(IC) New Bedford by Night: WtF II

[Daishain]

Bear grins, "I knew you cared. You can stop worrying old timer, we won. He Who Obliterates Breathing has been completely destroyed. Two of our Spirit allies were dispersed, but they will recover, and they were the only casualties last night. We still have some cleanup to do when it comes to the remaining rats, but their hold on this place has been broken. Check the local news, that plague they were trying to spread is already weakening."

"Our missing pack member, Juno, has also been found. But she is sick, and we've never seen anything like it. I don't suppose you know someone who might be able to help her?"

[Bennosuke]

There is a pause before Data Bolt replies to Blaze's question. The first message reads, "Well you could simply take down the wards... though my guess is that will be hard to sell you on." This is followed by, "Alternatively, you could just set up sources of Essence within the warehouse. More computers. More hardware. More electricity!" A third message reads, "Or, we could find a way of making a passage through the wards, that way I and your Totem spirit... that strange thing Reveler, can get past the wards more easily.... though that won't be easy." One last message appears, blunt and to the point. "And you need to get rid of Pequod!"

************************************************

"You won?" Sanders replies in shock, and Bear can almost imagine the man spitting out his coffee, "What ... how?" He stifles as he listens to Bear finish. After, he replies, "Well that's just damn incredible. Damn strong work Bear. You Anchor Wolves have really become something, haven't you!"

"Our missing pack member, Juno, has also been found. But she is sick, and we've never seen anything like it. I don't suppose you know someone who might be able to help her?"

There is a long pause before Sanders replies, as if he is chewing his words over. When he does speak, it is cautious and measured. "Sick like how? Uratha... aren't supposed to get sick. We'll help if we can, I suppose."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Yeah yeah, we’ll figure out what to do with him,” Blaze replied.

He hung around for a few more minutes to make sure Databyte filled up on essence, then packed up and returned to share what he’d learned.

“So, we need to deal with Pequod,” he finished, “anyone want to come with me and take a look?”

[Daishain]

Bear hesitates, "Its... tough to describe. She was dragged into the sea by a force we don't know much about. This force drove the Beshilu inland sparking this mess in the first place and has been causing physical changes in some of the local humans. When she came back she was... different. Mutated might be a better word than sick."

"I don't know if anyone's experienced exactly this problem before, but we run into some pretty weird stuff. Surely there's someone that would have a better idea of what to do."

[Bennosuke]

Blaze: “So, we need to deal with Pequod,” he finished, “anyone want to come with me and take a look?”

(OOC: I'm just going to allow for timewarp between Bear's convo with Knowlton and Blaze returning so that everyone can participate.

Kara was the first to respond when Blaze came barging back into the warehouse. "What do you mean 'deal with'?" she asked lackadaisically. She had been seated on the floor, an acoustic guitar in her lap as she strummed through a simple song progression, humming to herself.

************************************************** *************

Knowlton remained silent on the other line for a long moment before replying, "Mutated? I can't say I'm familiar with anything like that... it's not something I've seen before. But I suppose I can ask around if you'd like." He coughs for a moment, his voice deepening afterwards, becoming more patronly, "On that note, if you really did get rid of the Beshilu and their plague spirit, you might want to start... fortifying your territory. My guess is now that that danger is gone, you're gonna have a number of other packs sniffing around your borders and looking to claim some of yours for their own. Unfortunately, that's just the way things are if you know what I mean. No rest for the weary and all that."

[Daishain]

On the phone, Bear states, "Yeah, we'll be working on securing the place. I'm not about to let the area slip after we fought so hard to take it in the first place. Thanks for the warning."

Later, when Blaze comes in talking about Pequod, "We probably ought to let him go if that's not going to cause other issues. He won't stay sane trapped here forever. Have you made any progress on those wards Blaze? If we can I'd like to be able to let friendly spirits in and out freely so we can avoid these problems. We still need something to fill Pequod's purpose if he does go."

[Bennosuke]

Knowlton offers Bear an mmmhmm, but before the line is hung up he says, "Oh, by the way. If you're numbers need a bit of replenishing, I've heard word about a couple of pups who've undergone their change recently, and don't exactly have a place to go. You'd have to put a little bit of work into 'em, but they ain't got no packs just yet."

[Daishain]

Bear states, "If you put us in touch with whoever's got them now, we'll consider it. Don't want to make any promises blind, there's a lot to do as is."

[Bennosuke]

"No promises needed," Knowlton says calmly, "just some communications I've been getting from packs in Northern Mass. It's something you can think about later, just figured I'd pass it along. Anyways, if Juno is still looking poorly, and you can't get to the bottom of it, we can get a couple of elders together to take a look at her... though of course my recommendation is to try to figure it out yourselves. Always gonna be a cost for getting help and all. Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

From across the room, Bear catches the eyes of Juno, the flesh red and angry on her face where a pair of barnacles protrude on one cheek. She did look sickly. Something was definitely wrong with the Uratha.

(OOC: And don't forget to address TC's post in the time warp. FYI, Irrelephant reached out to me because the hurricanes are effecting him badly. I'll try to hold things down ATM)

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Well, reportedly he’s gone mad from lack of essence, we need to figure out if there’s a way to help him out, otherwise we should put him out of his misery before he tries to kill us or Reveler,” Blaze replied.

[Daishain]

On the phone, Bear says, "I'm sure something else will come up sooner or later. But for now we've just got a long list of things to wrap up and not enough time in the day. Take care Knowlton. I'll be in touch about those elders if we don't find something out soon."

To Blaze he states, "Right, really should have made time to deal with him sooner. Lets go check it out."

[Bennosuke]

“Well, reportedly he’s gone mad from lack of essence, we need to figure out if there’s a way to help him out, otherwise we should put him out of his misery before he tries to kill us or Reveler,” Blaze replied.

"****," Kara curses aloud, "I completely forgot about that. Is it something we absolutely want to take care of right this minute? I mean the easiest thing to do would be just to open up the wards and let Pequod go, right... unless it has already become a Magath."

On the phone, Knowlton praises Bear and the Anchor Wolves again for their victory and thanks Bear for his time, before hanging up the phone.

[Thundercracker]

"****," Kara curses aloud, "I completely forgot about that. Is it something we absolutely want to take care of right this minute? I mean the easiest thing to do would be just to open up the wards and let Pequod go, right... unless it has already become a Magath."

On the phone, Knowlton praises Bear and the Anchor Wolves again for their victory and thanks Bear for his time, before hanging up the phone.

Blaze

"We gotta go take a look," Blaze said, "Honestly I dunno how it coulda been any other way; we couldn't risk opening the wards with everything going on. We just gotta hope he's not gone berserk and we can bring him back."

[Daishain]

"Yeah, no point beating around about it, lets see where we're at and take care of it one way or another."

[Bennosuke]

Bear and Blaze are followed by Solomon and Kara (OOC: and any other PC's) out into the mid-afternoon chill. On the water, the wind is biting cold, the heavens a grey sunless expanse that just might threaten to pour open with torrential rain. The pack moved out to the dock, where the towering rocky locus embraced the sky. The locus was healthy, ripe with Essence creating an electric hum in the air that lifted the hairs off the flesh.

Crossing over was perhaps easier this time around (OOC: no rolls necessary), and the Anchor Wolves find themselves surrounded by a buzzing swarm of lesser spirits. Relative to the last time the Uratha had crossed over, there are fewer winged bird spirits around, and thus a greater number of scuttling grub and prey implings.

The Shadow's shipyard is a familiar towering structure of blue wood glowing with sigils of warding. But moss and vines have begun to grow and climb up the ancient planks of wood. Small leafy sprouts climb out of the ground, wiggling in the still air like suspended worms or animated dismembered fingers. Some of the vines carry a few small purple fruits, shiny like tiny cuts of onyx.

Towering over the shipyard building is the naked and rotting mast of the trapped Pequod. As the Uratha materialize into the shadow, the ancient ship spirit begins to howl, "You lied to me Wolf Children! You abandoned me! You trapped me and left me to starve!" The spirit is raving, it's mast quivering in the air as it assaults the pack with accusations and threats.

[Daishain]

Bear snaps, in no mood to put up with this, "Oh shut it already. You were trapped in here for years, don't tell me you couldn't handle another couple of weeks while we were busy dealing with the beshilu. That's over by the way, you want out? We're here to talk about doing that now. But you need to calm down first."

[Bennosuke]

"You promised to release me weeks ago," the spirit rages, perhaps in response to Bear or perhaps completely unaware of him, its mast swaying side to side. Pequod continues to howl, raving and raging against the Uratha.

(OOC: Feel free to give me an intimidation roll at -4 if you want to shut it up)

[Daishain]

Bear crosses his arms and turns to Blaze, "Well? What do you think?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

That penalty would reduce presence+intim to 1 die. If Bear has a sense of that, I don't think he would try. Trying and failing to shout someone down almost always makes things worse.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“No we didn’t, but we can release you now,” Blaze said, “where will you go?”

Spoiler

Show

does Blaze have any sense about whether the spirit is too far gone?

[Bennosuke]

Blaze leads the others around the side of the ship yard building, unable to stop herself from marveling just slightly at the new vine growths that have begun to creep across this part of the Hisil.

The pack steps into the building, passing through the warded barrier into Pequod's space. The Essence in this space is clotted and stagnant. Unlike in other areas of the Hisil, where Essence generally flows abundantly across the Gauntlet, here it is like the pipes have all been shut or clogged, leaving the air feeling thick and caustic. Unlike outside the shipyard, few lesser spirits flit around this walled off space; spirits of the hunt, and of music and a few spirits of pleasure that appear to be related to The Reveler.

Floating in thick brackish waters flowing from the ocean is the emaciated form of Pequod, the personified spirit of of the New Bedford Whaling industry. The once giant whaling vessel has shrunk, becoming a barnacle and mold smeared wooden longship that might only fit twenty or so crew. The figurehead has wasted from a proud appearing whaler into a skeletal wretch. The planks of Pequod's ship creek and protest as the ship is buoyed by the comings and goings of the tide, while the figurehead clings tightly to the shore with long stick-like arms. "How dare you," Pequod hisses again, its eyes glowing purple in the evening light.

Pequod was undoubtedly starved, but something else tugged at Blaze's mind. The ship spirit was more than just starved, it was changed. Something about the barnacles, and the light in Pequod's eyes reminded Blaze of Juno! Blaze had seen Magath before; he remembered the pack's battle with the twisted industry spirit. The Anchor Wolves had destroyed that spirit for it's corrupted form, for breaking the laws of the spirit and becoming an abomination. It has been their duty, as sons and daughters of Father Wolf to destroy that spirit, as it would be their duty to destroy Pequod if it had become a Magath. And perhaps there was evidence of the ship spirit feeding outside its chorus. There was a slightly lupine feral appearance to the figurehead, and a few vines crept up the base of its mast. But there was something stranger than this, something just wrong, in the same way there was something just wrong with Juno! Pequod would have to be destroyed, but of course the question persisted, just what was happening here?

[Daishain]

Bear looks around, "Well, I must say this does not look good. Seriously Pequod, you couldn't hold out another two weeks? What happened?"

[Bennosuke]

"How dare you judge... Urath!" the spirit shouts, its voice carrying and rolling like the tide. It's eyes turn from a faint shimmer of purple to bright lamps of red. Planks of wood from its bow come alive and twist away with the wrenching sound of nails to create a bristle of pointed stakes aimed at the pack.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Settle down buddy,” Blaze said, “we’re gonna try to help you; I’m going to open the wards. You gotta tell us what you need first.”

He suspected the spirit was now too far gone but he still had to make an effort.

[Bennosuke]

From the shadows, Blaze hears Solomon whisper, "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe we should just put the damned thing down."

But despite this, Pequad seems to soften. "Do you mean it?" the spirit asks in a softer voice, the quills returning to planks along its bow with a groan, "Do you promise?"

[Thundercracker]

From the shadows, Blaze hears Solomon whisper, "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe we should just put the damned thing down."

But despite this, Pequad seems to soften. "Do you mean it?" the spirit asks in a softer voice, the quills returning to planks along its bow with a groan, "Do you promise?"

Blaze

Blaze stepped forward. He figured they could always deal with Pequod later if he went truly mad, but it looked like the same thing happening to Juno was happening to the spirit, and any chance of helping her through it would be gone if they destroyed it now.
“We keep our word, Pequod, we will release you today,” Blaze replied, “what do you need?”

[Daishain]

Bear eyes Blaze a bit, but says nothing. Judging the case was more the spirit master's purview than his. Or perhaps he was just leading Pequod along to learn more. Either way he wasn't going to mess it up.

[Bennosuke]

"I need food!" Pequad growls in frustration, the figurehead's wooden lips curling back to show surprisingly lupine looking fangs made of polished scrimshawed baleen. Depictions of boats, and whaling scenes, and strange aquatic figures were scrolled across each tooth. Pequad adds, "I need to get out of this space so that I can feed... so that I can hunt!"

[Thundercracker]

"I need food!" Pequad growls in frustration, the figurehead's wooden lips curling back to show surprisingly lupine looking fangs made of polished scrimshawed baleen. Depictions of boats, and whaling scenes, and strange aquatic figures were scrolled across each tooth. Pequad adds, "I need to get out of this space so that I can feed... so that I can hunt!"

"Alright man, lemme open up the wards," Blaze said, "maybe we can get a juicy whale spirit to swim on by, I'll see what i can do."

Blaze moved over to one of the ward stones and shifted it enough to allow the wards to come down enough for Pequod to exit.

[Bennosuke]

From Pequod's towering mast sprout two bat-like wings that unfurl and spread to create a sail. The moment Blaze removes one of the cornerstone wards there is an electric buzz in the room as blocked out Essence begins to seep in. Pequad gives a feral yip, followed by an animalistic roar, and buoyed by no wind, pushes out to sea. The massive ship moves at a shocking and unnatural speed, quickly shrinking and shrinking till it simply disappears into the orange horizon where the fiery sun was setting over murky blue waters.

Pequad's exit is suddenly punctuated by a shock of thunder, the winds in the Hisil suddenly striking the pack, hissing like a bed of snakes. "Still not sure that was a great idea," moans Solomon.

[Thundercracker]

From Pequod's towering mast sprout two bat-like wings that unfurl and spread to create a sail. The moment Blaze removes one of the cornerstone wards there is an electric buzz in the room as blocked out Essence begins to seep in. Pequad gives a feral yip, followed by an animalistic roar, and buoyed by no wind, pushes out to sea. The massive ship moves at a shocking and unnatural speed, quickly shrinking and shrinking till it simply disappears into the orange horizon where the fiery sun was setting over murky blue waters.

Pequad's exit is suddenly punctuated by a shock of thunder, the winds in the Hisil suddenly striking the pack, hissing like a bed of snakes. "Still not sure that was a great idea," moans Solomon.

Blaze

"Yeah, me either man, but we did say we would let him go, and I don't think he's gone over the edge just yet," Blaze said, "plus, did you see those barnacles? It's like the same thing as what's happening to Juno. If we wiped him out here and now, we'd never get the chance to see what happens to him, or ask him about it."