Session Seven: Tracked and Assaulted
Setakawa assures Karen that he can create an ample diversion while Onan and her sneak into the room where Conroy is being treated. Before he drops them off, he sends one of his ancestor birds to stay with them and let him know when they are in trouble. Even though the bird is shrouded in black smoke and seems obvious, Setakawa reminds them that people won’t see it because of its magical nature.
While Onan gripes about how his life was simpler before all this trouble started, the two head into the hospital and try not to look suspicious. Finding Conroy listed under the Vercoletti family name, they slip around a corner and Karen pulls out the enchanted ice cubes. Pressing them together, she can feel an unnatural coldness shoot up her arm as the magical invisibility takes effect. Carefully, they tip toe down the hallway and up to the second floor, leaving the occasional drip of melted water behind them.
In front of Conroy’s hospital room are two enforcers from the mob. Karen wracks her brain for a way to get past them while the ice slowly melts in her hand. Before they have a chance to come up with anything, a loud explosion from outside deafens the hallway and sends people in the hospital scrambling for cover.
“That’s one hell of a diversion.” Karen mutters under her breath.
One of the enforcers runs for the window to see what created the sound while the other one pulls out his cel phone to call for help. While he dials, Karen grabs the phone by its antenna with her invisible hands and flings it down the hallway. Shocked and confused, the man runs after it, wondering how it flew from his grasp.
As they enter Conroy’s room, Setakawa’s bird flutters around and opens its mouth in a strange silent birdcall that makes Karen uneasy. If it’s trying to contact Setakawa, there must be something wrong.
Then, chaos erupts as a crash echoes from down the hallway. Glancing out to see why Setakawa’s diversion seems to be getting closer, she realizes that things have taken a turn for the worse and that their plan is whirling out of control. The hooded figure is in the hospital, throwing staff and patrons like rag dolls and walking towards the room. When the two goons run to attack the stitch-faced monster, Karen slams the door shut and barricades it with several chairs. Dropping the partially melted ice cubes back into the thermos, the invisibility dissipates and she heads over to see if Conroy recognizes her.
Tubes in his nose and intravenous in his arm, Conroy has seen far better days. Large blood soaked bandages are wrapped around his mid section and a variety of bruises and cuts pepper his face and arms. It’s obvious that he’s on some powerful painkillers as the sounds outside have barely stirred him. She carefully shakes his arm, trying to get him conscious enough to at least find out if he can remember her. With the muffled sounds of violence continuing out in the hall and Onan pushing to keep the door barricaded, Conroy’s eyes flutter open.
“Whuuuu... whuz goin’ on? Huh... K- Karen? What’re you doin’ here?”
Wondering if it would have been better if Conroy could have forgotten her, she tells Onan to start his healing ritual. As Onan blows the bullhorn powder all over Conroy, it’s obvious that he’s upset, but also too weak to do anything about it. Taking a quick peek out the door, she sees one of the mafia goons crushed by the powerful fists of the hooded figure. Before she slams the door shut again, she catches a glimpse of Setakawa’s birds attacking the monster.
Onan chants and carefully draws symbols with blood on Conroy, trying to finish quickly without ruining the totem magic. As Karen looks for other things to barricade the door with, the hooded figure pounds a hole through, breaking the top hinge and bending a corner of the door. While it attempts to claw its way in, Karen fires several shots at its head, trying desperately to slow it down. Even though some of the shots hit it directly in the face, they don’t seem to deter the thing.
Finishing the ritual, Onan unhooks Conroy from the intravenous and uses the pole from it to shatter one of the windows in the room. He starts to lift Conroy from the bed while yelling at Karen to leave the door.
“We can’t go out that way! We’ve gotta head out the window!”
Not having any better ideas, she pulls back as the hooded figure tears down the remains of the furniture blocking its way. As it crawls through the hole, Setakawa climbs in behind it. His birds are doing their best to tear at the beast and distract it, but it seems more driven than before. Flailing with its arms, its fists smash one of Setakawa’s birds, destroying it in a puff of black smoke. Setakawa stares in horror, stunned at the loss of one of his ancestors.
Onan pulls deep down into his reserves for strength as he carries Conroy to the window. Muttering a quick prayer to his totems, he jumps out the window to the grass two stories down. Pulling Setakawa from his stupor, Karen drags them both out the window behind the other two.
Crashing to the grass and bushes below, Karen comes away with only a few bruises. A few feet away, she can see that Onan’s twisted his ankle in the fall but that Conroy looks okay, all things considered. Pulling out the ice cubes again, she grabs the other three as the invisibility bursts forth, hiding them from prying eyes. Setakawa’s birds spill forth from the window, scattering in all directions.
She watches as the stitched-face figure scans from the shattered window, looking for them. When security and police burst into the room behind it, the creature stands absolutely still. Unbelievably, no one reacts to it as they look around at the destruction and call for back up. She knows that the creature is supernatural, but seeing so many people so close to it, she’s still stunned that they don’t see the monster at all. Slowly, they move as a group back to Setakawa’s car, staying invisible until the car is started and they’re back on the road.
Conroy babbles incoherently, trying to understand what happened and how they left the hospital. Karen tries to explain bits and pieces of it to him, but gives up after realizing that until the painkillers wear off, it’s a futile effort. Arriving at Dog-Eared Pages, the battered group rests and takes stock of what happened.
As Conroy sleeps, Karen explains to Sedrick their encounter. She doesn’t understand how once again, the creature knew exactly where and when to assault them. Sedrick explains that from what she’s describing, the creature may be some sort of “construct”, a thing created solely to track and slay its prey. He surmises that the wards on the bookstore will hide them but once they're outside, the supernatural taint of the group would make them a target. Not having any thing else to go on, she writes a note to Miller and leaves it in the Snapdragon Box:
Hi Miller,
It’s Karen. The people trying to bring things from your side to mine appear to have something powerful working for them. Sedrick called it a construct. Said it was something made, not a person. It can take a bullet to the throat and face without being stopped! It’s very strong and seems to have no trouble finding me wherever I am. It looks like someone stitched a bunch of people together to make it. Like a quilt or something. Do you know what this thing is and how to stop it?
I was finally able to read the book, only once but I enacted some ritual that was supposed to open me up to magic or something. Haven’t had time to do more yet.
Karen
A few hours later, the familiar smell of fresh flowers hits her nostrils and a note is waiting for her:
Greetings,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am sorry to hear of your current strife. Your sage friend is quite correct. From what you have described, I would guess that it is one of the Flesh-Driven. They are creatures that track supernatural prey and destroy their opposition with fists like iron.
If this is indeed the case, you must remove the solid silver stone that is its unnatural heart. Carve deeply and pry it free. It cannot exist without it.
My thoughts are with your success.
Miller
Wondering how they’ll be able to tear into the thing’s chest, she’s relieved that they at least have something to go on. Looking around the bookstore, Karen wonders how her ragtag crew would fare. With Setakawa driven to avenge his lost ancestor, he’s more than ready to attack the creature again. Onan is afraid and nursing a sore ankle, but she thinks he has the strength to keep going. If she can convince Conroy about all the craziness he’s now a part of when he wakes up, he should be a useful ally. None of them are close-combat minded and the thing is too strong to take on in hand to hand. It might be possible, but she hasn’t even seen anyone hurt the creature in any major way.
Still, it doesn’t look like there’s any other choice: They have to strike instead of waiting for another ambush.
