Water of Life Update
Last time, recall, the throng was headed to the RV to meet with Valence and Martin Anis, the sculptor of that weird statue in the square. The throng met up with these two and chatted a bit. Martin hadn't designed the thing after reading any weird books; he'd just dreamed up the design. Marty asked for sketches, but Martin didn't have them handy. Marty sent Martin (confused yet?) into the RV with Julia so that he could use Ephemeral Flesh without freaking the artist out. But Martin, recognizing Julia from the website, hit on her and before you can say "don't trod on a mine," they were going at it like woodchucks. Martin, by now, was in the second stage of Disquiet.
Valence, meantime, called the rest of his cabal, and they came out with Martin's sketches. Apocrypha, the leader, was something of an authority on spirits and wondered if the "pattern," whatever it was, was spiritual primarily or secondarily (Marty suspected, correctly, that it was only affecting the spirit world as a side effect). Rosemary, a young, rather pale girl (and a Singer in Silence), was rather taken aback at meeting people who had just been to the River of Death. And Dewey was able to strengthen Martin's mind so he wasn't slave to Disquiet, at least for a while.
The consensus was that disrupting the pattern that the sculpture made would probably stop the effects, so the mages and the Prometheans headed out to the square. The plan? Let Hank punch in at stress points using Fist of Talos. As they arrived, though, Martin started to convulse. The other mages looked at him magically and noted that the sculpture seemed to be trying to spawn.
And then people arrived. First cops, then just normal folks on a bus. Jesus disarmed one cop, who tried to grapple Jesus and got shot with his own gun. Many of the folks rushed Hank to keep him away from the statue. General higgelty-piggelty ensues, with Nathan playing guitar and using his Inspiring Merit. And then the Beshilu arrived, with a horde of rat-spirits.
The rat-Host clawed at Marty, and Marty tried to use Spark of Life on the Beshilu's body but failed. The rat-spirits swarmed at Martin, and Marty remembered how he'd been torn apart, a mortal set up by the supernatural. He flew to the sculpture and lured the rats away from Martin, convincing them to gnaw into the Gauntlet (and fulfilling a milestone).
The fight raged on. The citizens grappled Hank, but he Shocked them and then Jesus knocked them out. The mages took down the dangerous people with magic, Valence threw some fire around. The Beshilu attacked Jesus and poisoned him, driving him into Torment. He dropped what he was doing and stomped over to hit the statue, but didn't damage it. Hank, meantime, had damaged one pin, and then jumped up and shattered another. Meanwhile, Valence round-housed the Beshilu and got a stupid-high number of successes, taking his face clean off.
With the pattern disrupted, the non-unconscious people were freed. The Beshilu dropped into its component rats, and they fled. Jesus, still in Torment, berated Valence for not burning them (too many unconscious people around). The characters bugged the hell out before the police arrived.
Nathan, Hank, Jesus and Julia got new IDs the next day, while Marty filed his report. Valence swung out to the RV to tell the characters that he'd and his cabal were headed for Cincinnati; apparently they need Mysterium out there. And the throng saddled up and headed for Denver.
Valence, meantime, called the rest of his cabal, and they came out with Martin's sketches. Apocrypha, the leader, was something of an authority on spirits and wondered if the "pattern," whatever it was, was spiritual primarily or secondarily (Marty suspected, correctly, that it was only affecting the spirit world as a side effect). Rosemary, a young, rather pale girl (and a Singer in Silence), was rather taken aback at meeting people who had just been to the River of Death. And Dewey was able to strengthen Martin's mind so he wasn't slave to Disquiet, at least for a while.
The consensus was that disrupting the pattern that the sculpture made would probably stop the effects, so the mages and the Prometheans headed out to the square. The plan? Let Hank punch in at stress points using Fist of Talos. As they arrived, though, Martin started to convulse. The other mages looked at him magically and noted that the sculpture seemed to be trying to spawn.
And then people arrived. First cops, then just normal folks on a bus. Jesus disarmed one cop, who tried to grapple Jesus and got shot with his own gun. Many of the folks rushed Hank to keep him away from the statue. General higgelty-piggelty ensues, with Nathan playing guitar and using his Inspiring Merit. And then the Beshilu arrived, with a horde of rat-spirits.
The rat-Host clawed at Marty, and Marty tried to use Spark of Life on the Beshilu's body but failed. The rat-spirits swarmed at Martin, and Marty remembered how he'd been torn apart, a mortal set up by the supernatural. He flew to the sculpture and lured the rats away from Martin, convincing them to gnaw into the Gauntlet (and fulfilling a milestone).
The fight raged on. The citizens grappled Hank, but he Shocked them and then Jesus knocked them out. The mages took down the dangerous people with magic, Valence threw some fire around. The Beshilu attacked Jesus and poisoned him, driving him into Torment. He dropped what he was doing and stomped over to hit the statue, but didn't damage it. Hank, meantime, had damaged one pin, and then jumped up and shattered another. Meanwhile, Valence round-housed the Beshilu and got a stupid-high number of successes, taking his face clean off.
With the pattern disrupted, the non-unconscious people were freed. The Beshilu dropped into its component rats, and they fled. Jesus, still in Torment, berated Valence for not burning them (too many unconscious people around). The characters bugged the hell out before the police arrived.
Nathan, Hank, Jesus and Julia got new IDs the next day, while Marty filed his report. Valence swung out to the RV to tell the characters that he'd and his cabal were headed for Cincinnati; apparently they need Mysterium out there. And the throng saddled up and headed for Denver.