Well, That Was a Mess

Posted on Sat Jul 29th, 2023 @ 3:00am by Dominique LaFramboise & Jarrod Lask & Nathaniel Cunningham & Gideon Asher & Frederick Matthews III & Jason Baraghani
Edited on on Sat Jul 29th, 2023 @ 4:10pm

Mission: Daemoniacus Tribulatio
Location: St. George’s Episcopal church

The atmosphere in the church last time had been full of nervous energy. This time, it was full of frustration. They hadn’t been organized enough, Nicki knew. But of course, organizing against a demon is almost impossible, which is part of the reason they had been winging it a bit.

But that hadn’t really worked, either.

“There’s a lot we didn’t think of,” Nicki told them all. “The biggest of which is that Astaroth is currently possessing a werewolf, which means it could smell us a mile away.”

“We really should have thought of that,” admitted Jarrod. “How did we miss it?”

“Literally everybody should have thought of it,” Reverend Jones said, attempting to keep her bangs out of her eyes. “My brother is a werewolf- in New York- and he’s always teasing me about my smell. I should have thought of it, too.”

Fred Matthews walked in at the end of the prior comment. "As much as it pains me to say so, I agree. We all should have thought of that. Of course, we also should have had a plan for simply eliminating the threat. I'd ask Cunningham why his acquaintances didn't take a kill shot when they had the opportunity and at least saved us the added embarrassment of the demon publically outplaying us, but I am afraid he will be late. He is currently occupied with, how does one say, having a new asshole forcibly installed by the Clarksville PD and the mayor. Once the witnesses start talking, I imagine the Blood Rangers and Hounds can expect a call as well."

Nicki’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “You actually let him do that?” she asked before she even stopped to think. No mayor in the entire state of Michigan would even think about getting involved in the supernatural community. She was surprised to find that she’d have to set the mayor straight before long.

"As opposed to letting the police chief or sheriff's office issue arrest warrants for the lot of you? I thought hounds were supposed to be intelligent. You're lucky no one was killed or seriously injured and no significant damage was done. We still have varmint laws down here along with summary execution warrants for supernatural malfeasance, which will now likely be issued for the demon's vessel. Cunningham is denying that Miss Carter was part of your plan and is painting her as an innocent bystander who was caught unawares. I suggest for her sake you not contradict him."

Nicki gave him a look somewhere between abject horror, total disgust, and utter disbelief. “They really think they can kill the human vessel of a demon?” she asked, all three emotions evident in her voice. “That’s difficult even for someone properly trained! They’re going to get themselves killed. And if the mayor is unlucky enough to have weak minded people working for him, the demon is likely to come for him.” She shook her head. “The absolute- no, you know what? We don’t have time to deal with the stupidity. Let them find out for themselves. Meanwhile, we have to have a better plan. I’d suggest luring Astaroth into the forest, but I have no idea how we would manage that.”

"The issue is less about how do we lure them away from the city, into the forest, for example," Gideon said. "While not exactly easy, all that would take would be finding something they want badly enough to schlep into the woods. Again, not the simplest thing, but I'm sure someone in this... august assemblage such as it is, could figure that out. No, the issue is, as stated, they'll sense us coming. I did a little thinking on this. The best way to do this might be to hide in plain sight. Natalie?" Natalie handed Gideon an i-pad. He called up a map of a large swamp not far from Nashville, but far enough to be isolated. "Tucker's Swamp. The stink in there is strong and presents an extremely confusing mix of scents. Rotting vegetation and dead animals and a number of live animals, and all manner of undead, feral weres and vampires, dryads, 'tentacle monsters' and what have you, all leaving scents and urine and scat everywhere. According to reports Natalie found, my predecessor declared a moritorium years ago on pursuing criminals there. Both our Rangers and our human, Were, and Witch surrogates got lost in there. Those that made it out reported their enhanced senses to be next to useless in there. And the level of seriously dark magic that permeates the place should make it difficult for even Astoroth to sort out who is who until it's too late. Then it's up to you witches to effectively separate them, and get Miss Carter back in the process. I'm open to other suggestions. And you have the apologies of both my Blood Rangers and our Blood Mage allies. We should have thought of this earlier. I'm new here, but that's no excuse."

“I absolutely love that idea,” agreed Nicki. “I don’t suppose anybody knows the swamp very well? We could probably use a guide.”

Fred spoke up. "You will not find any supernatural guide to it, at least amongst the powers represented here. The pack records indicate the magic and spirits that inhabit that swamp were well established before the first Christians set foot on this continent. The Shawnee and Cherokee tribes both speak of it as a place where the underworld joins to this world and say it is guarded by strong spirits."

“I was actually thinking a normal guide,” Nicki clarified. “You know, like a park ranger or something. Non-Supes are fine. Maybe preferable since they won’t have any extra sense to rely on.”

"I concur," Gideon said. "Even when trained to work without our extra-human senses, we supernaturals, witches included, tend to lean on those senses. It's too natural to us to avoid. It's like breathing. And in there, trying to ignore all of that sensory input is going to be a near full-time activity. The advantage is that Astaroth will be having the same experience, as will Miss Carter. If we're correct, Astaroth will be as impaired as we will be. As for a guide, I'll reach out through my connections to state law enforcement and see if I can get a Wildlife Officer from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Apparently, my predecessor worked with WRA officers when dealing with both supernatural poachers and those who made their living poaching Vampire and Weres. I believe the same liaison officer was working with your people Miss LaFramboise. They only reached out to me just before as Astaroth became an issue, just to make contact. I assume you're on their list of people to call, if they haven't already. I haven't had the chance to return their call, but I will immediately following this meeting."

“One more thing: I recommend we stick to non-verbal communication,” suggested Nicki. “Make Astaroth and Andy believe that we’re not working together anymore. Then, they won’t be expecting any of us to be a real threat.”

“Nicki likes being underestimated,” Jarrod informed them as a sort of aside.

“Well, it makes it easier to get ahead of your enemies,” defended Nicki. “Any advantage. You know.”

"Remember," Gideon said. "There's a lot going on in there, a lot of extrasensory noise, including some thought projection. Telepathy may be limited in range or get lost in the background noise. And if there are any old Crones in there, and they're likely are, they may have warding up to prevent or inhibit mental communication or magic in general. Again, this will work to our advantage to a point. Astaroth may have the same difficulties. If her powers aren't blocked, they may be at least impaired."

Fred shrugged. "It's as good a plan as any, I suppose. Though I would suggest we also plan for the possibility that the swamp might amplify her powers as well, just in case the natives were onto something about the whole underworld-this world joining thing. Theology aside, it seems unwise to dismiss the possibility out of hand. Given what the major said, perhaps it might also be wise to invest more heavily in a mundane form of communication as well. If nothing else, Cunningham says something physical to focus on helps the new pack members to learn to filter their senses. Perhaps the same principal would apply?"

“That’s not a bad idea,” admitted Jarrod.

Nicki nodded in agreement. “Demons are usually confined to earthly laws while in an earthly body,” Nicki added. “So her powers SHOULD be affected the same way ours are. But yes, planning for the opposite is a great idea.”

Since they really didn’t have a solid plan as of yet, the meeting broke up soon after. Everyone had their own tasks to complete before they could even begin to formulate a plan. For now, they were adjourned.