Hunt 33: Triage - Chapter 4

Game was 9/25/20.

William grabs his gun and runs downstairs while outside, the Monsignor scrambles to his feet and runs to Elisa Mae. In the living room Leta, Veltis, and Abby all hesitate while Leta yells, "Get behind the couch!" They watch as Elisa Mae falls back from the window towards the Monsignor. Unfortunately, the dead Swiss Guardsman attack by throwing axes through the newly repaired bay window! Josh mumbles, "The Swiss have initiated hostilities. That's a first." He then yells, "No, rainbow-pants, no!" as a ghostly axe still manages to bury itself in Elisa Mae's undead flesh!

Josh quickly climbs off Ray as best he can and points towards the basement door just in case they need somewhere to hide. Elisa Mae frenzies, launches herself back into the living room, and slashes at Leta's throat with inhuman talons! Leta stumbles back, blood gushing freely from a throat wound!¹⁾ She gurgles as she calls upon her infernal heritage, and claws and horns erupt from her skin while her eyes turn a hellish red! On her shoulder, Veltis burps a gout of hellfire directly into Elisa Mae's face! Elisa Mae falls back screaming, and the hunters can see her skull poking out through charred flesh!²⁾

Abby steps forward and unlocks Cold Wind Rage, causing a tiny hurricane to erupt in the living room and sending the vampire flying out the window!³⁾ Elisa Mae tumbles ass over teakettle, clear over the front lawn, to land painfully on the asphalt of Sovereign Way! William rushes in and fires his pistol at the Monsignor. Although he hits the vampire, the Monsignor simply takes a step back before unleashing some unholy power!⁴⁾

The Monsignor's unknown power sweeps over all the hunters, ripping free all their traumas! For William, Josh, and Ray, only the most recent trauma surfaces, but it is enough to cause them to stumble. For Leta and Abby, other traumas are brought forward, causing them to drop heavily. Unfortunately, Veltis is the worst effected, as centuries of trauma are ripped free! The demonic familiar falls off Leta's shoulder and collapses onto the ground. He starts convulsing and his form shifts rapidly along with his size!

Reality than buckles as the rear of the house suddenly vanishes, showing a scene of craggy rocks and a river of molten metal! A tall, inhuman figure wearing white robes with lapis lazuli inlay steps forward into the living room. Slitted yellow eyes stare out as this being declares, "You are not Ahmekh." The two vampires fear-frenzy and flee as William turns to what he now realizes is a god from Duat.⁵⁾ The being growls, "How did you get my mark, sun-deprived child?" William admits, "I don't know. It was all part of a dream. I did talk to Hakim." The being cocks its head and replies, "I do not know who that is. You bear Ahmekh's marks and one of his daggers. Where is the other one?" William explains, "To the best of my knowledge, it was brought to Duat about six months ago." The being demands, "Did one of my children bring it?"⁶⁾

William shrugs helplessly and replies, "Again, I do not know." The being states, "You will give the second dagger to me. Now." William holds out the dagger without hesitation and the being reaches out and takes it from his hand. It declares, "Now, you shall serve me. You shall punish those who blaspheme and desecrate the holy." Lacking any frame of reference, William replies, "OK?" His response seems to please the being and it offers, "Do you wish to undergo the Rite of Return?" William says firmly, "No, thank you."

The being nods, seemingly in acceptance, then declares, "Then it is done." Reality shudders again as the being steps backward and the vision of Duat suddenly ends, restoring the back of the house. William is then engulfed in flames that brand the marks permanently into his skin! Although he yelps in shock, he feels no actual pain. One of the dead Swiss Guardsman demands, "What heathen sorcery is this?" William shrugs, as he has no answers. Leta turns to see Ray cowering in the corner and demands, "Blanket! Now!" Ray grabs a blanket from the recliner and then runs into the kitchen and grabs a towel for Leta to press to her throat.

There is another shift in reality as Kirk's ghost appears and demands, "What the hell, dude? I was gone for fifteen minutes, and now you sworn yourself to an ancient god?" Kirk glides over to Leta and places his hand on her ruined throat; he concentrates, and the wound partially closes.⁷⁾ Leta boggles but rasps, "Hey there. How's being dead?" Kirk snorts and replies, "I see you're as charming as ever." Leta retorts, "Not at all! After meeting you, I've improved. Back then I didn't have any people skills. Now I have… some." Kirk laughs and greets her warmly.

Leta demands, "What was that thing?" Kirk explains, "That was a being, or god, from the Egyptian afterlife of Duat. Your friend just joined its cult." Leta asks if Kirk can do anything for Veltis; the dead mage shakes his head sadly and replies, "I'm afraid not. My magic can't help him." Leta quickly brings Kirk up to speed about their most recent adventures, including the life, death, and return of Serena Troy. Leta demands, "You didn't go evil after you died right?"

Kirk shrugs and replies, "I don't know for sure. I still like the Mets, after all. Seriously, though, this complicates things, as there's a dead Pope who wants to talk to your friend here. Can you bring him into the Underworld at some point?" He then points to William. Leta promises to try and Kirk turns to Josh. He remarks, "Son, you're made of puppy dogs, rainbows, and trauma." Josh nods sadly and Kirk smiles briefly before suddenly vanishing alongside the Swiss Guardsman, leaving only the living - and Abby - behind.

At this point it's about 2:00 o'clock in the morning and Leta rasps, "Josh, call Ranjip." She then growls to Ray, "Blanket on rat! Put!" Ray meeps in terror but obeys. Josh calls Ranjip and the good doctor answers on the third ring. Josh quickly says, "We were just attacked, and we need help." The changeling replies, "Give me twenty minutes." Leta snarls,"Ripped. Open. Throat. Faster!" Josh quickly relays the situation and Ranjip demands greater detail, so he knows what he needs to do. Josh summarizes Leta's and Veltis's wounds and Ranjip decides, "Make that five minutes. I'll take the Hedge; be ready to open your basement door when I knock. Is anyone else injured?" Josh announces, "I have trauma." Leta growls, "Give me the phone!" as Josh adds, "Also, Granddad went to a really bad tattoo artist."

Doctor Ranjip decides that's enough for now and hangs up. Josh immediately texts a warning to Anita, Mick, and Polly. Seven minutes later there is a knock on the basement door and Leta gestures for Ray to go answer it. Ray croaks, "What the fuck?" but obeys. He opens the basement door and for a split-second he sees all of the horror and grandeur of the Hedge and Doctor Ranjip 's true form. Then the doctor steps through the door and reality returns to normal.

Doctor Ranjip rushes into the living room and demands an explanation as he triages Leta as being the most in need. Josh jibes, "There was a Swiss axe throwing competition," and William sighs. Doctor Ranjip quickly examines Leta's torn throat as carefully as he can and then tells her, "Close your eyes, you don't want to watch this." Leta retorts, "Why, is the glow bothering you?" Ranjip retorts, "I genuinely don't care about that."

Leta reluctantly does as he commands, and the others watch as the doctor pulls out a squirming yellow goblin fruit and quickly shoves it into Leta's throat wound! Leta gags as she feels something cold slither in and then tastes spicy curry and toothpaste. She demands, "Is it going to sing?" Ranjip retorts, "It wasn't supposed to sing the first time. However, for your wound to heal properly, you're going to need to refrain from talking for two days." Leta makes a face and Ranjip jokes, "Think of it as a gift to Abby!" Leta glares at him but Abby announces, "I'm OK with it." Josh relaxes a fraction as up until now, Abby had just been standing in the middle of the living room, as unmoving as a corpse.

Doctor Ranjip then turns to Josh to treat him and Josh decides to try to shoot light out of his orifices again. He succeeds only in making a tiny fart which smells strangely like a spring meadow. When the doctor finishes with Josh, he turns to William and eyes the arcane marks all over his body. He demands, "What is this?" William replies weakly, "it's difficult to explain." Doctor Ranjip retorts, "As your primary care physician, we need to have a relationship based on honesty. Oh God, I really am your PCP, aren't I?" William shrugs and admits, "Basically, yeah." Ranjip sighs but examines the marks as best he can. He murmurs, "These are branded into your skin, and seem to be hieroglyphs. Also, I smell southern barbecue. What happened?"

William replies, "A being from Duat claimed me." He says nothing more, and Doctor Ranjip grunts, "I have a salve that burning sensation." Leta snickers at the phrasing but both men ignore her. Ranjip asks William tersely, "Have you ever thought about saying no?" William protests, "I didn't plan this." Ranjip retorts, "You always say that!" William says defensively, "I never do!" As the good doctor retrieves the salve from his bag, he tells the others, "So, while we're all here, I have news. I've heard from my friends in the Molasses Court in Boston. Management has issued a travel warning for the Five College area, stating that it is the dominion of the strix." Josh starts Googling strix while William asks, "Does Management do that often? That doesn't seem to be their style." Doctor Ranjip says, "Nope, this is the first one they've ever issued."

Ranjip quickly examines Veltis but concludes, "I'm very sorry, Leta. But there's nothing I can do to help him." He stands up and announces, "I'm sleeping here tonight, and one of you is driving me back to Haydenville in the morning." William accepts the condition and vaguely gestures upstairs to one of the free bedrooms Josh quickly chimes in, "So there was some lady in my dream that wanted to eat my pain. But she told me something important. The vampire Obadiah is a Troy." There is a moment of silence, and then Doctor Ranjip declares, "I'm going to bed, fuck you all, goodnight." Josh offers, "Take my bedroom, I'm not using it."

The good doctor nods and heads upstairs, and then William turns away. Leta gurgles, "What about the window and the mess?" William declares, "Josh will take care of it," as he also heads upstairs. Josh shrugs helplessly but suggests, "Maybe put up a tarp?" Abby and Ray head to the basement to get a tarp, although Ray eyes the basement door suspiciously. After they retrieve a tarp and come back upstairs, they start nailing it into place to keep the cold out. Meanwhile, Leta and Josh crouch next to Veltis and do their best to be anchors for him by their very presence. Veltis stop seizing and shifting forms and is now a corgi-sized rat. Leta carefully picks him up and sinks back into the recliner to rest.

Meanwhile, back in the Underworld, the Sin Eaters realize the food Kirk left behind is genuine and the sandwiches are perfectly toasted BLTs, so they dig in unabashedly. As they eat, Anita reminisces about the Local Burger mages and Gothi declares, "That's the Shadow Chorus. They are one of the most mysterious cabals operating out of Boston." David replies incredulously, "The Shadow Chorus?" Gothi retorts, "Look, I said mages are pretentious dicks. Just remember vampires are worse."

Anita asks, "So what does the Shadow Chorus do, exactly?" Gothi admits, "No idea. No one knows what the fuck they do. They sort of pop up, do their thing, and vanish. Actually, I think they were there to take Kirk's body when he died." Anita observes, "Kind of like Bill Murray!" Peter jibes, "For all we know, one of them could be Bill Murray!" Gothi snorts, "For all we know they could all be Bill Murray under the masks!" The Sin Eaters laugh at that, and then spend the next several minutes quietly eating and drinking.

Once they finish the sandwiches David decides, "Let's head back and collect the rest of the rent from the hallway." The others agree but then Peter steals Anita's Fanta. Anita protests, "Why?" Peter declares "Because I wanted this one, and your reign of terror is over!" Isobel interjects, "You used him as a poking stick." Anita grudgingly concedes the point but jokes about Isobel's neck thing that still creeps out the krewe a year later. Isabel snaps, "David still has bubbles coming out of his lungs!"⁸⁾ Anita jokes, "Yes, but David's bubbles are pretty!" David protests, and Peter declares, "Vodka. I want vodka. Let's go before your other gringos call." Anita reflexively checks her phone and finds one message waiting, but strangely it can't come through.⁹⁾

She tables that for now and the Sin Eaters joke some more, leading Anita to declare to Gothi, "No ghost brothel for you!" Peter mutters, "I don't want to know." Gothi protests, "But I want to get laid!" Anita shoves Gothi playfully to Peter and says, "Here you go, you're more stable than his last one!" Peter immediately protests, but Gothi eyes him and muses, "You've got handcuffs, right?" Peter groans, but Anita cackles.

Gothi follows the Sin Eaters as they quickly collect the rent from the other hallway inhabitants. The krewe also spreads the word about the ward protecting the hallway and then they retrace their steps to get back to the Avernian Gate. They exit the Underworld back into the Old First Church of Springfield and head upstairs. Gothi once again uses her magic to foul the cameras and they slip outside and return to their cars. Once in the street Gothi pulls out her matchbox hearse, places it on the ground, and says a few words in High Speech along with some hand gestures,¹⁰⁾ although the Sin Eaters only hear gibberish. However, the effect is immediate end impressive as the hearse suddenly expands to its normal size!

The Sin Eaters all stare at the hearse in shock, even Anita. She jokes about a bag of holding, and Peter tells her, "Go home and go to bed." Anita shoves Gothi to Peter again and tells her playfully, "Be gentle, and don't use the stuff in the back." Gothi retorts, "What if it's for me?" Anita stops short and then says, "Well then, go nuts!" Peter sighs, but then realizes that Anita was right; Gothi is arguably a step up from Susie! Anita gets Josh's warning text, and the Sin Eaters break apart for the night.