Nazareth Awakened - Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

[GlassEye]

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper snorts, jabs the shovel into the dirt and leans on it.

"Hey, don't look at me. My basement's filled up with a crotchety old mage." He sighs. "Truth be told I've been staying out in some of my old haunts just to avoid Faye. Never mind that, though. I think we should maybe rent a room at one of those motels with the exterior entrances, like a Motel 6 or something. I'd stay with it to make sure it doesn't go out and eat the other residents; at least until Magellan comes to town and lets us know what he wants done with the thing. A bit of black plastic over the window should take care of the sunlight."

​

[/section]

 

[Mosier]

"Hey, don't look at me. My basement's filled up with a crotchety old mage." He sighs. "Truth be told I've been staying out in some of my old haunts just to avoid Faye. Never mind that, though. I think we should maybe rent a room at one of those motels with the exterior entrances, like a Motel 6 or something. I'd stay with it to make sure it doesn't go out and eat the other residents; at least until Magellan comes to town and lets us know what he wants done with the thing. A bit of black plastic over the window should take care of the sunlight."

Agnasci knows the others are expecting him to add something helpful. Heck, Harper basically just called him out on it. He really doesn't want to share his tiny, cramped, weekly-rent apartment with anyone, but the prospect of possibly recovering some of the rent cost is too good to ignore. The cash he stole from Big Rich isn't going nearly as far as he had hoped, especially after he spent almost half of it on a secondhand motorcycle.

"I have a place," Agnasci says. "It's cheap and dirty, and surrounded by lowlifes. Perfect for laying low. If we all pitch in you'll hardly notice the cost, and I'll be able to help Harper keep an eye on it."

 

[TillForPie]

Crow lands on Paul Cherry's headstone and watches the conversation.

 

[Rubberneck]

"I can pitch in for some dive for it to stay in."

 

[TillForPie]

In the interest of Keeping Things Moving™ I'll assume the group resumes digging.

Harper and Law equip themselves with the two shovels and begin their backbreaking chore while the others look on and provide light for them. It hasn't rained since the night Mad Dog died and the ground has already dried and hardened, making the diggers' task difficult. A half an hour has passed when the pair hits paydirt: A line of thick fabric visible at the bottom of the small crater they've dug. The two mages scramble to clear more earth away, revealing the edge of what looks like a large olive-colored duffel bag.

The three men toss aside their tools and grab a hold of the bag while Chance keeps it illuminated. The duffel bag is moldering and torn, nearly coming apart completely when it's pulled free from the grave. Chance cautiously peels back a shredded flap and shines her flashlight in: She's greeted by a glimpse of a withered, blackened skull with empty pits for eyes. Its skin is like sticky tar smeared onto bone and its hair is a bushy and burnt-looking mess with the consistency of steel wool. Its lips are pulled back from its open mouth to reveal teeth - all normal but for the canines which extend a good inch further than they should, sharpened to a point and glistening with moisture. The corpse is wearing a purple blouse, ratty and disintegrating like the bag, tarnished Eye of Horus earrings, and a black choker with a crystal pendant - it's all pretty decidedly New Age. Above the right breast, near the shoulder, is what looks very much like a pair of bloodless bullet wounds. Above the right eye is a third wound. Chance's flashlight catches the glint of metal from within the hole in the body's forehead.

This is nothing like any expectation the group has for what a corpse should be like. Its black, paper-thin skin is reminiscent of an ancient body mummified by the elements, but it's gleaming and moist. It smells like something old and musty, not of rotting flesh, and there are no insects or any other expected signs of decay. Chance pulls more of the bag aside and everyone sees it at once: A thick hardwood stake buried in the chest.

Harper detects nothing with his life-sensing magic but Agnasci's spell doesn't lie: This thing still has an active mind.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, no doubt leaving a smear of dirt.

"Let's see if the movies have it right."

He takes a firm grip of the piece of wood and yanks it free.

"To be honest I wasn't expecting a woman. Not sure why."

 

[Mosier]

Agnasci is intrigued, not revolted. "Jesus, this thing is still alive," he says, almost in awe. The moment is over quickly though, as he turns to the others. "We can't just haul this body to an apartment and carry it in. It would look too suspicious. We need to wake her up before we leave here." He glances around as he speaks, hoping someone volunteers a solution that doesn't involve giving it his own blood...

 

[Shayuri]

"Hang on, I came prepared!"

Chance hurries to the car and pops the trunk from the lever at the driver's side. From there's a quick scurry around to grab her special milk carton and heft it on back.

"Managed to sweet talk a rancher just outside town into giving me some of this," she explains as she returns. "Cow blood. Said it was for a science fair thing. He didn't seem too interested in why once I hauled out my wallet though."

Chance took the jug down into the hole with her, then said, "Think we just...dump it on her? Or does she have to come back to life first?"

 

[Mosier]

"Hang on, I came prepared!"

Chance hurries to the car and pops the trunk from the lever at the driver's side. From there's a quick scurry around to grab her special milk carton and heft it on back.

"Managed to sweet talk a rancher just outside town into giving me some of this," she explains as she returns. "Cow blood. Said it was for a science fair thing. He didn't seem too interested in why once I hauled out my wallet though."

Chance took the jug down into the hole with her, then said, "Think we just...dump it on her? Or does she have to come back to life first?"

Agnasci shrugs. "Didn't Magellan say anything to you about what to do?" He glances around, but sees nobody else has the answer either. "I guess just try putting some in her mouth. It can't possibly hurt, right? I mean, just look at her."

 

[TillForPie]

Law wrenches hard at the stake, struggling to pull it free of the breastplate. Finally with a heave he manages to yank it out, its pointed end covered in black bile. He smiles back at the others in triumph - right before the corpse launches itself at him.

Law tumbles back into the shallow crater, the withered husk of the vampire on him in an instant. Where once its eye sockets were bare and empty, now the creature stares at its prey with crazed human eyes. It bares its teeth and hisses, black ichor dripping and spraying, before batting aside Law's defending arms and slamming its fangs into his neck.[sblock=Resisting the Kiss]Roll: Resolve 2 + Composure 3 vs Difficulty 3 = Failure with 2 successes
Law is incapable of resisting[/sblock]Law's struggles come to an end immediately, eyes rolling back into his head and arms falling limp. No drug or drink he's ever consumed has been as potent as this, no music as soothing, no sexual release as powerful - nothing compares to this. The cemetery, the mages, the world itself, none of it exists for Law now.

Law takes 1 point of lethal damage due to blood loss. He has 6 empty health boxes remaining.

Initiative:
Vampire - 13
Agnasci - 12
Harper - 11
Crow - 9
Chance - 7

Law will roll for initiative once capable of participating.

The vampire continues to feed from Law. The others can see from behind that it has at least two more bullet wounds in its back - as it drains blood from Law the blunted bullets are pushed out from the holes, which seal themselves in an instant. Meanwhile the rest of the creature's body is slowly changing: The black and waxy skin is thickening, the hair shrinking and then regrowing.

Law takes another 1 point of lethal damage from blood loss. He has 5 empty health boxes remaining.

Everyone go ahead and submit orders now.