Atlanta 2050:Sessions:20190615

Saturday, January 15, 2050, 8:00am. Dr Liz Ross is paged to Grady Health Systems hospital. ER physician Dr Brian Fien summarizes the case: Dennis Omar, male, early 40s, werewolf. Multiple deep lacerations to the chest and abdomen; stab wounds to the back. The LYC virus should be healing him; instead, he is "stuck" in a state between human and wolf. Unfortunately, by the time Dr Liz can reach the hospital, Dennis has died due to the severity of his injuries. Dr Liz performs an autopsy. The claw wounds, which nearly disemboweled the victim, appear to have been caused by a very large cat; the slashes by a large metal knife, a sliver of which Dr Liz removes from the wound and carefully places in an evidence bag. On the lower back are three small but deep puncture wounds, possibly inflicted with an icepick or sharpened screwdriver. According to Dr Fien's notes, the attack had taken place in The Underground. Although it was daylight on a weekend morning, there seem to have been no witnesses.

Les Schmidt wakes from a light sleep, immediately dons his leather armor, and goes round to Statts Brewery Pub, a popular Guild hangout. Before he can really get started drinking, however, the Merc Guild assigns Les to go deal with a giant insect at Peachtree Transit Center. Gathering his pistols, sniper rifle (his proudest possession), and his blades, he borrows one of the Guild's horses and in 20 minutes arrives at the site. Buck Harrington tells him "We have a bug problem" and describes a 70-pound scorpion trapped in a small room. Les peers through a window and judges the scorpion to be closer to 100 pounds. Its body is 5' long, not including the tail. Les sets up his rifle to shoot through the window, lines up the shot... and then his alarm sounds, indicating that "magic has come on" which disables most technology, including guns. "Guess I gotta do this the hard way," he mutters, ejecting the live round and stowing his guns. Taking a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, he goes around to the door.

Scratch, a young homeless man, happens to catch sight of Les armed with sword and knife. He thinks to himself, "I'll follow the fool, there's always something to pick up."

Les glances back at the guy following him through the door, quickly sizing him up -- homeless guy in a ratty coat, hat pulled down to partly conceal his ugly face. Les says he's about to kill a scorpion, and Scratch replies, "So I need to look out in case you fail."

Les throws a knife which pierces the scorpion's carapace. It lunges and grabs him with one of its pincers, punching into his armor. Les fumbles his sword away, fast-draws another knife and strikes the scorpion, but doesn't get through its armor. He wrests himself free of the claw. Scratch tries to grab the other claw but winds up falling across the scorpion's back. The scorpion's claw wounds Les; luckily he avoids its venomous tail. Les fast-draws another knife and attacks the scorpion's claw and 'arm'; he does no damage, but the scorpion lets go of him. Scratch rolls off the scorpion's back and tries to grab its tail, but misses. Les dodges the next claw and tail attacks. Scratch grabs its tail and exerts his ability, Instill Terror, stunning the scorpion momentarily. Les performs an acrobatic flip and stabs at the eyes, missing those targets but scraping through the carapace. The scorpion whips its tail (with Scratch clinging to it) at Les; fortunately the stinger doesn't penetrate Les' armor, and he dodges the claw attack. Scratch uses Instill Terror again, and Les jumps back as malodorous vomit spews from the scorpion's mouth. Scratch tries to bite into the tail but is unable to. Les jabs a knife into the scorpion, which pukes again and stops moving.

Les collects his weapons. A minute after the fight ends, the scorpion shrinks to normal size. Les thanks Scratch for his help. Outside, Buck tells Les "Good job" and hands him $500 cash (30% of which is the Guild's cut). Les hands a $20 to Scratch, thanks him again, and offers, "Let me get you some food."

Dr Liz starts to phone Lord Beast, but the magic is up so the phones aren't working. As she is leaving the hospital a nurse, Sheila Ray, gets her attention. (As Dr Liz is aware, Sheila is an incognito wererat.) "He doesn't smell right," Sheila says, meaning Dennis Omar; "He smells poisoned." Dr Liz and Sheila go to the hospital's morgue. Dr Liz uncovers the body, and Sheila leans over and takes a deep sniff. "His blood is corrupted," she says. "There's something inside." Dr Liz probes the deepest claw wounds and carefully removes three tiny (1/4" long) jagged shards. Dennis' corpse shudders and morphs into fully human form. Sheila helps Dr Liz turn the body over, and the doctor concludes that the minuscule shards somehow caused the three very deep puncture wounds, but she can only guess as to the delivery method.

Over brunch at the Ralph McGill Cafe, Scratch tersely explains to Les that the mana flux affects him badly. When magic is down, he appears good-looking, even handsome, and his intelligence is higher. But when magic is up, he becomes ugly. "This freaks people out... It's difficult for me to keep a job like this," so he ended up broke and homeless. Les offers to help Scratch. "You could be my eyes downtown. I'd pay you."

Dr Liz alights from her hired carriage near the former CNN Studios and is soon hailed by a tall, strongly built, distinguished looking male. Ivan Ritter, publicly known as Lord Beast, is the acknowledged leader of the shapeshifters in Atlanta. Smiling, Dr Liz greets him: "Ivan! How nice to see you again!" He is aware of Dennis Omar's murder and says it had to be the work of the Watcher Network, a human supremacist group with the supposed aim of "purifying" the human race by eliminating shapeshifters. He doesn't offer answers to Dr Liz's questions, which include "Why would they target a law-abiding family man?" and "How did they inflict injuries that appear to be claw marks?" and "Why attack a lone man in broad daylight on a Saturday morning?" Dr Liz gives him one of the crystal shards, which he will take back to his walled estate for study.

As Dr Liz walks back toward the taxi stand, she notices three skunks, two on the right side of the sidewalk and one on the left. They seem like normal animals except that their eyes are blood-red. One of them speaks in a rough, human voice, "Why were you talking to the animal?" She replies reasonably, "Ivan is my friend. He is no animal." "This is your only warning. Stay with your own kind... Dr Liz." The three skunks scamper quickly away.

Around 2pm Les gets another Guild assignment: go to CNN Tours and kill a giant hoop snake. It's 6' long, very fast, very venomous [4d], and has already bitten two people. On his way out, Les borrows a crossbow. Scratch happens to see Les rush by and follows him.

The serpent is in a walled courtyard near the old CNN Towers. Les fires the crossbow (a weapon with which he's not proficient) and the snake dodges easily. Then it grabs its tail in its mouth and rolls like a bicycle wheel toward Les. Les drops the crossbow, fast-draws his sword and knife, and manages to avoid the onrushing snake. Slashing with his knife, Les delivers a critical strike. Considerably slowed, the snake spins around and tries to bite. Les parries with his sword, and its edge cuts the snake in half.

Les collects his $200 fee, setting aside $60 for the guild.

Scratch's attention has been drawn to two skunks conversing as though he's not there. "That guy would be a good addition to our ranks." "Yes, as we just saw, he hates monsters, just like us." "We should recruit him." The skunks turn and scurry away. Scratch decides to follow them; they don't appear to notice. Twenty minutes later the skunks jump down into a storm drain. Scratch climbs down and follows. In another twenty minutes they pause for a few moments, then sniff around and wander off aimlessly. Scratch climbs out of the storm drain. He is in a city park across from the former Georgia Aquarium. (It's not far from the Mercenary Guild, Civic Center, and World of Coca-Cola.)

Scratch walks into the Mercenary Guild and asks the receptionist/guard, "I want to know how to get paid for killing sh*t." The guard hands him a form to fill out. Where it says Name he writes "Scratch" and tries to hand the form back. The guard insists he fill out the rest of it, so he marks "N/A" on every other space. Guard: "Why should we hire you?" "I helped one of your boys kill a scorpion and a hoop snake." Les is summoned, and he verifies, "He jumped in and helped me out." "Well, Scratch, welcome to the Mercenary Guild. You kill stuff, we get 30%." "Where does the money come from?" "Citizens who can pay for a job, call us." One Guild perk is that Scratch gets his own room, on the second floor at the end of the hall.

Dr Liz has lunch at a cafe, then goes to a lab at the hospital and studies the shards under a microscope. They are light yellow in color, and appear to be magical topaz. Dr William Corvalan, a medical mage, happens by and she asks him to look through the microscope. He says the shards are "old magic." In his office, he pulls out several folders containing descriptions of five similar cases: a shapeshifter was injured, couldn't shift to heal themselves, and subsequently died, "stuck" between forms. "Yellow glass" was found in their bodies.

Dr Corvalan brings out a book titled Myths and Legends of the Middle East. Under "W" is a passage about curing a shapeshifter of their affliction by means of the Wolf Diamond, a fist-sized yellow stone. "Even a shard can keep a shapeshifter from changing."

Returning home, Dr Liz wants to call Ivan to warn him about the shards, but the magic is up. She writes out a message and gives it to a courier to deliver to Lord Beast's castle.

Scratch wants to talk to an expert on magic and its uses, and the Guild Secretary refers him to Professor Stanley Younger of Morris Brown College. Although it's a Saturday, Dr Younger is seated in his office, feet propped on his desk, staring at the ceiling. Scratch describes his encounter with the talking skunks; "I followed them to their home, and their intelligence left them." Dr Younger: "Someone controlled them, then let them go. There had to be something magical at that spot." "What would be the condition of the mage?" "Normal." "Range?" "Depending on the mage's skill, two to three miles. A magic item could be used as a 'repeater' to extend their range." "Do you know a mage who'll work cheap and is not afraid of sewers?" Dr Younger smirks, "They're all afraid of sewers." "Can I rent a mage by the hour?" "Sure, through the Merc Guild."

Les is carousing near City Center, seated at the bar of a place called No Mas Cantina. Two large men slide onto the barstools on either side of him. Les: "I'm not that kind of guy." LM1: "I think you're our kind of guy. You seem good at killing monsters. Would you kill a werewolf for money?" Les: "The Guild doesn't consider them rivals." LM2: "You think shifters are people?" Les: "I consider them innocents." LM1: "What if you could cure them?" Les: "If they came of their own accord and wanted to be cured. I wouldn't force them." LM2: "Maybe they don't know they're monsters. You seem to enjoy killing monsters." Les: "I enjoyed the money. The Guild doesn't consider them monsters." LM1: "We'll be in touch." The large men get up and leave. Les orders another drink.

Scratch asks the Guild's night clerk about mages. NC: "We fight magical creatures. Of course we have mages." Scratch: "I need a mage to take a walk with me and look for a magic item." NC: "Take Double-G with you." Double-G is a thin male in his late 30s.

Scratch leads Double-G to the park and down through the storm drains to the spot where the skunks wandered off. "Something around here is magic." Double-G points to an object shaped like a pyramid. "That's a repeater. It boosts spells." Scratch: "Could someone find it if we moved it? Is there someplace it couldn't be traced." Double-G: "Could put it in the guild's vault." Double-G has Scratch carry the pyramid back to the guild.

Scratch figures that someone will come to the storm drain looking for the pyramid, so he finds a hiding place and watches.

About 10pm Les feels tired so he calls it a night and gets on his horse. Halfway back to the guild there's a man standing in his way; another man lurks in the shadows nearby. Giving the first man a hard look, Les rests his hands on the hilts of his weapons. The man moves aside and Les rides on. But a block away from the guild he sees the same two men again running at him, and a third man walking deliberately toward him. Les dismounts and draws his weapons; LM1 and LM2 also draw swords and knives, while M3 continues walking steadily, his lips moving. Les orders, "Stand down!" M3 speaks one word aloud, but Les is unaffected.

Les strikes M3 hard with the edge of his sword. LM1 swings and hits. Les parries LM2. M3 retreats several steps.

LM1 hits but doesn't do much damage. LM2 swings and misses. M3 tries to cast a spell [Daze] and fails. Les strikes LM1 in the vitals.

Les slices LM1. LM1 misses. Les parries LM2. M3 casts a spell and Les grits his teeth against the sudden pain.

The next moment, the magic drops. Les draws a pistol and fires; somehow LM1 dodges, but then drops his knife. Les dodges a swing from LM2, and M3 pulls out a small wooden bat.

Les shoots LM1 who falls down. Les dodges attacks from LM2 and M3.

Les shoots at both LM2 (who dodges) and M3 (who keels over and dies). A few turns later, LM2 collapses, bleeding heavily.

Les knocks LM2's weapons out of reach, then searches all three men. LM1 is carrying the ID of an Atlanta police officer, and a Lincoln wheat penny dated 1945. Feeling woozy, Les figures he'd better hurry to the Merc Guild before he passes out.

Scratch tries to save the other three men, but LM1 and M3 are already dead and LM2 is beyond help. A couple of Atlanta patrolmen show up and ask him what happened. "He was bleeding. I tried to save him, but couldn't. I didn't see the fight." One patrolman, indicating LM1, says, "Look, it's Craig." The other mutters under his breath, "Good riddance," and the first cop nods in agreement. The policemen bring out a "mage scanner" machine and go over the scene.

Dr Liz has changed into her nightclothes and has only been in bed a few minutes when her phone rings. It's Ivan, whose mages have analyzed the topaz shard. It turns out that the courier never delivered Dr Liz's message. Dr Liz also tells him about the talking skunks. He tells her, "Stay where you are, and lock your doors. I'm sending two werewolves to guard you. They'll be there in a half-hour." "Then I'll bake them some cookies!" Ivan replies, "I'm sure they'll like that," and hangs up. Dr Liz gets up and changes clothes.

A little while later, there's a knock at her door. She opens it the few inches allowed by the doorchain. It's someone she's never seen before, a large, heavy man (7' tall, 275#). He smiles at her and says, "Hi. I'm Alfred. Can I come in?" "Why, certainly. Would you like some cookies?" She slides back the chain and Alfred shoves his way inside, striking her on the head with the butt of his pistol. Dr Liz is stunned and cannot resist as he picks her up, one arm around her waist and the other hand clamped over her mouth, and carries her toward his parked car.

Just then another car pulls up, and before it's stopped a werewolf leaps out and bounds toward Alfred. The driver parks the car and gets out, shifting to werewolf form. Alfred tenses to confront the werewolves. Dr Liz regains her wits and casts a Sleep spell. Alfred releases his grip on Dr Liz as he folds.

She brushes back her slightly mussed hair and her hand comes away smeared with blood. "Oh, my, such a mess." She smiles brightly at the two werewolves. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Dr Liz." The werewolves introduce themselves as the Smith brothers, Tommy and Donnie. They tie up the sleeping intruder, then search him. His ID bears the name Alfred Lepper, and he was formerly a cop with the Austin PD. He's also carrying an old Lincoln wheat penny dated 1945.

Tommy and Donnie load Alfred into their trunk, while Dr Liz goes back inside and answers her phone. Ivan tells her, "The courier was found unconscious and taken to the hospital. He said he'd been stopped by the police. Your message was missing." For her safety, Tommy and Donnie are to bring her to his Castle.

Dr Liz tsks at the cut on her head, casts a healing spell, then washes away the blood. She changes her blouse, pulls on a coat, and packs a sack full of cookies and a thermos of milk. On the way, Tommy and Donnie each have two cookies, politely (if reluctantly) refusing thirds. (Lord Beast will not be happy if they bring him a sack of crumbs.)

Inside the Castle, Ivan tells Dr Liz he wants her to stay there for a while; he's sent others to guard her house. His mages have located the owner of the crystals, who is in downtown Atlanta inside the World of Coca-Cola. The crystals kill the LYC virus, then poison the person.

Les has been healed up and given a drug to help him sleep.

Scratch gets cleaned up and goes to bed.