Atlanta 2050:Sessions:20220319
At midnight on September 4, 2050, the magic was high for four hours. Metro Atlanta is in chaos. Joe is called into a meeting with Lord Beast, and introduced to a new Pack member named Curran Lenart, a were-lion. At Surprise Meats, a... restaurant... near Sweet Food Lounge, people including five Pack members had been attacked by "dog-men and ghosts."
Dr Henry Mallory is called to a crime scene at Surprise Meats involving many deaths and serious injuries. Survivors describe a pack of wild dogs and a shifter(?). He calls a horse taxi and he and his team arrive 30 minutes later.
Around 5:00am Dr Liz is called in to Grady Hospital, where twelve victims from the Surprise Meats attack had been brought. Their wounds are consistent with dog or wolf bites but significantly deeper, and there are claw marks as well. Most injuries were inflicted to limbs, chest, and face. Dr Liz has an orderly put in a call to The Castle (though she's pretty sure Lord Beast is already aware). Dr Liz is assisted by ER nurse Jean Santana and Dr Paul Jay.
Les is called in to meet with the leader of the Mercenary Guild. He is told to go to Sweet Food Lounge and "get rid of the wild dogs." Les puts on his armor, gathers up his weapons, and sets off on horseback. Sweet Food Lounge combines an open-air market with a sit-down restaurant, Surprise Meats. Despite the hour the place is crowded, and many police are on the scene. There are broken windows, a door off its hinges, blood splatters and bits of flesh.
Dr Mallory notices the heavily-armed merc as he surveys the crime scene. It appears that the attacking dogs got in by magic, perhaps summoned in. The windows were smashed outward, possibly by victims trying to get out. He stops to tend to an unconscious woman; the bite marks on her arms and legs are already healing. He shakes her awake and gives her water. She comes to, murmuring something in French, but he only catches the word "Luc." Then her eyes focus on his face and she says "Hello" in slightly-accented English. She is 5'5", very pretty, with reddish hair. Henry thinks he has seen her before. "Are you all right?" "Yes, yes -- Do you know how long I've been out? When the hounds attacked I was getting soemthing to eat, heard a howl, then these big hounds came bounding in. I was knocked down, then I got up and ran... I don't remember much." Henry takes her outside so she can get medical attention and speak to the cops.
Joe and Curran arrive, and Joe goes up to a cop. "Lord Beast sent me an Curran since the Pack had been involved." The magic comes on and it is again high.
There are 16 victims in the ER. Magic comes on and suddenly people start yelling and screaming. Two men try to leave, and their shadows seem to separate from them. Dr Liz tells her assistant to finish closing up their patient. She casts two Sleep spells on the shadows, but this fails to stop them. Dr Liz calls "Code Red -- Security!"
Dr Mallory hears the sound of a French horn in a hunting call, and suddenly there are hellhounds looking in his direction. They charge toward the door of Surprise Meats, past cops and through windows. As they charge, the hounds breathe flames on everyone.
With sword and knife, Les attacks the hounds. Joe is burned.
Henry steps toward a hound and casts Total Paralysis but the spell fails. Henry is then pulled away by a very pretty woman with red hair; he's sure he has seen her before but he doesn't remember where. Pulling the woman along with him, he escapes out a broken window; they roll to their feet and run away. Three hounds pursue them. Henry dodges a blow from behind but the woman is knocked down. As he pulls her to her feet, she tells him her name is Anne.
Joe slashes one hound across the throat, but what should have been a deep cut is "just a scratch." Les gets breathed on and takes both burning damage and fatigue. Suddenly the magic shuts off; the hounds shrink and fade away.
At the same time, the hounds attacking Henry and Anne shrink to beagle-size, then are gone.
The owner of Surprise Meats approaches Les and gives him $400 payment for his help.
Joe goes over to Dr Mallory and the red-haired woman, who are talking to police. Dr Mallory has his back to the woman, who starts walking away. Joe moves to keep pace with her and starts asking questions. She replies, "I don't like police.... My name is Anne Douglas... Yes, I know what's going on. Have you ever heard of the Wild Hunt?... They thought I was dead... I am what you call 'cursed', I cannot die. They don't know that... I have already met Ivan. I don't need to trouble him. I've met you before; I have been to the Castle." She takes out a small notepad and writes on the top sheet, The Wild Hunt is on, Ivan. -- A. L. She hands the note to Joe, then steps through a door and quicky shuts it behind her. Joe starts to open the door, but forgets why he wanted to open it. He finds a note in his hand but can't remember how he got it; he hangs on to it to deliver to the Lord Beast.
12:30pm: Dr Liz is finally out of surgery. One untreated person and two shadows had left the ER, injuring guards as they did so. Dr Liz nods at Nurse Sheila, washes up, then she and Sheila proceed to Recovery. Sheila says that Lord Beast filled her in. The hounds had attacked a CSI named Henry Mallory; Lord Beast is sending people to interview him. One of the victims, Grover Collins, smells "Incomplete? Stale?" to Sheila. She points out that Grover has no shadow.
Approaching them are a guard, followed by a shadow, followed by a red-haird woman (who is poking at the shadow with a large silver knife), followed by another guard. "Don't be alarmed," the woman says as Dr Liz starts to react to the security breach, "The knife can't hurt living flesh." She claims that an entity is trying to force Mr Collins' shadow to kill the woman, Ms Douglas. An Old God called "Luc" has sent the Wild Hunt.
As soon as Dr Liz stops looking at her, she forgets who Anne Douglas is.
At 4:30pm Les is at Olympic Park Bar for happy hour. The magic switches on as he leaves. Just past some hedges he comes upon a baby bunny... the cutest thing he's ever seen. He starts to play with the adorable bunny. Then he also sees... an anorexic clown, which draws its rapier and attacks Les. Les draws his sword (to defend the bunny) and slashes the clown, who swears and calls him "a whoreson's ass." The insult rolls right off of Les. Eventually the clown disappears. The bunny rolls over and looks stiff and gray. Les picks it up and takes it to Surprise Meats.
Henry hears a flapping sound, and realizes his companion is no longer there. In a corner hangs something dark with wings. A bat? More flapping sounds, more bats. He steps toward the first bat, which flies at him; he ducks.
Lord Beast quizzes Joe about the note, but Joe can't even remember how he got it. Joe picks up a framed Polaroid of Lord Beast and a read-haired woman; handwritten on the photo is "I.R. & A.L." and on the back a date in 2045. Lord Beast doesn't know why he kept that picture, and he doesn't remember A.L. He doesn't let Joe take the photo.
Joe suggests he (Joe) should investigate the Wild Hunt. Lord Beast tells him to take a big car with werewolves Tommy and Donnie Smith and go invite/persuade Dr Henry Mallory to come to The Castle. "This individual might be in danger. I need to know why the Wild Hunt wants him." Usually the Wild Hunt has dealings with elves or fae. Someone who has been wronged would pray and sacrifice and name their target. Sometimes the Wild Hunt sends only hellhounds, but sometimes the Master of the Hunt and his minions. The Master will run down the victim, take a trophy as confirmation of the kill, and the hounds devour the remains. "The victim would have to be important to get the Wild Hunt's attention. This Henry Mallory must have really screwed up."
Dr Liz speaks with her colleague, Dr William Corvalan; he is intrigued, as he has studied the Wild Hunt.
Ivan calls Dr Liz and tells her there was a second attack. He mentions the Polaroid photo and that he doesn't remember the woman. He has sent Joe, Tommy, and Donnie to bring Henry Mallory to The Castle. Dr Liz knows Dr Mallory from his previous profession as a doctor.
Henry tells Joe about the bats. "When the magic faded, so did they."
7:30pm: A woman walks up to Les. She is very pretty, with red hair. "You were very brave today. We saw each other when we were at the diner. You're good with those knives, when you were attacking those hellhounds." Les knows he's never met her, but has seen her many times. He buys her a beer and asks, "Do you need a bodyguard?" "You were hurt..." Les shows her the burns on his arms. She asks, "They weren't infected? Sometimes people injured by hellhounds get connected to them... You might want to go see Dr Ross."
Les mentions the skinny clown killing the pretty bunny.
The woman says she was in Atlanta five years ago. She's from France but has been in the States for awhile; "Planes were still flying then." Les: "You look quite young for how old you must be. And pretty." "Liz is a baby. The first time I came here was on a boat -- 1810, maybe. Anyway, I knew you were injured and came to see if you were okay. Wounds from a hellhound leave you open to being tracked by malicious entities."
She asks for something to write on, but then says she can't write it. She dictates a message that Les writes down, Ivan -- Wild Hunt is after me -- but your wolf has attracted their attention so you may be in danger, too. A.L. She explains to Les, "I can't say my name." Les replies, "I'm going to go with Aurora Lovelace." She says that she and Lord Beast "were intimate for awhile, so I call him by his first name." She takes the notepad and writes, "See Dr Ross for burns." She says to Les, "When I leave, you won't remember me."
Sure enough, Les doesn't remember why he's holding a note that is not in his handwriting. He swings by Grady Hospital and is told Dr Liz has gone home. He then heads for Lord Beast's Castle.
Dr Henry Mallory is taken into an opulent room and presented to the Lord Beast, who gets right to the point. "What did you do to draw the attention of the Wild Hunt?" Lord Beast asks several more questions, then tells him "For your protection, you will spend the night as my guest."
Les arrives at the front gate of the Castle. Joe comes down and approves Les to be admitted inside with all his weapons.
Joe brings Les and the note to Lord Beast. "I also have another note that says I won't remember her."
Lord Beast tells them, "Dr Mallory is not the object of the Wild Hunt; I am."
AUDIO LINKS
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFhTaYNyP5hiysLTIJ?e=CGjOdR
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFhTWe7OkwC9Fy1-QZ?e=tTfalo
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFhTPsvwkxn5Mpfrns?e=YykEfV