Game session: 6/21/2011 ¹⁾

As the Sin-Eaters take a closer look at the apartment they’re in they note that it’s far more run-down and creepy then the other one with the faceless ghosts; the walls are rotting linoleum, the kitchen is dank and with appliances date back to the 1930s. Hector Mendez staggers to his feet and the Sin-Eaters note his Hasbro work shirt and his burned skin that flakes off like parchment. Anita incongruously recalls that Hector worked on a factory line during the second shift at the Hasbro plant in East Longmeadow. Hector screams, “Angelita! Jordan!” and lurches for the door out to the hallway. Anita blocks his path but Hector continues to push against her, so Peter steps in and steers the ghost to a couch.

Hector continues to wail the name of his wife and son, and Erika explains that he’s likely to keep doing so until he finds them; ghosts are notoriously single-minded. Anita decides to test the “plasmic infusion” thing that Erika told them about back at the X Pub, so she slashes her palm with a Swiss army knife and forces a bit of plasm into the bright red blood that wells up. The red blood turns a frothy pink as white plasm emerges from the wound, and Anita smears the symbol of the Horde from World of Warcraft on Hector’s forehead. The frothy tincture suddenly absorbs into Hector’s ghostly flesh and he calms down and looks up at Anita with confusion. He croaks, “Anita?” and she nods in response. He demands, “What are you doing here?” and then looks around before lowering his voice and asking, “And who are all these gringos?” Anita smirks and says that they’re helping her, and he can trust them. She then asks about Jordan and Angelita, and Hector exclaims that “slavers with no eyes took them!”

Erika frowns and recalls she started spotting ghosts with empty eye sockets weeping blood about four months ago during her explorations of the Autochthonous Depths. The ghosts – three of them that she can recall, all females in their early to mid-twenties – roamed the hallway, the temple beyond the hallway that leads to the River of Bone Dust, and an industrial maze that lies on the path to the Old First Church. As Anita listens to Hector’s quest she realizes that he hasn’t processed the fact that he’s dead! Erika quietly offers to perform the Passing On ceremony and Anita obligingly pulls out a photo of Jordan she keeps in her wallet, but Erika realizes it won’t work as ghosts must be willing and have resolves their anchors before Pass On grants them their final rest.

The Sin-Eaters debate on what to do with poor Hector, and realize the first step is convincing him that he perished in the fire. Peter takes the lead on this, as he has had experience breaking bad news to loved ones before – although, he admittedly he’s never had to inform someone that they themselves are dead before. He pulls out a small mirror from his pack as Anita tries to convince Hector of his demise, and then Peter shows Hector his ruined visage and gently convinces Hector the terrible truth of things. Hector is shattered, and Peter notes that when Hector speaks there are tiny embers in the back of his throat. Peter then tries to impress upon Hector that he’ll be safe if he remains here in the hallway, as the X-Krewe have just taken over. Hector seems convinced, although he sarcastically comments, “You sound like a cop.” Peter retorts, “I am a cop.” Anita promises Hector that she will keep searching for Angelita and Jordan, and Hector holds his head in his hands as he tries to process everything that’s happened.

Isobel notices several ghosts peering out of doors in the hallway, eyeing their new apparent landlords and protectors. She warns the others, and Peter suggests “pacifying the area before we move on.” The other Sin-Eaters are amenable, and head out into the hallway to question the ghosts. Erika takes the lead in interrogating the shades, with David backing her up. Meanwhile, Isobel, Anita, and Peter all look intimidating. They spend an hour canvasing the residents and manage to secure their dominion over the hallway for at least a week. They also learn the slaver-ghosts have been spotted in the hallway by the residents, and those they take go “further down.” Erika nods in understanding, and the resident also claim the slavers are “ghosts with a patron.” The slavers are focusing solely on new ghosts, and seem to be most prolific in the industrial zone.

During their interviews the Sin-Eaters note the most cogent ghosts are the ones playing video games; they also seem to have the most modern apartment. They also discover that the ghost-madam of the “blue silk brothel” seems to be self-aware, and they glean a bit of useful information there. Unfortunately, the Sin-Eaters realize they’ve lost Peter after he succumbs to a group orgy and they find him smothered by a writhing pile of six female ghosts. He’s clearly enjoying himself, but Isobel barks an order for them to desist. She scares four ghost-prostitutes off of Peter, but two remain and he finishes loudly. He staggers out of the side room several minutes later, spent and a little loopy.

The Sin-Eaters decide to leave the Underworld now, but as they step out if the brothel they spot a female ghost step out of the hallway next to the apartment where the faceless ghosts are playing Frogger. She closes the door and looks pointedly at them, so the Sin-Eaters drag Peter over. The woman is dressed in a faded black power suit and has dark hair and flinty eyes; there are no apparent visible death marks on her corpus. She imperiously asks them what the terms of rent are, and informs them the previous arrangement has been “1 dram of plasm per week, paid monthly.” The Sin-Eaters try to get a read on this ghost, but can’t penetrate her emotionless exterior.

Isobel covertly unlocks the Stillness Oracle manifestation and examines the ghost again; she gleans that the ghost is keen to preserve her privacy and that’s part of the arrangement, but to ensure said privacy she would be willing to increase the rent. Erika tentatively agrees to the previous arrangement, but states they’d prefer a weekly payment. The ghost agrees to provide one dram of plasm every Friday night in a bottle outside her door marked with an X. As Isobel learned, the ghost insists on their work being a matter of utmost privacy, and when the Sin-Eaters repeat, “Their?” she says only she and her master conduct delicate experiments. Isobel jumps on that and demands a monthly rent of 5 drams of plasm in exchange for absolute privacy; one weekly payment of their choice will be two drams instead of one. The ghost woman grudgingly agrees but asks the krewe who their leader is. They all look over to Erika, who shrugs.

Anita asks how they can communicate with the ghost and her master, as presumably knocking on the door would potentially interrupt delicate experiments. The ghost nods and slips back inside her apartment, closing the door firmly. The Sin-Eaters hear rummaging and something tipping over and breaking before she cracks the door open again and slides outside. Peter and Erika spot a bookcase right up against the door crammed full of centuries-old tomes, and Erika covets such knowledge. The ghost holds up a human skull and then rams the skull into the wall next to her door. The plaster stretches a bit before partially swallowing the skull, leaving it embedded in the wall. The ghost says the krewe can leave a message in one of the eye-sockets of the skull, and replies will be left the same way.

The Sin-Eaters idly ask the ghost about the slavers, and she confirms that they’ve been running around silently for about six months. They’re of note because they’re quiet and don’t attract attention, but she slyly hints that the monthly rent will voluntarily go up if they bring her and her master a specimen to examine. The Sin-Eaters promise to think about it and then the ghost asks, “Do you know that one?’ and she points. They turn to see Hector has lost his cognizance and is roaming the hallway again, shrieking for his wife and son. Anita sighs and nods; the ghost seizes on that and offers to protect Hector – if the rent goes back down to four drams per month. Anita looks at the other members of her krewe; they all nod.

Satisfied, the ghost glides over to the shrieking Hector and snaps a chain around his neck! Dumbfounded, Hector quiets down as the ghost drags him back to her apartment. She turns when Peter asks idly, “Does your master have a title?” The female ghost hesitates, and says either “Professor” or “Doctor” is appropriate. She then slides the door open and shoves Hector inside before closing the door in the Sin-Eaters’ faces. With that, the Sin-Eaters decide it’s time to go, but plan to come back down here next Friday night. They trek back down the hallway to the garden, and then submerge and swim through the sunken tunnel back to the grotto without problems. They spot shapes moving in the grotto that dart away from the krewe as they emerge, and the five Sin-Eaters trudge through the water. They see the ghosts watching them with bulbous human eyes that blink sideways, but nothing bothers them and they climb up the sloping cave.

The Sin-Eaters emerge from the Underworld at the Barney mausoleum to see the sky reddening with the dawn. Anita groans as watches and cell phones start working properly again and the Sin-Eaters note the time is 5:33 AM. As they hike back through Forest Park Anita asks for a ride home, and Erika agrees. They reach her house by 6 o’clock and Erika passes on her contact information to the others. All four reciprocate, and head for their cars to drive home.

Recap originally published on Livejournal.