In Nomine: The Mile Higher Club

Chat episode 1: Release the Bats

GM/author’s note: Most of the chat transcript was lost in the limits of buffer memory, a technical issue none of us were aware of. The prose below is an attempt to summarize what happened.

“Release the Bats” and the bazaar described is actually a real southern California event, and I had attended it for the first time this year (2007). Disneyland offers a certain type of yearly pass which costs the equivalent of two days in the park. That pass however has ‘blackout’ dates that encompass most of the summer and major holidays, and is only available to people who can show local residency. Locals buy them anyway, and on the first weekend after the ‘blackout’ dates end in the summer, the local Gothic community descends en masse onto the park, passes in hand, and make a celebration of it. Nearby—where I was in real life—a hotel hosts a flea market, swap meet, what have you, where vendors catering to the community set up shop for the weekend. You want a corset? Made out of PVC? Custom-fitted historical clothing? Dolls in black lace and makeup? Realistic looking fangs that you can eat and drink while wearing? The latest independent horror film? Free cans of energy drink? It’s all there. The angel-summoning ritual is my invention, and in the first draft of Mile Higher Club was going to take place at a tent revival in the Midwest. Ryuki Watari/Gavin Russo were originally one character, and originally a middle-aged balding white Pentecostal preacher, but then a local friend showed me the “Death Note” films (the live-action ones—I haven’t seen the manga yet), and these influences prompted me to bring the story onto more familiar (for me—being somewhat Goth and a formerly serious occultist) ground.

The recap is from memory, so I expect I’ll get some things inconsistent—tHE hERETIC

One sunny September day in Los Angeles, Corat and his new friends Nain and Mitchim meet in a hotel room in Anaheim. Corat, through a source he will not name (Rina-el the Mercurian information broker, at that point an NPC), has learned that someone intends to summon angels as a sideshow at Bat’s Bazaar, an annual Gothic festivity near Disneyland. Normally this would not be an issue, but the Mercurian notes that Ryuki Watari is expected to be there in an unclear capacity. Summoning angels is theoretically impossible but Ryuki has a reputation that suggests if there’s anyone in the world who can do it, it’s him. Rina-el has also heard that he was visited by the Dark Humor demon Pepito, who was on the plane with Corat and Mitchim, another connection that makes this ‘sideshow’ more likely to be something more than theater.

Corat drives the car, and Nain possesses a bird to scout ahead. There she sees the sights of Bat’s Day—Goths walking around in the California sun, attending the Happiest Place on Earth with big smiles on their faces. They’re also walking between the park and the local hotels. Outside of one they’ve gathered to smoke (smoking indoors is against the law in California) before entering. She looks inside and sees a door being minded by someone who is checking tickets before allowing people in. Nain goes to report back through her own body (calling on her Distinction to possess multiple hosts) but finds the boys have left her in the back of the car, in the parking garage. She catches up to them in the bazaar, enjoying the sights but finding privacy impossible. She feigns dropping a contact lense to get their attention and the Goths, characteristically polite, walk around them without stomping on their fingers. She plans to possess someone who has been admitted to get a look inside, while still maintaining communication with the guys outside. Agreeing that this is a good plan the boys mill outside, feeling out of place in non-black non-Goth street clothes.

Nain watches the door and sees a tall young man being admitted. She slips into his skin and enters, discovering in the process that the man she’s possessing carries a full-sized sword under his long coat. “Gideon” is suitably distracted as Nain has to bilocate, but she gets the impression of the scene. She/Gideon is behind a divider, though from there she can hear there are a bunch of Gothic people, most of them well under 25, milling around learning some kind of Latin. “Some kind” because the litany they’re trying to memorize makes little if any sense even if they had any hope of pronouncing it correctly. She gets inside and sees that a few are sitting or standing serenely away from the others and a few are frankly gossiping among themselves. Mingling unnoticed, as he’s dressed like the rest of them, is the ‘Dark Man’, the master of ceremonies, a tall and well-dressed man. Leaning against the wall by the one entrance is a Japanese man in dignified, albeit black, street clothes. He appears to be merely watching.

Corat hears this and nearly breaks into the room. Mitchim seeing that subtlety is lost follows him in. Corat stands next to the Japanese man and attempts to strike up a conversation, but the Dark Man announces that the ritual is about to begin and the Japanese man—who is in fact Ryuki Watari—directs his attention to it. After a couple of false starts the Dark Man gets the Goth kids into a circle around the pentagram carpet on the floor, and they begin to chant the litany that they had learned. Ryuki enigmatically removes a jar and a vial of oil from his pocket…

(Some OOC notations removed and other minor edits---th)

Nain (in own vessel): She nodded. "It sounds like crap someone pulled off a Charmed fanfiction story." She looked back to the boy she'd been talking to. "And you don't want to be standing out here, in public, making a fool of yourself, right? Wouldn't you rather be spending an evening in the company of a lovely woman than dancing around getting laughed at by tourists?"

tHE hERETIC: the Dark Man smiles, and four beefy guys take two steps backwards, out of the circle

tHE hERETIC: some of the kids look puzzled, some of them smiling. Any kind of discipline in the circle just went to pieces, but the Dark Man seems pleased.

Mitchim: Mitchim looks at the jar, trying to figure out what it does.

Nain: "Can I at least bum a smoke off one of you guys?" She put her Lust-honed skills at pouting and looking seductive to work. "I'm just soooo bored and lonely..."

tHE hERETIC: ooc sorry didn't get a picture for Dark Man. Tall, dark haired, goth but in a dignified way. Probably has money.

tHE hERETIC: Those four guys who stepped out of the circle? They walked towards the door...to block it. Mitchim--you'll notice a certain little imp in the circle, smiling brightly at you, waving hello. Nain--Gideon is wholly ignored. Gimme a sec on the girl.

tHE hERETIC: One of the guys in the circle pulls a fancy cigarette case out of his pocket, bows low, and opens it to her deftly with one hand.

tHE hERETIC: The others in the circle laugh at that man

Nain: "Thanks! You're a doll." She beamed. "Light?"

Mitchim: Mitchim lets out a soft hiss as he spots the Imp. He leans over and nuges Corat "I've found our little companion from the plane." He nods at the circle "Right in there."

tHE hERETIC: Corat, realizing his exit has just been blocked, goes...Ofanite.

tHE hERETIC: The Dark Man smiles--you can hear it in his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are angels in your midst!"

Nain: "Angels? Who? Us? Nah." She casually tosses the lit ember of the cigarette to the carpet. "Just passing through."

tHE hERETIC: Ryuki calmly opens the lid of the jar, and pours the contents of the small bottle into it. He is saying something, quietly.

tHE hERETIC: ooc Dark Man doesn't *look* very strong

tHE hERETIC: The guy with the sword crashes clumsily into Ryuki, interrupting what he was saying and cleaving the jar square in two. Ryuki is not amused.

tHE hERETIC: Very smart kid

tHE hERETIC: Meanwhile, Mr. Do You Want A Cigarette is following Nain around like a puppy, despite the growing chaos.

tHE hERETIC: And Pepito is laughing his head off. Which has gained Ryuki's attention, and he is beyond pissed.

Nain: "Do be a dear and pull the fire alarm for me, would you? We seem to have stumbled into a raucous party and I'd hate for our date to be interrupted like this, wouldn't you?" She bat her eyelashes at her admirer.

Mitchim: Mitchim looks faintly amused as he notes Ryuki's expression, saying in passing to him "Perhaps you would be interested in keeping that Imp busy for a very long time. A fair trade for him laughing at you."

tHE hERETIC: Ryuki reaches into his pockets for some small item, and then begins chanting, intensely focused on someone in the room, tracking him or her like a T. Rex.

tHE hERETIC: Gideon lets out a primal bellow and shouts for the girl who was checking badges. "Hey! We've got halo gatecrashers in here! Get some guys to help us out!" From outside the room you hear a high pitched happy voice. "Angels!!!" and she comes in to join the fun.

tHE hERETIC: The man-with-the-cigarettes wanders with amazing dignity over to the fire alarm, and pulls it. Pepito is laughing maniacally.

Nain: Nain rolls her eyes to the ceiling and casually strolls about, seeming to do nothing.

tHE hERETIC: It isn't any of the angels (Ryuki)'s tracking.

Nain: While she strolls, she casually throws out a little Song of hers. One of her old favorites, really, a song known to charm the pants off people. And she aims it for one of the bruisers on watch patrol.

tHE hERETIC: Mitchim sorry no, only that s/he is at the far end of the room, and Nain and Ryuki are by the door. And it isn't Corat--he's a dervish at this point. And he's starting to sound dissonant.

Mitchim: Mitchim lets out a soft curse and moves towards the door to attempt to move people out of the way. "Clear the doorway please, let us out." If reason doesn't work he will attempt to forcably move them out of the way.

tHE hERETIC: Ryuki slumps against a wall, conscious but tired. Pepito, who has been laughing maniacally up until this point, suddenly goes quiet and passes out. The doorman is charmed and suggesting there's no point guarding the door anymore.

tHE hERETIC: Reason works.

tHE hERETIC: The doorman step aside, and Corat makes for it like a bat out of hell.

Mitchim: Mitchim nods and murrmers to Nian "Perhaps we should leave now. It seems like a good time.

tHE hERETIC: got it

Nain: She turned a casual grin on Mitchum. "See what happens when you take a day off to get some culture?" She started off after Corat with a wink.

Mitchim: Mitchim chuckles and follows after her. "Well, that was interesting. Of course we still don't know if the ritual would have worked."