Session 10

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The party has some conversations, and tries to commit a murder.

## Characters

* The Party, sans Kuno
* Naberius MacLaughagan
* Hollis Tucker
* Pax Furyk
* Hattie Cline
* Genevieve Warren

## Summary

##### **Sunday, November 15th, 542:**

The same night the party got home from the warehouse district, now early in the morning, Sam has a conversation with MacLaughagan. Sam wants to know what the demon's aims were from helping Carly with her fire hands, and MacLaughagan responds that while he is "the best" at what he does, other demons are decidedly not, and he takes issue with anyone who is willing to hurt children just because the children don't know any better--as well as the fact that he got a chocolate caramel out of it. This answer, while not exactly what Sam was expecting, satisfies him.

Nyx texts Zacharie to let her know and/or bring her along the next time he hears of an opportunity to get the magic drugs, and receives an acknowledgement back.

### **Depression Alfredo**

##### **Tuesday, November 17th, 542:**

A few days after the party's trip to the warehouse district, Colby visits Hollis. Hollis is reluctant to chat, but offers Colby three questions and then him leaving, which Colby accepts. Colby is let into the apartment and has a seat in the living room, while Hollis goes back to the kitchen where he is making pasta and alfredo.

Colby explains that he didn't ask for the power he ended up with, and wonders if Hollis might have any idea why he has it. Hollis doesn't profess to know anything about the plans of Above, but says if they went through all the trouble of giving Colby magic they aren't likely to kill him. Colby's second question is what Hollis's run-ins with angels have been like, to which Hollis responds that his friend group and he would try to ask Above to not do something, or they would stop scheme that Above had interests in, and they would get a foot soldier sent after them. He notes that he isn't sure if foot soldier angels are actually sentient, or if they're drones, but that they die either way. Eventually, according to Hollis, his party got into something big enough that Above was tired of them, and they all got killed; Hollis hasn't interfered since. Hollis mentions that he's been to several Lower Planes, but none of the upper ones, and he has it on good authority that they're awful places.

By this point, Hollis is finished fixing pasta, and asks if Colby would like some. Colby accepts, to not seem rude, and the alfredo is incredibly good. Colby uses his third and final question to ask if Hollis has a recipe for the alfredo, to which Hollis rummages in a different room for a bit before handing over a handwritten note card of the recipe. Hollis starts doing dishes, and though he tries to hide it is obviously emotional (most likely about the recipe). As Colby is leaving, Hollis says from the sink to be careful, for the whole party to be careful.

### **Friendship Ended with Skin**

##### **Thursday, November 19th, 542:**

A few days later, the party goes on a hunt for Pax. They find him lying in an alley with a bullet through his head, obviously suffering. Asa heals him, after Colby offers and Pax is derisive of how effective holy magics would be for his health, and the party heads to Asa's apartment. At Asa's apartment, the party makes a plan for how they're going to fight Hattie Cline, wherein Pax acts like a lost child to lure Cline into an alley where the party can ambush her. Colby blesses two thermoses of gasoline, some of which Nyx flicks across Pax's face without warning him. There is a split second where Pax almost murders Nyx, but he manages to reign himself in, asking why she thought that would be a good idea, to which Nyx replies she wanted to test it. The party distribute the upyr-killing supplies, and Asa gets Colby a gun.

The walk to the other side of the Toska District takes some time, and it's about nightfall. The party pick an alley to hang out in while Pax loiters on a corner, waiting for Cline. They have to wait some time, during which a few different people approach Pax to ask if he is alright, and he reassures them before sending them on their way.

When Cline appears, Pax plays lost child with a practiced hand, leading her to the party's alleyway before shoving her in and confronting her with questions about Eldridge. She doesn't give any answers, and the party is uncertain if they have the right person, so Nyx tries to splash some of the blessed gasoline on her. Nyx pours more than anticipated when she trips over a loose rock in the alley.

At this Cline peels off her jacket, revealing a patch of skin where she got burned, and shoots Nyx in the gut. Sam lunges at her and manages to knock her gun out of her hand, but he is grabbed and knocked unconscious in the process. Asa manages to burn Cline with his fire magic, but the fight overall goes poorly. Pax more or less stays out of it, instead messing with something at the entrance to the alley. Colby heals Sam, waking him up, and he manages to get a few stabs at Cline, receiving a chunk out of his shoulder in return. The blood trail Cline leaves across the alley erupts into jagged spikes, blocking the alley into two parts, and injuring Sam badly in the process. Eventually, Sam takes Colby's gun out of his hands and plugs Cline in the head, at which point Pax throws a holy-gasoline-soaked red string net over Cline and says something to her. Cline looks nervous, and Pax takes this as his cue to torch her, leaving her no more than ash.

The party is bad off, with Sam particularly injured, and Pax's hands and arms are not much more than bone and some muscle from his impromptu arts-and-crafts. Sam gets healed somewhat, so he isn't bleeding as badly, and the party heads back to their part of town for a well-earned rest.

### **Asa Gets Recruited**

##### **Friday, November 20th, 542:**

The news the next morning reports that the Sculptor's body count is up to 19, and that the poor districts are still rioting for no given reason, as well as a report on the Astra officer Hattie Cline. Cline is missing and presumed dead, and the news warns whoever did this was armed and dangerous. The police don't have much to go on in this case, and are offering a reward for any information the public can provide.

Even though he was in a nasty fight the previous evening, Asa still has to go to work. On his way out, he is stopped by an older woman, who asks if there's somewhere nearby they could talk. Asa leads her to a restaurant, where she introduces herself as Genevieve Warren. She explains that she has had people watching him, and that she admires his work. She is high-up in an anti-supernatural organization, she says, and offers Asa membership in said organization, promising him support, resources, and information. She says he wouldn't do much differently than he does now, but that he would have their support in doing it. She doesn't think particularly highly of the rest of the party, since they haven't shone themselves to be very useful in a fight. Genevive doesn't seem put off by the fact that Asa is a fey, nor does she mention anything about magic. Asa is left with a business card, and told to visit that address when he makes a decision.

## Quotes

**Kellen:** "We have the power of guns and Jesus on our side."

**Ezra:** "Maybe god is real." | **Kai:** "God is real and cares about you." | **Kellen** (looking up from his phone)**:** "No I don't."

**Kellen:** "I would say roll for initiative, but we don't do that here."

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