Hello once again to all my readers (and by that I mean hi Lana!). It is time for me to update on the game. Readers of the Dresden books will know right away what happens in this installment. There is also a bit of overlap between the end of last session and the beginning of this one. That being said, it may have been a short session but it was action packed and so much fun. It also turned out very, very bloody.
It was the day after Brandon, Neil, and Skip had met with the Baron and Shade had met with Max. It turned out to be a normal day for all. The only thing to happen of note was a call from Uri to Shade. He told her to give Brandon a call. There was something going on that she could help him with and, if she agreed to help, her favor to him would be considered paid in full. She told Uri she would give Brandon a call later that night.
With the day over, Shade headed out to Legends. She had requested a meeting with Philip and Puck, without Heather. Getting there a bit early, she had a couple of drinks (Dealing with the Fey for ten years had turned Heather into a stressed out mess. Dealing with the Fey for six months had taught Shade the value of a pre-meeting drink). Philip and Puck finally showed up and they moved to a table. Once seated, Shade launched into the reason for them getting together. She explained that she was worried about Heather. Heather was stressed out and really needed time off from the job. Puck was confused. Heather didn't have a job. He paid for everything. All she did was take care of him. Why would she need time off? Logic not working (Shade didn't think it would with Puck but she was hoping that Philip would understand. That was the main reason for him being there), Shade went into total flattery mode...IE: the Fey were awesome and there was no way for humans to keep up and so on. It seemed to get through a bit. However, Philip clinched the deal by stating that he understood and that from now on Shade would have the last day of the month off. Not to be outdone, Puck declared that Heather would have the FIRST day of the month off. The meeting ended with Shade thanking Philip for his help and giving him a chaste kiss, which he managed to turn into something not so chaste (Philip thinks that Shade isn't interested but he is very wrong about that. She is very very tempted. Of course, she is tempted by more then a few different guys).
The boys were having a meeting of their own. They had met at Brandon's shop and were throwing out ideas on how to get Serephina and her entourage out of town. Just asking was not an option. That left bribing or killing. Killing seemed the go to plan. They knew what would kill Red Court Vampires. They just had to figure out how to get most, if not all, of them at once. Neil came up with a brilliant idea. They knew where the vampires were staying. Why not make the building invisible? Brandon thought about it and decided that it could be done but they needed help. He knew just who to ask. While he was getting stuff ready for a spell, Shade called. Skip answered the phone. After Brandon yelled that he was busy, she asked to speak to Neil. Neil picked up the phone and she told him about the phone call from Uri. Neil said that her help would be appreciated but that she would want to wait a bit before coming over. Brandon was in the middle of something. Shade asked if he was setting anything on fire (with Brandon that is always a good guess). Neil said that wasn't it. Shade agreed to wait. Hanging up, Neil turned his attention back to Brandon and the spell he was casting. It was for the coyote. The spell went off just fine and the coyote showed up. Brandon told it that he had a favor to ask of the Trickster. He needed assistance with making a building transparent at high noon on a certain date. The coyote asked why. Brandon answered that it would be fun. The coyote said that he would have to ask his boss and that he would let Brandon know. The coyote loped off.
Meanwhile, Shade, having an hour to kill, called Heather and asked her to come to Legends. When she showed up, Shade told her about the meeting and what had happened. Heather was surprised that Puck and Philip actually agreed to a day off. She suggested that they get it formally written into a contract. Uri would help with that and Heather told Shade she would set up a meeting. That taken care of, Shade left for Brandon's shop, stopping for coffee and sandwiches on the way. After passing out coffee and food, Neil and Brandon filled Shade in on the plan. Shade agreed that it would work. While discussing it some more, the coyote came back. The Trickster would love to help. Of course, that would mean that Brandon would owe the God a favor. All they needed to do was make sure the Avatar was with them. Not a problem. Brandon called Wyatt and arranged for everyone to meet at Legends (Shade should start charging a fee for meeting there. That seems to be the go to place for discussions). Before heading out, one thing of note happened. Neil and Skip engaged in a Soulgaze. Brandon had warned Skip about looking into someone's eyes but he didn't listen. Neil saw Skip standing at all the possible crossroads. Skip saw Neil as the gunslinger he was and that he was a good man.
The meeting with Wyatt turned out good. After hearing what he was needed for, Wyatt agreed to show up. The rest of evening was spent in research (Brandon and Shade) and skulking (Neil). The next day, the group met up in front of the hotel and set up for the ritual. First, Wyatt checked for a ward. There didn't seem to be any. Neil ran interference between the group and curious on-lookers. Wyatt, unsure on what he had to do, waited in the circle with Shade and Brandon. At noon, Wyatt remarked that he felt weird. That was the Trickster working through him. Both Brandon and Shade channeled the power. As the spell went off, everything connected with the building disappeared. Everyone inside started to freak out. There were screams, not all of them human. The Red Court Vampires exposed to the sunlight burst into flames. Luckily, no one besides the vampires were killed. That would have been bad. After all that, they decided a drink or two was in order and headed out to a nearby bar.
The next couple of weeks were pretty tense. Brandon took out an ad in the local newspaper. It simply read, "Duchess, go home." Neil kept to his usual routine. Shade and Heather had their meeting with Uri and got their contract. Mitch Mitchell from Truthisodes arrived in Vegas to report on the disappearing building and his belief in a cover-up. He also decided to make Vegas his home base. Brandon, Neil, Skip, and Shade heard through the grapevine that the Duchess had not been in the hotel. However, she believed that the attack had been a White Council trick and couldn't get out of town fast enough. The Baron was more than happy to help her pack.
After everything had died down. Shade, Neil, and Brandon received an invitation to dinner at the Baron's house. Showing his usual elegance and refinement, the invites were very ornate. All accepted the invitation. The night of the dinner came. Neil and Christine were the first to arrive. Shade and Max showed up next. Brandon and Skip followed close behind. A butler answered the door and ushered all into a formal sitting room. The Baron poured drinks for everyone and proceeded to thank Neil, Shade, Brandon, and Skip for their help in his delicate matter (Just thinking about the Baron is bringing out the Victorian writer in me). While the Baron was talking, Shade and Brandon felt...something. Both knew it was a spell. Shade knew that it was something unfamiliar and big. The Baron and the other Red Court in the room stopped what they were doing and then just exploded. Their chests burst open, showering everything in the room with blood and tissue. Skip reacted first. He started hysterically screaming. Christine called Uri and told him what happened. Shade calmly poured Christine and herself more wine and waited in the sitting room for Uri. Neil and Max actually checked things out. Brandon pulled the still hysterical Skip outside. After a bit, a very disheveled Uri showed up and asked what happened. Shade told him what she had felt with the magic. He suggested that we should leave and stay somewhere safe until what happened could be figured out. He also pointedly told Max not to talk about what happened. Neil headed out for his bolthole in Brandon's basement. Brandon and Skip opted for a room at the Luxor. Shade refused to be driven from her place and had Max drive her home. He left right right away; he had some calls to make (so much for your "suggestion" Uri). Shade called Philip and told him what happened. Philip decided that this would be a fine time for a vacation in the Nevernever and told Shade to handle it. She was NOT happy with either him or his order.
After some time passed, the expected call from Uri came. Shade told him that Philip was unavailable and she would be dealing with this matter. Uri asked her to call Heather and to see if she could get Puck to head into the Nevernever as well. Shade said she would do what she could. She got a hold of Heather and told her to get Puck and met Shade at Legends. There Shade tried to get Puck to go. However, she couldn't. Heather stepped in at that point and, by using tears and flattery, got Puck to agree to go (Shade made a mental note of that tactic. It will come in handy). Shade and Heather headed to the Luxor. After hearing from Shade and Brandon what happened, the Board members debated what was going on. Finally, not having enough information, Warden Locke suggested that everyone find out what they could and they would meet again the next night.
The game ended there. As I wrote above, readers of the Dresden books will have a pretty good idea what event from the books happened that night. It was great fun and things will be very interesting in Vegas for awhile. Next Sunday we won't be playing Dresden. We will be making characters for an alternative game being run by Jay. The game is called Ashen Stars and it looks fun as hell.
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