Summerwood (Monsterhearts 2)

Game Master neonblues

Lucinda finally seems to take notice of Ashton and flinches. She looks from him to JJ and, rather urgently, back to Hayden. “I will void all current contracts, and... we will never hunt for blood in this city again. Do we have a deal?” The look in her eyes is both pleading and fuming. This is far more than she had planned to give up.

"Ash, don't do anything that'll hurt you, yet. There's more than one way to balance these scales."

She turns to Lucinda, drawing herself up to her full height as she passes sentence.

"You will void all contracts signed here tonight. You will pay suitable recompense for insults and injuries made by you and yours to those you free. If you hunt here again, you will not use witless treachery and deceit to ensnare prey; lust and greed should suffice.

"If you promise these things, I will see that he hears your request within the week."

Lucinda scowls. “I suppose it comes to the same end. Our contract with Isaac is useless under these terms anyway, and I can see these hunting grounds are no longer suitable. Very well. I accept.”

Lucinda snaps her fingers. All of the remaining pregenerated character sheets dissolve into nothing.
Ashton, Deirdre, and Eva: All of your compulsions are gone. Ashton heals 2 harm as his wound seals up.

Deidre:
You feel Sonoko’s claws begin to pierce your flesh, drawing the faintest bit of blood. And then-
Skrsh.
Sonoko stops, frozen in pain, as a steel ballpoint pen is lodged into her neck, held by Isaac. The color seems to have returned to his flesh. He glares at her hatefully as she howls in pain and scrambles further into the woods, leaving the two of you alone.

Eva:
Clove stops their advance and mumbles to themself. “I... something is wrong...”

I think I'm supposed to get a condition for my middling roll, right? Or does it not matter since this adventure appears to be wrapping up?

That’s true, I forgot. How about “Monster,” that seems appropriate.

Deirdre gasps and falls to her knees, shivering. She touches the blood on her neck with shaky hands and stifles a little sob. It takes her a few moments to regain her composure, but eventually, she looks up at Isaac. "Th-thank you," she stammers.

This likely triggers Can't Save Myself. I'm not sure if it would be Hayden or Isaac who technically saved me, but whoever it is, they'll mark XP and I'll gain a String on them.

"Somebody needs to tell me what the hell is going on," says Ashton, touching his skin where just a moment ago he was pretty seriously injured. At least whatever freaky stuff she had done to him seems to be gone now. He bites down on his lip, breathing in and out for a moment, calming himself down before looking back over at Hayden. "Do you know her? What is up with you two, anyways? I think it might be time to let the rest of us in on how deep this rabbit hole goes. Are you a demon too?"

Spending a string on Hayden, I would like her to explain to Ashton what she is

Don't tell him. If you tell him, he has to tell everyone, or you have to hurt him.

Am I ready?

"I'm not a demon, and I'd never met her before. I'd read of her kind before though, the Baobhan Sith - Not that I expected to just meet them in the woods!"

"Cat, Cu, Baobhan, Daoine
The worst kinds of thieves you've ever seen
Alone guile or wiles might keep you whole,
But give a chance, Sith will steal child or blood, life or soul."

"And how about you? Mister "This won't be the first time I've taken a shotgun to the face," what kind of deals are you going around making? Maybe Jayj's book isn't the first weird-true stuff I've seen written down, but is this really a conversation you want to have with Isaac and Bonnie and Gavin and everyone coming back any minute?"

Shut Down (Lying): 2d6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (6, 3) - 1 + 1 = 9 I'll take a string away from Ashton. I think Monster might apply here, since I could see Ashton not wanting everyone to think of him as one, but I'll defer to him there. If it doesn't count, go ahead and toss a condition my way :-)

Eva smiles as she feels, somehow, that she might ba able to do something. Strangely, her smile seems somewhat,... ominous. "I'm fairly sure that "good girls" are allowed to hit vampires." she says, stepping towards Clove....

Lash out physically: 2d6 - 1 ⇒ (6, 3) - 1 = 8 Harm them and.... Clove learns something about Eva's true nature and gains a String on her.

I'd say the Monster condition would apply here; you're definitely invoking his monstrous nature.

Lucinda rolls her eyes. "I don't need to be here for this, do I?" She produces a small green gem from her robe and tosses it to Hayden. "That will allow you to reach me. We're done here." She turns and walks into the woods. Blaze follows, cradling his wounded hand.

Hayden: Some would say that you have corrected a great injustice tonight. If you feel the same way, you may leave your Darkest Self state.
---
Eva:

You punch Clove in the face, bloodying your knuckles slightly. Clove looks flabbergasted, then licks their lips slightly, tasting a trace of your blood. They make a face. "Yuck." They back away from you with a mix of fear and disgust. "Not worth it." They continue to back away, deeper into the woods.
---
Deirdre:

Strangely, the tiny wound in your neck seems to have already healed; it's as though it was never there.

Isaac nods and smiles at you, looking like he's just had the best sleep of his life. "...My pleasure." He looks towards campus. "Let's get the f*ck out of here."

Kind of a group effort, but I think Isaac had the most direct hand in saving you for the purpose of Can't Save Myself.

"Let's find the rest of my friends first," Deirdre says. As she walks, she glances at Isaac. "It looked like you've been through whatever that was before. How long has this been going on? How did you get mixed up in all of this?"

"You got lucky you know, Ashton. Breaking a contract to things like that can kill you. I'm honestly surprised she healed that wound. That was an injury you wrought, not her." He still deserves it. As gauche as that bargain was, he did still break it.

For a long moment she thought about her still-hidden knife.

The promise wasn't to me though, and even if I'm happy he's not hurt, it doesn't leave me in debt to Lucinda.

I can let it go.

"Let's go find Dee and the others, okay? We can hash out the rest later."

Ashton narrows his at Hayden, looking back and forth at her and Lucinda. He can tell there's something going on with her. He just can't tell what, exactly. He looks up at the moon for a second and closes his eyes, trying to piece something, anything together.

Gaze into the Abyss: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1) + 3 = 8

"First of all, there was no contract. It was a character sheet. That's not a contract. I didn't even sign anything. And why are you taking vampire lady's side in the first place? Is she like your sister or something?"

"Second of all, yeah I have. It's called a hunting accident. I've still got the scars," he says, gesturing to a part of his face that seems to be mostly freckles. "We were facing a demon or whatever and I needed to be intimidating. It kind of seemed like it worked, anyways."

"Third of all, how'd you even hear what I said in the first place? I whispered it to what's-her-face. I'm kind of surprised that she even heard it. There is one hundred percent something going on with you."

"You don't have to tell me what it is now. You don't even have to tell me later. I'm not trying to blow up anyone's spot or anything," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know why you keep going after me like this."

Shut Someone Down: 2d6 - 1 ⇒ (4, 4) - 1 = 7

I'm giving Hayden the tag 'Bully' and she can give me a condition in return

Hayden was honestly surprised that Ashton didn't just drop it.
"Ash, I was standing, like right there. Whispering only does so much, you know? And pointing out that you took a big risk? Not actually taking someone else's side. Oh, I know it burned up, but the part where you were filling in things like character name and player's name? Contract. Right along the margins. Wouldn't hold up in a court of law, but that clearly wasn't her concern. " And any fae courtier would respect it anyways.

As surprise turned to annoyance and started to veer towards anger, she got right up in his face. Or at least in his collarbone.

"Also - hello? You called me a demon! I'm not the one going after anyone! I was just trying to get you all out of this mess. You're welcome by the way!"

I'll inflict thin-skinned back
Good condition for Hayden too :-)

"No, you weren't? What are you even talking about? There is no way you should've been able to hear it!" says Ashton. "Why are you bald-faced lying? There is no f!$+ing way you could have heard me!"

"I asked what you were. The only freaky s+!! I really know is demons. It was a safe guess. I don't have a clue if there are good demons or what. I mean, you clearly aren't a good demon, but it was one hundred percent a possibility."

"But I don't even care at this point. Whatever you are, it doesn't matter. I'm going home," he says, walking off, flipping Hayden the bird as he does.

Shut Someone Down, tagging Bully: 2d6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (5, 1) - 1 + 1 = 6

REVISIONS

"And how about you? Mister "Fireballs just mean I pop my top off" what kind of deals are you going around making? So maybe Jayj's book isn't the first weird-true stuff I've seen written down, but is this really a conversation you want to have with Isaac and Bonnie and Gavin and everyone coming back any minute?"

Shut Down (Lying, Monster): 2d6 - 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6, 3) - 1 + 1 + 1 = 10 I'll take a string away from Ashton.

Ashton narrows his at Hayden, looking back and forth at her and Lucinda. He can tell there's something going on with her. He just can't tell what, exactly. He looks up at the moon for a second and closes his eyes, trying to piece something, anything together.

Gaze into the Abyss: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1) + 3 = 8

I think I'll hear what Ashton gets from Gaze into the Abyss before responding to Hayden

Ashton: The moonlight enters you and fills your mind with a jumble of confusing, contradictory images. Things you've sensed in the woods tonight, blended with stories and Disney cartoons you may have absorbed as a child. Mischievous sparkly blonde girls in green minidresses, beautiful women luring unsuspecting men into the woods, raucous dances under the moon, contracts signed in blood. Wanton chaos and strict, unyielding order.

All of it converges into one singular word: fairy.

Fairy? No. That can't be right. Fairies aren't real, and Hayden definitely can't be one, can they? But she did mention the Baobhan Sith--and that sounds Irish, doesn't it, and aren't fairies supposed to be Irish, Mr. O'Callaghan? Vampires, demons, ghosts, warlocks: are fairies really that much of stretch? Maybe it's time to make the only thing you share in common with Dana Scully a hair color.

And are fairies really that hard to believe, Mr. I howl at the moon every month? Hayden was clearly hiding something, and this would explain most of it.

"Hey, JJ isn't exactly the best shot. That was clearly his first ever fireball and he needs to work on his aim," says Ashton, poking at the burn on his shoulder and wincing. "I'll be fine. One of the fringe benefits of being a ginger is that I already have a bunch of aloe vera on hand."

"But it's not a big deal. You don't have to tell anyone anything," he says, and he stretches his arms behind his back as he does. Without his shirt on every muscle in his upper body is visible as he flexes. He's tall, that's for sure, but when he does this it's apparent how lithe he is too, and he looks like a cat stretching itself out after a nap, or maybe right before the hunt. "Let's find the others. And maybe find me a shirt, too."

Shut Someone Down Turn Someone On (Wild Hunt): 2d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4, 4) + 1 + 1 = 10

And I'll take that string back

Hayden's mouth can't help but curve into a smile while Ashton shows off. Who wouldn't want to sink their teeth into that.

She took a couple quick steps to catch up with him, moving a little more quickly to keep up with his stride.

"I dunno about a shirt Ash, you probably want to let that burn breathe for now," she said wryly. "Oh. Hey, that part actually looks a little worse Ash, wait up for a second. Jayj? could you run ahead and find Bonnie? I think she was gonna bring a first aid kit."

Once JJ's out of easy earshot "Hey, Ash? You don't have to worry. I'm not gonna tell anyone you're... you know."

Oh god, this conversation. Wait, what does she mean?

"Wait, what do you mean?" he says, narrowing his eyes at her.

Hayden gives a big wink. "Exactly." Then she boops him on the nose and starts to jog away, her lightning fast escape hampered by her very tight pants.

Yup. Definitely a mothman. Grandma was right! thinks Ashton, jogging after her.

Eva folloes Clove as they back away. Doping her best to keep them in sight.

Hayden, Ashton, JJ, Deirdre, and Isaac all manage to meet up. "I don't know what you people did," says Isaac, "but... thank you. I came here thinking it was just some fun game, but they've been draining my blood for weeks now. I barely even felt like myself anymore."
---
Eva:

Following Clove, you see them join Lucinda, Blaze, and Sonoko in a circle of stones. Sonoko and Blaze both look badly injured.

"It went sideways," grumbles Blaze. "We're going back."

"Fine by me," replies Clove, glancing back in your direction. "That one's blood is... wrong."

Lucinda sighs exasperatedly, and waves her hand. All four of them vanish.

Hayden entirely ignores Isaac, rushing past him towards Deirdre. Her fingers ran carefully but firmly along Deirdre's neck as she looked for a wound beneath the blood "Dee..."

Realizing that Deirdre wasn't bleeding anymore meant she wasn't frantic, but even though her voice was steady, there was nothing calm about it. "Dee? Which one of them did this to you?"

Ashton gives Isaac a thumbs up. "Implied threats of teeth kicking solve a surprising number of problems. And I think we've all learned a valuable lesson: role playing games are bad. Next time you want to do a group activity, consider intramural sports or something. I hear frisbee golf is pretty fun."

"So if we're done pretending to be the Scooby gang--hey, has anyone seen Eva? She kind of seems like the 'I get lost in the woods' easily type."

Eva watches the group disappear curiously and then pulls out her phone, and taping the screen. Done, she sits on a nearby fallen log, waiting.

Deirdre chokes back a sob as Hayden rushes up to her. She throws her arms around her girlfriend and holds her close.

She lowers her eyes when Hayden asks about the wound. "It was Sonoko. I... I couldn't stop her. I'm sorry."

Isaac’s expression darkens. “I hurt her. Sonoko. She...” He trails off, clearly still a bit traumatized.

"If she walked away, you didn't hurt her enough."

Her injury might be repaid, but I'll enjoy wringing out every drop of recompense for this insult!

"Let's her you home Dee, and-" **bzzz bzzz** "and someone should go find Eva, she's lost but okay. Wait, s!@!, where's Gavin?"

"Called it," says Ashton. "Alright, let's go find her."

Had a bad run of technical ysoki earlier and missed the window, but that should be "Let's get you home Dee" >:-(

E with the legs: Clove, Lucinda, Blaze, and Sonoko seem to have gone. Is the game over now? I am not sure I know the way back to the car.
Hayden: Game's over. u ok? We're coming to find you.
Hayden: is Gavin there?

Stone circle huh?

Gaze into the Abyss: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (4, 5) + 1 = 10 Looking for the closest path into Faerie

"I know where she is guys. There's a weird circle of stones off..." Hayden squinted into the darkness, "...that way. Sounds like Gavin and Bonnie made it back to the dorms though. Let's get E, and get gone."

"You going to be okay to come along Dee? Shouldn't be anything scarier than us in the woods for now."

The group meets back up with Eva. Once you head back towards the dorms, you find Gavin and Bonnie arguing near the edge of the woods.

“We have to go back!” says Bonnie.

“No way in hell. They could already be- oh.” Gavin notices you. “You’re all okay. Um, what happened?”

Hayden: You sense a weak point in the barrier between this world and Faerie near the circle of stones Eva mentioned.

"We convinced Lucinda to pick up a new hobby," says Ashton. "She's all about beer pong now. Also, whatever she did to us is over and she's left town for good. All hail the conquering heroes and all that jazz."

"How exactly did you stumble into all of that in the first place, Gavin? And why? Lacrosse and larping kind of seem like a weird combination. Admittedly soccer and larping is just as weird but still. You don't seem like the type."

JJ leans towards Gavin. "Ross asked us to look for you."

JJ steps in, whispering to Gavin's ear. "He's worried about you. He cares, man. Don't f%ck that up." He clasps a hand on Gavin's shoulder.

"You going to be okay to come along Dee? Shouldn't be anything scarier than us in the woods for now."

"Yes, I'm fine. I won't be scared as long as you're here with me."

You say that now.

But out here in the woods isn't the right time anyways.

Nothing she needed to say fit in the words she could use, so Hayden just leaned over to kiss Deirdre's temple. "Then let's go.

***
At the edge of the woods
"Hey Bon!" Hayden gave a quick scan to make sure she was still unhurt before crashing in for a relieved hug. She pulled back and looked far more obviously to see that she was okay. "I see Big E over there kept you safe. Memorable night, huh?"

"Hayden!" Bonnie hugs back Hayden tightly. "And Eva, thank you so much! I'm so glad you're both okay! Oh my Gosh I was so scared! So were they vampires? Did the garlic work? Which things worked specifically?" She pulls out her phone so she can take notes.

Gavin give JJ and Ashton a look that's a mix of embarrassment and indignation. "I... I don't see that it's really any of your business. I wanted to come, so I did, and it was clearly a huge mistake. Can we go now?"

"Hey man, it's no big deal. We all got caught up in--whatever this was. Fine by me if we all pretend this never happened. I know I wouldn't want the soccer team finding out that I was pretending to be Lestat or whatever, even with all my amazing bat powers," says Ashton, who then gives Gavin a couple of pats on the back as he walks, the last one lingering just slightly longer than necessary, before flashing his trademark crooked grin and continuing to walk towards campus. "Alright! Who's got a spare shirt?"

Turn Someone On: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6) + 1 = 8

Gavin seems to silently huff a bit before slowly walking in the direction of his car. Still a bit shaken, he seems to be mentally debating what to do next.

Gavin gives Ashton a string.

"Of course, Bon. Some sort of weird Scottish vampires we think. The garlic didn't do much, but it seemed like they had kind of a permission thing going on. Like how Buffy has to be invited in? They were using the character sheets to get invited to eat people."

"I'll want to hear all about what you saw later, okay? So take good notes. I have to get Dee back though. She was hurt, you know?"

As Gavin starts walking away, Hayden quickly darts over before he can drive off.

"Hey! One more thing, okay? I think that while it might have gone wrong, you got some of what you were looking for tonight. If you really, really have to go out for this again, give me a call. I think I can match that high."

Turn On: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 6) + 2 = 13

Once they reach the car, Deirdre gets inside and starts it up, eager to get back to campus. Fortunately, it's big enough that everybody can ride back together, Hayden included. Deirdre waits patiently as her girlfriend chats with everybody, eager to get back to campus.

Gavin seems about to protest, then considers Hayden's words. "I... hmmm. Yeah, maybe we should talk sometime. What was your name again? Mel?"
Hayden gets a string on Gavin.

"Only when I'm doing something like this. Otherwise, I'm Hayden."

From the back seat, Eva's suddenly asks "Was that an unusual LARP? It seemed much more dangerous than I expected."

"Well, about half the people there didn't really know what they were doing, the GM had a really complicated plan that didn't pan out, only the people she came with got to have any fun, and the campaign got called early on account of drama involving bodily fluids.

"Pretty normal."