Thursday, December 21, 2017

Digestif: The Darkness Below (CofD)

Welcome back to my coverage of my Chronicles of Darkness crossover story, Digestif. Not really sure what to add here (other than to point out that John's character still isn't ready, and he should be joining the group next time), to be honest, so we'll just jump right into the write-up.





So where we left off, our intrepid bunch were down in the tunnels beneath Morgantown. They'd figured out that Derrick's act tied him to something on the other side of a gateway, and that the aforementioned tie was keeping the portal from closing all the way.

Otis informs Derrick that if there really is a portal there, he could probably open it up to see where it goes[0], but the group quickly agrees that doing so without further information would be a terrible idea. Weaver tells them that all he knows is that it connects to a place (or, more accurately, a collection of places) that mages call the Lower Reaches. It could go back to where strix originally come from, but there's no good way to know without immense risk.

At this point Derrick comes clean that this is the spot where he consumed the strix utterly, devouring what passes for its soul and absorbing its power. Otis asks him if he'd do it again, and Derrick says he absolutely would (partially because he knows that diablerie is addictive and he's not going to pretend he'll never have those urges). Otis asks if there are any vampires who study the origins of their kind, and why those vampires aren't poking and prodding at Derrick as they speak. So this leads Derrick into a quick explanation of what the Ordo Dracul are[1] and an explanation that he used to be with them but isn't any more... and then they realize that Weaver is writing all of this stuff down in his notebook.

So they stop to basically ask him to knock it off and talk about the risks of these supernatural secrets circulating. Weaver insists that he's not writing these down in a language that any jackass can read[2], so that takes the edge off the immediate concerns. Otis proposes that maybe if Weaver is going to be recording the secrets of other supernaturals, maybe he should share some of his own. In the end, though, they settle on a compromise that Weaver will restrict the notes in his notebook to things connected to the portal.

So back to the discussion of the Ordo Dracul, Derrick goes back over their 'deal' and explains that he left their ranks into a more political side of vampire society. But this also means that he's been all but blacklisted from the Order and they won't have dealings with him. So with that out of the way,

Weaver starts talking about teleporting them back to the surface, when they hear a ticking noise coming down the tunnel, like someone clicking their tongue. They see three individuals coming their way, a vampire whose face is shrouded with a hood and carrying a chain, and a couple of mortals (likely ghouls) with baseball bats. Derrick just steps forward and lays it out on the table: He's Prince Ashton of Morgantown, and he wants to know their intent.

The vampire asks Derrick if he's here to fix his mistake. Derrick says he's here to better learn his mistake and then fix it. They do some dancing around what's going on there, trying to be dramatic about it -- because these vampires tried to kill Derrick and everyone else in the club, and he very much wants to know why -- and the vampire explains that a monster is going to be born from Derrick, and that can't be avoided. But killing Derrick early may birth the creature in a form that they can all deal with. But he's willing to give Derrick a pass to leave, but Derrick wants to speak to the vampire that sent the bomb after him. The hooded vampire says he can't produce that guy now, but he'll pass the message along.

It looks like that's not going to be enough for Derrick, and they're going to be at an impasse, but Weaver asks if they can at least get the name of the guy responsible. Apparently the leader of the group, who sent that bomb after Derrick is named Alberto, and he'll catch up with the group eventually so the vampire guard is willing to let them go for now. Also, he should be trying to kill them right now, but he's doing them a solid. Otis asks the vampire there his name, and he says he's Scott. But the subject of why Derrick's there comes up -- the fact that he ate the strix, and he makes it clear he'd do it again, if it means gaining the power he needs to fight other strix. Scott, while not happy about that, still says he's letting the group go more or less unmolested because when he and his ghouls rolled up, they didn't find Derrick trying to worship the portal or make a deal with what's on the other side.

But Derrick really doesn't want to let this go -- he's on edge and wants to blow off some steam, and is trying to provoke Scott. He asks Otis with Scott right there if he can re-open the portal. And Scott naturally reacts with telling Derrick that he doesn't know what he's dealing with, how Scott's group know the tunnels and the portal, have been dealing with it for who knows how long. Derrick, of course, is pissed about the bomb that would have wiped out most of the city's vampires and a club full of innocent mortals. Scott, on the verge of frenzy but holding it together, makes it clear that if they killed Derrick early, a newborn strix would rise from his body -- and that's the best case scenario (or so he insists). According to Scott, if Derrick's not careful, he's going to birth a monstrosity that will wipe out a city full of the mortals that he's pretending to be worried about. If he knew what he was dealing with, he'd take it more seriously, because Derrick himself is a bomb.

Derrick just flips him off, and rather than get into a fight with a vampire (with who knows what weird powers after eating a strix), and two complete unknowns, Scott stomps off with his ghouls in tow.

Derrick, trying to justify picking that fight, tells Otis about how important it can be to provoke someone to test them and keep them off-guard. Otis pitches the idea that maybe Scott and his people know what they're talking about. But Derrick wants Alberto to be at his door in the next night and answer for what happened. Otis is rightfully skeptical as to how likely that's going to be.

This segues into a conversation about what little they know about the portal, and how his blood has sealed it for now, how the spike works, and all that. At least, what they know of it. Derrick really wants to post someone down there to watch the portal and make sure it's safe. Otis suggests destroying it, but that just might wind up opening it up. Weaver suggests that he could possibly set up some sort of ward or alarm.

Derrick looks back at the arch and sees the broken mirror in the middle and it seems a little shinier now... while the group tries to figure out what they're going to do now, Weaver cuts his finger on the spike and leaves a bit of his blood on it to establish a sympathetic connection for later. Meanwhile, Derrick picks up a rock, coats it in shadow with Obtenebration[3], and throws it at the mirror and watching smoky, shadowy feathers come off of it in flight. The rock passes through -- but the shadow coating the rock comes off and briefly makes the broken mirror visible to everyone for a few moments.

At this point, Weaver points out that unlike Derrick and Otis, he can't see in the dark and his phone is starting to wear down from the light. Also, he's getting tired. So they decide that he'll teleport out now, Derrick and Otis will hang out in the tunnel as long as they can to watch it all, and Otis can get them out of there. So they trade contact info and Weaver ports himself out. Derrick and Otis hang out in the tunnel until sunrise, and after Derrick falls asleep Otis uses the darkness to open a Primordial Pathway into his Lair and from there uses it to smuggle Derrick's body into the morgue in the hospital where he works (where the camera is rigged to never work properly).

During the day, Derrick has a dream where he's crouched next to the bloodless body of the would-be bomber from the club. In the dream, he takes the C-4 off the vest and reshapes the plastic explosive into an owl shape, and then begins reshaping it into something else before he wakes up.

Also during the day, while Derrick slumbers and Otis naps (as Otis is also on kind of a nocturnal schedule), Weaver tries to scry on the archway for a bit. At one point, he does get a view of Scott patrolling with his ghouls passing by. As he passes the spike, he stops and sniffs the air, and notes the blood stain that Weaver left on it before he moves on. Weaver makes a note of that and calls one of the local mages, a Silver Ladder Mastigos going by the shadow name of Procedure (but known to most humans in Morgantown as Detective Jackie Smith).

Procedure agrees to meet him at the Panera Bread at the end of High Street, and when he gets there she's set up at a second-story table where she has a good view of most of the place. The table is warded so people will ignore what the two of them talk about, as well. He fills her in on what's happened, and she's quick to warn him to be careful about Derrick because of some of his associates. She's also more than a little frustrated that only now she's hearing about the bombing attempt at the club. He also tells her about Otis and that Otis refers to himself as a 'god,' and describes the trick he pulled to get rid of the bomber.

Weaver, before he heads out, also asks Procedure if there's any way she could help him borrow some magical artifact or whatever that would let him see in the dark. She just kinda looks at him and suggests that he get a battery pack for his phone, or buy some flashlights. But instead he spends most of the rest of the day putting together a ritual to enchant himself with an ongoing effect that would let him see in the darkness with the Space arcanum.

That evening, Derrick wakes up in a drawer in the morgue and is ready to freak out, but Otis is on-hand to quickly let him out. He offers to go out with Derrick and help him out if he needs to feed. Derrick agrees and quickly sends a text to all of the vampires he knows in town, insisting that they let him know right away if anything weird happens. So they grab a cab and go out to the part of town where most of the students live, where Derrick uses Dominate to pull someone into an alley and take just enough blood to replace what he'd spent the previous night. Otis keeps watch, and the act of hunting bonds them such that his own 'beast soul' is sated by being part of the experience. As Derrick finishes feeding, he finds a message on his phone from Weaver, and they get ready to meet up.

But Derrick also gets a text from Leland, reporting 'something weird.' There's a vampire outside the club, refusing to come inside, and insisting on speaking with Derrick. So the group heads over to the club where a skinny-looking vampire with big blocky sunglasses leans against the wall, asking "You wanted to see me?" And to hammer the point home, he repeats Derrick's line about wanting to see Alberto at his door tomorrow night -- in Derrick's own voice, perfectly.

So this is Alberto, the leader (and sire/grandsire) of the vampires in the tunnels. He and Derrick have a relatively reasonable discussion about what happened -- he admitted that the bomb vest plan was concocted in a moment of panic, but that the threat is big enough that he doesn't regret the attempt itself. But Derrick argues that some restitution has to be put forth for the danger they were all put in -- someone needs to die, especially so Derrick doesn't look like he let Alberto get away with it in front of the vampires of the city. Derrick says that Alberto needs to give up one of his people for this -- someone like, say, Scott. Alberto agrees to this as long as it takes the form of a duel and not an execution. Derrick agrees to this plan, and now that they have something of an accord Alberto formally introduces himself as Alberto Modano of the Baddacelli.[4] Derrick formally introduces himself as a Khaibit, and this necessitates a brief explanation of bloodlines for Otis' and Weaver's sakes. But they do have an agreement -- Alberto will wrangle up Scott and bring him back, and they'll have a showdown at the club. Melee weapons and Disciplines allowed, only a handful of witnesses to cut down on possible interference, duel to the death. Alberto points out that Scott should have tried to kill Derrick to begin with, which means that all he did was put off the inevitable if he couldn't handle him in a fight.

Then the two of them chat amiably for a bit (I forgot to write down the details, but I think some of it was how members of the bloodline rarely go up to the surface without ghouls helping them and things like that), and Alberto muses this is 'the most time he's spent up-top since The War -- well, the second one.' He also comments that sunglasses make it so much easier to hide his deformity and flicks them up so Otis and Weaver can see the smooth skin on his face where his eye sockets should be (getting a good jump out of Otis in the process). He openly remembers a time when you'd have to bandage yourself or something like that and pretend to have leprosy.

But he leaves and returns a short time later returns with Scott. Leland's cleared out the club 'for a private party' (not too hard, since it's the middle of May and the students are leaving town) to set up a dueling space lined with velvet ropes since the Baddacelli can't see the fluorescent chalk he'd normally use. Otis is using his new bond with Derrick to enhance his vampiric abilities[5], and warning him that after this fight, Alberto will know his combat capabilities after having seen him fight. Derrick hadn't thought of that, but takes it to heart.

Derrick (wielding a machete coated in shadow-stuff) steps into the ring with Scott (carrying his chain). Derrick slashes him with his machete and gets a cut on him, and Scott manages to grapple him with his chain and wrest control of the machete from him. Derrick gets control back, though, and gets a devastating slash on Scott, destroying the chain and jamming the blade deep into him before ripping it out for maximum damage. Scott falls to the ground, in torpor, and Derrick takes his head off (barely resisting the urge to fall upon him and diablerize him).

And that was the point where we left off for now.




[0]-- For those of you who don't follow Beast: The Primordial, beasts can do some wonky shit with portals and alternate planes of existence.
[1]-- For those of you who don't follow Vampire: The Requiem, the Ordo Dracul are an order of vampires founded by Dracula who use a blend of alchemy and science to master various aspects of the vampiric condition.
[2]-- Again, for those of you who don't follow Mage: The Awakening, mages understand sort of an ur-language called the High Speech, which can be incorporated into magical workings. It's also kinda sorta a language that can be used to encode things, but only other mages can read, speak, write, or hear it. To anyone else, it is at best gibberish.
[3]-- The shadow powers of the Khaibit bloodline.
[4]-- The Baddacelli are a Nosferatu bloodline completely lacking in eyes, but they have a Discipline that among other things allows them to navigate by echolocation.
[5]-- A trick particular to beasts.

No comments:

Post a Comment