Draw 06 - Darkness
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The headquarters of the River City Shadowchasers was a rather odd building. It had been there since the city itself was founded, 100 years ago, and a large part of the roof was made of wood. Specifically, out of an old wooden fishing boat. If you were to go inside, you would see a plank of wood mounted above the fireplace, which still had the boat's name, "Klaus" written on it.
River City was founded by a group of drunken sailors, who accidentally crashed their boat on a newly discovered island. One of the sailors, Takeru Kimura, decided to turn the wreckage into a house. He was the only one of his friends who knew that the Klaus had a klabautermann, kobold-like spirits who inhabit boats that are well cared for and loved. Takeru, being an Aware, was eventually approached by a representative of Jalal, who asked him to form a team of Shadowchasers to protect River City. He did, and his family had been leading that team ever since.
Klaus, the klabautermann in question, acted as a chef and considered himself a father to the team. Like all of his kind, he looked like a dwarfish man in fisherman's clothes, with a large green beard, which didn't pare well with his serious and authoritative nature. He paced across the living room, as the four Shadowchasers sat on the couch, waiting for him to finish his daily "inspection". "Let's start with a roll call." He said. His voice was unusually deep for someone of his size.
"Hibiki Kimura." The Japanese Shadowchaser was busy getting feathers and bean paste out of her hair, having been assaulted by several angry tengu after arresting Carlyle earlier that day. She nodded, not wanting to be rude.
"Caspian Kalani." The half-merman sighed and nodded. He was still upset over not getting to enjoy his time in the harbor. He held a copy of Out magazine in his hands, which he had been trying to read.
"Sabrina Moore." The blonde put down her phone and nodded. She was looking for something to replace Hellsing on her watch list.
"Tyler Rodriguez." The muscular Colombian looked up from the pencil he had been fidgeting with and smiled. He didn't mind the old spirit's routine as much as the others. His father had run the family home in a similar way to keep Tyler and his three sisters under control.
"Good, you're all here. Anybody have anything interesting to report?" Klaus asked, sitting down and adjusting his beard. He enjoyed hearing stories of the team's (mis)adventures, especially if he thought they were worthy of going in the Shadowchasers' weekly newsletter.
"I fought an anime character." Sabrina said, sighing. Saying it out loud made it sound even sillier than she thought it would. Tyler chuckled, while Kim and Caspian stared at her blankly.
"I think I was approached by a cult member." Caspian began to describe his duel with Lance, and the "Mistress" he had spoken of.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of River City, deep underground, a black mass gathered. Nearly a hundred people stood in a dim room with no lighting. Underneath their black hoods and robes, they all wore necklaces like Lance's; pieces of obsidian carved into the shape of a sun.
The curtains on the stage pulled back, revealing four figures. They stood around a stone coffin, which glowed with unholy light. "My children." An ancient voice spoke from inside the coffin. "We are safe, hidden from the cruel sun and those who would oppose us. Remove your hoods." And they did.
The people in the crowd, they were all Shadowkind. Drow, tiefling, sahuagin, duergar, and others, all known for their sinister and/or nocturnal nature. "Snuff out the light!" They chanted it as if it was a prayer.
The four standing with the coffin removed their hoods as well. "My generals will open this week's ceremony, as always." The voice said.
"Schwarz?" The first general was an aging Caucasin man with a shaved head and heavily scarred face. His expression was a wicked grin, like he knew a joke that no one else in the room had heard yet. "The Ebon Sun grows stronger with each passing day, Mama Killa." He said, his tone excited. "Our membership has grown to over a hundred in the past week."
"Kuro?" The second was a female Drow. She was pretty, but her eyes were cold, almost sinister. She smiled in a way that told you she was either completely mad, or a genius. "The wards on our temple proved to be much stronger than we suspected, Mama Killa." She replied, sounding eager. "The Shadowchasers and the Mundane police both have no idea that we're down here."
"Noir?" The third general was unmistakably a vampire, with snow white skin and crimson red eyes. He was handsome, with a serious expression, like he didn't enjoy being here. "The local sahuagin and duergar populations are now our allies, Mama Killa. The Ophidia refuse to speak to us, however."
"And Velvet?" The fourth and final general was also a human, like Schwarz, but looked to be albino. Her hair was platinum blonde, and her eyes were completely grey, with no visible irises or pupils. "This is our third year of meeting together, and we no longer have competition." She answered.
"Good, very good. You have all served me well." The coffin rumbled, and slowly opened. The four generals, as well as the cult members in the audience, took a step back. Out of the coffin stepped another robed figure, tall and thin, to the point of looking skeletal. A featureless white mask covered its face, and the only part of it that was visible were its hands. Its skin was grey, its fingers long and bony, and its nails claw-like. "My children, we are the neophytes to a world of darkness! One day, we will no longer fear the sun!" She said. She radiated an aura of superiority, as if she was a queen addressing her subjects.
"I need three of you to go and test the Shadowchasers' strength. Who will step forward?" She asked, pinpoints of violet light shining out through the black eyeholes in her mask. There were whispers among the Ebon Sun's lower members. Could they beat the Shadowchasers? They didn't want to disappoint Mama Killa and risk making her angry.
"I will do it, my dark lady!" Someone said. "And I!" Another. "So shall I." A third, more powerful voice agreed. The crowd stepped back, letting the three volunteers stand before their leader. The first looked like a small girl with elf ears. The second, an old man. And the third was a monstrosity.
Mama Killa simply nodded. "Yes, you three will do just fine." She waved her hands and three blank cards landed in the cultists' hands. "Take these Dark Cards and fight with all your strength. You do not need to win, but if you do, you will be rewarded greatly."
The four generals exchanged looks. Kuro pouted at being left out, while the other three nodded in agreement with their mistress. "Snuff out the light!" They repeated the cult's mantra.
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The Shadowchasers listened to Caspian as he finished his story. "That's... troubling." Kim was the first to speak. "We should all go back on patrol and look for anything sinister. We don't want a repeat of what happened in Boston." The Boston Shadowchasers had also had a run in with a cult, the Doom Dreamers, who followed the chained god Tharizdun.
"I kind of have plans already." Sabrina mentioned, looking down at her phone. "I'll pick up after that, I can't break this appointment again."
"Well, three out of four is good enough." Tyler interrupted, not giving Kim the time to argue. "Come on, everybody, lets grab our Duel Runners and go kick some ass!"
"I am taking an hour long bath after this, and none of you can stop me." Caspian grumbled, combing his hair to relieve stress.
"Before you go, Tyler, this came in the mail for you." Klaus said, handing the Colombian an envelope.
Tyler opened it up, finding two cards inside. "Woah..."
He slid them into his Duel Disk and ran to his Runner, excited to go on patrol for once.
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Tyler's about to face an opponent using a deck that may seem familiar to some of you...
Join us next time, in a chapter I'm calling "Happy Lover"!