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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zubkavich" data-source="post: 685145" data-attributes="member: 8810">Session Ten: Spreading The FaithSetakawa is nervous as he relates his ancestor’s information to the group. From what the ancestors have been able to discern, the beings from Coral aren’t just trying to arrive physically on this plane of existence. They need a spiritual anchor of some sort and seem to be causing a shift in the spirit world to make room for it. Setakawa believes that they are trying to prepare for an arrival of some greater spiritual figure, a God of some sort.“How can they do that?” Karen asks.“Simply enough... through huge amounts of faith.” says Setakawa.If they can use the faith of a massive amount of people, they could create a permanent foothold on this world from which to control it. Although he’s not sure, Setakawa believes that New York has been chosen because of its large population base that doesn’t have a single dominant religion. They could be swayed and the beings from Coral seem to want to use their drugs to do it. It’s an important lead and gives the group a direction to head towards.Karen explains to Tupilak that Conroy has important information that they need to access. Conroy’s drug ties throughout the city could prove invaluable in their search for Nicholas Click’s next move. Tupilak seems mildly insulted at the idea that he should give up control of Conroy’s body and explains to her that his possession of Conroy “does not work that way.” Annoyed, but not having any other choice, Karen decides to check in with Buzzard at the pawn shop and see if he has any leads. Before she heads out, she drops a note in the Snapdragon Box for Millar:Greetings Millar,I have some information on some of the people trying to shift things over here.Two names, one is Nealcatus. This guy has flawless brown skin, perfectly red eyebrows and hair. Right before he speaks there is a sizzle or something and a couple times I swear that I saw steam from his mouth.Nealcatus spoke of a higher up he called Hizerath. I think this Hizerath is still on your world. They are using some drug to make soldiers. I think they make it in Coral and bring it here via “portals”. Their word for it, not mine.One of my allies says that they are trying to shift the faith over here so that one of their Gods can get a foothold here. Do you have any info on any of this?We slew the construct. Thanks for the advice. What do we do with the silver bit we took out of it?I was able to tap into the whole magic thing briefly. I walked quieter than normal, but I can’t see basic magical things. Sedrick doesn’t know why.KarenStopping into "Pawns, Rooks and Drag Queens", Buzzard and Karen get caught up with recent events. He flirts and flits about the shop as usual while Karen explains her injuries away as “gang problems”. When Karen asks about the drug called Viperous, Buzzard is quite intrigued.“I thought you didn’t want to get mixed up in drugs, honey?”“I’m pursuing all sorts of options.” smirks Karen.Buzzard’s excited because there’s a weakened version of Viperous that he’s heard of through his contacts on the street. The old goth wants to get in on the deals and start selling this new drug around town. He’s supposed to be heading to a huge rave in Manhattan the next night to try and get in on the action. Karen charms Buzzard with compliments until he invites her to come along with him. She knows that getting this close to the dealers could be dangerous, but she needs to know what they look like and what their game plan is.Heading back to the bookstore, she picks up Onan and heads out shopping. Her current clothes won’t allow her to blend in at a rave, so she decides to pick up some flashy clubbing clothes. Onan grumbles the whole way, telling her that he’s not comfortable with her infiltrating this rave and getting this close to whoever is behind it. She explains that they can’t just go charging in with their guns blazing. There’s too many people at this rave and they don’t even know who the dealers are yet. She promises him that she won’t get into any combat and will keep it to just a scouting mission. Onan asks her if he can go too, but after showing him the clothes he’d need to wear to blend in, he has to admit that he’d never be able to act natural dressed like that.Tupilak is frustrated that there’s no clear threat for them to attack, but understands that he cannot go along with her. He utters some magical blessings for Karen before she leaves, hoping that it will protect her. On the taxi ride over to the pawn shop to meet up with Buzzard, she feels nervous and vulnerable. She can’t take her weapons and has no idea what to expect when she goes to the rave.At an abandoned warehouse on the southern edge of Manhattan, the party is already in full swing. Pounding bass can be heard almost a block away and the line up outside the venue is massive. Buzzard estimates that there’s at least 700-800 people inside, all potential customers for the wares he’s picking up. He grins from ear to ear as he tells her how much money he could get for one night’s work. Karen tries to be happy for him, but her thoughts are about the far more immediate dangers.Heading to the side entrance, Buzzard meets up with the rave organizer, a man dubbed Crisp Cringle. As he leads them inside the warehouse, Karen has to strain her ears to hear him talking over the pounding trance music. Crisp explains that he and his associates are looking at running several large events like this in the next couple of months. Karen pretends that she may have an interest in investing some capital in future raves, and Crisp seems to hit it off well with her. He leads them both to an upper tier where they can look out over the entire dance area and meet his associates.Sitting at a set of couches entertaining a group of giggling girls is an intense looking individual. As Buzzard greets him, he stands up to shake Karen’s hand and she gets an eerie feeling in her stomach. The man’s eyes have an almost pinkish tone to them and his pupils dilate oddly as he greets Karen with a smooth voice and a slight smirk.“My name is Morfuseid.”“That’s a pretty weird name. Where does that name come from?” she asks with a grin.“ It’s... South American.” he says unflinchingly.While Buzzard starts to wheel and deal, Karen decides to relax for a bit. Sitting down amongst the couches, she refuses various drugs that are offered to her while discussing Morfuseid’s business. He explains to her that the raves require a lot of advertising and promotion in order to gain credibility with its clientele. She listens intently while watching for anything out of the ordinary.Without warning, Morfuseid leans in close to her and begins to speak in an extremely calming tone. His eyes dilate even more and she can feel a strange sensation overwhelming her. Suddenly, she thinks she likes him, even though she knows on a conscious level that he’s probably involved with the evil from Coral. He seems very nice to her and she wonders if maybe she’s misjudged him. When he asks her if she’d like to head to the dance floor, she’s instantly compelled to follow him.As they merge into the writhing crowd, the music continues to pound and the movement of people’s bodies is like an ever-shifting pattern. When Morfuseid dances with her, she feels incredibly good and she realizes that she’s smiling despite herself. Just as she feels like she may be lost to the rush of emotions, a voice breaks through Morfuseid’s unnatural charms. Tupilak’s prayer hits like a hammer, shattering the spell that she was under. She shakes off the charm’s effect just as a strobe light flickers and she’s able to see Morfuseid for what he really is.Under the light’s glare, she sees pinkish jelly-like skin and a mouth that’s a mess of tentacles swirling back and forth to the music. His eyes are milky white without any pupils at all. Staring in horror, she realizes that no one else can truly see this monster in front of her.Using charm and slight of hand she takes a pair of sunglasses from a nearby dancer to cover her eyes. She isn’t sure if it’ll help her resist Morfuseid’s influence, but she needs some sort of protection from his charming eyes. Morfuseid doesn’t seem to have noticed that he’s lost his hold over her, and she maneuvers to stay away from his gaze while pretending to be enjoying the music. She sees a head moving quickly through the crowd as another individual approaches, looking to speak to Morfuseid. The second man is a tall with a crew cut and various piercings. Morfuseid smiles and introduces him to Karen.“This is my cousin, Horvulok.” He says.“Horvulok?” she asks.“Also South American.” Morfuseid replies.Horvulok ignores Karen at first, intent on other things. Karen strains to hear what they’re saying to each other while the music pounds onwards.“Nealcatus has felt a presence. Something is here. Something is close.”Morfuseid seems annoyed that he has to leave the dance floor, but heads off to speak to security. Karen prepares to blend into the crowd and leave the warehouse while Horvulok is left standing on the dance floor. Just as she’s about to slip out of view, Horvulok glances over towards her and his eyes widen, sensing her magical nature.“Right in front of me... you there, STOP!”Karen tries to push her way through the crowd, squirming past the gyrating bodies and looking for the exit. Horvulok draws a small curved blade and tries to stab at her, but she narrowly avoids him and slips between several dancers to stay away from him. Looking back, she’s amazed to see him jump almost 30 feet straight up to grab the rafters overhead. Amongst the chaos of sound and lights, no one else notices Horvulok looking out over the crowd, searching for her. Trying to stay out of his view, Karen auto dials her cel phone, yelling at Setakawa to send help. Glancing up every so often as she moves towards the exit, she can see Horvulok crawling along the rafters like an insect, clinging impossibly to their surface. Just as she nears the door, Horvulok spots her again and vaults down into the midst of the crowd to grab her. Just as he gets hold of her shirt, two of Setakawa’s birds burst through the door to attack him with beaks and claws. He screams and flails at them, while the crowd clears away from his spastic movements. Karen slips away with a smile, knowing that since normal people can’t see Setakawa’s birds, Horvulok looks like a man in the midst of a really bad drug trip.Running from the warehouse venue, she soon finds Setakawa’s car parked a few blocks away. She knew he’d ignore her orders and follow her, but it inadvertently saved her life so she doesn’t complain. As they drive back to the bookstore, Karen is exhausted but resolute. She’s got more information and a focus for their efforts. If she can disrupt this drug driven cult, the beings from Coral will lose their chance to invade our world.</blockquote>

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