Game Night Tales from around the gaming table

 

This was an off the cuff game, originally another person was supposed to GM the game and I was going to play, but he wound up getting sick and another player got called away due to work.  Luckily, two people who didn't have their PCs finished were able to come over.  We took the first part of the day to talk about their concepts and what they wanted from the City and their PCs.  Like everyone before them, their original concepts altered a fair bit as they began to understand what Aspects were and how this game was going to be run.

 

Afterwards we still had hours left, so I took up the reins of GM and we all decided that it might be cool to RP their Phase 4 instead of just write it up.

 

As we're in Canada -- in a slightly alternative Toronto -- Timmy’s (aka Tim Horton's or for the US folks, think Starbucks) was the first thing that came to mind, so I had the two of them come into the donut shop at the same time.  The Cop was just off shift and heading home and the University Student was trying to get in early to finish up a Lab that was due at the end of the day.

 

 

 

 

It had been a long hard day, and Officer Jones, known to his friends as Aaron, just wanted to get home.  The TTC stop was over two blocks from home and the blizzard that had been dumping snow all day was still hard at work, trying to bury the city.  Luckily there was a Timmies right at the stop where he could get a Coffee! And warm up.

 

Heinrick had been weak; he'd gone to the rave and ditched his Lab work -- which was due the next day.  He'd gotten home at 3am and, unable to sleep, decided to bite the bullet and go into the University and get that Lab done -- it was worth half his grade!  He'd walked the 3 blocks and was completely frozen by the time he'd reached the warm glow of the local Timmy’s.  Banging the heavy layer of snow off, he entered the coffee shop.

 

Cindy was at the counter, as always during the graveyard shift, and tonight she was totally alone.  "Hey Aaron, your usual?"  He looked up and smiled an affirmative even as she passed over a large double double and a large black.  "On the house," she winked, "What?  You're not on duty and I'm not taking your money."

 

"Heinrick, it's a little early for you -- usual?"

 

Both men looked over each other and then picked opposite corners -- they were the only ones in the shop.  Perhaps it was to have their own heating vent, but then, maybe it was something more primal -- two young bucks vying for a beautiful doe in the early dark of a winter morning, in the middle of a winter storm.

 

Cindy was amused by the glances her customers were giving each other as they warmed themselves over their coffees and snuck looks.  Her headset beeped and she moved to take the drive-thru order.  There was so much static on the line that she could barely hear the order.  Then there was the smell of burning hair and she was yanking off the headset and dumping the burning wreck into the sink!  Aaron had rushed to the counter to see what had happened, but Cindy waved him off and stuck her head out to wave the car up to the window.  Aaron could hear her apologising for the trouble and asking them for their order.  Just as he turned to go back to the table, he heard her muffled scream and whirled around to see her feet disappearing out the window and into the car.  He dashed for the window and dug his service Glock out of his pack.

 

Heinrick didn't see what happened but the reaction of Aaron got him to look out the window, where he saw a black Lincoln with black tinted windows roar out onto the street -- he even got the plate "ARM ONE".

 

They looked at each other stunned, and then Aaron went to the payphone and dialled headquarters to call it in.

"Why me!" thought Aaron as Lt. Rodgers walked into the Timmy’s.  "Constable Jones, I see you can't even stay out of trouble when off duty."

 

After the scene was secured and CSI arrived, they all went down to 51 Division to fill out and sign paperwork.  Both Aaron and Heinrick gave their statements about what occurred and Aaron had additional forms due to drawing his sidearm.

 

It was now 5am but the storm kept the city white and black -- the false light off the snow brightened the immediate area, but it also limited vision. Heinrick was thinking about how to bus it back to the University and not freeze to death doing it when Aaron came out.  He looked around and shivered, he'd already taken the bus route an hour ago and wasn't looking forward to a second round.  He nodded back inside and they called a cab.  While they waited they chatted a bit, but nothing substantial.

 

The cab dropped them back at the Timmy’s, which now had a small crowd ogling the scene as the boys in blue did their work.  The two of them separated there, Aaron heading for home and Heinrick to the University.

 

But their paths would soon cross again.

As Aaron crossed an alley he heard the faint pinging of a car's open door "Why me?" he mumbled as he strapped on his gun belt and entered to investigate.  Just then, Heinrick came around the corner at a jog and almost collided with him.  Coincidence?  Fate?

 

They looked down the alley towards the low sound of the chime, and went in together, Heinrick staying behind Aaron and to the right of the car.  What they found was the black Lincoln, with all the doors open and slammed into the alleyway's walls.  Aaron used his investigation skills to search the area -- it was the same car, but there was no Cindy, and not even any tracks in the snow leading anywhere, just a scuffle on the driver’s side and a set of foot prints getting out of the rear passenger side.

 

Where the hell did they go...?  Aaron pulled out his flashlight and started looking for anything, but it was Heinrick that saw the small holes in the brickwork -- in fact they were finger width holes, going up the side of the building and about halfway up the 2 story building, there was a scrap of blonde hair.  Cindy's hair.

 

Aaron pulled out his cell to call it in, but he'd opened it too close to Heinrick and the battery died.  They headed out of the alley looking for a payphone.  That's when they heard the moaning -- it might have been the wind, but then again, maybe it was Cindy!

 

Heinrick -- not wanting a locked door to stop them -- used his ability with Air to force the boarded door open enough to be notice -- then mentioned it to Aaron.

The boys entered an office to find most of the furniture still there, if dusty and pushed around.  It looked like a failed internet start-up company.  There was a large security desk and a stairway up to the second floor gallery.  Once inside and away from the wind, they could clearly hear the moaning -- it was definitely female.  They made their way up the stairs as quietly as they could.  There was only a set French doors midway down the gallery, soon they were there and Aaron signalled Heinrick to keep back while he looked in.

 

Cindy was there, half naked and kneeling between two men in Italian suits who had an arm each -- they were licking her all over, with tongues too long to be real.  She also had bite marks, with blood dribbling from them, yet Cindy looked to be having the time of her life -- until he looked at her face -- then she looked like a junky high off her latest fix.  The two men paused and began arguing in a rough and foreign language -- their bodies began to bulge and warp oddly as they became more aggressive.

 

Aaron remembered the last time he'd seen something like this -- vampires!  For the third time in as many hours, he mumbled "why me" and with that mistake the men turned and quirked their heads at the doors.

 

In the blink of an eye they charged.  One came through the doors and the other came through the wall taking Aaron totally by surprise and hurling him off the gallery and down onto the security desk.

 

Heinrick was ready -- without Aaron in view he could actually open up with his spells on these damned Red Court vampires!  He'd fought them a few times before -- and they had killed his Uncle.

 

The vamp that had come out of the doors was busy watching his companion and Aaron below, so he brought up a whirlwind and slammed it into the unaware vamp...  his anger must have boosted his spell as the vamp was picked up and hurled through the far wall and the next and the next after that... it sat there in a crumpled heap -- he knew it was dead as globs of ectoplasm were already falling to the ground.

 

The vamp had been able to shriek out however, which meant that those below had looked up.  Aaron didn't know what to think -- but with seeing the true form of a vampire and some university kid create a miniature tornado to crush one -- but he knew that shooting a vamp in the belly hurt it badly.  His gun had been lost in the fall, but the vamp had jumped to the wall and scuttled into the darkness above.

 

Heinrick also saw it shoot up the wall and modified his spell to vacuum up all the dust and debris and throw it up at the ceiling, at the very least it might blind it, and best it would make it fall.

 

The vampire came down and grabbed hold of Heinrick and was about to tear him apart when the sounds of a Glock repeat boomed out and the vamp was slammed into the wall.  Aaron had recovered his gun and put 3 rounds into its belly -- blood poured from the wounds and the vamp wailed in pain.  Before it could recover Aaron dashed up the stairs and emptied his gun into its head.  The vamp joined its fellow as a quickly growing puddle of goo.

 

Slapping another clip into his gun he looked at Heinrick, gave a nod, and they both entered the vamp’s lair through the doors and the hole in the wall.

 

Much to their relief there were no more vamps, only poor Cindy, still kneeing where the vamps left her.  She was covered in slime and her lips were blue with the onset of hypothermia.  There were other dead bodies, some homeless, but also the remains of once pretty women like Cindy.

 

Aaron tried his cell again and this time it worked.  He called it in.  Within a few minutes backup, EMS, the Coroner and two SI cops arrived.  It was a mess but in the end the SI cops took over.

 

Aaron gave his report and that was the end of it.

 

Or so they thought...