[IC] (Hunter: the Vigil 2e Playtest) The Lucifuge's Doubting Souls

[Second Chances]

Scene 1: A Murder Most Foul

Miskatonic Univeristy, Arkham, Massachusetts
1693

One Hour Ago

Harvard may be the most prestigious university in the colonies, but Miskatonic University in Arkham is the premier destination for occult researchers. Relatively insulated from the Witch Trials of Salem to the south, this makes it the perfect cover for the Lucifuge. That doesn’t mean you can throw your endowments around as you wish, though. You are the literal child of the Devil. You may not have made a pact with Satan, but that’s distinction that many a witch hunter or judge would not make.

Right now you are all crammed into the office of Khalil Aziz on the wrong side of midnight. The candles are burning low, but Dean Jaeger summoned you. When the head of the Lucifuge in Arkham calls, you answer, especially since he’s been hinting for a while now you are nearing the point of being ready to unlock new powers to bring Satan’s wayward children to justice. Joining your cell is Brian Bartholomew. Brian is a renowned, but he’s losing touch with humanity, having lost his best friend to a famine demon some months ago. Wracked by survivor’s guilt, Brian’s bonfire waiting to happen, but he helped you track down a legitimate witch in Boston last month, so you’re happy to have him with you.

“Children of Baphomet,” intones the Dean. “These are dark times. The colonies are awash in the spawn of Iblis and now blood has been shed on our very door. Murder, my sons and daughters, murder has besmirched our town, and now the library is awash in blood. Michael, your fellow constables will surely proclaim this the work of a deranged killer, but my heart tells me that the supernatural is at work! The four of you must get to the bottom of this before the killer strikes again. We will not have the flame of our Vigil turn into the wildfire that rages in Salem!”

*************************

Present

The Dean wasn’t over exaggerating. The research room where the murders took place is a bloody mess. Your lamp reveals limbs and fingers scattered about the room and bloody smear of a body crushed under a life-sized marble statue of King William III.
As you search the room, the flickering light falls upon a sigil painted on the wall in blood. You hope it's just the shadows that are making it dance in the gloom, as looking at it makes your stomach turn over.

Below it, a question is written, again in blood.

HAVE YE SEEN THE YELLOW SIGN?

[Caladriu]

One Hour Ago

Steph leans against a bookcase, dressed like one of King William's soldiers on leave, brow furrowed and playing with a dagger. About the only books she likes are ledgers.

"Anything you say," she monotones. "Do we know the victim's name?"

Murder is a fact of life, but she's not so far gone that a killing at a university library doesn't register as wrong. Especially when the supernatural is (supposedly) involved.

Present

Her lip curls as they survey the research room. "Looks like a butcher shop."

She looks at the sigil, but her eyes wash over it as a defense mechanism. It looks familiar. That's not a thought she wants to linger on.

Being crushed by a marble statue doesn't usually cut your fingers off. She steels herself and studies the scattered body parts closely. What exactly happened to the deceased?

Wits+Investigation to study the victim's body, 4 dice: 1 success

[wyrdhamster]

One Hour Ago
Constable Michael Franklin, pious soldier of God with blood demon in his veins, comes forth in front of Dean Jaeger.

“Sir, we must believe in God’s plan for us. We will find the soul guilty of this crimes, whenever he is or not spawn of the Hell. You say about library awash in blood. What do you mean about it? Is it the place this crime took place?”

He pauses to look over Stephanie and continuing her thought.
“Knowing name of the poor soul that left this vale of tears would hasten our investigation.”

Present
Constable Franklin is nearing his oil lamp to the writing on the wall. He tries to remember the symbol and it’s meaning that made his body to respond in such forceful way.

Rolling Intelligence + Occult to recognize symbol – with -3 penalty for not having Occult, I start with -1 die. But Micheal focus very hard to understand the sign – I burn 1 Willpower for the roll, ending with dicepool of 2. And…

I got success! 2d10o10h8: 1 [2d10o10h8=8, 4]

https://orokos.com/roll/565004#

[Second Chances]

One Hour Ago
"Not as such. The night is last and dark, it gives us a cover to act freely before the rest of the constabulary truely knows what is going on. Further, there are signs of Black Magic having been used. I'd rather not expose anyone who hasn't taken up the Vigil already. This seems potent...possibly a demon summoning gone wrong. If possession could be at play, it's best to limit exposure, which precludes trying to figure out who the body used to belong to before setting your cell to work, henceforth, I called on you immediately. Of course, it would only be proper for you to establish identity, especially if it leads to our occult killer."

Present

Stephe looks at one of the fingers. The wound is rough and stretched. The knuckle joint is fully intact, and there's no sign of cut marks. These fingers were pulled straight out of their sockets. Judging by the amount of blood, it happened before the statue finished this poor soul off.

Brian doesn't flinch at the scene, just glares at it disgustedly.

"Lord above, no human could have used that statue to commit a killing. Either we're dealing with something truly horrific, or the Dean's right and there's a demon out there possessing folks."

[Second Chances]

Present
Micheal recognizes the symbol, but just barely, he's only heard of it vaguely meantioned. This is the infamous Yellow Sign, the symbol of a Demon King who rules bizarre hell called Carcosa. The sign is usually found associated with theatres.

[Caladriu]

Stephanie feels the acid sensation of fury boiling up in her chest. She puts the finger down with surprising delicacy.

"Torture. This was no tryst gone sour. The killing was the idea. Brian has the right of it."

Her eyes linger on Brian. He's a strange one. That hollow look resonates with her in ways she couldn't explain to the rest of the cell.

She steps out of the room for a breath of fresh air. Out in the courtyard, she speaks quietly with a sticky-fingered porter she pulled aside earlier. Who's been here tonight?

Invoking Contacts (Organized Crime) to ask a fellow criminal on the Miskatonic campus whether any familiar faces have been lurking in the area. Was this a hit someone knew about? Has anyone known to local criminals been around?

Manipulation 2+Streetwise 3, 5 dice: fail. Do Beats matter in this scenario? Only if something interesting and valuable to the playtest would come of it, I'll make this a dramatic failure.

[wyrdhamster]

One Hour Ago
Micheal continuous discussion with Dean.

“If we are talking about demon summoning or possession, maybe you could point us on dangers of it. What lore of Lucifuge tells about those threats? What could be weak points of the monster?”

Present
Micheal focus to think about last time he saw the sign in the Colonies. Maybe in Arkham Theater, on last season’s plays?

Rolling Intelligence + Academics to recognize Yellow Sign – or something connected to it - in theaters play. I roll 4 dices then…

And no luck. 4d10o10h8: 0 [4d10o10h8=5, 6, 5, 2]

https://orokos.com/roll/565009

[LostLight]

One Hour Ago
Cassidy sat in silence, nervously looking, her arms and legs are crossed. She was annoyed from the Dean's over poetic language, disliked Stephanie's attitude toward the instance, and hated Michael's self righteousness- who was he to tell God what were his plans? She never truly trusted her cellmates, and they they didn't really trusted her "lack of motivation in the war against the devil". And worse of all- she didn't trusted herself, for when Michael has verified that the act was done through a supernatural act, her blood stirred. Suddenly, she had a strong urge to see the demon, to see the spawn of hell which came and brought a rain of blood upon earth. Was that her inner devil? Was that her own, tainted soul? She didn't knew- and so, she simply set there in silence.

Present
Cassidy looked at the murder scene. She sniffed the air, filling her lungs with the heavy scent of blood. Some part of her mind felt truly sorry for the death of the nameless man before her. Another has calmly wondered if the murderer used the statue as a weapon in order to give a message, or was it simply because it was the most available tool to do the job. And deep down, she felt.. excited. A coppery taste filled her mouth, her fingers trembled with excitement. She stood before the sign, seemingly examining the image- but in truth, she simply tried to think what to do. Unlike her friends, who had to rely on actually searching the room for evidence, Hell has gifted her with a number of ways to see its taint upon the world- each having its own advantages.. and disadvantages. Which path should she take? Should she even turn to Hell's help at such time? She wanted her sister to be with her so much right now..

She took a breath, and scent of blood calmed her right away. She had a job to do- and more important than that, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to see the demon, lifting the marble statue from the ground with infernal power. She wanted to see the scenery of hell reaching out to the world, raining blood and brimstone upon the world. She wanted to paint a picture.

Reaching to her equipment, she drew out a pencil and the notebook she used to practice her sketching skills. She stood near the statue, as if she was drawing the crime scene- but she didn't. Instead, she took a big breath of bloody air, closed her eyes, and invited Hell to her mind. It was the time to draw the demon of blood and death.

activating Infernal Visions- Wits + Composure, 7d10o10h8. 2 Successes.

[White Oak Dragon]

One Hour Ago

Khalil lit the spill from one of the candles, watching the small flame intently as he brought it to his pipe. Glancing directly at Michael, he calmly spoke up. "I do not think we shall be able to determine the weak points of our foe prior to its identification. The hordes of Hell contain great variety among their ranks. Once we know our enemy, my library will certainly provide the information we require."

Present

Khalil took the crime scene in at a glance, his eyes focusing immediately upon the sigil and the message written beneath it. Let the others focus on the poor dead bastard. He was confident that the answers they sought would be contained there. He strode directly to the sigil, studying it intently.

Rolling Intelligence + Occult, with 9-Again since Occult is an Asset Skill. Results: 7d10o9h8: 1 [7d10o9h8=7, 8, 7, 1, 2, 4, 5] https://orokos.com/roll/565207

[wyrdhamster]

One Hour Ago

Micheal wants to hasten his cellmates.
“If we are not given more information about crime – we should move to the place of death. God has shown he have plan for us, you do not made Almighty waiting. We are on the Vigil, on Christ's wounds!”

Present

Micheal stands next to Khalil near the wall, pointing to the sign.
“Khalil, do you see this? I recognize this spark in your eyes - you know what this infernal symbol means, yes? ”

[White Oak Dragon]

One Hour Ago

"Indeed, my friend. There is nothing to be gained here." Khalil rose to leave.

Present

"I do," Khalil said, wracking his brain to recall as much as he could about it. "It is the Yellow Sign. The Demon King of Carcosa is clearly connected to this in some manner..."

I assumed that I'd gain the same information that Michael did, since it was the same number of successes on the same roll. Khalil would be attempting to recall as much as he could about Carcosa and its Demon King. I'm rolling the previous dice pool again to reflect a focus upon his past studies, but if the previous roll shows the most that he could remember without consulting his books, this one can just be disregarded. 7d10o9h8: 4 [7d10o9h8=3, 8, 4, 8, 1, [9, 1], 8] https://orokos.com/roll/565367

[Second Chances]

Present
Getting a breath of fresh air outside of the library, Steph is able to find two river runners finishing up their rounds on the University’s campus, delivering rum, wine, and other illicit substances that would otherwise get them run out of town by a mob of Puritans. They’ve barely seen anyone all evening, they can account for the cell, but almost no one else. They did see Gabby snooping around earlier, but they had assumed that she and Steph had cooked up some sort of scheme together.

Back in the library, Caddidy is hard at work drawing. She sees a woman with a knife, carving words into a priest’s chest. She sees the woman, dipping her fingers in the blood pooled under the crushed body. She sees the blood being used to paint the Yellow Sign on the wall. Cassidy knows this woman or knows her as well as she knows her cellmates. It is Gabby, Steph’s estranged lover and Brian’s current employer at the docks.
Meanwhile, Brian growls in a low voice as he removes his doublet.

“Will you help me move this bloody hunk of rock lads? We may as well find out who’s underneath.”

As Michael helps Brian, Khalil takes another look at the Yellow Sign, and this time it does move! Suddenly, the room appears to be empty and shrouded in darkness that is only penetrated by the pulsing light of the Yellow Sign, which is wrapping its tentacles around the entire walls and ceiling. A figure steps into the gloom, draped in rotten yellow robes so that all you can see is the ivory mask covering its face. Before the Professor can do anything the figure speaks, and its words carry the air fate and a royal pronouncement with them.

“I wear no mask.”

The Khalil is back in the room with his cell, just as Micheal and Brian tip King Willam off of the body. If there was any doubt, now it is removed. The victim was Father Julius, the Anglican priest Micheal had one saved. His clothes are torn open, exposing the bright red words carved in his chest.

HAVE YE HEARD THE OCHRE PRINCE?
HAVE YE MET THE KING IN YELLOW?

Khalil hears the degenerate voice in his head once more, but no one else seems to.

“How much of Miriam do you think will be left by the end of this?”

[OOC]

Steph, Khalil, and Michael each take a beat. Micheal must roll a breaking point for losing his Touchstone. Keep in mind that this imposes a -2 penalty on the roll. Khalil gains the Spooked Condition due to what he saw and must roll a breaking point for encountering a demon for the first time. Cassidy gains the Shaken Condition as part of her backlash, but also gains the Informed Condition relevant to Gabby.

[wyrdhamster]

Present
Micheal suddenly drops on his knees before body of dead friend.

“Good God! Father Julius! Those demon spawns have taken you from your holy mission! I… I… cannot… “

[OOC]
As Micheal is losing his only Touchstone, so I can decide to automatically lower his Integrity by dot – or not lost Integrity dot, but gaining Persistent Condition instead. I choose to take Persistent version of Vendetta Condtion for this.

“I… I must avenge you, my friend. You are victim of the war with Evil, but your sacrifice will not – cannot – gone in vain! I will hunt this Hell spawn that did this to you, even If that would be last thing I ever do!”

[LostLight]

One Hour Ago
Cassidy had to hold herself from rolling her eyes. Michael kept talking about God and His plans as if he was God's personal prophet. It must be nice, she thought to herself, to be able to find such comfort in faith- even though you are damned.

Present
The images flowed through her, like a river of flames which spilled to the page. The pencil danced beneath her fingers, moving like a spider and turning the visions the Hell has revealed to her into a solid image. While she was drawing, she started mumbling to herself, her eyes see the horrifying scene coming into life on the blank page. "Not the Son of Beast" she whispered "But the Daughter of Eve. She came upon the Son of God. Stab, stab, stab- blood flows, the King falls, a sign in drawn upon the wall. She has turned away from light" she looked at Michael with hazed eyes "No more confessions he shall speak tonight"

She felt terrible. Not only because of the visions- she was used to the touch that Hell had upon her soul. The memory of her mocking thought about Michael's faith has filled her with guilt, as she looked at him kneeling before the priest's crushed body. While she did felt sorrow and dread, a calmer, colder part of her mind started to analyze the information, reaching into two conclusions. First, Gabby was many things- but she was no demon. The acts of pulling fingers out of place or throwing marble statues was not something she should have been able to do. That may mean that Gabby was possessed- or worse, has turned into a monster. However, it doesn't reveals why she has committed the act- sure, demons were never big supporters of holy men, but it was clear that the demon tries to pass a message. Why?

The second thing she understood was that the information was, in fact, a pile of gunpowder waiting to explode. Gabby would probably deny her lover being the murderer, and Brian would also try to protect his employer. After all, even if one were to disregard emotional attachments, if Gabby was possessed it would immediately make them into the suspects in the act. Michael, however, was an whole other problem. He has just swore an oath to avenge his priest- and in such state, he may not make the difference between the demon and the mortal, and the last thing they needed at a time like that was an internal strife.

Oh, Melissa, where are you? she thought to herself. She shook her head, closed her notebook with trembling fingers and returned it to its place. There was only one path open before her- reaching to the only neutral person in the room and hope he would see beyond her low place in the conspiracy. She walked to Khalil, softly touched his arm and whispered "I know who the killer is- even if not the murderer"

[Caladriu]

Steph returns to the library a while later, nursing a dull ache in her spirit. Gabby? Here? Tonight? Why?

Looks like the victim has been discovered: the priest whom Michael kept in confidence. She blasphemes: "God's blood! The wolf's taken a lamb from our own flock!"

Not even the Lucifuge can make her respect the cloth. She conceives of God more as a cruel and mighty general, surveying the endless battles fought in his name with a crown of fury, than anything the Anglicans or Puritans worship. But she understands that Michael was close to Father Julius, and those attachments keep hunters hunting, and therefore their cell has been wronged. Vengeance gives the Hunt meaning. It looks like Michael gets it now.