1.1 Welcome to Stumptown

Had a great time. Started with Brian at summer Football practice, gave the other players Joe School football players and role-played some scrimages. The players instantly made up personalities for the other football jocks and they will definitely be returning as recurring characters. Brian is tormented by the ghost of a dead girl. He worked out his frustration on one of his team-mates and the coach sent him to the showers.

Meanwhile at Powell's City of Books Rare book room, Raelin was talking to Sierra and reading a new acquisition: a book on ancient Persian history and mythology (an actual book in the rare book room, which I felt was a nice touch), when she received an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world.

She was shaken from her vision by Sierra because a gentleman wished to purchase the book. Sierra introduced the gentlman to Raelin after he left as Ignacio Vallejo, the artist and businessman who recently moved to Portland from San Francisco. Powell's was closing so Raelin had to leave. On her way out, Raelin bumped into a 19-year-old goth-punk tough grrl walking out of the metaphysics section to join Ignacio and his wife. Raelin noticed she had a fancy curved knife concealed in the back of her pants. Outside Powell's, she saw the trio enter a limo and drive away.

Brian was walking home down 23rd ave when he noticed that a nerdy goth kid from high school named Nicholas "Dark" (an affected name) had been following him all the way from practice. Brian confirmed he was being followed then confronted Nicholas who quickly ran away. Brian gave brief chase but stopped. Jules recognized Brian and left her perch in front of the AM/PM to check out what was going on. Her boyfriend Seth followed.

Meanwhile, up the street, Raelin saw Nicholas running away, then stop and enter Ignacio's limo that pulled up to him. The limo then turned down the next street and parked a block away from Brian and Jules, whom she deduced had been chasing Nicholas what with all the pointing and explaining and former gawkers dissipating back to their daily lives. She saw four bad-looking dudes get out of the limo and start running over towards Brian and Jules and Seth. Raelin shouted warning.

Jules noticed them first and saw their game faces: Vampires! She elbow-smashed Seth to keep him from witnessing her fighting prowess. On the way across the street, the vampires knocked over Darien, up till now an innocent bystander. Darrien wasn't going to take any crap so he joined the fray.

Much brawling and violence ensued. The vampires were trying to capture Jules and drag her into the limo that had now pulled around. At one point they called her "Slayer" and she had no idea what that meant. Brian got stabbed in the back and then slashed across his chest by what appeared to be the lead Vampire (the one with the ponytail), but he remained unfazed. Raelin called the police from a payphone, then helped delay Jules' capture by TK'ing the limo door closed.

The police arrived a moment later and the vampires let go of Jules and took off down various streets. Darien staked the leader vampire in a spectacular way as the cops arrived, avoided getting hit by the fleeing Limo, then ran off into the night with the vamp's knife, a fancy curved blade from Persia (clue clue clue).

Jules managed to get the license plate on the limo, "DAHAKA", but did not cooperate with the cops.

Brian was taken to the hospital, and on the way he noticed a new ghost, a 37-year-old balding man in a T-shirt and boxers with blood stains on his chest and face, had joined the broken 5-year-old girl in haunting him.

The police gave Jules and Seth citations and let everyone go. Jules secretly followed Raelin home, suspecting she had something to do with the limo what with being all secretive and hidey. Raelin got into a fight with her parents for coming home so late.

Darien returned to his Mentor, Alec Gormann, and explained what he saw. Gormann explained that dark times were coming to Portland and the world, and that the city was unprepared. He told Darien to find these people he saw tonight, this "Slayer" and this indestructible boy, and bring them together. If Portland is to have a chance against the coming darkness, he'll need to recruit some allies.

To Be Continued...