Better Late Than Never...
Jun. 13th, 2010 08:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
realsorienBut still before the run at least! Here's the latest Horror Campaign run. :)
When we last left out heroes events seemed to have finally taken a turn for the calmer, if not necessarily the better. With the recovery of Ariel and the exit of the Elder Heroes (Professor Dane, Greg’s father and the mercenaries), the housemates were left staying at the Dane mansion in the tender care of Aunt Agatha and Thomas Black Cloud, who is remaining in Arkham at least until the wards are restored to the dormhouse.
They each turned to their own projects, and naturally the calm didn’t last. While Bill started to research Arkham, Jackie decided to look into her own history, due mostly to the possibility that the strange red-headed woman who’d seemingly been working with Frau Schodt might be her sister. Initially a plan to drive out to Minnesota so that she might be able to access the records at the orphanage itself formed, but this was nixed when it turned out that the Annual Interstellar Gun Show that they’d visited last year was on the upcoming weekend!
A scramble ensued for the obtainment of tickets to the event, and Bill managed to get two- by offering to work as a ‘booth-monkey’ for Gabriel at the Gun Show. Mad Akbar hadn’t yet returned from a trip. The second ticket went to Jackie, who had her own negotiations with Gabriel.
Of course, things don’t ever remain simple. The four end up separating- Bill remaining at the mansion, Greg heading to the dojo and dropping off Jackie and Roy en route- Roy near the industrial district so he could go to MIB headquarters, Jackie at KNOW to train with Joe Oracle.
Naturally, Jackie gets kidnapped. Her psychic scream is picked up by Greg, who in turn gets Bill by phone. The pair race separately to her aid, but its far too late. In the end they learn where she’s been taken- just outside Hinckley, Minnesota!
With transport arranged through items purchased from Mad Akbar’s shop, the three remaining housemates go to the rescue of Jackie. The goal is to save her and return to Arkham with time left to attend the Gun Show, but its never that easy...
In turn, the three use the enchanted crystals- in turn each vanishes. When they look about them at their destination, they’re in a dark, deep woods. They’re standing on the lip of a shallow craterlike depression, and in the middle of this is... A portal. On their side of this passage it’s the tail end of spring. On the other, deepest winter.
They can feel the cold eminating from the portal- its likely VERY cold. The only one of the three that is even vaguely equipped for the apparent weather is Bill, and likely his longcoat isn’t going to do much other than cut the wind; the cold will get right through. Bill wants to head through regardless- he doesn’t think a delay is at all safe for Jackie. Greg, however, thinks they need to be better equipped.
After some further argument, Greg climbs a tree to get a look around- he actually succeeds in finding a tree tall enough that he can see the lights of the Grand Casino in Hinckley. It seems to be just a few miles away. When he comes down, Bill still argues against the delay, but acquiesces to the trip to get better winter gear. The walk takes more than an hour, and all of their footgear is coated with muck by the time they get to the vast parking lot of the casino. For some reason, Greg seems to think that Minnesota is inhabited by hunters and trappers who still live in the 1890s... Which exasperates Bill even more.
However, Greg’s beliefs receive reinforcement- there are a group of re-enactors on the premises, all dressed in leathers and furs like the hunters of yesteryear! He approaches them.
“Hey! Those outfits are great! Where’d you get them?”
The man blinks. “Um... From a catalog?”
Greg keeps talking with the oddly-garbed group, while Roy and Bill both decide to do something to resolve their problems. Bill goes the legal route- he walks into the casino and into the gift shop, buying heavy sweaters for each of them. Roy... Has other ideas. He goes to the clustered vehicles in the lot and rifles through each, coming up with an impressive haul of goods including a frame-pack!
The three reconvene. Greg offers to pay Roy back for his ‘purchases’. Bill, who saw what was going on flat out states that Roy robbed the cars! Greg, seemingly in some strange version of reality all his own, doesn’t believe Bill. They trudge their way back into the woods, using both Bill and Roy’s GPS to get them back to where they’d appeared.
However... There’s a problem. They do get back, but the portal is gone! The strange shallow crater is still there, but the passage has apparently closed.
“Goddamnit. I KNEW we should have gone in!”
Greg looks at Bill. “We couldn’t have known. Besides, we’d have froze to death.”
Bill grumbles at this.
“It may reappear. Its all we’ve got right now.”
A rude camp is set up and they try to settle for the night. Roy takes first watch while Greg meditates and Bill tries to sleep. This doesn’t work in the least- Bill is way too keyed on stress, worry and frustration. The night slowly passes, all things seeming to be safe and as normal as could be expected in the woods of Minnesota. However, Bill notices strange movement by Roy- it looks like a hugs scorpion! He rapidly pulls out the assault rifle, sights and fires; with a crack like thunder the thing is kicked by the bullets impact away from Roy.
The sound of the gunshot rouses Greg, who immediately rolls to a flanking position by Bill. Whispered conversation passes between them as Bill watches for a target.
“What’s going on?”
“I dunno. Something like a giant scorpion was by Roy- I shot it, but I don’t know if I killed it.”
“I can’t see. Where?”
Bill starts to point, but realizes that Greg won’t see THAT, either. he hands over a flashlight.
“Don’t point that thing at me- you’ll wreck my night vision completely.”
The flashlight illuminates a disturbing scene. The thing Bill shot is flopping on the ground near where Roy had been- another of the beasts is dragging him into the woods, and Roy himself seems unconscious and is frothing at the mouth! Greg moves to the attack, knocking the one dragging Roy loose of its prey but gaining its undivided attention in the process. When he does, they notice a third scorpion approaching.
Making sure that they lower the number of enemies, Bill puts another round into the first scorpion. When the round hits the beast, sickly green fire erupts from it. The newly-arrived beast then charges at Bill, but he manages to scramble away from its attack. Greg’s opponent strikes back at him and succeeds, but the thing manages to not poison him when the sting penetrates his arm.
In retaliation, Greg manages to smash the creature’s carapace- its death throes fling it about. It attacks a tree in its agony, its pincers ripping apart a several-inch thick small tree as it dies. Bill takes aim at the remaining creature, unleashing a three-shot burst. Two of the rounds hit, both flaring with eerie green fire. Like the others, the thing flops and convulses as it dies and Bill goes over to Greg and Roy.
With the death of his foe, Greg had turned his attentions to Roy. Not knowing any other recourse he starts to try sucking the poison from Roys wound, which is a large puncture on his shoulder. Amazingly enough he seems to succeed, and Roy relaxes. He ceases foaming at the mouth, and the woods lie about them, ominous and dark.
“Bill. Come here- I need you to suck something out of me!”
Bill blinks. “Uh, I don’t think I know you THAT well... What?”
Greg holds up the bit of the scorpion-stinger that he got out of the wound. In the dark, Bill can’t see the object, and he’s having trouble hearing- firing a heavy-caliber rifle will do that. Fortunately or unfortunately, Greg CAN still hear, and what he hears isn’t good- scuttling in the woods around them. He shares this joy with Bill, and they decide that they can’t remain where they are. Greg gets Roy into a fireman’s carry and the pair start moving. As they go, Greg decides that maybe getting Roy active would be a good idea, and says to the limp weight across his shoulders, “Roy! Its the demons! RUN!”
Greg gets what he wanted, Roy awake, in spades. He FREAKS, forcing Greg to drop him. He bolts off into the woods.
To Roy, horror has taken his world. The demons are back, his MASTER is back, and he’s got his icy sword- Roy remembers and hates that blade, and can do nothing as the chilling weapon slices into him.
Greg has followed Roy as best he can. Roy has amazingly avoided braining himself on a branch, and hasn’t plowed into a tree either. However, when he comes across Roy’s prostrate form on the ground he pulls up short. Standing over Roy, blade in hand is a unhumanly beautiful woman. Unfortunately, Greg seems to be mostly in biker-mode.
“Who the hell are you?”
She raises an eyebrow. “I could ask the same.”
Greg starts arguing with the woman, and while this goes on Bill starts first aid on Roy; there is a deep slice across his chest, and the wound almost seems... Frozen. it takes him some time to get Roy to a point where he feels his friend isn’t dying, and by then Greg has dug a nice deep hole with the woman.
“Greg, stop it.”
“Why should I?”
“She’s FEY.”
“So?”
“So you’re WAY out of your weight class.”
“What’s a Fey?”
“Faerie. A Daoine Sidhe. (he pronounces it theena-shee) They... Ugh. They’re ancient beings. Think kinda like Tolkien Elves but not so easy going. They’re best described as beautiful and terrible.”
The woman looks at Bill with that statement. “Why thank you!”
The discussion becomes a lot more dangerous, with Bill doing what he can to save Greg’s life- Greg, wisely, has chosen to finally keep his mouth shut firmly. The woman is of the Summer Court, and the land they saw through the portal is that of the Winter Court. She names herself Danilithia, but from the casualness of the revelation at least Bill knows its not her true calling. Bill swears by his True Name that he speaks the truth, that he and his friends were in the woods seeking another who was kidnapped, and that the scorpions were not of their doing. When he makes that oath, she demands Bill’s Name as her price for sparing Greg and helping them. Greg shudders at Bill once again going into debt over him, but Bill acquiesces.
“I’ll tell the truth- I don’t actually know what my True Name is.”
“What is your name, then?”
“William Edward Vicklin... But I don’t know if its what you want.”
The woman smiles a small, disturbing smile and doesn’t reply save to say, “follow.”
She leads them back to the clearing with its odd crater; strangely, there is no longer any sign of the scorpions. She draws her blade, slashing the air with elegant precision. As she does, a line of silvery fire follows the motion, soon filling out into a portal very like that which they’d seen before. She indicates that they should pass through, Greg once again being contrary. She glares at him, “I cannot heal your companion on this side, human.” With that, they pass across into Winter.
She lays Roy on the ground, and with her hand upon him soon his wounds close. He wakes, and the cold of the ground feels very good to him.
“Did you save me?” She nods in affirmative to his question.
“Are you an angel?”
“No. All of you, attend.”
Clothing from the pack that Roy gathered is rapidly passed around, Bill wearing one of the sweaters he’d purchased under his longcoat. With the remainder of the gear stowed they follow the woman, noticing that as long as they stay close to her, the temperature is tolerably warm; its still cold, but its more like a cool winter day then the deepest bitter of the arctic.
They travel for some time, eventually finding themselves on what seems to be a smallish farmstead. They cross the frozen fields to a cottage, where lights glow through the windows. It seems a homely place, and without even a knock the woman leads them inside. It is as within as without, a small home as if out of the past. Their escort searches about for a short time, then curses- and is instantly no longer there.
They all blink at the suddenness of the disappearance, and soon fall to talking- a few moments pass and they are all startled by a woman’s shriek! Jackie comes out of an adjoining room, and is faced by several drawn firearms! These are quickly lowered as they realize who she is.
“How did you get here? How did you find me?”
“I ‘heard’ your shout, and we got help from Gabriel at Mad Akbars,” replies Greg.
“But how did you find me?”
Bill answers this time. “Well, we didn’t exactly. We found where you were taken, and the portal to here that was there. By the way, you owe us $6000 for the rescue.”
Jackie blinks. “Okay...”
The conversation continues, Jackie explaining that her apparent sister, the redhead, grabbed her at the radio station and brought her to the farmstead, then left. In turn, her compatriots tell her how they arrived. It is briefly considered that they could try to head back to the portal, but given that her supposed rescuers really only survived to reach her due to the aura of warmth about their now-absent fey escort, the idea quickly dies. They decide to wait at least until morning. Bill and Roy decide on sleep while Greg meditates and Jackie stands watch.
Of course, she doesn’t just stand watch, being Jackie. She tries to contact Greg psychically- something happens, but she really doesn’t know what- the result is that Greg is nearly frozen to death, and faces visions.
In the visions, Greg sees a couple with a baby. A woman comes to visit- somehow the father in the image is frozen to death, while his wife(?) flees with the child, apparently surviving. When he’s able to, he tells Jackie of this as best as he can recall.
“Could that child have been you, and the couple your parents?”
“I don’t know... It could be. I wonder why she killed my father...”
During this, Roy has wakened. He listens into the conversation, then starts to insist that Jackie open a portal... Which she certainly WOULD do, if she had any idea how to do so. She tries to explain that she can’t, that it isn’t that simple, but Roy thinks that if she’s half-fey like its been told to her (earlier, by the redhead before the boys arrived), then she should just automatically be able to do it.
Eventually the escalating sound of the conversation wakes Bill, at about the time that Greg offers to die to get them home, if that is the price to get them there. Bill looks pointedly at him.
“What about Ariel?”
Greg... Stops. “Offer rescinded.”
It isn’t long after this that the door of the homestead opens. Its the redhead. She doesn’t seen at all surprised at the additions to the population, and when asked explains (at least sketchily) what is going on. Her name is Judith, and she’s human. She’s Jackie’s aunt, not her sister, and was directed to bring Jackie to see the Queen of the Winter Court, known as ‘The Queen of Air and Darkness’ and also named Mab.
Jackie’s bloodline is what has drawn the interest of the Courts- specifically, the unusual powers that Jackie has been displaying over recent months. She was supposed to have been presented to the Queen long ago, but was lost. Now that Judith has located her, she’s bound to take Jackie before the Queen. While the housemates discuss this, Judith goes back outside, apparently to fetch bread (mortal, not of fey) that she has baking in a separate building. While she is gone, the conversation continues and leads to a decision for the group to go with Jackie before the Queen.
The decision made, naturally things go wrong. From outside, there is a piercing woman’s scream! Bill instantly draws blade and charges out to the rescue... But he’s far, far too late. Before the oven in the outbuilding Judith lies dead- she’s literally been cut in half by a stroke from a blade- that of the Summer Court Fey that accompanied them to the farmstead. Stunned, Bill makes no hostile action.
“... Why did you kill her?”
“Because I wished to end the line of power, of course.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t belong in the politics of fey.”
Without thinking, likely from the shock of the scene Bill says, “My friend is in it, I want her out.” But the woman either doesn’t hear or doesn’t care. As Summer Fey starts back towards the house, Bill closes Judith’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
He follows her back to the house, going in as she waits outside. Bill quickly sketches out what happened, then explains that the other fey is going to lead them out. They rapidly gear up, Greg carrying Jackie inside the framepack in a perhaps vain attempt to conceal her presence from the obviously powerful killer fey. When everyone is back outside, she marches them back the site of the portal, and once again opens it; they pass through, and she remains in the fey realm as the passage closes. They’re home! Or at least they’re back on Earth in the woods outside Grand Casino.
Greg gets out the transport crystal, then indicates on the maps he has where to go. “Touch the map here (points) and say “I want to go there.”” Soon enough they’re back once again where they... Wait. No, not quite.
They’ve reappeared on the Boston Expressway, just outside of Boston proper. More than that, something just doesn’t feel at all right. Bill tries to call the mansion, and the number has been disconnected. Greg tries calling is father, with the same result. None of the numbers they have seem to work... Until they use the emergency contact number Greg’s father gave him before leaving- that gets them the law firm of Dewey, Screwem and Howe. A pickup is arranged, and they start to deal with what they’ve discovered: Its 2011. They were from 2003- they’ve lost 8 years of time. According to the brief bit of news they’ve gained, Greg’s father is gone, and likely so is the Professor and all of the mercenaries.
Stunned, they await the arrival of the car sent by the law firm. It doesn’t take long for the immaculate black stretch limousine to arrive, and they are quickly taken to the Boston offices of the firm. They park in a vast private parking garage, then take an express elevator to the offices of the partner assigned to assist them, Mike Grant. Apparently its all paid for in advance. They shake hands with the man, noting that his hands are ice cold- a vampire?
He offers to provide them with space to clean up and change if they so desire, but Greg turns it down. “I think we need to hear what’s happened before anything else.”
The office they are in isn’t that of the Senior partners, but it is decidedly opulent. It has a view of the city, heavy real-wood furniture and furnishings that might have cost more than the housemates have made in their entire lives. They’re provided with refreshments, and settle in to hear the bad news.
First off, there was some kind of conflict in Orlando, Florida shortly after they were determined to have vanished. By the time the FBI arrived, everyone present was dead- including apparently Professor Dane and Greg’s father. It is unknown if Frau Schodt was amongst the fatalities. Greg’s father’s house was repossessed due to nonpayment of taxes shortly after the Orlando event, and the Dane Estate is being held in trust by Dewey, Screwem and Howe. Disposition of the property is not a question that is immediately answered.
There are no records as to the location of Agatha Dane or Ariel Poulte. Likewise, there is no information on the location of Thomas Black Cloud, Master Gung Dok or Wrench. By this time, things are seriously beginning to wear on them, and Mr. Grant offers to get them a hotel (and clothing) for the night- they can pick things up the next day, and hopefully find some form of silver lining.
Once again they’re escorted to the limousine, and soon they’re being checked into the Astoria in downtown Boston. They’re given the penthouse suites, and the concierge of the hotel is being VERY polite after getting talked to by the man accompanying them.
And there we break for now. Next time we’ll find out just HOW screwed they are. After that we normally would switch games- but things are going to be strange for the summer, so this might be it for several months.
When we last left out heroes events seemed to have finally taken a turn for the calmer, if not necessarily the better. With the recovery of Ariel and the exit of the Elder Heroes (Professor Dane, Greg’s father and the mercenaries), the housemates were left staying at the Dane mansion in the tender care of Aunt Agatha and Thomas Black Cloud, who is remaining in Arkham at least until the wards are restored to the dormhouse.
They each turned to their own projects, and naturally the calm didn’t last. While Bill started to research Arkham, Jackie decided to look into her own history, due mostly to the possibility that the strange red-headed woman who’d seemingly been working with Frau Schodt might be her sister. Initially a plan to drive out to Minnesota so that she might be able to access the records at the orphanage itself formed, but this was nixed when it turned out that the Annual Interstellar Gun Show that they’d visited last year was on the upcoming weekend!
A scramble ensued for the obtainment of tickets to the event, and Bill managed to get two- by offering to work as a ‘booth-monkey’ for Gabriel at the Gun Show. Mad Akbar hadn’t yet returned from a trip. The second ticket went to Jackie, who had her own negotiations with Gabriel.
Of course, things don’t ever remain simple. The four end up separating- Bill remaining at the mansion, Greg heading to the dojo and dropping off Jackie and Roy en route- Roy near the industrial district so he could go to MIB headquarters, Jackie at KNOW to train with Joe Oracle.
Naturally, Jackie gets kidnapped. Her psychic scream is picked up by Greg, who in turn gets Bill by phone. The pair race separately to her aid, but its far too late. In the end they learn where she’s been taken- just outside Hinckley, Minnesota!
With transport arranged through items purchased from Mad Akbar’s shop, the three remaining housemates go to the rescue of Jackie. The goal is to save her and return to Arkham with time left to attend the Gun Show, but its never that easy...
In turn, the three use the enchanted crystals- in turn each vanishes. When they look about them at their destination, they’re in a dark, deep woods. They’re standing on the lip of a shallow craterlike depression, and in the middle of this is... A portal. On their side of this passage it’s the tail end of spring. On the other, deepest winter.
They can feel the cold eminating from the portal- its likely VERY cold. The only one of the three that is even vaguely equipped for the apparent weather is Bill, and likely his longcoat isn’t going to do much other than cut the wind; the cold will get right through. Bill wants to head through regardless- he doesn’t think a delay is at all safe for Jackie. Greg, however, thinks they need to be better equipped.
After some further argument, Greg climbs a tree to get a look around- he actually succeeds in finding a tree tall enough that he can see the lights of the Grand Casino in Hinckley. It seems to be just a few miles away. When he comes down, Bill still argues against the delay, but acquiesces to the trip to get better winter gear. The walk takes more than an hour, and all of their footgear is coated with muck by the time they get to the vast parking lot of the casino. For some reason, Greg seems to think that Minnesota is inhabited by hunters and trappers who still live in the 1890s... Which exasperates Bill even more.
However, Greg’s beliefs receive reinforcement- there are a group of re-enactors on the premises, all dressed in leathers and furs like the hunters of yesteryear! He approaches them.
“Hey! Those outfits are great! Where’d you get them?”
The man blinks. “Um... From a catalog?”
Greg keeps talking with the oddly-garbed group, while Roy and Bill both decide to do something to resolve their problems. Bill goes the legal route- he walks into the casino and into the gift shop, buying heavy sweaters for each of them. Roy... Has other ideas. He goes to the clustered vehicles in the lot and rifles through each, coming up with an impressive haul of goods including a frame-pack!
The three reconvene. Greg offers to pay Roy back for his ‘purchases’. Bill, who saw what was going on flat out states that Roy robbed the cars! Greg, seemingly in some strange version of reality all his own, doesn’t believe Bill. They trudge their way back into the woods, using both Bill and Roy’s GPS to get them back to where they’d appeared.
However... There’s a problem. They do get back, but the portal is gone! The strange shallow crater is still there, but the passage has apparently closed.
“Goddamnit. I KNEW we should have gone in!”
Greg looks at Bill. “We couldn’t have known. Besides, we’d have froze to death.”
Bill grumbles at this.
“It may reappear. Its all we’ve got right now.”
A rude camp is set up and they try to settle for the night. Roy takes first watch while Greg meditates and Bill tries to sleep. This doesn’t work in the least- Bill is way too keyed on stress, worry and frustration. The night slowly passes, all things seeming to be safe and as normal as could be expected in the woods of Minnesota. However, Bill notices strange movement by Roy- it looks like a hugs scorpion! He rapidly pulls out the assault rifle, sights and fires; with a crack like thunder the thing is kicked by the bullets impact away from Roy.
The sound of the gunshot rouses Greg, who immediately rolls to a flanking position by Bill. Whispered conversation passes between them as Bill watches for a target.
“What’s going on?”
“I dunno. Something like a giant scorpion was by Roy- I shot it, but I don’t know if I killed it.”
“I can’t see. Where?”
Bill starts to point, but realizes that Greg won’t see THAT, either. he hands over a flashlight.
“Don’t point that thing at me- you’ll wreck my night vision completely.”
The flashlight illuminates a disturbing scene. The thing Bill shot is flopping on the ground near where Roy had been- another of the beasts is dragging him into the woods, and Roy himself seems unconscious and is frothing at the mouth! Greg moves to the attack, knocking the one dragging Roy loose of its prey but gaining its undivided attention in the process. When he does, they notice a third scorpion approaching.
Making sure that they lower the number of enemies, Bill puts another round into the first scorpion. When the round hits the beast, sickly green fire erupts from it. The newly-arrived beast then charges at Bill, but he manages to scramble away from its attack. Greg’s opponent strikes back at him and succeeds, but the thing manages to not poison him when the sting penetrates his arm.
In retaliation, Greg manages to smash the creature’s carapace- its death throes fling it about. It attacks a tree in its agony, its pincers ripping apart a several-inch thick small tree as it dies. Bill takes aim at the remaining creature, unleashing a three-shot burst. Two of the rounds hit, both flaring with eerie green fire. Like the others, the thing flops and convulses as it dies and Bill goes over to Greg and Roy.
With the death of his foe, Greg had turned his attentions to Roy. Not knowing any other recourse he starts to try sucking the poison from Roys wound, which is a large puncture on his shoulder. Amazingly enough he seems to succeed, and Roy relaxes. He ceases foaming at the mouth, and the woods lie about them, ominous and dark.
“Bill. Come here- I need you to suck something out of me!”
Bill blinks. “Uh, I don’t think I know you THAT well... What?”
Greg holds up the bit of the scorpion-stinger that he got out of the wound. In the dark, Bill can’t see the object, and he’s having trouble hearing- firing a heavy-caliber rifle will do that. Fortunately or unfortunately, Greg CAN still hear, and what he hears isn’t good- scuttling in the woods around them. He shares this joy with Bill, and they decide that they can’t remain where they are. Greg gets Roy into a fireman’s carry and the pair start moving. As they go, Greg decides that maybe getting Roy active would be a good idea, and says to the limp weight across his shoulders, “Roy! Its the demons! RUN!”
Greg gets what he wanted, Roy awake, in spades. He FREAKS, forcing Greg to drop him. He bolts off into the woods.
To Roy, horror has taken his world. The demons are back, his MASTER is back, and he’s got his icy sword- Roy remembers and hates that blade, and can do nothing as the chilling weapon slices into him.
Greg has followed Roy as best he can. Roy has amazingly avoided braining himself on a branch, and hasn’t plowed into a tree either. However, when he comes across Roy’s prostrate form on the ground he pulls up short. Standing over Roy, blade in hand is a unhumanly beautiful woman. Unfortunately, Greg seems to be mostly in biker-mode.
“Who the hell are you?”
She raises an eyebrow. “I could ask the same.”
Greg starts arguing with the woman, and while this goes on Bill starts first aid on Roy; there is a deep slice across his chest, and the wound almost seems... Frozen. it takes him some time to get Roy to a point where he feels his friend isn’t dying, and by then Greg has dug a nice deep hole with the woman.
“Greg, stop it.”
“Why should I?”
“She’s FEY.”
“So?”
“So you’re WAY out of your weight class.”
“What’s a Fey?”
“Faerie. A Daoine Sidhe. (he pronounces it theena-shee) They... Ugh. They’re ancient beings. Think kinda like Tolkien Elves but not so easy going. They’re best described as beautiful and terrible.”
The woman looks at Bill with that statement. “Why thank you!”
The discussion becomes a lot more dangerous, with Bill doing what he can to save Greg’s life- Greg, wisely, has chosen to finally keep his mouth shut firmly. The woman is of the Summer Court, and the land they saw through the portal is that of the Winter Court. She names herself Danilithia, but from the casualness of the revelation at least Bill knows its not her true calling. Bill swears by his True Name that he speaks the truth, that he and his friends were in the woods seeking another who was kidnapped, and that the scorpions were not of their doing. When he makes that oath, she demands Bill’s Name as her price for sparing Greg and helping them. Greg shudders at Bill once again going into debt over him, but Bill acquiesces.
“I’ll tell the truth- I don’t actually know what my True Name is.”
“What is your name, then?”
“William Edward Vicklin... But I don’t know if its what you want.”
The woman smiles a small, disturbing smile and doesn’t reply save to say, “follow.”
She leads them back to the clearing with its odd crater; strangely, there is no longer any sign of the scorpions. She draws her blade, slashing the air with elegant precision. As she does, a line of silvery fire follows the motion, soon filling out into a portal very like that which they’d seen before. She indicates that they should pass through, Greg once again being contrary. She glares at him, “I cannot heal your companion on this side, human.” With that, they pass across into Winter.
She lays Roy on the ground, and with her hand upon him soon his wounds close. He wakes, and the cold of the ground feels very good to him.
“Did you save me?” She nods in affirmative to his question.
“Are you an angel?”
“No. All of you, attend.”
Clothing from the pack that Roy gathered is rapidly passed around, Bill wearing one of the sweaters he’d purchased under his longcoat. With the remainder of the gear stowed they follow the woman, noticing that as long as they stay close to her, the temperature is tolerably warm; its still cold, but its more like a cool winter day then the deepest bitter of the arctic.
They travel for some time, eventually finding themselves on what seems to be a smallish farmstead. They cross the frozen fields to a cottage, where lights glow through the windows. It seems a homely place, and without even a knock the woman leads them inside. It is as within as without, a small home as if out of the past. Their escort searches about for a short time, then curses- and is instantly no longer there.
They all blink at the suddenness of the disappearance, and soon fall to talking- a few moments pass and they are all startled by a woman’s shriek! Jackie comes out of an adjoining room, and is faced by several drawn firearms! These are quickly lowered as they realize who she is.
“How did you get here? How did you find me?”
“I ‘heard’ your shout, and we got help from Gabriel at Mad Akbars,” replies Greg.
“But how did you find me?”
Bill answers this time. “Well, we didn’t exactly. We found where you were taken, and the portal to here that was there. By the way, you owe us $6000 for the rescue.”
Jackie blinks. “Okay...”
The conversation continues, Jackie explaining that her apparent sister, the redhead, grabbed her at the radio station and brought her to the farmstead, then left. In turn, her compatriots tell her how they arrived. It is briefly considered that they could try to head back to the portal, but given that her supposed rescuers really only survived to reach her due to the aura of warmth about their now-absent fey escort, the idea quickly dies. They decide to wait at least until morning. Bill and Roy decide on sleep while Greg meditates and Jackie stands watch.
Of course, she doesn’t just stand watch, being Jackie. She tries to contact Greg psychically- something happens, but she really doesn’t know what- the result is that Greg is nearly frozen to death, and faces visions.
In the visions, Greg sees a couple with a baby. A woman comes to visit- somehow the father in the image is frozen to death, while his wife(?) flees with the child, apparently surviving. When he’s able to, he tells Jackie of this as best as he can recall.
“Could that child have been you, and the couple your parents?”
“I don’t know... It could be. I wonder why she killed my father...”
During this, Roy has wakened. He listens into the conversation, then starts to insist that Jackie open a portal... Which she certainly WOULD do, if she had any idea how to do so. She tries to explain that she can’t, that it isn’t that simple, but Roy thinks that if she’s half-fey like its been told to her (earlier, by the redhead before the boys arrived), then she should just automatically be able to do it.
Eventually the escalating sound of the conversation wakes Bill, at about the time that Greg offers to die to get them home, if that is the price to get them there. Bill looks pointedly at him.
“What about Ariel?”
Greg... Stops. “Offer rescinded.”
It isn’t long after this that the door of the homestead opens. Its the redhead. She doesn’t seen at all surprised at the additions to the population, and when asked explains (at least sketchily) what is going on. Her name is Judith, and she’s human. She’s Jackie’s aunt, not her sister, and was directed to bring Jackie to see the Queen of the Winter Court, known as ‘The Queen of Air and Darkness’ and also named Mab.
Jackie’s bloodline is what has drawn the interest of the Courts- specifically, the unusual powers that Jackie has been displaying over recent months. She was supposed to have been presented to the Queen long ago, but was lost. Now that Judith has located her, she’s bound to take Jackie before the Queen. While the housemates discuss this, Judith goes back outside, apparently to fetch bread (mortal, not of fey) that she has baking in a separate building. While she is gone, the conversation continues and leads to a decision for the group to go with Jackie before the Queen.
The decision made, naturally things go wrong. From outside, there is a piercing woman’s scream! Bill instantly draws blade and charges out to the rescue... But he’s far, far too late. Before the oven in the outbuilding Judith lies dead- she’s literally been cut in half by a stroke from a blade- that of the Summer Court Fey that accompanied them to the farmstead. Stunned, Bill makes no hostile action.
“... Why did you kill her?”
“Because I wished to end the line of power, of course.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t belong in the politics of fey.”
Without thinking, likely from the shock of the scene Bill says, “My friend is in it, I want her out.” But the woman either doesn’t hear or doesn’t care. As Summer Fey starts back towards the house, Bill closes Judith’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
He follows her back to the house, going in as she waits outside. Bill quickly sketches out what happened, then explains that the other fey is going to lead them out. They rapidly gear up, Greg carrying Jackie inside the framepack in a perhaps vain attempt to conceal her presence from the obviously powerful killer fey. When everyone is back outside, she marches them back the site of the portal, and once again opens it; they pass through, and she remains in the fey realm as the passage closes. They’re home! Or at least they’re back on Earth in the woods outside Grand Casino.
Greg gets out the transport crystal, then indicates on the maps he has where to go. “Touch the map here (points) and say “I want to go there.”” Soon enough they’re back once again where they... Wait. No, not quite.
They’ve reappeared on the Boston Expressway, just outside of Boston proper. More than that, something just doesn’t feel at all right. Bill tries to call the mansion, and the number has been disconnected. Greg tries calling is father, with the same result. None of the numbers they have seem to work... Until they use the emergency contact number Greg’s father gave him before leaving- that gets them the law firm of Dewey, Screwem and Howe. A pickup is arranged, and they start to deal with what they’ve discovered: Its 2011. They were from 2003- they’ve lost 8 years of time. According to the brief bit of news they’ve gained, Greg’s father is gone, and likely so is the Professor and all of the mercenaries.
Stunned, they await the arrival of the car sent by the law firm. It doesn’t take long for the immaculate black stretch limousine to arrive, and they are quickly taken to the Boston offices of the firm. They park in a vast private parking garage, then take an express elevator to the offices of the partner assigned to assist them, Mike Grant. Apparently its all paid for in advance. They shake hands with the man, noting that his hands are ice cold- a vampire?
He offers to provide them with space to clean up and change if they so desire, but Greg turns it down. “I think we need to hear what’s happened before anything else.”
The office they are in isn’t that of the Senior partners, but it is decidedly opulent. It has a view of the city, heavy real-wood furniture and furnishings that might have cost more than the housemates have made in their entire lives. They’re provided with refreshments, and settle in to hear the bad news.
First off, there was some kind of conflict in Orlando, Florida shortly after they were determined to have vanished. By the time the FBI arrived, everyone present was dead- including apparently Professor Dane and Greg’s father. It is unknown if Frau Schodt was amongst the fatalities. Greg’s father’s house was repossessed due to nonpayment of taxes shortly after the Orlando event, and the Dane Estate is being held in trust by Dewey, Screwem and Howe. Disposition of the property is not a question that is immediately answered.
There are no records as to the location of Agatha Dane or Ariel Poulte. Likewise, there is no information on the location of Thomas Black Cloud, Master Gung Dok or Wrench. By this time, things are seriously beginning to wear on them, and Mr. Grant offers to get them a hotel (and clothing) for the night- they can pick things up the next day, and hopefully find some form of silver lining.
Once again they’re escorted to the limousine, and soon they’re being checked into the Astoria in downtown Boston. They’re given the penthouse suites, and the concierge of the hotel is being VERY polite after getting talked to by the man accompanying them.
And there we break for now. Next time we’ll find out just HOW screwed they are. After that we normally would switch games- but things are going to be strange for the summer, so this might be it for several months.
