Don't Go Into The Mist

Don't Go Into The Mist
Date 2085-11-15 GM Eva Location Seattle (Snohomish) Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Isobel Catalan	Aztechnology
Doggie Bag Wrath Baji Kera	The Fog! 2 Lab Wizards Several Guards Water Spirit
Casualties and losses
	All defeated or surrendered
Mana Aspect Rules are in effect

Summary

The team is called late one night for a gig. The people of Lynnwood are being abducted and killed by a mysterious fog encroaching on their neighborhood. The fog is thick, and unnaturally fast, vanishing people with little trace. The team is able to divine the fate of one particular victim, pointing the finger at Aztechnology Blood Magic research as the culprit. They arrive at the location in force, killing the Mages and destroying the research.

Background

There is a mysterious and dangerous fog encroaching on the outskirts of Seattle, mostly around Snohomish. People are unable to reach their homes or go missing trying to. This fog is extremely unusual, implicating a possible magical cause? Isobel Catalan is feeling equal parts generous and anxious about the situation and hires the runner to find and eliminate the source.

The main area, Lynnwood, is in the western part of Snohomish. It is a humble C zone near the coast. It has a small non-human population, and a stronger corporate presence than would be expected for such a middling security zone.

The Meet

The meet is held at an upscale restaurant in the better parts of Snohomish, the reservation is under 'Catalan'. Kera has only just pulled herself up from the murky depths of Puget Sound, where she had been trapped for God knows how long. She is mid catch up when the job call comes in. For this others, this is a regular job, but for Kera, this is her first time back in the saddle. Everyone is able to arrive for 'dinner' roughly on time (with Baji having only a smidge of public transit lateness). Isobel Catalan is waiting for us in a semi-private booth. She is tall, pale, and gothic. Her demeanor and appearance immediately set off some familiar alarm bells in the mostly infected team. She is most likely a banshee, and has even brought in her own "drink" for the evening.

Isobel describes the issue. The fog is mostly encroaching on the outskirts of Snohomish, primarily centered around Lynnwood. But it is inconsistent in many respects. It comes most often at night, but not strictly. It is sometimes slow and sometimes too fast to even be outran. Isobel has compiled a list of all the missing persons she was capable of finding record of, and hands it over to us after the job is accepted.

Isobel originally offers 12k each, Baji is able to reinforce the danger of the unknown, earning +1k as a negotiation bonus.

The Plan

Our plan is relatively simple. Go to the area and interview the families of those who were abducted. If any bodily remains are able to be found, utilize Kera's necromancy. If not, utilize spirit Search. Failing that, enter the fog and attempt to rely on astral perception.

Once the source is located, determine if any special method is required to take it out, if not, engage head on.

The Run

The main area. Lynnwood. C zone, some corporate interests (more than you'd expect given the security rating), low number of non-humans in the area, but they are disproportionately represented on the missing persons list. This implies some kind of judgement is used when selecting a victim?

Some eyewitnesses report glowing eyes in the fog. The one who was closest says they moved strangely and their body was shimmering, only the eyes clearly visible. Blended into the fog when not moving. The fog comes in most nights now and some days. People know to stay inside but it's so fast that sometimes there is no time. The mana aspect of the local area is about 3 (aligned towards concealment). It's likely created by the fear of the unknown that the locals have been experiencing. We have a multitude of possible ideas, massive fog could be done with a Weather Control power perhaps? The description could be a creature under concealment? Bander, Grendel, Spirit or Summoner.

Baji leads the interviews successfully. The next step is to try and utilize some of Kera's necromancy to glean additional information. The most recent victim was taken from nearby, and the team is able to secure a sample of dried blood from that location. With the blood and a temporary lodge, Kera can divine the man's fate. After some trial and error, she does, receiving a vision: the victim is grabbed off the street in the fog, there is a brief struggle before they're brought back to the thing's lair, where they're stabbed with a ritual dagger. With her solid Area Knowledge, Kera is quite sure that the location matches an Aztechnology corporate facility.

Kera and Wrath head back to the former's lodge to conjure up some spirits in preparation. Baji and Doggie Bag just wait it out. Things go pretty poorly with a big ritual gone wrong, both take a handful of stun and need to rest and recover. After taking most of an entire day, Kera conjures up a F6 Detritus Spirit. The team moves to regroup in Lynnwood.

With the Detritus Spirit, and everyone popping drugs, we move to assault the Aztechnology facility. Deciding our options for stealth are quite limited, we simply go loud. It being a C zone, we have some time before backup arrives. There is a mana barrier to keep us out, but we just burst it with natural weapons.

Inside the building, there is a more normal upstairs, and the downstairs has been retrofitted into a research area for magical atrocities. There are two mages leading the charge, with a group of grunts to back them up and a decently sized Water Spirit.

They are throwing out some good combat spells and high damage weapons fire, but Doggie Bag is able to tank through most of the damage, using Noble Sacrifice to take damage and drain on behalf of the entire group (minus the spirit, of course). Wrath is able to blast one of the Mage's heads clean off, and Baji cleans up the other one with an area blast from his shotgun. As the dust settles, we are left with two guards having surrendered, and some cowering regular employees in one corner. The Spirit spooks them off with it's aura, clearing the area. It is clear that this was an attempt to conduct some Blood Magic R&D. The mages here were systematically varying their blood magic rituals in a thorough scientific manner, which of course required large supplies of sacrifices. Kera is able to analyze the setup quite confidently, and determines we can simply destroy/burn the materials with minimal risk. We do so, setting the place up in flames just to be extra thorough.

Aftermath

Isobel is happy to hear from us that the Fog has now receded back to its normal Seattle levels. Aztechnology's blood magic research is slowed, though not stopped. At least the people of Lynnwood, and Snohomish as a whole, are a lot safer.

Rewards

• 12k nuyen (6 RVP)
• 10 Karma (10 RVP)
• +1k negotiation bonus
• 2 CDP

Optional, taking from above rewards:

• Isobel Catalan at 2 Loyalty (3 RVP)
• Tough as Nails (5 RVP) for DB, Wrath, or Kera

Game Quotes

"Girl, aren't you supposed to be dead." - Wrath

"I got better. Well... debatable." - Kera

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Baji: No doubt about it, feel-good missions feel good. Especially when being paid to feel good. This was a crackerjack team too. Doggie Bag was fragging amazing. Jeebus he can just shrug off what would kill most entities. That coupled with Wrath's alchemy...wowza. I was a bit uncomfortable working with an ex-cop. You don't sleep rough in Toronto very long till you get a ... suspicious attitude towards law enforcement. Ah well many of us have less than stellar backgrounds. The arcane forensics was the key to our success, that's what counts.