In Shadows We Hyde

In Shadows We Hyde
Part of Call of the Shadows
Date 2084-12-23 GM OrionsRequiem Location Seattle Metroplex, UCAS Status Threat Level: Extreme
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Hyden Jones	Dr. Jekyl
Catharsis Artemisia	Hyde #8 Hyde #4 Black Knight
Casualties and losses
	Hyde #4

Summary

In which Artemisia and Catharsis are approached to help with a certain issue.

Background

With the return of Artimisia and Catharsis to the shadows, the serial killer known as Dr. Jekyll has returned to their work and appears to be hunting the two runners using the forbidden knowledge of the Fourth World to kill and manipulate mana to further the arrival of the Horrors to the Sixth World in accordance with their Elder God Tradition.

Friends Reunited

Moving along the streets of Touristville the former cultist vampire is taking in the holiday sights of Redmond's SINless when she is approached by a strange man who offers her a datachip that holds the location data of an apartment in Renton. Artimisia takes the time to assense the man and learns he's a magic 5 adept but does not appear too suspicious and takes the datachip, heading towards the location.

Meanwhile, Catharsis has returned from the office and come back to her apartment in Renton, having heard some crashing in the upstairs apartments but nothing that would draw undue attention. However when the same strange figure appears at Catharsis' apartment and offers the therapist a datachip in exchange for a datachip about her own services. Disappearing down the hallway the therapist quickly throws on a disguise before moving three floors up where the datachip leads. Opening the unlocked door to find Artemisia perched on the open window in a room filled with blood and a dismembered body that appears to have been ripped apart while alive. Artemisia also notices that there is a symbol on the door that she recognizes as a sign encouraging the speeding return of the Scourge, a form of disaster in the Fourth World brought about by the Horrors.

The two take a moment to reunite after the events that had the Hellraisers fleeing to the four winds, and Artemisia to be considered dead. The two of them are grateful to see one another, though Artemisia is concerned for Catharsis' wellbeing while investigating these events. Especially when blood begins to drip from the walls and spells out "I missed you Lady Blackmore". Artemisia responds to this by wrapping the blood spirit into a mana barrier and the two runners book it for the safety of the streets. The two learn that this is once again the work of the serial killer known as Doctor Jekyll and his seeming army of Hydes. They also learn through Catharsis' data-digging skills that the woman who had been murdered, one Julia Vantis, was in fact Pan'liss Vars, a servant-soldier of House Blackmore sent to watch over the house scion.

Meeting up with Hyden once again, with his explanation being that he has been tracking Hyde #8 for a little while, the former Hellraisers capture the man and bind him. The group follow an aura trail and find a hidden book apparently filled with the accounts of survivors of the Scourge in the Fourth world, with many authors. Artemisia convinces Catharsis that she is learning far too much and needs to laes herself in order to keep herself safe. Making sure that the decker is protected, Artemisia drops the laesed elf to the house of Zenith and asks for a primer on old versions of Sperethiel, as well as if he's going to keep her out of this investigation for her own protection, to which the elder adept says that she's free to do her own thing and that Catharsis isn't the kind who's going to let the vampire pursue this alone.

Looking into the book during the night, Artemisia discovers that there are versions of the Blackmore name within the book, specifically Blackmourne and Blackmane.

The next day, Artemisia breaks into Catharsis' apartment to speak to the therapist about pursuing this investigation but without letting Cathy learn about the book and the extra points of the Fourth World that had been uncovered the day before. Instead learning that the murder was of a similar nature to three other murders that took place in Las Vegas and Reno in the Pueblo Corporate Council, and that the murderer had been identified as "Humbaba."

The two runners consider going to Vegas via Reno for further investigation when a knock at the door draws their attention and they find that Hyde #8 is pinned to the door, with a note identifying him as Hyde and a message to "enjoy the meal." Artemisia drains four points of essence from the blood mage, learning that they are subject to an Amrita addiction and have been used as an essence battery for a good amount of time. Binding the blood mage and taking him with them to a private flight that Catharsis has arranged through Mickey Coin to Reno. On the flight, Artemisia compels the truth from the Hyde while Catharsis and Arti both interrogate them. Quickly finding that the Hyde is insane, and gets unruly when the Blackmore family is mentioned, claiming that the family is "Evil" before cutting Artemisia's throat open with a pen, though as Catharsis deescalates as best she can and Arti regenerates, the vampire comes back up to deliver a devastating shock via shotgun to the Hyde, knocking the man out and allowing the two runners to hand the blood mage over to the PCC authorities for the bounty before being greeted by Catharsis' grandfather, Jeremiah Blackmore.

Fear and Family in Las Vegas

Brought into Las Vegas and given a room in a well-appointed hotel by Jeremiah, Catharsis and Artemisia set themselves up and find out more about the three murders committed by Hyde #8 before coming to Seattle. Arthur Grant: a casino operations manager at the Caer Leon Casino & Hotel, Gavin Chambers: An artificer who lived and worked nearby the casino and provided some foci and preps to the security team, as well as Gwen, an Ork escort who worked around the casino. Each killing was accompanied by a symbol drawn in blood much as had been the case at Pan'liss Vars' apartment, however, the symbols were not Elder God related, instead, there was the symbol of two circles, one within the other, that was split down the middle, a crown with a blade through it, and an ornate cup. Catharsis learns that these symbols are attributed to myth, and in fact has a correlation to her mother's jewelry box given to her by her grandfather. Learning that the broken circle is meant to be disunity, the cup is meant to be an item of power, and the crown with the blade through it is meant to be the death of a leader.

Deciding that they would take the day to rest and recuperate from the flight over since the sun is about to come up and Artemisia still struggles with the sun. As they are discussing next steps, Artemisia detects a clairvoyance and clairaudience spell in the room, which she promptly seals off with a barrier, which causes the Blackmore security forces to break into the room and hold the vampire at gunpoint. Catharsis, emerging from the bathroom, quickly deescalates the situation, though is obviously rather put out by the rudeness of the security team.

Catharsis gets enough sleep to refresh herself and goes to have breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, and is soon joined by her grandfather. He admits some concern for his granddaughter investigating the serial killer situation despite previously having given his blessing and admits that he is trying to keep her safe from threats that she may not yet know of. While Catharsis is suspicious of this claim, it is quickly interrupted by Artemisia coming down. The vampire having had a dream of an idyllic country landscape, with a forest filled with wildflowers, a large castle, and friendly villagers that greet the vampire as though they were a welcome visitor. Most noticeable is that the vampire is able to stand out in the sun, to feel hungry and warm, and feel a little more human than she has since she was turned. The dream quickly turns dark however as a dragon that closely resembles Tyranthoth begins to burn away the village before slamming its giant form into the castle, causing it to crash down. Upon waking from this dream Artemisia was able to see the Mojave some miles away, though could clearly see a field of wildflowers within the sands of the desert. Deciding that she was being called out to the desert Artimesia tries to head out into the Mojave, letting Catharsis know the situation the decker simply asks that Artimesia stay in contact with her. The vampire takes a taxi to the Mojave and begins to walk into the desert, ignoring the oncoming mana storm.

As our former cultist witch moves into the dangers of the Mojave, she sees that wildflowers are beginning to bloom in her footsteps. Picking one up she tries to continue to find the clearing, however, a black-armor-clad knight wielding a jousting lance leaps through a sand dune and tries to impale Artemisia. Saved by her magical senses and infected speed, Arti engages the black knight, able to avoid their blows but dealing no serious damage of their own. Catharsis is able to jump into Arti's comm in order to assist the vampire, but the fight is ended by Hyden Jones once again appearing and trying to hit the black knight with a jeep before telling Artemisia to jump in and the two of them escape, but not before Artemisia is able to find out that the black knight is a Magic 15 Wendigo who seems just glutted with essence. With Hyden dropping the vampire off at the hotel before commenting that he should return the jeep and taking off back into the Mojave.

Catharsis comes to check on Artemisia who shows the decker the wildflower, which seems undamaged even with the intensity of the fight. Catharsis then begins to search for who the knight is, finding a series of crimes dating all the way back years, with fifteen murders attributed to the sightings over the last thirty years. Catharsis realizes that at each murder scene, while not as messy as those Hyde #8 committed, did still involve the left ring finger completely removed from the corpses.

The next morning, Artemisia wakes up before Catharsis, feeling warmth in her skin and feeling a sense of hunger and thirst, before waking Catharsis to check on this strangeness, the vampire opens the blackout curtains and stands in the sun, while it is not pleasant by any means she can stand it and it does not sear her skin. For the first time in over thirty years, Artemisia is able to stand in the sun. Catharsis awakens and orders Arti some food and drink to test this phenomenon while also determining that she seems to have regained some of the attention and empathy that HMHVV had stripped from her. While they both want to explore the extent of this transformation, they also want to check out the Caer Leon Casino before too much time passes as every lead they have seems to lead in that direction.

Arriving at the casino dressed to impress the two runners and given drinks and allowed to wander freely around the casino. Artemisia realizes quickly that there is something magical going on, as it seems as though simply walking around the casino is granting a sense of calm, and keeping even those patrons who are losing heavily from getting explosively angry. Catharsis identifies the pattern as something akin to a religious labyrinth walking, and determines that this place was intentionally influenced with feng shui. The runners also notice Hyden dressed in a suit and looking over the casino floor from the VIP level. The two ascend stairs to try and corner Hyden, who finally introduces himself properly and explains that he is the floor manager for Caer Leon, and that he works with the proprietor that Catharsis and Artemisia had looked into earlier under suspicion that he was a dragon: Ulric ban Avalon. Mr. Avalon is supposedly a philanthropist, he's given millions away to both support and start charities, sits on the board of many such organizations, and seems to own many businesses, including Caer Leon. When the runners ask for a meeting with the man behind the casino Hyden tells them that he can make an appointment, however he is currently in London and won't be back for some time.

While discussing the events of the last few days, Catharsis catches Hyden stopping himself from saying the name of the Black Knight. Pushing the man on the topic Hyden admits that he knows the Wendigo's name is Mordred, and that he's been hunting Ulric ban Avalon for quite some time, as well that Ulric goes by the name Pendragon, a figure most known for the dismantling of the Lord Protector's Office in the UK. Hyden also admits that he's part of a group that Pendragon heads that is looking to help protect the world, and that group has had an eye on Catharsis and Artimesia since they got involved with the Hydes. He also says that he goes by the name Griflet, named after one of the knights of the Round Table when he joined Pendragon's inner circle. Artemisia asks about the wildflowers, and Hyden sends a message to Pendragon to which the only response is "Welcome to Camelot." Catharsis remembers that one of the enchantments that was said to be around Camelot was the purification of even uncurable diseases such as HMHVV.

Hyden asks the two to do a job for him, retrieving a cup that had been stolen by Mordred. The cup appears to be a copper chalice with an oxidized finish, with filigree vines and leaves that spill from the top. Hyden believes it's being guarded in a warehouse outside of Vegas and gives the runners the location data before letting them leave and head back to their hotel.

Upon returning, Artemisia who is quite drunk, and Catharsis who is comfortably tipsy both fall asleep, the vampire awakening at sunrise and is able to watch the sun coming over the Vegas skyline before seeing the flower that she had picked burning away to ash before her skin begins to burn and blister, though she stands and watches the sun for another few minutes before closing the curtains and going to bandage her wounds. Catharsis wakes up and the two of them take a moment to mourn the loss of Arti's partially regained humanity before focusing on the task at hand. Going to Jeremiah and requesting some aid in the form of a mage and an explorer to combat any spiritual opposition, telling him about the chalice but not giving him the location.

Tretchery Thy Name is Blackmourne

Setting out for the warehouse, Catharsis is driving the vehicle with Artemisia riding shotgun and a mage sitting in the back, with an explorer following behind. As they begin to approach, the mage casts an Influence spell on Catharsis, trying to convince the decker that she is lost and doesn't want to ask for directions. Arti is able to detect this deception and discharges her shotgun with stick'n'shock ammo to disable the mage, knocking the spell away from Catharsis and realizing that her grandfather has sent more people ahead than they had requested, hearing a firefight taking place at the warehouse.

Arti gets out of the car and begins to rush across the way to the warehouse, being peppered by bullets from turrets, though luckily the turrets are not able to deliver a blow serious enough to turn off the vampire's regeneration power. Catharsis also guides Arti to the entrance of the warehouse safely before taking control of the cameras and seeing Hyde #4 fighting against seven of the Blackmore security team. While the killer FLR is busy with the forces, Artemisia manages to push past the barrier that the chalice is encased within and pulling it into her own possession. However, Hyde is seemingly alerted to this and immediately comes after Artimesia. Catharsis is able to deliver fatal dataspikes to the FLR's limbs and brings him down long enough for Arti to finish him off. However before the runners can retreat, Artemisia is cornered by the security team who wish to retrieve the cup and not allow the infected runner to leave with it. Hoping to deescalate the situation once again, Catharsis leaves the vehicle once she's disarmed the turrets and rushes inside.

While the security force is obviously hesitant to move against the noble scion of House Blackmore, they are not given much of a choice as the two runners attempt to leave. The leader of the security forces decides to take a shot at Cathy, shooting through her hip and causing the runner to go down, but the decker encourages Artemisia to flee with the cup. Getting into the car Arti leaves quickly, heading back to Caer Leon and setting up in a hotel room there after giving the chalice to Hyden.

Aftermath

Returning to their original hotel, Catharsis and her grandfather get into an argument about the whole event, with the elder man explaining that there are things Catharsis doesn't understand. Such as the true nature of the Blackmore family, and their family's matriach, a long-lived elf who claims to be from Thera. Catharsis, wanting little to do with the situation and frustrated with having a new source of ventilation to her body, returns to her room and receives medical treatment to prevent the wound from being infected. Waking up the next day to discover that her grandfather and his retinue are gone from the hotel, but had left tickets for Cathy and Arti to return safely to Seattle.

A few days removed from the events, Catharsis reaches out to her grandfather and explains that she hadn't meant to push him away, but had been concerned that he had approved of the mage casting mind magic on her. Jeremiah assures her that was not the case, and invites her to Cara'sir soon in order to share a meal and discuss the situation in their family. While Catharsis is wary, she doesn't want to isolate any part of her family, especially a part she is just getting to know, even if it comes with a noble title.

Rewards

• 20k Nuyen (12 from Blood mage bounty, 8 from Hyden payment) (10 RVP)
• 25 karma (25 RVP)
• 100k in gear towards Electronics including cyberdecks & magical foci up to Avail 24 (25 RVP) (Weapon & power foci still cannot exceed Force 7)
• 22 CDP (10 RVP + 2 for run)
• Optional Contact: Hyden Jones (C4/L2 Information Broker) (5 RVP or 10 CDP)

Catharsis:

• Brilliant Heuristics (5 RVP)
• Empathetic Listener (10 RVP)
• Can buy Daredevil at chargen prices
  • Ascension Rewards:** (Can convert 1 RVP each into up to 5 of the following)
• 5 karma towards a skill or martial art
• 20k nuyen towards non-ware (You may bank this across multiple ascensions)
• 6 karma towards qualities at post-gen price
• 4 karma towards Edge
• 10k nuyen towards 'ware (you may bank this across multiple ascensions)
• +20 Faction Rep

Artemisia:

• Initiation Ordeal Discount
• Cool Skin Book (Memories of the Scourge: A diary of survivors)
• +1 Rank of A Brilliant Fascination
• Can buy Daredevil at chargen prices
• Perceptive II (10 RVP)
• Speed Reader (2 RVP)
• 6 additional CDP because I can't find a good 3 karma quality
• +1 Mission to kidnap Santa Claus before Christmas 2085 (Priceless)

Game Quotes

"No, you are definitely not supposed to hurt Santa Claus." - Artemisia to Pump King Jack

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Artemisia: Follow the wildflowers. Follow ... Follow the wildflowers. Follow the wild ... Follow the wildflowers. Follow. The wildflowers. I need to follow the wildflowers. I need ... Dear Goddess, my head is pounding. I am dictating this message after that chalice took my sight. I saw Thera. Felt it. Smelled the air. Camelot too, I stood under the sunlight and watched the village burn. Watched myself burn. Follow the ... follow the wildflowers. Follow the wildflowers.