Page 97 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER FOUR: THE UNDYING ONES

for these servants keep the undying’s agenda active even if their and precious — mummies are confused and dangerous when
masters are still locked away in their tombs. they awaken — but the undying may opt to garner more support

The Cruelest Cult when its agenda runs off course or it feels threatened.
Mummies are capable of taking direct action, but they of- Rise, and serve me!
ten choose not to do so. While they rest in their tombs, human Though hunters may assume otherwise, the relationship
agents carry out their wishes. At one end of the spectrum lie between mummies and their cults is not as simple as it might
the unwilling dupes. These individuals may be found anywhere. appear. While the mummy formed the cult and has shaped it
They are the employees of a mummy-controlled corporation, over centuries, its relationship to the cultists is symbiotic. The
the bodyguards who don’t ask questions, or the street-level cam- cult has some degree of power over the mummy itself, and is
paigners for a political movement. All three types of mortals capable of waking it from its deathless rest.
may be tools for the undying to use, but neither has the slight- Re-awakening is not always a simple process, and it’s one
est clue what they’re serving or why. that can go horribly wrong. A newly awakened mummy is full of
The fact that everyday mortals are involved in a mummy’s power, and often not in control of its faculties. On occasion, a
schemes should put most hunters into a moral quandary — es- mummy’s most devoted cultists are the first victims of its latest
pecially since these people may not know the first thing about spell; that, in itself, is a potential plot hook. Stories that hinge
the World of Darkness. How does a hunter question an unwit- on defeating a cult’s plans may culminate in a rush to stop an
ting dupe who simply took on a job for some extra cash? What important ritual. A cell’s failed encounter may lead to the death
will a hunter do when she finds out a picketer is campaigning of the cultists, and a far more potent threat is then unleashed.
because he genuinely believes in his cause? Should the hunters The human nature of cults and cultists also offers Storytell-
succeed in bringing down a mummy-infested corporate body, ers plenty of possibilities later on in a chronicle—especially if
how will they react when they learn they’ve driven good, hard- the hunters assume the mummy is the evil entity they’re fight-
working people into poverty and unemployment? ing. For example, say the mummy has been summoned and
This, perhaps, is the most insidiously evil element of the directed by its cult, and the evil at the heart of recent events is,
mummy’s existence: the undying are deeply embedded in hu- in fact, a human one. The mummy is the gun. A human being
man society on a global scale. They are like a cancer in metas- pulled the trigger. What will a cell do to uphold the Vigil then?
tasis: a doctor can’t cut it out without doing some damage to

the host — and there’s no guarantee that it won’t return anyway. Classifying
Worse, though, is the fact that the actions of these cults can
draw the hunters’ attentions while the mummy is inactive. This dis- the Cultist
tinction will not be clear to the average hunter, nor will it be
apparent to a compact or conspiracy without months and years
of careful research and collaboration. Since cults can exist with- Generally speaking, cultists fall into three categories:
out supernatural influences, hunters will have to investigate and

decide whether or not cultists are odd, misguided, or evil. Then, Dupes
they’ll need to explore whether or not there is something super- The majority of most cult members are unaware of the
natural at work, if the cultists know who or what they serve, or if nature of what they’re serving. They’re everyday people hold-
someone else is influencing the cults on a broader scale. ing down a job, or political activists, or church members who
Mummies make extensive use of cults and close-knit found a new belief that suits their nature. They’re committed
groups. They have a long-term mission, which even they don’t to the cause and, if they’re told their beliefs don’t quite add
understand most of the time, one that needs maintenance and up, they may simply shrug and walk away. Cults, churches, and
execution during the long periods when it isn’t awake. For Sto- causes that form around a mummy are no different from those
rytellers, these agendas aren’t as important as the consequences found everywhere else a hunter cares to look.
hunters must deal with when crossing paths with a mummy or Ironically, true believers can often prove to be amongst the
its cult. Think of the mummy’s long-term goal as a way to shape most powerful of the cultists — not within the cult’s power hierar-
its comings and goings. The grander the scheme, the longer it’ll chy, but within the mundane world. Mummies don’t necessarily
take the mummy to see that goal through to the end, and the want to let a local police commissioner or politician into the se-
more it’ll need mortals to help accomplish its task. cret of the eternal undying ones; if they react badly, these key fig-
The vast majority of these creatures has cultivated a sig- ures may bring significant resources to bear against them or their
nificant following that may well have existed in some form or cults. However, mummies do recognize that having powerful
another for centuries. The other end of the cultist spectrum is individuals on their side best serves their interests. Thus, some
where hunters will discover whole families that have been in dupes are actively recruited whilst others are tangentially so.
service to a master whose visits, while infrequent, are memo-
rable. These cultists are intimately connected to the mummy Initiates
— and not just as servants. They are the creature’s eyes and ears
while it has neither, and can summon them back from death’s Dupes who prove especially loyal, committed, and funda-
embrace. This type of intimate relationship with mortals is rare mentally useful might find themselves drawn into a deeper level

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