Page 102 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE RESPONSE

New York City, one of the largest ports in the world, has a in Japan. She’s desperate to hide from ancient enemies, and as
thriving import and export business that rivals all other cities in soon as she realizes these “children” with cameras are onto her,
the world. And where there are imports and exports, both legal she’ll attempt to recruit them. She’ll whisper secrets, perhaps
and not, hunters are sure to find magical artifacts, cursed relics, even reveal herself on film, to train this Network to identify other
blessed amulets, and other curiosities. mummies who might arrive in the area. By doing so, the hunters
While the Aegis Kai Doru often chases after such prized will help protect the mummy from a dire fate of eternally being
objects, in New York City this conspiracy doesn’t have the foot- slain by an enemy she can’t remember, but still fears.
hold or the contacts required to be at the center of that trade.
In fact, thanks to long-standing ties with longshoremen and Null Mysteriis
dock workers, the Loyalists of Thule have a very good idea of Yes, he appears very healthy. Good for him.
exactly what passes through the New York Harbor. The ques- Professor Amir Ibin Youssef has a complex problem he’s
tion is: what’s to be done about what comes through? brought to the attention of his colleagues at the Department of
For the last forty years or so, the Loyalists’ policy was to cata- Human Biology at the University of Cambridge. Youssef, who
logue who was buying what and track where that inventory went works for the Department of Ancient History, also teaches at
if it left New York. In some cases, the Loyalists would intervene, Cambridge. Thanks to his unique take on the history of sci-
collecting up particularly difficult or dangerous items to prevent entific study, he’s managed to find friends within the science
them from falling into the wrong hands. Hands like those of the department who’re willing to help him.
Aegis, who have never done right by the Loyalists of New York. What Amir doesn’t know is that his fellows in the Human
That’s all started to change, though, as the Loyalists have Biology Department are largely members of the Null Mysteriis.
been approached by an elderly rabbi named Levi who has an What the Null Mysteriis doesn’t know is that Youssef is a
offer for them. He claims that he can take any ancient artifact mummy.
that comes into their possession, the kind that’s too dangerous Professor Youssef has a rare genetic marker that’s spread
to exist, and safely destroy it, depleting its energy for all time. through his descendants world-wide. This flaw gives his rela-
He’s even gone so far as to tell the Loyalists that he shares their tives a degenerative and contagious disease. It had lain dor-
need to work off an old debt. mant for centuries, but it has recently re-emerged.
Can the Loyalists trust the rabbi? Can they risk not trust- Can the scientifically-minded hunters help the professor
ing him? And, if they choose to work with him, will the Aegis track down his descendants and stop the spread of disease? When
Kai Doru become more than an irritant? pressed, Youssef will admit he’s becoming obsessed with the prob-
Network Zero lem and feels a growing, almost uncontrollable anger when he’s
distracted from resolving it. It seems the professor is afraid his rage
No no, seriously, watch the video again.This thing is totally may get out of control if the issue cannot be solved scientifically.
annihilated by the bumper even before she’s creamed into the wall, but Unless the Null Mysteriis can help the professor, these hunters will
here it is, a week later, on its feet again! soon understand that Youssef is not being hyperbolic.
The Network of Nagoya Japan have stumbled across an
amazing find by accident. As a group, they’re mostly JVloggers, The Union
gaijin English teachers in Japan, and their Japanese counter- I don’t care what it is, it isn’t fucking bedding down here, got it? If
parts teaching Japanese online, who all share curiosity about we gotta burn that museum to the ground, that’s what we’ll do.
toshi densetsu. Toshi densetsu are, in essence, the cross section The Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia has long
of urban legends and Japanese folklore. No Network members been a point of pride to the locals, being one of the oldest of
expected that they’d come across the real thing! its kind in the western hemisphere, and a feather in the cap of
While out drinking at a meet up, a few vloggers recording many academics who call Philadelphia home. In a strange one-
the nightlife filmed a Muslim woman in traditional dress being upmanship contest with the similarly famous Pennsylvania Mu-
hit by a drunk driver. She was smashed into a wall and the body seum of Archaeology & Anthropology, both centers of learning
was mutilated. The Network didn’t post the video publicly; in- struggle to “get” the next great event to draw visitors in through
stead, members held onto the surveillance out of whatever in- their doors. For this reason, the Academy jumped at the chance
stinct drives vloggers to record everything they do. to trade for a centerpiece from an Egyptian tomb, and recon-
This archived recording came in handy a few days later, struct it inside the Academy’s newest wing.
when a cell caught the same woman in the same area on camera The Academy has no idea that by bringing in this exhibit,
again. At first, members thought they’d captured evidence of a they have placed a particularly angry and vindictive mummy in
ghost and started a full investigation into the event. The video their midst. The monster has been awoken in a strange place,
was posted soon afterward and their story went viral. Not only with no understanding of what’s going on. It knows only rage.
did they capture the woman being killed from different angles, And so it has been sneaking through the streets, eating what it
they also filmed several videos of her alive and well after the sees as slaves and foreigners to regain its power — and possibly
accident. its sentience.
The Network has begun stalking the area, hoping to catch Naturally, The Union isn’t real thrilled about an ancient,
her again. What they don’t realize is that they haven’t found a indestructible menace murdering the people it works so hard to
ghost, but a mummy who’s awake and building a life for herself protect. They don’t know what it’ll take to stop the onslaught,

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