Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

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Vela
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Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Vela »

The hardest part was water.

In the jungle, water was plentiful. It sluiced down broad leaves and collected in rivulets in the loam and wound and coursed into streams and into rivers and you were never far from a sip. Here the trees were dried and scrubby and the grass was dried and scrubby and nothing gave up water it didn't have to.

The prey had water though, Vela had learned. They didn't give it up by choice, but she did not have to offer a choice. Frustratingly, the deserts to the north had little large prey though. At least, little compared to what she was used to. Getting up high was not the issue, though she'd feared it might be. The desert was stony, with lots of high spires and plateaus she could scramble up and peer down from. The issue was simply that most things living here were small. She could easily spend most of a day batting snakes and little hopping mice around, and still feel hungry when she was done.

And yes, thirsty.

The tribe would not starve here. They would die of thirst long before they had a chance to.

So Vela pressed on.

Five nights in, she crossed paths with a caravan heading northwest. They were frightened that she was a vampire; something she could easily set their minds at ease against. They'd come from a place called Monterray, and were heading to do business with someone named 'Reed.' A little interesting, but the true revelation came when he told her of a river to the east. A large one that flowed from the north over a very long path. The 'rio grande.'

A river! Water! She had hugged the old man on hearing that, delighting and embarrassing him. For the next two nights she shadowed the caravan, and dispatched one of the Wandering Ones that approached too closely. When she saw the lights of the 'Reed's' fortress ahead, she peeled off and went northeast.

And went. And went. The desert seemed endless...perhaps because to her eyes it was so monotonous. There were landmarks but it was all just variations on sunbleached stone colors. She slept through the day tucked under or between rocks out of direct sunlight, and traveled by night. Vela was starting to feel a little like a vampire herself.

Fortune smiled sometimes. Once she found and managed to stalk a small pack of wild dogs. Leaping down from a stone ledge, she was able to kill two immediately and sprint after a third and break its back with a bite from behind. That night she ate like she remembered eating from before. But then there were four days with just vermin, and she'd felt her strength starting to ebb. The pain of hunger slashed so deep that it felt like a part of her...and just lifting a paw became a chore.

In another dream she might have died. That was what the shamen said sometimes when talking about what might have been. In another dream. If she hadn't eaten those dogs, or had even eaten one less, would she have had the energy to drag herself to the river when she'd heard it? Even the spirits wouldn't know that for sure.

Plunging into the Rio Grande, Vela was reborn, like the villagers in the shadows of the mountain sometimes claimed in their ceremonies. And fish! And to the water, prey came. Bigger prey. Better. For the first time in weeks Vela felt like a hunter again. The People did not worship spirits as humans did, but this time Vela felt she understood a little better why such worship happened. To feel helpless in the face of a hostile world, and suddenly be saved...there was an urge to thank something. To try to make sure it happened again.

She spent three days there, where the river widened and became slow, before moving on to follow the river north.

(More to come!)
Character Cheat Sheet
Vela
Human
Parry:8, Toughness: 15(4)

Jaguar
Parry: 8, Toughness 13

Hybrid
Parry: 8,Toughness 18 (4)
Edges: Frenzy, Improved Frenzy

ISP: 10/10
Detect/Conceal Arcana: +2 Pace on Detect, +1d Stealth on Conceal; 3ISP
Smite: +2 Damage, can give ally opportunity to Unshake
Deflection: -2 to hit ranged and Melee, vampires are at additional -1

Combat Edges:
Danger Sense: Reflexive Notice-2 to detect ambushes or surprise attacks
Fast Healer: +2 Vigor for natural healing checks
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Pender Lumkiss
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Re: Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Pender Lumkiss »

Vela wrote:The hardest part was water.

Plunging into the Rio Grande, Vela was reborn, like the villagers in the shadows of the mountain sometimes claimed in their ceremonies. And fish! And to the water, prey came. Bigger prey. Better. For the first time in weeks Vela felt like a hunter again. The People did not worship spirits as humans did, but this time Vela felt she understood a little better why such worship happened. To feel helpless in the face of a hostile world, and suddenly be saved...there was an urge to thank something. To try to make sure it happened again.

She spent three days there, where the river widened and became slow, before moving on to follow the river north.
Along the bank you notice a man covered in foliage, even his archaeic armor is so covered. He seems to weild a sword made out of vines. He seems watch you with great glee as you are reborn in the river. He sits at the sandy edge laughing as you hunt for fish. With each laugh its almost as if a fish just jumps into your hungry belly.
Shepard.jpg
He calls to you from the river's edge, his voice a laughing brook, " Hail the traveler, reborn! What brings you to the river mine? Just the bountiful fish, nay perhaps something more?" He bends over taking a sip of cool water himself, the water almost just jumps up into his mouth.
Lovingly his brook babbling continues, " The river protects, and gives... None have given it such joy as you my friend. Such glee and exuberance must be paid back... What could the river mine give to you from its bountiful depths? Fish? You've had your fill. Something more, or something less perhaps?" A glances up the river to the north. He nods soaking his feet in the refreshing water.
He chuckles and the river seems to ebb with him, " The river will only protect you so much as you go North, I am afraid I am only tending it for a short while. The rest of my rivers need their Shepard. Yes Shepard is me." The person called Shepard nods looking intently at Vela.
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Re: Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Vela »

What went into the river a large, black-furred jaguar emerges a slim, brown-skinned young woman in makeshift armor that only covered her upper chest and waist to partway down her legs; a patchwork of leather, fur, metal and ceramic stitched together and painted with jagged tribal symbols. The armor hung rather loosely on her as well, as if meant to fit someone rather larger. A sharp eye might catch that her short, somewhat haphazardly cut hair was the same shade as the jaguar's fur...but that wasn't so strange, really. Her eyes as well were the same green-gold as the great cat's, and stared at the man warily for a moment as she hauled herself out of the water.

The Jaguar People were apex predators; there was very little they outright feared, but there were things they had learned to respect the strength of. The Dead Men, though the City Dead were far more dangerous than the crazed Wandering Ones. Mighty magi and strega. Precious little else. But an apparently old man alone in the wilderness laughing without fear was something to keep an eye on.

Even so, he seemed friendly enough.

"I ask nothing from the river but food and water," she said to him, tossing her waterlogged hair out of her eyes with a flick of her chin. "and for it to guide me north, past the desert. Any other gifts it offers, it offers by itself."

She paused, then added, "What need has a river for a shepard? It follows the earth." With a smile Vela added, "Do you dig out the banks ahead of the water?"

Notice: 13

[dice]0[/dice] or [dice]1[/dice] wild.

Explosions:[dice]2[/dice] [dice]3[/dice]
Character Cheat Sheet
Vela
Human
Parry:8, Toughness: 15(4)

Jaguar
Parry: 8, Toughness 13

Hybrid
Parry: 8,Toughness 18 (4)
Edges: Frenzy, Improved Frenzy

ISP: 10/10
Detect/Conceal Arcana: +2 Pace on Detect, +1d Stealth on Conceal; 3ISP
Smite: +2 Damage, can give ally opportunity to Unshake
Deflection: -2 to hit ranged and Melee, vampires are at additional -1

Combat Edges:
Danger Sense: Reflexive Notice-2 to detect ambushes or surprise attacks
Fast Healer: +2 Vigor for natural healing checks
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Pender Lumkiss
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Re: Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Pender Lumkiss »

The strange travler laughs and the water sways to and fro. His eyes sparkle with a great shimmer, " Right you are, part animal, part man... An interesting creature of joy and mirth, reborn in these very waters!" He looks up the river to the North a frown seeps into his smile. " I tend the rivers to make sure they are free for folk such as yourself. Something lurks to the North... Or rather a host of somethings." The traveler comes out into the water joining you, he seems to pass through unabated, as though the water is not touching him. However some of the foliage falls away into the water forming an intricate pattern. Vela notices his cloak is not green as it once appeared. The moss and leaves having been knocked away reveal it to be black and leathery. He takes a drink of the water from the middle of the river and smiles again.
" There is something refreshing about drinking from the center mass.... Come the bank beckons."
He sits back on the bank taking off the black leathery cloak, it looks as if made from a giant bat. The back of it has two eyes made of red rubies.
" I found this at the first river, far to the south in Pacari, the place of emergence. It has served me well for a time, but my journey I am afraid with take me far from these waters. I have a river that needs tending to north near the town of Silver Bluff." He rubs his fingers lovingly over it, unfastens the simple leather tie, and hands it to you. " The Cloak of Camazotz, made from his skin I was told. He was slain by something terrible, a great eye and mound of flesh with hundreds of tentacles." A tear trickles down his eye into the water, " This is all that was left of him. A natural anathema to what struck him down." He flexes his fist, " And their bane... Perhaps not as potent as the ability of a True Atlantean..." Having given Vela the cloak he stands the foliage in the water trickles through and up his leg re-positioning itself on his body. From within his folds he gives her what looks like dried snake skin, " The remains of Chac... The old Gods are loosing this war, and loosing quickly I afraid. It used to fasten the cloak, and as you can see it is too withered for use. Be wary I kept the cloak hidden and of little use except for hither and thither. To use it says here I am to those blood suckers." The sand along the beach swirls around him, and just before he disappears he says, " Perhaps you will find a way to restore Chac, a truly powerful item when combined. May you always find happiness in the waters mine!"
Cloak of Camazotz
Cloak of Camazotz: A magical item. Perhaps in one of the first tests of the old gods vs the coming of dimensional beings, Camazotz struggled vs the source of vampires on rifts earth for many centuries before failing in his quest. After being flailed alive only this patch of skin was left ( If this violates the south American world book, please let me know and I will endeavor and read up making it more fitting with the setting).
  • Vampires Bane:
    • +2 damage vs Vampires
    • +2 to opposed trait rolls vs vampires powers, natural and arcane.
  • Husk of Chac ( Special): The husk needs to be restored by some unknown means. Once restored it confers the following power.
    • Blinding Rain " Obscure": The sky darkens and clouds gather, crackling above, as the might of Chac is unfurled. A torrent of rain comes down on a local area making it difficult to see anything. However, Chac will have his fury becalmed by the coming of the light.
      • Obscure: ppts: 2, Range: smarts, Duration 3 ( 1/round)
      • Trapping water: Acts as a water damage vs vampires, 2d8 or 3d10 with raise water damage.
  • Hindrance:
    • Enemy Immemorial: Vampires on an instinctive level will recognize the cloak as their long vanquished foe and will reacted with prejudice, -2CHA towards vampires.
cloak of Camazotz.jpg
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Vela
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Re: Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Vela »

"Ogui," Vela blurted, in shock. Her cheeks immediately reddened, and she reached a hand up to rub them self-consciously. It was a minor blaspheme, little more than a profanity, and this human wouldn't have any way to understand that's even what it was. She reached out to take the cloak. Her fingers crawled when they touched the hide.

Camazotz. She knew the name, from stories told to cubs. Stories from the old lands, from the old ways. A demon of caves and bats...maybe something from the demon lands of Xibalba, maybe just a lurker in between. There was malice in this, but there was nothing it hated more than those who slew it, Vela felt. It would be a danger to others only when the last vampire was expelled from the world.

That was fine. When that time came, she could then fight him if he returned for his cloak.

The other name she didn't recognize immediately. Perhaps there would be shaman who knew more.

She looked up from the grim totem at the man, the 'shepard.' Such gifts were not free, Vela thought...but he had asked no price, nor suggested there was one. More likely he felt that her enemies were his enemies and he wished to strengthen her to strike them down.

If his enemies were the vampires, he would not be disappointed.

"Be careful without this. The wandering ones are far too common. The people of these lands have been careless and allowed them to grow." Finally she then relented to some instinctive urge and smiled widely, holding the cloak up. "Thank you. It will see many of the dead returned to the earth."
Character Cheat Sheet
Vela
Human
Parry:8, Toughness: 15(4)

Jaguar
Parry: 8, Toughness 13

Hybrid
Parry: 8,Toughness 18 (4)
Edges: Frenzy, Improved Frenzy

ISP: 10/10
Detect/Conceal Arcana: +2 Pace on Detect, +1d Stealth on Conceal; 3ISP
Smite: +2 Damage, can give ally opportunity to Unshake
Deflection: -2 to hit ranged and Melee, vampires are at additional -1

Combat Edges:
Danger Sense: Reflexive Notice-2 to detect ambushes or surprise attacks
Fast Healer: +2 Vigor for natural healing checks
User avatar
Vela
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Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 6:07 am

Re: Midnight and the Fall of Del Rio

Post by Vela »

After parting from the strange man of the river, Vela followed the water north...tracking the flow towards its source. The river was a relief in every way. She could drink from its waters, hunt the animals drawn to do the same, and the many packs of Wandering Ones that crisscrossed the region tended to give the river a wide berth. With that safe haven to retreat to, Vela could venture out and stalk the ones who dared travel alone, or in small groups, as she went. With each vampire that died to her fangs and claws, the cloak bestowed upon her trembled with both satisfaction and a terrible hunger for more.

Days of walking led her to see the flickering firelights of farmhouses scattered around. Garlic was heaped high around windowsills and doorframes, and crosses of every sort hung on fenceposts and were carved into the wooden walls of dwellings. These farms were designed to be fortresses against the undead...and Vela passed more than a few where the doors hung off their hinges, or the windows were broken in, and all hint of life within was dead and silent. Here strangers turned to glare at her as she passed, though she walked by daylight. One could never tell who was possessed by a night-fiend. New faces were more likely to be dangers than friends.

Finally up ahead she saw a wall rising from the hardpacked ground. Much of it was white stone or perhaps a kind of clay or plaster that a few of the houses were made from. In several places though she could see the wall had been broken, and covered up with barricades of wood and metal that wound up looking like bones visible in spots where skin and muscle had been torn away. Armored men and women patrolled the tops of the walls. No fewer than three trained weapons on her as she approached the gates. Two more emerged ahead of her and did the same.

For a few minutes they questioned her. Why was she here? Who was she? Blah blah. Vela gave them her name, but no more, and explained she was journeying north in search of places where vampires were not so common. She showed them her fang collection, and that seemed to placate them somewhat. Finally they allowed her to pass without further incident.

Del Rio was a disappointment. She'd expected to see a larger version of a human village. Lots of people, constant activity, more buildings like those farmhouses only bigger and more plentiful! Colorful clothing and children running around getting underfoot!

It had none of these things. Well, there were buildings, but so many were clearly broken down and unused. There were people, but they were either furtive and quick to scurry away, or aggressive in how they glared at her...desiring sex or violence or both. Many of the armed, armored folk in the city had a particular emblem they wore somewhere on their persons.

On the other hand, vehicles were all over, and Vela took a moment to indulge her curiosity in them. She'd heard tales of such things, but no one had used them anywhere near the jungle. Seeing them now, she could understand why. Discs of black, tough soft stuff turned around, moving them forward...but the things were so big and needed to be all touching the ground at more or less the same time. There was no way they'd move through a place where roots and trees and bush were everywhere.

Here though? They were much more interesting here. Some of the bigger ones could carry dozens at once. Could they go faster than a sprinting jaguar? Did they get tired?

By that time the sun was getting lower and redder, and Vela noticed that people were starting to drift in pairs and small groups towards a particular building with bright glowing letters unevenly stuck onto its wall over the door. From inside came the sound of some kind of music, and loud shouts and occasional laughter. Also came the smell of sweat and pungent smoke and alcohol. Vela had seen a cantina once, visiting one of the bigger villages on her way out of her tribe's territory. It had been quieter, and hadn't had the glowing letters. Was this the same kind of thing?

The letters spelled: PISS HOLE. She made her way up to the door and pushed inside.

(more coming soooooooooon)
Character Cheat Sheet
Vela
Human
Parry:8, Toughness: 15(4)

Jaguar
Parry: 8, Toughness 13

Hybrid
Parry: 8,Toughness 18 (4)
Edges: Frenzy, Improved Frenzy

ISP: 10/10
Detect/Conceal Arcana: +2 Pace on Detect, +1d Stealth on Conceal; 3ISP
Smite: +2 Damage, can give ally opportunity to Unshake
Deflection: -2 to hit ranged and Melee, vampires are at additional -1

Combat Edges:
Danger Sense: Reflexive Notice-2 to detect ambushes or surprise attacks
Fast Healer: +2 Vigor for natural healing checks
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