Hunt 33: Triage - Chapter 3

Game was 9/11/20; Paul was a little late.

William goes to bed around 10:30 while Leta, Veltis, and Abby remain downstairs with Josh and Ray. They keep talking for a while, but Josh starts to slur his words as the pain medication kicks in. Leta claims one of the recliners for herself and Abby gestures for Ray to take the second recliner. Abby grabs a couple of pillows and makes a small nest by the couch. One by one they drop off until they're all asleep by midnight. Once all of them are deeply asleep, the black candle on the end table flares to life and two dead Swiss Guardsmen appear briefly before they settle in to guard the home.

Meanwhile, Anita closes up for the day at 7:00 o'clock while Gothi does her best to remain out of the way. Anita knows Abby is not coming with them tonight; she's remaining behind take care of Josh. They arrive at the X Pub at 7:30 and see David Klein and Isobel Vanora already at their table. They both wave to Anita but their expressions freeze slightly once they see Gothi behind her. The two women settle in and Anita dives for the plate of waffle fries. Peter gets there a little after 8 o'clock and joins them; he shoots Anita a pointed glance over Gothi's head. The four Sin-Eaters eat, chat, and destress while Gothi remains mostly quiet.

The X Krewe plus Gothi leaves the X Pub a little after 10 o'clock. They had to Court Square and slip into the Old First Church of Springfield at about 10:30. Anita is the first to notice a handful of tiny cameras have been installed; she wonders if this is the work of Task Force: VALKYRIE.¹⁾ The cameras do appear to be smaller and sleeker than normal, but they have no identifying marks. Anita calls out, "Everybody wave to Templeton! Or make weird faces!" Suddenly, the four Sin-Eaters feel a 'tug' of some sort that rattles their geists. They all look around quickly but Gothi says, "Oh, that was me. I don't like being recorded." The Sin-Eaters decide not to ask and simply descend into the basement and then the subbasement until they get to the Avernian Gate. It's Isobel's turn, so she neatly pricks her finger and places a drop of blood on the gate. It yawns open immediately, and the four Sin-Eaters and one mage enter the Underworld.

They follow the wooden hallway and descend the stairs to the industrial zone; they keep a wary eye out as the sheer level of noise renders them deaf. However, nothing out of the ordinary occurs and Anita guides Gothi as needed. They reach the tiny little subterranean street and Anita gestures to the ghost nun that she will explain later. Gothi insists, "We could have fit the hearse down here!" Isobel, David, and Peter eye her strangely, but Anita retorts, "Yes, but the terrain gets rougher after this." Isobel demands, "What's that got to do with the hearse?" Gothi says proudly, "It's in my pocket." The others look to Anita, who just shrugs.

They pass through the mirror of broken glass and then the dead garden to get to the hallway and are immediately on edge when they realize the noise level is much quieter than normal. Although not totally silent, it sounds like every ghost is hiding in their respective rooms. A few of the ghosts open their doors when they hear them enter; they simply point further down the hallway and immediately slam their door shut. They reached the brothel, and The Madame glides out. Anita asks, "What's going on?" The Madame replies, "There is something new at the end of the hallway. It has most of the residents unsettled. Who shall be collecting the rent tonight?"

David and Peter eye each other, but it is David's turn. He heads inside as Gothi looks at Anita curiously. Anita explains, "Prostitution is eternal." Gothi brightens and says, "Ghost whores! Cool!" As soon as David steps out after collecting the rent, the Madame pointedly shuts the door to the brothel. This rattles the four Sin-Eaters, as this has never happened in living memory. Peter instinctively slips into cop-mode and murmurs, "What have we got this time?" He takes the lead and continues down the hallway carefully; the other Sin-Eaters and Gothi follow in his wake. A few more ghosts emerge long enough to point to the end of the hallway, but there's no other interaction.

The four Sin-Eaters and one mage finally reached the end of the hallway and they stop dead. Scarred into the surface of the Egyptian door is a large rune. This rune defies the neutral colors of the Underworld, and shimmers bright gold in the light. Anita realize is that this symbol is about the size of her torso and she theorizes, "I think this is some sort of ward." David mutters, "Yeah, but how do we test that?" Anita shrugs, grabs Peter's hand, and then slaps his hand on the rune! Peter then lets out a terrified scream! He collapses to the ground, convulsing, as Anita starts swearing and screaming. Isobel immediately drops to Peter's side to check him out, and Anita leans down to help.

Peter stops thrashing and punches Anita in the arm; he says, "Bitch, that could have happened!" Anita grumbles "He's fine," but Isobel slaps Peter upside the head! Peter gets to his feet with a pointed look, and Anita admits, "OK, that was dumb." Peter grunts in agreement, but says, "So it felt a little tingly and kind of like custard." The other three Sin-Eaters eye him, the Peter shrugs and says nothing further. Anita reaches out and gently pokes the symbol, and her surprise her fingers meet something slightly squishy. She pulls back and realizes her fingers do smell faintly of custard.

This completely confuses the four Sin-Eaters, but Gothi says, "It's a Supernal symbol. Protection from Arcadia. It shouldn't bar us." The four Sin-Eaters turn to look at her and Gothi adds, "It's not Supernal magic, mind you. But it's something very similar." David mumbles, "That did not help at all." Peter makes a snide comment about being used as a guinea pig which leads to him and Anita sniping at each other with David trying not to laugh. Isobel slaps Peter again just for emphasis and Gothi asks, "Is this friendship?" Isobel retorts, "Yes, it's terrible."

Gothi shrugs and then steps forward; she reaches out and gently pushes the door. The Egyptian door swings open soundlessly, and the Sin-Eaters immediately see every single candle in the temple is lit. They step inside, and then see someone by the sacrificial table. This person, who they can't initially tell if they are alive or dead, is eating a small bowl of custard. He appears as a man in his very late twenties, with close cropped brown hair and unremarkable features. He offers them custard as they carefully approach, and the Sin-Eaters then realize that he is dead, but incredibly lucid for a ghost. They note that he has an entire picnic basket on the sacrificial table, complete with sandwiches and sodas.

This unknown man leans in and whispers, "I have something very important to tell you." The Sin-Eaters lean in, and the man says, "Justin." Anita asks, "Is that your name?" The man shakes his head and replies, "Nope, that's his middle name." Anita demands, "Who?" They go back and forth for a bit before the strange man admits he is talking about TJ. He says cheerfully, "TJ was my student." Anita grumbles, "that explains a lot. You have similar senses of humor." She then notices that Gothi is as white as the Troys, and says to the other Sin-Eaters, "Sidebar for a moment?"

The Sin-Eaters regroup around Gothi, and she whispers, "That's Kirk." That name means nothing to David, Peter, or Isobel, but Anita hisses in surprise as she recalls the name from their weird trip to Local Burger six months back, and how Leta and Veltis have made passing references to him. She gives a quick explanation to the others, but jumps when Kirk leans in and whispers, "What are we whispering about?" Anita grumbles but retorts, "You. We're talking about you. Not to be rude, but why are you here?" Kirk replies, "I do actually need to talk to you all. I sent the Swiss Guardsmen." Anita expels air through her teeth as David, Isobel, Peter, and Gothi look confused.

Kirk explains, "After I died, I ended up down here. I sort of fell in with a bunch of dead Popes. Oh sidebar, don't die of a Paradox explosion. It really, really hurts." Gothi shudders, but the Sin-Eaters have no idea what he's talking about. Kirk adds, "So, I understand that you know a certain reprobate and her obnoxious talking rat." Anita groans, "Oh, we certainly do." Kirk grins, but then says, "So, the funny thing about Catholic organization, is that it exists on both sides of the Veil. On the other side of the river there is a realm of dead Popes. I think you call that a Dead Dominion?"

The Sin-Eaters nod and Kirk continues, "Anyway, Pope Honorius III has taken an interest in your friends, and he has some prior connection to the rat somehow. He wanted me to warn you, you have powerful enemies that are gunning for you. Your friend Sethic is building a bridge. A bridge back to Arcadia. The True Fae tried to invade Earth via Boston two years ago, and now they're trying again, this time via Shelburne Falls through the Underworld. We're not sure how much time we have, but this is big. Essentially, I'm sort of acting as the eyes and ears of the Pope and those black candles will last roughly three months. Once they are expended, though, that's it. We don't have any more. Also, if you want to expand their protection to include everyone here, it will shorten the duration. By about two weeks honestly."

Anita asks, "What about this ward?" Kirk brightens and replies, "Oh! Right. It's a one-way ward against things from Arcadia. It's good for about a year and will protect the people in the hallway from any more visits from Sethic. Now, True Fae, changelings, and the like can come from the hallway into this temple, but they can't go back the same way." Anita nods and replies, "Thanks, for the protection and the explanation. This really helps."

Kirk smiles impishly and adds, "I'm glad. However, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Anita and the others nod warily, and Kirk's grin grows as he says, "Can one of you rub Veltis's belly, and tell him it was from me?" Anita roars with laughter and agrees. Kirk turn serious and says, "I do however have one serious question." Everyone leans in and he asks, "What's with the toilet with the monster truck wheels?" Anita laughs again and explains, "We needed someone to bring an injured person back here safely. It was built with durability and stability in mind, not aesthetics." Kirk shrugs and replies, "Fair enough. I will admit that I was running around with it because it amused me."

Kirk chats with them for a little bit longer, and they learn that he is the ex-lover of the Summer Queen of Boston. Again, this means nothing to David, Peter, Isobel, and Gothi, but Anita nods and realizes that his anchor to her probably snapped when she was reborn as Queen Máirín V.²⁾ Kirk says, "Alright, there's something else I have to deal with. Thanks everybody, and help yourself." The Sin-Eaters blink and then Kirk is gone completely! They eye the picnic basket with the sandwiches, custard, and Fanta; Anita immediately grabs a Fanta without apology. Peter snaps, "What the fuck? Dead mages?" Anita shrugs, and Gothi admits, "It happens. And they keep something that resembles their Supernal magic after death." David declares that he wants a drink with a little umbrella in it, and Anita snickers.

William is fast asleep and dreaming of driving his car down an unfamiliar road. In the dream he pulls into a driveway, and then looks up to see Bruce Schofield's house in Middlefield. He jumps when he hears a tapping at the passenger window and turns to see a man in his late twenties with close cropped brown hair. This man asks, "Can I talk to you?" William replies guardedly, "OK." There's a moment of silence, and then the man adds, "In the car? Or outside? By the way, whose house is this? There's a lot of negative feelings wrapped around here." William insists he that he can hear the strange man just fine through the window, and the man states, "There's a Pope who wants to talk to you."

William asks, "Is this about his hat?" The man looks lost and replies, "No, something about two daggers?" William admits, "I only have one." The man asks about the second dagger, and William says, "I don't know where it is. A friend brought it to Duat." The strange man stares at William, his jaw dropped, before asking incredulously, "Who is your friend and how can they access an Egyptian underworld?" William shrugs and provides no answers, so the man continues and says, "You'll have to go back into the Underworld to talk to the Pope." William really does not want to go back into the Underworld anytime ever, but the strange man insists, "He needs to tell you something about some horrible curse. Along with the two daggers."

William tries to get the man to relay the message, but the stranger says firmly, "I don't know what the Pope wants to talk to you about in specific. You're a jackass, aren't you? You and Veltis are too much alike." William frowns but doesn't belabor the point, and the stranger asks, "So whose house is this? You've got a lot of negative emotion tied here." William gives a noncommittal answer, and the stranger retorts, "Have you considered therapy?" William replies, "I'm too old for that."

The stranger disputes William's statement, and then finally alludes to knowing William's dead-friend-nice-lady. William says cautiously, "Which one?" The stranger stares at him for a moment and then clarifies, "The shopkeeper? Does that help? You've got a kink, don't you, boy?" William refuses to answer and insists on keeping the windshield between the two of them. The stranger grunts, and then all of a sudden both of them are in Merat Su's library!

William sighs as he looks around, but the stranger eyes all the volumes and murmurs, "You've been to some weird places." William grumbles in agreement as the stranger starts walking around the library; he demands, "What do you want?" The stranger gestures and replies, "Give me a couple of minutes. This place is weird." They spar a bit over Anita, and then the stranger says, "So you pissed in a True Fae's oatmeal, you know. However, you're the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." William looks at the stranger incredulously, and the man clarifies, "You are the bait. You are the price. Sethic offered you to secure his alliance with the Silver Lady."

William groans as the pieces fall into place, and the stranger frowns and says, "You're missing a memory here. Your subconscious has been seeking it out for awhile. Do you want that memory back?" William is taken aback but asks, "Can you do that and help the others who were here?" The stranger admits, "Not here. I'd have to be in their subconscious to do anything." William decides then and there that he doesn't want the memory back, and the stranger seems to accept that. However, the stranger asks, "Could you do me a favor? It will annoy Veltis."

William is interested and the man asks, "Can you cuddle him and tell him a bedtime story for me? Tell him it's from Kirk." William eyes Kirk and retorts, "Yeah… no. Do I look like the type of person who would do that?" Kirk shrugs and replies, "Had to try. Well, tell him I said hello." William opens his mouth to reply, and then realizes he's alone in the library; Kirk is gone. William then feels a tug from the dagger, and knows it wants to show him something, another memory. He tentatively agrees, and then he is no longer in the library.

William now stands in a strange, ancient city, surrounded by tall columns topped with statues of scorpions. People of varying dark skin tones and dress move around him. William guesses he's in some sort of prehistoric African city. He looks down at his hands, and notes that this person's skin is much darker than his. With the flash, he realizes that these are the hands that forged the daggers in the first place, meaning that they are much, much older than initially imagined.

Someone calls out, "Ahmekh!" William looks up, somehow knowing that this is his name here, and stares dumbly as Hakim walks towards him, grinning. Hakim walks right up to him and greets William/Ahmekh enthusiastically; he says, "The Shan'iatu have blessed you, my friend! Soon they will perform the ritual!" William realizes with the start that Hakim here is completely mortal. He asks carefully, "I admit I'm a little nervous. Can you remind me what is supposed to happen?" Hakim laughs out loud and admits, "I certainly don't blame you. But you're ready. The Shan'iatu wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't. You've been preparing for this moment for over a year now. You'll be washed and perfumed, your clothes burned, and you will receive a white linen robe instead. You shall drink deeply and then be brought before the Shan'iatu and ritually sacrificed for the Rite of Return, and then you'll be reborn to serve eternally!"

Much of this means absolutely nothing to William, and he tries to wiggle out of whatever this is. Hakim doesn't take him seriously, and jokes, "Come now, my friend! You want to join your wife in eternity, don't you? Where is Merat Su anyway?" William groans but Hakim doesn't seem to notice; he says earnestly, "Maybe I can join you in a few years!" William replies, "I'm sure you will. However, I'm not ready for this yet." He then tries to break free of the lucid dream, but something snags him on the way back to wakefulness. He has a vivid memory of making love to his wife, but it's Merat Su, not Wendy. For a split-second William and Ahmekh are the same person and he feels Merat Su shift in her deathless sleep.

William then wakes up in his bed with a start, the blade firmly in his right hand, and then he sees symbols in kohl and ash all over his body. William sits up in bed and then realizes someone is watching him outside his window, which is on the second floor! He looks over to see the Monseigneur staring at him equally befuddled; the vampire is eyeing the strange symbols before his eyes meet William's and there's a moment of mutually confused silence before William lifts his hands and just gently shoes the vampire away, although he asks, "Where is the girl?" The Monseigneur extends both middle fingers before pointing down, so William walks over to the window and looks down, but he can't see anything past the Monseigneur's feet. William looks back up at the Monseigneur and says with utter blandness, "Can't see her." The Monseigneur stares at him and then temporary forgets how to levitate! As the Monseigneur falls to the ground in shock, William hears a mishmash of ghostly German, French, Italian, and Romansh from downstairs.

Meanwhile, Josh is having a nightmare. He is dreaming of his crucifixion, but this time his entire family is here and willingly participating. Tentacles of darkness wrap around his body on the cross, pinning him in place, and then a sultry female voice whispers, "This is a little too religious, you know?" Josh insists, "This isn't a Jesus thing! I mean, I'm not, like, religious." The voice laughs a bit as the bands of darkness tighten around him, and then she replies, "This is your dream, man." Josh frowns and replies, "You're right. This is my dream." He then concentrates, trying to bring a light into the darkness, and then successfully shoots light out of his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and ass! As his family burns in the light, the female voice replies, "That was hot. Oh. Sorry about that."

Josh verbally feels out this dark voice for a few minutes before deciding to call it "New Friend." New Friend giggles and observes, "Your subconscious is entirely made of puppy dogs, rainbows, and trauma. Delicious, delicious trauma. I could eat that for you, you know." Josh replies glibly, "Maybe. If it'll help. But what do you know about vampires?" New Friend replies, "Sorry, not a lot I can share. They're a different branch of the Family. So, what's going on here?" Josh replies, "My family crucified me in the last twenty-four hours. How's your day been?" New Friend snickers and replies, "Better than yours, man. Better than yours."

Josh carefully asks again about vampires, and New Friend replies, "See, here's the problem. Technically, they're Family. Well, vampires are part of the Family, more accurately. As a human, and one that carries a candle at that, we're kind of not-friends. Officially, we consider vampires to be allies 'cause they're part of the Family. You, on the other hand, well, all things being what they are, we've kind of granted you second cousin status." Josh finds a strange, perverse pride in that, and says, "Hey, we've been through a lot. Even the nope-box." New Friend murmurs an agreement and replies, "Consider this a statement of neutrality. So, back to the trauma. You've got trauma, I'm hungry, this could be a win-win for both of us. Oh, there's so much in here I could use! A classic zombie attack; I have to recreate this!"

Josh insists that she can't simply steal his memories, and New Friend replies, "I'm not stealing them, per se. I'm copying them to use for later. Don't worry, nothing identifiable of you will be there. Oh, right. I came here to tell you something. So, you know about the Troy family curse, right?" Josh nods and New Friend continues, "Now, you seem to be going after vampires. Or at least you have a hard-on for them. I'm guessing you've heard of Obadiah."

Josh admits, "Yes, we have, although we don't know much." New Friend giggles and says, "Then can I tell you a secret? A real secret? That vampire Obadiah? Guess what? He's a Troy!" Josh sighs and mutters, "That's a bummer." He wiggles a bit against the bands of darkness but finds little give. New Friend continues rifling through his memories and muses, "This must complicate things for you. Oh shoot. You have to wake up very soon, you've got a baby-fang problem. Huh. I guess Troy dick is a thing!"

Josh wakes up with a start to see Elisa Mae outside his window, fangs extended and features inhuman with rage! She stares at her sleeping brother, and Josh screams a warning! He then sees the Monseigneur fall behind Elisa Mae, causing the young vampire to turn back around surprise. Leta wakes up and launches herself out of the recliner; she cries out, "It's raining dead dudes!" She stumbles to her feet to get ready for an attack as Josh leaps instinctively off the couch to protect Ray but misjudges everything and lands on top of the boy accidentally. They then hear ghostly voices yelling in French, German, Italian, and Romansh!