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1254 Words
"They want to eat us, you know."
Podge hands you a bowl of noodles from the noodle cart. He's wearing a plastic raincoat, and his t-shirt says PIT BULLS ARE FOR DOG FIGHTING ONLY THEY ARE NOT PETS.
"They do?" you ask.
"The spirits," the ahroun says. "They feed on us. On our nature. That's part of the chiminage, part of the deal spirits strike with us so that we can earn their Gifts. And it's something Rat teaches his followers: the personality we present? Sometimes it's who we really are, but sometimes it's us fattening ourselves up so we can offer ourselves as a sacrifice. Fatten up your anger and you can feed that excess to Gremlin. Fatten up your, well, your sense of cowardice, and you can feed it to Trout."
"So gaining a Gift changes you?" you ask.
"The spirits take a bite, yeah," Podge says. "I don't think that asshole Bone Gnawer you used to live with taught you that. But that's the real truth about power: all this s**t humans do, it's a net loss. Second Law of Thermodynamics. But that's not true in the spirit world. When you offer a sacrifice, you can gain more than you give. And the spirit you sacrifice to can also gain more than it gives. And if you're really good, the sacrifice itself gets more than it gives up. That's why Bone Gnawers thrive. That's why Garou are still around despite every defeat we've suffered. We understand the true nature of sacrifice. Something to keep in mind, Thunderhoof."
You have more questions, but when you turn to ask them, the Bone Gnawer has disappeared into the brick maze of this slum. You eat your noodles.
Chiminage Possible:
Wisdom: 2 nights
I explore the physical buildings, checking for sites of power or nests where monsters might lurk.
I watch Pigeon flit through the Umbra overhead.
I kneel down to examine the mouse spirits.
I speak to the raccoon spirits.
What are the beetle spirits up to?
I return to the shadow spirit.
I leave the urban blight.
Next
The raccoons bumble and wander and clean food with their clever little hands and behind them you see Azeban, god of cunning ways, and his presence nearly blinds you, serve me little wolf, I am all raccoons, I am—
Excuse me, what are you doing?
Stormcat! How long has it been? A hundred years?
Rather less, Azeban.
You're much diminished, while I thrive. Give me this wolf, and I will give you the honor of giving me a wolf.
I think not, Azeban. Return, please. Stand behind every raccoon, guiding their hands. That is your place. We all must respect our place.
A strange thing for a shadow cast by Vahagn to say, O thundering god of Europe and Asia. But I will show you courtesy this time, until my people rise again and drive the invading gods from the shores of Turtle Island. Until then, step carefully, little wolf.
I apologize for that, Thunderhoof, I say as I wander over the rooftops, unwilling to get my perfect little feet dirty in the muck of the alleys. Azeban is an old strong god of lies and crimes, and sometimes he tries to step out from behind the raccoons, which are his, into this world. Though I would not advise compacting with him directly, his raccoon children are great helpers to the Garou. They are openers of the way.
Using Raccoon's Gift: Raccoon unlocks doors, enhancing your intrusion skills. Raccoon's Gift works automatically as long as you haven't lost the Wolf, and relies on your Composure.
Earning Raccoon's Gift: Azeban, and by extension, Raccoon, has sworn oaths of alliance only to Selardi in her guise as the new moon, and to Unicorn. Even if you became a Child of Gaia and maintained your focus on humanity, you'd need to earn more Honor before Raccoon granted you his Gift.
Azeban requires five nights of Honorable chiminage before he'll permit Raccoon to teach a Garou.
Chiminage Possible:
Wisdom: 2 nights
I explore the physical buildings, checking for sites of power or nests where monsters might lurk.
I watch Pigeon flit through the Umbra overhead.
I kneel down to examine the mouse spirits.
I return to Raccoon.
What are the beetle spirits up to?
I return to the shadow spirit.
I leave the urban blight.
Next
Pigeons get no respect. Rats with wings. And maybe pigeons aren't that impressive, but Pigeon? Pigeon guides the souls of the dead. Pigeon watches for the cosmic storms that sometimes tear through the Umbra, obliterating whole kingdoms beyond the imagination of the living. And Pigeon can guide a werewolf through the Spirit Wilds and safely back to this world of flesh and stone.
Using Pigeon's Gift: Pigeon lets you enter the Umbra on your own with your equipment and safely return. Entering the Umbra requires Rage. Her Gift also hurts. Using Pigeon relies on Composure, though navigating the Umbra sometimes requires both Intelligence and a considerable knowledge of the occult world.
Earning Pigeon's Gift: Pigeon only reveals the secrets of the Umbra to theurges.
Chiminage Possible:
Wisdom: 2 nights
I explore the physical buildings, checking for sites of power or nests where monsters might lurk.
I kneel down to examine the mouse spirits.
I return to Raccoon.
What are the beetle spirits up to?
I return to the shadow spirit.
I leave the urban blight.
Next
These kinds of urban borderlands are dangerous because they can produce not just the kinds of monsters Gaia created the Garou to destroy, but human cultists, warlocks, genetic experiments, and other alarming phenomena that would trigger a call to the police in wealthier and more stable areas.
It looks like Podge had the same idea as you: detecting a faint chemical whiff, familiar but beyond your ability to place, you follow your nose to a boarded-up warehouse. Inside: bullet holes, claw marks, and walls blackened by an explosion. This is the Bone Gnawer's work, without question. A faint acidic reek hints at whatever he blew up, then shot, then tore apart. It's dead. Or they're dead, you don't know.
Feeling more confident, you sweep the other buildings, including the only restaurant in this neglected patch of urban blight, and find signs of religious activity that, while nominally human, is part of your world: in a loading bay for trucks there's a wooden statue of Rat, draped in flowers and melted candles. The deserted loading bay leads to an abandoned office complex with moldy carpeting, stacked high with ancient tech, you find a 486 desktop computer under a tarp next to a box of microfloppy disks. The box is labeled SPIDER GODDESS MEMORY DATA DO NOT LOAD. Two more boxes of disks apparently operate or activate Glass Walker spirits, and the whole computer room is surrounded by Garou glyphs—probably to hedge out the honest-to-Gaia gremlin you occasionally glimpse in the shadows.
The Patron Spirits of the Bone Gnawer and Glass Walker tribes are waiting for you, if you want them.
Chiminage Possible:
Wisdom: 2 nights
I examine the Rat idol.
I turn on the old computer and fire up the Spider disks.
I kneel down to examine the mouse spirits.
Is that really a gremlin? I check it out.
I return to Raccoon.
What are the beetle spirits up to?
Is this antique store open?
There's a restaurant? What's going on in there?
I return to the shadow spirit.
I leave the urban blight.
Next
- Writer
