It turned out to be a very interesting session. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next great story arc. There was betrayal, redemption, a few fights, and a tragic death. Let's get started then.
It all started at Michelle's shop. She was there with Jack and Jim, cleaning and repairing the place when she got a call from Kincaid (the Archive's protector). He told her where and when the duel was going down. And, by the way, Arthur had declared it would be combat. Fuck! Michelle stood firm on her resolve to be her own champion. Kincaid seemed impressed with that but what else could she do? It was an attack on her shop, against her neutral ground. Most importantly, the attack had hurt someone (Sharee) there, while she was Michelle's responsibility. So, that was that.
Coming to a decision, Michelle called and left a message for Sharee to come to the shop. When she got there, they went to get a bite to eat and that was when Michelle proposed taking Sharee as her heir to her shop and the neutral ground. That way, Sharee could have the protection as a member of the Accords but would not be under the control of the White Council. It would also give Sharee a purpose and Michelle knew her shop would not fall into enemy hands if she died during the duel. Sharee agreed. Warden Weststone got the paperwork ready and sent it off.
After all that, it came time to try and get the mask back from crazy Uncle Jacob. That turned into a party and a half, thanks to Jack. Crazy Uncle lives on a island in the bayous that is covered with dolls hanging from the trees. Definitely creepy. So, Sharee, Jack, and Michelle head out there and things are going pretty well at first. Uncle had given the mask to a Loa called Jaboo, who really didn't want to give it up. However, Jaboo's attitude took a turn when Jack proposed to trade the mask for his dagger holding his evil dead mentor's soul. Jaboo really wanted that dagger. While Jack tried to explain the concept of loaning to Jaboo, the girls and crazy Uncle went into the cabin. Sharee and crazy Uncle got into social combat about him helping her with the problem of Adam and her grandmother. The end shot of it was that Sharee agreed to visit him and to bring her willing nieces and nephews with her in return for him paying the debt owed to Adam by her grandmother. Sharee really tried hard not to think about what that meant.
Meanwhile, outside, Jack was not having much luck explaining the concept of a loan to Jaboo. In fact, Jaboo was getting quite upset. It almost turned into a battle between them. Sharee and Michelle ran out of the cabin when crazy Uncle's eyes turned pure white and came onto a scene out of The Serpent and the Rainbow. All the dolls had turned towards Jack, Jaboo had called up a windstorm, and Jack was drawing a magic circle around himself. Sharee diffused the situation with some of her blood, luckily. Crazy Uncle then ordered Jack off his island and told him to never return. However, he liked Michelle and invited her back anytime (yay! for once it wasn't me pissing someone or something off!). Sharee didn't say anything to Jack but she could instantly tell that Jaboo had touched Jack in some way. I foresee some very interesting times for Jack in the next story arc.
After that fun, it was almost time for the duel. Before it happened though, Charlie visited Michelle's shop to offer terms for the duel. Basically it came down to Davi would be returned if Michelle won. If Arthur won, Sharee and Jack would have to leave New Orleans. Michelle refused to make that decision for them. She wasn't too surprised by the offer. White Court Vamps see all people as either food or lackeys to be controlled. No free will needed or desired.
Then it was duel time. Michelle spent the day meditating and praying (she is Catholic, a bit lapsed but still). She stopped at Temptations to see Blue. He wasn't there; so, she dropped off a letter to him basically asking him to keep an eye on Sharee and the shop and to help keep her and the shop safe. Then it was off to the meeting place, a cemetery of course. Very appropriate.
When we got there, the Archive, Kincaid, Arthur, and his cronies were waiting. There was also a hooded figure in the back; his champion we figured. Now, the three of us are not stupid. We all had a pretty good idea just who Arthur was going to have as his champion. And, we were right. The hood came off and Davi stood there, impassive and imposing. Sharee and Jack brought up the point that Davi could not be Arthur's champion because there is no way he would willingly agree to it. Through mind fuckery, however, Arthur thought he had gotten around that little problem. He was just so sure that Davi was his little bitch due to his mind control. During all this, Michelle just stood there quietly. She had fully expected this and made her peace with it. Her only statement: "I will not fight my friend." Arthur's smirk got a little bit wider.
Now it gets cinematic in the grand tradition. Just picture it. A full moon night in the cemetery. The Archive reluctantly agreeing that the trial would continue. Sharee and Jack standing there in support. Michelle resolute, her head held up defiantly. Davi, his face cold and calm, waiting before them. Cue the music score to swell to a crescendo. Then, Davi leans forward and whispers to Michelle. And what did he whisper? "Don't worry, I got this." Michelle ducked her head, hiding her smile at that.
Now, earlier in the day, Sharee had prayed to Saint Michael for Michelle, which was appropriate since she had been named for the saint. Suddenly, she smelled something like...baking cookies and heard a voice in her head saying, "Don't worry, everything will be alright." Then, "Merciful God, what has he done!" What Davi had done was to call on the demon possessed coin that Martin had given him. The demon, Kuzeal, broke the vamps mind fuckery and Davi very firmly told all there, "This duel is forfeit because I am NOT here of my own free will!" Mayhem erupted. The end shot was all the vamps except for Arthur were killed, even that little fucker Charlie. He went down first. Michelle was very pleased with that. So ended that story arc. One end note to it. When Michelle got home that night, she found her door open and an envelope on her coffee table. It was a check and a note saying, "This should cover the damage to your shop." It was signed, "From a former friend, Martin." Hmmmm.
We then picked up with our group about a month later. Things had been going pretty quietly. Davi was back with his gang. Jack was doing his hunting jobs. Michelle and Sharee were working and just getting on with life. Then came a call from Warder Weststone. He was planning a surprise party for Jack at Temptations. We all said we would be there and showed up wondering what was going on. To our surprise, Jack had been made the Warden of New Orleans. We were...happy? for him. Really, we were. Except for the fact that Jack would have to take steps against Davi because he was demon influenced and that trouble followed us around like a loyal bloodhound. Yeah, this was a good thing. Just to prove our misgivings, the party ended when a severed head was thrown into Temptations. It was Tbone's. Instant action. Davi, Jack, and Michelle got up and headed out the door. Poor Sharee was left there to deal with the head. Outside was a group of Ghuls, just waiting for a fight. Davi obliged them. However, it wasn't in the manner expected. He pulled out a Katana, which Jack and Michelle saw had a nail embedded into the pommel. Apparently Davi had beaten the demon possessed coin by becoming a Knight of the Cross and was now wielding one of the holy swords. We proceeded to kick ass.
After that, Jack performed a ritual on the head to let him magically see what Tbone had experienced right before he died. From that, they were able to learn that the newest Black Court Vampire had taken the reins of the Red Court lackies, the Ghuls. The game ended with Davi, Jack, and Sharee at Davi's house with the rest of the gang members. Sharee called the spirit of Tbone there to get his real name. His ghost showed up and decided that he really wanted to stick around. Meanwhile, Michelle had taken the head to a nearby cemetery to give it a proper burial. She headed home alone to grieve and, by doing that, she called Tbone's ghost to her. They chatted a bit, with Michelle telling Tbone he could stick around but there would be ground rules. NO spying on her when she was in the shower or getting dressed. He agreed...reluctantly.
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