Game session: ?/2011
The five Sin-Eaters eye the tacky blue-gray paneling outside the pub but head in anyway. They are a little startled to find the X Pub is relatively clean on the inside, with a slightly older crowd that eyes the five strangers that just walked in. The five Sin-Eaters grab a booth in the corner that seats six, and Erika offers to buy the first round of drinks. Peter orders a cranberry spritzer, and when Erika looks at him funny he holds up his Alcoholics Anonymous poker chip. She nods in understanding as Anita asks for a bottled beer and David and Isobel order mixed drinks. Erika heads to the bar and puts in the order; the bartender is a middle-aged Caucasian man with a receding hairline, a bit of a paunch, and a professional attitude. He starts mixing drinks as soon as Erika heads back to the table.
Erika rejoins the others and realizes David looks familiar, and David notices the same. Peter breaks the awkward silence by reverting to his AA meetings: he introduces himself by saying, “I’m Peter Sweets, I’m 23, and I like blueberry jam on my toast.” The other Sin-Eaters blink in confusion but Erika follows by introducing herself. The others do likewise, and Erika and David realize they both teach at Central High School, hence why they look familiar to each other. Anita realizes David is “the white substitute teacher” and relates her encounter with the ganger Thursday. David looks uncomfortable, and flatly recommends against getting stabbed. Peter snorts and relates the story of his death and the Honda decal rammed into his back during the accident. He seems amused, but his geist Fallen Snow informs him, “You are not a special snowflake.” Peter diverts to argue with Fallen Snow, but the other four Sin-Eaters realize what’s happening.
Erika asks how long they’ve been “with geist,” and Peter cheerfully informs her, “Since Sunday; I’m still out on short-term disability.” The others wince and relate their death-dates. Erika reveals she’s been a Sin-Eater for over a year, and runs down the basics she’s picked up so far. The others struggle to keep up with everything, but Anita is definitely interested in the possibilities. As a test, the Sin-Eaters examine the various patrons at the bar for their health and age, and Peter sighs when he realizes the drunk at the corner of the bar has prostate cancer. The discussion veers as the Sin-Eaters relate accidents with their Manifestations; Peter admits he accidentally set someone’s tires on fire on I-91 two days ago and Anita innocently states she may or may not have unlocked the Pyre-Flame Rage on her sister Del once or twice.
Erika asks The Deep Dweller what else she should be focusing on, and the geist demands she take them to the Great Below. Peter buys the second round of drinks as David makes a few jokes at his own expense. The Witch gets twitchy, which concerns Anita, and the geist demands that she stay close to these people as “we need them for survival.” Anita retorts, “No kidding,” and the others commiserate when they realize she’s arguing with her geist. Peter asks the others if their geists pop up at the most inconvenient times possible, and they shake their heads. Erika brings up the idea of taking them to the Underworld, and David and Peter misunderstand her at first and think she means the black market. Surprisingly, The Discarded pushes for the idea, so David reluctantly agrees.
Erika reveals the two cenotes in Springfield she knows, and they decide the Forest Park gate is closer and easier to get to. They leave the bar and pile into their cars. They follow Erika back to her place – three blocks away. As they park in her driveway and get out, Peter comments, “Now I see why you chose the X.” Erika grabs a bag from her trunk and explains the Autochthonous Depths are dangerous, but the route from the Forest Park gate has much less chance of getting lost. The five Sin-Eaters cross Sumner Avenue and slip into Forest Park without being spotted. They head to the northwest corner that overlooks I-91, where the Barney mausoleum sits. A few times they have to flatten or hide to avoid the security patrols on their motorized carts, but they arrive at the mausoleum at 1:30 AM without being spotted.
The Barney mausoleum is a strange piece of architecture; two stairways converge under a columned roof, while statues of thin sphinxes guard both sides. The sides of the mausoleum are wrought iron grates protecting the insides, and the entire structure is surrounded by a fence. The Sin-Eaters hop the fence and approach the side facing away from I-91. Erika then slashes her palm and smears the blood across the middle section of the wrought ironwork. The other Sin-Eaters look startled, and then the ironwork sucks up the bright red blood and melts away to reveal a gaping black portal! Erika strides in and the others follow. They are engulfed in pitch blackness for several seconds as they move forward solely by feel, and they are pretty sure the walls are lined with skulls.
They emerge from the blackness to find themselves in a subterranean cave that slopes downward; a chorus of sounds rises up to greet them. The five Sin-Eaters start as their geists flex and relax as the energies of the Underworld suffuse them; for the first time the geists are content. Erika pulls out some climbing gear and leads the way down; David follows her, then Isobel, then Anita, and Peter brings up the rear. The initial descent is steep and treacherous, lit only by glowing fungi, but Erika has done this before and David falls back on military training and is fine. Isobel keeps her footing and Peter does as well, but Anita stumbles and topples! The others hear her cry out and Isobel, David, and Erika scramble out of her way and try to grab on to her as she slides past. Although they are unable to arrest her fall, they do slow her down enough that she tumbles down and lands on her tailbone, but does no permanent damage. Anita moans in frustration and embarrassment more than pain, and the others quickly descend and join her.
They find themselves by the edge of a brackish stream that flows in a relatively straight line; Erika states that while uncomfortable, the water only gets chest-high at the deepest point. As they study the stream and a few grottos that line it, Erika goes over the basics of the Underworld and specifically the Autochthonous Depths; she admits she hasn’t explored the Dead Dominions yet and calls the Upper Reaches a “waiting room.” The grottos are inhabited by the dead and are marked by colored beads, but Erika doesn’t think they’ll bother the Sin-Eaters. She goes in first, again followed by David, Isobel, Anita, and Peter. David again adjusts quickly thanks to military training, and Isobel follows just fine. Anita stumbles and nearly trips, but recovers. Unfortunately, her thrashing attracts attention, and something grabs Peter’s ankle as he follows the others!
With a startled yelp, Peters gets pulled under as a ghost-child grabs his crotch and shirt! Erika pivots and unlocks the Tear-Stained Shroud; plasm flows from her and forms a protective armored shell that looks vaguely aquatic. She dives under the water and spots the feral ghost-child; she grabs its wrist and forces it to release Peter. Peter stands up, gagging on the brackish water that he swallowed, but he is surprised when he feels a little stronger! Erika surfaces and reveals he just gained a bit of plasm from the experience; she sums it up as, “If you can swallow it, it gives you plasm.” There are a few lewd jokes, but the Sin-Eaters start trudging through the water again. They reach an apparent dead end, but Erika explains the way through is a submerged tunnel; they’ll have to hold their breath for a minute.
Erika unwraps her rope and explains she will go first and fasten the rope so the others can use it as a guide. She ties off this end to a rocky outcropping and then submerges. With the Tear-Stained Shroud still active, Erika zips through the chasm without difficulty. Se emerges in the garden and ties off her end of the rope and gives it a tug. David feels the tug and submerges, again followed by Isobel, Anita, and Peter. David swims forward but gets stuck for a few seconds in the dark; he flails in panic but feels Isobel slam into him and push. Isobel shoves and manages to free David, so he shoots forward. The others follow without incident. Erika waits with mounting worry until David bursts free and scrambles out of the stagnant pool, hacking up water. The others emerge with more grace and find themselves in a dead garden.
The garden resembles a greenhouse and the pool they emerged from is at one end. All around them are dead beds of roots and vines that occasionally twitch. The ceiling is low, but the room is wide enough that they can stand side-by-side comfortably. They are facing three other exits; one that seems to be a pane of shattered glass, a door flanked by rotting wooden statues of angels, and a fanged maw blocked by boulders and debris. Erika explains that the glass connects with the passage to the Old First Church, the middle door leads deeper into the Autochthonous Depths, and the far right passage has been blocked ever since she started exploring. She admits she has spoken to some other Sin-Eaters in Holyoke, but their Upper Reaches are totally different and they have no idea what’s behind the blocked passage.
Erika heads into the doorway flanked by the rotting angels and the others follow. They find themselves in a dingy, moldy tenement hallway with doors lining both sides of the hall as far as the eye can see. This section is incredibly noisy, as ghosts fight, feed, and fornicate with wild abandon behind closed doors. The Sin-Eaters note that all the doors are marked 27-B as they pass. A door on the left is open and framed with blue silk curtains; Erika identifies it as a ghostly brothel. The madam-ghost steps out, swathed in bright blue silk and with blue marbles for eyes, and asks them what their pleasure is. Peter tries to wave her off by claiming they have no way to pay, but the madam-ghost insists there is no charge. David jokes about finding Peter “a young ghost” and Peter retorts with, “You’re the teacher, maybe you like schoolgirl outfits?” On cue, one ghost that looks six and one ghost dressed in a schoolgirl outfit trot out and they start running cold hands over the two men. More ghostly prostitutes throng out of the brothel to paw at the Sin-Eaters, and David tells Peter to think of his son and not fall to temptation. The six-year-old girl-ghost suddenly morphs into a spitting image of Peter’s son, and that kills any desire on his part.
The Sin-Eaters push their way through the throng, but realize Erika is eyeing an effeminate goth-boy ghost with chips of onyx for eyes. The ghost tries to entice her inside, but the others each grab a limb and drag Erika free of the swarm. Erika protests but realizes her near-mistake the further away from the brothel they get. They pass an open door on the right and are startled to hear an old-style Atari video game playing; curiosity gets the better of them and they peer inside. The door opens to a surprisingly modern-looking kitchen done in dark red and gold tiles with a breakfast bar, so they slip in and turn to the open living room, where six ghosts are huddled playing Frogger. David wonders how the hell an Atari got down here – to say nothing about electricity – but Erika shrugs. One of the ghosts turns and reveals an eggshell-smooth face with no features whatsoever. The ghost asks if they’ve seen Jerry; the Sin-Eaters respond in the negative. Isobel asks if Jerry went down to the brothel, and the ghost nods forlornly, so she says he probably won’t be back for a while. The ghost invites them to join the game, but the Sin-Eaters demur and head back out into the hallway.
The Sin-Eaters keep going for what feels like hours, until they finally spot the end of the hallway in the distance. The hallway ends in a massive Egyptian-themed door, with carved sphinxes and hieroglyphs. Two doors away from the end, they hear someone suffering a terrible beating through an open door on the left. Anita stops dead when she hears the cries of the ghost being beaten – and recognizes Jordan’s father’s voice! The other Sin-Eaters stop as well and Anita pushes open the door further. She sees Hector Mendez on the ground being kicked repeatedly by four onyx-skinned ghosts with glowing red eyes. Anita moves to intervene and the other Sin-Eaters respond as well; they’re not going to let their new friend face down shades alone!
Peter takes the lead by whipping out his .500 S&W Magnum revolver; the others stare at the massive hand-cannon but step back as he fires at the back of one of the attacker’s heads. The gunshots echo throughout the hallway and nearly mask the ghost’s scream of pain and rage! Isobel takes position by the door to prevent interference, while Anita summons her Keystone rope and unlocks Pyre-Flame Rage. A magenta-colored blast of fire erupts from her hands and hits the ghost Peter shot, causing another howl of agony. David summons his Keystone – a bloody hatchet – and swings at a second attacker, driving the hatchet deep into the ghost’s face! The first ghost lashes out but smacks a third ghost in his blind flailing, while the second ghost grunts in pain and rips his head free of David’s hatchet. The ghost then head-butts David while the third ghost backs into the apartment in fear. The fourth ghost howls in rage and charges Peter – and misses. Erika unlocks the Primeval Shroud and again plasm emerges from her body and covers her in a spiky protective shell.
Peter fires at the fourth ghost at point-blank range and another thunderous report echoes as the ghost’s head explodes! The shade collapses – seemingly dead again – and the Sin-Eaters duck the spray of ichor and ectoplasm. Isobel remains by the door but none of the other residents come anywhere near the apartment. Anita fires another magenta-colored fireball by unlocking Pyre-Flame Rage again, and this time strikes the ghost tangling with David! The ghost collapses, writhing for a split-second before going deathly still. David nods his thanks and swings the hatchet in a broad arc to hit the first ghost, who howls a third time and collapses, unmoving!
The third ghost tries to back away from the five Sin-Eaters, hands out in a pleading gesture, before it dashes for the door in an escape attempt. Isobel summons her Keystone – a corpsman’s knife – and holds it forward to stop the fleeing shade. The ghost stops and Isobel demands to know why they were beating this man. The ghost belligerently retorts, “New arrivals gotta know their place!” but seems uncomprehending when the Sin-Eaters point out that kindness also works. The ghost demands, “What’s your set?” and Peter answers with the first thing that comes to mind: “The X Krewe.” The ghost acknowledges that the “X Krewe” now rules this hallway and bolts past Isobel. As Anita turns to Hector’s ghost, Erika smiles widely when she considers the benefits of protecting – and taxing – the ghostly residents…
Recap originally published on Livejournal.