Page 49 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER TWO: ALL IS LOST

minds based on what they have themselves previously endured. as if the police are going to investigate a hobgoblin’s murder,
Loyalists and privateers may sell others — human and fae alike — or strange trophies taken from hedgebeasts, no matter how rare
into slavery to the True Fae in order to retain their own freedom. or unusual they are. A Lost who willingly opens a doorway into
The fae who commit such atrocities are practically screaming to the Hedge could probably write his own check for the favor —
be found by a compact and dealt with appropriately. at least until the Abbey started wondering exactly how he was
Other Changelings, however, tend to their sanity out of a doing it, and what that said about the nature of the Changeling
desire to regain their former lives — or to avoid being hunted himself.
down as monsters. Until something happens to “out” them as From the Archives: He said he knew just what I was looking
fae, compacts might mistake the Lost for a normal human or for, and just the woman who’d give it to me — to us. I didn’t have high
one with supernatural power. Some possess occult knowledge hopes. Who would have expected such a boor of a man to provide such
or supernatural knacks that could make them an invaluable ally quality?
for a hunter compact. And, as compacts reach out to acquire She was perfect. Perfect eyes, perfect hips, perfect breasts. Legs as
resources to aid them in their efforts, their paths may well cross long as a summer day, and a mouth that was made for pleasure. But
in a cooperative fashion. it was more than that. She had an air about her, something I can’t put
The more lucid Changelings may also police their own, a name to, even now. It was like the sun shone beneath her skin, and
bringing down the “mad dog” Lost who have strayed too far when she smiled...
to be redeemed; or they might enlist hunters to do the same. She called herself The Verdant Queen, like she was some sort of
These relationships can continue for extended periods, assum- royalty, and unlike the whores who claim to be foreign princesses to
ing the hunters involved don’t know or mind what they’re deal- boost their earnings, she carried herself like she was. She looked every
ing with. bit a queen, even when we had her tied down.
If there’s one thing constant about the fae, it’s their po- Even when she had us tie her down.
tential to slide down that slippery slope towards madness and She fucked like a sovereign too — nothing coy, nothing pathetic. It
monstrosity — a fact most hunters may not be aware of, even if was like we were the ones serving her; we were there just to please her
their compacts are. over and over again. She never lost control of the situation.
I was the last one to leave. She asked me to stay, while I washed
Ashwood Abbey the cum off her stomach. Just a single word, a request so quiet that I
The Ashwood Abbey is more likely to contain Changelings don’t think anyone else heard it, and I couldn’t say no. I didn’t say no
than it is to hunt them. Most of the Lost simply don’t pro- when she asked me to untie her either, or to remove her blindfold, or
vide the kind of targets that the Abbey is most often drawn when we fucked again, just the two of us there in the pile of sheets and
to. Because their Masks make them mostly indistinguishable pillows the entire group had used before.
from humans, the Lost are protected from unwanted Abbey Then she suggested other things — things that turned my stomach,
attention. even as they made me wet. We’ve been together for weeks now, and I
There are exceptions, however — if the Abbey became still haven’t been able to bring myself to tell her no.
aware of a Lost’s true nature, especially a Beast or Ogre, they I used to think the Abbey was the ultimate in pleasure-seeking, no
might be considered prime hunting targets. To some experi- matter the cost, no matter the risk.
mentally-minded members of the compact, they might find it Now, I’m not so sure.
interesting to see how much abuse a being made of stone, ice, — from the private journal of Dame Elspeth Blackthorne
or steel could take before breaking.
Other Lost might interact with the Abbey not as targets The Long Night
or infiltrators, but as suppliers. While a servile Wizened might While some compacts may target individual Changelings,
not make for a good chase, one who knew the secrets to creat- the Long Night believes in focusing on what they see as the
ing intoxicating potions made from fae blood, or raising exotic source of this particular supernatural problem — the True Fae.
foodstuffs in the borderlands of the Hedge, might be listed as Their researchers have drawn correlations between the Nephil-
an Abbey employee. im and the True Fae. The Long Night believes the fae are a race
In fact, certain factions within Lost society have attitudes of fallen angels dedicated to corrupting mankind.
and mindsets so similar to those of the Abbey that they’re very The Long Night sees the Hedge as an infernal place, popu-
likely to cross paths, if not overlap. The Spring Court, where lated by imps (hobgoblins) and demons (hedgebeasts). Most
desire and passion rule supreme, and the Fairest Seeming, hunters would no more enter there than they would willingly
where physical beauty and social manipulation excuse almost walk through the gates of Hell. They believe that the thorns
any behavior, seem well suited to the Abbey. Or, Changelings literally tear away at the souls of those who are weak or foolish
focused on stalking hedgebeasts may lead or participate in an enough to venture there, leaving them vulnerable to corruption
unique hunt with Abbey members in the Hedge. and supernatural pollution. This infernal influence shows itself
The Hedge is the ultimate hunting ground for the Ash- not only in changes to the Changelings’ appearances, but also
wood Abbey — a wild territory filled with a near-limitless se- in the manifestation of their inhuman powers. The stronger
lection of creatures (and beings) both fantastic and fearsome. the supernatural abilities a Changeling exhibits, the more likely
And, unlike hunts performed in the human realm, hunters that her soul is beyond redemption; at that point, the Change-
don’t need to worry about cleaning up after themselves. It’s not ling may even be considered to be a Nephilim herself.

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