Enemy Within Chapter 2: Mary and Robert

Chapter 2

"Enemy Within" is campaign written for the Dark Fantasy role playing game Shadow of the Demon Lord by Robert j. Schwalb. My campaign is set in present day Washington D.C. and I have molded the core rules to make it work. You can find out more about the story, characters, and progress HERE

In between sessions, Monkeywrench and Billy Jack learned that the men they killed in the basement are part of a large group whose sole purpose is to open a portal to another “dimension” called The Pale or bring about the destruction of this one. Whichever comes first.

Monkeywrench honed his fighting skills. Billy Jack became imbued with magical ability and spent his downtime understanding more about his magical talent and the Shadowed World. They also  met and recruited a hipster faun barista, Eldric.

Mary and Robert

This session began with Belatharus (the “wizard” from Chapter 1)  interrupting their downtime and turning on the TV to Modern Mysteries, a pop culture news show that investigates current strange phenomenon.

A segment in this episode discusses a cell phone video taken at night in the National Mall. The journalist, Mary Rothright, introduces the footage  and narrates scenes explaining hundreds of black cats and kittens lovingly(and full of cuteness) attack a street juggler dancing with balls of light. The scene then takes an ugly turn as a car careens through the grass, runs over the kittens, and hits a homeless “little person”. The video ends with a close up image of Monkeywrench glowering at the camera. Not the visage of the towering Orc mind you, but instead the gruesome biker that Shadowed human see him as.

The group and Belatharus discuss the video and decide that who ever took the video is an Unfortunate (humans who can see beyond the Shadow) or other ancestry and may be able to help against The Pale or they are cultists of The Pale. Either way, the group decides to find them and get more information from them. The group gets the journalists address and, trying to keep a low profile, make their way across town via public transportation.

They find the home with no problems however when they arrive there is no one home, or so they think. Eldric notices the blinds upstairs moved in such a way to make them think someone was watching them from above. After a few attempts to get the attention of whoever is inside they decide to leave but just then the owner of the home, Mary, pulls up to the curb. They eventually convince her that they mean no harm and all go inside.

The group learns that the video was delivered via a thumb drive anonymously mailed to her. This leads to lengthy discussion about her beliefs that there is more to "this" world than what she, and others, see and feel. She is also convinced that his “other world” is hidden from her and she desperately looks for a way into that Shadowed world. The group tells her that she is correct and that most likely she will never be able to “find” a way into it because of her ancestry. a comical conversation ensues about all "this" being a “red pill vs blue pill” kind of thing. Although disheartened. she understands. Both Mary and our group then come to an agreement to help each other. Her helping them find out who created the video and them helping her "see" into the Shadowed world.

Intermittently throughout their whole conversation there are small noises coming from upstairs. Mary manages to suspiciously convince them that's it's nothing and not to investigate. Eventually a small boy, about the size of an 8 year old, makes his way downstairs. The boy is bandaged from head to toe under his Washington Nationals cap, Under Armor T-shirt and shorts. He, Robert, whispers somethings to Mary and heads to the kitchen.

She explains, again suspiciously, that he has been severely burnt in a car accident, that she is a single mother and doesn't know where his father is. Billy Jack, with this newly found Life Tradition offers to heal him and, against her protests, heads into the kitchen. Monkeywrench follows.

In an eerie scene, they find the bandages discarded and the boy crouched behind the door of an opened refrigerator. Roberts skin is pitch black with small flaming red runes carved into his skin all over his body, and The Void in his eyes. The boy is shoveling raw meat into his bottom jaw, which resembles that of a Hippopotamus’ lower maw. When Robert notices Monkeywrench and Billy Jack he lets out a shrill grunt/scream and frog hops into another room behind the kitchen.

This scares the shit out of our two and they scurry back to the den. They pressure Mary into revealing that she was actually in a severe car wreck and hit Robert as he was walking in the road. The car and Robert both caught on fire. She was so traumatized by the event that she can't remember what happened next. She explains that they don’t know where his parents are, she has adopted Robert but doesn't know much more than that. Also, Mary cannot be convinced that Robert is anything but an 8 year old burn victim.

Having a gut feeling that there's more to this story, Billy Jack asks about trinkets or crafts that Robert makes her. She pulls out a small trinket doll that he made and gave her. To her it looks like a small key chain voodoo doll made with colorful string that you’d buy at Spencer's. However our group sees what it actually is, a paper clip bent into a humanoid shape, with cork head and wrapped in human hair, Mary’s hair. This freaks the group out even more and while Billy Jack wants to investigate Roberts room, the other two are too scared to venture upstairs and soon leave the house.

On the way home, Monkeywrench wants/needs something to clear away what he just saw. They stop at the closest corner bar and order a drink. In their random conversation, the Changeling bartender (Jethro) overhears Monkeywrench state that he has done some illegal things before. They broker a deal with Jethro to pick up an item and deliver it somewhere. They agree and head out of the bar.

To be continued...