|
|
Session 1
|
|
Characters At 175 points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ban-sheeeit (Session 1)
|
|
We joined our heroes at the beginning of the
Trouble With Banshees vignette. I went with the "optional" path through
the adventure. I opted to not introduce No Face Man due to time compression and
conservation of characters; it was easier to use Agent Pryce of Section M's
regional holding facility (and who really ought to get a write up at some point).
I also opted to add some excitement and action along the way, though the Hunters
were hesitant to engage with a bunch of ghosts and similar ethereal challenges and
played it safe.
|
|
A calendar year has passed in the game setting betwen the last session of the previous
Arc and this one.
|
|
The Hook
|
|
After a year of pursuing their own interests while their new "Hunters Lodge" (aka
base of operations / paramilitary-worthy compound) was being built on a former avacado
farm tucked away in the hills of Fallbrook, CA, Bregg was contacted by Agent Pryce
about a peculiar situation in Las Vegas.
|
|
A Las Vegas stage performer going by the name Hugo Glamour with a cheesy
"talks to the dead" gimmick, widely believed to be a charlatan due to numerous on-stage
goofs over a less than stellar career, was wanted for a rather bizarre murder, and
had managed to completely elude the police for going on a month.
|
|
The most unusual thing about the murder is that the victim, an otherwise unremarkable
real estate investment executive named Hank Reed, had died of a near-total
systemic failure of almost all of his vital organs.
|
|
The Coroner's Report
|
|
According to the coroners report, Mr. Reed showed all the signs of having spontaneously
and simultaneously suffered severe cardiac arrest, a brain stem stroke, an aneurism,
a pulmonary embolism, acute renal failure, and several other abrupt and catastrophic
failures of vital organs. However Mr. Reeds' tox screen was clear and there was
no physical trauma, defensive wounds, or external injury, nor clear cause for such
a precipitous biological failure in a previously healthy middle aged man.
|
|
Hugo Greebly aka Hugo Glamour
|
Section M's dossier on the so-called medium, Hugo Greebly aka Hugo Glamour, had
come to the assesment that the man is a mere charlatan stage magician of the "mentalist"
or "cold reading" variety, based upon data analysis and referencing links on the
interweb of several embarrasing caught on camera on-stage blunders.
|
|
The online blooper clips are also where the bulk of Hugo's scant fame comes from
as his blunders are far more entertaining than his actual show.
|
|
However, no on-sight verification had been done of Hugo due to the analysts' findings
of a low statistically likelihood of supernatural relevance. So it is not impossible
that Hugo actually does have some kind of talent, perhaps an unreliable or weak
one.
|
|
He is certainly not considreed to be dangerous by Section M, which combinded with
the lack of anything more tangible as evidence than "some guy got extra dead really
quick" doesn't meet the urgency necessary to send actual Section M agents to the
site to investigate.
|
|
Stalled Mundane Investigation
|
|
Mundane Las Vegas detectives have been working the case and so far have gotten nowhere.
If they don't get a break soon it will fade into the cold case file.
|
|
SoCal Local #171
|
|
Pryce wanted some eyes he trusted on the situation, so he turned to the SoCal Local
#171, as they had started calling themselves. Evidently the name came from a drinking
session between Jonas and Clark.
|
|
Clark, his southern drawl transforming into a slur after over a dozen PBR's, slowly
lifted his head up and responded "Well shee-it! Add in my IQ plus Sally and Suzy,
and we got ourselves a regular union number: 171!" No one really knew if Clark indeed
scored a 14 on an IQ test, if he did the math wrong, or if he even knew what an
IQ score was. Regardless, the name stuck, at least within the group.
|
|
The Response
|
|
Jon was loathe to involve his so-called comrades as he wasn't in the mood to "herd
cats" as he put it, but Agent Pryce pointed out that if there was a supernatural
cause of Mr. Reeds untimely demise, it was apparently a kind of supernatural threat
that can cause rapid death without physical contact and Jon might want some "friends"
for backup.
|
|
Jon saw the wisdom in that, but still. His so called teammates could be quite a
pain in the ass to deal with. He wanted as much information as he could get before
calling them in, but Pryce said he was too busy with Section M work to gather much
other than a couple names (as was later discovered, he was actually prepping for
a night out with his fiance).
|
|
Agents got lives too! Besides, you owe Pryce for that little incident where Jon
and Clark tagged and bagged those boggans and Clark demanded drop off and payment
at 3 am on a Sunday morning. You may not remember, but Pryce surely does. And also,
it was a night in; way better than a night out.
|
|
Detective O'Grady
|
|
Pryce did offer the name of a "friendly" supernaturally aware Vegas cop, Detective
Shannon O'Grady. O'Grady is the unofficial "weird crimes" detective in Vegas
and he's worked with Section M and Hunters in the past.
|
|
Wasting no time, immediately after hanging up with Pryce, Bregg called O'Grady.
Though he wasn't personally tracking on the case as it wasn't obviously weird enough
for him to suspect a supernatural angle, O'Grady proved to be a helpful sort.
|
|
|
|
|
Detective O'Grady was able to pull up the case file on his computer and give Jon
the highpoints from it.
|
|
Prima Facie est non Primam Causam
|
|
Hank was found dead in Hugo Glamour's dressing room, and Hugo has gone missing.
So connecting A to B, Hugo is the prime suspect.
|
|
Ailis McKenzie
|
|
Also missing is a singer named Ailis McKenzie who's dressing room is next
door to Hugo's. The police are assuming her disappearance is related.
|
|
The Meat Of The Case
|
|
It turns out that Hugo Glamour and the deceased Hank Reed had encountered each other
several nights previously to Reed's death at one of Glamour's stage shows. It had
even been caught on video by another guest and posted on YouTube.
|
|
Reed and his wife Jane were at the show and Glamour, doing a cold crowd read, picked
Jane out. He said he could see her dead husband and he had something to tell her.
A confused Jane claimed she didn't know what he was talking about; her husband (Hank
Reed) was sitting right next to her. Apparently yet another Hugo blunder, caught
on tape.
|
|
Jane Reed, Double Widow - Currently Missing
|
|
But, here's the thing says O'Grady...according to the police file Jane Reed was married
before. Her husband Steve Parker died in a car accident several years previously.
|
|
Also, the police have not been able to find Jane Reed for questioning in their ongoing
investigation of her husband's death. She appears to be missing.
|
|
Motive?
|
|
The cops don't have a clear motive, but the prior encounter between Hank and Hugo,
plus Hank being found dead in Hugo's dressing room a few days later, and Hugo going
missing makes Hugo look pretty guilty.
|
|
Cause of Death?
|
|
Technically, Hank Reed's cause of death would be "by natural causes", as it looks
like he basically just dropped dead on the spot. However, the sheer unlikelyhood
of that many biological systems failing at once led the coroner to deem it "Suspicious
Circumstances - Suspected Foul Play".
|
|
Means?
|
|
As the cause of death isn't really known, the means isn't either.
|
|
Assholes Assemble!
|
|
Satisfied that even if the leads were a bit thin, worst case scenario at least he'd
be in Vegas and could take a little mini-vacation if the case was a bust, Jon grit
his teeth and put the word out to his erstwhile allies and supposed Lodge brothers,
most of whom had spent the last year un-impressing Jon with their lack of focus
on Hunting and willingness to rest on barely deserved laurels.
|
|
Miles, Man of Mystery
|
|
Shockingly, in what seemed like shitty made for television script writing, Miles
and Ebon were already in Vegas. Miles was gambling, Ebon was orgasmically wallowing
in excessive stimuli for his many divergent behaviors.
|
|
This rather surprised Jon as every time he had wanted Miles to help out on a Hunt
over the last year Miles had claimed to be too busy "studying" or "Warding the new
lodge", or "practicing Law" or obsessing over the god damn Kommer Aska bogeymen
Miles was certain were going to be attacking at any moment.
|
|
Now it turns out he's got time to be a Vegas high roller? Jon filed that little
bit of bullshit away for future reference.
|
|
Ebon, Ravenous Raven
|
|
Ebon continues to shadow Miles whenever possible and was with him in Vegas, which
is indistinguishable from Paradise for Ebon. Bright bright lights, lots of food
wastage filling Casino dumpsters, plenty of suckers with fat pockets to pick, shiny
tokens and coins to pilfer. It really wasn't fair (or wise) of Miles to bring Ebon
to such a overflowing cornucopia of corvididous delights. But that's Miles for you,
Mr. Sagacious Consideration For Others.
|
|
Jonas, Self-employed Un-insured Entrepreneurial MD
|
|
Jonas had finally gotten I-quit-you're-fired after showing even less interest in
work once he banked his quarter million stake from the Rollo Fjor et al bounty.
|
|
Jonas had kept himself occupied by investing his time, money, and most significantly
his intellect to a small experimental pharmacology / bio-tech startup run by a fellow
fringe genius who completely coincidentally also happened to be a smoking hot age-appropriate
woman.
|
|
After engaging in steamy hot innovation (for science!) the two marginalized MD's
acheived success with a new miracle drug called Trellipidor that lowers cholesterol,
improves cellular reconstruction, and reverses the effects of prostate cancer in
7 out of 10 men. Side effects include, but are not limited to, a faintly greenish
skin pigmentation in some subjects (consult your doctor to see if Trellipidor is
right for you; do not exceed recommended dosage).
|
|
Bored and with little to do while his new drug Trellipidor was going through FDA
trials, Jonas perked up at the chance to get to Vegas to visit his favorite steak
joint the Capitol Grill after a night spent discovering that peyote and meth weren't
marketed together for a reason.
|
|
Clark, Sir Not Appearing In This Session
|
|
Clark wasn't answering his phone.
|
|
Jonas later told Jon that Clark had tore off in his camper a couple of days earlier,
headed back to Oklahoma to help deal with a "family situation". Turns out, his 16
year old cousin Ginger Lee (named for both the redhead from Gilligan's Island and
the car from The Dukes of Hazzard) was pregnant with what rumor had it was her Uncle's
baby, who was now in jail for cooking meth and robbing a 7-11 for a grand haul of
$87.38 and a 12 pack of beer.
|
|
|
|
|
Clark later called Jon back and left a voicemail saying "I had to go pick up Ginger
Lee and drive her fat ass out of state to the nearest baby-killing store...clinic...whatever."
As he hung up, he could be heard to mumble "I done told that girl that Uncle Skeeter
ain't a good man fer her...".
|
|
The Investigation
|
|
The Murder Scene
|
|
Jon made the mistake of sharing with Miles via phone some of the information he
had gathered from Pryce and O'Grady. Jon implored Miles to sit tight and wait for
Jon and Jonas to arrive in Vegas within a few hours.
|
|
So of course no one should have been surprised when mere moments after hanging up,
Miles chose to take the initiative and disregard Jon's injunction by declaring his
intent to go investigate the crime scene.
|
|
Detective Miles, Esq.
|
|
Miles teleported himself and Ebon to an alley behind O'Hare's Casino, where Hank
Reed had been found dead in Hugo Glamour's dressing room several weeks previously.
Miles sent Ebon into the dressing rooms in spirit raven form to surveil the scene.
|
|
However, despite Ebon looking at the scene extra hard, there was nothing to be found
other than what it appeared to be...a month old crime scene that had already been
scoured over by the cops.
|
|
Ebon returned to the alley and projected what he had seen to Miles. Seemingly not
prepared for this outcome Miles pondered and finally decided to wait for Jon and
Jonas after all.
|
|
Hey Hey, The Gangs All Here
|
|
Jon called Detective O'Grady as he rolled into town and arranged for the detective
to meet the team near O'Hares Casino with some relevant files, including the coroner's
report. As promised, the good detective rolled up in a black Charger shortly after
the Hunters regrouped in Miles' favorite service alley behind the Casino.
|
|
After a brief conversation, O'Grady handed over the files Jon asked for, and Jon
handed the coroner's report to Jonas. Additionally, O'Grady had followed up on his
hunch and gotten more information on Jane Reed's first husband, and had gotten an
address for their former house and discovered that the deed was still in Jane Reed's
name.
|
|
Consulting a map of Vegas, Jon decided that the group should look at Hugo's apartment,
the Reed house, and the former Parker residence.
|
|
Miles wanted to split up, taking Ebon to investigate one of the locations while
Jon and Jonas went to another. Miles had a grand plan, whereby he would enchant
Jonas and Jon's clothing to look like repairmen and they could use this clever disguise
to get into places, while Miles was elsewhere supervising Ebon flying through walls
and noticing stuff.
|
|
As enticing as that plan sounded, Jon once again opted to keep everyone were he
could keep an eye on them; or that is to say...he opted for the group to stick together.
Jon's counter plan was that the team would drive to the nearest location (Hugo's
apartment as it turned out), check it out, then drive to the next closest and repeat
the process.
|
|
Hugo's Empty Bachelor Pad
|
|
Thus Miles climbed into Jonas's van, Jon rode his new motorcycle, and Ebon flew
overhead to Hugo's apartment. As they approached, everyone noticed the very obvious
"surveillance van" parked catercorner to Hugo's place.
|
|
Not wanting to draw attention to themselves and maybe have to use their status as
FBI Consultants for something as trivial as gaining access to a place of interest
in an ongoing investigation, the Hunters instead rolled on by and parked around
the other corner away from the surveillance van, with the apartment complex between
them.
|
|
After a brief huddle, Ebon was sent in to check out the van, and soon came back
to report that there were a couple of cops inside watching video feed from a camera
inside Hugo's apartment, and another feed covering the front door. After another
brief huddle, it was decided to send Ebon in alone, in spirit raven form.
|
|
Hugo's Not So Empty Restless Spirit Nexus Pad
|
|
Ebon soon found himself inside the apartment, which proved to be a bit ripe and
roach ridden. Nothing much of interest presented itself, until slowly and then faster,
one by one, a promenade of ghosts from many eras began to manifest, emerging from
the walls and floors and closing in on Ebon.
|
|
Panicking (or thinking fast perhaps), Ebon shot straight up towards and through
the ceiling, a couple of floors above Hugo's place, and out the roof into the sky.
Having created a lead for himself, Ebon used it to take cover in the van and hide,
and within a few seconds Jon and Miles were treated to the spectacle of a modest
horde of ghosts geysering up out of the apartment building in pursuit of Ebon. Their
target no longer at hand, the restless spirits returned to their abode within the
building.
|
|
Not confident in the groups abilities to take on so many ghosts, Jon opted to move
on to the next location.
|
|
The Coroner's Report
|
|
Jonas was occupying himself during all the excitement by going over the Coroner's
Report, and after reading the toxicology screen a second time and checking the autopsy
results thrice, Jonas came to the conclusion that there was no conventional medical
explanation for what happened to Hugo Reed, and that a supernatural cause of death
was likely. That plus a ghost nexus in Hugo's apartment indicated a strong likelihood
that the Hunters did not drive and or fly and or teleport to Las Vegas for nothing.
|
|
The House of Reeds
|
|
The Reeds turned out to live in an affluent "McMansion" development among a collection
of similar homes showing off the many wonders of customizeable modular housing.
Presenting a faux fieldstone facade and tasteful bluish-grey paint, a professionally
landscaped lawn, and HoA approved lawn decoration, there was no outward sign that
the home was unoccupied save the "do not cross" police line across the recessed
door, barely noticeable from the street.
|
|
Bureau Of Paranormal Affairs
|
|
With a couple of hours of light remaining, the Hunters decided to once again deploy
Ebon as their personal spy drone, and he obliged by flying in through the roof into
the attic space. Among the to be expected stray boxes of stuff, there was also a
small office space at the top near the pull-down ladder and under the peak of the
rook. A large, old fashioned (and quite old) roll-top desk and swivel stool occupied
a gable end, and seemed to loom within the cramped space.
|
|
The desk seemed to project ominous and unnerving emanations, which twinged the already
on-edge Ebon, and he quickly plunged deeper into the house proper, leaving the attic
behind him uninvestigated.
|
|
It Appears Normal...too Normal
|
|
The house proper was Stepford-perfect, looking like a model home rather than a residence.
The place was cold, sterile, and unsettling but nothing was out of place.
|
|
Doppler, who's there?
|
|
Ebon moved on to the master bedroom, and things began to get interesting. Ebon's
strange sensitivity to violence and strife was tickled by the spoor of pervasive
anger and pain, indicative of repetitive suffering and abuse.
|
|
And then Ebon began to "hear" muted voices...as if from another room, but ghosting
through the house in search of the speakers proved fruitless, for the voices always
seemed to be emanating from some other room. Ebon began to feel increasingly uncomfortable
and finally chose to flee the dwelling.
|
|
To Flee Or Not To Flee
|
|
After reporting his findings back to the group, Ebon found himself a scooby snack
while the other Hunters argued. Miles of course wanted to go inside and investigate
the mysterious desk, convinced that it held deep arcane secrets that he was eager
to get his hands on. Jon held to his position of not engaging with ghostly forces
if not necessary, and wanted to press on to the long-empty Parker residence before
the sun set. Jonas was also not in any hurry to tangle with the spirit world, acutely
aware of his current lack of prepardness for such matters.
|
|
Miles, stymied again but trying real hard to be a "team player", finally (begrudgingly)
agreed to leave off, and the team departed.
|
|
The Former Parker Residence
|
|
Moving quickly to a less affluent neighborhood about fifteen minutes further into
suburbia, the team arrived at the residence of the deceased Steve Parker. The modest
home stood out on a bend in the road like the knub of a thumb grasping at the two
laned street and then changing its mind. The property showed the years of neglect
it had endured, unoccupied and unsold. Even the realtor's sign in the front yard
was weathered and worn.
|
|
And what do the voices tell you to do, exactly?
|
|
Used to the pattern now, Miles, Jonas, and Jon settled into wait while Ebon scouted
the place in spirit form. Ebon flew in through a sidewall of the stripped out house,
but his reconnaissance was halted quickly. First, he started "hearing" a strange
voice, of the evil fairy godmother or Cruela Deville variety.
|
|
Parker, Steve; Already Lost
|
|
And as if strange spirit voices weren't enough, Ebon was blocked from progressing
further into the dwelling by the appearance of a ghostly middle aged man who appeared
to be attempting to talk to Ebon, but the voice was very faint and made little sense
to the intruding Valravn.
|
|
Having, frankly, had enough of ghostly emanations for one day Ebon didn't even play
around; he simply reversed course and fled the building back the way he had come
in.
|
|
What's the Word?
|
|
Meanwhile, outside, the other three Hunters began to notice first a few and then
more than enough crows and / or ravens gathering in the area to stage a reenactment
of the classic Hitchcock film The Birds!
|
|
The black fowls cawed in to roost on any available perch, including the easements
of the nearby houses, powerlines, and vehicles. Though this would strike most as
being extremely unusual and creepy, this lot of Hunters have become rather used
to large swarms of black birds gathering near Ebon and were not initially alarmed.
|
|
But when Ebon hastily returned to the van to report his brush with yet another spirit
and was asked why he was calling so many birds to this locale, Ebon seemed befuddled
and claimed that they weren't under his control...that they were not present per
his bidding and were not responding to his urgings. This lent credence to Ebon's
otherwise nearly incoherent recommendation that the Hunters leave this place now,
and fast, as Ebon felt an increasingly mounting danger should they stay, and the
voice of the angry old lady continued to mutter strange incomprehensible warnings
in his mind.
|
|
And then the birds all took flight from their perches with shrill caws and began
to circle the Hunter's van. Taking the hint, for the third time the Hunters turned
their tail lights on a supernatural loci and hauled ass away.
|
|
I'm tired of running away, dammit!
|
|
The birds gave up pursuit after a few minutes and the Hunters regrouped. Jon was
even less interested in confronting whatever was going on at the Parker residence,
especially given that the usually unflappable Ebon was currently in a state of nearly
wetting himself.
|
|
But Miles was done pussyfooting around; and he returned to the subject of the desk
in the Reed residence and his determination to suss out its secrets.
|
|
The House of Reeds, Part Deux
|
|
Jon decided to put Miles on the spot a bit, and agreed for the Hunters to return
to the Reed house, but Miles would have to take point. The other Hunters would stand
by until Miles had dealt with whatever arcane evil lurked within the place, or some
corporeal foe presented itself.
|
|
Miles did not seem concerned by this and readily agreed to this plan. En route to
the location, Jon called O'Grady and aprised him of their status, and also at Jonas'
behest asked O'Grady to get the info on where Hank Reed was buried. O'Grady said
he would swing by the station and get the info, and then meet the Hunters at the
Reed house.
|
|
Arriving at the Reed house as the sun finally set, Miles initially fuddled around,
but finally settled upon a direct approach and asked Ebon to fly in through the
walls in spirit form and unlock the door for him.
|
|
Why does this keep happening to me?!?
|
|
Ebon obliged Miles as the Hunters stacked up at the door, and ghosted in through
the door, turned solid, and unlocked the deadbolts. But when he assumed physical
form, Ebon drew the notice of a much more frightening sort of spirit than any he
had (directly) encountered thus far. He found himself under attack by a hateful,
angry thing emerging from the upstairs balcony and hurling spectral energy at the
hapless Valravn. With a squawk Ebon returned to spirit form and hurled himself outside
again.
|
|
Miles, Mystical Man of Action
|
|
Returning to human form, Ebon babbled the details of his attack, but Miles had had
enough and breached the door anyway.
|
|
Once on the other side of the threshold however, Miles suddenly realized that the
entire inside of the house was powerfully Warded with sigils so tight barely a scrap
of flat surface was left bare. Mystical, Hermetic, Daemonic, and Necromantic sigils
looped and counter-looped precisely together by a master's hand, as fine as any
Miles has ever seen. None vs Faeries, however, Miles idly noted.
|
|
No mere apprentice or dabbler inscribed these signs, they were the clear handiwork
of a worker of note.
|
|
Miles felt a tingle of trepidation, but also excitement. His hunch that the mysterious
desk holds things of arcane significance was looking increasingly likely to be correct.
|
|
Miles tersely ordered over his shoulder that the others were not to enter, no matter
what, while the Evenaster's Everlaster charm he had wisely put upon himself
before entering disrupted a vicious spectral attack from the evil shade that loomed
above the foyer at the top of a rising staircase and balustrade.
|
|
Miles quickly bounded up the stairs with Darian's Dynamic Distancer to point blank
range, and unleased a brilliant blast of Evanaster's Energetic Evocation directly
into the center mass of the terrifying shade that now faced him.
|
|
The thing dissipated with a fading howl, and Miles yanked down the attic ladder
and began to ascend, but the thing began to reintegrate and attacked Miles again
from behind. Evenaster's Everlaster once again deflected most of the dark forces
and protected Miles very soul from the enervating power of the shade, and Miles
turned around to unleash another blast of pure mystical energy into the apparation.
|
|
But before Miles could let loose his bolt, Ebon ignored the order to remain outside
and shot in to gobble up bits of spectral energy before they could recongeal, and
quickly seemed to devour the entity's essense.
|
|
That dealt with, Miles entered the attic fully, and felt the wash of powerful, dark
energies push at him, emanating from the ominous roll-top desk before him. To his
trained eye and mystical senses, he could tell that the desk represented a complex
conundrum. While Miles pondered, Ebon perched in the rafters ready to flee or attack
or who knows what, but unwilling to leave Miles' side.
|
|
Miles' Scrutiny
|
|
Magical traps...several. Layer upon layer of magical spoor, soaked into the old
wood over many decades of close exposure to many generations of Magi. Hermetic,
Infernal, and Necromantic energies...arts black and sinister. Though not itself
magical, per se, the desk was host to several spells of protection and deadly traps
for the unwary. Yes, a real peach of a find, to be sure.
|
|
Miles came to the conclusion that he could potentially bore through and peel away
these protections, but not with the Rotes he currently was holding the patterns
for, and some research wouldn't hurt either.
|
|
Most significantly, who was Hank Reed? A Black Wizard of some sort, obviously, and
an adept one at that. Heir to some kind of tradition, judging from the antiquity
of the desk. Surely there would be some record of his existence somewhere? The Hermetic
Order of the Risen Sun would likely have some information of use...but no, that
path is not an option any longer.
|
|
Regretfully, Miles exited the attic and pushed the ladder back up after Ebon cleared
the lip. Though delay grated his nerves, he would return to this puzzle later when
better prepared.
|
|
Outside the Haunted House
|
|
While Miles pulled his Sorceror Supreme routine, Jon and Jonas stayed on alert at
the door, both somewhat out of sorts regarding the way this was playing out and
not enjoying sitting on the sidelines. Detective O'Grady arrived and seeing the
situation, quickly exited his vehicle and tactically approached with firearm at
the ready.
|
|
Jon filled O'Grady in on all the doings of the day, and mentioned feeling totally
unprepared to deal with spirits. O'Grady took Jon to the trunk of his car and fished
out a spare 10mm Glock and a couple clips of "consecrated bullets", which O'Grady
promised would affect most spirits and other supernatural things. Jon thanked him,
and the two men of action had a touching moment of bonding over firearms and the
prospect of violence.
|
|
O'Grady had the address on the cemetary where Hank Reed had been buried as requested,
and conveyed that intelligence.
|
|
Miles and Ebon exited the house and closed the door behind them. Ebon pulled his
little in and out trick in reverse to re-lock the doors while Miles relayed his
findings (though sufficiently "dumbed down" for non-arcanists to comprehend).
|
|
The crux of it was: find out more about Hank Reed, and come back to crack open the
desk with different spells. Jon grunted and filed that information under "whatever".
|
|
Beat it, beat cops
|
|
While the group was mounting up to head to the final resting place of Hank Reed,
a patrol car pulled up, someone having alerted the cops to the team's strange doings.
O'Grady flashed his badge, identified himself, and basically told the cops to beat
it.
|
|
Plan B From Ebon Space
|
|
Jonas wanted to look at the body of Hank Reed directly, but Ebon promised that no
autopsy would be necessary, so long as the corpse still had an eye or some brain
matter remaining. O'Grady was a bit discomfited by that remark, but the Hunters
just took it in stride, long inured to Ebon's weirdness.
|
|
Austere Hills Cemetary And Resting Home
|
|
Finally, the group set off into the darkness to the Austere Hills Cemetary And Resting
Home. Miles made a remark about digging up bodies in the dark, but Jonas assured
him with disturbing confidence that it is usually a pretty straightforward affair.
|
|
At the cemetery the team eventually found the right plot, and despite Jonas' repeated
offerings to exhume the body Ebon avoided disturbing the grave by entering the coffin
in spirit form. While the group above avoided thinking about what was going on below
their feet, Ebon found that the eyes of his target had rotted into useless globs
but luckily the brain was still in sufficient shape to offer some information.
|
|
See Hank The Black Wizard Kill Jane
|
|
After some disgusting exploratory surgery, Ebon consumed a sufficient amount of
decaying brain matter to get a glimpse of the last moments of Reed's life, along
with some other important information.
|
|
Evidently Hank Reed was, as Miles had surmised, a Black Wizard specializing in daemonology
and necromantic arts. Ebon clearly re-lived the apparently accidental death of Jane
Reed. Hank had been working some evil spell at his desk (which contains a miniature
altar and pigeonhole container of components). Jane entered the attic unexpectedly
with a phone (presumably an important call), and the surprise caused Hank to botch
his spell. The resulting backlash fried Jane and left her a smoking husk.
|
|
See Hugo Threaten Hank
|
|
Hank hid his wife's death from the outside world and reported her missing. Through
means not revealed to Ebon, Hugo Glamour somehow became aware that Hank had killed
Jane. For reasons unknown Hugo decided to confront Hank at his own front door about
Janes death, possessed of impossibly detailed knowledge of the event. Hugo threatened
to reveal Hank's secret to the "gov"...aka, Section M.
|
|
See Hank Threaten Hugo
|
|
Turnabout being fair play, Hank tracked Hugo down and confronted Hugo in his dressing
room later the same day. An argument broke out, and the incident was on the verge
of becoming violent.
|
|
See Ailis Kill Hank
|
|
Then Ailis McGillis walked in to Hugo's dressing room to see what the noise was
all about. Hank turned on her in a threatening manner, and the startled Ailis responded
with a ululating scream that killed Hank where he stood.
|
|
Thus, surprise, Ailis killed Hank...not Hugo.
|
|
Neat trick, Ebon. Next murder mystery, consider leading with it.
|
|
Further Back, Infernal Real Estate Deals
|
|
Ebon was able to dig further back into Hank's memories a couple of days, and dredged
up a memory of a meeting Hank took with a female real estate type person, wherein
the two talked about moving a property that would please the "board" and bring favor
to both of them.
|
|
Ebon could sense from the way the memory tasted and the weight of it that Hank and
the unnamed woman were talking about something more consequential than a mere lot
of land, though the images and feelings Hank had associated with the situation were
too confusing for Ebon to understand. But, one thing Ebon did notice, was that the
other real estate person was the same lady whose picture had been on the realtor's
sign back at the Parker house.
|
|
From Ebons' Beak To Miles' Brain
|
|
Ebon finally emerged, and projected what he had learned into the mind of Miles,
who relayed the info to the others. Miles was able to penetrate some of the discussion
between Hank and the unknown real estate lady and offered an opinion that they were
talking about something arcane, and that the woman might have been a co-member of
a coven with Hank.
|
|
Miles also conjectured that Ailis might be a Banshee, though admitted in a very
roundabout way that his Faerie Lore was weak.
|
|
Calling It In
|
|
Jon decided that with the original purpose of their visit solved (solving the murder
of Hank Reed) it was time to report in to Agent Pryce. After a long phone call recapping
the day's events, Pryce was blown away with all the discoveries made by the group.
If the leads indeed panned out, this was a major nest of supernatural activity that
had been uncovered.
|
|
Pryce relayed some info concerning a dark sect of Sorcerers and Black Wizards called
the Cult of the Red Hand as a possible explanation for Hank Reed, but the
connection was tenuous at best at this point.
|
|
Pryce also thought that Ailis might be a Banshee, but had considerably more information
at his disposal, including that Banshees are often protected by an ancient god-like
entity known as the Morrigan, and that those who have killed Banshees in
the past have reputedly been cursed for the remainder of their existence with bad
luck.
|
|
Jon questioned the legality of the situation from an Accords perspective. As Hank
Reed proved to be a Black Wizard and a murderer, was there even a violation here?
Supernatural on Supernatural violence with no mundane witnesses; no harm no foul
right?
|
|
But Pryce informed Jon that Banshees are on the permanent Sanctioned list; their
powers are unstable and tend to be uncontrollable, and are always lethal. So whether
Ailis did anything wrong or not is irrelevant; if she is a Banshee, she's automatically
Sanctioned...and with a rather large bounty attached at that.
|
|
Jon told Pryce that the Hunters would follow up on the best lead they had left,
which was the female real estate associate of Hanks, and hinted that the group had
no further interest in pursuing Ailis even if she did carry a big bounty. It sounded
like a lose lose situation to Jon, what with the rumor of eternal curses and so
forth.
|
|
Pryce promised to get a team assembled and out to Vegas by the next day; Jon asked
that the team bring some loaner gear for the Hunters to help them deal with spirits.
Pryce said he'd do what he could.
|
|
Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird Is The Word
|
|
In the interim, short-attention-span Miles had decided to make an ill-advised teleportation-enabled
recon trip back to the Parker house to get the name of the realtor off the sign
in front of the house. The long suffering Ebon grudgingly tagged along, though deeply
conflicted. The old lady "voice" he had heard at the Parker house filled Ebon with
dread, but he simply could not allow himself to not follow Miles into danger.
|
|
Upon emerging from teleportation in front of the Parker residence, Miles was immediately
set upon by a swarm of crows. Attempting to escape, Miles found his casting disrupted
several times, and barely escaped with his life by finally getting his spell off
just before he exhausted himself, "heroically" leaving Ebon to his fate.
|
|
However, the crows refused to engage with Ebon despite his attempts to combat them,
and the evil old lady's voice thrust itself into his mind again, but much stronger
than before. Ebon slowly began to understand the voice, despite the ancient Gaelic
tongue it communicated in, and quickly realized that the entity the voice belonged
to seemed to know more about him than he did himself. The voice warned Ebon to not
pursue "her childe" Ailis and her protector Hugo, or there would be severe repercussions.
|
|
Ebon felt a strange bond with the entity, as of a common origin, and also respected
her power, while the elder thing seemed to find Ebon precocious and amusing. She
bade Ebon to "remember who he was" and to "cast off that which bound" him.
|
|
Ahem...I Meant To Do That
|
|
Self-conscious as to what the other Hunters might think of him in his dissheveled,
bird pecked and fouled state, Miles opted to teleport to an intermediary location
and magically repair his clothing before returning to the cemetary where O'Grady,
Jon, and Jonas waited. Questioned about Ebon's absence, Miles dissembled that Ebon
"would be along shortly", opting to omit the part where Miles had abandoned Ebon
to save himself.
|
|
Fortunately Ebon did indeed pop back in mere moments later, rolling a gimlet eye
at Miles. Ebon had the presense of mind to note the realtor's name from the sign,
Linda Sweeny, before departing the scene. However, Jonas had already gotten
the name by using his smart phone to look up the Parker house listing on the internet.
|
|
So the whole misadventure had been unnecessary. Way to go Miles!
|
|
Calling it a night
|
|
The night rolling along towards eleven p.m., Jon called it a day, and invited O'Grady
to join the Hunters at the Capitol Grill if he were in the mood for a good steak.
The team headed back towards the strip.
|
|
|
|
GMs Note: This was a crazy packed session. The Trouble With Banshees is a
complex sandbox adventure with potentially lot of moving parts.
|
|
The Great: This adventure was intended to focus on Ebon, and anchor a recent decision
to alter the original character concept away from him being a wereraven (something
I was never 100% on board with as the GM as I did not want two lycanthropes in the
group), and toward him being a Fey Valravn with ancient Celtic and Norse entanglements.
Towards this ends, most of Ebon's XP expenditures have gone towards him "discovering"
new odd abilities including his recent development of a "spirit raven" form, and
numerous abilities pertaining to battlefields and death. Through the course of this
adventure Ebon took center stage and really got to show off.
|
|
The Good: Jon was really on his game as leader. He got the info the team needed,
was smart about using but not overusing contacts, asking the right questions, and
keeping the team pointed in a direction and moving together. Despite Miles' attempts
to randomize and prediliction for unpredictibility.
|
|
The Bad: Jon and Jonas were left with little to do in this session, as they lacked
any way of dealing with desolid foes. To some extent I'm ok with this as it is not
a given that the Hunters (individually or collectively) will always be able to deal
with every threat they encounter. And, it gave the two less physical / more esoteric
characters a chance to demonstrate what they bring to the team. But...it was causing
unwanted side effects in the group dynamics and was perhaps more frustrating to
Jon and Jonas's players than intended.
|
|
The Ugly: Miles' player was way off his game and did a number of questionable things,
including spontaneously interjecting his character into Las Vegas upon discovering
that the adventure was located there. I try to be friendly to players driving the
narrative so I let him run with it, but it did not go over well with either myself
or the other players. Things went downhill from there, and though he somewhat redeemed
himself at the Reed house, he had to go and ruin it with the goat rope final excursion
back to the Parker House and subsequent abandonment of Ebon, after which the other
players lost whatever patience they had remaining for Miles and his antics. In retrospect,
I should have just shut down the "Hey, I'm in Vegas Baby!" bullshit with a "what
the fuck? Uh...no."; it may have stopped the butterfly effect from transpiring.
|
|
XP Awarded: Sensing the mood at the table (and we had also run long on time),
rather than go thru the Shticks process this session, I asked each player to award
XP to each other via secret ballot, and I would also and then average the results.
I was not surprised by the outcome of this.
|
- Ebon: 4 + 1 MVP
- Jon: 4
- Miles: 2 - (I rounded up)
- Jonas: 3
|