It has been a few weeks since I posted and what exhausting weeks they were! First I flew to London to close a real estate deal. Then I hopped over to Paris to check out the spring fashion shows. Finally I ended up in New Orleans for Mardi Gras...
...okay, I am lying. I actually spent most of these past weeks playing Diablo. It wasn't my fault though. Blizzard changed practically everything in anticipation for the expansion release and I got sucked back into the game. You would not believe the number of legendary drops I landed. I also got my first green (set) item. Talk about whetting the appetite. Damn you Blizzard!!
As exciting as that was, it was not as exciting as Dresden. We had fights, rituals, murder, and zombies! Someone is out to get us and we have no idea (as of now) who this person is or what we did to piss them off.
The game started with Brandon and Skip arguing upstairs. Any pretense of self control was thrown away as Skip had a total breakdown. Skip shouted that Brandon had no idea how he felt about having to keep a part of himself secret; that Liz had been the only who wanted to be around him. Brandon, with more composure, answered that he did know what Skip was going through and that Skip had to understand that his neck was on the line too. It ended with Neil and Shade coming upstairs and Skip storming off in tears. With that crises resolved (or at least as resolved as it's going to be for now), the three went to visit Patience at the Historical Society. If anyone had information about the Phages, it would be her.
The idea to talk to Patience turned out to be a good one. She had quite a bit to tell Shade, Neil, and Brandon. Phages were, she said, spirits from the Nevernever. Usually spirits of sorrow, they fed on humans and their emotions. Though there could be Phages that fed on positive emotions, they were almost always tuned the negative. They could be summoned, compelled, and bound. Holy items were one defense against them (she didn't say anything about ceiling fans though- sorry Neil/Jay). Patience went on to say that the Phages actually possessed a person. That explained how it was able to cross Skip's ward. Armed with the new information, Brandon, Neil, and Shade left. Brandon went to his shop and started to put out feelers to the local sorcerers. Neil and Shade went to Luxor to look up a friend- Jeremy Running Mouth.
At the Luxor, Shade and Neil quickly found Jeremy. Shade led him to the bar for a drink and some talk while Neil excused himself to make a couple of calls. Standing apart from the other two, Neil placed a call to one of his police contacts. Neil asked him about any other weird suicides. After checking, Scott came up with a couple of cases that were odd enough to merit a look. Back at the bar, Shade asked for Jeremy's help. It took a bit of doing but Shade was eventually able to get a short list of local ectomancers that could shed more light on the phages. Neil and Shade left the Luxor; Neil to get on with his day and Shade to work where she called Brandon and gave him the names supplied by Jeremy.
Of the three names Brandon had, he was able to get a hold of two- Madame Fortuna, a local psychic and a Harold. He set up an appointment with Madame Fortuna's receptionist for that evening. His call to Harold wasn't so easy. From the beginning Harold seemed sketchy and nervous. Brandon finally convinced Harold to meet up with him at a nearby Olive Garden. It took the promise of a consulting fee and a free lunch to do so. Getting to the Olive Garden, Brandon was waiting when Harold walked in. He was a bigger man that was very careful to not touch anything. His attitude had not improved since the call. He was still nervous and more then a bit angry. After ordering enough food for three, Brandon and Harold started talking. Brandon explained the two cases (Elizabeth and Tess) and what had happened at the morgue. Harold said that didn't seem the normal m.o. for phages. He threw out the knowledge that they could be intelligent and communicated with and suggested that Brandon summon it. Other then that, he didn't have anything more to add. Harold brushed off Brandon's offer of a continuing collaboration and left the restaurant with his fee and leftovers. Brandon paid for the meal and headed back to his shop.
Neil's day was going as usual when he answered a call from Christine. She asked if he had pissed anyone off lately. Neil answered in the negative and she hung up. A few minutes later Christine called back and asked him to meet her for lunch. Neil said yes and named a place and time. After being seated, Christine asked again about the possibility of Neil pissing someone off and explained that something weird had happened. She was out when a creepy looking guy came up and touched her. She could feel something try and go through her. Neil asked if she would recognize the guy and she said yes. He had been a hobo with dark hair, pale skin, and some facial scruff. The two took a ride around the neighborhood looking for the guy. At a convenience store they got a positive response. With a better description, Neil put the word out that he was looking for the guy. It took some time but eventually got a lead on the guy and headed to where he had been spotted. Neil found the guy and followed him on foot. The bum ducked into an alley and attacked Neil as he came up. The fight was short but very painful...for the bum. After receiving a vicious jab to the throat and a broken kneecap, the bum was on the ground and in great pain. Neil watched as a black mist poured from the bum's mouth and eyes and dissipated.
Brandon worked the rest of the until it was time for appointment with Madame Fortuna. Getting to her place, he saw that it was the stereotypical gypsy fortune teller place- dark lighting, creepy knick-knacks, and incense. When he went into the back, Madame Fortuna took one look at Brandon and dropped the mysterious mystic act. She made it perfectly clear that if she had known he was a sorcerer he wouldn't be there. Brandon tried to get more information out of her but she didn't have anything new to add. Business concluded, she not so politely ordered Brandon to leave and not come back
Shade spent her day working (she does have to do that occasionally). After closing up, she called Brandon's store and asked Skip about Tess. She was told that Tess was awake and seemed okay. Shade stopped at Brandon's shop to collect Tess and told her that she would be staying with Shade and Max for a few days. They stopped at Tess's apartment to grab a few things and headed to Shade's. Max was pretty understanding about having a guest. They were having some wine and conversation when Shade received a call from Neil. He briefly explained what had happened with the bum and they agreed to meet for breakfast. Shade called Brandon and let him know what was going on.
At breakfast, the three shared their stories and information over bacon and eggs. While talking, Neil's phone rang. It was Scott, his police contact. Apparently there had been two very unusual deaths the night before and he thought Neil should know considering his interest before. The bodies had been torn to pieces. The names of the victims were Harold and Madame Fortuna. Appetites pretty much killed, Shade, Brandon, and Neil drove to Shade's tattoo parlor. Using a divination ritual, Shade was able to "project" what had happened to Harold onto a mirror. They watched as the door to Harold's apartment busted in and a big male entered. The man was zombie-like with decaying skin and what seemed to be glowing eyes. Harold attempted to flee but was caught. The zombie ripped his head off before starting on the rest of him. It was pretty gruesome.
After seeing that Neil and Brandon left to check a few things out. Shade, knowing that Brandon and Neil could work faster then her, spent the day with Tess helping her to heal faster. That involved the two of them getting Mani/Pedi's and doing some shopping (rituals are great. You can pretty much do whatever you want. However it takes time. Lots and lots of time. Besides, Tess staying with Shade had kind of killed any intimate time with Max and that was not making either Max or Shade happy).
Brandon placed a call to Wyatt. Unable to get him on the phone, he called Neil and asked if he would text Wyatt about lunch. Neil did so. Meeting for lunch, Brandon asked Wyatt how he was doing. After a few more pleasantries, Brandon told Wyatt everything that was going on and then asked if he had heard of any zombies running about the city. Wyatt answered in the negative but agreed to take a look. He removed his hat and concentrated a few seconds. He "felt" that there was something in Vegas that shouldn't be but it was blocking his sight. The closest he could get was an area in North Vegas, specifically a house. Brandon thanked and left to call Neil. After hearing what Wyatt saw, Neil agreed to meet Brandon at the house.
Brandon and Neil arrived at the house and saw that it was an old, decrepit, boarded up hovel. The aura around it reeked of despair. Taking a look around, Brandon and Neil noticed that the area was strangely deserted. There was not a single person about- no dopers, bums, prostitutes, or any other types that should have been about. They called Shade and told her where to meet them. When she got there she noticed the aura right away. Brandon and Shade decided to open the Sight to take a closer look at the house. With the Sight Brandon saw the house was filled with phages, their eyes glowing. He could see that they were bound there. Shade's Sight affected her even more. She saw everything that Brandon had seen plus there were spelled Eldritch chains holding the phages inside. She also knew that she could recognize the spell caster if they used a similar spell in her presence. It was too much and Shade passed out. Neil, being a gentleman, attempted to catch her, saving her from hitting her head. Brandon and Neil stood on the sidewalk debating what to do then.
Thus ended the night. What an enjoyable session! Someone has it out for us and we have no idea who. All we have are zombies and phages coming at us and our loved ones. Will we be able to figure it out? The next gaming session has been played so I know how it turns out and I will say that it is awesome. I will get that one posted as soon as I can. I can't wait until we play again. Lana should definitely be proud of this story-line.
