CHRONICLES

TOME I

The Lord of Malfeas
Story by Fred Furtado

     Invited by Dionysus to attend the inauguration of his new nightclub, The Grapevine, the Cast Members travel to New York. During the party, the Greek God takes them to his private office/penthouse and explains that he needs them to perform a mission for him. A couple of months back, Dionysus felt a faint ripple through reality, one with a hint of madness. Intrigued, he decided to investigate it and, after a lengthy process, found out the ripple originated at a mansion near Utica, upstate New York. The mansion belonged to media mogul Ted Sturge. Dionysus hired a team of troubleshooters, mostly Gifted, to break into the mansion and find out what caused the ripple. They never returned. That's when the God of Wine decided to call in some divine favors.
      The first ones to answer Dionysus request are Horus, Hotoru and Anders Rahbek. In order to get a better feeling of who Ted Sturge is, they ask Dionysus to arrange invitations for Sturge's next party. Once there, they meet all sorts of people, including Gifted and Supernatural ones. Sturge is one of the former, and an evil one at that, as Horus discovers that Sturge is involved in black magic rituals. That night, Anders has a terrifying dream in which he meets his longtime enemy, Hark the Vampyre, again.
     The next day, the two remaining Primals Dionysus had contacted arrive. They are Janus Stukov, who came in place of his father, Anubis, and Seishi. At night, the group leaves for Utica, where they try to gather information about Sturge's comings and goings at the mansion. The only significant piece of evidence they find is that Jerry Sanders, the housekeeper, has not been seen in town for two months. Horus an Hotoru retire, but Seishi and Janos stay longer at a local bar. When they leave, they notice they are being watched from a van parked nearby. The van leaves quickly when they show signs of confronting whoever was in there. A spectacular car chase follows. One of the men inside the van tries to shoot their tires, but fails. Janos, on the other hand, manages to do it and the van crashes violently. The seriously injured men are taken to an Utica hospital and the police starts looking for Seishi and Janos' car, a blue Taurus, which they dispatch quickly. Horus detects no evil or injustice in the men.
     The next day, Anders, who had to leave on a personal errand, joins them. They scout Sturge's property and discover that the mansion is surrounded by a purple energy dome that feels anathema to Essence. Later that night, they invade it. At the woods, they are confronted by three wolf Ferals with corrupted auras and slight physical deformities. They battle and the Primals win. One of the dead Ferals reverts to wolf form, while another reverts to a deformed human body. Proceeding to the mansion, they notice the dome has expanded and there is activity in its small tower. Contact with the dome's energy causes damage, so Horus and Hotoru are the only ones to enter. At the tower, they find a man conducting what appears to be a summoning ritual. Hotoru uses his powers and shoves the man, another wolf Feral, into the magic circle. The man screams as his flesh liquefies and animates the skeleton inside the circle, who rises and confronts the two Primals. He says he is the Lord of Malfeas and that they must bow to him. Horus and Hotoru refuse and attack him. During the fight, the Lord of Malfeas releases small spirits that flee the mansion. One of them possesses Janos, who attacks Seishi. After an arduous fight, the Avatars manage to win and the Lord of Malfeas' bones collapse lifelessly to the floor. Outside, Janos regains control of himself.
     Exploration of the mansion reveals little, except for an inactive Gateway in the basement. Hotoru also recognizes certain Native American symbols on the bear skins that wrapped the Lord of Malfeas' bones. As they prepare to torch the place and leave, three Gifted humans appear. They are Wicces from a nearby Coven that sensed something strange going on and decided to investigate. The two groups share the little information they have, but it still proves to be insufficient to piece together what was happening here. The Wicces leave and the Primals set fire to the mansion.
     Back in New York, the group tells Dionysus what they found out and collect their fee from him. Horus decides to go to China to visit his mother Isis and ask her for clues about the whole affair. Hotoru goes after Raven with the bear skins, also to try and shed some light on the events. The three Inheritors return to their daily lives.
Notes: Elements of this adventure were taken from Thom Marrion's Party Gone out of Bounds adventure and the White Wolf's World of Darkness line.

The Last of the Canaanites
Story by Fred Furtado

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