Reggie consulted his pocket edition of the STRIKE FORCE constitution, printed on rice paper.
He couldn't find any section in the constitution that specifically mentioned robbing of graves nor the violation of the dead.
"You can go ahead," he said dryly to Jacob.
Sledge and Theo set to digging, with Ebony, goggles and all, watching and guarding the whole time.
Sunday 2am, July 6
Theo's spade struck rotten wood. He scraped the grave dirt off the top of the 155 year-old coffin. The lid was broken, and it was no problem to take the skull from inside. He tossed it up to Ebony, who hid it in her backpack.
Theo and Sledge then back-filled the grave. And tidied it up to make it look undisturbed, best they could.
Everyone piled into Jacob's SUV. Ebony glanced behind with her etheric goggles. The graveyard still looked like it always did: the ghostly dome engulfing the entire cemetery, and the old ghostly church in the centre. But she noticed, etherically, that there was a ghostly coffin rising, vertically, out of the grave they had just dug, very slowly.
"Uh... we... better get going, guys," she said.
Jacob turned the key. Click, He tried again. Click.
The ghostly coffin slid further out of the ground, more than half way now.
"Try taking the skull out of the car!" squeaked Sledge.
Ebony took the skull a few paces away. Jacob turned the key again; it started this time.
Ebony ran back and jumped in. The engine kept running, so Jacob gunned it, and took off. Ebony cast a goggled-glance backward - the etheric coffin was now fully out. She thought she saw the ghostly lid fly open, like a door.
Jacob was soon on the interstate, travelling flat out, towards Philadelphia.
Throughout the whole trip, Ebony kept looking behind with her goggles. Something, a glowing speck, was up in the sky, a way in the far distance, but definitely following them.
Ebony phoned Siri.
"Siri, help!"
"Ebony? So you have the skull?"
"Yes yes. And it was guarded, and Jacob's car wouldn't start when we had the skull. And something's following us! Help!"
"Provided you maintain your speed you should be okay. We shall meet you in Tarquin square. Follow my vehicle when you get there."
Sure enough, Siri, her PA and the bodyguard were there. They waved at Jacob, who then followed in the SUV.
The convoy headed north from Philadelphia. The dot was still following, and it was closer.
Siri & Co drove into some woodlands, then left their car and walked.
The party followed likewise, skull and all. They ran.
In a clearing, in the centre of the woods, there was a campfire. Siri calmly knelt down next to it, thighs wide, and started a chanting ritual. Her soldier girl pulled out an MP5, and her PA produced a pistol.
The party did likewise
A few minutes later, Siri was in some kind of trance, when something heavy-footed, but quick as a gazelle, came rushing down the forest path. It was a skeletal creature; all teeth and claws. It ran headlong into the clearing; well, it tried to, but instead it smacked into an invisible barrier on the edge of the clearing. Hardly stunned, it started to claw at the barrier. There was the horrendous noise like iron scraping on blackboard.Reginald didn't need prompting. He opened up with his MP5, and emptied an entire clip (of 30) into the creature. Sledge blasted away with both magnums. Leo opened up with his shotgun. They all certainly hit the creature, but none of this fire-power seemed to do anything tangible. Ebony tried her final etheric grenade; the creature was caught in the blast, pieces fell off it, and it gave a keening roar.
Then Siri got to her feet. She extended both arms gracefully, thumbs crossed, fingers out-spread, and pointed her palms at the thing. She pronounced some throaty word, and a white-hot beam of fire shot from her palms right into the creature. It was utterly consumed by the fire.
The party rubbed their eyes as the after-burn faded.
"That," said Siri, "was a fetch."
"Thanks for warning us," said Reggie, sarcastically.
"I was not sure one would materialize. Best not to alarm you unnecessarily."
Ebony handed over the skull.
"Why d'you want the skull anyway?" she said.
"For magical experiments."
"What's so special about it?"
"Well, my research tells me that Thomas Mornay was cursed by a mage. The effects of a curse linger, you see."
"Why was there a fetch?" said Jacob. "Wasn't the guardian ghost enough?"
"They are different things. Fetches are physical manifestations of unrequited curses. Guardian ghosts look after a cemeteries, and all occupants therein."
"But if we destroyed the guardian ghost," asked Theo. "What happens to the cemetery then?"
"A good question," said Siri. "An unguarded cemetery is prone to ... mischief. Grave-robbery, tomb-raiding, and plenty of foul misdoings; words with the 'necro' prefix. The parts of the dead are useful for many veil creatures."
Leon screwed up his face in disgust.
"Now, we must bid you all adieu," said Siri. "Thank you for your endeavours. Miss Stephenson has your reward."
Miss Stephenson handed to Ebony a colourless gemstone the size of a marble. It was cloudy.
"Here's your Gem of the Veil," she said. "Takes eight hours to link to the holder. Then it'll go clear."
Siri & Co departed.
The party stayed a little while to decide who would get the gem. Jacob got it.
Theo was feeling sick with guilt. [ His Morality stat dropped to 6. ]
[ Morality is an interesting WoD rule mechanic. All characters start with Morality of 7. Every in-game action has an associated morality: Examples: 10: lying, selfish thoughts; 9: selfish acts; 8: minor assault; 7: petty theft, 6: burglary; 5: assault, arson, rape; 4: man-slaughter; 3: murder; 1: mass murder. If your character performs (or sanctions) an action equal to or lower than your current Morality, then there is a chance that it will drop by 1 (24%@7). When this happens, there is a chance that your character picks up a derangement (12%@6). Morality can be recovered by XP and "concrete acts of contrition".
Creatures of the veil are counted as sentient beings, so that could be a problem if the Hunter character goes around killing them willy-nilly. So, we are playing with the Hunter rules mod which allows the morality-safe killing of evil veil creatures, plus the Hated creature concept which allows a character to go to town on his hated foe - even good ones. ]
Sunday morning, July 6
Jacob spent the day acclimatizing to the gem.
Monday morning, July 7
The party went into STRIKE FORCE and updated Lieutenant Prospero on Siri's job. He didn't pass judgement on them for working for a witch, nor for grave-robbing, as they expected he might. And he was very interested about the fetch, and had never met one personally.
"However," he said. "You will need to work out how you are going to pay the ten percent STRIKE FORCE tithe for the gem thing you got off witch Siri. So long as STRIKE FORCE gets the gross tithe, I don't care whether Jacob pays it solely, or if your group pays it."
Then he had some news.
"On Wednesday morning, the local STRIKE FORCE commander of the tri-state area is coming here from New York for three nights. Captain Lassard is his name. He will be bringing his Adjutant with him: Colleen Thomson
Do you think you can manage that?"
"Too right, sah!" snapped Reginald. "It would be an honour."
Prospero continued.
"Very good. We have a STRIKE FORCE 'protective custody' apartment that you can use: a ground-floor two-bedroom dwelling.
It has a security system with motion sensors and CCTVs, all controlled from a separate room nearby. This gives it adequate mundane protection.
A shipment of Veil weaponry has recently arrived, so I'm authorizing its use. It will be lent to your group for this job:
- silver bullets
- iron shotgun pellets
- Keep-me-here Grenade - stops teleports in or out for five rounds
- Non-eavesdrop Ruby - stops magical scrying
- Deadman's Candle - stops the casting of mage or fae spells in its area
- Worm of Toulon - a living worm that eats areas of rotting flesh and necrotizing fasciitis. Turns aggravated wounds into lethal wounds (so they heal faster).
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