Page 52 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE RESPOnSE

As for the patient’s purported ability to “open a doorway to anoth- Mac’s a good guy... Not many folks I’d rather have behind me when
er dimension”, clinical studies were inconclusive. While observers did things get nasty, but he’s got a temper.
report an anomalous visual discrepancy, protocols prohibited further No one’s seen him since. I mean, Wanda said she heard yelling
investigation until an appropriate control condition could be imple- after she locked herself in — thought it was the cops, but then everything
mented. It is possible that trace residuals from the subject’s drug use went quiet. Not sure who was tusslin’ with Mac, but it wasn’t the boys
affected the primary observation team, allowing Mr. Barrow to release in blue. They didn’t show up ’til after we’d got her out and cleaned up
himself from protective custody. Further studies will be performed in and Bub was on his way to take her to the guy who stitches us up when
a more clinical environment, once contact with the patient has been things go sideways on a job.
re-established. Strange as shit, I tell you what. No trace of Mac, and ain’t no-
— Personal interview with Dr. Alicia Montgomery, excerpted from body seen him since. Weirdest thing though? It was so cold in there,
the clinical treatise, “Underhill or Under the Influence.” when we were pulling Wanda out, I could see my breath. I mean, I
th
The Union know that’s a weird thing to remember, but it’s almost the 4 of July,
and I know the AC in Mac’s place ain’t been working as long as I’ve
The Union isn’t big on theories or legends. They’re con- known him. I don’t know if that means something. Probably not. But...
cerned with what’s going on in their own neighborhood: right it was weird, ya know?”
here, right now. This is both a blessing and a curse for the Lost. — Overheard in the back room of the Stumble Inn
On the downside, Union members are more likely to no-
tice the presence of a Changeling freehold in their local area Conspiracies
than other compacts. Freeholds tend to develop where a con-
tinual and steady stream of emotionally unstable Lost return Regardless of their increased resources, broader informa-
from their Durance, which means that an influx of oddly tion networks, and more efficient organizational structures,
behaving newcomers are heading into the Union’s backyard. hunter conspiracies still suffer many of the same issues that
And, because the Lost return to their former homes in the mor- compacts and unaffiliated hunter cells do when dealing with
tal world, freeholds also occur where humans disappear. People the fae. Short of using fae-detecting Endowments on every in-
going missing (or for those replaced by fetches, and exhibit dividual they encounter — including their own employees — the
drastic changes in behavior and personality) tend to draw the conspiracies don’t have any set protocols to determine fae from
Union’s attention. human. This not only makes hunting Changelings down dif-
That being said, the Lost can be good “neighbors” as far ficult, but for the conspiracies, it means that the likelihood of
as supernatural monsters are concerned. They don’t need to the Lost pretending to be hunters is fairly high. In some cases,
drink human blood to survive. They aren’t prone to murder- this can be an advantage: a fae potion maker may have recipes
ous rages. And their freeholds are an intricate social hierarchy; unavailable to human members of the Ascending Ones, and
when the Lost’s sanity levels drop too low, they patrol their access to a Goblin Market might garner the Aegis Kai Doru Rel-
own. As long as they’re not selling people to the True Fae or ics the likes of which they could only dream. Some conspiracy
committing other crimes against the locals, chances are the members may overlook where occult information and valuable
Union may not have a beef against the Lost — unless, of course, artifacts come from, while others might be very interested in
the fae starts making deals. the source — especially if they can use that data to their own
That said, life amongst the fae is never stable for long. advantage.
Even though the Lost do what they can to prevent it, their sani- In addition to possible interactions and evidence relating
ties do slip. The True Fae do kidnap people. Interpersonal and to the Wandering Monsters on page 57, each conspiracy has a
political conflict does happen, and sometimes the situation new Endowment that’s tailored for encounters with Lost, True
gets ugly. When a row between Changelings comes to the at- Fae, hedgebeasts, hobgoblins, or other fae entities.
tention of the Union, chances are they’re not going to discrimi-
nate too heavily between the good guys and the bad guys in Aegis Kai Doru
the situation if the safety of the community is at risk. Minutia The Aegis Kai Doru are primarily interested in Change-
of inter-fae court politics and plausible deniability go out the lings who wield magical items. If the Lost isn’t willing to buy,
window when a Union cell is protecting its neighborhood, and sell, or trade the supernatural relic, they’re bound to have
it’s likely the Union will raze the whole damn freehold if that’s trouble with this conspiracy. Hunters amongst the Aegis Kai
what needs to be done to protect their friends and families. Doru tasked with acquiring relics rarely ask politely before “re-
From the Archives: I’m tellin’ ya, man. It was some fucked up covering” the items they believe are their sacred duty to possess.
shit. Joey heard the call come in over his police scanner, and recognized And few Changelings are likely to give over any protective item
the address. Me and Bub were at the bar around the corner, so when that may shield them from the True Fae — or other supernatu-
Joey called us up, we beat feet over there to see what was up before the ral threats that plague their existence. When the two collide,
cops showed. Changelings and the Aegis Kai Doru will clash.
It was crazy. I mean, the trailer door was half-off, and we found A row between one cell and one Changeling can swell into
Wanda had locked herself in the bathroom. Her shoulder was dislo- a larger scale conflict, drawing hunter cell against Lost groups
cated, her arm was broke in two places, and it looked like someone in ever-growing numbers. Should the Lost use more supernatu-
had been playing hacky sack with her face. Not the first time, I mean, ral items in these battles, the ante will grow even higher for

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