Mage: The Awakening - Haunted Pt 1 of 2
Setting: The consillium of New Orleans has always been a little bit... different.
Avoiding the politics of the Atlantean Pentacle Orders, the Awakened of New Orleans seek solidarity through their service to the city. Mages joining the Awakened of the city enter one of four krewes, responsible for territory and specific duties. These are:
The Silk krewe: Led by le Grand Dauphin, an Acanthus of the Silver Ladder. This krewe acts as the bureaucratic arm of New Orleans Awakened society. Mages, as well as other supernaturals such as Changelings or Werewolves all fall under the Auspice of the Silk krewe. They also deal with Awakened visitors to the city, and the hosting of the Consillium.
The Paper krewe: The acquisition of knowledge and the past is the forte of this krewe. Headed by Thoth, Obrimos of the Guardians of the Veil, the Paper krewe finds itself dealing with ancient Atlantean artefacts, modern day magic and the creatures of the Supernal Realms.
The Gold krewe: Deals with the concerns of Sleepers. Politics, commerce and the maintenance of Sleeper society are all the responsibility of this Krewe. After Katrina, Jean-Baptiste an Obrimos of the Guardians of the Veil has led the krewe in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Her vision of an Awakened city by the sea has provided an opportunity to create order and meaning where there was chaos.
And the Bone krewe: The most stereotypically 'New Orleans' of the krewes, Bone concerns itself with the dead. Led by the well-known and feared Maman Bridgette from an abandoned church, the Bone krewe deals with ghosts, vampires and other such things, walking the line between death and life. In a town like New Orleans, after Katrina, they find themselves busy.
PC's:
David: Obrimos, of the Mysterium. Member of the Bone krewe. Know-it-all, university educated and constantly reading something. In New Orleans on a study grant. Anthropologist of the supernatural.
Temperance: Moros, of the Silver Ladder. Member of the Bone krewe. Raised in the swamp. Hoodoo medicine woman whom runs a stall in the French Quarter marketplace for tourists and more... legitimate customers.
NPC's:
Butler: A butler.
Cook: A cook.
Derek Jacobs: Lawyer. Thyrsus of the Free Council. Member of the Gold Krewe.
Excalibur: Obrimos of the Adamantine Arrow. Member of the Tamers of Fire legacy. Formerly a member of a UK consillium, now a Black Knight (mercenary) nominally aligned with the Bone krewe. When not in New Orleans he travels the South, killing what needs killing.
Guillame: A handyman.
Isis, Picasso & Drake: Metal head, street rat and goth boy respectively. Members of Temperance's local scene.
Jane Lincoln: Daughter of a rich New Orleans politician. Disappeared five years ago. Recently announced dead.
Jeannete: A maid.
Jonas Arenstein: Temperance's contact in the NOPD.
Maman Bridgette: Boss of the Bone krewe, member of the Adamantine Arrow and accomplished member of the Bokor legacy. War Leader of the New Orleans consillium. A mambo in her own right, and the leader of a Vodun cult.
David and Temperance are at the old church, headquarters of the Bone krewe. While Maman Bridgette holds court on the altar-cum-throne, Temperance idly flips through her tarot deck to the side, observing the politicking of her Krewe. David is perched by the library shelves, flicking through a mystical tome. The Moros spots a movement from the corner of her eye. She pauses in her reading, looking up to see a young white man edging his way through the crowd. He's in a suit of light colours, and a pin on his lapel marks him as Gold Krewe.
The man cautiously approaches the inner circle of the krewe and after a few moments of discussion, Maman Bridgette looks up from the huddle, catching the two Mages looking bored she calls them over. Gold krewe, she explains, is calling in a favour. A young girl who disappeared a few years ago has recently been declared dead. That makes her Bone krewe business, and the Gold krewe would appreciate them confirming her death. The young man hands the Mages a folder and after being thoroughly intimidated by David and Temperance with their krewe boss glowering behind them, passes them his quite expensive looking business card. Derek Jacobs, a lawyer. Temperance's scorn actually manages to increase.
Maman asks a personal favour of the two of them before they head off on krewe business. A local ley is being dragged out of place, it runs through krewe territory before going onto Gold's. As the Bone krewe have so few Obrimoi, she would take it as a personal favour if David could take the time to check it out.
The Mage's head out, David taking the book with him. Swinging past Temperance's market stall, they stop at a local cafe to organise. Pawing through the folder, they find the details of sixteen year-old Jane Lincoln, the daughter of a well-to-do New Orleans politician who went missing in the aftermath of Katrina. The investigating officer appears to have suspected a runaway, maybe a boyfriend. Temperance doesn't recognise the name of the officer, but her contact at the NOPD does. He's no longer a cop. The man was known to have a drinking problem and disappeared around a year after he started his investigation. The contact offers to dig up the case notes, but it will take a few hours.
David wants to go talk to the family. Temperance objects, they don't look the part of intrepid reporters and having their daughter just announced dead the family may not be open to questions. After a mutual brow-beating, they decide to see if any of Temperance's street contacts recognise the girl. They find three of them at the fountain hangout. A goth and a metal-head seated on the fountain rim, watching a street rat sketching chalk art work on the cobblestone. The gothboy, Drake recognises the picture of Jane. 'Jeannie' was hanging around the scene for about a year before she got herself a job as a maid in the Garden District. No-one saw her again after that. Drake says he always figured she'd moved up, or saved some cash and moved on.
Headed up to the house in the Garden District, David keeps an eye out for the aberrant ley, finding it on the edge of the Bone krewe territory and running across the river. Casting a Prime Sight for himself and Temperance, the two inspect the ley. It's quite obviously curved toward the Garden District, running away from the normal flow David remembers. The resonance is... off. There's an underlying flow of cold blue shards tangled amongst the flow of light. It tastes of Betrayal, with a capital B.
At the top of the street lies the house Jane/Jeannie supposedly got work at. The place looks run down. Behind the iron fence, the garden has grown untended, but not completely wild. The windows of the house are closed, but not covered and when the Mages try the gate, they find it's unlocked. The bell doesn't ring though, and David's Unveiling practice of Forces shows there's no power running to it. After arguing whether to use the servant's entrance (Temperance), or the front door (David) they push the gate open and walk up the garden path. Temperance casts Grim Sight, looking around the property for signs of death or ghosts. Through the wisdom of Stygia, everything looks rotten and faded. To her eyes, the world is falling apart and everything will inevitably end. Nothing seems out of the ordinary though. David uses Forces Sight to look for power. There is some in the house. Looking through the window he can see potential in the light bulb, so there is electricity here. Temperance can't see anything new in the window, just the inevitable end of everything. David switches to Prime Sight, inspecting the door for any magic. He's unable to detect any signs of magic though.
He puts a call through to Derek telling the Gold krewe member to provide information for them. The owner of the house for instance. Derek, sounding uncomfortable speaking on the phone promises to ring him back in a few minutes with the information. David and Temperance wait outside the house, and five minutes later, the Obrimos's mobile rings. It turns out the house has been owned for decades by a man named Edward Duloise, and has ties to a little known Silver Ladder whom has had very little contact with the consillium. Temperance hits the Silver Ladder phone tree, finding a Ladder in Silk krewe that recognises the name. Edward Duloise is a Mage, shadow name Jove. A Mastigos member of the Ladder who never joined one of the krewes. He keeps himself to himself, and no-one has heard from him since Katrina.
Heading around to the servant's door at the side of the house, the two Mages find an overgrown vegetable patch, which Temperance scavenges through, tucking her finds into her bag. She gets in front of David, knocking on the door. David recasts his Prime Sight as the door opens. A tall, balding white man in a suit greets them. He introduces himself as the butler, and informs Temperance that she's arrived just in time, they were waiting for the new maid. He blanks at seeing another person at the door until Temperance introduces him as the new gardener. His face smoothing over, the butler asks them both in telling David to stay in the kitchen. As they cross the threshold, a cold prickling sensation runs across the back of both their necks. Something just happened, or someone did something.
The kitchen is clean, well equipped and the scent of baking wafts from the oven. As the butler explains that the Master's brother will be arriving soon, and that they'll be needing the extra help, David looks around. To his Prime-enhanced vision, the entire room is cloaked in prime. When he focuses, he can see past the effect to the rotting unkept room beneath. The butler looks like a shorter black man with blanched skin, dressed in shabby clothes. He calls for Jeanette and Guillame. Jeanette comes into the room, and the Mages find themselves looking at the girl from Derek's folder, dressed in a maid's uniform. They've found Jane Lincoln. She comes up to Temperance with a sunny smile and starts to lead her to what she calls the 'servant's staircase'. Guillame, the handyman enters from another door and gestures to David to follow him. The two Mages exchange a look before following their guides.
Guillame is a large man, dressed in older, coarse clothing and solid boots. His hands are like hams, covered in dark hair. The same hair pokes from the collar of his shirt and a moustache gone wild covers the lower half of his face. He leads David through a pantry and cool room to a small wooden door which he opens and walks into the dark room beyond. David pauses at the doorway, finding himself at the top of a staircase. The handyman flicks the light switch a few times to no effect, before grunting and continuing the trudge down the stairs. David puts his hand on the switch, toggling it repeatedly as he casts a Compelling Practice of Forces, urging the circuit to complete. It works, and the light in the room comes on. Guillame looks up from the base of the stairs and grunts. He runs through the contents of the cellar. Fertiliser, weed killer, a water tank sits in the corner. When David recasts Prime Sight he can make out the rotted bags of fertiliser and the rusted water tank through the heavy layers of magic. Something catches at the corner of his eye, and he tells the handyman to go on ahead. A space next to the water tank isn't as well lit as the rest of the room, but there's nothing there to block the light. As he moves closer, his chest feels tight and he feels panic rise in his throat. Pushing through the sensation, David finds the shadowed patch resolving into a metal door. Clean and unrusted, the door bears three large padlocks. David backs away from the door. He doesn't have the arcana to get through that door easily. Temperance should though. He jogs up the stairs to catch up with the handyman.
Jeanette has bought her new friend to the bedroom they'll be sharing. The walk to the second floor of the house was full of light and vapid small talk. She seems a natural at putting people at their ease. As they enter the bedroom, Temperance closes the door behind them, placing herself between Jeanette and the door. She tries to break the maid out of whatever it is that appears to be wrong with her. Calling her Jane and even showing her the picture from the folder. Jeanette is confused, having no knowledge of this 'Jane Lincoln'. She does agree the likeness is amazing though. When the Moros questions her, the maid claims to have only started work here a few months ago. As far as Temperance can tell the girl is genuine, and confused by her insistence that she is really Jane. Jeanette says that they need to start setting up for dinner, and leaves the new maid to get changed. As the door closes behind Jeanette, Temperance turns around to find a full maid's outfit laid out on the bed. There's even a little lace hat. Temperance moves for the window. Outside is the stone wall of the vegetable garden, and a carriage house at the end of a curved path which leads to the rear gate. Under the Grim Sight it appears as though everything is going fall apart and end in death. So, nothing new there. Temperance opens the window, briefly considering her chances of dropping from the second story. Eventually she decides not to desert her fellow krewe member and turns back to the bed.
David is outside in the vegetable garden. To his Mage Sight the garden is overgrown, but he can see the blurry overlap of Prime energies making up what appears to be a well tended vegetable patch and tool shed. Heading to the gate leading to the alleyway, David suddenly remembers his mobile phone. He left it, back on the kitchen table. He hesitates, and then takes another step towards the gate. It occurs to him that it's really not a good idea to leave the phone back there, and with another step, he feels a familiar tightness in his chest.
Temperance comes back down the servants stairs, adjusting the maid's outfit and her satchel. As she enters the kitchen, she's greeted by a large white woman in an apron bustling about the room. The cook turns as the girl enters and greets her warmly, guiding her to the kitchen table and grabbing a plate full of delicious smelling food to set down in front of her. She tells Temperance that with the Master's brother arriving soon for dinner, it would be best to eat now, so she's not too hungry during dinner. The Moros casts Grim Sight, immediately regretting doing so while she's eating. Food is not of Stygia, and the eventual end of all things does nothing for one's appetite. She looks up from her plate to find the Cook at the end of the table, grasping her throat with both hands as she heaves for breath. Her face and lips are starting to go blue, and foam has started to appear at the corners of her mouth. Temperance drops her Mage Sight as the cook comes up to her side, placing a plate of biscuits down next to her. As Temperance tries to process what the hell is going on, David comes to the door, asking her to step outside for a moment. Temperance slips a handful of the biscuits into her satchel as she excuses herself from the table.
Outside, the two Mages try to regroup. David asks Temperance to step outside of the gate. As she approaches the gate, Temperance remembers her satchel. She's left it upstairs, in the maid's bedroom. Temperance stops. She's sure she just had the satchel with her, but... It's not on her. David can't see it either. Temperance steels herself, and steps towards the gate again, she feels the compulsion to return for her satchel grow stronger. She has magickal tools in there. Secrets of Atlantis that can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Her hand claws as it reaches the gate's handle, trying to turn away from the metal. Her chest is so tight she can barely breath, and she feels her body tremble as the hand twists the handle and then...
She's out.
Her satchel is hanging from her shoulder, the strap crossing her chest over what appears to be a tattered maid's outfit which leaves little to the imagination. She feels drained. Like her pattern has been leaking mana. David is still inside the gate, when she gestures for him to join her he wavers.
David: "It's quite an interesting phenomena, worthy of study-"
Temperance: Get OUT here!"
She grabs him by the tie and drags him across the threshold before he can resist. Now he can feel it too, the sense that his pattern has been leaking.
Temperance: "We are not going back in there!"
The Mages decide to head back to the krewe headquarters and inform Maman Bridgette of what they've discovered. On their way back down the hill, they hear the sounds of a pitched argument from one of the manor houses. Something shatters as they pass the building. Temperance picks up the pace, dragging David along with her. The quickest way back to the church crosses one of the ley lines which intersect with the problem leys, and the Obrimos pauses to inspect it. This ley carries a sullen, bruised red tinge, and David manages to pick up a the resonance of anger. Rage flows through this channel of energy, and its course has been twisted. The line bends towards the hill. As he studies the energy, Temperance catches her breath and casts Spirit Sight, looking for any spiritual resonances or beings within Twilight. A creature that appears to be a chef's knife with praying mantis legs scuttles down the street, pausing every so often outside restaurants and delicatessens to draw on bruised red motes from the buildings.
Temperance freaks, and when David relates the condition of the ley line, she puts her foot down. This... whatever it is, is too big for them. They definitely need help. As the two sprint off towards the church, a phone rings. Temperance's police contact has the files she asked for. She agrees to meet him in the usual place, making a quick detour from the church and that's when both Mages realise... The sun is setting. They've spent more time inside the house than they'd been aware of.
Jack's is a partially run down bar on the border of Bone krewe territory. The large glass windows are kept clean enough to allow the fading sunlight to pour in, illuminating the bar and the baby-faced raver kid behind it. When the Mages get there, a young man in a beat up biker jacket is the only one at the bar. Jonas greets Temperance when she sits down next to him, ordering a shot of tequila and the rest of the bottle as he passes the file to the Moros.
The cop in charge of the investigation lost his family in Katrina and developed a drinking problem, Jonas explains. No one thought much of it when he disappeared, he'd burnt all of his bridges before that. With the girl's disappearance largely taken as a runaway, priority shifted to more pressing concerns. The photo in the file gives David pause though, he's met that man. The same face staring out of the photo of the missing policeman was in tradesmen's overalls at the house.
David rings Derek, explaining the situation and requesting backup. The ley lines are affected by, or affecting the problem with the missing girl, and those aren't a Bone krewe concern. If the Gold krewe wants this thing sorted, the least they can do is provide a body. Derek acquiesces, he can arrange for one of the krewe's geomantic experts to inspect the ley lines. Imhotep will inspect the leys and meet them at the property.
As they enter the church, Maman Bridgette is seated on her throne in front of the altar. Candles lining the space and arrayed on altars are the only illumination. To one side in the old pews, a group of the Bone krewe are cleaning and packing weapons for a raid. Temperance elbows her way through the inner circle to Maman. As she and David explain what they've found, the Mambo leans in listening intently.
Maman: "So this girl is still alive, but in danger, no? This makes her our business still. Can the Bone krewe not handle its own business now? We must bring in the Gold krewe to hold our hands?"
Temperance explains that this is more than the two of them can handle alone. They need help. Maman sighs, muttering Creole as she slumps back in the seat.
Maman: "Eh, he can live without a date for the night."
The older woman reaches for the charms hanging from her neck, grasping one as the two Mages feel a spell being released. Maman's face creases as she mutters under her breath, pausing every so often as though listening. Finally, she lets the charm drop to her chest.
Maman: "It is done. We will wait. Now, this barrier..."
The krewe boss explains that this sounds like two separate spells. Whatever is inside the house and a mental compulsion to stay there. When the Mages entered, it fed on the mana in their patterns and grew. If so it will either keep growing, or it will have a boundary. Were there any markings? Bind-runes? The Mages consult. No, no visible runes that they saw. But then they didn't really look. Maman suggests they do so, and raises another possibility. If the spell has a boundary, it may have been placed in the sewers, a good way to keep things like bind-runes hidden, and something she has done herself in the past.
A few moments later, what looks like the tip of a sword slides into existence between Temperance and David's heads. It slides further out as the two mages jump to the side, then quickly twists and slides downwards, cutting a rip in reality. A tall red-headed man steps from the rip. He's dressed casually, t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. But it's all pricey stuff, and it sits tightly on his muscular body. Party clothes.
Excalibur: "WHAT? What do you want woman?! This was my first guy in a fucking YEAR-"
His voice is accented, British and educated without being plummy. Maman cuts him off as every other krewe member in the church takes a step backwards, looking as though they want something to hide behind. The two lapse into a very heated, if muttered conversation with the kreweboss dropping into Creole when she runs out of swearwords. Finally the two pause for breathe, the man glaring at Maman. David gestures to the sword, now sitting in a sheathe hanging from a leather belt at the man's waist.
David: "Do you ever hit someone accidentally when you do that?"
Excalibur: "What? Oh. No, I scry first. If I hit someone, I mean to do it."
Maman: "This is Excalibur, he is one of the krewe, an Arrow. Excalibur, Temperance and David. You'll be helping them."
Excalibur: "You owe me, old woman."
The two drop into fighting again for a few moments before Maman jerks her hand across her chest and Excalibur turns, stomping down the stairs.
Excalibur: "Right. So, we have a problem?"
As the two Mages start explaining the situation, he stops by the group in the pews, grabbing one of the packed bags.
b>Excalibur: "Can either of you handle a gun?"
David: "I've fired a gun before."
Excalibur: "That's not what I asked."
David: "I was in decathlon!"
Temperance: "Do not. Give him. A gun."
Outside, Excalibur pulls a pistol from the bag slung over his shoulder and passes it to the other Obrimos. David looks over the gun in his hand.
Temperance: "You're walking in front."
The krewe members cross the river and head into the Garden District, following the slope of the hill.
Temperance: "This is it."
The Mages stop, looking up at the manor house. It looks normal from here, run down and uncared for. They split up, Temperance going with Cal as David and the gun go in the other direction. Doing a full loop of the estate, they meet back in front of the gate.
Excalibur: "Nothing?"
David: "Nothing."
Excalibur: "Well, there's always underneath the streets."
He looks down at the manhole in the street.
Excalibur: "Help me with this."
David: "Why do you need help with a manhole cover?"
Excalibur: "....Just help."
The two men lift the cover off and Excalibur drops to the ground, sliding halfway into the manhole. His muffled voice comes back out just before he slides in the rest of the way, flipping at the last second. The two Mages follow him. Cal stands in the water, looking mournfully at his sneakers.
Excalibur: "These were new"
David: "Did anyone bring torches?"
The Arrow unzips his bag, pulling out a torch that could double as a club. He passes it to David and then holds his hand up, concentrating momentarily as his hand blazes with fire. In front of them is a large Atlantean rune, stained into the brick and concrete. The Mages split up, Cal heading down one pipeline. Before the other two reach the end of their pipe, his light returns as he hangs his head and arm around the corner.
Excalibur: "There's one here too."
After exploring, they find that the sewers make a square around the property, with an Atlantean rune on each side. The runes appear to be symbols for Compelling and Weaving practices of Mind along with some mid-to-higher level Practices of Prime. A self-fueling spell that feeds on mana from nearby patterns. If the warping ley lines were to hit this...
Excalibur: "That'd be bad."
David: "How do we destroy it?"
Excalibur draws two large handguns from the bag.
Excalibur: "It's a symbol on the brick, we just need to break the symbol to break the spell."
Temperance: "Whoah! What happens when the spell breaks and the people in the house come to? Someone should be up there."
David and Excalibur exchange looks. She may have a point.
Temperance: "I'm going up!"
The Moros hauls herself up the ladder to street level, David follows her as the Arrow opens fire on the symbol, reducing it to so much brick dust, before moving onto the next symbol. He's thorough like that.
At the gate, the two Mages hesitate before moving through the barrier. They breathe a sigh of relief as they enter the property and nothing happens. No prickle across the back of their necks, no tenseness in the chest either as Temperance attempts to leave again. The barrier appears to have gone. Temperance moves around to the servant's door as David knocks on the front door. He's met by the Butler, demanding to know why the help is knocking on the front door? David explains that there's a problem outside and he needs the handy man.
Temperance heads around to the servant's entrance. As she slips back into the kitchen, the Cook turns from the table bustling up to her and complaining about how little time they have before the Master's brother comes. Temperance pauses for a second. It's sunny outside the kitchen window, and the Cook doesn't seem to have missed her. Time here is whacked out. She pops the Grim Sight and spots the other Cook - the choking, foaming at the mouth ghostly Cook - at the other end of the table. The wraith collapses over the table, clawing at her throat and Temperance rushes forward, trying to calm the woman as she convulses and stills. The ghost lies there, lips pulled back in a horrifying rictus and the Moros finds a nagging memory in her head. Before the spectre can dissipate, Temperance looks over the 'body', and finds herself recognising a few things. The Cook, or whoever this was, was poisoned. Then who the hell is the woman in the kitchen with her? Or what?
David has found the 'Handyman' Guillame and convinces him to leave the house. Standing in the front garden, the Mage attempts to lure the policeman off of the property. He manages to get to the the gate before Guillame hesitates, becoming argumentative. The Master's brother is coming soon, and not everything is ready yet. David tries again, claiming that young vandals have done something to the wall. Guillame look out along the cast iron fence and turns, muttering about wastes of time and unreliable help as he heads back to the house and the servant's entrance.
Temperance watches the 'Cook' disappate, the ectoplasm of her form shredding away into nothingness. As she stands, a choking noise behind her catches her by suprise. She turns to find the 'Cook' standing behind her, wide eyed and clutching her throat. That was... Way too quick for a ghost to reincorporate. Temperance tries to talk the 'Cook' down, breaking her focus from the memory of her own death. The ghost continues choking and Temperance casts Touch of the Grave, using the wisdom of Stygia to make herself a physical object in Twilight. She grabs for the ghost, trying to help as the 'Cook' starts clawing at her own throat.
When she can't make the ghost stop, Temperance digs desperately through her bag until she finds one of her 'herbal remedies'.
Temperance: "Here, I- Oh."
She can't use it on the ghost as it is. The Moros drops the bottle. Casting Ghostly Object shifts the newly destroyed bottle into Twilight, the Stygian energies reincorporating it as a ghost of its former self. Temperance grabs the medicine from the ground and forces it into the ghost's mouth, holding on grimly as the dead woman's shade struggles against her. Finally the shade calms, its dead eyes focusing on Temperance. She coaxes the ghost, trying to find out what happened to it. The ghost chokes out something about the Master and his Brother before it flickers and fades.
As Guillame stalks into the kitchen, still followed by David the doorbell rings. The noise cuts through the silence of the house, making everyone pause. Temperance adjusts her maid's outfit and heads for the door, beating the Butler. She opens the front door to reveal a beautiful blonde woman in what appears to be 1920's finery and... Excalibur. In a tux. With a fixed smile on his face.
Excalibur: "What. The hell. Is going. On."
Avoiding the politics of the Atlantean Pentacle Orders, the Awakened of New Orleans seek solidarity through their service to the city. Mages joining the Awakened of the city enter one of four krewes, responsible for territory and specific duties. These are:
The Silk krewe: Led by le Grand Dauphin, an Acanthus of the Silver Ladder. This krewe acts as the bureaucratic arm of New Orleans Awakened society. Mages, as well as other supernaturals such as Changelings or Werewolves all fall under the Auspice of the Silk krewe. They also deal with Awakened visitors to the city, and the hosting of the Consillium.
The Paper krewe: The acquisition of knowledge and the past is the forte of this krewe. Headed by Thoth, Obrimos of the Guardians of the Veil, the Paper krewe finds itself dealing with ancient Atlantean artefacts, modern day magic and the creatures of the Supernal Realms.
The Gold krewe: Deals with the concerns of Sleepers. Politics, commerce and the maintenance of Sleeper society are all the responsibility of this Krewe. After Katrina, Jean-Baptiste an Obrimos of the Guardians of the Veil has led the krewe in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Her vision of an Awakened city by the sea has provided an opportunity to create order and meaning where there was chaos.
And the Bone krewe: The most stereotypically 'New Orleans' of the krewes, Bone concerns itself with the dead. Led by the well-known and feared Maman Bridgette from an abandoned church, the Bone krewe deals with ghosts, vampires and other such things, walking the line between death and life. In a town like New Orleans, after Katrina, they find themselves busy.
PC's:
David: Obrimos, of the Mysterium. Member of the Bone krewe. Know-it-all, university educated and constantly reading something. In New Orleans on a study grant. Anthropologist of the supernatural.
Temperance: Moros, of the Silver Ladder. Member of the Bone krewe. Raised in the swamp. Hoodoo medicine woman whom runs a stall in the French Quarter marketplace for tourists and more... legitimate customers.
NPC's:
Butler: A butler.
Cook: A cook.
Derek Jacobs: Lawyer. Thyrsus of the Free Council. Member of the Gold Krewe.
Excalibur: Obrimos of the Adamantine Arrow. Member of the Tamers of Fire legacy. Formerly a member of a UK consillium, now a Black Knight (mercenary) nominally aligned with the Bone krewe. When not in New Orleans he travels the South, killing what needs killing.
Guillame: A handyman.
Isis, Picasso & Drake: Metal head, street rat and goth boy respectively. Members of Temperance's local scene.
Jane Lincoln: Daughter of a rich New Orleans politician. Disappeared five years ago. Recently announced dead.
Jeannete: A maid.
Jonas Arenstein: Temperance's contact in the NOPD.
Maman Bridgette: Boss of the Bone krewe, member of the Adamantine Arrow and accomplished member of the Bokor legacy. War Leader of the New Orleans consillium. A mambo in her own right, and the leader of a Vodun cult.
David and Temperance are at the old church, headquarters of the Bone krewe. While Maman Bridgette holds court on the altar-cum-throne, Temperance idly flips through her tarot deck to the side, observing the politicking of her Krewe. David is perched by the library shelves, flicking through a mystical tome. The Moros spots a movement from the corner of her eye. She pauses in her reading, looking up to see a young white man edging his way through the crowd. He's in a suit of light colours, and a pin on his lapel marks him as Gold Krewe.
The man cautiously approaches the inner circle of the krewe and after a few moments of discussion, Maman Bridgette looks up from the huddle, catching the two Mages looking bored she calls them over. Gold krewe, she explains, is calling in a favour. A young girl who disappeared a few years ago has recently been declared dead. That makes her Bone krewe business, and the Gold krewe would appreciate them confirming her death. The young man hands the Mages a folder and after being thoroughly intimidated by David and Temperance with their krewe boss glowering behind them, passes them his quite expensive looking business card. Derek Jacobs, a lawyer. Temperance's scorn actually manages to increase.
Maman asks a personal favour of the two of them before they head off on krewe business. A local ley is being dragged out of place, it runs through krewe territory before going onto Gold's. As the Bone krewe have so few Obrimoi, she would take it as a personal favour if David could take the time to check it out.
The Mage's head out, David taking the book with him. Swinging past Temperance's market stall, they stop at a local cafe to organise. Pawing through the folder, they find the details of sixteen year-old Jane Lincoln, the daughter of a well-to-do New Orleans politician who went missing in the aftermath of Katrina. The investigating officer appears to have suspected a runaway, maybe a boyfriend. Temperance doesn't recognise the name of the officer, but her contact at the NOPD does. He's no longer a cop. The man was known to have a drinking problem and disappeared around a year after he started his investigation. The contact offers to dig up the case notes, but it will take a few hours.
David wants to go talk to the family. Temperance objects, they don't look the part of intrepid reporters and having their daughter just announced dead the family may not be open to questions. After a mutual brow-beating, they decide to see if any of Temperance's street contacts recognise the girl. They find three of them at the fountain hangout. A goth and a metal-head seated on the fountain rim, watching a street rat sketching chalk art work on the cobblestone. The gothboy, Drake recognises the picture of Jane. 'Jeannie' was hanging around the scene for about a year before she got herself a job as a maid in the Garden District. No-one saw her again after that. Drake says he always figured she'd moved up, or saved some cash and moved on.
Headed up to the house in the Garden District, David keeps an eye out for the aberrant ley, finding it on the edge of the Bone krewe territory and running across the river. Casting a Prime Sight for himself and Temperance, the two inspect the ley. It's quite obviously curved toward the Garden District, running away from the normal flow David remembers. The resonance is... off. There's an underlying flow of cold blue shards tangled amongst the flow of light. It tastes of Betrayal, with a capital B.
At the top of the street lies the house Jane/Jeannie supposedly got work at. The place looks run down. Behind the iron fence, the garden has grown untended, but not completely wild. The windows of the house are closed, but not covered and when the Mages try the gate, they find it's unlocked. The bell doesn't ring though, and David's Unveiling practice of Forces shows there's no power running to it. After arguing whether to use the servant's entrance (Temperance), or the front door (David) they push the gate open and walk up the garden path. Temperance casts Grim Sight, looking around the property for signs of death or ghosts. Through the wisdom of Stygia, everything looks rotten and faded. To her eyes, the world is falling apart and everything will inevitably end. Nothing seems out of the ordinary though. David uses Forces Sight to look for power. There is some in the house. Looking through the window he can see potential in the light bulb, so there is electricity here. Temperance can't see anything new in the window, just the inevitable end of everything. David switches to Prime Sight, inspecting the door for any magic. He's unable to detect any signs of magic though.
He puts a call through to Derek telling the Gold krewe member to provide information for them. The owner of the house for instance. Derek, sounding uncomfortable speaking on the phone promises to ring him back in a few minutes with the information. David and Temperance wait outside the house, and five minutes later, the Obrimos's mobile rings. It turns out the house has been owned for decades by a man named Edward Duloise, and has ties to a little known Silver Ladder whom has had very little contact with the consillium. Temperance hits the Silver Ladder phone tree, finding a Ladder in Silk krewe that recognises the name. Edward Duloise is a Mage, shadow name Jove. A Mastigos member of the Ladder who never joined one of the krewes. He keeps himself to himself, and no-one has heard from him since Katrina.
Heading around to the servant's door at the side of the house, the two Mages find an overgrown vegetable patch, which Temperance scavenges through, tucking her finds into her bag. She gets in front of David, knocking on the door. David recasts his Prime Sight as the door opens. A tall, balding white man in a suit greets them. He introduces himself as the butler, and informs Temperance that she's arrived just in time, they were waiting for the new maid. He blanks at seeing another person at the door until Temperance introduces him as the new gardener. His face smoothing over, the butler asks them both in telling David to stay in the kitchen. As they cross the threshold, a cold prickling sensation runs across the back of both their necks. Something just happened, or someone did something.
The kitchen is clean, well equipped and the scent of baking wafts from the oven. As the butler explains that the Master's brother will be arriving soon, and that they'll be needing the extra help, David looks around. To his Prime-enhanced vision, the entire room is cloaked in prime. When he focuses, he can see past the effect to the rotting unkept room beneath. The butler looks like a shorter black man with blanched skin, dressed in shabby clothes. He calls for Jeanette and Guillame. Jeanette comes into the room, and the Mages find themselves looking at the girl from Derek's folder, dressed in a maid's uniform. They've found Jane Lincoln. She comes up to Temperance with a sunny smile and starts to lead her to what she calls the 'servant's staircase'. Guillame, the handyman enters from another door and gestures to David to follow him. The two Mages exchange a look before following their guides.
Guillame is a large man, dressed in older, coarse clothing and solid boots. His hands are like hams, covered in dark hair. The same hair pokes from the collar of his shirt and a moustache gone wild covers the lower half of his face. He leads David through a pantry and cool room to a small wooden door which he opens and walks into the dark room beyond. David pauses at the doorway, finding himself at the top of a staircase. The handyman flicks the light switch a few times to no effect, before grunting and continuing the trudge down the stairs. David puts his hand on the switch, toggling it repeatedly as he casts a Compelling Practice of Forces, urging the circuit to complete. It works, and the light in the room comes on. Guillame looks up from the base of the stairs and grunts. He runs through the contents of the cellar. Fertiliser, weed killer, a water tank sits in the corner. When David recasts Prime Sight he can make out the rotted bags of fertiliser and the rusted water tank through the heavy layers of magic. Something catches at the corner of his eye, and he tells the handyman to go on ahead. A space next to the water tank isn't as well lit as the rest of the room, but there's nothing there to block the light. As he moves closer, his chest feels tight and he feels panic rise in his throat. Pushing through the sensation, David finds the shadowed patch resolving into a metal door. Clean and unrusted, the door bears three large padlocks. David backs away from the door. He doesn't have the arcana to get through that door easily. Temperance should though. He jogs up the stairs to catch up with the handyman.
Jeanette has bought her new friend to the bedroom they'll be sharing. The walk to the second floor of the house was full of light and vapid small talk. She seems a natural at putting people at their ease. As they enter the bedroom, Temperance closes the door behind them, placing herself between Jeanette and the door. She tries to break the maid out of whatever it is that appears to be wrong with her. Calling her Jane and even showing her the picture from the folder. Jeanette is confused, having no knowledge of this 'Jane Lincoln'. She does agree the likeness is amazing though. When the Moros questions her, the maid claims to have only started work here a few months ago. As far as Temperance can tell the girl is genuine, and confused by her insistence that she is really Jane. Jeanette says that they need to start setting up for dinner, and leaves the new maid to get changed. As the door closes behind Jeanette, Temperance turns around to find a full maid's outfit laid out on the bed. There's even a little lace hat. Temperance moves for the window. Outside is the stone wall of the vegetable garden, and a carriage house at the end of a curved path which leads to the rear gate. Under the Grim Sight it appears as though everything is going fall apart and end in death. So, nothing new there. Temperance opens the window, briefly considering her chances of dropping from the second story. Eventually she decides not to desert her fellow krewe member and turns back to the bed.
David is outside in the vegetable garden. To his Mage Sight the garden is overgrown, but he can see the blurry overlap of Prime energies making up what appears to be a well tended vegetable patch and tool shed. Heading to the gate leading to the alleyway, David suddenly remembers his mobile phone. He left it, back on the kitchen table. He hesitates, and then takes another step towards the gate. It occurs to him that it's really not a good idea to leave the phone back there, and with another step, he feels a familiar tightness in his chest.
Temperance comes back down the servants stairs, adjusting the maid's outfit and her satchel. As she enters the kitchen, she's greeted by a large white woman in an apron bustling about the room. The cook turns as the girl enters and greets her warmly, guiding her to the kitchen table and grabbing a plate full of delicious smelling food to set down in front of her. She tells Temperance that with the Master's brother arriving soon for dinner, it would be best to eat now, so she's not too hungry during dinner. The Moros casts Grim Sight, immediately regretting doing so while she's eating. Food is not of Stygia, and the eventual end of all things does nothing for one's appetite. She looks up from her plate to find the Cook at the end of the table, grasping her throat with both hands as she heaves for breath. Her face and lips are starting to go blue, and foam has started to appear at the corners of her mouth. Temperance drops her Mage Sight as the cook comes up to her side, placing a plate of biscuits down next to her. As Temperance tries to process what the hell is going on, David comes to the door, asking her to step outside for a moment. Temperance slips a handful of the biscuits into her satchel as she excuses herself from the table.
Outside, the two Mages try to regroup. David asks Temperance to step outside of the gate. As she approaches the gate, Temperance remembers her satchel. She's left it upstairs, in the maid's bedroom. Temperance stops. She's sure she just had the satchel with her, but... It's not on her. David can't see it either. Temperance steels herself, and steps towards the gate again, she feels the compulsion to return for her satchel grow stronger. She has magickal tools in there. Secrets of Atlantis that can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Her hand claws as it reaches the gate's handle, trying to turn away from the metal. Her chest is so tight she can barely breath, and she feels her body tremble as the hand twists the handle and then...
She's out.
Her satchel is hanging from her shoulder, the strap crossing her chest over what appears to be a tattered maid's outfit which leaves little to the imagination. She feels drained. Like her pattern has been leaking mana. David is still inside the gate, when she gestures for him to join her he wavers.
David: "It's quite an interesting phenomena, worthy of study-"
Temperance: Get OUT here!"
She grabs him by the tie and drags him across the threshold before he can resist. Now he can feel it too, the sense that his pattern has been leaking.
Temperance: "We are not going back in there!"
The Mages decide to head back to the krewe headquarters and inform Maman Bridgette of what they've discovered. On their way back down the hill, they hear the sounds of a pitched argument from one of the manor houses. Something shatters as they pass the building. Temperance picks up the pace, dragging David along with her. The quickest way back to the church crosses one of the ley lines which intersect with the problem leys, and the Obrimos pauses to inspect it. This ley carries a sullen, bruised red tinge, and David manages to pick up a the resonance of anger. Rage flows through this channel of energy, and its course has been twisted. The line bends towards the hill. As he studies the energy, Temperance catches her breath and casts Spirit Sight, looking for any spiritual resonances or beings within Twilight. A creature that appears to be a chef's knife with praying mantis legs scuttles down the street, pausing every so often outside restaurants and delicatessens to draw on bruised red motes from the buildings.
Temperance freaks, and when David relates the condition of the ley line, she puts her foot down. This... whatever it is, is too big for them. They definitely need help. As the two sprint off towards the church, a phone rings. Temperance's police contact has the files she asked for. She agrees to meet him in the usual place, making a quick detour from the church and that's when both Mages realise... The sun is setting. They've spent more time inside the house than they'd been aware of.
Jack's is a partially run down bar on the border of Bone krewe territory. The large glass windows are kept clean enough to allow the fading sunlight to pour in, illuminating the bar and the baby-faced raver kid behind it. When the Mages get there, a young man in a beat up biker jacket is the only one at the bar. Jonas greets Temperance when she sits down next to him, ordering a shot of tequila and the rest of the bottle as he passes the file to the Moros.
The cop in charge of the investigation lost his family in Katrina and developed a drinking problem, Jonas explains. No one thought much of it when he disappeared, he'd burnt all of his bridges before that. With the girl's disappearance largely taken as a runaway, priority shifted to more pressing concerns. The photo in the file gives David pause though, he's met that man. The same face staring out of the photo of the missing policeman was in tradesmen's overalls at the house.
David rings Derek, explaining the situation and requesting backup. The ley lines are affected by, or affecting the problem with the missing girl, and those aren't a Bone krewe concern. If the Gold krewe wants this thing sorted, the least they can do is provide a body. Derek acquiesces, he can arrange for one of the krewe's geomantic experts to inspect the ley lines. Imhotep will inspect the leys and meet them at the property.
As they enter the church, Maman Bridgette is seated on her throne in front of the altar. Candles lining the space and arrayed on altars are the only illumination. To one side in the old pews, a group of the Bone krewe are cleaning and packing weapons for a raid. Temperance elbows her way through the inner circle to Maman. As she and David explain what they've found, the Mambo leans in listening intently.
Maman: "So this girl is still alive, but in danger, no? This makes her our business still. Can the Bone krewe not handle its own business now? We must bring in the Gold krewe to hold our hands?"
Temperance explains that this is more than the two of them can handle alone. They need help. Maman sighs, muttering Creole as she slumps back in the seat.
Maman: "Eh, he can live without a date for the night."
The older woman reaches for the charms hanging from her neck, grasping one as the two Mages feel a spell being released. Maman's face creases as she mutters under her breath, pausing every so often as though listening. Finally, she lets the charm drop to her chest.
Maman: "It is done. We will wait. Now, this barrier..."
The krewe boss explains that this sounds like two separate spells. Whatever is inside the house and a mental compulsion to stay there. When the Mages entered, it fed on the mana in their patterns and grew. If so it will either keep growing, or it will have a boundary. Were there any markings? Bind-runes? The Mages consult. No, no visible runes that they saw. But then they didn't really look. Maman suggests they do so, and raises another possibility. If the spell has a boundary, it may have been placed in the sewers, a good way to keep things like bind-runes hidden, and something she has done herself in the past.
A few moments later, what looks like the tip of a sword slides into existence between Temperance and David's heads. It slides further out as the two mages jump to the side, then quickly twists and slides downwards, cutting a rip in reality. A tall red-headed man steps from the rip. He's dressed casually, t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. But it's all pricey stuff, and it sits tightly on his muscular body. Party clothes.
Excalibur: "WHAT? What do you want woman?! This was my first guy in a fucking YEAR-"
His voice is accented, British and educated without being plummy. Maman cuts him off as every other krewe member in the church takes a step backwards, looking as though they want something to hide behind. The two lapse into a very heated, if muttered conversation with the kreweboss dropping into Creole when she runs out of swearwords. Finally the two pause for breathe, the man glaring at Maman. David gestures to the sword, now sitting in a sheathe hanging from a leather belt at the man's waist.
David: "Do you ever hit someone accidentally when you do that?"
Excalibur: "What? Oh. No, I scry first. If I hit someone, I mean to do it."
Maman: "This is Excalibur, he is one of the krewe, an Arrow. Excalibur, Temperance and David. You'll be helping them."
Excalibur: "You owe me, old woman."
The two drop into fighting again for a few moments before Maman jerks her hand across her chest and Excalibur turns, stomping down the stairs.
Excalibur: "Right. So, we have a problem?"
As the two Mages start explaining the situation, he stops by the group in the pews, grabbing one of the packed bags.
b>Excalibur: "Can either of you handle a gun?"
David: "I've fired a gun before."
Excalibur: "That's not what I asked."
David: "I was in decathlon!"
Temperance: "Do not. Give him. A gun."
Outside, Excalibur pulls a pistol from the bag slung over his shoulder and passes it to the other Obrimos. David looks over the gun in his hand.
Temperance: "You're walking in front."
The krewe members cross the river and head into the Garden District, following the slope of the hill.
Temperance: "This is it."
The Mages stop, looking up at the manor house. It looks normal from here, run down and uncared for. They split up, Temperance going with Cal as David and the gun go in the other direction. Doing a full loop of the estate, they meet back in front of the gate.
Excalibur: "Nothing?"
David: "Nothing."
Excalibur: "Well, there's always underneath the streets."
He looks down at the manhole in the street.
Excalibur: "Help me with this."
David: "Why do you need help with a manhole cover?"
Excalibur: "....Just help."
The two men lift the cover off and Excalibur drops to the ground, sliding halfway into the manhole. His muffled voice comes back out just before he slides in the rest of the way, flipping at the last second. The two Mages follow him. Cal stands in the water, looking mournfully at his sneakers.
Excalibur: "These were new"
David: "Did anyone bring torches?"
The Arrow unzips his bag, pulling out a torch that could double as a club. He passes it to David and then holds his hand up, concentrating momentarily as his hand blazes with fire. In front of them is a large Atlantean rune, stained into the brick and concrete. The Mages split up, Cal heading down one pipeline. Before the other two reach the end of their pipe, his light returns as he hangs his head and arm around the corner.
Excalibur: "There's one here too."
After exploring, they find that the sewers make a square around the property, with an Atlantean rune on each side. The runes appear to be symbols for Compelling and Weaving practices of Mind along with some mid-to-higher level Practices of Prime. A self-fueling spell that feeds on mana from nearby patterns. If the warping ley lines were to hit this...
Excalibur: "That'd be bad."
David: "How do we destroy it?"
Excalibur draws two large handguns from the bag.
Excalibur: "It's a symbol on the brick, we just need to break the symbol to break the spell."
Temperance: "Whoah! What happens when the spell breaks and the people in the house come to? Someone should be up there."
David and Excalibur exchange looks. She may have a point.
Temperance: "I'm going up!"
The Moros hauls herself up the ladder to street level, David follows her as the Arrow opens fire on the symbol, reducing it to so much brick dust, before moving onto the next symbol. He's thorough like that.
At the gate, the two Mages hesitate before moving through the barrier. They breathe a sigh of relief as they enter the property and nothing happens. No prickle across the back of their necks, no tenseness in the chest either as Temperance attempts to leave again. The barrier appears to have gone. Temperance moves around to the servant's door as David knocks on the front door. He's met by the Butler, demanding to know why the help is knocking on the front door? David explains that there's a problem outside and he needs the handy man.
Temperance heads around to the servant's entrance. As she slips back into the kitchen, the Cook turns from the table bustling up to her and complaining about how little time they have before the Master's brother comes. Temperance pauses for a second. It's sunny outside the kitchen window, and the Cook doesn't seem to have missed her. Time here is whacked out. She pops the Grim Sight and spots the other Cook - the choking, foaming at the mouth ghostly Cook - at the other end of the table. The wraith collapses over the table, clawing at her throat and Temperance rushes forward, trying to calm the woman as she convulses and stills. The ghost lies there, lips pulled back in a horrifying rictus and the Moros finds a nagging memory in her head. Before the spectre can dissipate, Temperance looks over the 'body', and finds herself recognising a few things. The Cook, or whoever this was, was poisoned. Then who the hell is the woman in the kitchen with her? Or what?
David has found the 'Handyman' Guillame and convinces him to leave the house. Standing in the front garden, the Mage attempts to lure the policeman off of the property. He manages to get to the the gate before Guillame hesitates, becoming argumentative. The Master's brother is coming soon, and not everything is ready yet. David tries again, claiming that young vandals have done something to the wall. Guillame look out along the cast iron fence and turns, muttering about wastes of time and unreliable help as he heads back to the house and the servant's entrance.
Temperance watches the 'Cook' disappate, the ectoplasm of her form shredding away into nothingness. As she stands, a choking noise behind her catches her by suprise. She turns to find the 'Cook' standing behind her, wide eyed and clutching her throat. That was... Way too quick for a ghost to reincorporate. Temperance tries to talk the 'Cook' down, breaking her focus from the memory of her own death. The ghost continues choking and Temperance casts Touch of the Grave, using the wisdom of Stygia to make herself a physical object in Twilight. She grabs for the ghost, trying to help as the 'Cook' starts clawing at her own throat.
When she can't make the ghost stop, Temperance digs desperately through her bag until she finds one of her 'herbal remedies'.
Temperance: "Here, I- Oh."
She can't use it on the ghost as it is. The Moros drops the bottle. Casting Ghostly Object shifts the newly destroyed bottle into Twilight, the Stygian energies reincorporating it as a ghost of its former self. Temperance grabs the medicine from the ground and forces it into the ghost's mouth, holding on grimly as the dead woman's shade struggles against her. Finally the shade calms, its dead eyes focusing on Temperance. She coaxes the ghost, trying to find out what happened to it. The ghost chokes out something about the Master and his Brother before it flickers and fades.
As Guillame stalks into the kitchen, still followed by David the doorbell rings. The noise cuts through the silence of the house, making everyone pause. Temperance adjusts her maid's outfit and heads for the door, beating the Butler. She opens the front door to reveal a beautiful blonde woman in what appears to be 1920's finery and... Excalibur. In a tux. With a fixed smile on his face.
Excalibur: "What. The hell. Is going. On."