Neon Shadows #7 - A Life Death
General Summary
Laying Low In Spooky New Mexico City
Wednesday, 4PM 2/16/2022 The streets of West Western Neo Tlamanih were alive with the clamor of gang wars, but our vigilantes had other plans. They hit the road to New Mexico City, looking to disappear for a spell and chase down a couple of elusive leads. First stop: checking if Gina had shown up for her spa reservation at Inta Sunrise Sol. The second task was to dig into James Wyatt’s past at his last known haunt. Gear gathered, and spirits low, they slipped out of town under the cover of dusk.Hacking Hacking, One Two Three
With the town's electronic eyes prying into every corner, V3RM1N, our hacker in residence, also chose to lay low. Before disappearing, he passed the digital torch to Alex, another wizard of the wires. Via a covert Flower-Gram to a nondescript PO Box, Alex received the goods. Under the suspicious and watchful eyes at a north-side diner, Desmond, Deucalion, and Jay, all steeped in paranoia but trusting V3RM1N’s judgment, brought Alex into the fold. Tensions palpable, they packed into Desmond’s ride, their next stop: New Mexico City.The Palm Court Apartments
Wednesday, 11PM 2/16/2022 They rolled up to the Palm Court Apartments around 11 PM. The night was clear, the air warm, and the streets buzzing. Desmond circled the block, casing the joint before parking. Without much fanfare, Alex marched into the building, quickly scoping out the security setup and slipping out before raising any alarms. Back in the car, he laid out the blueprint of the building’s defenses for the team.The UnDoor
Avoiding the prying eyes of security, Desmond, Jay, and Alex made their way to the elevators, thanks to a re-hacked super-security clearance card from V3RM1N. Deucalion, unable to blend in, waited outside. Inside, tenants grumbled about the "undesirable" elements in the lobby. When the team found Wyatt’s door, reality twisted—approaching the door caused dizzying vertigo, leading them astray. Only by shutting their eyes and feeling along the wall could they find the true door. Behind it, they discovered a dark, abandoned apartment, untouched by time or tenants. The air was stale, and a fine dust layer coated everything.A Shadow Space
Deucalion, on the phone with Desmond, navigated around the building. An attempt to teleport directly into the apartment was thwarted by an arcane protection—a sinister-looking skull hanging by a leather cord on the door. The skull’s removal by Desmond from the inside caused the exterior of the building to warp bizarrely, revealing the image of a massive, soot-blackened skull around Wyatt's windows. Deucalion, now able to teleport in, instructed Desmond to restore the skull to its hook, concealing their supernatural meddling from the street below. Meanwhile, security started poking around the neighboring apartment, rattled by Deucalion’s brief appearance.Enter the Weird
Their investigation unearthed a mix of the mundane and the mystic:- The apartment was thick with dust, evidently abandoned for years.
- In the bathroom, the charred remains of a six-armed demon were discovered, its head removed and used in the spell protecting the door.
- Torn family photos of James Wyatt, a woman, and a boy scattered the bedroom floor, confirming Wyatt as Brutus.
- Official paperwork revealed Wyatt as a decorated, supposedly missing-in-action cop, deep undercover within the G-Reign gang.
- An obsidian block protruded from the master bedroom wall, bearing a macahuitl, its wooden handle black as night and edged with impossibly sharp obsidian blades, held by skeletal hands.
Questions Answered, Questions Asked
While the physical evidence clarified Brutus’s unusual status at the precinct, the occult findings only deepened the mystery. James Wyatt’s ties to Macahuitl, the avatar of Death, remained murky. What did the presence of the macahuitl signify—was Macahuitl deceased, or was Wyatt himself the avatar? The city’s mysteries deepened, tangling like the shadows at dusk. Deucalion’s attempt to draw the macahuitl was thwarted as the skeletal hands clenched tight, the darkness watching, unyielding.Time To Go, Go To Time
Wednesday, 8AM 2/17/2022 As they prepared to leave, time itself seemed out of joint; the sun sped through the sky, and the world outside moved at a frenetic pace. Deucalion pocketed a police medal—a token of truth they planned to confront Wyatt with, whenever they might cross paths again. As the tale closes on this eerie night, our vigilantes step back into the shadows, the weight of their discoveries heavy upon them. What comes next? Only the dark streets of New Mexico City know for sure.Missions/Quests Completed
Clues found for A Brutus By Any Other Name
- Wyatt Family Photos
- Police medals awarded to James Wyatt after going MIA
- Police orders for James Wyatt to go deep undercover in the G-Reign gang
- A dead demon, a location masking ritual and a dark macahuitl - links to the occult or supernatural.
Report Date
22 Apr 2024
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