Dresden Files Las Vegas- Show Me How It Ends

Remember when I wrote last week that things were going to get very bad, very fast? Well, they did. It only took about twelve hours for things to go from "we got this shit handled" to "this shit's gone way too far". To be fair, it was mainly due to Shade. Okay, it was all due to Shade...at least the last hour of it. It was an intense scene with the very real possibility of character death but somehow we managed to survive. Now onto the session!

Shade started her day early. She had come up with an idea to distract Philip from his "let's just kill Skavis" mindset and needed to do some research. She went to the library and looked up a few articles on the Freemont Experience. Luckily, she was able to find what she was looking for. Armed with the information, she called Philip. Harold answered and Shade told him that she wanted a meeting with his father. He told her to come to Legends. Philip, Helena, and Harold were there when she arrived. Sitting down, Shade started talking. She told Philip that she had an idea on how to expand his territory, raise his prestige, and hurt Skavis at the same time. North Vegas, Skavis territory, funneled down to a point- the Freemont Experience. She had the names of those behind the Freemont Experience. All Philip had to do was make a few deals and expand his area of influence there and to either side. Doing that would effectively block Skavis from moving into Downtown and the Strip. Shade pointed out that it could also sway some of the Changelings to chose the Fey. Philip seemed impressed (Shade has no combat skills, so she has to use her brain. Shade also has a few more ideas about the whole expanding territory idea but she is saving them for when she needs to distract Philip again).

Brandon and Neil, having spent the night in the basement, had moved onto the Frost problem (Wyatt had fallen asleep). The warded room gave Brandon the beginnings of an idea. Since it was possible to summon and trap small fairies, why not the large ones? The warded room seemed a perfect place for that. They decided to experiment with it. They threw a piece of paper into the room and Brandon tried to burn it. The spell stopped at the ward. A stronger spell was also unable to get through. Thinking some sort of conduit might work, they placed a stick on the ground- half in the room and half in the basement. Brandon cast his spell through the stick but it was once again stopped at the door. However, Brandon felt something, like there was a hole in there somewhere. That something, a specific something, could get through. Brandon suggested they try Neil. Surprisingly, Neil agreed to the plan. They tried it and it worked. A Summoning spell, channeled through Neil would get Frost in the room. Once in there, she wouldn't be able to get out. It would take quite a bit of power and time to accomplish it though. To make it doable, they would need help. Realizing that, Neil called Shade and left a message on the machine (I think we outdid ourselves in the first 15 minutes of the game with two great ideas).

Shade, finishing up with the Fey, called Neil. He told her they had come up with a plan to deal with Frost and to come over. Getting there, she joined the three men in the basement. Not knowing Wyatt, Shade introduced herself. They shook hands. Feeling his power, Shade asked Brandon and Neil what was up with him. They tried to dance around the subject but Shade wasn't buying it. Finally Brandon explained that Wyatt was like a living directory to Vegas. He could find anybody. That over, Neil and Brandon explained their plan to her. Shade thought it was brilliant. They also told her their idea of getting the Fey involved in the ritual. Hearing that, Shade called Legends and told Harold the three of them needed to speak with Philip. Harold said Philip was still there and to come right over. Once there, Brandon and Neil laid out their plan to Philip and asked about the possibility of getting Spring involved. Philip said it could be possible but that he would need to check out the ward. Back in the basement, Philip tossed a couple of spells at the ward. Even though the second was pretty powerful, he was not able to break through it. Brandon then said something that got Philip's attention. He said that all we had to do was wait for Frost to show back up in Vegas. He had no intention of trying to pull her from the Nevernever, where she currently was. Philip asked how he knew this. Neil and Brandon, both trying to protect Wyatt, tried to convince Philip that he didn't need to know (Wyatt had tried to locate Frost for the boys earlier but said she wasn't in Vegas). A bit of social combat later, they managed to do so (Shade, after a few tries to help, took herself out and escaped to the bathroom. She is learning that divided loyalties can suck. Must come up with a plan to avoid such things in the future).

The meeting over, Shade left for her shop. Neil called Uri and set up a meeting. They made it to Uri's office and headed in. Neil and Brandon gave Uri a brief rundown on the Frost situation. Then Neil asked about security. They needed some protection to do what they had in mind. Uri asked them to specify the nature of the danger. He didn't want to know what the plan was. He just wanted to know the odds of the plan succeeding. Satisfied with their answer, Uri told Neil that a man by the name of Carter would be calling him.

Once the meeting was over, Neil and Brandon split up. Brandon went looking for Jeremy Running Mouse. Finding him at the Luxor, Brandon asked him about the Coyote Trickster God. Jeremy gave him the basics. Brandon went on and told him about his trip out to the desert and how he met up with the old man. Brandon's description of the old man left Jeremy speechless for a minute or two. He told Brandon that who he described sounded like his uncle Charlie. Jeremy warned Brandon away from him; he was a little unbalanced. After promising Jeremy to hang out sometime, Brandon headed home.

Deciding that a bit of Holy intervention wouldn't hurt, Neil headed to church. He was also looking to find Angelica Black. The priest told Neil that Angelica would be back soon and that he could wait. Eventually she showed up. The priest introduced them. After a bit of small talk, Neil pulled out his gloves and asked her about the possibility of making the holy item aspect permanent. She seemed dubious about it. Not about doing it but about finding something like that. She told Neil that she would look into it. As he left, Neil got the expected call from Carter.

After a normal day of work and customers, Shade was hungry. She hadn't been to Snick's for awhile. So, she closed up and headed out for some dinner and girl talk with her best friend Tess, the bar manager. Getting there, Shade learned that Tess hadn't come in. That was not like her. Figuring she was sick, Shade went to Tess's apartment to check on her. As she went to unlock the door, it opened. Inside, Shade called for Tess but got no answer. The apartment showed signs of a struggle and in the bathroom, Shade discovered some spilled blood. She took some with her back to her shop and did a locating ritual. The way pointed to North Vegas. Shade packed up and headed out.

On his way home, Neil got a call from Harold. The meeting between the three and the Fey was a go for tonight. Neil then called Brandon and told him about the meeting. Brandon left for his shop. Neil's next call was to Wyatt. Wyatt, sounding distressed, told Neil that Frost was back in town and that something very bad was going down. There was a chick and a guy like Frost there. They had a young lady and Neil's lady with them and bad things were being done to them. He gave Neil the address. The next call Neil made was to Carter telling him the house number and that it was going down now. His last call was to Brandon. He left a message on the machine telling Brandon the details and to call Shade. Getting to his shop, Brandon got the message. A call to Shade went unanswered. He locked up and headed out but not before leaving a note for the Fey.

Shade was deep in North Vegas territory. The spell led her to a rundown neighborhood. Trying to pinpoint a likely house, she noticed a group of fairly nice cars parked in front of one. Just then, a nondescript van pulled up and she saw some guys jump out. They all had guns. She also saw Neil drive up. He noticed her as well. He gestured for her to come over. She pointed to the house and, getting confirmation from Neil that it was the right one, ran towards it. As she did, Brandon pulled up and met up with Neil.   

Shade pulled out the sickle and her gun and ran to the front door. She shot out the lock and kicked the door open (See what I mean by this whole thing being Shade's fault?). Inside she saw Christine and Tess sitting on chairs in the center of the room. Christine was badly bruised, bloody, and pissed as hell. Tess just looked...broken. Whatever had happened to her had broken her completely. Around them, Shade saw five others. One was a tattooed and pierced biker chick (Sly). Frost was there, as was a nicely dressed Fey gentleman. Two Ghouls rounded out the group. 

*To make the fight easier to follow, I am going to post it just as I wrote it- in a semi-list form. That way I don't miss anything and it keeps the fight rounds straight. The fight starts from when Shade busted in the door.*


First Round:
Frost, with a sneer, told Shade to give her the sickle and the hostages would be released. Shade retorted for the bitch to come and get it. Sly, a Skavis vampire and Frederick's second in command, echoed Frost's comment. The nicely dressed gentleman (the unknown third Fey) opened his Sight on Shade, assessing her. While all this was going on, Neil and Brandon moved quietly up to the house. The security team, finally in place, opened fire into the house and hit a couple of the Ghouls. Sly hit the ground and Shade took the opportunity to attack her with the sickle, managing to hit her. The Ghouls did not like being shot and attacked the security team.

Second Round:
Sly pulled out a knife and stabbed Shade. Luckily, the cut wasn't too deep. Frost decided to take out the security team. She cast an ice spell, aiming it towards the back of the house. The Fey gentleman just looked about keeping an eye on what was happening. He seemed unconcerned with the ongoing fight. The security team kept shooting. Shade, still fighting with Sly, shot the vampire and hit her. Neil, avoiding the bullets, rushed into the house and moved to the center of the room where Christine and Tess sat. He managed to get them free. Brandon made his grand entrance into the fight by casting a fireball. However, he lost control of his spell and the fallout started the house on fire.

Third Round:
Not liking being shot, Sly tried her mind power on Shade. A feeling of despair washed over Shade but she was able to shrug it off (A little fire and despair wasn't going to stop Shade from taking Sly out!). Frost was NOT happy about the house being on fire and turned her attention to Brandon. She attacked him with a spell. He was able to block the blow with his shield spell. The Fey gentleman, deciding enough was enough, tried to open a way into the Nevernever. His spell failed. The fallout opened a rift but it turned out to be a bad place. There was a flash of light and black flames engulfed the area (Sound familiar? Yep, it was hellfire. He had opened the rift to Uri's territory. Not good for the Winter Fey). The security team continued to fire at and occasionally hit the Ghouls. One of them, Carter, went hand to hand with a Ghoul. Another team member lost his head, literally, when a Ghoul ripped it off. One of the Ghouls was killed. Shade was still intent on taking Sly out. She shot Sly once again and put another bullet into her (Have to say this. I fully expected to die in this fight. Shade has no combat skills. However, the dice gods were on my side. I rolled four +'s, three times...in a row). Sly looked like hell from it all. Brandon tried to take advantage of the Hellfire and cast a spell to try and move the Fey gentleman into the Rift. The Fey was able to block it. Christine got the hell out of the house. Neil had to help Tess. There was no way she could get out on her own.

Fourth Round:
Giving Shade a look loathing, Sly fled from the house. Frost, now fully intent on killing Brandon, pulled her sword and approached him. The blow she delivered was vicious. She stabbed him through the gut and twisted the blade. The Fey gentleman figured that closing the rift would be good. He managed to do so. Carter, still going hand to hand with the remaining Ghoul, blocked an attack and countered with a punch to it's face. Another security guard took a shot at Frost and hit her in the shoulder. Outside, Neil saw Sly leave the house. He picked up one of the security team's weapons and pulled the trigger. He hit her in the back. She fell to the ground but managed to get up and kept on running away. Shade, who had seen the attack on Brandon, moved to him and started to pull him out of the burning house. With the last of his strength, Brandon pulled the sword from Frost's grasp and took it with him. They made it out just as the building collapsed on those still left in there.

Thus ended the night's gaming session. Everyone survived. Well, except for a couple of the security guards. And maybe Frost and the other Fey. The night isn't over for our heroes though. There is still much to do and it could get even worse from here! Let's see. There is a visit to Skavis, a visit to Philip, a visit to Uri, and a visit to the hospital to come. Yep, things can get worse.

Dresden Files Las Vegas- It's Hard to Believe We Need A Place Called Hell

Hello again all. It's been awhile since I posted here but, with the holidays and such, we took a few weeks off from gaming. We had another session last night and it was sooooo good to get going again. The pieces are being moved about the political chessboard and things are getting murky as hell. I love it! Things are getting surreal as hell and I REALLY love that. I don't think any of the players wanted to end last night and I know we can't wait til next week to see what happens next.

Before starting this post, I have to say that I have finally figured out the one thing that was giving me fits with the game and characters. The songs for each player's character. I listen to music while I write and I like to give each character their own song- one that best fits their personality or motivations. For Brandon, the problem wasn't finding a song. It was narrowing it down to just one. Shade was a bit more difficult but I managed. Neil was damn near impossible. I found three or four that came close but were not just quite right. Today, I finally found one that fits. So, I can now more easily get into the writing mood. Yes, it's weird. Just chalk it up to my OCD tendencies and deal with it.

Here are the songs and artists. Just in case you want to check them out.

Brandon- All Star by Smash Mouth
Neil- The Pretender by The Foo Fighters
Shade- The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

Now on to the night's happenings.

Last session ended with Skavis and Frost making their grand entrance into the party. This gaming session started right after they came in. Neil quickly scanned the crowd trying to read people's reactions. The two Fey Kings looked pissed as hell. Uri looked worried, most likely due to the very real possibility of violence. Skavis looked worried, most likely due to the very real possibility of violence being done to him. Frost looked smug. Shade, also reading the crowd, saw all that and a bit more. Warden Locke looked amused (Shade doesn't buy his shtick one bit. He may not know every detail but he sure as hell knows what's going on. He's just too lazy to get involved...yet). Lexi, the Wereferret, looked eager. Shade was certain that Lexi and Frost knew each other. The rest of the Board members had no reaction. Brandon's reaction was priceless. He had been talking with Baron Drake when the two had entered. Spotting Skavis and Frost, Brandon stepped to the side a bit- the better to use the Baron as cover.

Shade looked back towards Philip. He was headed straight for the two. Moving quickly, she managed to intercept him before he got there and told him that he was going to ask her to dance. He tried to get away but, with some inspired fast talking, she convinced him that a confrontation would not be a good idea at that time. They moved to the dance floor where Philip's attention was thankfully turned to Shade (Or, not so thankfully. He IS Fey and everyone knows what that means when it comes to sexiness and looks. Shade had to keep reminding herself that he is technically one of her bosses).

After a quick look around the room to check for any other signs of trouble, Neil walked up to Skavis and Frost. He handed Skavis his card and started talking business. Wanting to defuse the situation even more, Neil managed to pull Skavis away from Frost and did so in such a way as to make Skavis look awesome. Frost looked amused by the whole thing. The two of them started talking specifics. Neil asked about properties, available cash, territory involved, and such. Skavis pulled up the information on his phone. Neil mentally noted some of the information for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Brandon went to the bar, got a drink, and kept an eye on Frost. She was soon joined by a very upset Puck and Heather. He demanded to know what the hell she was doing at the party. She retorted that she had been invited. Brandon, deciding that an intervention might be in order, walked up to the two. He got there just in time to hear Puck ranting about how insulting it was for Frost to be there. Putting his hand on Puck's shoulder, Brandon told him the bitch wasn't worth the time. Having made her point by being there, Frost said she would leave. Brandon, Puck, and Heather headed over to the bar for drinks and conversation.

Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Shade was trying to deal with Philip. His ire at Frost being there had turned towards Skavis. Since Skavis had issued the invite, Philip would just kill him. That way, the invite would be void. Shade tried to convince him that would probably cause more problems then it would solve. Philip didn't seem swayed by that argument. He left Shade on the dance floor, heading off to plan Skavis' death (After dealing with Philip for an extended time, Shade is convinced that Heather didn't start off as flighty and scatterbrained. She got that way by dealing with the Fey so much). Deciding that some sanity was needed, Shade walked up to Neil and Skavis, who were still talking. When she got there, Neil introduced himself and handed her his card, acting like he didn't know her very well. Shade played along and asked if he would come talk her for a bit about some things. Neil agreed and they wandered off together.

Brandon had finished telling Heather and Puck about our current exploits at the bar. When Skavis appeared, he excused himself and went off to find Neil and Shade. When he got to where the other two were, they all compared notes. After they split up, the evening started winding down. Brandon went off to talk with the Baron and then went to see Locke. They had a good conversation and seemed to get along very well (they are alike after all- a scary thought). Afterwards, he gathered up Lucinda and made his exit for home. Neil and Christine met up and she requested that he stop working for a bit so they could at least enjoy the rest of the party. Neil agreed. They ended up dancing, eating, drinking, and having fun. Shade talked with Helena about Philip and what he was planning. Some of what she heard reassured her; some didn't. She still had to come up with a plan to stop the whole "kill Skavis" thing. Then Shade found Drusilla. She had one question to ask- was the man who murdered David dead or still alive? Drusilla answered that the man was no longer among the living. Shade thanked her and went to find Neil.

Brandon made it home safely. As he walked up to his front door, he saw that he had a visitor. No, not the coyote again; it was Wyatt. Wyatt was in desperate straits. Brandon invited him and asked what was wrong. Wyatt told him that he couldn't handle what he was seeing anymore. All he had to do was think about a person or place and he would 'see' it in his mind. Nothing he did would stop it. Even drinking didn't help, since he couldn't drink enough to get drunk. He wanted Brandon to take whatever was causing it out of his head. Brandon suggested that they go and see Patience. Maybe she could help them with some answers. They did so and got a very cold reception. She told them to come back in the morning. Back at Brandon's place, Wyatt tried to drink himself unconscious while Brandon looked through some books. By the early morning, he had come up with an answer. Wyatt seemed to be the walking avatar of Las Vegas. As far as Brandon could tell, some being of power had invested Wyatt with it. Remembering the contract they had found with Wyatt, Brandon called Neil. Afterwards he went to bed.

After the party, Neil, Christine, and Shade left together. Shade had asked Neil if he could take her to where Ana had been killed. He agreed to do so. Christine dropped them off at the car rental place. She gave Neil a kiss and told him to give her a call the next day. Neil and Shade drove to the vacant lot where the murder took place. Shade asked Neil to keep a lookout while she talked with Ana's ghost. Neil looked sceptical but agreed. Walking to where the blood stain was. Shade turned on the ghost sight. Ana was there, circling about and looking confused. Holding out the apple to get and keep her attention, Shade talked with her about what happened. Ana wasn't able to tell her much. She didn't know who had sent the Winter Court after her. After getting back to the car, Shade asked if Neil would take her to the warehouse where they had found the killer. He did. As they drove there, Shade told Neil what Ana had said (Neil was pretty nonchalant about it. All he saw was Shade talking to empty air. Shade thinks he doesn't believe everything he is being told about the Supernatural). They finally got to the warehouse but the killer's ghost wasn't there. Shade wasn't too thrilled by the only option left to talk with him but she will do it. Neil took her home after that. Before exiting the car, Shade told him to call Christine when he got home. He thought she would be asleep but Shade knew better (Even though Shade has no interest in Neil and Christine knows that, Shade knew she would still wonder about them being together. Neil may be able to read people but he, like most men, has no idea how to fully understand the female mind).

Finally at home, Neil grabbed a few hours of sleep until Brandon called him. Being told that Brandon needed the contract they found with Wyatt, Neil said he would email a copy to him. Brandon cheerfully told him that would be swell and to send it to electronicsdon'tworkaroundme.com. Remembering that wizards and electronics don't mix, Neil cheerfully clarified that the address was BrandonW at electronicsdon'tworkforme.com.

Shade's day started out pretty normal at the tattoo shop. During a lull, she heard the door open and looked up to see a woman walk in. She seemed to be in her mid 30's and dressed in a nondescript business jacket and skirt. She introduced herself as Rita Martin, the Accountant. She had some paperwork for Shade to verify and sign. It had to do with the hiring of the pastry chef. According to Ms. Martin, there were running accounts of who had what and the effect it had on prestige in the Board ranks. Apparently, hiring the pastry chef had raised Autumn's prestige and lowered Locke's. Secretly amused by the whole thing, Shade signed everything. Satisfied, Ms. Martin left.

After his morning routine, Neil drove over to Brandon's place. Wyatt let him. When told that Brandon was still asleep, Neil got his revenge by waking him up. After looking over the contract, they talked. Wyatt had no memory of signing it or who had offered it to him. The last thing he remembered was the Billy Gang beating the shit out of him. Finally, Brandon decided what the hell and opened the Sight on Wyatt. What he saw was the outline of a man with Las Vegas inside. On Wyatt's shoulders rested two paws. Looking up, Brandon saw a coyote head hovering over Wyatt's. It was not the messenger coyote; it was the Trickster himself. The image was too much. Brandon passed out. Not knowing what to do, Neil and Wyatt moved him to the couch and went out to grab some lunch. About half an hour later, they got back just as Brandon woke up. Deciding to concentrate on the visions, they went to Brandon's shop to see if the room where he had been sealed would protect him. It was one of the areas that appeared blank to Wyatt. They got there and went to the basement. Unfortunately, Wyatt could not go in. Brainstorming some more, Brandon and Neil came up with the idea of spelling Wyatt's hat. It would act as an item of warding. It would have to be recharged every so often but would give Wyatt some relief from his visions.

Shade's day ended with a phone call. She made a call to Skavis and asked if he would come to her shop for a talk. He seemed reluctant at first but finally agreed. When he showed up, Shade poured him a drink and asked him to sit down. Pleasantries over, Skavis turned on the attitude and asked what the hell she wanted. Shade answered that she wanted answers. She wanted to know who was behind the invites. Skavis denied knowing who it was. All he was concerned about was that he got paid for the invites. More social combat occurred. Finally, Shade was able to take him out. He totally lost control. After a rather epic rant from him, Shade poured Skavis another drink and repeated her questions. He told her again, he didn't know who was behind it. He made the calls and got the three million for the three invites. That was news to Shade. They knew about Rhyme and Frost but had no idea there was a third Winter Court Fey in town. Also, since Shade had learned that Summer was harassing Spring, that meant there was somebody else issuing invites. Skavis got a hold of himself and, after throwing a few threats her way, left the shop.

The evening ended there. What a wonderful murky, messed up situation! I cannot wait until next Sunday. I have a feeling things are going to get very bad, very fast. Should be one hell of a time!