A Moonlit Walk 2
Help Them: Be as it may, you were feeling charitable tonight. You were going to help them. You don't know why you are doing this… but something told you that if you didn't there would be more regrets to add to the immortal and ever-growing list of them.
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How strange it was that you couldn't stop thinking about helping that girl and her magically gifted charge. Despite every instinct urging you to refrain, you found yourself compelled to assist them anyway. In doing so, you were breaking all sorts of codes and laws of vampirism—ancient, ironclad rules designed to ensure that no mortal human could possess magic. Yet, here you were, contemplating a flagrant violation of those very principles. It was a reckless, unprecedented decision that went against everything your kind had enforced for centuries.
Were you going to do this out of curiosity? No… No… not curiosity. Nor amusement. You had learned over your long years that such motivations were fleeting and shallow. There was something deeper driving you now, something more profound and inexplicable. Perhaps it was a sense of purpose, an innate desire to defy the very nature of your existence and make a meaningful impact. Maybe it was a spark of empathy, long buried under centuries of detachment, now rekindled by the sight of their plight.
Or maybe it was just the… simple fact that the girl was noticing you as you stalked the shadows… but something else, that you could not feel, you could not see, smell or hear.
Something was hunting them… and if they were hunting them, they would, soon, hunt you.
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You walked forward into the headlights, squinting your eyes as you approached them, stepping into the harsh, unnatural light. The girl let out a gasp and frantically began reaching for something inside the car. "<You will not take me, unholy monster!>" she exclaimed, her voice a desperate blend of Latin and Spanish. In a trembling hand, she brandished a cross as if it were the most powerful weapon she could wield, holding it out with a mix of fear and defiance. The cross glinted in the headlights, casting sharp, erratic shadows that danced in the night. She was ready to fight, despite the overwhelming odds, clinging to her faith as a shield against the darkness that loomed before her.
You frowned at that. A couple of centuries ago, you might have felt a pang of fear at the sight of the cross. Back then, such symbols held immense power, and the faith behind them was formidable, even if they had no effect on you. But this modern world was different—thankfully and blissfully so. It was a world gradually losing touch with its faith and its more primal and bloody ways. The old fears and superstitions that once held sway over humanity were fading, replaced by a skeptical, secular outlook. Making it all the more easier for your kin to… well, hunt without fear.
You held up your arms in a gesture of peace. "Much as He might be a problem to my kin, He is not going to help you now, as I am not here to cause you any harm unless you force my hand." The crucifix trembled in her hands, its power a faint echo of what it once was. You reached out and placed a hand on it. It burned slightly, but more as an unpleasant itch than true pain.
"Now, my dear, you understand me, don't you?" you asked, your voice gentle but firm. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and fear, the defiance wavering as she processed your words. You held her gaze, willing her to see the truth in your eyes—that you meant no harm, that you were not the monster she feared. The crucifix still quivered between your fingers, but the intensity of its bite was diminishing, a reflection of the waning faith that had once made it a formidable weapon.
The women nodded. "Yes." it was a very hesitant answer as you set the crucifix down on the car. "You're a monster?"
"Monster, no my dear, I am merely an old man wanting to have some peace and quiet." You gave a toothy smile, as you turned to look around and at her vehicle.
The car:
D6 => 1
The car was still running, but would not move. No physical damage was done, but the tires would not budge, stuck in the street as if it was something-
That was not good.
You took a deep breath looked at the girl, and stated. "Your car has been hexed, it may be physically fine, but much of the internal components have been stopped, and there is a creature hunting you. But you knew that already my dear." You said as you looked back to the boy, who was staring at you, somehow both afraid and in awe at you.
You turned to her. "Your brother… son?"
"My brother." She whispered as she continued. "We were trying to get to the coordinates our parents gave us…" She then reached into her pocket to pull out GPS coordinates.
Your new adopted hometown's coordinates. Blast it all. Someone was conspiring to get you back into this game again. You could feel it in your aching bones. "Who gave that to you?"
"My parents, they said a powerful mage lived there." She said. "Someone who could train him."
"Do you happen to have a name?" Please don't be me, please don't be me, that San Francisco thing was not your fault, you just wanted to kill one of those idiots trying to be the Zodiac killer. You never did find out who it was? Maybe it was one of the elders getting bored or something?
"No, just that he was old, smelly, and maybe a bit grumpy about people barging into his life again."
Shit. you knew that staying in San Francisco was going to haunt you again, but not like this. Who did you save... or did you kill to get to this situation? You were getting old and forgetful. You were expecting a few kindred to come out and think they were the hottest shit and trying to kill you for clout or something. You took a breath and took a moment to look around. "Get your brother, we are leaving."
"What about my car?" She asked.
"The Sealing hex will wear off in the morning and you can retrieve it, baring and potentially idiotic mortal deciding to steal it," You then traced a star in the dust on the windshield. "As for my counter to prevent that, it will be invisible to everyone but you, and your brother. For a time at least."
The star glowed for a second as the girl retrieved the boy. "What are you?" She asked. She clearly knew you were not human.
"I'm just an old man my dear, one who would rather peace and quiet." You said.
"My name is Mary, and this is Joshua." She said as she introduced herself and her brother. "I-"
You sighed and looked into the darkness. "Do you have a flashlight?" You asked.
"Yes." She said as she grabbed a big, bulky one that was very bright.
"Good. Now follow me." You ordered."
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Hunter and Hunted:
D6 => 5
You sensed them far before you saw them. They were running on foot, or on horseback, riding through the clear desert path, making the cacti and the shrubbery freeze.
Not just a creature it seems, but a hunting party.
A small one, maybe two or three Kindred… and their magically mutated beasts, but one that would not be stopped by simple things like time. They would be able to leave and get back to their lairs…
But they were taking their time moving through the desert. They wanted something to happen.
And it made you think of the boy. Were they trying to turn him? No…
They would be dead if that were the case, or undead at this point, and enslaved to their master and they would be abused for their powers… or worse in the case of the girl. Newly turned vampires fetched quite a price among the perverts and the insane of your kin.
They think that making a vampire pregnant and forcing them into hibernation is a way to make vampires… something that only leads to dead children and broken women.
You took a breath and then looked at the two children. "Stop."
"But we're-"
"Stop." You said again, and the two both stopped in terror at your tone. The boy, Joshua looked ready to cry at your simple statement, feeling the power that his sister could not feel, or was strong enough to resist.
You suspected the former. "They have us surrounded."
"But I don't see anything." Mary said.
You shook your head. "But you can't feel it can you, as your brother can."
Then Mary focused on what was around her, gasped, and turned, trying to protect her brother from the smoke rising from the ground, and the clapping began.
"I wanted a little sport on my meals, but my god… I can't believe it." The vampire that was leading this group of buffons walked out from the mist, clapping as if he was trying to act like an audience. "What do they call you now? Morton?"
You took a breath and saw there were five, three vampires and two hounds. "Norton."
"Well, I don't care." How utterly rude of this… no it was a girl, probably a century old, who had seen the world change, and not care. She was not as tall as you formerly were in a younger life and despite your hopes, was wearing a more modern style. The other two must have been mercenaries she hired, with their dogs. "I was hunting this duo, and you are interrupting it, Elder."
You chuckled. "Really? My dear, you are forgetting your place… and these children, are not prey."
"I have been hunting them for two nights over a thousand miles and lost dozens of hunters and my kin!" She swore. "They are mine!"
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