Previous Solo Home Page Skip Cathedral II
You are standing there over the
shattered bodies of your assailants. Their spilled blood
seems to be slowly flowing back into their bodies. Very
slowly. You shake your head and realize you are seeing
things. Vampires they may have been, but you have a silver
tipped spear. A magical one at that. The blood is not
moving. They will remain dead.
The pounding of your heart is
slowing. You become aware of the park around you. The
old bent man with the net-on-a-pole is staring at you with his
mouth open. Aghast. When he sees that you are now
looking at him he drops his pole as though it had bit him, but
remains where he is. He looks too scared to move.
Around the courtyard you can see monks
and friars on the second story balcony of the Presbyteree.
Businessmen are standing still outside the Cabildo looking your
way. Work has stopped on the docks, and all the workers are
watching.
There is a sense of expectation in the
air. Like they are waiting to see if you will slay the rat
catcher as well. He seems to become aware of this and makes
a noise. Eeeep. He looks sad and scared.
You point at the body of brother
Io. Bring him. You turn and stride to the
Cathedral. As you approach you can see monks, friars,
businessmen, and dock workers gathering. When you reach the
large double doors quite a crowd has gathered. They are
staying well clear of you and just watching. Curious,
expectantly. You mount the steps and look back. More
people are coming. The crowd is still growing. The
rat catcher is carrying brother Ios body over his
shoulder. He is coming through the crowd unhindered as they
make a path for him. You turn and enter the Cathedral.
The Saint Louis Cathedral is empty,
peaceful, and smells of incense. You direct the rat catcher
to place brother Ios body on the floor before the
altar. Monks, priests, and friars timidly start coming in
and filling the place up. There is no conversation.
No murmurs in the crowd of holy men. Total silence.
They seem to be waiting. It will probably take a few more
minutes before the bishop can be fetched.
You turn to the rat catcher and address
him. Everyone listens. What is your
name. He looked as though he was turning to sneak out
when the sound of your voice startles him. He turns back to
you, drops to his knees and removes his grimy cap. I
am Roget, Father. He pronounces the name Roget like
this; Row-jay.
Are you a rat catcher? you
ask. He replies Rats, dogs, opossum, armadillo.
Vermin and strays. It has been my job for two score years,
Father. Suddenly he blushes. The blush looks
strange on a man as old as he. Apparently he has become
very self conscious under the eyes of so many silent
priests. Um, yes. He wrings his hat and
looks at the floor.
I am to need your skills old
man. You will become a catcher of rats for the
church. You raise your voice a little. The
crowd is listening anyway. All those rats that came
through the gate yesterday are nosferatu.
Vampire. He raises his eyes to meet yours. You
continue the city is under great threat. We must
catch every one of them, and slay them with silver.
A murmur breaks out in the
Cathedral. The tone sounds negative. Someone in the
back snorts with disbelief. Just then the crowd parts and
the bishop comes strolling in. He has a long staff (a
crosier) and a tall hat with a split in the top (miter) on his
head. As he comes striding up to you he speaks aloud.
A bloody spear in the house of God. Bodies of men
laying on the lawn. He is almost upon you.
The body of a monk before the alter. This last
bit seems to be directed at you like an accusation.
He stops one pace away from
you. He moves his right hand a little, presenting it to
you. It has his bishops ring on one of the
fingers. There is a tense feeling in the air as everyone
waits to see if you will slay him too.
You lay your spear on the ground, step
forward, and kiss the ring. The bishop gestures for you to
rise. He addresses you loudly so that all may hear.
You have done well Father Lubik. To survive this
secret errand on which I have sent you. To free the village
of vampires, and restore the church there. Very well
indeed. He turns to face the crowd, standing beside
you.
An elderly priest of another order steps
forward to protest. This is preposterous. I saw
this... He seems to be searching for the right
word. This, MAN, slay the guard with my own
eyes. Are you saying the Church condones this action.
The bishop looks to you to answer.
You step up Those men were nosferatu. The crowd
erupts in open disbelief, snorts, and even laughter. Before
you left, you remember hearing rumors that some thought the
bishop was becoming senile in his advancing age. You see
now that the majority firmly believes it.
The other priest speaks again. You
think his name is Arnold, or Arnault, or something.
There are no vampires left. Remember? They were
all slain over a hundred years ago. The crowd is
nodding in agreement. These words seem to be an obvious
truth to them.
Now the bishop speaks. In
this new land we have discovered that the blood drinking still
exists. I have suspected for years that there were much
older, much stronger nosferatu here than we ever vanquished in
the old world. He pauses dramatically. We
now have proof.
There is an eruption of shock that
ripples through the room. Everyone in the crowd takes a
step back in fear. The body of brother Io has stood up
behind you and the bishop. He was slain by one of the
guards halberds, it wasnt silver, and he has
regenerated. You turn and scoop up your spear.
Brother Io bares his fangs and tries to leap on the bishop.
Brother Io
ST:
21 Bite 1+2
DX: 15
IQ: 15
MA: 10/10
\__/ \__/A
\__/ \__/
/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \
\__/ \__/I \__/ \__/
/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \
\__/ \__/ \__/ \__/
/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \
\__/ \__/ \__/ \__/
/ \__/ \__/B \__/ \
\__/ \__/L \__/ \__/
/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \
A: alter
I: Brother Io
B: the bishop, ST: 8
L: Lubik
He will try to engage the bishop in
HTH and bite him. Anyone bitten must roll 3D vs. DX or be
turned. No one will help, they are too stunned. The
bishop will only try to resist HTH but will not try to escape
from it.
[slaying brother IO is worth 36
experience.]