At this point in the game, a new pack (with different players) was added to the Sept of Gaia's Strength. From this point onward, the sessions be labeled by pack as well as number.
Preludes for Wyvern's Claw
Randell Quinn is fired
from his job a veterinary clinic when he fails a drug test. While visiting
his dealer, he undergoes his First Change. This event is witnessed
by Madonna Backhand, who escorts
him to the Sept of Gaia's Strength.
Nathan Cutter is playing
a prank on one of his college professors when he is interrupted by said
professor and his cyborg cronies. A chase begins as Nathan changes
forms for the first time and he is soon surrounded by bad guys. He
is rescued by Darren Lexus of the Sept of
Work and Wisdom. Once they realize Nathan is a Shadow Lord, the
hustle him off the the Sept of Gaia's Strength.
Heather Spurlock is trying
to get her life put back together when she runs into a drug dealer from
her past. He tries to get her hooked again, but she is intercepted
by the ubiquitous Madonna Backhand.
When, at Madonna's urging, Heather stands up to the dealer, she enters
a Frenzy and runs him off. Madonna then takes Heather to the loving
embrace of the Sept of Gaia's Strength.
The quiet and meek Cassandra
Smith is at dinner one night when her parents begin arguing with each
other for the umpteenth time. When her pleading fails to stop the
fight, Cassandra undergoes the Firsting and blacks out. She comes
to out in the wilderness, where she meets Carl
Mastersfate. Carl escorts her to the Sept he once called home.
Scott Furnow is hanging
with some buddies when one of them reveals that he has gained the ability
win friends and influence people by becoming a Vampire! Scott instinctively
enters Frenzy and smashes his way out of the building. He is later
discovered by Robert Blinds the
Banes and he, too, comes to reside in the best little Sept in Michigan.
Session Forty-three (Wyvern's Claw)
The new Pack of Randell, Nathan, Heather, Cassandra
and Scott are sent on their Rite of Passage. In the Umbra, they discover
a pocket realm that is infested by Scragglings. There are some Ancestor
Spirits here, too, but they seem very unsuccessful in hunting the Scragglings.
After using some pack-hunting to kill a few Scragglings,
they prevail upon the Ancestors to pool their resources and unite in The
Mother of All Bane Hunts! Finally convincing everyone, the evil Spirits
are routed and the Pack returns home to receive Rank One recognition.
They also choose a Totem, Wyvern,
and elect an Alpha, Heather. There is much rejoicing among the Black
Furies. (yay)
Session Forty-four (Wyvern's Claw)
Kyla Dragonslayer
gives the new Pack an assignment: Go the Sept
of Lasting Strength in Pangaea and help them find the person or persons
whom they have detected spying on the Sept.
The Wyvern's Claw hops the first trans-umbral Moonbridge
and meets with Mercedes Steelwall, Lasting Strength's Warder. Mercedes
wants them help extend her patrol range and sends them off into the
jungle looking for whatever it is that's been skulking about.
Like all new arrivals in Pangaea, they spend a little
time sight-seeing. After annoying a hive of Uber-bees and chowing
on a baby brontosaurus, they settle in for some serious scouting.
Late in the day, they catch a glimpse or two of...something, but it manages
to elude them. The next day, however, they track it down and realize
it's another Garou. But this Garou smells of the Wyrm and tries to
talk them into forsaking the Garou that are aligned with Gaia. The
Pack doesn't go for it, but attempts to follow this guy back to his friends
and report.
Unfortunately, the Wyrmwolf
and his buddies manage to turn the ambush on the Claw, instead, and the
obligatory battle between Good and Icky begins, with Good winning out when
Mercedes arrives with the cavalry to mop up.
Session Forty-five (Children of the Sun)
Kyla and Derrick have a long discussion about their
differences. Neither gets too loud and no violence erupts, so it
is taken as a minor victory. Later, Jarryd also tries to make Derrick
understand why the Pack places so much importance on his working with them
rather than against them. Derrick tells Jarryd that he'd much rather
Jarryd was Alpha instead of Kyla.
Manny comes back from an Umbral quest for Fourth
Rank (after a trip to Texas to see his family). He checks a voice
mail in which she tells him, "Manny...He's here. *click*" and heads
to Stephanie's to calm her down. Returning to the Caern, he tries
to find out the Pack's side of the "Why Stephanie feels the Pack is out
to get her" story. Before he can grill Walks too extensively, Stephanie
calls again to say she's being followed, she then gets cut off.
Manny rushes off to save her, with Walks in tow, and slides headfirst into
a baseball bat swung by a Setite. The Setites have now captured Manny
and
Stephanie, and are beginning to interrogate them, when Walks swoops down
out of the Umbra and pulls both Stephanie and Manny back into the Umbra
with her. They head back to Stephanie's to pick up a few things and
find the place has been searched and is no longer safe.
Meanwhile, Catherine summons Jarryd. He and
Kyla meet her in the Meijer parking lot, where gives them the news that
the Setites are back in town.
Manny and Walks call for a pick up and they take
Stephanie to the Morningstars to hide for the night. But, they are soon
joined by the Setites who attempt to take Stephanie back. Well, Derrick
is on hand to take apart the bad guys and their car (in no particular order)
and the threat is repulsed as the Hunters of Doom arrive to mop up.
As dawn arrives, Manny takes Stephanie to a hotel near the airport to wait
while they plan their next move.
Session Forty-six (Wyvern's Claw)
While working at a sports bar, Heather is surprised
by the commotion of someone leaving, suddenly, and running out on the bill.
The patron left in such a hurry, he left his credit card on the table and
bill unsigned.
His waitress turns out to be Stephanie, who calls
Manny to see if he can cause a little chaos on her behalf. (After
all, the guy stiffed her...) But, Heather recognizes the name on
the credit card as belonging to her ex-dealer and current Formor, Tony
DiPetro. So, in addition to whatever hardship he was going to inflict,
Heather asks Manny for Tony's address, which he gladly provides.
Meanwhile, Cassie and Nathan go on a computer search
to see if they can find out anything about Cassie's parents. Apparenly,
they are both alive (but unwell) on life support in the hospital.
Cassie starts to deal with the feelings of guilt over what her Frenzy made
her do, and the question of, "What do I do if they do wake up?"
Randall also remembers Tony from his drug abusing
days, and they ask Madonna (co-star of both Randall's and Heather's preludes)
about the black drug that Tony was pushing. She tells them it's an
addictive form of Formoral, a chemical that makes it easier for Banes to
inhabit humans and turn them into Formori. This seems to be enough
for Heather to call for a beat down on Mr. DiPetro.
Heather rallies the Pack to go after Tony they to
the address Manny gave them. The battle rages a little longer than
they would have like, but they manage to kill Tony and find out a little
about where his drugs were coming from.
Session Forty-seven (Children of the Sun)
Kyla and Derrick decide that using Stephanie as bait
to draw out the "Potipharians" would be the best way put an end to the
mummy's threat. Even more surprising than their agreement
is Stephanie's agreement to be the bait! Including being captured
so the Pack can follow her captors to their master.
So, the Pack stages a 'hideout' in a motel and allow
the baddies to run off with Stephanie. ('Allow' being a relative
term, as few of the baddies emerged unscathed.)
Despite some difficulties staying with van, Manny
leads the Pack to a house where he believes Stephanie was taken.
The house is then broken into from three directions (The Umbra, the front
door and the second floor) and a battle ensues.
Scorecard: Manny gets a tongue-lashing from a Setite,
Derrick goes body surfing down a flight of stairs (on top of someone else's
body), Walks whips twice her weight in mages, Jarryd puts on a Kalido demo
and Kyla staples Potiphar to wall with her spear, but he still manages
to escape using spooky powers.
Session Forty-eight (Children of the Sun)
While hiding Stephanie in a hotel owned by the Glass
Walkers, the Children of the Sun, (that is Kyla and Manny) have to defend
her from a group of Potipharians intent on capture.
Manny hustles our little Alchemist out the back
to and into a car while Kyle delays, make that "pureés" the bad
guys. Clouded by anger, (because they Dominated her) Kyla makes one vampire
and two ghouls go 'splat' in very messy and pretty public way. The Glass
Walkers are less than thrilled.
On the way home, Manny forgets to change out of
Glabro form and FINALLY blows his cover with Stephanie. She informs him
that she figured it out in Grand Rapids (Session 42). Apparently, she saw
him change forms in front of her and just played along. She said she thought
it was "cute" of him.
After a test run, Walks discovers that she can use
the Rite of the Questing Stone to locate Potiphar and suggest the Pack
finally takes the battle to him. After a quick staging meeting at the Frosty
Boy, the hunt is on!
They find a stone temple-like building in the woods
in a rural location in Michigan and proceed to sneak in and confront Potiphar,
his animated statue minions and a couple other critters they find.
Potiphar is sent back to the Dead Lands, his body
cursed by Stephanie and the good guys commence to looting.
With her familiy quest completed, Stephanie and
Manny have a tearful (and kiss-ful) farewell, with Stephanie saying "Farewell,
Manny Foolshadow"...in Garou!
Session Firty-nine (Wyvern's Claw)
Cassie takes Randell to the hospital where her parents
lay in comas after her first change. Randell manages to sneak in through
the Umbra and use some healing gifts on the injured humans. Cassie, however,
is breifly detained and questioned by the police captian who is investigating
the mysterious assault. After spinning a specatularly bad web of
lies, Cassie says good-bye to her still comatose parents and evades the
police by stepping sideways.
The Pack then decides to investigate their lead
into the source of Tony's (the drug dealer from Session 46) formor-creating
drug. The break into a Mail Boxes Etc. and get their claws on a box of
the drug that was waiting in Tony's mail box and make off with it...And
the cash box and anything else that looked valuble, strictly to make it
look like a normal burglery. Really!
The Claw also accepts an invitation to join the
Hunters of Doom in a training session in The Battleground. Fully aware
of the butt kicking that this will entail, they still look forward to this
as a...learning experience.