Interview with the Necromancer (IC)

[trollthumper]

It was 3 AM -- quite a ways past the witching hour, and a bit too late for someone with a 9 AM shift to be up. Thank god for free samples, thought Nick as he cleaned off the last of his make-up and spat out the prostheses. The Pale Horse was parked in its usual private garage, fully covered, and he'd changed out of his "work clothes" into his usual stuff. All that was left was to get in and hit the hay.

Man, what a night, he thought as he trudged up the stairs to his apartment. He'd finally decided to check out the stories of Sacred Heart over in Lincoln. He knew that a hospital was one of the most likely places for a ghost to set down their fetters, right next to a battlefield or a graveyard. But the stories that were coming out of Sacred Heart made it clear that someone hadn't gotten past the "anger" stage of dying. Thrown scalpels, strange visions, and more than a few patients transferring out after reports of a voice telling them all about the horrors that lay on the other side.

Turned out the ghost in question was a cancer patient who never really came to terms with his condition. He'd remained on at the hospital after he died and started infecting it, turning the spectral reflection of the hospital cancerous as well. Most of the other ghosts were echoes that he'd managed to get control of, but the ones who weren't...

They were alone. They were frightened. And he put them in the bowels of Hell. He never looked forward to a "brute force" exorcism, but it felt good to drive that guy out of this side of existence. Living or dead, Nick hated binders with a passion. It had taken a bit out of him to purge the remnants of the spiritual cancer from the hospital, and he knew he'd never forget the faces of some of the other ghosts. What he needed right now was some sleep.

Nick reached for his door knob... and stopped. He felt something on the other side of the door -- the inky feel of necromantic essence, the peculiar flavor that stays tamped down and rarely gets released...

Something undead was in his apartment.

[Avenger Assembled]

The impression passed a few seconds later, leaving Nick with a distinctly odd feeling. Pushing open the door, all seemed quiet at home. From the corner, suitably concealed against magical detection, Jack Faretti watched the necromancer go about his evening business. Rather than risk being seen out by the young magus, something that would no doubt end poorly even that Jack was after all an undead lurking in the man's apartment, one with the power even to hide from necromancers, he chose openness.

"Nick Cimitere. Hello." Turning around as he felt the presence of undead again, Nick was confronted with a tall, solidly-built man sitting at his kitchen table, hands on the surface as if to show he was carrying no weapon. He was used to the feel of zombies and spirits, but this was a different thing, tasting of copper and sin. The vampire studied the necromancer before Jack added, "I hope you'll forgive the sudden intrusion, Mssr., but I felt it appropriate to meet you on your own terms."

[trollthumper]

"Um... all right," Eric said, taking a seat at the table. "Mind you, my 'terms' don't usually involve people breaking into my apartment. You could've just left a letter or something. And you can call me Eric -- Nick's the professional name." He looked the dead man sitting across the table up and down -- casually dressed, relaxed and confident, and not bad looking. No, not bad looking at all... mind you, good-looking dead guys are usually trouble. Remember Sebastien? Eric then noticed his hands. Plus, he's married, so even more of a reason not to get involved.

"So... you're undead, register as slightly metallic on my 'dead-dar', and are able to remain hidden from sight and move extremely fast... vampire, I'm guessing. You an emissary, or the archbishop?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Maintaining a hierarchy like that in other cities has worked against Freedom City's vampires in the past." Jack smiled thinly. "The danger to my people in this city, with its skies clogged with superheroes, is profound, though rather less so now than in previous years." His paranoia relaxed fractionally. If Eric here assumed that Freedom City's vampire power structure was just like the world he'd left behind, that suggested he'd done little research. Which meant maybe he wasn't the threat he'd feared him to be. "You see, Eric, if all goes well, you'll find that I'm on your side. This is a very unusual city. You can find all sorts of people behind masks. But of course that leaves me with a question for you. What are your intentions towards the vampires of this city?"

[trollthumper]

"You'll excuse me if I'm using the hierarchical model," Eric said. "Most of the vamps I encountered down South were based out of New Orleans, and they've got this whole faux-Catholic system for their government. Archbishop, prelates, hospitaliers, templars, stuff like that. I didn't know Freedom was running the decentralized model -- I haven't run into many vampires here."

He paused. "As for intentions -- it's simple. They don't make a mess -- and I mean a big mess -- I don't get involved. I'm assuming that, despite the decentralized model, you guys have got someone here who goes around banging heads if someone makes a big mess. Probably that vampire superhero everyone keeps whispering about. I'm perfectly happy to leave most of that stuff to him, unless it spills over. I've got no intention to bind, command, or destroy you guys for fun or profit. I've dealt with vamps before, and while you've got your share of horrors, you've also got some pretty decent people."

[Avenger Assembled]

Good, because if you were... Jack wouldn't have killed Eric for that, but there were only so many ways an extra-legal community like vampires could deal with an enemy without legal force. It was all for the best that they hadn't been forced into a confrontation. "I'm relieved to hear that, Eric. This city's encounters with necromancers in the past have been unpleasant ones. I assisted in the destruction of several cults myself. As long as you stay out of our way, and leave the policing of our community to me, we'll be fine." He studied the man for a moment, then said, "I am Jack Faretti. My friends call me Avenger."

[trollthumper]

"Ah, so you're the local authority," Eric said. "Y'know, I thought you might be the vampire hero around town.I was gonna try and get in touch with you for... well, something like this, if my hunch was right. Guess I was just lazy."

Eric got up and poured himself a shot of bourbon. He got one for Jack while he was up. "I don't know if you drink... bourbon," he said as he returned to the table and slid the glass over, "but figured I could show a little courtesy. So, if you don't mind me asking... what's the vampire situation like in Freedom? I expect you've got the beat sewn up pretty well, but if there are any wannabe Draculas or bands of Lost Boys to worry about, wouldn't hurt to know."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Dracula was here," replied the vampire, something like a smile at the corners of his mouth. "That was quite a night, let me tell you. But after his defeat, I think I sufficiently overawed the other elders that they sought out a better place to seize power. Despite the advantages that can be gained from the proximity of the superpowered to this city, it's too dangerous for most elders. After all, it's full of petty godlings immune to their powers, who can rip them limb from limb in hand to hand combat and earn the screams of the crowd for it." He politely refused the brandy, saying, "Thank you, I never drink alcohol. As for the current power structure, things are...divided," he allowed. "A small contingent remains loyal to me and the humanist values I represent. Others have picked a different path."

[trollthumper]

"Dracula?" Eric said, taking a sip of his bourbon. "Wow. Yeah, I can imagine why something like that might convince the elders that Transylvanian real estate might be more to their liking. So, you're saying when the big ones cleared out, a bunch of different camps sprung up. Each with their own kind of goals." He set his glass down. "Tell me something... what do you know about draugr?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack steepled his fingers, giving the necromancer a level look. "Why, what you have you heard?" he asked, his voice sharp though not unfriendly. How many monsters were going to try and take this city from him, anyway? "If you're asking about my personal knowledge, I've made the acquaintance of certain of my Scandinavian relatives in the past. They're an unpleasant group of customers, much closer to the primal nature of the undead than others of our kind. Bring a sharp ax, and lots of fire, and you'll have a chance at defeating them."

[trollthumper]

Eric settled in his chair. "Well, I'll look into getting an axe, then," he said. "There was an incident in Riverside about a week back. A bunch of draugr rose up at one of the auxiliary labs they're using for the History Museum. Valkyrie and I managed to put them back down -- and I went back to the morgue that night to make sure the bodies were destroyed -- but they were woken deliberately. Someone fed them blood to wake them up, and it could be another draugr. The two of us consulted the fates -- in our own ways -- and got a vision of someone setting out on a power struggle. One that could result in blood spilling into the streets."

He looked into Avenger's eyes. "Just saying, you may want to keep your ears open in case any relatives from Scandinavia decide to pay a visit."

[Avenger Assembled]

Avenger's eyes widened, but the rest of his face didn't change. "Neither of those are areas I control directly," he said, his voice oddly free of human affect. "But I'll certainly speak to the vampires who do about their involvement in the matter. And you say you lost track of them after they left the area?" he asked, heat creeping back in his words. "Did you think to call in any of the city's experts on magical threats? There are legions of them, you know: can't throw a rock in this city without hitting magic. The Midnighters, even?"

[trollthumper]

"We didn't lose track of the draugr who were risen," Eric said. "We made sure they were destroyed. As for the original one... we got a weak trace in the first place, and the police didn't find much either. As for the Midnighters... I kept trying to pass word along to Dead Head, but it seemed like he was out of the cemetery whenever I was in, and there was always some kind of crisis that kept me from sticking around. And I know Valkyrie was working her angles. I would've tried putting together some sort of 'bat-signal' and getting in touch with you directly, but...well, given everything that's happened tonight, I think you can imagine what would've happened if I'd set up a signal flare with necromancy."

He sighed. "Look, I know I'm new to how things work here. I let my confidence get the better of me. I screwed up."

[Avenger Assembled]

Avenger blinked, staring at Nick in hastily-covered surprise. Did someone in this town just admit error? I...I think I like this guy! "Well, that's...good to hear. Very professional of you." He hmmed. "I'd be leery of any divine messengers finding out anything about the undead. We have our ways of shielding ourselves from that sort. You know there's an angel active in this city." He shrugged a little, then added, "I'll do investigation on my end and see what I can come up with...and I'll alert you if there's a problem. We police our own, but the draugr are definitely not ours. The monsters I've seen in this city would color your hair." Steepling his hands, he studied Nick. "And what are your intentions towards them, if we do catch them? I've known necromancers with all sorts of interest in the undead. None of them very pleasant. One of them used to work for my predecessor."

[trollthumper]

"I've seen what the draugr can do," Eric said. "If you think I'm gonna try keeping them on a leash... well, even if it didn't go against nearly everything I believe with, it'd be stupid. If if turns out there's one of them who isn't a homicidal meathead, then I'll let 'em pass. But if the rest of 'em are all part of the 'slay and pillage' brigade, then they're going down."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Just make sure your intentions are as pure when it comes to the rest of the city's undead." He studied Nick for a moment before adding, "Oh, make no mistake, Mssr, I have no doubt that the draugr in the city need to be destroyed. As I said, I've encountered them before. There are ways of bringing vampires into the world that give you a human enough monster, but my Scandanavian relations are certainly not that. But don't make the mistake of trusting the pretty ones, either. Especially not me. We'll keep in touch." And then with that, he was simply gone, vanishing from Nick's sight, and more importantly his mystic perceptions, as if he hadn't been there at all.