Blood Like Roses: Season 1, Episode 1, Scene 3

That was a longer break than I expected. Work and winter storms have kept me busier than usual.

Sebastian wants to add, “A sinister bell rings in the distance,” to the 1st Motif card.

Option A: Add the phrase as normal.

Option B: Do not add the phrase to the card.

Option A - 6, Option B - 5

1st Motif Card

• Blood colored petals coalesce into a kneeling man.
• A sinister bell rings in the distance.

Overplayer rolls for Tone:

Option A: Feral

Option B: Insightful

Option A - 1, Option B - 3

Overplayer rolls for Phase:

Option A: Perilous

Option B: Rogue

Option A - 1, Option B - 3

Overplayer rolls for Scene Guide, if this is a Feral:

Option A: Discovery Phase

Option B: Perilous Phase

Option A - 1, Option B - 6

And, if this is an Insightful:

Option A: Rogue Phase

Option B: Perilous Phase

Option A - 6, Option B - 1

The streets of the Court are cobblestone marred by pools of dark water. Carriages burn on the side of the road, bodies heaped atop the makeshift pyre to cleanse the district of some unnamed disease. Doors to homes are barred shut against the lunacy outside as packs of crazed citizens roam the alleys.

An iron wrought fence marks the perimeter of a previously high valued estate. The garden has long since deteriorated into brown grasses coupled with weeds. The front door barely hangs from its hinges, offering glimpses of eyes like burning coals watching Sebastian from within. A porcelain woman sits stoically on a stone bench in front of the house, a living doll animated by a previous Hunter.

The howl of the werewolf echoes from the rooftop, stalking closer to its prey.

Overplayer picks up the dice and hands them to Sebastian.

Show us how Sebastian helps the Doll escape the Court of Gaols.

Sebastian rolls for Tone: Feral - 2, Insightful - 5

Sebastian slowly walks slowly up the cobblestone steps, taking a seat beside the woman. His eyes watch the darkness behind the door warily.

“This place is not safe, my lady,” he says in muted tones.

Her distant voice replies, eyes staring down at the joints of her ceramic fingers, “Where else would I be?”

“Home?” Sebastian inquires.

“This is home.”

Sebastian glances around the courtyard with moderate disbelief. The cracked earth and dying foliage. The susurration from beyond the broken doors. Dark grey clouds a barrier against the sun.

“No, my lady, I think we should get you back to the Workshop.”

The door bursts apart, a barely human form shambles forward. Its pupils are dilated too wide with madness, hair falling away in mangy patches. The thing’s speech is indecipherable, just one long scream.

Sebastian leaps to his feet, quicksilver tonfa snap into his hands. He flips one and grabs it lengthwise, the handle jutting forward like a hook. The tonfa swings down and smashes against the skull of the delirious man with a heavy wet crack.

Another maniac jumps from a window and charges at the Hunter. Sebastian’s second tonfa twirls, the shorter end level with the beast’s head. The two meet, tonfa pressed against the head of the madman, and Sebastian pulls the trigger. A mercury bullet burrows through the man’s skull and emerges from the other side with a thundering roar.

An unseen third tackles Sebastian from the wilting bushes. The Hunter is forced to the ground and retaliates with quick jabs to the side of the thing’s head. He pulls himself up to his feet and wields the tonfa like a pair of clubs, alternating strikes against the thing’s arms, chest and head. Sebastian continues to club the insane individual as it falls to the cobblestone walkway until black ichor begins to puddle across the ground.

All the while, the porcelain doll remained stoic and still, focused on the joints of her fingers.

Sebastian’s breath is labored and quick. He swallows, noting the strange pulsating tumors growing upon the building. His hand touches the Doll’s, “We should go.”

“Go. To the Workshop,” her placid expression reveals no emotion.

The two walk back along the alleyways and into the room where the lamp bleeds its lavender light. He presses a palm against its glass and the two disappear into the Hunter’s Dream, leaving rose petals drifting upon the wind.

Sebastian picks up the dice and hands them to the Overplayer.

Show us what is behind the tumorous growths.

The bulging tumor pulsates under the darkened skies. An opening the size of a man pries apart, a starlight eye blinks lazily with twin pupils like a five pointed star. The growth ripples and a tendril extends across the roof. An emaciated arm ending in a hand with obsidian claws. The madness is spreading and the incubation is almost complete.

Sebastian wants to add “eyes like burning coals” and “A porcelain woman sits stoically” to the Motif Cards.

Option A: Add both

Option B: Choose one

Option A - 6, Option B - 5

1st Motif Card:

• Blood colored petals coalesce into a kneeling man.
• A sinister bell rings in the distance.
• Eyes like burning coals

2nd Motif Card:

• A porcelain woman sits stoically.