Chapter five postmortem
I rolled a result of “-4”, so moving back four pages (to page 7 if you’re following along) in the rulebook, I looked at the second prompt. I was prompted to have a mark that I could not see but that others could, create a suspicious mortal, and to come up with a name that people call me behind my back. I also decided to give Sarah a little more to do.
Dramatis Personae
Nathaniel Morrison: Our protagonist.
Lord Elliot Rutherford, Duke of Fousburry: Friend and patron.
Sarah Rutherford: Sister of LORD RUTHERFORD, possible romantic interest of NATHANIEL MORRISON.
John Dee: Queen Elizabeth’s cartographer, spymaster, and magician. Professional rival to NATHANIEL.
Joseph Hatch: A financial advisor to the estate and old friend of Nathaniel’s, he now suspects the rumors of Nathaniel’s inhumanity to be true.
Tzciti – A vampire, posing as a daemon.
Resources
Magical Altar – Can be packed up into a chest.
My Tower – Home. A tower at Castle Fousburry.
Libro Mortui sunt Nomina – A Grimiore.
Skills
Occult KnowledgeCharisma [x]
Court Knowledge
Flight
Mark
A shadowy aura – Must be concealed beneath robes.
A Red Right Hand – Hidden in his coat. Or in a glove.
Black, soulless eyes – I cannot see this mark, and only some mortals see it. Sarah does not.
Memories
1. A. I am Nathaniel Morrison, advisor to Lord Rutherford; I advise him in matters of court, astrologie, and cartomancie. I also have been engaging in rites of High Magick to discover the most high and holy secrets of eternal life and mystical power; while there are many rumors regarding my esoteric practices, only Lord Rutherford knows the full truth. B. Lord Rutherford has visited me in a dream; he has cursed me with the Mark of a Red Right Hand.
2. A. As a teen, I was trained in Courtly Matters; is was during this time that I met the young Lord Rutherford. We became fast friends, and as we grew, he allowed me to stay at Castle Fousburry, giving me a tower overlooking the sea. B. To hide my secret, I was forced to kill Lord Rutherford; this act has shaken my faith in who I am.
3. A. During my training in Courty Matters, I was also a member of The Order of the Shrouded Lady, where I gained Occult Knowledge; a fellow member of the order, John Dee, discovered my interest in what he determined was black magick and had me expelled. While we are enemies, I know that if he were to betray my secrets, he would also risk exposing the Order. I may have…borrowed the Order’s copy of Libro Mortui sunt Nomina so that I may continue my studies.
4. A. When I moved to Castle Fousburry, I immediately fell in love with Lord Rutherford’s sister, Sarah, and she, likewise, was taken by my charisma; she can never know of my occult work, lest she be scared off. B. After Joseph Hatch and others saw my Black, soulless eyes, Sarah came to me to warn me that people are suspicious of me. They have nicknamed me “The Devil Morrison.” Sarah seems to trust me, though.
5.A. While attempting to summon the daemon Tzciti from the Libro Mortui to my altar, a gentleman appeared at my window; I invited him in, knowing that only a daemon such as Tzciti would scale the tower walls. He asked me if I sought eternal life, and I replied in the affirmative; I immediately regretted this! Tzciti became the very shadows, lifted me of the floor, and drained me of my life! When I awoke, I was left with a thirst for blood, and a cursed, shadowy aura that I must conceal within my cloak so that others may not know me for what I am, and what that monster made me-a VAMPIRE! B. Having tested my physical limits, I have discovered that I–like, I assume, Tzciti–have the power of Flight!
There will be no update next week, but check back in two weeks for another chapter!