Episode 31 - Hunting

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games. [00:00:39] Speaker B: Well, the cliche says that failure to plan is planning to fail. You've done about all the planning that you can. Time being what it is, the threat being what it is. In a perfect world, sure, you'd have a few more weeks to put all this together, but there's a primogen clock, a ticking. And if the rumors are true, also a flyboy clock. Which means tonight is the night we have to go. I will do you all the great service of assuming that you have fed in preparation for this. We don't need to go and tackle scenes, but go ahead and put yourself down at one hunger before we begin. Now, everyone is staying at Ducheski Manor, which means that is where the equipment has been piled up. And before we head out into the forest to see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into, I'd like to know what those last few moments look like as you're getting yourself suited up, as you're making sure all the magazines are loaded, as you're giving those melee weapons one last heft to make sure it feels right in your arms. I want to go in order from most nervous to least nervous. So I think we're starting with Ivy. [00:01:50] Speaker A: Why do you assume that I'm the most nervous here? [00:01:55] Speaker B: Plainly, because calamity's a trained professional and Alex doesn't know better. [00:02:01] Speaker A: Wow. Okay. You know what? Your logic makes sense. I don't know if I appreciate it being read like that, but sure. I've left the guns to Cal. She has promised that she will make sure that they are ready to go, and I trust her because I have to. I've got a knife that she gave me, and it's weighted similarly to ritual knives that I've used in the past. So should it come to that, I at least have something that I'm kind of familiar with. I'm going over everything about this ritual, just from top to bottom. I'm going over the chant in my head. I'm retracing the steps that I have to take as I drop this blood on the ground from this jug. Because if there's one thing that I know about werewolves, it's that we don't have a ton of time once we arrive on scene before they've sniffed us out. So I have to be flawless to make sure that we aren't caught before we're ready. And any hesitation in that? No, there will not be any hesitation in that, because I am me. And we do not hesitate. [00:03:20] Speaker B: It'd be a terribly embarrassing way to die. You've gone through all the effort. You prepare the ritual, and you're just about seven steps shy of completing the circle when that first thundering hulk of muscle and fur comes screaming out of the woods to tackle you. [00:03:35] Speaker A: It would be embarrassing for me. It'd be a terrible legacy to leave behind. And, I mean, if word got back to Gabrielle, I can't imagine what the rest of her unlife would be like if she found out that her one and only childa died in such a reckless, ridiculous, and entirely preventable manner. [00:03:57] Speaker B: I think it's that second part that the dying bad on its own. Dying, fighting werewolves and fucking it up. Oh, that would sting for eternity. [00:04:09] Speaker A: Exactly. So I can't, and I won't. Because, of course, I am me. And I don't. [00:04:20] Speaker B: We'll see, Alex. In the meantime, you're there with your. I mean, it's as close as you're going to get to an iron man suit, right? Yeah. [00:04:32] Speaker C: I feel a sense of strength and power, like iron or metal man, the second mock ripoff. Or even maybe as bold and courageous as Captain Liberty. A lot of feelings going through my heart right now. All of them tied to complete and utter ignorance. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. And the only reason why I have any anxiety at all is because I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. [00:05:05] Speaker B: In moments like these, I have found that it's helpful to focus on what is familiar about a situation. For example, I've never been to a gym, but I am told sometimes when people are doing pull ups, they put weights on themselves to make it more fun. And in that sense, wearing the suit with those heavy ceramic plates feels not dissimilar. Your range of motion is a little worse, and I don't know if you're the kind of person who wears 55 extra pounds when it comes time to put your reps in, but it's in the same universe as something you've experienced. [00:05:38] Speaker C: There is a familiarity with the range of motion and the resistance this suit provides, and I kind of like it. It's like I'm getting the anime workouts I watched as a kid as my favorite cartoon characters would scream and punch the air a million times and whatever amount of gravity. And I can kind of feel like that as I just do some testing drills, testing my jab, my hook, my uppercut, a few jukes in case I do a takedown. Am I really attempting to take down a werewolf? What the hell am I thinking? [00:06:10] Speaker B: If you ask Ivy, I don't even think that's like top five stupidest things you've ever done. You've got plenty of room before it reaches the top of that list. Oh, God. [00:06:18] Speaker C: So, top ten, at least. That's. That's a relief. [00:06:23] Speaker B: And finally, the ringleader of this circus. Well, there's a little bit of ringleading. We could also go with babysitting. We could go with head of the class teacher metaphor. I don't know what would make you feel the most comfortable. [00:06:39] Speaker D: One of Martin's favorite sayings was not my circus. Not my monkeys. Well, clearly that doesn't apply here. It would be uncharitable to assume that they are incapable. It's just they are both so goddamn young. Shit. [00:06:59] Speaker B: Is that the responsibility weighing down on your shoulders? That if you are the only one who makes it out, you'll have to think about Ivy and Alex longer than maybe someone of your self proposed independence might otherwise be inclined to do? [00:07:13] Speaker D: Sure. I don't know what you mean, storyteller. [00:07:16] Speaker B: It's only been a few short days, but. And I mean, feel free to stop me if I'm wrong. It feels like you don't mind so much hanging out in the house and meeting the big, tough, dumb one and the quiet, small professional one. [00:07:32] Speaker D: All right, fine. So you're not entirely off the mark. It hasn't been bad. They are perfectly fine, as kindred go, which is honestly saying something, because most of us suck. I just. This is a job. They are helping me do my job. And I am grateful for that. Even if it's abundantly clear that this is not their forte. Alex might be fine. Ivy, I'm not sure about, but she's very smart, so clearly she's going to be useful. Other than that, whether or not I have enjoyed my time is irrelevant. This is the job. I'm going to clear the threat and I'm going to get it moving. And that's the end of it. It's a mission. [00:08:18] Speaker B: It's a very different thing to fight out of desperation than to fight on a mission. You're emotionally prepared for half of those things. The other, you don't really have that kind of time to settle in. Alex and Ivy have had what, a few days? It's going to take an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours to drive out to the woods. That is how long they have to face the very real possibility of their final death. We know immortality means the world to Ivy. She really enjoys living forever. Alex hasn't even got to experience the fun parts of watching decades go by. So far, for him, vampirism has been all of the negatives. A few superpowers, and then tonight could be dust. [00:09:04] Speaker D: Oh, I know that. I know how quickly things can go bad. [00:09:09] Speaker B: I suppose there's only one thing that, if it were me, would be keeping me together in this moment, is that the only thing worse than them going with you would be them going alone. Because whether or not you were here, they were going to have to go anyway. [00:09:26] Speaker D: Yes, I suppose that could be something of a comfort. [00:09:31] Speaker B: Do you think you have it in you to be the deciding factor? You're good. Are you that good? [00:09:37] Speaker D: First of all, storyteller, you know for a fact that I am more than just good. But even my skill won't take into account the fact that I have two greenhorns to look after, two potential liabilities who are also decent. Kindred. I don't want to lead them to the final death. I truly do not. And I understand that, court politics being what they are, they didn't have much of a choice of being here. So at the very least, I can make sure that they make it back, make sure that they can get out of this night and go on to continue enjoying the rest of their very, very young lives. Fuck. [00:10:26] Speaker B: Fingers crossed. Anyway, so there comes the time when you have to load up the vehicle with weapons and equipment and people. Would now be a good time to tell Alex he didn't have to get dressed before the drive, that he could have changed while you were there? [00:10:44] Speaker D: Well, thank God he's pretty. Alex. Alex. Sugar. I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm, darlin, but are you doing all right with tactical? You look a little. [00:11:03] Speaker C: Oh, no, that's totally okay. No, it's my first time actually putting one of these on. Did I do it right? I know it's velcro, and that's pretty child friendly, but first time doing anything, you're not going to get 100% right. [00:11:20] Speaker D: And you know that is an a for effort, sugar, but you're going to have one hell of a time sitting with the collar of the vest, like, up around your ears and with the. [00:11:28] Speaker C: Yeah, you know what? Why don't I just take the whole thing off and we can do a suit up montage when we get there, and I'll do the theme song, but. [00:11:36] Speaker B: In my head, Ivy, you're witnessing this. How much confidence does that dialogue fill you with? [00:11:44] Speaker A: Oh, none. But to be clear, I didn't have any before, so nothing's changed. [00:11:52] Speaker B: Well, hang on. A second. Alex has killed someone with a shoe. He's not helpless. [00:11:57] Speaker C: With a whole fucking shoe that's going up my top ten feets. [00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah, but not a werewolf. He hasn't even been up against Si. [00:12:10] Speaker B: It's an interesting thing to mention. Alex in that costume. That looks familiar. Wasn't that long ago, men who looked like Alex, who were dressed like Alex. Were kicking down the door of your home and burning everyone you knew alive. [00:12:26] Speaker A: Yes, I know. Is there a reason you're choosing to bring this up now? [00:12:33] Speaker B: I'm just wondering if you've managed to compartmentalize that. It's come up before. Very literally, in the sense of an ambush, but also just the occasional glimpse out of the corner of your eye. Something a little too militarized, a little too professional. You do strike me as the kind of person who has a very particular way of stuffing things down in the we don't feel them place. But not unlike storing something in a deep mine, occasionally things leap out into the groundwater table. I'm just wondering if, emotionally, you might be leaking some sulfur into the drinking supply right now. [00:13:12] Speaker A: No. Because right now, I need to be focused on my ritual. And it was one thing to see all of the weapons in the back of Cal's car. It's another thing to see this dough eyed man thing in a piece of military. Very different vibes there. So, yeah, seeing him in it, you get that little knot in the pit of your stomach, right? And obviously, it's not really a thing anymore, but there's that psychosomatic link that you still kind of have. And there's a little bit of a churn. A ghost of a churn. But no. My job tonight is to stay alive and make sure these two also stay alive. [00:14:05] Speaker B: I'm sorry. I just learned something. And I was thinking about it. Because now I understand that if you can't think about the things that hurt you when you're busy. I now understand why Ivy is always busy. But you know what? It's a very rude storyteller thing for me to be bringing that up now. How about we revisit that later? [00:14:33] Speaker A: I have a feeling you're not going to let me say no just to revisiting it. Ever. [00:14:41] Speaker B: Every moment like this has a soundtrack. Whether you're driving to prom, studying in your basement, whatever was on the radio when you had your first breakup. There's a piece of music that you associate emotionally with the biggest moments in your life. I know Cal well enough to know that none of you are going to get to pick the radio station. If there is even a radio station playing strikes me that there's probably mixtape in the CD changer or in the tape deck. [00:15:12] Speaker D: Boy, you got something against my tape deck. [00:15:15] Speaker B: No, it's not about. I wasn't making a statement about class or technology. I was saying that when you're going into werewolf hunting mode you want a very specific playlist as you don't want to risk this moment to top 40. You can't fight werewolves to Katy Perry. [00:15:28] Speaker D: Not that I've tried. No, I'm more about the classic rock. [00:15:33] Speaker C: Taylor Swift. [00:15:35] Speaker D: No darling led Zeppelin or Jimmy Heart. Yeah, now that's more like it. I was thinking magic man crazy on you. [00:15:49] Speaker C: Black on black. I mean they're all slaps. [00:15:52] Speaker D: My personal favorite is barracuda but we will work through the discography. [00:15:57] Speaker B: Doesn't seem that that would be Ivy's kind of music. What are you humming along in your head? [00:16:02] Speaker A: Back when I was a student, I always played classical music or practiced my violin while studying. It made recalling information much easier when the test came about. I still do the same, tying specific classical pieces to new rituals that I'm committing to memory. For this one I was listening to Beethoven's piano trio number five and d major, opus 70, number 1, second movement. Largo. Si at espressivo. [00:16:31] Speaker B: No, this is good. I like this. We have, soundtrack wise, an orchestral remix of classic lady rock. You still get the drums and the guitar, but you add the orchestral beats to it. And just behind it there's the whir of rubber on highway and you see out through the windows of the car, the skyline of Chicago going by. You drive along the ike heading north, so all the big towering skyscrapers on your right, to the left, the infinite sprawl of mid rise buildings giving way to gentrifying urban neighborhoods. And then, well off in the distance, those quiet suburbs. At a certain point the highway tax downtown, and a little closer to the lake you have a few dull patches of light where an individual lamp in the park is lighting up, say the entrance to a restroom or a changing room, and then beyond that, the infinite black of Lake Michigan at night. And then eventually those lights too will fade. You're heading up into the north side, single family homes stacked on top of one another. After the war, we give way from the bright white gleam of skyscraper lighting to that dull yellow glow of the light you flip on to let the pizza man know which house is yours. And then we're out of the city, taking an exit that might lead you to O'Hare on another day, but in this case, does not. It's a simple double lane road. No shoulder again. Looking to the right, you can see that flat airport land. Nothing is allowed to be here. There's occasionally those little cinder block buildings that have some kind of aviation equipment in them. You've always wondered, you've never had reason to know. The chain link metal fence that keeps animals from crossing the Runway, vandals from sneaking over. On your left, you'll see those red blinking lights that help guide the planes toward the Runway. They're called vazzis. Doesn't matter. And then, soon enough after that, it is just darkness, cut only by the headlights of calamity's car. It's been about an hour at this point now you've only got ten or 15 minutes. Another left hand turn, another right hand turn. The same way that an ordinary family might go to visit the picnic table and have themselves a nice little rural afternoon. The camping is actually pretty good out here, but we're not doing that either, are we? So now we arrive at the moment, the camera peering out from the woods. There's a low fog clinging to the ground. This part of Illinois is a little marshier than you might expect. So between the big, thick trunks of what remains of the vast forest that used to spill over Illinois before it gave way to farmland, in between those tree trunks, you see those spears of light as calamity approaches. We're not on the road anymore. Maybe there's gravel. Maybe it's just plain dirt. The soundtrack dies low so you can hear the engine as it rumbles into idle calamity, pushing the shifter up into park. There's that one last moment where you all look at one another just a second before you have to go through with it. I want to believe it's been silent for these last little bits. Ivy is obviously focusing. Calamity is a professional. Alex knows better to talk than when the adults are thinking. But then the engine shuts off and you're left alone with just you. Not even the sound of a heartbeat in your ear. Maybe cicade is on the breeze. What happens next? [00:20:46] Speaker D: I'll look to the other two with a raised brow and look to ivy whale. [00:20:52] Speaker A: Well, I'll hold out my hand for. [00:20:55] Speaker D: Hers, and I will give Abby my hand. With a bit of a knowing smirk. [00:21:02] Speaker A: I look in the rearview mirror. Alex. [00:21:08] Speaker B: Yeah? [00:21:09] Speaker A: Hand. [00:21:11] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. Hold on. I bite the finger of my tactical glove so I can get it loose and free with the gloves still dangling from my lips. I hand my hand over to Ivy. [00:21:23] Speaker A: I know as soon as we start this, that there's going to be a timer, because they're going to smell this. I don't know how long exactly, but we got to be ready. [00:21:33] Speaker C: So rock and roll. [00:21:38] Speaker A: And I'll take my knife and I'll slice one, two, three across each of our palms and guide them just over the large jug that I've brought with us. [00:21:53] Speaker B: It's an interesting image, the three of you reaching together, because that would put the jug just behind the center console, and it has a little bit of that vibe of a family passing, like fast food around on a road trip. [00:22:04] Speaker A: Based on the car, if it's the car that I think it is, there isn't a center console. It's just like a big old seat in the front. And so Alex has to reach over the front, and the jug is in the center of the seat that separates me and Cal. [00:22:21] Speaker C: Look, Jesus had his last supper at a tavern with all his friends, and we're having it in a 1900 or something muscle car. Before we go fight werewolves, we all do things the same but different. [00:22:34] Speaker B: All I'm saying is that I love the imagery. Can I get a rouse check from everybody, please? [00:22:40] Speaker D: I get hungrier. [00:22:42] Speaker A: I get hungrier. [00:22:46] Speaker C: Nope, that is a fail. I get hungrier. [00:22:51] Speaker B: Seems to be there's nerves all around. Because the beast knows you shouldn't be here in a very literal sense, because the universe has been demarcated in between that which belongs to the lupine and that which belongs to the kindred. You are in alien territory so far as this creature inside of you is concerned. But more to the point, there is the actual threat of danger. The beast loves two things. Eating and not dying. And out here, you're crossing both of those lines. I want to know how that manifests as the vita that you will need to heal the wounds these werewolves will no doubt inflict upon you as the life force that will fuel the disciplines that may or may not keep you alive. Leaves your body to pool in this jug. There's got to be a little physical twitch, some kind of manifestation. What is it? [00:23:46] Speaker A: For me, it's a little glint in the eye and this hint of a snarl, and I don't snarl, so anybody catching it would find it strange because it's that out of control thing inside me that I just can't hide. I need to keep it hidden, and I'm a little concerned that I can't. [00:24:14] Speaker D: This is old hat for me. Storyteller. My beast knows what to expect, but it still gets agitated at me from time to time. And for me, that looks like round eyes turning to gold. Pupils going to slits. And when I look at Abby and I look at Alex, those cat's eyes of mine have a shine to them. Bit like staring down a panther in the dark. I feel my fangs push against my lower lip, and it makes me grin a little. [00:24:51] Speaker C: There's a war going on in my head. Part of me is terrified, knowing that I'm walking into what's going to be destruction. And then a smile crosses my face because a part of me likes the idea. My teeth grow and ready, like swords on sheath. My heart becomes a war drum, and I just gently lick my teeth with my tongue. The beast inside a bruha and me. I will savor this challenge. I will relish their defeat. [00:25:21] Speaker B: I've got my fingers crossed for you, bud. [00:25:24] Speaker C: Oh, I know I'm walking to the shadow of death, but thank God I like the shade. [00:25:31] Speaker B: Ivy, you have collected the necessary deposits. What's the next step? [00:25:37] Speaker A: I uncork the vial of wolf's blood, drop it inside. I didn't want to get it in there too early and just have that smell sitting with us for a while. Because animal blood does not smell as appetizing as human blood. Of course. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Is it part of the ritual that there's supposed to be a wolf's howl when you do that? [00:25:57] Speaker A: No. [00:26:01] Speaker B: Well, that's weird. I wouldn't worry about it. Sounded pretty far away. [00:26:08] Speaker A: My eyes kind of dart to cal as we hear that sound. I narrow my eyes a little bit and kind of raise my eyebrows and nod slowly, quizzically. [00:26:21] Speaker D: I gave sort of a smirk. They hadn't scented us before. Surely they have now. I knew they would. [00:26:30] Speaker A: It's not some weak blood in this car. [00:26:35] Speaker D: Three of us. Not by a long shot, baby. [00:26:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:41] Speaker D: And at that point, I look between the two of them, these two babies, and I say, thank you, both of you. I know you didn't have any choice but to be here, but you certainly put the work in, potentially made my job much easier. So thank you. Truly. I mean that. [00:27:10] Speaker A: Yeah, well, don't thank me until we know it works. And with that, I turn to the jug, set it in front of me, and just begin my 15 uninterrupted minutes of chanting. And Cal obviously, has heard this before, so, you know, the timer starts now. [00:27:30] Speaker B: 15 minutes before Ivy has to get out of the car and begin her walk. Cal. Alex, what are you doing with that time? [00:27:40] Speaker C: I'm taking this time to make sure that my armor is applied in its entirety. I have my silver brass knuckles. [00:27:47] Speaker B: Whatever. [00:27:48] Speaker C: These weapons are attached to my hands. Ready for war. And I just keep reminding myself of every metal song I've ever heard at the gym to keep me focused and ready. What was that one thing they used to say in Belgium? We were all resist and bite. [00:28:07] Speaker B: How long does it take you to get a little that hop that you see like athletes doing before they go out on the field? [00:28:14] Speaker C: Oh, I'm absolutely trying my best, though. As strong as I am, I'm still wearing heavy tactical armor, so I'm hopping in place as much as I can, but it's like watching a toddler trying to dance. It's all just knees bending and awkward butt posing. But I'm hyped. I'm ready. I'm present. If I had baby powder, I would LeBron James all over Illinois. But right now, I have to get ready for the unknowable, and there's just no way I can do that. [00:28:45] Speaker B: Something cute about his blind confidence, Cal. [00:28:49] Speaker D: Yeah, it kind of is. And as adorable as the toddler butt wiggle dance is, I do have my own preparations to make, including getting my raffle set, the savage 110 BA, with a few custom alterations. Mostly because some of it isn't exactly what you'd call street legal insofar as the scope and the. Well, the silver bullets hollow point, last time I checked, I believe there might be some dragon's breath rounds in there, but those tend to be a bit of a last resort things. [00:29:30] Speaker B: About as tall as Alex. [00:29:33] Speaker D: Point of fact, actually, yeah, just about as tall as the bruja baby there. And as I'm getting the pieces locked together, I am going to sort of check on the said baby bruja. Is he managing? Oh, God. How's he doing with those tactical bits? The straps on the vest, it's. Oh, God, it's bad, isn't it? [00:29:57] Speaker B: Oh, it's like a knot. [00:30:00] Speaker D: I do sort of sigh, but I am going to go over and help out. How you doing, puppy dog? [00:30:06] Speaker C: Good. Real good. Energetic. Excited? Oh, yeah. I haven't had a challenge like this since the gang girl that I killed. And I feel so many emotions right now. So much thumping in my head. [00:30:23] Speaker D: Easy, killer. Steady boy. You remember what we talked about. You got to zone in. Keep that pretty little head on straight if you want to keep it on your shoulders now. [00:30:34] Speaker C: Okay, zoning in now. Calming down. Steady boy. I think I'm there. Yeah, I think I'm there. [00:30:48] Speaker D: Atta boy, Ivy. [00:30:51] Speaker B: At a certain point, the chanting completes, and now you have to exit the vehicle. There's been a modicum of safety. You, of course, know that whatever steel this car is made of might spare you between one or two strikes. But given time, that garro is going to rip this thing open like a tin can and then devour the goodies inside. So you open the door, it swings open. There's no creak. Those are very well oiled hinges. But you're acutely aware of the sound it makes when your boots hit that gravel. And it makes that earthy crunch. And as a creature of the city, that scent of outside, the wet dirt flowing up into your nose. You don't belong here. And I know that's true as a vampire, but that's also true of you. Ivy Larue is not a country mouse. [00:31:45] Speaker A: No, she's not. [00:31:48] Speaker B: Roll. What's an awareness? For me, one success. [00:31:52] Speaker A: It's not great. [00:31:56] Speaker B: No. Your head's down in your business. It's okay. What was the radius on this ritual again? [00:32:02] Speaker A: Anywhere from a meter wide to encircling a house. [00:32:08] Speaker B: How big are you going to make it? [00:32:11] Speaker A: The ritual space in my basement is like 20 x 30ft. I've practiced that walk over and over and over again. I know exactly how long it takes me to do that. So 20 by 30. I can count the steps. I know exactly where everything goes. 20 by 30, it's going to be. [00:32:34] Speaker B: A long 30ft of walking to get out to the edge of that thing. You feel like iron weights in your shoes when you think about how far away that car is. You were fast as a human. Little faster now, how long would it take you to sprint back to the car? Something went wrong. Right now, a couple of seconds? [00:33:03] Speaker A: Yeah, I would assume so. It's not that far. [00:33:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Had two or 3 seconds of reaction time to realize that you're under a threat. Another second to open up the door. Now we're talking about 10 seconds. Ooh. You are acutely aware of how long 10 seconds is right now. [00:33:23] Speaker A: It's a very long time. It's too long. [00:33:27] Speaker B: Alex, calamity, you've finally gotten the armor situation sorted out. What are the two of you doing? As Ivy begins to count off her paces. [00:33:36] Speaker D: Well, firstly, I'm going to take Alex by his scruffy little chin and sort of give him a shake. Just say, simply try not to die again before I climb up onto the roof of the car. Sort of using it as an impromptu snapper's nest, I guess. And I want to take a moment to see exactly what we're up against. How many where they might be coming from. [00:34:00] Speaker B: Roll. What's an awareness for me? [00:34:03] Speaker D: Well, storyteller, it looks like that's going to be six successes with a critical. [00:34:12] Speaker B: Six successes on the table. Although this is one of the situations where you might feel better not seeing those shadows ducking in between the trees, moving too fast to be something animal, too big to be something animal. [00:34:28] Speaker D: And they are in their element. [00:34:30] Speaker B: You can't hear them, but you never can. They move so quietly, don't they? [00:34:35] Speaker D: Too fucking quiet for something that big and that bloodthirsty. [00:34:39] Speaker B: They're out there. How long have they been out there just watching? And more to the point, what are they waiting for? On a critical success, I will at least give you one more piece of information. Aside from just the general menace of the situation, you are able to distinguish five individual shapes. [00:34:58] Speaker D: Well, at least we're not looking at double digits, but three on five doesn't exactly inspire the most amount of hope. [00:35:08] Speaker A: God damn it. [00:35:10] Speaker D: I should have asked Rosa for more help, especially out here like this, in the fucking dark. This is not ideal. [00:35:19] Speaker B: Way darker than you want it to be. We're just on the other side of a new moon. You have just enough light your eyes can adjust, but, oh, this would have been better on a different night. [00:35:35] Speaker D: Yeah, no shit. Well, storyteller, if that's the case, I'd like to go ahead and use a little protein power in the form of eyes of the beast. See what I can get from that. [00:35:47] Speaker B: Why not? Every edge matters. [00:35:49] Speaker D: Goddamn right. Take a fully unnecessary breath and my eyes take on that shine. I'm a nocturnal predator. [00:35:58] Speaker B: You're what, halfway through? Now, how long have you made that circle so far? [00:36:03] Speaker A: It's a 20 by 30 foot oval, essentially, and it's only like an 80 foot perimeter, so it's not that long, right? 80ft is not that long. [00:36:19] Speaker B: Depends on what you're measuring. [00:36:20] Speaker D: I think I just have to be. [00:36:23] Speaker A: Precise because all of this blood has to make it out and I cannot have any part of this unbroken. And it's taking just a little bit longer than I think I'd like. And I think it's just the adrenaline and knowing and hearing that there's five of these creatures out there, every step feels so much longer than the last one. [00:36:47] Speaker C: I am activating my potence, getting myself very hyped up. Just give myself every speech that I can possibly think of. You will not take us. This is an independence day. [00:37:02] Speaker B: They drew first blood. [00:37:05] Speaker C: You shall not pass. Yeah, let's go. That one. You shall not pass. [00:37:12] Speaker B: If you're activating that potence power. I think I'm going to need another rouse check from you, bud. [00:37:18] Speaker C: That is zero successes. [00:37:20] Speaker B: That's a fail. Hungry here. Still up to three now. Yeah, you're a warrior, but this isn't a clean kind of calm energy. This is that. Hackles raised, getting backed into an alleyway by someone who means you harm. Energy. The same level of violence, but a completely different emotional state. [00:37:45] Speaker C: All right, you furry sons of bitches, come at me. Come on. Come on, you furry sons of bitches, let's go. Come on. Give me what I want. [00:37:56] Speaker B: Ivy, what's the phrase I'm looking for right now? [00:38:01] Speaker A: Be careful what you wish. Mm hmm. [00:38:07] Speaker B: Alex is wrestling with that last bit of confidence. Ivy is only a few feet away from having completed the circle, and Cal is staring through her scope, trying to keep as many of them in line of sight as possible. But they're pack hunters. They're not all going to come from the same direction, are they? So I'm going to ask for three things in very rapid secession. Ivy, I'm going to need your ritual roll as the last drop connects and the pact of blood is sealed. Calamity, you can make a firearms roll. Call it Dex. And firearms. Trying to get a shot off as a seven foot tall wall of muscle and fur. And violence and anger comes thundering out from your blind spot, hurtling towards Alex. Loping motions, you just see a blur of white fur and fangs and claws. These orange, burning eyes. Alex, you think best in movies. So you've seen this when you've got your eyes on the one tiger and the second comes at you from the side. So I will need you to roll dexterity and athletics as this thing comes crashing over the unfinished threshold on an impact on a collision course with you. [00:39:33] Speaker A: I got six successes for my ritual role, but I'd like to see if I can make that a little bit better. So I'm going to spend the willpower and just hope for the best. [00:39:46] Speaker B: I think every drop counts in a moment like this, it's one more success. [00:39:53] Speaker A: For a total of seven. [00:39:55] Speaker B: Keep that number in your pocket as the circle seals. But what did the book say? That they'll be forced into their ordinary form upon crossing the threshold. Right? It's that crossing word that you really wish they'd ironed out earlier in the process, because there's that tingling feeling of magic accomplished as you manage to finally complete the circle, but at this .1 of them is already Inside. [00:40:26] Speaker D: Shit. [00:40:27] Speaker B: Calamity, how'd your firearms roll go. [00:40:30] Speaker D: Fuck. That would be three successes. [00:40:36] Speaker B: Ooh, three. Not enough. It is a cumbersome weapon, and these are very capable hunters. Of course, they weren't going to charge in the direction you were facing, so you wheel it around, there's a sound like thunder as this 308 rifle explodes, the muzzle flash lighting up. And for the first time, all of you, in that split second, can see all four of the hulking forms around you. One of them close enough that you don't need the extra lighting. But ivy, you can see them, calamity. You can see them, Alex. All you can see is a solid wall of white and angry crashing into you. What was your athletics role? [00:41:18] Speaker C: It was two successes. [00:41:21] Speaker B: That is not a lot, unfortunately, as your storyteller, this is the part that's going to hurt you more than me, but it will hurt me because I have to roll its pool. I, honest to God, feel really bad about this. Oh, Alex, it is your lucky night. Despite having a staggering pool, the werewolf has only rolled four successes. There is some side math happening. The claws get a bonus of damage, you have armor on, it ends up being a wash. You won't take any damage. And narratively, I think that last minute burst of gunfire must have made it twitch just a little bit and changed a straight on attack into something that you were more capable of dodging. But don't go thinking that you have accomplished some great feat of dexterity, because this thing slams into you like a freight train. And that one dice of difference is the change between the claw finding your throat immediately or digging in deep into the ceramic plates that are in your shoulder. And you hear that sound of these claws, like ultra dense bone cracking and crunching into the military ceramics. The weight of this thing upon you, three, four, 5600 pounds. I don't know. It just back to that freight train. It hits you and now it's on top of you. You can feel the heat of its breath, you can see its fangs, each one the size of a normal human fist, as it snaps and snarls. What do you do now? [00:42:59] Speaker C: Having just survived some training with another very powerful beast, I'm going to try and do some ground game like we did back in training. [00:43:09] Speaker B: It was more fun last time. [00:43:11] Speaker C: It was a lot more fun. My training partner was a lot. I don't want to say pretty to look at, but a lot better looking than this werewolf. [00:43:20] Speaker B: Well, there you go, calamity. You're prettier than a werewolf. [00:43:25] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:43:27] Speaker B: You are already using prowess, correct? Are you going to also blood buff or use lethal body, anything like that? [00:43:35] Speaker C: Absolutely. I'm going to take all the tools in my toolkit and I'm going to try and see if I can't spin myself around so that I'm no longer under its claw. Like a jujitsu master trying to pivot and twirl in hopes maybe I can then get a clean shot. [00:43:56] Speaker B: Hey, I'm rooting for you. But you're six one on Tinder and this thing is 75 in real life, so we'll see how that goes. Go ahead and make a rouse check for activating your second discipline. [00:44:10] Speaker C: That is a success. [00:44:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Now the beast isn't fucking around. It's come around to seeing how things are going. It's on your side for once. [00:44:21] Speaker C: All right, buddy, let's have some fun together. [00:44:26] Speaker B: So while Alex assembles his strengthen brawl pool, we'll say calamity. What are you doing? You've seen Ivy complete the ritual. You know what that looks like? If it works, awesome. There's one already in the arena with you, Alex. He's strong. I don't know that he's take on the werewolf by himself. Strong storyteller. [00:44:50] Speaker D: I don't think anybody is take on the werewolf by themselves strong. Certainly not on any kindred I've met. If that thing gets the jump on him, he is going to be ripped into. And I don't much like that idea. At the same time, if for some reason Ivy's ritual doesn't go off, she's going to be in several pieces before I can do anything. God damn it. [00:45:18] Speaker B: This is a Bioware moral choice. You've got female NPC companion on your left. You've got male NPC companion on your right. You can only help one before the bomb goes off. [00:45:32] Speaker D: I don't know what a bioware is and I don't know what an NPC is, but sure. Can I fire on the seven foot tall monstrosity of fur and teeth that is currently trying to eat Alex's face? I feel like that might be a good point of action because if it gets to him, then it's going to go for Abby next. [00:45:55] Speaker B: Definitely possible. More difficult when you are firing into a melee. So you'll roll decks and firearms, but it's a negative two penalty on account of you know what. Let's call it negative one, since one of the things is on top and significantly larger. But there is still the outside chance. [00:46:13] Speaker D: You are a marginally benevolent man. That is one success. [00:46:23] Speaker B: Jesus, that's a lot of ones. One success total. Definitely not enough to get anywhere near this thing's level of defense. That's some panic fire. But the good news is that nobody's watching and they will never know. [00:46:39] Speaker D: Gee, that's awful nasty, Ivy. [00:46:42] Speaker B: You can hear the sound of this beast, guttural and grunting and snarling. And for once that sound isn't coming from Alex. It's bassy and earthy beneath it, muffled by hundreds of pounds of fur. You can hear Alex not screaming. There is that sound of exertion. The fight that apex confidence has left him sounding just a little more baby like than you probably want in this situation. You hear a three round burst coming out of a pistol calamity on top of the car firing. But none of those things are going to attract your attention right this second. The other two are coming charging directly at you. The trap has been sprung. There is no need to be coy about it. They are going to come. Each one's going to take half of you. And by the time they stop running you will be in two different states. How much do you believe in this ritual? [00:47:50] Speaker A: I have to believe in it completely because there is no alternative for me here. [00:47:59] Speaker B: Do you believe enough to stand your ground or are you going to flinch? This is a question the dice can answer for us. What do you say? Why don't you roll composure and occult. [00:48:15] Speaker A: Four successes. [00:48:19] Speaker B: Yeah, that's enough. Your mother will be very proud when she hears this story. What is it? Is it that you're frozen in place and couldn't move if you wanted to? Is it scientific curiosity that if it works you have to see what happens? Is it a smug come at me, bro or whatever they said when you were a child? [00:48:42] Speaker A: I mean, it can be all three. I wasn't expecting them to come up so quickly. I knew they were fast, but I didn't know they were this fast. So there's a little bit of surprise and deer in the headlights about it. There's also the curiosity because I want to see what happens. Because I've never seen a garu change. And to force them into their wolf form from their wear form like this. [00:49:12] Speaker B: It sounds like it'd be spectacular, right? [00:49:16] Speaker D: Exactly. [00:49:18] Speaker A: And of course, well, if it doesn't work, then it won't matter anyway. So there's no point in trying to run. So I'm going to stand here and we'll see what happens. I guess. [00:49:34] Speaker B: Then ivy stalwart, a little afraid, infinitely curious, just stares forward as these two creatures come charging along again. That loping gallop reminding you of the animals that you played with. As a child, there were fewer teeth. There was less anger. Well, depending on the horse, I guess. But it's slow motion, frame by frame, advancing like courtroom footage as the one leaps up off the ground, arms spread wide, massive clawed paws in the air, the other one ducking low, you can see what they intend to do. The one in the air is just a little bit further, and it crosses that threshold, and there is just the smallest amount of panic as they cross the threshold. And you're afraid it didn't work. Oh, my God. Could you have done something wrong? And now we'll roll their willpower to see if the transformation takes hold. You remind me the number they have to beat. [00:50:39] Speaker A: Seven. [00:50:42] Speaker B: That was willpower well spent on your end, because with a three and a four, neither one of the creatures is able to resist the power of your blood sorcery. And you'll have that excitement pop up right before it's replaced with this horrifying macabre fascination. Because the transformation isn't like a poof of Disney magic. Again, frame by frame, like you're watching a slideshow, you can see as the bones begin to shorten as each individual wrist pops and twists back into the bones that attach the paw to the forearm of an animal as the spine condenses in on itself, all the extra vertebrae fusing down until it's the correct number and the face elongating first, snarling at you with those big eyes. And that's what you're going to remember, is seeing the eyes, big and orange and angry, slowly shrink down into wolf sized pupils. And now the first one is in the middle of the air. The transformation is so fast in real time, so it lands tumbling across like a dog just rolling across the carpet. And the second one, coming across, charging, transitions clumsily from that two legged sprint. And the bones shorten up and it trips and it stumbles forward. And now there are only two wolves in the ring with you. I will say that that transformation takes their entire turn, but the wolves are still wolves. That will be a problem you have to deal with, which means we're going to turn back to Alex and to calamity. Now, calamity, you decided you were going to watch Ivy's back, right? [00:52:26] Speaker D: Yes, sir. That was directly my intention. But then I saw what that ritual did to the fucking garou, the way it turned them back into angry little pups. So that will potentially make them easier to pick off. [00:52:41] Speaker B: So you have an action at this point. You could fire again, you could swap to melee. I'll let you do either of those things, don't worry about having to take a move, action, anything like that. [00:52:50] Speaker D: Yes, I think I would like to move into melee. As these bastards close in, it's going to get harder and harder to do any sort of long range fatten. Not at the risk of harming one of my compatriots, so I'm going to abandon the raffle for now. I would like to call on my feral weapons on the claws that I am afforded as a gangrel. See how that goes for us. See if I can't turn the tide a little bit. [00:53:17] Speaker B: Well, then go ahead and make that rouse. Check for me. [00:53:21] Speaker D: Certainly. Well, that's a failure. I get hungrier. [00:53:29] Speaker B: Yeah. The beast makes its claim on you as your hands twist and morph, each fingers fusing together, becoming more dactyl. And the palm and the knuckles just a little hairier. Every gangrel has their own twist on disciplines. You've seen some with razor like talons, some that have the claws of eagles, but these are vicious paws. [00:53:56] Speaker D: And with those claws, and with my hunger and my fury, I would like to tear in to these bastards and extract my pound of flesh. [00:54:06] Speaker B: You will make a strength and brawl roll as you jump into the melee. Alex, back to you. Still underneath this beast. You heard the gunfire, you've heard the twisting and popping of bones. Oh, my God, it could be ivy. You have no idea. No, there'd be more whining if it were ivy. So, as far as you can tell, situational awareness says that both of your compatriots are still alive. But you don't have time to worry about that right now because the creature is on top of you, clawing and snarling. You're trying to wrestle out from under it. You see calamity jumping down out of the corner of your eye from the top of the car and charging over. Now, in this combat situation, the werewolf knows you're both there. It's going to split its attacks against each of you because it's big enough and mean enough to do that. Let me see. Its entire pool is a bunch, so you will each be up against seven dice. [00:55:02] Speaker C: Oh, God, that hurts. Yeah. [00:55:04] Speaker B: Wow. Oh, God, Alex, I'm sorry. [00:55:08] Speaker C: Oh, no. [00:55:11] Speaker B: Calamity is going to have better ods. Well, there's three successes on the table for calamity. [00:55:17] Speaker D: They call us the barbarians for a reason. That's eight successes with a critical. [00:55:27] Speaker B: Hell, yeah. [00:55:27] Speaker C: Way to go, Cal. [00:55:31] Speaker B: Another critical coming out from calamity. The first attack against Alex is five successes. It is a critical success as well, that's unfortunate news. It's plus one damage for the margin and then another three because he's using werewolf claws. That's four. And because it is a critical. It bypasses the armor you're wearing, this military body armor kit. But it's a funny thing they noticed about these kits in Afghanistan, actually. It's that the minds that were under the feet had a way of blasting up through the unprotected underbelly. And yeah, that side plate protects your lower rib cage, but it leaves the armpit open. And this creature, like a hungry animal, is poking and prying at the armor and then it finds the soft spots. That's four superficial damage. Unfortunately, you don't get to have the damage from werewolf claws. [00:56:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm not looking good. [00:56:49] Speaker B: So those claws are up above your rib cage, underneath your shoulder, finding that muscle, tearing it open. You have this acute awareness of where all your organs are. And you can feel that claw coming in closer to the top of the lung on the right side, and then underneath, up through where your hip is. Kind of used to be, but it's hard to tell with the pain. And it's finding those intestines you don't use anymore. You can feel it grabbing in from the top and the bottom. And you just know that the next thing that comes after the rip is the tear. And as your body fills up with all of those thoughts and all of that pain, psychosomatically, there's another animal coming. And this calamity with her paws and her claws swinging in, a critical success. That is seven. No, sorry, you rolled six. Eight successes against the werewolves. Three. So you get five damage on the margin, plus two for your feral weapons. That is seven. And the claws aren't silver, so it doesn't do aggravated damage. But I want you to describe to me the creatures hunched over Alex pulling him apart. You come flying in from off camera. Describe to me what seven damage worth of calamity looks like. [00:58:18] Speaker D: It is a scream, like a mountain lion taking down a fucking elk. It is claws tearing into flesh. It is fangs ripping in and tasting blood and relishing in it. [00:58:33] Speaker B: There's a furious roar out of the creature as it feels. You sink your paws into the back. Ivy. If you returned in that direction, you would see the fur coming off, followed by the chunks of meat, the fountainous spray of blood arcing behind calamity's claws. She brings it back for another swipe down. And then we turn to you, Miss Larue. There are still two wolves there and it's not a werewolf, but you are also not calamity. So I think dice pool wise, this is actually even combat on both sides of the screen. What are you going to do? [00:59:11] Speaker A: I'm not interested in giving these wolves a chance to figure out what's happened to them. As soon as they land. I am grabbing my knife and slicing up my forearm as I spin to face them and attempt to pierce them with razor sharp shards of vita spears. [00:59:28] Speaker B: Of crimson crossing through the headlights. Make the rouse check for me. [00:59:33] Speaker A: Oh, the beast is happy about this. The ritual went well. This is going to be fun. [00:59:40] Speaker B: No more hunger for you. It will not come as a surprise that animals don't have a cult to roll. So go ahead and make your blood needle roll. That is six successes, zero successes coming from their defense. The animal, it is just an animal. And there might be some tramir who practice their craft on animals the way a lab rat might be sacrificed. That was never your vibe. But now you get to see what it would have been like as this crystallized, semi solid spear of vita erupts from your forearm, brooming its way through the animal's eyeball and then blowing out the back of the other side where you get that beautiful mixture of the crystalline shards of yours and the fresh red flowing of its. That's one wolf. There were two. The second one is going to dive at you. [01:00:46] Speaker A: That makes sense. [01:00:48] Speaker B: Only one success from him can you roll decks and athletics? [01:00:53] Speaker A: Well, that's four successes. So I think I'm just so hopped up on. I mean, it's not adrenaline, right? Because obviously. But, man, it feels a lot like adrenaline seeing that first wolf go down and then this other one lunges at me. You know, way back when, before I became a runner, I was a dancer. So this feels very on brand. A quick pirouette as it lunges and completely misses me. [01:01:23] Speaker B: Just one red flag away from ole. Sorry, wrong animal. Ivy making short work of the wolves. The werewolf, unfortunately harder to take down. Calamity, you're on top of it, ripping and tearing, grabbing and chunking. But even as you do, you can see the way that the bone and sinew and meat stitch themselves back together as it regenerates. You know that about werewolves. You have to kill them all the way, because if you leave them just even a little bit alive, it's like trolls. They'll come back. That said, we are back in a roll of combat for the three of you, Alex, calamity, and Mr. W. Wolf. [01:02:13] Speaker C: I would love nothing more than to swing on this wolf. Now if I'm free from its grasp, from calamity's attack. [01:02:20] Speaker B: Yeah. It's the two of you squaring off at this point. Calamity, you kind of jumped onto it and it's taken some damage, but, you know, eventually it's going to reach back and get you. Part of being a good fighter is knowing when you've landed your blow and you need to kind of come back, wait for that tempo to reset. Alex, it can't gnaw directly at you because you're not pinned. It has to also deal with calamity at this point. Perfect. [01:02:49] Speaker C: If it's my turn, I would love nothing more than to reign a haymaker on its face as hard as I possibly can. [01:03:00] Speaker B: I mean, who doesn't want to punch a werewolf in the face, right? [01:03:04] Speaker C: Right in his stupid, fuzzy fucking face? [01:03:07] Speaker B: Are you going to blood surge on that role? How's your hunger doing, bud? [01:03:11] Speaker C: Hunger is doing pretty bad. [01:03:13] Speaker B: Is it worth the risk? [01:03:16] Speaker C: Yeah, I think so. [01:03:18] Speaker B: Awesome. Hey, before you make that attack roll, will you make a frenzy check for me? [01:03:23] Speaker C: Sure. [01:03:24] Speaker B: You are getting awfully hungry and there is blood everywhere. [01:03:30] Speaker C: Storyteller. I would like to forego the frenzy check. I think it's about time me and my inner demon really, really broke loose. I want to ride the wave of this frenzy. [01:03:46] Speaker B: Oh, is there anything more on brand for Alex Scott? I mean, really? I'll make you this deal. You can retain control of your character as you are riding the wave, but you'll have to pick an object of desire, something that you need to accomplish before the frenzy ends. So that could be something like, I want to destroy these creatures. I want to reach zero hunger. I'll let you decide. But it has to be something significant and it has to be something achievable. So, for example, you couldn't say, I want to get a hug from Ivy. You also could not say, I want to kill every vampire in Chicago. Right? [01:04:27] Speaker C: Because the hug is just as likely as becoming prince. Got it. I think then I'm going to say that with this frenzy, I am going to make my goal to see all of these werewolves dead. These werewolves specifically. [01:04:42] Speaker B: I'll see you halfway there. But you were about to make a hunger frenzy check. So you can destroy these werewolves. But, you know, Ivy hasn't told you about werewolf blood. You don't know what it does. But you know that feeling you have inside you right now? You know what amps that shit up to eleven. You can smell it. This is grade a five wagyu super horror fury. Blood pumping out of this thing, you're the apex predator. You know what you have to do. You want to become the apex, you got to eat the other apex, my dude. [01:05:18] Speaker C: It's time to seize my position at the top of the food chain, and I'm going to do that with violence and hunger. So as I land a blow or attempt to strike this creature, I will then sink my teeth into its neck and kill the damn beast as it deserves. Like a beast on the neck, tearing its throat out. [01:05:41] Speaker B: All right, strength and brawl. Plus two dice from your rouse and. [01:05:46] Speaker C: Plus three from my potence. [01:05:49] Speaker B: That's right. [01:05:51] Speaker C: That has four successes. [01:05:54] Speaker B: Four is not the greatest role, but to be fair, this is your first time trying to find the joggular on a werewolf. It's going to be imperfect. However, he is still splitting his attacks. There is a chance. Calamity, what are you doing? [01:06:08] Speaker D: Well, I think I'm probably somewhere between trying to rip this fucking thing's head off and make sure it doesn't rip my fucking head off. Well, I guess speaking of ripping something's head off, is there any way for me to tell what it is that our young Bruha friend is trying to get himself into real quick? [01:06:29] Speaker B: Just make a wits and awareness role. Like, you know, he's trying to do violence with the werewolf. We'll see if you can actually look in and be like, oh, no, he's got his fangs out, but, like, four reasons those aren't recreational fangs. [01:06:42] Speaker D: Recreational. All right, well, that looks like three successes. [01:06:51] Speaker B: Yeah, that's enough. You can see that Alex has his fangs out. He is snapping at the creature's jaws. All that muscle he's putting to bear is less about doing damage and more about forcing the jaw up so that furry neck is exposed. [01:07:06] Speaker D: I'll be goddamned. I'm not sure whether this boy is brave or just fucking stupid. Maybe a little bit of both. As much as I am enjoying tearing into these bastards, I know silver is the only thing that's going to do the trick at this point. So I would very much love to get my silver machete out and take a whack, as it were. [01:07:27] Speaker B: You strengthened melee from you then, surely. [01:07:31] Speaker D: That is three successes. But regardless, I'm going to take both hands around the hilt of this machete and I'm going to swing down with all of my body weight to see how much this bastard I can chop apart. [01:07:47] Speaker B: It's hard to get a good chop in when Alex is kind of all over the place, but three is a perfectly competent result. The werewolf splitting its attacks again. Fingers crossed for both of you. Unfortunate results. Alex, as you leap in, snapping jaws against snapping jaws, trying to find a way to taste this blood. It rolls. Six successes on its attack. Calamity, it is four against you, so it beats both. Alex, that's another critical from the werewolf. It has two points of margin on you, plus three for the weapons. That is five, and it's a critical. The armor at this point is shredded, so you'll take five more superficial damage. Calamity, it is more of a glancing blow against your three. It rolls four. You take four. Superficial damage, as with one giant paw, it just bats you away and it. [01:08:52] Speaker D: Gets a very displeased feline snarl in return. [01:08:57] Speaker B: Ivy, you are dealing with the wolves. Naturally, you will also have noticed the other two are a little occupied. You will have noticed the remaining shapes are not getting any closer. They are lurking against that tree line, watching and waiting. If you were hoping the werewolves were all stupid enough to charge through your circle and you could just deal with a little pack of pups, unfortunately, they have just a few more brain cells, bischeal as they are. Shit. [01:09:27] Speaker A: Well, a girl can dream, can't she? But this has immediately solved our problem. And it's given us a little bit of breathing room. So even if we won't be able to trick the other two into crossing the threshold, the important thing is we got two of them. [01:09:43] Speaker B: Three, if you're lucky. True. What's next on the plate? One more wolf to deal with, and then you can turn to helping your friends. [01:09:51] Speaker A: Absolutely. The vita is still dripping from my wrist at this point. And I turn to face it as it has jumped past me and I hold out my hand and just force another blood needle from my arm. And I am hoping that it hits just the same as the first. Because if nothing else, I want the creatures in the treeline to see what is happening. And know that though I be small, I be mighty. [01:10:19] Speaker B: Put that on your tombstone. Make a rouse check. [01:10:23] Speaker A: Oh, the beast is having fun. [01:10:26] Speaker B: You're sitting at three. Yeah. [01:10:27] Speaker A: Yes. [01:10:29] Speaker B: Nothing dangerous happens until you're at four. How about your blood needle? [01:10:34] Speaker A: Well, that is five successes. [01:10:37] Speaker B: A critical for you. [01:10:39] Speaker A: Indeed. [01:10:40] Speaker B: Two successes coming off the wolf. Not enough to defend itself. This one less spectacular. The margin is not as high critically enough to kill it. But you don't get that cinematic akira moment of blood and blood. [01:10:56] Speaker A: That's okay. It'd be boring if it happened twice, right? [01:10:59] Speaker B: Not according to Quentin Tarantino. Well, be that as it may, we are down two wolves. One werewolf left ivy, that takes your turn. But there's nothing left to attack you. Alex. You are in a bad way, my dude. Frenzying as you are, you do have a choice. But my storyteller gut says you're gonna want to make a rouse check to heal thyself, Bruha. [01:11:25] Speaker C: Very, very much. I'm gonna make that rouse check now. I think Maya gave me her dice. That is a zero. [01:11:35] Speaker B: Up to 500 then. [01:11:37] Speaker C: Yeah, and I think I've been doing this math right. I'm one more superficial damage away from being tapped out. [01:11:46] Speaker B: First one did five, second one did four. You will just have healed. So you have two turning, then back to Alex and Calamity. Alex, keeping track of your health. You are at two superficial damage left. That's all you've got anymore. You're torpid, my dude. And if no one manages to kill this thing while you are out, it is a one way ticket to Dustville. Calamity, you can tell Alex isn't looking so hot. And you are not very far through. This werewolf. You got the silver out, that's good news. But you've got this one last chance before something real bad happens to your new best friend. Can also say that Ivy not dealing with wolves anymore, you can also participate in this. The werewolf won't be attacking you, but you can add maybe just that last little bit of damage that'll save Alex's own life. [01:12:50] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. [01:12:53] Speaker B: So let's do it in this order for maximum dramatic impact. We know that calamity is going to leap in with potence. We know that Ivy's probably going to do some blood magic. We know that Alex is going to fight for his life. The werewolf isn't going to divide its attacks this time. It knows it has Alex on the ropes. If Ivy and calamity can do enough damage, we might be in a good place. Otherwise, could be bad news for our bruha buddy, calamity. Ivy, which of you wants the responsibility of going first? [01:13:38] Speaker A: I will. [01:13:39] Speaker B: Tell me what you're doing. [01:13:41] Speaker A: Look, I'm two for two on these blood needles so far, and they seem to be putting work in against these wolves, so there's no reason to change it up now. So I grip my forearm almost as if I'm physically pulling this crystallized Vita out of my arm. I am putting as much anger and energy into this as possible. I don't think it does anything different, but man, just the thought is enough. And I'm going to send this crystallized blood through the air and just hope that it hits and maybe can turn the tables. [01:14:29] Speaker B: We'll see. Before that, how about a rouse check? [01:14:33] Speaker A: Oh yeah, I'm fine. I am so fine. And oh, I am tempted in this moment to rouse the blood because that little bit extra, that oomph, I mean, it kind of sounds like that's what I would do, right? [01:14:56] Speaker B: There is no power without cost. But you are the only one who can make that decision. [01:15:03] Speaker A: Well, the beast seems very happy with this choice because putting all of this energy into the blood, rousing the powers that make me move, does not make me any hungrier. [01:15:19] Speaker B: Then you can make your sorcery roll. [01:15:23] Speaker A: Six successes. [01:15:26] Speaker B: Six is mighty. The werewolf does have some defense die lying around. It would have to take them out of the pool that it's using for other purposes only. One success, so that's five. Not a bad result. Doing superficial damage, unfortunately, to the werewolf, but every bit does count. Calamity, it falls to you. [01:15:57] Speaker D: You said so yourself, storyteller. Every little bit does count. So, potence, prowess. I want to give myself that extra power to land what will hopefully be a kill and blow. It has to be a kill and blow. If it's not, well, that's going to be at least one promise broken tonight. And that is something that I will not abide by. [01:16:21] Speaker B: Behooves you to use every tool in your toolbox. One rouse check. Uhoh. [01:16:30] Speaker D: Uhoh. That's a failure. [01:16:33] Speaker B: Well, you know what comes next. Frenzy beckons. [01:16:39] Speaker D: That it does. But with four successes, I hope that'll be enough to hold it off, at least for now. [01:16:49] Speaker B: More than enough to keep your head together. You have squeezed the last little bit of willpower. You have out enough to deliver what we pray is the final blow. Strengthen melee with your bonus dice. [01:17:04] Speaker D: Oh, fuck me running. That is sex with a critical. [01:17:10] Speaker B: Vita. Well spent, Alex. You can feel the strength bleeding out of you, literally and metaphorically. You know you've got one, maybe two last punches. And from there it is just impotent resistance, begging whatever gods exist in the world or don't to spare you from this. You're batting against it. You're waiting for that opening and there's going to come that moment where it lunges back, ready to bring itself down upon your throat. You are coiled like a spring, ready to strike back. But you won't have to make that attack because you see through the back of the skull, the gleaming silver flash of a machete. And when that silver hits the fur and the bone and the muscle, it sizzles and sparks. You see each individual strand recoiling from this mystical metal, and the skull splits open, leaving smoking, stinking ooze inside. The werewolf collapses down on top of Alex, crushing him under its weight, not for damage, but for dramatic effect. And there are still a few twitches of muscle as those last little neurons fire off, driven by whatever magical energy moves this creature before it finally falls still. And at that point, you hear applause. No, it doesn't clap like that. You hear a guttural chuckle coming out from the treeline. Something bigger. You thought this one in front of you was as big as they got. That's not true. Something scarred and gnarled and ancient appearing at the edge of the treeline with a wide, toothy, wolflike grin, slapping its paws together in a crude mockery of human behavior. And it grumbles up to you. It's well done. I like your little magic in the way you fight, but here's the thing. We can wait for the sunrise and you can't. You took one. You think you can take the rest of us? Or should we just wait until the sun bakes your bones and one by one, the garus slink back into the forest. They know they can wait. Alex, what face are you making? As the carcass is hauled off of. [01:20:00] Speaker C: You, it is a face of frustration, disappointment, joy, to be sure, but also recognizing that today the beast did not win. The conqueror did not get to conquer. And it is by mercy and luck that I get to drag my carcass home. I stand up slowly, my limbs trying to renet that shoulder. [01:20:31] Speaker B: That arm is hanging at a real awkward angle. [01:20:35] Speaker C: Thanks, calamity. We should get going. [01:20:39] Speaker D: Yeah. You're all right, darling. Come on, let's get our asses in gear. [01:20:48] Speaker C: What's our timetable? Like, how much time do we got. [01:20:51] Speaker B: Till sunlight, I'm thinking. Because if you came here directly when you woke up, right, so it's actually not that late. It's probably, like six, 7 hours, seeing. [01:21:00] Speaker C: That the enemies I have marked are dead in front of me and the fight is not winnable. As it leaves, I think I need to take my losses. The beast inside my ribcage like an angry, violent monster stuck in an iron bar cavern. I rally against it. [01:21:18] Speaker B: But. [01:21:21] Speaker C: Cal, I think we need to get Ivy. I think we need to get out of. [01:21:24] Speaker D: No, no, I think you're right. We need to hate. Quick, calamity, roll. [01:21:31] Speaker B: Wits and awareness for me. [01:21:33] Speaker D: Wits and awareness. That is three successes. [01:21:39] Speaker B: Three successes. You know the sound a helicopter makes? [01:21:46] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:21:47] Speaker B: You know the sound that a big v eight suburban engine makes? You know that they are different enough that you could tell them apart from a distance. [01:21:59] Speaker D: Not sure if I like where this. [01:22:00] Speaker B: Is headed, and it's about the time when you're trying to figure out maybe what direction it's coming from or having an inkling of like, wait a minute, I didn't think they let helicopters fly in, like, airport controlled airspace. When you hear the gunfire, you don't need to make an awareness roll to know what sound an m 16 note. Many M 16s, dozens of m 16s make. And you don't have to make an awareness roll to see that flare magnesium firing up into the sky and turning night into day. What was that Fly boy said about maybe some friends will show up? [01:22:45] Speaker D: Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me. [01:22:48] Speaker B: Alas, I am not. But if this were a joke, we'd have to wait and see how funny the punchline is, because the outcome of what has every sign of being a two for one ambush courtesy of the second inquisition, that is a story for another night. [01:23:09] Speaker A: You've been listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games. If you've enjoyed your stay, consider supporting us on Patreon for access to exclusive art, audio, and private fan only games. For more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok at Queens court games or on Twitter at Queens court rpg.