drives off into the skyline. The sturdy young man scratches his stubble and takes a glance at the map at the bus stop, but trusts that the driver’s directions to his hotel will do.

Nick Ferencz

The city is chilled to the bone and as welcoming as a frozen hearth, but fierce souls are warmed by conviction. Annette finds many trend on the moon and the reports of violence; it almost seems to be an ebb and flow, a tide of savagery coming and going from the city these days. Grayson’s pins spell out a red splatter on the map, the riverside being a popular destination for this devilry. Maurice is well fed recently; fear and suspicion twisting into good old fashioned hate and violence. A full belly on any night of the week. Nick’s hostel is as cheap and anonymous as he needs; the rates have dropped in the winter, and the violence has only driven out the huddled masses from the public eye. His trip to the great white North should be fruitful

Joush M.:Annette scribbles out “werewolf?” in the margins of the book and nibbles her lower lip.. certainly no human could do this.

P.P.A.:Nick dumps his bag on the bed, and scatters a few belongings about the room. No time to make himself at home, that can wait ’till the evening or so—there are adventures to be had after all. For the time being, he just needs to dig out his down jacket—turns out it is needed after all—and maybe comb his sideburns, and then it’s time to explore this northerly land of leaves on flags and—potentially—liches.
Ken (GM):dun dun dunnn

Anne writes down everything Tanya told her then squares her slender shoulders, pulls on a heavy parka and dares to venture out near the waterfront to examine the scenes in person. Perhaps up close she will be able to feel some kind of magic lingering. Anne keeps a field hockey stick in a padded case with her as she goes hunting. No reason to be foolish… of course, she also has her Ring.
Ken (GM):[and of course “Im on my way to practice” is always a nice excuse to be out and about if anyone wonders]

The icy air dances with sparkling crystals of ice, as steam from the waterfront rises in the evening air; moonlight glimmers and the gibbous yellow bleaches out to a pale white in the icy streets of Montreal. Lampposts push out their sickly light by comparison, leaving pale holes in the dark. The sounds of the city are nearly gone, echoing weakly through the old stone of the old downtown, smothered by heaps of snow.

Each of you meanders in the dark, hunting, but you know not for what; the mystery itself compelling your bootsteps, heavy or light. Eventually, these strides take you down a darkened alley, squeezed between warehouse backs and far from public prying eyes.

Anne: Faux fur frames her pale features as the witchy girl stares at the crime scene. Her breath a roll of fog before her lips as she tightens the scarf around her slender throat and takes a tentative step closer on black boots laced up high, warm stockings on under them and a frown on her lips. Her eyes are shadowed and lined dramatically.

---

Ken (GM):[map magic, test your token control for me?]
Fiss:Can’t move mine
Anne finishes her calibration
Ken (GM):[fixed?]
Fiss:Looks good!

---

Maurice wanders through the alley, looking like perhaps a lost dockworker with a little too much whiskey in him, or maybe just a bum who’s seen a good day of panhandling and is looking for a safe place to rest. Sometimes its an act, tonight, he’s a little tipsy to keep out the chill.

Nick stands six foot one tall; his frame is muscular, but not extraordinarily so. Lean, wiry. Blue eyes peer from an angular face, though at nothing in particular, or perhaps at what could be and not at what is. His hands are in his pockets—he forgot to bring gloves—and a rosary hangs from his neck unseen underneath his dark green jacket. Though not exactly conventionally inviting, the moody dark street excites him with its promise of mystery.
Ken (GM):[silly southern folk; not bringing nice mittens :P]
Nick: Were it not for his unorthodox facial hair, he would look like an average bloke on his way home, though.

Anne speaks to Nick in a careful tone, the girl watching him a moment and calling out in accented English. “Pardon, monsieur. Do you walk often in this alley-way?”
Nick: “Good evening, mademoy—” He stops halfway through trying to pronounce it. “…Miss. Sorry to disappoint, just arrived here today.” He studies her briefly. “Anything ’bout this alley? I heard there’s been some unpleasant stuff happening ’round these parts..”

Maurice laughs, seemingly a bit drunk “Lots of unpleasant things happening in the night these days…” Maurice sits against a relatively dry wooden box and looks up in appreciation at the night sky, starless or moonless as it is
Ken (GM) the gibbous moon glimmers on Maurice, dancing some sparkling light off him to remind him it is there 😛
P.P.A.:(so long as it doesn’t turn green)
Ken (GM):[crosspost gaming intensifies]

Anne: “It…” She considers a moment, the girl wondering if she should be coy then looking past him to Maurice, looking to the man’s sad face a moment then speaking. “It was the site of an attack. A very vicious attack. We should all be very careful, non?”

At the mention of it, you do notice here in the icy alleyway, a tattered and frozen bit of yellow police-tape on one of the warehouse back walls, over an old thick wooden door…Odd….why hadn’t that been obvious before?

Nick puffs his chest and takes his hands out of his pockets to punch one with the other. “Hah, bring it.”

Nick notices the police tape. “This is one of the crime scenes here?” he points to it with his thumb before rubbing his hands and putting them back into his pockets. The night is damn chilly.

Maurice tries to ignore the two for a moment, but curiosity gets the better of him. Maurice saunters over

Anne frowns a touch at Nick’s bravado. the girl worrying a little then nodding in agreement, her hand touching the notebook in the pocket of her parka then taking it out, flipping to a marked page. “Oui, It is” She reads what she has written down for this particular location, eyes flicking from the notebook to the tape.. then out of the corner of her eye watching Maurice approach.
(To Anne): The address matches; one of the first found bodies. Apparently the police are not yet giving much detail other than “a local business storage warehouse employee discovered a victim, [unnamed man], possibly homeless as he had no identification on his remains”

Nick glances at Maurice, but doesn’t pay him more attention than is polite: “Good evening.” The girl caught his interest though. “Looks like you’re into this stuff,” he notes with a satisfied smile. Nodding to the notebook, the studying “So what’s this about vampires? Is there anything to that, like anything that actually supports that, or just some dumb rumors?”

Maurice laughs at the mention of vampires “Oh, surely you kids don’t believe in such things…plenty of less fictional monsters out here in the night! I just left a pub where a man gouged out the eye of another because they had a disagreement…as far as I could tell…on the new bridge construction project over the river.” He ponders “A lot of whiskey was involved, but surely, that’s not a Vampire, in strictest sense.”

Nick turns to the man: “Men can be fuckin’ cruel, but you’d think people know that. It’s not like this’d be the first serial killer the continent would have seen, either, so where does this vampire talk come from?”

Anne: “The scene itself is inside.” She says, closing the notebook.. there’s little more information in there, her hand tucking the book away. “Oui.. Vampires are dangerous.. but they do not kill like this. They drink the blood. These bodies, they are ripped apart?” She asks as she walks closer to the tape, looking at the warehouse and rubbing a finger across her ring with a thoughtful frown. “I do believe in vampires, monsieur. I just hope they do not believe in moi.”

Maurice laughs again, though it’s not a mean one, more appreciative. “Oui, we should all be so lucky.”
(To Anne): The tape crinkles and flakes of ice fall as you touch the door, sealed feebly with tape. There is a warm draft from under the door, and some mist crawls up in tendrils
(To Anne): You also notice, the wall is old construction; big blocks of stone, a heritage building like your school. The big oak door is bound in iron…What kind of ‘warehouse’ is this?

Maurice leans against the wall, but as far as socially acceptable for a strange man to follow two other strange people. He keeps a curious eye open on their doings.

Nick: “Not sure if they’re real, but if they are, they better believe I’m coming for them,” Nick bolsters, and laughs confidently. He walks over to the warehouse to take a closer look.
P.P.A.:*boasts, not bolsters
>that feel when ESL
Ken (GM):[shuns in native english :P]

Anne: “This door.. this building. All is old. Stone and oak and iron.” She studies it, hand reaching out but not touching it directly as the witch considers the place, glancing to the men again a little carefully then stepping back. Allowing Nick his turn to examine the eerie iron bound portal. “I think.. I shall risk a look inside.”
(To Nick): You also notice, the wall is old construction; big block of stone, a heritage building like old European foundations. The big oak door is bound in iron…What kind of warehouse is this?
Nick: “Let’s, then.” Nick steps forward and reaches for the handle, checking whether the door opens. “Nice house, looks European,” he notes, briefly looking up before his attention returns to the door.

(From Maurice): nothing weird about this area that I’d know from being all Spoopy, is there?
(To Maurice): You’ve certainly been feeding well down here…the alleyway isn’t throwing you any weird vibes in particular.
(From Maurice): okey

Nick halts: “Ah wait, isn’t this supposed to be a warehouse? Whatever.” A shrug, and he pushes down the handle.

Ken (GM) The young man confidently pulls on the latch handle of the door, and lets it squeak open, inwards to a cloud of warm steamy air. Directly inside, is another door. Like the shortest hallway you’ve ever been in

Nick: “Huh, what do you know.”
Maurice: “Ahh, an old speakeasy door?” He saunters up, curiosity reignited
Nick: “Are all old houses like that here?” He turns around to ask the two people behind him.
Anne: “The city is old. Secure goods warehouses for transportation of precious material were build like petite fortresses.” She says as she looks past Nick. “No threshold, but many doors..” She almost risks looking at the place with her Sight. “We never prohibited the sale of alcohol, monsieur”
Maurice: “One doesn’t need prohibition to have the need for classy, sneaky doors.”
Nick: “Well then, prost!” He tries to open the next door.

The inner door is crusted with a hoar-frost. Misty air building up in spiky protrusions of light white, riming the inside, rimed over every metal edge and bolt. Warmth here, the icy air around you swirling against the heated inside. A smell like eggs and fish permeates. Somewhat rotten and fragrant. Moist

POP CREAK Nick pushes inside, the next door also unlocked, and a wave of warmer even more fetid air escapes around him, mist in the alleyway; he disappears from sight for a moment in the fog.
(To Nick): Youre blasted with hot wet air, and the STINK of the place. like the sewer boiled and served a week later
Ken (GM):NICK perception roll!
Nick:“Fuck, what a stench.”
11v10

Maurice turns to the young woman next to him and shrugs. “Age before beauty, or chivalry first? Your choice.”
Anne nearly sneezes at the scent. “Humm..”

What a stench indeed; the combined smell of age, rot, and sewer stewing in the night air. The mist subsides, and a warm breeze wafts out. Nick standing on the edge of darkness, illuminated only from moonlight behind.
The large room sounds large, but is utterly dark, you cannot see its borders

Nick takes a step back outside the door to take a deep breath before he dives back in for real.

Maurice:”Age it is then!” Maurice walks inside
Ken (GM):Maurice! Perception!
Maurice: rolling 3d6(6+5+2) = 13
Maurice: Fail, even with his eyes accustomed to the Night.
Maurice ponders fumbling for his flashlight
(To Maurice): You feel a tingle on the back of your neck, like something is out prowling to eat you up. It takes a second for you to realize you’re feeling something very evil about this place. You’re trespassing, somehow
Maurice looks around for the big man
Ken (GM) the light flicks on eventually, and a beam of electric yellow cuts through steam and swamp.

Anne reaches into a pocket of her parka and takes out a black plastic tube, pulling something out from inside.. another thinner, odd green plastic tube. She bends it until there’s a faint broken glass crunch, then shakes it a moment and holds it up as it starts to cast an eldritch lime green glow

Nick grabs a hold of his matchbox, but relents and lets go again. Doesn’t wanna blow up the place by accident, who knows what these gases are.

You’re in a big stone chamber of some kind, with a recessed floor, and a hatch….with a weird stain

Maurice: “Ahh, perhaps we should leave…best not get a head bashed in by some dockworker thinking we’re thieves.”

Ken (GM) Anne’s witchlight glows through the flickering lamplight, and together the room is cast in stark colors.
Maurice ‘s voice trails off as the lights flicker

Ken (GM):Anne! Perception!

Anne: rolling 3d6 vs 13(6+6+5)=17
Maurice:[lol]
(To Anne): Youve got a tingle, but you have absolutely no idea why
Maurice turns to the woman and blinks
Maurice: “Did you turn on the lights?”
Nick: “Much better, thanks.”
(To Anne): Also, chemlights, nice touch. Cant magic-kill those by accident 😛

Anne shakes her head. “Glo-stick.” She says helpfully, holding the odd glowing liquid in it’s plastic container and block letter GLO branding. She looks around with a frown, shivering. “Some thing is here.” The warning ominous, but unfocused. She can’t figure out why she feels nervous as she comes closer to the stains. “Drag marks?”

The ceiling is a patchwork of a hundred years of rusted old pipe, ductwork and unfathomable machinery. Large pipes of cast iron, modern aluminum, and everything in-between mingles up there. The steam and smell come from large vents pointed down into the room here. The floor is wet with condensation moisture, and is extremely slimy
Maurice:”Well, it ain’t Maple Syrup, that’s for sure.”

Ken (GM):[BADUMTISS]
Maurice:[Fiss high-fives himself for getting Maple Syrup into first session about Montreal]
Ken (GM):[all we need now is a 40 of malt liquor and some poutine]

Nick: “I’ll take your word for that,” the American chuckles. He looks around, inspecting the odd ceiling and the stain; and finally squatting down to see if the hatch opens.

Anne walks carefully on the slick floor and looks. “Dragged from the hatch or into it?”

The hatch CLUNKs as Nick pulls, refusing to lift more than an inch. Something has it locked from the other side? Sounds like chains of some kind. The old wood is wet and squeaky

Maurice investigates the green splatter, trying to make sense of it

The stain is awash in odd colors, stark against the dull slimy floor. There is a dark red turned brown which is unmistakably blood. But there is also some kind of crusty white and green….

Maurice thinks it’s best not to touch
(To Maurice): The tingle here is worse….You feel a tangible sense of malice from the stain for a moment. Like…furious rage? But there is nobody there!

Nick: “Kinda odd, isn’t it; you’d think the police would have combed this place, but the hatch won’t budge while the doors were unlocked.” Nick straightens himself up again and looks around for other clues. The interior looks different from what the outside suggested—perhaps there are hidden rooms here?
Maurice: “Someone got a real mad-on here…” Maurice looks around for buttons, levers, chains, anything along the walls
Anne:”Very odd” She agrees as she takes a camera from her bag. Lifting it and a POP-flash! filling the room a moment, catching the odd stains and eerie green and white. Something to consider later. She gets another picture, more of the room, then puts the camera away… she’d been careful to avoid capturing either man in the photographs, as if they might dislike any evidence they were here.

CLICK WIND WIND CLICK the mechanical workings echo here easily, bouncing off the stone.

Maurice jumps a bit at the sound, but laughs and nods.

The walls of stone are cut blocks, mortared smoothly and tight, wet with age and worn with moisture. Rusty stains crawling down them to the floor. You poke around, prodding at the pipe-fixtures and crevices. And eventually turn up something odd!

Maurice looks at the odd something!
Nick:“Aha!”

Tucked behind a pipe, a book falls loose from a small alcove in the stone behind a trunk of metal; the tome slaps to the wet stone, leatherbound and marked with bright red. A crimson spiral on the cover, ragged and rough cut. The leather book looks scaly, the pages thick like ancient vellum.

Nick: “What the…” Puzzled by the unexpected book, Nick hesitates a moment to pick it up; he looks into the alcove first, wondering if there might anything else there.

Maurice grins like a kid in a candy store, pulling it free to take a look

Anne: “Monsieur?” She ask Nick, looking over to him with some concern as if there may be danger inherent to what he’s doing as he explores the pipes and stones. The slender witch putting away the camera and looking to him, then carrying her small light closer. “What is this?”

Maurice:[oops, sorry, not sure who’s finding what]

Ken (GM):Nick! roll DX for me!
Nick: 9v11
Ken (GM) Nick tucks his hand in the alcove, and immediately hisses in surprise! He snatches his hand back as a massive snake head snaps for him, reaches out of the hole behind the pipe! Nick narrowly escaped the snatching bite!
Nick: “Whoa! Should’a sent St. Patrick through this den.”
Nick backs away carefully, holding out his arms to motion the others to gain some distance too.

Ken (GM) meanwhile Maurice picks up the book…
(To Maurice): and you, Roll Will please
Maurice:(To GM) rolling 3d6 vs 13 (1+3+3)= 7
(From Maurice): yep, I’m rad
(From Maurice): beat by 5
(From Maurice): no, 6
(To Maurice): when the book is in your hands, you immediately know it is magic. The tingle turns into a wash of cold though, like icy flesh of predators and unthinking hunting malice. You’re pretty sure you know what its like to hunt by moonlight for scaled things in a swamp….but how?
Maurice backs away but begins looking over the book with fierce interest.

Anne makes a shocked sound at that, stareing at the snake and lifting her hand reflexivly.

The snake slithers out of the hole to the floor, FWUMP and coils in a lazy lump, the biting strike seemingly forgotten….

Maurice:”I don’t know if either of you believe in hockus-pocus, but I think I got somethin kinda cool here.” quietly “Not particularly good…but definitely something interesting”

Anne: “Careful! The snake is quite unhappy to have the den it picked prodded.” Her eyes cast around. Looking for other snakes, for other places one might wait. She goes carefully around, stepping over the nasty stain to avoid coming close to the serpent. She does lower her hand though.

Nick keeps his distance from the snake, and an eye on it, but leaves it alone.
Nick pulls Maurice a step back from the snake but lets him keep reading.
Maurice skims through the book.
(From Maurice): I have Occult and Secret Knowledge form the White Court, anything I should try to roll for?
(From Maurice): or just like: “YO DAWG CHECK IT THIS IS OUR EVIL MANUAL”
(To Maurice): Youre versed in the ways…and this shit is entirely unfamiliar to you.
Nick: “That reminds me, where are my manners? I’m Nick Ferencz, but you can call me Niklos. Nice to meet ya.”
Maurice smiles brightly at the man
Maurice: “Maury. Maury LeBlanc. Anyone good enough to break-and-enter with me is a friend indeed.”
Maurice offers the book to the two “I can’t make much sense of this…but brace yourself before you try touching it. It’s got some bad ju-ju”
Nick:“Haha, yeah.” Nick peers inside the book, curious but also a bit uneasy.
Maurice holds it open so touching it is optional

The snake keeps its head swiveled at you , but lets you pass unmolested as you’re keeping your distances….
The snake coils itself in a corner of the floor, a lump of flesh
Maurice: “Good Nope-Rope, you just hang out there.”

Maurice:”Seriously, don’t touch it unless you’re ready to feel the creepy crawleys up your spine.”
Nick doesn’t touch it, just looks.
Anne: “Annette DuClair” She introduces herself with a curtsy before leaning in to read the book that Maurice holds, avoid touching it to keep from perhaps giving the wicked artifact a chance at a Practitioner. “Dark resonance remaining from wicked use?”

The page held open is to some kind of writing, but its entirely foreign. Snips and phrases scrawled in a kind of charcoal black are in old world english, but the main body of text is in a dark red stain, the characters swirling and jagged simultaneously. Like someone stabbed them onto the page
(To Anne): You see what you might recognize as magic ritual symbols.
Maurice: “You look a might more professional than the kids who hang around the incense store on 3rd Ontario Street….I assume you study this kinda stuff for a bit more than fun?”
(To Nick): You recognize snippits in Latin; “forbidden” “do not attempt this” “profane in the utmost”
Nick raises an eyebrow. “Looks to be some kinda occult thing.”
Maurice nods to Nick
Anne: “It is a book of shadows. Enciphered to defeat another’s reading or simply too arcane to recognize beyond… but it feels…” She frowns at the book, drawing back. “Oui. Anette is a Witch.. and that book, I believe, is Evil. I cannot tell more without using magic on it.”
Nick: “Well at least the author had the wisdom to tell people not do meddle with that hocus-pocus.”
Maurice: “Oh, it’s got more than bad ju-ju, but I’m afraid it’s a bit beyond me and my hours of sleeping next to the Boutique Esoterique for some of the spring time.”
Nick: “A witch, huh?” He sounds displeased. “Don’t witches form pacts with demons and stuff? That’s not something you should do.”
(To Maurice): You recognize; this is bound in some kinda reptile leather. Maybe gator? its scaled like it
Maurice ponders the skin cover
Maurice: “Mmm, aligator? Snake? Whoever made it had access to some interesting game.”
Maurice rolls his eyes at Nick “Don’t interrupt the lass…if she starts summoning demons then you can worry. I probably summon worse every night when I snore.”

Anne looks to be perhaps fifteen or sixteen, and thanks to being a Wizard can look forward to looking like that for the next twenty years or so. The slender blonde giving a grumpy little huff as she glowers to Nick. “Non. Witches practice witchraft. Witchcraft can do evil, but our Rules require we do not.”
(To Anne): You have had a visit from the wardens then, and the ominous “talk” about the laws of magic huh?
(To GM): Only the Mother Superior still strikes fear into Anne
Maurice looks between the two, satisfied at Anne’s explanation. “Good enough for me.”
Maurice no longer seems drunk at all, btw
(To Maurice): Sounds like your witch here has spoken with wardens of the council before. And she’s not dead! so they haven’t killed her. Neat
(From Maurice): yep, that’s a good thing. 😛

Maurice: “So, anyone for further spelunking? Or should we wuss out and call the cops?”

Nick looks unconvinced, but won’t dwell on it, and gives Anne a jovial pat on the back. “Well, you’re lucky I’m Catholic; burning witches is more of a Protestant thing,” he jokes—and immediately turns serious again: “We should totally burn this thing though. Nothing good could come from that.” He points at the book.
Anne:”It would take perhaps an hour for me to study the book with Ansuz… but I worry. Stealing or destroying a book of shadows from an evil witch… not at all like me…” She assures Nick and Maurice. “It is to declare war on them.”

Maurice looks over at the hatch “I’d rather know who it is I’m declaring war on before burning their stuff…”
Maurice flips the pages of the book idly in his hands, and when nick suggests destroying it, pulls it close to his chest in a hug
[At this point, the GM has pulled a fast one, and emoted as the player. He cottons on immediately, but is a fair shake at letting the spooky stuff slide in to play -Ken,GM]
(From Maurice): ho ho ho
(To Maurice): Yep; its like watching yourself from a distance, your hands move automatically…

Anne looks at the door. “I fear we must continue. The police have already been here and declined to press deeper.”

Nick: 9v12 Overconfidence Self Control
Nick:“M’kay, we’ll burn it after we’ve talked some sense into the owner,” Nick relents.

Maurice ponders openly “Maybe, if this door is locked…the book could open something?” Maurice looks it over carefully

Nick:“Some magic phrase in it, like ‘sesame open’?” Nick takes another look at the hatch.
(To Nick): The hatch remains a heavy wooden door, wide enough to squeeze through, with a well mortared frame set into the flagged stone floor. Iron bands cross it, with knobbed nails wet and rusty. It rises about an inch in the frame, but offers no gap wider than half a finger. It is warm and wet to the touch

Anne looks at the snake, wondering if it’s a familair to the book’s owner and thinking troubled thoughts before she lifts her hand, palm out and pointed at the door. “This is not the sort of magic Anne performs. She could burn the hatch to ashes, oui?”
Nick gets up and smells the air again. “Not sure if the gases here might be flammable, you might wanna be careful with fire.”
(To Nick): also, yeah, farty smell from below when you pull on the door

Ken (GM):Maurice! Occultism roll!
Maurice:rolling 3d6 vs 10 (4+2+3) = 9
Beat by 1!

Anne:”Oui. It would be a shame if this witch was to burn you, non?”

Maurice flips through the pages, slowly turning them and scanning each in the light of a flashlight. He scowls, grins and purses his lips at several different moments

Nick laughs. “That’d be some irony. But yeah, it smells pretty bad down there, I wouldn’t start a fire here.”
Nick:“You okay there Maury?”

Maurice remains steeped in the thick pages of the book, and half-heartedly waves away your question.

Anne: “Shall we attempt leverage then?” She ask. Declining Craft for the moment she instead unzips the carry case and draws out the long sturdy field hockey stick, holding it and considering how to lever the hatch open. Nick’s question has her eyes on the odd man. “The book.. it may be best not to read it so deeply, Monsieur”

Maurice shakes his head and nods
(To Maurice): You dont remember the last few minutes…other than you havent found anything in the book but gibberish
Maurice: “I can scrounge around outside for a lever.”

Anne gestures to the maze of pipes. “Perhaps one of these?”
Maurice nods
Nick: “Sure, let’s try that.” He gets up and looks around for any loose pipes, checking for snakes first, though.
Maurice: “Just make sure it’s not hot…last thing we need is steam or hot water spraying all over here.
Anne taps the pipes with her hockey stick. Testing for one that sounds hollow and empty.
Maurice: “Ahh, a Hockey Witch… only in Montreal. Will the wonders of this city never cease?”

You poke and prod for a few minutes, and eventually settle on a short rod of rebar that comes free easily enough by hand. It’s bent in a curved shape, but is a tough piece of metal you can wedge the end of into the gap in the grate
Nick: “Here we go!” Nick pries the hatch open as best as he can and jams the rod inside, and then applies plenty of force.
P.P.A.: no innuendos intended
Ken (GM):>leverage intensifies
Nick! Roll ST+4 please
Maurice catches his tongue before saying an off-coloured joke in front of jail-bait
Nick: 11v16
Anne blinks and blushes a little at the joke, looking to him from the corner of her eye and huffing a bit… but does smile a touch. Glad to find the right tool for the job, she stands back and lets Nick handle the prying.

The bar is applied to the edge of the door, and Nick throws his weight against it. His boots slide a moment in the muck before the whole thing comes loose, the door itself pressing down into the frame of the floor, breaking up like a wet rotten thing. There is a SNAP and it collapses on itself, a gaping hole opening in the floor in the shape of wet rotten wood. You hear the mess tumble to the floor below, banging against stone and clattering loudly

Anne: “Well done, Monsieur.” Anne says to the man. She then takes the glowstick, considering just a moment then dropping it into the darkness.

Ken (GM) the glow of the chemlight falls quickly to the bottom some ten feet down. A rough tunnel twists back and forth on itself to a room below. The rough stone and earth wet with mildew and mold

Maurice pulls out a flashlight and turns it on, shrugging now that all sense of stealth is gone

The hole below the floor looks dug, not constructed. Like the hatch was set on top of a burrow

Maurice: “I’ll go first, unless anyone else is feeling more curious than I am, haha”
Nick: “I don’t suppose anyone brought a rope-ladder or somesuch?”
Maurice checks the side of the hole for handholds
Anne: “Into the den of the wolf? Please, Monsieur, lead the way”
Nick: “I can go first too, otherwise.” He’s willing to plunge himself into the unknown, but it seems Maurice is more eager too, so whatever.
Anne considers the distance. “One lies beside the hole and helps the other hang down to drop, the one that drops catches the others?”
Nick: “Good idea.”
Maurice: “We’ll look for a crate of grappling hooks some other time” He smiles
Anne nods. “We do things like this at school. To get over walls. Teamwork makes a ten foot wall easy.”
Maurice takes off his backpack, but keeps on his coat

You help each other down, hands grasping to wet warm stone and moldy earth. There are surprisingly many hand and footholds on the way down, and the only worry being a 6 foot drop at the end to the floor, but your technique removes any danger there

Ken (GM):[map magic!]

Maurice: “I’ll leave this here. Remind me to come back for it before demons eat my nice goose-feather sleeping bag, right?”

Anne has the easy part… getting passed down from Nick’s hands to Maurice, trusting the men to be gentlemen about it as she drops down into the darkness with them, picking back up the chemlight to hold it up in the dimness.

Maurice carefully turns back on flashlight, aiming low and sweeping around to find their surroundings before flashing it deeper into the dark

You appear to be in some sort of natural cavern, some scant ten feet under the streets of Montreal. The walls are wet natural stone. No sewer masonry, no blocks of clay.

Maurice while trying to hide the excitement in his voice “Oh, Montreal, I barely knew you, and you’re showing me all your secret bits…”

Exploring a bit with your lights, there is a metal grill gate ahead, with no door, only bars bent into a hole…jagged and broken

Nick: “Not leaving a good impression on my first day here, I must say; I might have to take it up with my travel agent,” Nick jokes.
Maurice: “Oh, nonsense! Adventure is better than any five-star resort.” He winks “Though, I admit, Vegas is a lot of fun…so long as you keep your wallet close.”

…and revealed in the light, a body, slumped against the wall

Maurice drops his smile as the smell of death wafts over
Nick: “That’s a—” his eyes fall away from the bars onto the dead body.
Maurice: “Well…poor bastard here looks like he’s not having nearly as much fun as I am…was“
Anne makes a small sound and fights down her fear, reminding herself to be brave here and taking courage from their jokes as she looks around… then starts closer. “Is he…? oh! Oui. He is dead.”

The ripe smell of decomposition hits you; the body’s face is a mottled black bruise and bloated rot. He wears dirty jeans and a military fatigue coat, his guts torn open in the belly, sprawled against the tunnel wall.

Nick somberly steps closer and takes a look at the man. He makes a cross sign and mumbles a prayer for him.
Maurice: [Pretty fresh?]
Maurice bows his head along with Nick
Ken (GM): [pretty old; maybe as old as the attack, a week ago?]
Maurice: “Ain’t no sewer-mouse that did this…and you’re right…strange the cops weren’t looking for this poor soul. I guess whoever hid him did a good enough job.”
(To Nick): You feel he was a good soul; you see the glimmer of his silver cross hanging at his neck, beside his dog tags
Nick kneels down and inspects his dog tag to learn the man’s name. He leaves it where it is, though.
Maurice: “Anyone you know?”
Nick: “Nah, but people might be looking for him.” He gets up and takes a look at the hole.
Anne hesitates, unwilling to come closer. “Oui… We may be in the lair of some deep dwelling Ghoul or Ghast that preys on the homeless that sleep in places like that warehouse pipe-room?”
Maurice checks through the pipes
Maurice: “Or just a very bad person…but considering the snake and the book, I think your idea might be equally possible, Miss.”
Nick: “Looks to me like some… wild beast did that; his wound, and these metal bars.”

Maurice waves his flashlight through the nearby grate and reveals the next room. Cavernous and slimy green, and hiding a creature!

A man with red eyes and clawed hands, his skin mottled as bloody as the corpse! He bares fangs and lunges HISSING and HOWLING like a mad animal!

Ken (GM):INITIATIVE!
Maurice: rolling 1d6 + 5 (4)+5 = 9
Anne: rolling 1d6+5.75 (1)+5.75= 6.75
Nick: rolling 1d6+1+5,75 (4)+1+5= 10
Ken (GM):rolling 1d6 + 8 (4)+8= 12
REEEEEEEEEE

The thing hisses and scrabbles forward on hob-kneed legs! Claws out, it barrels down on Maurice!
It leaps for Maurice!

Maurice will attempt to dodge if it’s trying to hit
rolling 3d6 vs 8 (3+1+4) = 8
Maurice: Match!
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs dive tackle 16 (3+3+2) = 8

The thing sprawls forward, arms spread with clawed tips! Maurice JUST sidesteps the thing’s grasp and it lands in a frenzied tangle alongside him!

Ken (GM):NICK

Nick fast-draws his pistol! 15v12
Nick slow-draws his pistol!
Nick also takes a step back

Ken (GM) the gun catches on your belt, you have it in hand but waste precious moments!

Ken (GM): MOE-REESE
Maurice: I like Nicks idea. Fumblin’ for gun! [fast draw vs 11]
rolling 3d6 (6+3+4) = 13
Ken (GM): fumblegun!
in hand, but damn!
Maurice: nope, but I will pull it out for next round

Ken (GM): Annie!
Anne seems shocked by the horror but steps forward and lifts her hand. “Kenaz, salope!”
Anne rolls 3d6 vs 13 for Innate Attack
Anne: rolling 3d6 (4+2+2) = 8
Ken (GM):PEW PEW
Joush M.: At this range that hits, unless he defends

P.P.A.:I have bullets filled with garlic, apparently loading those takes an armory roll. I never specified what’s in my gun right now, but I guess it would be normal bullets since this is not a situation he expected to be in, exactly
Joush M.: Or we all explode
Ken (GM):lol
Maurice: [Jayne Cobb: I dun wanna explode!]

Green flames lick around the silvery magical fire, but the creature doesn’t dodge!
And you don’t all immediately die of sewer gas explosion!
Ken (GM):so a hit!

Anne conjures a blast of argent fire from her hand, draining the ring she’d so carefully crafted over the summer break. It should still have plenty of power left for the rest of the fight… if she did it right, anyway.
Anne: rolling 3d6 for Burn damage (4+3+4) = 11 Burn

BOOSH
The bolt of fire leaps from her hand, the lambent light ringed with green in the gassy cellar. The heat slams into the thing, flash frying it’s exposed back! It screams and boils!

Maurice laughs out in surprise but also joy at the young witches power
Ken (GM):rolling 3d6 vs HT 12 (3+4+4) = 11

Nick: “Vade retro satanas!” Nick yells at the monster; startled by the green fire, perhaps also at that.

Secondary POPS splatter out of the thing as something below it’s skin catches as well! The thing spasms, dying and chittering, and lies still, aflame…

it dies, screaming, shuddering to death in only a moment under the flames.

(To Anne): You have a moment of fear that you just killed a man with magic…but the claws, the fangs…this is not a man…

Maurice nods appreciatively, then glances between his own pistol and Nicks “I trust, having seen a sewer-ghoul, that we are close enough not to report each other for illegal firearms possession?” He chuckles and lowers his gun
Nick hastily switches his ordinary bullets for his garlic-filled ones. Just in case the monster starts moving again. “You okay Maury?”
Maurice steps back and nods, watching the monster burn for a moment
Nick: “Friend, this is America—well, the American continent at least. That’s good enough.”

In the dark of the cavern, you hear the trilling shrieks of an unknown number of other inhuman voices
REEEEE
REEEEE
REEEE
REEEEEEEEE
Maurice: “Oh yeah, he bit off a bit more than he could chew with that leap… but…it looks like he announced dinner was here.”
Anne stares in horror a moment, swallowing hard then shaking her head, taking a deep breath as if she’d forgotten to breath a moment and relaxing fractionally from the tension of the battle..

Ken (GM) UNTIL NEXT TIME! ON DRESDEN FILES!

---

Fiss: Gotta admit…having more fun with this character than I thought I would lol
Joush M.:I had a lot of fun too. Very different
Fiss: He’s a bit underpowered, but then I remember I’m auto-comparing him to a 3283283208 point elf-chick in the other campaign
Nick: This was really refreshing!
Ken (GM):And yet again we learn; fire magic is the best
P.P.A.:^
Fiss: lol
P.P.A.: I also had a few déjà-vus to my first TTRPG character, a Dwarven wizard in Pathfinder
who also had a penchant for eagerly opening doors and plunging into dark corridors
though having 6 STR, this was usually unwise
Ken (GM):”might be gold!”
>immediately falls down a 100 foot shaft
P.P.A.: In his case it was just autism though, in Nick’s case it’s boldness (or overconfidence, rather)
Ken (GM): sad trombone noises
P.P.A.: We once fought a boss who was waiting behind a door
Joush M.: When in dobut, burn ’em all
P.P.A.: My Dorf opened the door
and was punched in the face
and was KO and out of the battle for the rest of it
Joush M.: Man, that’s a dick boss. “Time for your yearly review!” Punch in the face
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Then he’s trying to kick you in the dick
Fiss: Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick
anyway, I’mma cook food so I don’t die at work
o/
Joush M.: Take care! See you next week
Thanks for the game Ken.
P.P.A.: Thanks for the session, very enjoyable
See ya Fiss!
Ken (GM):No, thank YOU guys
Good to stretch out in a different setting
even if it is full of ELDRITCH SECRETS already 😀
P.P.A.: and green fire again
but at least not raining from the sky yet

GrimWyrd; Conclusions

Ken (GM): mother of god
Joush M.: It’s been a long trip here to the end of the world
Ken (GM): Did you keep your receipts?
we cant send in a claim without your mileage
Joush M.: Ahh, it’s hard. You get into confusing results when you teleport
-11,000,000 miles
Ken (GM): did you fill out a T-73-b Recursive Relativity Form?
Joush M.: I tried, but it has a smaller T-73-b on it you also have to fill out
Ken (GM): right, and then you fill out the one on that….oh, I see the problem
Fiss, did at least YOU fill out your paperwork?
Fiss: I did. Sent them into the Memesphere, in quantumplicate
Ken (GM): Oh good, that’s got everyone covered then for the next quintillion instances….assuming of course, you remembered to initial the first copy?
Fiss: Natch

Ken (GM): whew
Doc will be in directly; he’s just main-lining some dutch midnight special
Fiss: I’m making a Jesus Hug now.
Just signed up for OT. Monday is going to be a bitch
gotta pay for that custom keyboard somehow
Ken (GM): ah yeah, life handed you lemons and now its time to hoop them all at up ya butt once
ayyy doc!
Doc: ey
P.P. A.: \o
Ken (GM): Well, I got a liter of coffee in me, no food, a bunch of nerds and we’re wearing sunglasses.
HIT IT
muffled explosions
Syviis: [Eeeelfmode]
Doc: human mode
Suðri Skornbrekker connects wires and presses buttons!

---

Ken (GM) Icy stillness hangs in the air; a light mist over the cooling pool of red blood, the drip of viscera falling from the ceiling quietly goes “plop” occasionally. The clink and tinker of the dwarf’s work in the console is the only other noise now. The fearful battle is behind you. Jadeite dead, IT dead, the wizards each decomposing now…

Gray shakes off the pain and fatigue. The invasion of that parasitic shard of IT had been a new high water mark for pain, a new agony to remember, and his body is still far from healed. The grim giant adjusting his damaged armor and bloodstained surcoat as he checks the others. Making sure they are ready. That they aren’t hurt. He nearly tells them they don’t have to do this. That they could still back out.. but nobody would, and there is nowhere to run.

Volk holds his head, still rocked from the psychic assault of the monstrous appendage. His men dead, the others stranded in the encroaching ur-night. He looks a bit out of his element, but grimly determined to stand with you

Syviis meditates quietly, but looks up from her thoughts to fuss over her friends and Volk
Syviis: “We will win the day. Not because the vile darkness is easy to defeat… but rather, we simply must.” Syviis looks to the bound Elementals and finds a strange kinship with them in this moment….they must be what they are. She and her friends will be victorious because they must be.
Syviis: [Elemental Dorf!]

Suðri Skornbrekker nods, half absorbed in his work—a welcome respite for the horrors; although there is not that much to do, and he seems satisfied as he gets up. HE notices Syviis glancing over to the elementals. “Oh right, so what is it with these? Do we free them? Are they still alive?”
Syviis: “They are powering our flight…but I’d like to see if we can release them once the journey is done.”
Suðri Skornbrekker makes an unhappy grimace and strokes his beard. “Aye; it wouldn’t do us any good to tumble to the ground.” He calls over to them: “My apologies that we must continue to abuse you so, if only for a little while longer.”

Ken (GM) the magical cages tremble with the power of the contained elementals; they see you with alien eyes and nearly human faces.

Gray nods in agreement, looking to the elements then to the others. “They will do their part and we will do ours.”

Ken (GM) With a CLINK Suðri finishes his work, and the portal thrums with power. No Darkness spreads here; it is a shimmering veil of the silvery golden light. Beyond lies the Ansible.

Volk: “Give me a hand up you big bastard” he holds out a bloody and greasy gauntlet to Gray “I’ll see you off if you’ll let me”
Gray reaches out and takes the man’s hand, dragging him up to his feet and nodding down to him, his other hand patting Volk’s shoulder. “Thank you. Without you and your men we couldn’t have gotten this far.”
Volk: “Yeah, I doubt we could have done any better than we did. At least we saved you a gate..” He looks at the mystical portal with a wonder glimmering in his good eye

Suðri Skornbrekker nods. “Without that in as good a condition, we would not be here now.”
Syviis: “Our most difficult part of this quest was finding allies….you and your men stepped up when hundreds of others chose to run or join the darkness.”
Roderick: “Now it is up to us to ensure that it does not go to waste.”
Bomrek: “This had better be the VERY last time I need to deal with any of this wizard shit” (says the dwarf clad in a living elemental creature bonded to his soul and body)
Syviis: “I am very much looking forward to continuing my studies of magic in a library for a long time…”

Gray nods to the others, then firmly in agreement with Roderick as he takes his sword and shield, standing ready beside the gate and whispering to nothing. “One more, Memory. One more ride before we rest.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “I better not be called in my old age to stop ‘Syviis the Mad Sorceress,’ Suðri laughs. Not that I think I could, anyway.”
Gray: “Worse. You will have to bow to the Elf Queen.”
Syviis blushes deeply and laughs
Bomrek: (“moo hoo ha ha”) *racks the slide on the magic rifle

Ken (GM): [through the gate?]
Gray walks though the gate.
Suðri Skornbrekker packs up his weaponry and steps through the gate, taking one last look at the carnage they’re leaving behind.
Syviis readies her arrows and follows her friends
Volk makes the second longest step through a magic portal in his life

Joush M.: And Roderick smashes the controls. “Fuck that, I’m not going.”
Ken (GM): (????)?????.
Doc: rod: “have fun guys”
Syviis: lol

Roderick goes through the portal as if walking through an ordinary door
Suðri Skornbrekker: “…we did not clean up before we left, did we?”

Ken (GM) the world bends and twists; you walk through the gateway and instead of stepping through the other side of the veil, you find yourself materializing in a familiar POP. Suddenly thrust back into existence in a very familiar yet still-alien way.

Cathedral windows behind you whistle on a dry wind, and crumbled stone around you shifts and crumbles as your sudden appearance jostles very broken ruins. Moss and wet growth clings to jagged stone and decomposed structures around you. Exposed magitek machinery thrums, hissing and sputtering nearby….and dead center, floating above it all, is IT
Syviis: “I wonder if IT remembers my promise….”

IT SPEAKS IN YOUR MINDS, YOUR THOUGHTS MINGLING.
“SO YOU HAVE RETURNED”
SPEAKS THE VOICE THAT TREMBLES BONES AND SOULS ALIKE

Suðri Skornbrekker shrugs nonchalantly.

Gray swallows hard, shaking off the twisting and wrenching transition of teleportation, catching himself after staggering a half step and looking around. Scenting the air and watching behind them a moment… then turning to the horror before them. Even more complicated and exposed, the great mass of the interdimensional horror among the magitek.

“How do..ugh!” He shakes off the touch of IT and speaks more. “How do we perform the Rite to restore the walls between worlds?”

Volk tips over and vomits, going CLUNK to the floor
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Poor fellow.” The dwarf steps out of the circle and begins to take a look at the machinery, wondering if his dorfcraft will enable him to understand it better. Meanwhile, he speaks:
“The witch told us to assemble the artifacts; meanwhile, the man we encountered in— ‘behind’ Academs said the Ansible could erase things from existence… thoroughly, back in time…? I wonder what the extent of that is: can we erase IT from this world? Or the Ansible, thus undoing all that has happened?”
Gray: “You get used to it.. or at least, less hurt by it.” He assures Volk, nodding to the man as he goes, taking a flask of water and offering it to him to rinse his mouth after he’d finished purging. The beast nodding thoughtfully. “We have to at least undo the breach we caused. Would that leave us fighting the lords of night and a host of dragons?”
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): You see the exposed pieces of…an engine. A massive Thaum Reactor. With a bigass hole in the focus chamber. Repairable, but…that’s certainly where the damage occurred. You see the control room in a new light now. The Ansible was certainly designed with Dwarven Progenitor tech in mind. It’s a mountainous thaum device…with IT in the middle
Suðri Skornbrekker walks around, seemingly inspired. “Interesting…” he mumbles to himself.

Volk: “Ohhhhh everything is upside down….”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Bring on the dragons, I say; we have faced worse, till now,” Suðri replies over his shoulder before mumbling something about this needing repairs to himself, biting on some scrap, and making some tools.
Gray walks over to Suðri . “Anything I can do to help?”

(From Roderick): would a thaumatology/occult/??? be appropriate here
(To Roderick): Certainly! You recall the controls to the device from the first time, but handling them again might give more insight. And considering what you’ve learned of dwarf-tech and the Darkness in your travels should help. roll vs Thaumatology at +2
Roderick: (To GM) rolling 3d6 vs 15 (4+4+3) = 11
(To Roderick): The device is a massive Thaum engine; like the dwarven gun’s power sources, or the Gate’s control boxes. IT is intersected in the power source, where a bloodstone or Thaum stone usually goes. The controls can be directed to target…well…anything you can define in reality. And then be used to [redact] that item
(To Roderick): You suspect, the first time you fired it off…you didn’t so much shoot [the bad guy on the dragon] as much as the [darkness tainted magical opponent] resulting in… that whole apocalypse

Ken (GM) Strange pieces of materiel appear in Suðri’s hand as he works, fitting perfectly in the places he affixes them.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Thanks, I think I can handle it.” He looks up briefly to explain: “It seems the makers of the Ansible mimicked the technology of the First Empire—maybe with the help of those Dreugar, exiles as they were.” He shrugs, musing on the past “The… accident we saw might have been because this chamber here was ruptured… or we caused that rupture ourselves, I’m not quite sure.” Suðri Skornbrekker tries to repair it, either way; and make this whole machine functional again. Suðri Skornbrekker: “That said, though I am getting an idea of how this works mechanically, my grasp on the magical aspects of it are shaky. All this thaum stuff, why can’t they just use power gems…?”

IT STRETCHES AGAINST THE CONTAINER, PRESSING INTO THE CRACKS AND SEAMS.
IT WILL BE FREE

Gray nods, laying out the Ogre blade beside the Gray blade, artifacts of two empires, gleaming there as he sets them down on the steps.

Bomrek keeps his weapon ready, his helmet’ed form scanning back and forth through the room, watching for trouble

Syviis walks up halfway on the steps and watches the ball of chaos pulse for a moment, almost pitying….almost. The faces of hundreds of its victims prevent anything but a desire to complete this quest and return Light to the land.

Volk half-crawls off the teleporting pad, sits and drinks water. He hiccoughs

(To Syviis): IT thrums with contained power. The red glow on the device billows magical essence out through the cracks, the great flowing lines of power bend entirely around this room. You suspect that it’s suffered a heavy blow, but the lines of power still flow in great powerful arcs, pulsing even through the stone walls.
Syviis: Can she see anything new in her training of magic circles and spirits now? The binding scripts, the circles….are their meanings clearer now?
(To Syviis): PER Roll!
Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 (6+4+5)= 15
(From Syviis): match
(From Syviis): ops, no
(From Syviis): fail by 2. Will be watching for a while, though, and if it’s magic….
(To Syviis): You’re not snow-blind from the glare, but it’s hard to spot. A magical tendril of power coming out of the reactor breach is, in fact, actually a dark physical tendril
Syviis frowns and begins to walk over to a spot cracked on the wall
Syviis: “Trying to wiggle free of your cage, vile thing?”

Ken (GM) the room trembles, and outside, thunder crackles in the distance KRAKOOM

Suðri Skornbrekker is meticulous in his work, knowing what depends on it.

(From Roderick): If I focused it on “the holes in reality” would that seem likely to fix things
(To Roderick): Theoretically, yes, you could direct the power of the device to the breach. Wanna prod at the controls?
Roderick steps up to the controls
(From Roderick): (yee)

Gray looks sympathetically to Volk, then the beast stands a wary guard. Ready to protect the ritual as Suðri tries to cobble together a working dwarf-PC from the busted magitek spare parts. “Need help there, Syviis?”
Syviis: “I don’t know yet.”
(From Syviis): if the power is leaking directly from IT, does this look any different magically? Or is this just like….a part of the power crystalizing in reality?

Ken (GM) here, you feel the radiating power of IT leaking from the device. Like the heat of an oven, the evil radiates off in waves, baking the air with a stench of pure hatred. IT slithers off Syviis like water from a duck; Your mind, a fortress.
(To Syviis): Likely, this hole needs to be repaired. Immediately. It’s backflow from the pumps
Syviis turns to the Dwarves
Syviis: “We should fix this…first.”

IT PRESSES AGAINST REALITY FROM THE CAGE OF THE DEVICE. THERE IS A CREAKING

Suðri Skornbrekker looks up, and walks over.
Gray moves over, ready to bash anything that comes out.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “…oh.”
Syviis swallows back any residual fear left in her and walks forward, ready to provide a shield of light for the others to patch the hole
Suðri Skornbrekker carefully nudges closer, tools in one hand, laser musket in the other.

IT SLITHERS BLACK TENTACLES FORM THE ENGINE, PRESSING AGAINST THE METAL WALLS

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Hmm…” He reluctantly leans over into the festering wound in reality, trying to see if some good ol’ metalcraft can fix it.
Syviis pulls out her Elder Staff and holds it at her side, knowing it a tool, but the power coming from all that IT isn’t.

While the party gathers round the tear in the machine, Roderick continues on his own path toward the controls of the Ansible, up on the platform

(To Roderick): Thaumatology +4!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 17 (4+2+2)= 8
(To Roderick): No doubt about it; the controls spring to life in your hands; the last setting was a vaguely focused blast of something like 50% power. Twisting a few dials and knobs, you find the hole in reality without much difficulty. And the device makes a lot more sense now. The power can be used in a few ways…
(To Roderick): You can [redact] something from [reality], focused in or out from that definition. You can also un-[redact] things removed with the device. You see only two items hovering in the buffer, [your enemy] highlighted as ‘previous target’, and [the mortal foes of Greyhold, their destinies, and futures] as another previous entry, some two hundred+ years ago
(To Roderick): As well…you seem to have control enough to…[uncouple power source and sever connection] whatever that is
Roderick puzzles over the controls intently

The tentacles recoil from Syviis’ power! They retreat inside the engine, through the hole.
Syviis: “I told you,” she says to the Dark Thing. “When you finally crawl back to your lair across the void…I want you to remember every moment we resisted you, and when you become hungry enough…our light will taint your tongue so you stay put.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “That makes it easier.”
Suðri Skornbrekker steps closer and sees if he can fix the hole while IT recoils.
Syviis steps up with the Dwarf, ready to react if she sees It shift towards him

Ken (GM) The dwarf works, quickly and with purpose. Strips of metal sliding from his hands and fusing with the engine as he massages the device back to order. The hole seals, piece by piece, the darkness at bay with Syviis’ influence

Gray watches and nods. The beast relaxing a touch when the heavy pipe is repaired.

Ken (GM) the wizards Rodericks hands delicately move between floating magic symbols and spheres

Syviis relaxes slightly once the Dwarf finishes up, and looks around at the metal and magic to see if there is need for symbols as well as metal to be replaced

IT GROWLS, trembling the room with the volume, small stones showering around you from the roof. The noise, now, it more muted and real.

Suðri Skornbrekker closely looks over his work and delicately moves his fingers over the closed-up gap to make sure it is thoroughly sealed. If it is, he looks smug.
Ken (GM): [smugness intensifies]
Suðri Skornbrekker turns to Syviis: “Thank you, that was close. If you detect any other leaks, please tell me.” The dwarf walks back over to the control area to continue his work there, or to finish it up and double-check everything.
Gray: “Good work, Suðri . I’ll keep an eye out for trouble and let you know if I see anything.”
(To Gray): The spirits here are at bay, held behind some invisible walls. Outside…there is a swirling river of them, clinging to the Anisble like fog to a mountainside…
(To Syviis): Roll PER+talent!
Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 (1+4+3) = 8
(From Syviis): that’s 8 on 17
(To Syviis): Scanning the room, there are fissures in the container, but they seem okay for now. When IT presses against, they’re holding. The device should operate normally, whatever it may do
Syviis meditates for a moment, looking through the swirl of chaos around them “We should be good…there are other cracks, but no breaches.

Roderick: “Our previous use of the Ansible seems to have used only half of its potential strength. Imprecisely focused, as well. I should be able to focus the Ansible’s power of erasure on the breach in reality. Or anything else, if there are better ideas.”
Gray looks beyond the windows, out at the spirts that swarm around this place, a slow breath taken as he does, then nodding to Roderick. “I have no better idea.”
Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard: “Well let us review: Deloth Ainur said that the Ansible could be used like a fine tool, a chisel. But we used it more like a sledge hammer, or rather, a battering ram.”

(To Roderick): PER+talent?
Roderick: (To GM) rolling 3d6 vs 15 (1+1+3) = 5
(To Roderick): NICE CRIT
(To Roderick): The breach is definitely targetable; you also notice, when you begin to focus on IT…you can actually target IT in entirety. You might be able to actually turn the device, powered by evil, against the evil!
(To Roderick): You’re not certain what “shooting the ammunition with the gun” might do though…

Suðri Skornbrekker: “We were trying to kill the scores of dragons and their leader; presumably Roderick’s command amounted more to something like ‘attack everything in the vicinity,’ which laid waste to the entire surroundings…”
Gray nods to Suðri .
Suðri Skornbrekker: “That IT seeped into our world could have been the result of our flawed command, or, of this flaw in the machine that I am repairing right now. If it was already there when we entered the Ansible, well…”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “We also know from [REDACTED] that the Ansible has the power to erase things from this world, past present and future whole.”
Syviis: “Time is a terrifying target…but there must be a way to use this power to expel the Darkness. Open back up the hole and pump it back through like bilge-water.”

Roderick: “I could also focus its power on… ITself.”
Suðri Skornbrekker raises an eyebrow. “Oh my.”

Gray: “Ambitious.. destroying the breach seems safer. Destroying IT..” He looks to the massive thing pressing at the very walls of reality. “Would be very satisfying.”
He looks back to Roderick the wizard “Do we have the power to do such a thing?”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “I think we can agree that the three things we need to erase are the Darkness from our world; the rift between the worlds; and then the Ansible itself. Now as for the order of things… With IT powering the Ansible…” Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard.

(From Syviis): anything in Lore I know of?
(To Syviis): Elf-lore speaks of the Ansible in very romanticized terms, with ballads and songs being the typical items of note. Gimme a roll?
Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 (5+6+6)= 17
(From Syviis): lololol
(From Syviis): MY ELF LORE HAS FAILED ME
(To Syviis): LOL the ballad of Bilbo Baggins gets stuck in your head
Syviis begins humming what might be a song related to Hobbits

Suðri Skornbrekker: “If we repair the breach, will IT disappear automatically? Will the Darkness here within the Ansible remain? …if we remove IT first, will we unable to power the Ansible to erase the breach?”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “…and how do the artifacts the Witch told us of factor into it?”
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): Also, what did the witch mean by “the collected magical works of mortals as power”? You’re missing something…

(From Roderick): any way to know if I can use it more tha- actually yeah just answering the dwarf’s question. Thaum?
(To Roderick): not even a roll: Logically, IT powers the Ansible. The breaches allow IT to enter reality. Closing holes don’t push out the spills.

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Perhaps they restrain and control the Darkness during the process somehow?”

Gray rubs a hand across his hair and tries to think it past. “The breach first. The world is filled with darkness and horror. Every moment we delay.. things get worse. Items of great power might be needed to fuel this thing for the final act if IT is banished.”
Ken (GM): [!!!]
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Actually, do we— We have the Grey Blade, Grey’s blade, Syviis’ Elven staff… Was the Dwarven artifact our own armors?”
Syviis: “I wish I could remember tales other than what the old elves who set this contraption onto the south lands told me….” sighs
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Ooh!” Suðri is excited at Grey’s comment: “That is it!”
Syviis looks between the two and blinks.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “We use the artifacts to fuel the Ansible to banish the Darkness, which, logically, cannot serve as the power source for that process.”
(To Roderick): The controls have an option; you can uncouple the current power source, to use another
(From Roderick): i.e. close the breach and then use the artifacts to destroy IT?
(To Roderick): That could work
Ken (GM): [!!!]
Syviis looks down at the staff resting in her hands and smiles
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Or to complete the process, in any case.”
Syviis: “That’s brilliant.”
Syviis: “Even us Elves know enough forging to know…the brightest, hottest fuel is not the charred, fouled ash.”

Gray nods and looks to the sword, gaze running along the marks on the ogre blade. “You served loyally and well.. one last task then.” He brings it to Suðri , setting it beside the dwarf.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Seeing how the Grey blade is grey indeed and lacking its power, we first need to use the Darkness as fuel to repair the breach, however. …I think.”
Roderick: “I can certainly hook the Ansible to another power source.”
Suðri Skornbrekker looks up: “The Fey sword?” Suðri Skornbrekker looks a bit skeptical.

(To Roderick): “Anything with an aura” you think, could be targeted. Even living souls
(From Roderick): Is Suðri correct that using IT as a power source to close the breach could have negative consequences?
(To Roderick): You’re not quite sure on that one; IT appears to have been pressing against the device’s influence as IT has been used. The original design never intended to use pure evil as a power. Only the potential energy of the negative space it occupied, which turned out to be occupied full of evil.
Roderick furrows his brow, thinking
Suðri Skornbrekker: “The witch spoke of mortals’ craft, not sure if mixing yet another otherworldly force into it will do much good… but you are the magician among us and know your blade better than we do.” He pauses for a moment Suðri looking at Roderick: “Did you not… say that you found your blade in the tomb of an old Dwarven hero?”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Or was that that spear…”
Roderick: “I found the sword a few moments before I met you.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Uh.” Suðri strokes his beard. “Did we not have some kind of magic spear?”

P.P. A.: the lost plot device
Ken (GM): [:p]
P.P. A.: GM notes in the wind
Ken (GM): IF the GM recalls correctly
That particular item passed on to Roderick
And in the ebb and flow of events, it seemed to pass from everyone’s notice
(To Roderick): Your blade seems to giggle a bit, mischievously
P.P. A.: I remember Rod picked up some item at some Dwarven warrior’s tomb, and that’s also where the Fey contacted him. Then he was beamed to us, and told us about it.
Either Roderick found that spear in that tomb and was then given a sword
or… didn’t we also take some shiny weapon from a statue underground in the Dreugar fort, near the chained demon in the lava pit?
Ken (GM): lol
Doc: he picked up the sword before getting beamed to you
Ken (GM): oh man, what a blur
Doc: I don’t remember any spears
P.P. A.: I’m pretty sure there was a spear somewhere in there
If it seemed important, we would have carried it with us
Doc: Rod has Eidetic Memory but I don’t
P.P. A.: and it’s difficult to displace a spear, these are big and clunky to carry
Ken (GM): lol
Falkirk found it, at the VERY first demonic-ruin you all routed
P.P. A.: Rod might remember then; or maybe Grey has it in his luggage, he’s the only one who wouldn’t notice carrying a spear with him tucked away somewhere
ooh
Ooh, right
Falkirk held it and was experimenting with it
Ken (GM): That spear, when Falkirk passed out from dark magic at the Dreugar temple, DID get passed to Rod
P.P. A.: and didn’t really know what to do with it, only that it was fascinating and magic
(To Roderick): The sword is full on laughing
Gray checks for anything else that might fuel magic in their things. Exploring among the packages and heavy weapons, the food and medical supplies.
Ken (GM): right

---

At this point, a side discussion out of character happens in discord, revealing that, yes in fact there has been a GM note sitting around for at least one real life calendar year, vis a vis the Spear and the Sword

---

Ken (GM) Materializing into sight, hidden on Roderick’s shoulder, where it’s been hidden in plain view for gods only know how long…is the Fae spear.
An ethereal giggle flows on the air, from Roderick’s vicinity. The voice is cherubian, and gleeful
(To Roderick): “I was waiting for you to notice, and here it is, as soon as you asked”
(To Roderick): “Forgive my Jealousy, m’lord”

Syviis looks over at the Dwarves and to Rod…sighing that she will be hearing more about ‘Wizard Shit’ shortly
Suðri Skornbrekker won’t complain this time, since the party will be engaging in big time wizardy shit very soon themselves.
Bomrek is patently being quiet, smoking his pipe, but nodding slowly

Gray has always been uneasy around the Fae powers, but bows his head to the voice and won’t complain about the aid here in this darkest hour, the towering beast looking at the gleaming, lovely weapons then turning to look around them again. “Good. Good.”

Ken (GM): [The GM has been waiting a YEAR for the spear to be mentioned. A YEAR]
(To Gray): Ive seriously been waiting FOREVER for someone to mention the spear out loud, so the Fae joke could resolve. ITS BEEN FOREVER

Suðri Skornbrekker: “I need to figure out where to put these artifacts to power the Ansible when we banish IT, and maybe craft a circuit myself. In any case, I could disconnected this from the rest of the Ansible and do a test run, wherein I just stick our artifacts into it and see if it explodes; if it does not, it is probably safe to reconnect it to what should certainly not explode.”
IT: “NO”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Or, er… Basically, I can test whether it works in a way that does not end catastrophically if it does not work.”
IT: “DOENOOOOOOOOOOOT….”
Suðri Skornbrekker looks up to IT.
IT: “NNNOOOOOOOOOOO”
P.P. A.: [Does IT sound sincere or sarcastic?]
IT drags the voice through the air like talons on glass, the words slurred in hatred, impotent rage
Syviis: [Reverse Psychology…EVIL EDITION]
Suðri Skornbrekker: “You do not get a say in this,” the Dwarf scolds the eldritch horror barely trapped behind a thin, cracked sliver of reality
Syviis grins proudly at the Dwarf

P.P. A.: [given how last time we were here, it was just FREEEE MEEEE, I don’t think IT is very good at reverse psychology; unless it learned from the humans IT possessed]

Gray shakes his head, the scream echoing inside his mind.. then a wolfish snarl, nearly cheered at that… then working to arrange the weapons. “I don’t know.. two swords. a staff. a spear.. four items. Points of a pentagram, if we had one more. With four, cardinal directions, in a circle to contain and guide the magic?”
(To Syviis): Gray makes a solid point, Thaumatologically, its stronger

Suðri Skornbrekker sticks his head and hands back into the machinery. A “clong” can be head as he raises his head, and some muffled Dwarven curses as he emerges and walks over to the magic circle they came through.

Suðri Skornbrekker inspects it closely and traces invisible lines on—or under—the floor.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “…maybe this is it.”

Ken (GM) The circle rearranges itself

Gray shakes his head, the world seeming to sway drunkenly a moment as he looks to the circle before the beast nods to Suðri , walking closer. “Tell me what to do.”

Suðri Skornbrekker steps back. “Syviis and Roderick have more expertise when it comes to magic circles, but we probably need to place the artifacts on this in some manner. …when we do, I will be next to the machinery, ready to cut it off if we are doing it wrong and I notice any dangerous powers coursing through the system.”

Bomrek sighs, steps to the edge of the circle, and plants his magitek rifle on one point.

Syviis moves to one point and holds the staff for a moment, whispering a few elvish words of thanks before placing it down
Syviis: [translation: “Thanks, Stick-Bro!”]
Ken (GM): [“S’all gud bruv”]

Gray nods, placing the ogre blade down carefully. Not because it’s fragile, but because of the ritual. The Gray Blade is held respectfully as well.. a symbol of his homeland, he lays it in place carefully, then steps back.

Syviis looks over the circle once more in case anything looks out of place, but trusts the craft and will of her friends as well

Suðri Skornbrekker keeps a careful eye on the machinery before him, wary of any energies that are flowing through it, and ready to intervene in case it overheats or surges dangerously.

Volk eyes the Grey Blade, and you all. “May I?”
Gray nods. “Yes., please.”
Gray risk a joke. Voice rough and warm. “I think that makes you king now. Long may you reign.”
Volk belches a bit, and steps back groggily “How regal am I”
Syviis: “Much nicer than the last ‘King'” smiles
Volk: “Yeah, fuck that guy, deserves an arrow in the heart”
Syviis thumbs up
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Less vomit on his clothes would befit His Majesty, but ’tis a step up from being covered in Darkness manifest and the blood of the innocent.”

Ken (GM): [the spear too?]
Joush M.: Roderick’s turn
Roderick nods and does his wizard thing
P.P. A.: putting down a spear on the ground doesn’t need wizard skills tho
Ken (GM): [the spear is also ferried over to the circle then?]
Roderick: [yeah and then the thing with the controls]
Ken (GM): ah, gotcha

Suðri Skornbrekker mumbles: “No leaks… all the wires are connected… wizard shit is doing wizard shit… running low on booze…”

Ken (GM) The magic circle glows with ruddy power where each of the artifacts is placed; the thrum grows and sings with power as they join the chorus of eldritch power in the room. IT struggles against the container as you work, futile, and the flesh quivers in a new feeling now, witnessing your work

IT is afraid

The switch is pulled, and Roderick guides the flow of power through the Ansible of Spirits. As the thrum of magic pulses in and out of your magical offering, you hear the ebb of power wane behind you, and IT shrinks from reality, seeming to step further and further away from the world as the seconds drain on

Gray growls at that, feeling it. Looking at the monster pressing at the world then standing tall and ready there, even as blood stains his surcoat and his body only slowly knits from the brutal wounds. He watches, every moment, as IT recedes.

Ken (GM) In a few heartbeats the vessel where IT was is now empty, unreal, a hole in reality no longer occupied by pure hate.

Then…

…A mote of power, glowing with the octarine color of your magic, appears in that void. Roderick tunes the controls and the room HUMS

Suðri Skornbrekker looks up, briefly, from monitoring the machinery. “Oh, IT is gone? Let us close the door behind it, and seal it tight!”
Suðri Skornbrekker notices magic happen, and ducks back into the wiring to make sure nothing is behaving strangely.
Syviis watches with excitement, praying in a whisper for all the souls and lives resting on this to help guide our friend

Ken (GM): Rod!
Doc: rolling?
Ken (GM): there appears to be a foreign object in the control box…it is dwarf shaped
lol

Suðri Skornbrekker notices some funny tickles. “I think I should not be in here now.” He gets back out, and takes one last look. “Seems to be holding up.”
Suðri Skornbrekker eats a few nails and pops out some screws, and screws the cover back on.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Good enough, I hope.” Fearless though he is, the dwarf cannot hide some excitement—a curious mixture of anxiety and giddy excitement. If this works, it is finally over. If not… well, then it is probably also all over, but in a different way.

Gray hasn’t prayed in a long time. His rough, deep voice speaking softly. “Lady of the Light.. Please. Just make us strong enough to finish this.”
Gray: “Thank you, Suðri . You did good work.”
Syviis: “You all did.” smiles brightly “We all did.”
Suðri Skornbrekker turns around. “Indeed; we did our best; let us hope that it is good enough.”

Ken (GM): right, so rod, doing the thing?
Syviis: [Rod has Luck, right? lol]
Ken (GM): hahah
Doc: (“the thing” being “slamming the door behind IT,” yeah?”)
Joush M.: Closing the breach in reality, yeah. If there’s any juice left we can try to clean up other things..
Ken (GM): ^
target:[the veil]
doing: [fix that shit]
Syviis: [Proverbial Dog-Doo-Doo-Bag, turn it inside out to pick up the shit, then dispose of both]

Gray stares at the machine that was created to steal fire from the gods.. or perhaps to grant wishes like some fucked up machine genie. Having not gotten their prayers answered by the gods they had, men created their own.

Roderick focuses on the controls, trying not to let the gravity of his task distract him from its execution
Ken (GM): [invoking: Execute>Gravity]
Doc: no don’t execute gravity, we need that
P.P. A.: It’s okay, I have enough points saved up to buy a few levels in G-Tolerance or something

Syviis turns her attention from the machine, and thinks to all the poor souls sacrificed both willingly and unwillingly… and all the thousands more who are in danger. They will all see justice, and peace from this horror

Ken (GM) The controls hum under Rod’s influence, and focus the great Ansible on the Veil, the tears in the world broken through by its use. The thrum and flow of magic turns and swirls as the great device again comes to power. Finally, after a few sweating-bullets moments, Rod is quite sure he has the target selected, and the power set

Suðri Skornbrekker ‘s stare alternates nervously between the giant chamber full of magic energy, Roderick, and the covered-up machinery.

Gray rest a massive hand on his sword and braces himself for whatever might come next.

Ken (GM): [Fire? Y/N?]

Roderick: [Y]

There is a BOOP

Ken (GM) A great swirling cyclone of energy kicks up; not tangible wind, but POWER rushing around you in a great vortex of energy the like of which you have never felt before. Your souls twist and bend against the torrent, pulled along with the flow, bits and pieces of reality swirling in the great howling power all around you!

The pentacle of items glows red-hot, fiercely channeling the magic contained within, siphoned out to the engine around you.

P.P. A.: [I’d say “it’s one of those days”, but right now it’s probably many of those days all at once in the span of a few moments]

Ken (GM) the power rushes out, through you, through the magic, and there is a great Happening

P.P. A.: IT’S HAPPENING

Gray feels himself pulled, trying to stop himself a moment then realizing he should instead go with it. He lets the magic catch him and pull him along rather then try and fight as the power swells.

Suðri Skornbrekker sighs.

Ken (GM) the glow recedes, and you find yourself suffused with light, floating in the power. It tickles the air around you, and holds you in it’s embrace

Volk: “What the shit”
Syviis looks around and laughs “Not many days go by I haven’t asked myself that.”
Suðri Skornbrekker looks tired and resigned. “Well, we were not swallowed by Darkness, so…”

Ken (GM) in all directions, you are suffused with light. Pure, white and clean
(To Syviis): GUESS what kind of light? Three tries, the last two don’t count

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Roderick, it is not that the moment you banished the Darkness but at the same moment some kind of Light invaded the world, right?” the Dwarf asks half-jokingly, sounding tired.

Gray turns and looks around quietly, feeling like he almost shouldn’t be here. Getting all the endless light dirty. He releases the sword and brushes a hand though his hair, undoing the latches on his mask and slipping it off. “Such a strange place.”

A voice emanates from the light
“Thank you for repairing the damage to your Sphere”
“We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Suðri Skornbrekker smiles a little. “Who is ‘we’?”

“A previous restore point has been found”
“Implement restore point?”

Syviis lets out a long breath and nods
Gray: “Ah.. We did only what was required.” He says softly, feeling awed by the light.. and the voice that seems so calm now. A moment later he looks to Roderick. “You speak to the device itself, I think. The created god”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Tell us more about that restore point.”

“Query accepted: Point created at critical juncture. Several rogue elements implementing long reaching variables and factors in physical environment. Item known as “Ansible of Spirits” in local vernacular. Restore point created in case unviability of simulation reached”

Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard and tries to understand the cryptic language. “Well, the Ansible was certainly ‘unviable’…”
Gray looks thoughtful, tilting his head to the side as he listens. “It speaks as if all that is and was is a simulation. Some dream”

VREET-chirp “Incorrect: This simulation contained in physical space”

Roderick: “If there are any scholars left, surely this would raise and answer many of their questions”
Suðri Skornbrekker wants to laugh at his remark, but realizes that, well, all the scholars are dead and it’s their fault; he hangs his head.
Bomrek thoughtfully smokes his pipe, floating in the void
Syviis: “There will always be good and evil in the hearts of mortals and magic…but I hope at least the Darkness is…for now…sealed beyond our world. Is this so? Or does it still claw its way through the desires of Mortals?”
Gray falls silent, realizing he could ask a thousand questions without getting where he should, his hand running though his hair again and well satisfied to let Syviis speak to that voice in his hesitance.

“Foreign variable contained and purged from simulation.”

Suðri Skornbrekker breathes a sigh of relief.
Syviis lets out a glad sigh
Suðri Skornbrekker: “It would be lovely if all the horrors it caused were gone with it… if not the Ansible itself, which long ago laid to ruin the southern lands.”
Syviis: “May I ask….in our timeline…how far back this ‘point’ is?”

“Query accepted: Local chronological index reset equal to local time variable:
TWO-HUNDRED-FIFTY-YEARS”

Syviis swallows back a gasp in her throat “Two….and a half…centuries?”

“Correct. ” the voice chirrups

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Phew…”
Roderick: “Far enough back to stop the Ansible from being used in the first place, against the beastmen…”
Syviis: “That is a …lot of time to repair. ” nervously “When it was just the future…this quest seemed so much easier.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “…the Darkness has wreaked such havoc… I know not if our world can rebuild as it is, if we refuse this, but…”
Gray chuckles softly. “I think we all came here ready to pay any price. This seems like a… strange one, but acceptable”

Chirrup-click “Current timeline still considered viable; extrapolation of current variables indicates 87.6% compliance with expected outcomes. Viable candidate for contact protocol and elevation of simulation to real-space”

Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard. He looks up and turns to his friends. “If we make this choice… and, well, history is rewritten without us in it… I thank the Allfather that the one time I did exist, I could be with you, friends.”
Gray: “That’s.. a 12 some per-cent chance we don’t exist if we use the restore? That seems like the best odds we’ve had to survive this.” He says thoughtful. “Real-space?”

“False. The Simulation may be reset to restore point, or simulation may continue on current course.
INPUT REQUIRED”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “’tis a hard choice, though. We did set out to undo what we had caused, but to undo another couple hundred years beyond that…”
“Although this may be what it takes to truly rid the world of the Darkness and the Ansible for good.”
Gray nods and claps Suðri on the shoulder. “I’m with you. Until the end.”
Roderick: “The Darkness penetrated our world the first time it was used. Our second use was within its plan.”

Syviis nods
Suðri Skornbrekker nods.

Syviis: “No matter what, the Darkness is gone. It could still be coaxed back should things restart, but we would have a chance to remove the primary tool used and let the next centuries play out without a dark hand on them. Or, we go home…and begin repairing what we can now.
Roderick: “We can’t simply turn back the clock and expect the hands to move in a different direction. We’d have to prevent this future, somehow. Or we can keep pushing forward.”
P.P. A.: [We didn’t complete the side quest of returning all the silver swords to Quicksilver though, we’d be missing out on that achievement]
Ken (GM): lol
99% FUCK
Doc: >the one you missed is in the unreachable tutorial level

Syviis: “May I ask….if we go back to this Restore Point…would we be sent back as we are now?? Or would we need to be born again, or grow again?”
Syviis: [asking the IMPORTANT questions….TRY TO STOP THE ANSIBLE AS BABBIES!]

Chirrup-click-whirrrr
“Simulation parameters not exceeded by inclusion of [6] variables. Acceptable modification”

Suðri Skornbrekker smiles.
Syviis: “Well…at least I wouldn’t have to go through awkward thirteen-aged Elf Puberty again.” whispers to herself “So…much….moody….harp music”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “We might as well go through with it, then; we would not return to the world we know, but the world we know is littered with corpses and in ruin, anyway.”
“And we could be purging it of all the wizard shit for good!”
“Hah, how is that, ancient evil wizards!”

Gray seems surprised, having not realized that was an option. He nods firmly, somberly as he rest a hand on his sword. “We have our duty still. To protect the world and the light, no matter how poorly I understand the Created God’s words.”
Roderick: “We’d fare much better against reality-breaking wizard nonsense if the wizards are alive and haven’t broken reality yet,” Roderick smiles.
Syviis: “Regardless of what happens, should we change the past, I am confident those thousands…maybe millions of souls…are better off living, and not being used as fuel for the ‘IT’. I think our memories would be an acceptable casualty… but I am equally willing to fight forward with you all instead of heading behind.”

Suðri Skornbrekker nods.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “You raise a good point; so many souls were dragged beyond our world; rebuilding will not bring them back, but preventing these events might.”

Syviis nods
Syviis: “We were unable to save so many. This may be the only way.”

Bomrek: “to save the original dwarven empire…” he trails off, awestruck
Syviis smiles at the Dwarf’s enthusiasm

Gray takes a deep, slow breath. “We are in accord then. To use the Restoration.”
Syviis: “I could meet my elders…and scold them haha”
“Yes, I think I’d like that…”

Suðri Skornbrekker puffs his chest. “This is sounding quite good. If there are no objections, I am in favor!”
Bomrek: “Aye”
Syviis: “Let us make a pact, then….to use the future that crumbled as a lesson.”
“And to remake it in Light, not Darkness.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Indeed!”

Bomrek: “And kill all wizards, ‘pon sight”
Syviis glares at Bomrek
Syviis: “How about just the bad ones?”
Bomrek withers a bit
Bomrek: “right”
Syviis smiles
Gray nods to Roderick. “We’ve had a very good wizard here.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “To the degree we can discern them.”
Syviis: “But…I promise to help you with the bad ones.”
Roderick: “I only destroyed the world the once,” Roderick nods.
Suðri Skornbrekker laughs.
Bomrek: “Aye, and diligently worked to fix your horrible screwup. Commendable. Nearly dwarven”
Roderick: “If only other wizards were so fastidious in cleaning up their messes.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “’tis why us Dwarves do not bother with wizardry; it is good to solve the problem it creates, but in the end it is inefficient and just creates trouble!”

Syviis smiles and closes her eyes, well at peace with the decision.
Roderick: “One step forward, two hundred fifty steps back, then?”

Suðri Skornbrekker looks down on his armor. “[You coming too?]” he asks in Dwarven
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): 🙂

Chirrup “Input required”

Gray: “We don’t get to chose everything. We just play the cards we are given. I think it’s waiting for your command, Roderick.”

Suðri Skornbrekker nods to himself assertively.

Roderick: “Initiate system restoration,” Roderick commands the voice.

Ken (GM) a pulse of white, and then a few moments later, another. Warmth flows around and through you. Pure white, clean and untainted. Waves of it rushing, over and over, the flow of waves, the crash of the surf…..

Syviis: Watches the world with curious eyes be reborn

“Restore initiated, new variables calculated and interpolated. Commencing reset in 3…
2….
1…..”

Ken (GM) UNTIL NEXT TIME

---

Joush M.: We find out how much we fucked up the world!
Fiss high-fives everyone, then runs
Joush M.: Good game!
Fiss: later my dudes!
P.P. A.: THANKS FOR THE SESSION (AND CAMPAIGN [so far])
Doc: wew
Ken (GM): 😀
Fiss! go to work, sorry for making you tardy!
P.P. A.: I was sad that GrymWyrd was going to end, but when we closed the door on the Darkness, the opened the door to a sequel!
Ken (GM): GrimWyrd 2: Electric Boogaloo!
P.P. A.: Now with more electricity and less darkness
Ken (GM): hopefully,
HOWEVER
this totally begs the question
Doc: “This time, with Boogaloos”

Ken (GM): Ive been poking the group with the prospect of concluding GrimWyrd for now; Doc has mentioned an interest in taking a break, as he needs to go campaigning?
Gray: I do like our Saturday game. I could support the idea of doing other things though
P.P. A.: I’m okay either way. I very much enjoyed GrimWyrd, but we’ve also reached a good point to take a break, especially if Ken might need one.
Doc: It’s not a desperate need, I just can’t start a new years-long Saturday game in good faith within the next couple of months.
Ken (GM): yeah, I get that feeling. Committing to a 4 hour weekly weekend time investment is rough when real life needs the same time
I am totally cool with running Dresden files for a while (or another game, really) if You want a break Doc
Doc: Continuing GrimWyrd is fine if that’s what this is doing
P.P. A.: Too bad I spent half of my semester break playing Hacker’s Memory instead of preparing enough of my setting so I could try hosting something
Ken (GM): Well, you guys were wrong with the conjecture that I need to do some fundamental campaign writing to make the second coming cool
P.P. A.: I just realised
You probably wrote (or noted) all kinds of history for the setting’s background
and now we might actually play through that background live
Doc: wew
P.P. A.: That must be satisfying :3c
Ken (GM): well, its like a MArvel/DC continuity shift. Both exist, and in context affected each other. So yeah, time to see “what would happen if Bomrek shot every wizard ever?”
P.P. A.: :DDDD
Ken (GM): Though, If I’m revisiting GrimWyrd, I’m of the opinion of shoving you guys into a new contextualized party too
not to say your over-involved 400 point demigods by now, but man, you guys have shoved through to the other side of two years of gaming
they won
frame em and put em on the shelf
goddman
Certainly earned their place as fundamental world shaping NPCs
P.P. A.: Good point
Doc: it’s fucking bizarre dealing with a campaign that might actually be ending
P.P. A.: I still have 40 unspent points though :DDDD
Ken (GM): hahahah
Doc: been playing tabletop games for nearly a decade and this has never happened
Ken (GM): ever?
P.P. A.: In any case, I’d be happy to play again next Saturday and the Saturdays thereafter, be it as Suðri or as a new character; but we’ve also reached a satisfying ending so if anyone wants to take a break, I’d be okay with that too
Gray: I’m amazed it came to a reasonble conclusion to a long arc
Doc: Yeah we always just kinda stop playing otherwise
Ken (GM): sheeit, good point. Ive ‘completed’ maybe….this and one other? To satisfaction of the story?
P.P. A.: I’ve been in eight or so campaigns
Ken (GM): [PPA, such accomodating, much nice, wow]
Gray: That’s a mind blower. Most of the time even when they come to an end it’s a explosion of madness
P.P. A.: Some never even made it to four–five sessions
Ken (GM): >player rage
scheduling
idiocy
drama
yeaaaaah…
P.P. A.: The only one that actually concluded was a short MAID campaign that spanned, I think, three sessions total.
Doc: Actually that’s probably the best way to put it for me – I’ll continue playing Rod or retire him as needed, but I won’t be able to make a new Saturday character for several months.
P.P. A.: Well, and now GrimWyrd!
Doc: Continuing with Rod would be fulfilling a commitment I’ve already made, making a new character would be making a commitment I can’t expect to fulfill
Ken (GM): nods understood Doc; Ill definitely consult on his NPC actions, being the fae-touched wizard from the future that he is
I’m also kinda leaning on you guys continuing Dresden files
sad self indulgent GM face
three sessions in and you guys haven scraped the surface of that one
Gray: I do like that one, and she is a huge break from playing Gray

P.P. A.: and I’m going to bed
Thanks, and good night \o

---

And thus concluded GrimWyrd; the first in what would become the cosmology of Shattered Worlds, a Sphere alone in the void of the universe, tainted by elemental evil, purged by the heroism of the mortal residents within.

This game was formative: not only because many of the players would go on to become regulars in much of my campaigns run online, but also because it set the stage for much of the floating amorphous ideas that would crystalize, soon. Inspirations drawn from so many sources, and falling into place, one by one.

Stay tuned; up next will be more campaign logs from the next concurrent chapter: Dresden files Montreal 1980. A tale of horror, dread, cold and mystery. A smaller tighter squad of players (for a time, you’ll see) which exercises in both my skill in online gaming culture, as much as interpersonal management.

Until next time…

Grimwyrd: Brutality

Fiss: Moo Ha haha
Ken (GM): THUNDER
LIGHTNING
Fiss: Very very frightening!
Ken (GM): SPILLED CANS OF JACK AND JOLT
(have I gone too far?!?!)
Fiss: NooooooOOOO!
I mean…
NOOOOOOOOO!
Ken (GM): Good lord it is hot in my office today for some reason
ayyy, gang’s all here
TO DIE
Doc: oh no
Ken (GM): OH YES
Syviis: [TIS A GOOD DAY TO DIE! ]
Ken (GM): v8 engine revving intensifies
Joush M.: If I’m dying today I’m dying historic on the fury road.
Ken (GM): WITNESSED
so, everyone ready to dive RIGHT THE HELL BACK INTO HELL?!
Gray is ready
Suðri Skornbrekker is even ready to shoot, having ended the last session aiming at Jadeite
Ken (GM): hint hint
lol
Doc? Is Master Roderick the Brave ready for his trials and tribulations?
Doc: ye
Roderick kneels, coiled like a snake and ready to strike after parrying the black knight’s attack

Where last we left our heroes…In the very heart of Darkness! The mystical Keep of Greyhold!

Darkness has spread across the lands, a fetid wrath plunging every last reachable piece of land into an eternal inky blackness. The Darkness has arrived, spread throughout our world, and now our Heroes have made a final assault on it’s sanctum! Breaching the portal network, diving in headlong, they face down against the Lords of Night, the demonic acolytes of Jadeite himself, and the mighty magister, lord of black, in person!

WILL THEY SURVIVE?! WILL THEY BE VICTORIOUS?!

Jadeite has crushed the power of the portal behind you, winking out it’s gateway and trapping you on his side of the battle.

Many of the tainted wizards lay slain, fried with magitek beams and thunderous arrows of magic power.

IT is poised to spread, and the remaining wizards fight nefariously!

Ken (GM): ROD! You crouch ready, the silver dark mage ahead off balance from his failed attempt to brain you with his morningstar! WAT DO?!
Doc: (I reload the character sheet because it crashed)
Ken (GM): GASP
Doc: bold strategy I know but I think it’ll pay off
Ken (GM): lets see if it pays off cotton

Roderick thrusts his blade at his opponent’s throat as he rises to his feet
The Dark Wizard is perched to receive the blade; he cannot defend!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16-5+4 (telegraphic attack) (6+6+5)= 17
Doc: luck. Fucking luck bro
P.P. A.: woosh
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16-5+4 (telegraphic attack)(5+2+6)= 13
rolling 3d6 vs 16-5+4 (telegraphic attack)(6+3+1)= 10
Ken (GM): GOOD choice
Ken (GM) Luckily! The blade strikes true! Damage!
Roderick: rolling d6+1 (6)+1= 7 Imp
Ken (GM): [great way to start us off, get the 17’s out of the system]
P.P. A.: [and spend all our luck]
Ken (GM): LOL
Ken (GM) the tip of the blade sinks in and out! A gout of blood!
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs HT (major wound)(4+4+6)= 14
The Dark Wizard collapses! Gurgling and bleeding!

Ken (GM): SYVIIS!
Syviis: Quick magic-seeking glance….the Elementals in the circles…feeding the mechanizations of what’s happening?
Ken (GM): Definitely; they’re bound and doing…something. Thaumatology tells you more!
Syviis: We’ll start with that
rolling 3d6(3+1+4)= 8
Solid
(To Syviis): The bonds of the circles are feeding the tower; the levitation of the entire place, and the wardings on the walls. Freeing the elementals would….be bad.
Syviis: OK, for now, will ignore them, and clear a path to Jadeite. Glowy-green guy is who again?
Ken (GM): Bile mage, sprayed Bomrek with a glob of magic acid
Syviis: Not very nice. Going to try for one arrow each eye, 1 FP each
Ken (GM): first eye!
Syviis: 14 to hit rolling 3d6(5+4+1)= 10
Sorry, 13
lol
Ken (GM): No prob; lets see a defense?
rolling 3d6 vs bile mage dodge? (2+6+5)= 13
NOPE, damage to BRAIN minus DR
Syviis: rolling 1d6 + 3(4)+3= 7 Imp
Syviis: rolling 1d6(3)= 3 Burning
10…to the brains
Doc: rod’s over here thinking he’s cool for stabbing a guy in the neck while the elf is literally shooting people in the eyes
Ken (GM): yep
Doc: that doesn’t seem like a healthy place to keep arrows
Syviis: I try to avoid it myself, but I’m kinda of an expert

The Dark Wizard ‘s head erupts in electrical fire; he doesn’t even scream, just slumps over, charred and dead
Syviis: Oh boy…here I go killin again.
Is my beefy beastman friend in the way of dark mage # 2?
Ken (GM): yeah, technically
take a step west?
Syviis: Actually, going to try and take a pot shot at Jadeite; Vitals as a target
Ken (GM): GASP
Syviis: 1 FP as before, mostly to test out defenses
thats target 16 to hit from my end. rolling 3d6(6+1+5)= 12

IT RESPONDS

Syviis: [WAT IT DO]

IT: rolling 3d6(2+5+6)= 13 (vs getting in the way)

IT SURGES UP AND SPREADS

Ken (GM) BLACK BILIOUS FLESH SURGES UP TO MEET THE BLOW; The arrow sinks in, and the thundercrack sparks along the meaty appendage!
Ken (GM): The blow was blocked, but damage please!
Syviis: rolling 1d6 + 3(6)+3= 9 Imp
rolling 1d6(1)= 1 Burn
Another 10’er
Ken (GM) the blow scars the flesh, chars the skin, and the shaft is swallowed into the masses of tumors, eyes and mouths.

IT REMAINS

Syviis reloads defiantly
Ken (GM): [*Racks slide on bow…?]
Syviis: [holds bow sideways for elf-gangsta-killshot]
P.P. A.: Suðri was going to shoot Jadeite in the head but uhh…hmmm….
P.P. A.: Is there anything that still looks like a head?

Bomrek steps out of the pool of acid, the vitriol bubbling on the icy floor but his silvery dwarven armor remains unscathed. He snaps off a shot at IT!

Bomrek: rolling 3d6 vs 20(3+3+2)= 8
rolling 6d6 burn(3+2+2+3+6+5)= 21
A horrible burning streak, but the flesh blossoms fresh and bloody in the cracked ruin of the wound…

Ken (GM): SKORNBREKKER!
IT has blossomed over Jadeite; a cocoon of flesh swarmed over him, you’ve lost sight of his body in the maelstrom of hell

Suðri Skornbrekker is frustrated that his target is less tangible now, but his finger is on the trigger, and it would be a shame now not to pull it.
Suðri Skornbrekker: 7v15
Ken (GM) the bullet slams home!
Suðri Skornbrekker fires a good old lead bullet at the abomination, smoke engulfing him and thunder ringing through the icy halls!
Suðri Skornbrekker: 15+2 pi++
Ken (GM): 34 wounds!
Ken (GM) the meat parts, charred from Bomrek, a chunk flies off and bleeds on the floor, tentacles writhing in obvious pain!
Doc: that’s a big bullet
Ken (GM): FOR YOU

Ken (GM): GRAY!
Gray charges forward to attack the mage still standing.. and to close in on the beast
Joush M.: Move here and All Out (Strong) two attacks on this son of a bitch
Ken (GM): FIRST BLOW?!
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 17 for Ogre Blade strike on Wizard (5+3+4)= 12
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs dodge+magic blackness? (6+4+2)= 12 Fails
The Dark Wizard tries to bend out of the path of the raging beast, but the sword glimmers in eldritch green light, shattering his dark cloak of power! DAMAGE GRAY
Gray: rolling 3d6+6 for Strong damage on Dark Wizard (Torso, default loc)(3+6+4)+6= 19 Cut
P.P. A.: oof
The Dark Wizard: ooooof
Gray stalks forward rapidly though the nightmarish scene, the towering beast lashing out with that bronzy metal blade from the Old Empire, emerald fire trailing after the blade as it catches the man across the chest.
The Dark Wizard turned too late, relied too much on his magic! He is parted and flops to the floor in two pieces, slightly charred from the magic green fire
Ken (GM): [dead, new body]
Gray resist the urge to kick him as he’d planned. Seems unsportsmanlike now
Joush M.: End Turn
Ken (GM): lol

The Dark Wizard nearby rod struggles to breathe through his ruined throat; he struggles once more, then lies still

Ken (GM) the heap of flesh that surged up from the ring of magic on the floor surges again! Dark tentacles leap out, slapping wetly atop the corpses on floor! IT HUNGERS rings through your heads

Ken (GM): WILL rolls everyone!
Suðri Skornbrekker: 6v12
Syviis: rolling 3d6 (6+4+5)= 15
match
Ken (GM): versus FEAR, fyi
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 15(4+6+6)= 16
Joush M.: Goddamn rule of 16 on fright checks.
Ken (GM): 😀
Rod, FYI you’re totally immune to this
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (also Unfazeable but just rolling to be sure)(3+1+4)= 8
Bomrek: rolling 3d6 vs 12(2+2+5)= 9

Ken (GM): okay! now everyone, 3d6! Add your failure margin, or subtract your beat-by bonus!
Syviis: rolling 3d6(4+2+3)= 9
Bomrek: rolling 3d6-3(5+4+4)-3= 10
Ken (GM): kay so Bomrek stunned, syviis stunned. Gray ! Suðri ! rolls plx
(To Syviis): You’re stunned until you roll will+0 on your turn

Suðri Skornbrekker: 10-6 = 4
Gray: rolling 3d6 +1(5+1+2)+1 = 9

P.P. A.: I also have fearlessness 2… so it’d be 10-6-2, right?
Ken (GM): lol, PPA you’re actually totally unaffected then; you modified everything to less than a result
Doc: powerful

The mulching of flesh and gnashing of a hundred mouths rings out in the chamber; the horror of the beast pressing into your minds as it SURGES in volume at the feast of bodies. Gray, Bomrek and Syviis are slammed with the psychic power of it. Suðri is a mountain of will, struggling through the horror. Roderick is an obdurate stone of power, likewise still and calm

Your men begin SCREAMING

Suðri Skornbrekker has seen enough eldritch horrors that his brain has crated a category for them, into which any further eldritch horrors are neatly sorted. Dwarven autism at work. “Nay, get out of our world! You clearly don’t belong here!” the Dwarf defiantly shouts at the horror, his eyes straining a little to know what to shout at exactly.

Jadeite peels himself from the flesh wad, a SLURP of meat parting to release him, and he flies through the air to perch again on his throne of bones. He extends a hand, and a beam of anti-light jags out from the nearby Altar, like unholy lightning, charging the Dark Lord with some kind of power!

Volk: “GET IT OUT OF MY HEAAAAAAD!!!” Volk and his men clutch their skulls, dropping to the ground and writhing in fearful agony; they cry tears of blood

Ken (GM): ROD!
Doc: Thaumatology on whatever Jadeite is doing?
Ken (GM): yes!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 13 (5+6+2)= 13
(To Roderick): The dark energy lashing out from the altar is like a powerstone; he’s drawing FP-style strength from the castle’s enchantments. The ones tied into the elementals bindings
(From Doc): The tentacles are still moving, right?
(To Roderick): Oh Yes, IT still writhes, and munches.
Ken (GM): wat do?
Roderick slashes at IT’s tentacles with his fae blade!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16 plus modifiers (2+3+2)= 7

Ken (GM) the rush of wind and song of the forest swells in the room; a glow of emerald light suffuses Roderick, like a nimbus, from his Fae Blade!

IT: R̶̖͝Ė̶̼̻͎E̷̳̤͚͔̻̞̻̐͘ͅË̶̥̥́̋̇̈̈́̈̋̈̈̇̽̋̓Ȩ̸͕̥̰͈͍̳̲̗̰̹̱̞́E̶̺̗̙̠͚̼̳͙͑́͗̇̍͑̽̈́ͅE̶̤̼̭̾Ę̸̗̯̲̼̯͕̗͎͇̤̙̹̫̉̔̄͌̍̽̅̀͐́̌͗̚Ȩ̷̫͙̲̬̩͎̠̝͇̓̈́̓̒̾̒̅̾̏̽͆͆͘̕E̴͉̺̼͖͕̫̙̩̱̪͈̎͛̃͌ͅE̷͚͈̖̪̼͑́̽̐̐̚Ḙ̷̫͈͒

Ken (GM) flesh dissolves like shadows before a lamp, and the tentacle draws back, burned!

Roderick steps forward, advancing steadily

IT FLINCHES

IT LASHES AT GRAY, TWISTING LIKE A MASSIVE LIMB TEN FEET WIDE

Ken (GM): Gray all-out’d yeah?
Joush M.: Yep.
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs 18 (slam/grapple to hit)(5+4+3)= 12
Gray is lifted bodily by tentacles lined with hungry mouths!
rolling 3d6 cutting mouths(5+2+3)= 10 Cut
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Gray!”
Ken (GM): torso DR?
Joush M.: 6
Ken (GM): 4 cutting then, 6 wounds!
and HT roll! vs “metabolic hazard”
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 14 (13 + 1 for Fit)(6+6+4)= 16
Ken (GM): :O
Joush M.: It’s a bad day
(To Gray): The thing lunges for you, draws you up, and the hungry mouths lamprey down. You feel something horrible climb through you….and you hear Memory scream in your mind!

Ken (GM): Syviis! You’re mentally stunned, roll vs WILL+0!
Syviis: rolling 3d6(5+3+3)= 11
Beets by 4
Ken (GM): You snap out of it by the end of the turn! You’re no longer stunned, but we move on in initiative!

Bomrek does the same! Shaking off the madness
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6-3 (4+1+6)-3 = 8
Bomrek shakes his head, and looks about as if he has regained his wits!

Ken (GM): SKORNBREKKA!
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Roderick, what do to? Shoot him? The bone-pile? Those trapped things?”
Suðri Skornbrekker switches his spent musket for his Dwarven rifle while he looks to Roderick and Syviis for hints on what to do with this monster.
Ken (GM): re-armed!
Roderick: “Shoot Jadeite, see if it works this time”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Sounds good.”

Ken (GM): GRAY! Roll vs Will-1 to recover from your mental stun
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 17 (12 Will, +6 Combat Reflexes, -1)(5+1+4)= 10
Ken (GM): ah nice CR for the clutch
Joush M.: Had to turn it around sooner or later
(To Gray): You snap out of it in the most pain you’ve ever been in
Gray was ready for things to go badly when he went past the portal, but still screams at the repulsive invasion of getting swept up in those tendrils, in terrible pain and is very, very, angry about it.

IT TWISTS AND BUCKS, AND SWINGS ACROSS THE ROOM
IT TWISTS GRAY
IT: rolling 3d6 vs 20 margin, crushing, Constriction Attack(5+3+1)= 9
11 crushing to torso!
Doc: oof
Joush M.: Ouch
Ken (GM): hard DR vs this only as well
Joush M.: zero DR then, ouch
IT WRENCHES Gray
Suðri Skornbrekker grinds his teeth as he watches Grey being thrown and twisted and prepares his rifle for its next shot.
Ken (GM): still conscious?
Joush M.: 9 HP out of 26
Ken (GM): kk
[JFC]
Joush M.: Gray’s still up. 11 isn’t a major wound, so no test
Doc: >not a major wound

Gray is tossed as bones grind and scrape, the towering figure thrown across the room by IT’s sickening grasp

Jadeite cackles, amused at the whole experience “INFINITE POWER! THE REALM OF DARKNESS IS MINE TO WIELD!”
Jadeite: rolling 3d6 vs 18 Magic something(4+1+2)= 7
Jadeite glows with the anti-light, a nimbus of the dark power sliding through him

Volk and his men seem entirely incapacitated, their screaming dying to whimpers and weeping. Lame attempts to bat away unseen hallucinated forces. They are like mewling pups

Ken (GM): ROD!
Doc: how many hexes away from being able to strike at IT’s “heart”?
Ken (GM): 4 hexes, so a lunge 😀 At least a move/attack or all out to close and hit. Gotta close the gap!
Roderick takes the chance and lunges in!
Ken (GM): wild swing? or all out for the half of your move?
Doc: AoA can be Strong, doesn’t have to be Lunge, right? Rod’s move is 6
Ken (GM): oh, im making confusion with the terminology here
you are 4 hexes away, and have reach 2 with the sword
you gotta close at least two hexes to reach him
Doc: okay so AoA (Strong) should work
Ken (GM): yeah, you get half move in an all-out
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16(6+5+6)= 17
Doc: LUCK!
Ken (GM): HAHAHA
Ken (GM): please
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16(6+1+3)= 10
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16(4+6+6)= 16
Ken (GM): JFC
Doc: at least the 10 does it
Ken (GM): dude
you lucky dick
Doc: (just barely over an hour since last time I used Luck, too)
(To Roderick): As you lunge and shove the emerald blade into the enemy; the power of the Fae surges behind you.
(From Roderick): if there’s any way he can try to focus more power into the blade he’ll want to do so
Ken (GM): 3d6!
Roderick sinks the blade in deep, and the power surges along behind him!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 (5+6+3)= 14
Doc: is rolling high good or bad

There is a SUNDERING NOTE, the flesh writhes against!

Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs RESISTING (1+1+2)= 4
:O

IT RESISTS

IT SCREAMS AGAINST THE EMERALD POWER UNLEASED

IT BELLOWS IN YOUR MINDS:
NO! THE TIME IS NOW! THIS WORLD WILL BE CONSUMED!

IT DROPS GRAY AND TWISTS FOR ROD

Joush M.: Thanks! Also fuck
Ken (GM): Gray! Roll DX for the fall to the ground!
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 12 (4+5+6)= 15

Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs 18 slam/grapple to hit Rod (4+6+4) = 14
Ken (GM) the flesh clamors and clambers for Roderick!
Ken (GM): rolling 2d6 cutting mouths vs torso armor(rod)(2+3)= 5 cut
(To Roderick): You are both incredibly lucky and unlucky today
(From Doc): >tfw his torso armor is exactly enough to prevent damage

Ken (GM) Gray slams to the ground, flat on his back, bouncing a touch. The gnashing of tooth on metal echoes from Rod’s form!

Ken (GM): SYVIIS!
Syviis: Two Vitals shots for Jadeite. See if his protector can help him when it’s busy with my friends.
Syviis: Target is 15 rolling 3d6(2+3+6)= 11
Syviis: (1 FP/+1d6 burn each like before)
Ken (GM): from the far court!
Jadeite rolling 3d6 vs dodge?(5+5+1)= 11
Ken (GM): SHUNK
Jadeite turns a fraction too slow for the arrow! It sinks into his chest!
Syviis: [I MEAN 4 FP… lol no….actually 1 is fine]
Ken (GM): LOL
Syviis rolling 1d6 + 3(6)+3= 9 Imp
Syviis: rolling 1d6(2)= 2 Burn
YAY FOR SLIGHTLY AVERAGE!
Doc: who needs lightning when you roll max longbow damage
Ken (GM): hahahah
33 wounds
33
fucking
wounds
to the Vitals
Syviis: Does he look like he needs moar arrowe’ed?
[33 wounds…and the Elf isn’t sure if he wants more]

Jadeite tumbles like a wet sack of meat, falling to his oversized throne, a burning arrow of holy lightning charring through where his human heart should be. He lies limp on the throne below, his neck now at an awkward angle from the landing.

Jadeite ‘s dark power winks out…. and the castle rumbles

Syviis: Neat. I think the next arrow is going to go into the Fleshmonster
But I’ll wait for the map to redraw
😀

IT WRITHES
IT CACKLES
IT SCREAMS

I’M FREE NOW

Syviis sighs and shakes her head

IT SWELLS AGAINST THE MAGIC CIRCLE IN THE FLOOR, PRESSING IT’S BULK LIKE A TURGID WOUNDED APPENDAGE OF PURE HATRED

Syviis: “If you’re free, then you’ll experience the fullness of our righteousness!” and she looses a new arrow, near the stalks part that’s reaching for Rod
rolling 3d6 (4+6+6)= 16
That’s actually a hit.
😛
Ken(GM): IT does not dodge
Syviis: rolling 1d6 + 3(4)+3= 7 Imp
rolling 3d6(4+5+6)= 15
oops
rolling 1d6(1)= 1 Burn
8 total, arrow and fire
IT BURNS

Grimwyrd, in two parts

Bomrek: “GOD ….DAMN…WIZARD….SHIT”
Bomrek shoots it
Bomrek: rolling 3d6 vs 20 (6+5+2)= 13
rolling 6d6 burn(2+6+6+3+3+6)= 26
Bomrek sprays it with magic fire, the charred flesh burning away to ashes, but IT still comes!

(To Roderick): Thaumatology roll!
(To Syviis): Thaumatology roll +4
Roderick: (To GM) rolling 3d6 vs 13 (6+6+4)= 16
(To Roderick): Jadeite died, and IT surged; he wasnt holding the door open. He was holding it back!
(From Roderick): one of those days
Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 (3+5+1)= 9
(From Syviis): like…beat by 8?
(To Syviis): Jadeite died, and IT surged; he wasnt holding the door open. He was holding it back! The circle must be broken or taken control of!
(To Syviis): You know how! But you need to get to the altar, or the circle on the floor itself! (or just destroy them)

Ken (GM): SKORN!
Suðri Skornbrekker looks around worriedly. “Syviis, what’s with these things in the circles?” he asks as he sets his aim for— nay, he shoots at the tentacles clutching Roderick! (1 FP)
P.P. A.: Does that thing count as an arm?
Suðri Skornbrekker: 13v13 (-2 if it’s an arm)
Ken (GM): lol
Ken (GM) The beam of magic fire hits true!
Suðri Skornbrekker: 17 burning damage!
IT HAS TRANCENDED BEYOND SIMPLE ARMS
IT WIELDS THE UR-LIMB
Suðri Skornbrekker hopes it will release Roderick; the human looks a good deal squishier than ol’ Gray

IT SCREAMS AS THE TENTACLES OVER RODERICK BURN DOWN TO CINDERS, FLOPPING OFF USELESSLY

Ken (GM): Rod! It drops you back to the floor, DX+4 to land on ya feet
[gray fell from a lot higher, hence the easier roll now]
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 12+4 (2+1+4)= 7
Doc: \o/
Ken (GM): o7

Ken (GM): GRAY!
Gray gets back up to his feet. Or at least, kneeling
P.P. A.: Oh, he’s right between two elementals now
Ken (GM): only good things can come of this
P.P. A.: maybe he can pick up the fire one and throw it at IT :DDD (and then all the fire disappears from the world and the sun goes out)

IT SCREAMS AND WRITHES, AND TRILLS LOUDER THAN EVER BEFORE!

IT PIERCES YOUR MINDS AGAIN!
Roll Will for me!
(To Roderick): Youre , again, immune
(From Doc): “just one of those days”
Suðri Skornbrekker: 7v12
P.P. A.: ah yeah, if that’s fear-like it’d be v14
Ken (GM): jfc
Syviis: rolling 3d6 (5+3+6)= 14
Syviis: beat by 1
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 13 or 15 vs fear(4+6+5)= 15
Bomrek: rolling 3d6 vs 12 fear(4+6+4)= 14
rolling 3d6+2+4 (modifier and distance!)(1+5+4)+2+4= 16
Ken (GM): Gray, add 6 to your fright check roll for proximity!
Suðri , add 1!
P.P. A.: same as earlier, 3d6 – margin?
Ken (GM): ^^ plus a ~special modifier~
Suðri Skornbrekker: rolling 3d6+1-5-2(2+1+2)+1-5-2= -1
Syviis: rolling 3d6 + 1(2+4+4)+1= 11
eh
or is that -1? Dunno
Ken (GM): lol
Gray: rolling 3d6 – 1(3+5+1)-1= 8
Joush M.: or should that be -7? IIRC, he passed by one/zero, so +6 would have given him passed by 7
Ken (GM): oh man, math
I meant “penalize” your roll
Joush M.: Failed by 6 then, ouch
Ken (GM): sorta, its like a damage roll. (fucking hell GURPS, why is THIS the day I use your hard rolls)
so 9, -1 for your will save, +6 for being closer to the effect. ends up as 14
hokay, mental stun for syviis
gray takes 1d FP damage, and stun for 1d sec
rolling 1d6 FP damage to gray (1)= 1
natch
Ken (GM): and Bomrek earns a new quirk, and is stunned for 1d seconds
rolling 1d6(3)= 3
oh fuck! gray is 1d stunned!
rolling 1d6(3)= 3
for at least 3 seconds
right
Ken (GM): sorted

Volk and his men scream in unison with the flesh, and their bodies seize as it trills. Only Roderick and somehow Suðri are unfazed by the noise in their minds and bones!

Ken (GM): ROD!
Roderick shakes off his surprise at being grabbed, dropped, and surrounded by screams, thrusting his sword at IT almost nonchalantly and seeming completely unperturbed
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 16 (4+2+3)= 9
Ken (GM): rolling 3d6 vs ? (A hidden health check) (5+6+1)= 12

Ken (GM) There is a quiet POP noise in the air and the green light flashes. Suddenly, the magic circle that IT struggles against, is gone…

Ken (GM) A WAVE OF PRESSURIZED GORE SPRAYS OUT FROM UNDER THE HEAP OF IT
Ken (GM): SQUICK

Ken(GM): CRIES OUT IN PAIN
IT: * rather
Doc: that uh, doesn’t look like something I can dodge
>when you stab the boss so hard the GM cries out in pain

Ken (GM) SOMEHOW the wave washes over everything BUT Roderick, and the knight stands gleaming in the wash of blood
P.P. A.: The patented Erlking(R) IT-Detergent(TM)
“With the Green Sheen!”
Doc: simplegreen.com
Syviis: lol
(To Roderick): You feel a sudden elation from the weapon, and the power of the Fae is truly satisfied with you. It is quite please to have severed the connection to the darkness by your hand.
(To Roderick): “Now prove yourself against the towering beast” you hear the Erlking say in your ear

Ken (GM) You each feel the insidious power that snapped your minds releasing it’s horrible grip on them
Ken (GM): [the stun releases your heads, all that hard maths for nothing]
Joush M.: Aww, here I was going to have to berserk my way out of it

IT GIBBERS, AND WASHES OVER THE SHINING KNIGHT
IT: REEEEEEEEEE
IT screams in an all too-real voice, now
Suðri Skornbrekker: “What now?!”
Ken (GM): [now I trample to knight]

(The GM at this point dramatically dragging a massive tentacle beast token over the map -Ken)

[unless he dodges]
Joush M.: Don’t let it hug you!
Ken (GM): bad touch BAD TOUCH
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 12(4+5+5)= 14
Ken (GM): you MAY add a dive, I say, as you roll
Doc: pls
Ken (GM): pick a direction
Ken (GM) Roderick leaps for safety!
Doc: south!
Ken (GM) IT lunges past him as he dives out the way!

IT lurches like a severed limb, propped up on a bleeding gore wrapped stump, like a massive headless octopus now

Ken (GM): SYVIIS! no more stun, wat do?
Syviis: I run right for the fucker. 😛
Ken (GM): CHOO CHOO
Syviis shouts in righteous rage, arrow and bow in hand nearly forgotten
Ken (GM): [theres a plan there?]
Syviis: Yep. Remember True Faith?
Ken (GM): GASP
Syviis: [and besides, I can’t get to the control thingie in 1 round]
Ken (GM): lol
P.P. A.: Control thingies might be useful to know about
Ken (GM) The elf bursts into holy beams of lightning power!

Bomrek , a staunch atheist, shoots it
Bomrek: rolling 3d6 vs 22 (2+3+2)= 7
Syviis: Niiiiice!
beat by 15 lol
Bomrek: rolling 6d6 (3+4+3+5+6+4)= 25 Burning
Bomrek scorches it anew, pieces streaming off in rivulets of gory ash now
Bomrek: “The damn things mortal now! LAY IT ON” he cackles

Ken (GM): SKORN!
Suðri Skornbrekker: “That seems to be working, so unless you magic-knowers come up with a better plan…”
Suðri charges up his rifle with his will and righteous anger! [-1 FP]
“Feel the might of mortal Dwarvenkind!” he shouts, and fires!
11v14
21 Burning if it hits
Ken (GM) it do
Ken (GM) more and more burns away under your assault!

Ken (GM): Gray!
Gray rises to his feet and advances on the enemy.
Joush M.: to here, I think
That should do it, turn wise.
Ken (GM): ‘advances’ right up into it’s shitter
Syviis: [ALLYOOP IN THE POOP SHOOT]
Suðri Skornbrekker glances behind him and wonders what these puddles are that their allies are standing in

(GM’s note: their allies had succumbed badly to a massive psychic infestation, just like Gray. They were only men though, so they were dropping hard in the background, spewing their insides. It was a mess)

Ken (GM): RODERICO
Roderick , satisfied that the beast’s attention is divided, sends a jet of flame up into its “belly,” point-blank!
Ken (GM): O:
:O ROLL IT SM+4
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 18(5+1+1)= 7
Ken (GM) There is a flame, and then an ERUPTION of fire
Ken (GM): rod damage!
Roderick: rolling 4d6 burning (5+3+1+2) = 11 Burning
Ken (GM): and QUADRUPLE that (For Vulnerability)
Doc: wew

Ken (GM) the slick body BURNS as the flamethrower alights it.
In a moment; the only thing left of the wriggling heap is charred embers…

And the clatter and clamor of the battle stops

Ken (GM) the noise echoes in your heads. The rush of your heartbeat in your ears

(To Gray): HT ROLL-8
Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 4 (+1 for Fit or +8 for vs Disease, if applicable) (2+3+2)= 7
(To Gray): The pain is gone. IT is gone

Syviis slides (awkwardly) to a stop, just barely not slipping on the blood and gore.

Suðri Skornbrekker turns to his side. “What is that?” he asks the soldiers behind him, pointing at their feet, and hoping they are in a condition to respond.
Suðri Skornbrekker also takes a cautious step away from them-
Ken (GM) the goo on the floor is a viscous multicolored gore, and it slithers a bit on the floor. Weakly reaching and sliding, alive

Gray roars
Ken (GM) something slithers out of him, and plops to the floor

Roderick stands to his feet
P.P. A.: slithers out of whom?
oh, out of Gray
P.P. A.: Congrats, Gray, you’re a mommy now
What is its name?
Syviis: [too many disgusting things happening at the same time, not sure who’s goo-ing what]
IT: cries weakly “~reeeee~”
Doc: >what is its name
“No it isn’t, IT is”
P.P. A.: 😛
Doc: “It’s what?”
“NO”

Gray rips out anything else that shouldn’t be in that damn wound, tossing some ruined and bloody meat on the ground. “Any of that get inside you, Roderick?” He worries for the human. He will heal from the nightmarish infection in time, but a human would require surgery.
Roderick: “I… don’t think so. An exorcism shouldn’t hurt, though.”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Snap out of it and step out of it, whatever that is!” Suðri worriedly urges his allies.
P.P. A.: what condition are the soldiers in
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): Youre quite sure only Volk is alive.

Syviis smiles, not unkindly, but not exactly kindly either
Syviis: Can I walk over to it and say Hi?
Ken (GM): sure!

Suðri Skornbrekker looks a bit worried. “Volk!” He carefully approaches him, his rifle aimed at the goo. “Come to!”
Volk coughs up some goo, and blood, and comes to. He weakly tries to roll over, toward Suðri

Syviis kneels down and plants an arrow shaft into the slug, keeping it within the aura around her
IT recoils in obvious pain from Syviis’ presence, the flesh smoking and burning. IT is skewered, and IT burns

Syviis: “You came here hungry….” she whispers to it “I will see you have your fill of the light, so you remember never to return.“

IT boils away to a shadow of ash on the floor.

IT dies screaming

Syviis stands up and scans the battlefield, not content yet until she’s sure
(To Syviis): You feel none of the infection here, the flesh is all dead.

Suðri Skornbrekker nudges closer to Volk, but stays a leap’s distance away from the goo. “Stay with us; it’s gone. or so it seems at least.”
Syviis nods to Rod and quietly stows her weapons, pulling out her Healing staff from under her cloak
Volk: “Oooooowwwwww”
Suðri Skornbrekker calls over his shoulder: “Speaking of exorcism, I think we could need one here, too.”
Gray: “Right. Right.” The towering beast rolls his shoulders and presses the ogre blade over Roderick’s armor. Seeing if it gleams with that fire from being close to the beast as he looks around. Turning to step past, to start closer to Volk, to try and help.

Ken (GM) The Ogre blade gleams, the green flames licking, but not burning. The goo over Volk boils away in it’s presence and he’s probably better for it

Syviis: “Let’s make sure Jadeite did not send us into a cliffside before he met his end. Rod, can you try controlling this new mountain-fortress?”
“Or I can attempt.”

(To Roderick): Oh boy, you probably remember how to do that!….where are the controls?
(To Syviis): The bloody altar by the throne, that’s the likely controls, based on the aura you’re seeing. The place is still charged up, full of souls
Roderick: “I think I remember how to fly a mountain”
Syviis discusses the auras and things she sees with Rod, otherwise trusting him to use his own experience….he DOES have the most Citadel-Flying-Time after all

Gray cuts the men free from the fucking goo, the beast shaking his head. “This portal will not wake. I think we will not go back the way we came.”

Bomrek stops, looks around the room, and sticks his pipe in a convenient notch in his full helmet. It puffs smoke

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Let me take a look at the— ugh, controls.” The dwarf approaches them and tries to clear away the flesh with one of the dead soldiers’ polearms

Roderick looks around for any controls or indicators

Syviis will then go over and check out the men, making sure to say a holy prayer over everyone in turn, and of course her friends
(To Syviis): The goo burns away in your presence, whatever Gray didnt melt away with his sword. The evil is boiling off in this world
Syviis: “There is still a lot of power bound here…the elementals and the souls harvested. We should set this down safely before attempting to free them, though.”

Suðri Skornbrekker checks if the controls are broken and repairable; and also if there are any eternally screaming souls trapped inside of it.
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): you recognize instantly, these controls on the gate are from the ancient dwarven empire. Harvested from somewhere and put to use. You also notice a ‘relay’ of sorts, to some sort of other connection. Not the network of gates, but another private place….
Suðri Skornbrekker raises an eyebrow, and tries to find out more through tinkering.
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): It links up to… (you concentrate on it)….the Ansible gate. Directly
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Someone keep an eye on the portal please, while I…” he trails off as he rummages
through the innards of the machine; he looks surprised. “Well, is that not convenient.”

Ken (GM): Rod! roll your castle fly-control!
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 11 (6+6+4)= 16
Doc: haha LUCK
Syviis: oh oh lol
Roderick: rolling 3d6 vs 11 (3+3+2)= 8
rolling 3d6 vs 11 (6+2+2) = 10
(To Roderick): You dip your hands into the magic streams, and for a moment feel your aura catch on the ‘kill everything button’. But luckily you just imagined that and now have control over the flying fortress. It’s stable, in orbit, and not in any chance of crashing immediately.
Ken (GM) the building quivers a moment as rod stands at the controls. But the moment passes without incident

Syviis watches the portal
Suðri Skornbrekker: “There is a connection between this place and the Ansible!”
Syviis laughs
Suðri Skornbrekker: “That will save us a few weeks of travel if we can get it to work safely.”
Syviis: “What, you mean THIS flying mountain of evil is connected to the OTHER one?”
Syviis smiles at the dwarf
Suðri Skornbrekker will check if this runs on soul gems too though; and if yes, won’t activate it unless he can replace them later.
Syviis also has her mana-crystal….100% ambient, free-ranged magic
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): The machine is of original make; there is a pure powerstone there, a cultured piece of magitek. No moral implications of using it.
Syviis: (no souls harmed in the charging of this mana crystal….OR WERE THEY?)
Syviis glances between the portal and the controls but trusts her friends to do what they can

Gray looks thoughtfully around and walks to the dead ‘lord’ of this place to check his seared and ruined body.
(To Gray): He died ungracefully. An arrow neatly pierces a charred section of his chest, burnt right through. He shit himself when he died

(To Roderick): Keeping the place upright? Driving it into the earth? Leaving it be?
(From Roderick): For now, just leaving it where it is, trying not to crash or mess anything up
(To Roderick): safe bet. You detangle yourself from the controls neatly

Suðri Skornbrekker’s face lights up a little; he gets up and pats clean his hands. “No heartstones in this one. They must have salvaged the whole machinery from some ancient Dwarven ruin, it runs cleanly.”
Syviis: “Not all magic is made by greedy and impatient hearts…and Dwarves are by far the most patient folk I know of.” She says nothing about greed…but hey, 1 out of 2 is fine
Bomrek DOES NOT shoot Syviis
Syviis: thumbs up
Bomrek: “So can we do it then? End the evil and get the stupid magic whatsit turned back on?”

Gray makes damn sure Jadeite is dead and then turns from the body to look to the others, aching, bones cracked and terrible wounds healing slowly as he looks around the horror show. He checks the other dead mages. Making sure they will stay that way, a touch of salt dropped across any bodies that don’t seem quite fallen enough.
Ken (GM) gray’s post-mortem work goes swiftly; each of the wizards unmoving, but kissed by green flame and a pinch of salt, for flavor. Passing in Syviis’ wake there’s not much left.
Syviis: [image of Gray doing the ‘salt down the arm’ meme]
Ken (GM): lol
YES
Doc: old: salt bae
bold: salt grae

Suðri Skornbrekker looks at the carnage and mountains of gore. “…was that it, for now? Jadeite is dead… We shut out the Darkness and killed what had managed to get inside our world?” He points to the Elf “Good shot, by the way,” Suðri commends Syviis with a hearty grin.
Roderick: “Or we simply prevented one protrusion. IT might well be infesting the world through IT’s previous footholds as we speak.”
(To Roderick): Very much likely; the Ansible still has not sealed the wound you created
(To Gray): You collecting the silver swords too?
(From Gray): Yes, that makes sense. Collect them and put them in a pile where there’s less gore. over by Volk
Syviis blushes a bit “A lot of fine shots done….hopefully we can go back to target practice instead of saving our reality from unspeakable darkness.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Oh, of course; I mean here and now, at least.”
Syviis: “I can look at the portal, see if we can link it back to the others and check.”
Volk sits down, and just…does nothing for a bit.

Bomrek notices Gray collecting the silver swords. He assists with the heap
Suðri Skornbrekker does likewise.
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Hmm…” As the Dwarf holds one, he concentrates, curious if he might detect some sword outside of the castle, or if his senses will just home in on these here that are the closest.
Syviis: [DwarfGPS: THERE ARE SWORDS NEARBY]
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): These are all that remain. No others but these

Gray mentions to Bomrek, nodding to him as they set the bounty of wicked weapons. “There’s a huge pile of gold and trinkets to the north. I think I might have seen a door to the south too. Should we check the rest of this place?”
Roderick nods at Gray’s suggestion. “The controls should be stable for now, if you want to explore.”

Suðri Skornbrekker smiles a bit as he opens his eyes. “…if only we had not broken the portal in Quicksilver’s mine, we could return these more swiftly otherwise.”
Suðri Skornbrekker helps gather up the rest of them.
Suðri Skornbrekker breathes a sigh of relief; exploring sounds like a welcome respite now.

(To Syviis): Focusing on the control box a sec with your detection power…The entirety of the gate network is infected with IT, except the Ansible gate Suðri found.
(To Syviis): and IT is ANGRY

Syviis: “The Dark Thing is still infesting the other gates, it seems.” deflates slightly, but steels herself with a grin “How many gates to you think there are?”
Ken (GM): dozens…
Suðri Skornbrekker: “Hard to guess; given that many of these formed once a Dwarven network, I trust our ancestors to have been very busy and thorough.”
“We should do what the witch and the green guy said, and try to fix the gap between the worlds; breaking every entry point into it, be it a portal or a warped mind, seems like never-ending work.”
(From Syviis): Might be possible to ‘reverse taint’ the gates with her power? Or is that a little toooooo big?
(To Syviis): gopher versus semi truck

Syviis works on the Magic gate, seeing if she can restore power to it
Suðri Skornbrekker sees this and walks over to help “Your expertise is planting two arrows in two eyeballs, elf, but this is work for a dwarf!”
Syviis smiles and bows, offering her assistance only
Suðri Skornbrekker sets about getting the thing running again. He’s only examined it more superficially before.

Gray walks careful on the cracked stone down south to a odd wench and chain, examining it and seeing if it’s possible to work it. “We need to repair the damage we did. With the terrible device. Use it and the tools, the objects we’ve collected.. I haven’t seen the Grayhold Blade here”
(To Gray): The mechanisms turn easily enough, if you’d like to open the door from here to the rest of the castle
Ken (GM): [so whats the next step then?]
P.P. A.: Crashing this castle
with no survivors!
Syviis: We’ve had a good run. lol
Gray tries to open this door. He still needs to find a magic sword for the ritual to restore the spirit phone.
Roderick follows Gray, blade at the ready, and explores the hall they find themselves in, and the doorways that lead out of it

Ken (GM) Beyond the door to the South, leads a bridge outside overlooking the vista below; The castle is indeed flying high over the world, hundreds of yards in the air. Below the night sky, you see the land stretched out….and under the starlight it is a hell.

The blackness is everywhere below, wringing tentacles of ur-black and crushing anything in it’s grasp. You hear the noises of the horrors wrought there.

Ahead over the bridge, is a door, to the main keep hall and the remainder of Greyhold proper.

Gray looks out at the darkness. “Our work isn’t done yet. If we don’t restore the walls between worlds our victory here will mean little. “

Ken (GM) The magic gateway springs to life as Suðri reconnects the magitek-circuit. A stone glows and hums, and the portal SNAPs into existence. You see a silvery veil return

Syviis wanders to the controls, leaving the Dwarven Portal mechanizms to the Dwarf
Suðri Skornbrekker: “We should tell our allies what conspired; let me see if I can establish a connection to…”
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): You feel the EVIL on the other circuit. IT writhes there, the magic power completely obvious. To open that gate is to invite hell

Suðri Skornbrekker keeps in mind what’s needed to route the portal to the Ansible, but for the time being, tries to re-connect to where they came from, if that is safe to do.
(From Suðri Skornbrekker): the gate to the Ansible you mean?
(To Suðri Skornbrekker): No, the earthly gates are infected with the demonic presence of the elder evil. Hence the horror below the castle. The private link to the ansible is clear though
(From Suðri Skornbrekker): oh; so the link to the town is corrupted too? Was it perhaps overrun?
(From Suðri Skornbrekker): Suðri wanted to see if he could re-connect to the town where they came from to tell the others of their temporary victory, but if that connection got corrupted too, he won’t do it
To Suðri Skornbrekker): Quite, yeah. When Jadeite broke your link he spread the evil back, likely
(From Suðri Skornbrekker): ah, ok

Roderick: “We should secure this place before attempting anything else. But then, the Ansible is likely our best choice.”
Suðri Skornbrekker stops and gets up, shaking his head. “It seems we cannot go back. I hope our army is doing well, but the connection to the portal there has… well, it seems highly unsafe. We can should be able to get to the Ansible, however; that one works.”

Bomrek the ever greedy dwarf, is staring at the gold heap and treasures. Gems and art and trinkets of all sorts
Gray: “We still need to find the Blade. It wasn’t on the Usurper’s body”
Bomrek holds up a long broadsword, a dull matte gray, with a simple brass handle.
Bomrek: “This it?”

Suðri Skornbrekker looks over to Bomrek and trots over to take a look at it.“…it is a sword, and it is grey; and on a heap with valuables. …I suppose?”
Syviis: Anny maaagic?
Bomrek: “You tell me, Syviis”
Syviis: Loooks with her Elf Eyes
Ken (GM): right, elf eyes
(To Syviis): none emanating form it. But there are …. remnants. An aura might have once been on it, but it’s been stripped.
(To Roderick): Youre likely the only person to have ever seen it. And yeah, that is it
Roderick: “Aye, that’s it.”
Syviis: “Looks like…it’s been burnt out. Ashes of magic still cling to it, but….”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “I thought it would be more spectacular; at least licking with grey flames, or something.”
Gray pauses, then walks with the others to look at it with a frown.

Joush M.: It’s sort of the symbol of the nation, do we recognize it? Of course, it’s the symbol of the nation but only Gray and Roderick are from here.
Ken (GM): Ah yeah, gray would have seen it at least once before too
(To Gray): Yeah, you do recognize it. No flashy magic gray fire…but that’s the right one.
Doc: IIRC its fire went out when the king died?
Ken (GM): nods sagely
P.P. A.: Syviis killed the king so she should be the new king, right? Have her hold it!
Ken (GM): As the tale was told; the Ansible was activated, the veil sundered, and they spoke of the death of the magic blade, and the King’s life was extinguished alongside

Gray nods thoughtfully as he looks down to the sword, then nods to Roderick. “We have the last item we needed to collect I think.”
Suðri Skornbrekker: “’tis in a sorry state; will this really re-active the Ansible?”
Ken (GM): *The witch queen spoke, and the Erlking echoed; “collect the great works of mortal power and infuse the Ansible with power once again. Activate it, and return the veil to power“
Gray: “Activating the ansible may reawaken the blade. Or perhaps it won’t. We have no choice but to try.”
Suðri Skornbrekker nods.

Roderick walks up to the others and takes a deep breath as he investigates the blade
(From Doc): thaumatology or history or anything?
(To Roderick): That is the blade. It’s power is gone. The weapon was forged to righteous power, in opposition to the darkness. The working a mystery to you, but the sword here is the true blade.
(To Roderick): If the tales are true, it is and was the penultimate item of power, charged with the true essence of human endeavor. Gods only know how that works
(To Roderick): Grasping it though, you feel echoes of that power. much the same way the emerald kingdom echoes to you from your fae sword
Roderick: “The power is still somewhere. Perhaps the blade simply cannot reach it until we repair the border between worlds.”
Ken (GM): [all whispers aside guys, yeah, this is the blade]
soooo off to the ansible?
Joush M.: right after Roderick picks it up and holds it aloft.
Ken (GM): AYYYY and here I thought I was being obtuse
Joush M.: By the Power of Grayskull
Ken (GM): I HAVE THE POWER
lol
Syviis: [NYYYEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!]

Gray takes up the blade respectfully, joking aside, wrapping it in clean fabric and tying it to his pack. “We will have to return here. The men that fell deserve to have their bodies treated with respect and this place must be cleansed… but for now, the Ansible waits”

Syviis nods
Suðri Skornbrekker nods as well.
Syviis: “It seems the Darkness still hungers, and I am all too happy to feed it with regret of coming to our world.
Suðri Skornbrekker cleans and reloads both of his muskets first, though.
Bomrek: also will dwarf-soldier before departing
Gray will clean himself up and repair the armor he can, working to fight off the terrible injuries and ignore the pain.
Roderick offers to patch up Gray’s wounds
Suðri Skornbrekker double-checks the settings

Ken (GM): 90% this campaign brought to you by the physical motion of nodding
Syviis nods in HIGH ELVISH

(From Syviis): dang, I got 10 ish left.
Ken (GM): ah right; bugger
Ken (GM) you collect yourselves, arm up, and get ready to depart through the gate
Ken (GM): so that means

Ken (GM) UNTIL NEXT WEEK

---

Doc: NEXT TIME…?
P.P. A.: SEE YOU NEXT WEEK?
Ken (GM): yeah man, of course
like, who else would run this steeze?
Joush M.: Thanks for the game man. What a crazy fucking fight this was
Ken (GM): hahah
P.P. A.: Aye, this was great
Ken (GM): as always, thanks
😀
Fiss: I’m pretty sure Ken plans to have everything burn forever here…maybe we can go into the Dark Evil Dimension and colonize it for the light? 😛
P.P. A.: >Grey getting tossed around and twisted by tentacles but shrugging it off because hes mothafuckin Gray
Ken (GM): wringing hands evilly who me?
P.P. A.: >Roderick LUCKing his way into the heart of the aberration and severing it from wherever it was coming from
Syviis just popping out Jadeite’s eyes
Doc: powerful session
P.P. A.: >Suðri shrugging off ITs mind-horrors
Joush M. got facehugger-ed
Fiss: [After epic years of battle, the Darkness vs us who are all Demi-God level…] “Fuck it. Let’s just trade. There’s less of you there, and nothing left really to save.]
Ken (GM): lol
Fiss: lol
Ken (GM): TRADESIES
P.P. A.: >dwarven lasers searing off layer upon layer of eldritch flesh
so yeah, good fight
and scary too
Fiss: Dorflazors
So fun
Ken (GM): PEW PEW PEW
Fiss: and Rod’s FYAHHHHH
P.P. A.: I was always worried what might pop up next, if we might be overlooking something ritual-y that’s ticking down
Fiss: Lots of solid pewing and chopping
Joush M.: RIP, mercenaries.
P.P. A.: also IT seizing Grey was pretty scary
RIP
Fiss: hehe
TENTACOOL GRAY(pe)
Ken (GM): 😀
Doc: so much damage was dealt
Ken (GM): yeah, a whole lot of elements in play there
SO MUCH
youguys dealt with it in a very methodical manner tho; mage, then working, then summoned form.
Fiss: So….depending on points, I’m thinking of either Luck or Unfazable lol
Ken (GM): believe me, there were contingencies for other steps
Fiss: o/
P.P. A.: \o