{"id":27660,"date":"2025-10-27T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-27T05:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T09:00:11","slug":"encounter-1115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/2025\/10\/27\/encounter-1115\/","title":{"rendered":"Preston&#8217;s Sunday afternoon odd encounter(Preston)"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n    .edgt-post-text-inner p {\n        margin-bottom: 35px !important;\n    }\n    <\/style>\n<p><strong>Date:<\/strong> 2025-10-26 16:49<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><span style=\"color:#008000\">               (<\/span>Preston&#8217;s Sunday afternoon odd encounter(Preston):Preston<span style=\"color:#008000\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#008080\">        [<\/span>Sun Oct 26 2025<span style=\"color:#008080\">]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In At High and Blackstone<br \/><b>78The hardwood<b>79 floors have <b>79been recentl<b>80y sanded, buf<b>80fed, and sea<b>80led.<span style=\"color:#c0c0c0\"> <span style=\"color:#5f875f\">The<b>08 wal<b>51ls h<b>94ave <b>94been<i>31 pai<i>31nted<i>31 a p<i>31ale <b>94shad<b>94e of<b>51 gre<b>08en, <span style=\"color:#5f875f\">with<span style=\"color:#c0c0c0\"> <b>20the n<b>19orth w<b>54all a <b>55bit d<b>56arker,<b>57 addin<b>57g a s<b>56ense o<b>55f tex<b>54ture t<b>19o the <b>20space.<span style=\"color:#c0c0c0\"> <b>17A frame<b>23less Ca<b>59lifornia<b>95 King b<i>31ed is ce<i>31ntered <i>31along t<i>31he west <b>95wall, f<b>59lanked o<b>23n both <b>17sides by<span style=\"color:#c0c0c0\"> <b>78a <b>79pa<b>79ir<b>80 o<b>80f n<b>80ig<b>80ht<b>79st<b>79an<b>78ds.<span style=\"color:#c0c0c0\"> <\/p>\n<p>It is about <span style=\"color:#008080\">55\/b>\/span\/i<\/span\/bF(<span style=\"color:#008080\">12<\/span>C) degrees.  The mist is heaviest <span style=\"color:#867c6c\">A<span style=\"color:#897968\">t<span style=\"color:#8c7764\"> <span style=\"color:#8e7560\">P<span style=\"color:#91735c\">a<span style=\"color:#937158\">n<span style=\"color:#956e54\">a<span style=\"color:#976c50\">m<span style=\"color:#996a4c\">a<span style=\"color:#9b6848\"> <span style=\"color:#9c6544\">a<span style=\"color:#9e6340\">n<span style=\"color:#a0613c\">d<span style=\"color:#a15e38\"> <span style=\"color:#a25c34\">B<span style=\"color:#a4592f\">l<span style=\"color:#a5572b\">a<span style=\"color:#a65427\">c<span style=\"color:#a75222\">k<span style=\"color:#a94f1e\">s<span style=\"color:#aa4c19\">t<span style=\"color:#ab4914\">o<span style=\"color:#ac460e\">n<span style=\"color:#ac4406\">e\/span><\/span\/span\n\n<br \/>(Your target discovers a vampire feeding on a homeless person in an alley. The vampire claims they only take from the willing and desperate, offering money in exchange for blood &#8211; but the victim looks barely conscious. The characters must decide whether to intervene, and if so, how to handle a predator who insists they&#8217;re providing a service.)<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah wanted some fresh air, so he decided that today he would walk to and from the Inkwell for his fix. When he finished, however, he didn&#8217;t simply want to go back to his apartment, and so he decided to just get a second cup to go and wander around the city a bit, with no particular goal or destination in mind&#8230; <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s one of those interesting sort of evenings. The sun&#8217;s still out, but somewhere along the way &#8211; from behind one of those shops and buildings that line the street there&#8217;s a faint yelp of pain. It doesn&#8217;t last long, and it sounds faraway, almost inaudible for that matter. But it was there. It could be heard by someone paying attention. <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah thinks to himself, &#8216;I know I&#8217;m going to regret this.&#8217; then proceeds to look for the source of the yelp. &#8220;Hello? Is someone hurt?&#8221; he calls out. <\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no answer given to that called out question. It&#8217;s a big city. A suit-wearing passerby looks at Jeremiah with a curious expression, eyebrows lifting up in judgment but otherwise says nothing else in reply. <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah heads for where he thinks he heard the sound, moving quietly with his ears open in case it happens again. He gives a quick pat of his pockets, to make sure his &#8216;Don&#8217;t leave home without them&#8217; items are all there. Satisfied, he calls out again. &#8220;Is someone hurt?&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Still no reply. But there&#8217;s some movement in the alley now. Fortunately, the sun&#8217;s still out, lighting up the alley. A few of the buildings block most of the light, but there&#8217;s a sliver that creeps through. Making it a less than fully creepy alley. Just a tiny bit of a creepy alley, perhaps. There&#8217;s a robed figured hunched on the ground in the alley, and what appears to be.. a body? It might be hard to make out, depending on one&#8217;s eyesight. That robed figure is huddled close to the body on the ground, like they&#8217;re.. kissing? <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah takes the LED flashlight out of his pocket and turns it on, shining it on the robed figure. &#8220;Hey! What&#8217;s going on here? What are you doing?&#8221; He continues to walk towards them, stopping about fifteen feet away. <\/p>\n<p>That robed figure suddenly looks up, and turns around &#8211; glaring directly at Jeremiah. &#8220;Get that fucking light out of my face,&#8221; it calls, almost hissing the words. &#8220;This does not concern you. I am merely..&#8221; there&#8217;s a tilt of his head, and the figure grins &#8211; wide. Revealing sharp fangs in it&#8217;s mouth. &#8220;Providing a simple service. Now,&#8221; it lifts a hand, and waves it at Jeremiah. &#8220;Shoo.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>Down the street the audible sound of car stops, and parks. A door closes and someone hops out, on the phone from the sounds of it. &#8220;Coffee? Yeah, anywhere in particular?&#8221; A beat as there&#8217;s a reply from the other end. &#8220;Yeah, Inkwell? And some food from there? Alright. Can do, babe. See you in a bit.&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> hangs up the phone and begins to stroll down the street &#8211; past the alley where Jeremiah is. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not going to happen. What &#8216;service&#8217; are you providing to anyone other than yourself?&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> asks. &#8220;Leave that person be.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Now <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> just happens to hear this from Jeremiah, as he&#8217;s strolling by, stopping by the end of the alley way in curiousity, though, doesn&#8217;t actively say anything at the moment. Just lingering at the edge of the alley, watching.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Shoo. I said.&#8221; The figure demands, waving him away once more. &#8220;I am providing a valuable service.&#8221; Reaching a hand out it reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large clip of bills. &#8220;You see, I am hungry. And he is poor. So, I am providing money in exchange for sating my hunger.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not good enough. Get back, now! I&#8217;m not going to say it again! If this was some sort of arrangement, you should find a better place to do it than a random alley.&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> reaches into his other pocket and pulls out his backup pistol. &#8220;Not going to ask again. This might not kill you, but it&#8217;ll draw attention, if nothing else.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Drawing a gun has <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston&#8217;s<\/span> attention and now he&#8217;s casually strolling towards Jeremiah. &#8220;Friendly,&#8221; he tells him &#8211; in case his back is turned to him, coming up and standing beside Jeremiah. &#8220;What&#8217;s going on? Drawing a gun is usually a sign of trouble.&#8221; Shifting his gaze, he looks towards the figure, then back to Jeremiah.  <\/p>\n<p>Now there&#8217;s two people against one, and the hooded figure growls angrily. &#8220;I told you, this is not your business. I am paying him for his services. It is like&#8230;&#8221; a beat, &#8220;A blood donation.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fine. But I only have your word for that, and you&#8217;re in the middle of an alley. The others I know like you&#8230; they make arrangements in advance and do it in safe, quiet places. This looks like you just jumped this person to feed, and that&#8217;s not okay.&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> says, giving Preston a nod. &#8220;Caught the vamp feeding on this person. He says it&#8217;s a financial arrangement.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A financial arrangement?&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> wonders, lifting his eyebrows up &#8211; staring into the alley. &#8220;Man looks fucking dead.&#8221; Nodding towards the almost-corpse that&#8217;s laying there in the alley. &#8220;From what I know you&#8217;re not supposed to take that much blood, especially during a blood donation. I think they&#8217;ve got limits on that type of shit.&#8221; Glancing back to Jeremiah, like he might be an expert on blood donations.  <\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s another growl from the robed figure, starting to sort of back away. Trying to retreat now. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve always heard, too.&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> says with a nod, and raises the pistol. &#8220;Stop there.&#8221; He glances at Preston. &#8220;Can you call 911?&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re supposed to call the cops for this type of stuff,&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> admits to Jeremiah. &#8220;But.. I&#8217;ll call someone.&#8221; There&#8217;s a glance towards the robed figure. &#8220;Maybe the Order? I&#8217;m sure they&#8217;d love to talk to you about what you&#8217;re doing.&#8221; So, <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> steps off for a moment, to go make a call, leaving Jeremiah and the figure to figure it out.  <\/p>\n<p>That robed figure does stop when he&#8217;s told, letting out a low growl of annoyance. <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah keeps the gun trained on the robed figure. &#8220;You move, I shoot. Like I said, might not kill you, but it&#8217;ll hurt and draw attention, which I&#8217;m sure you don&#8217;t want.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Look,&#8221; the robed figure says, staring at the gun, and at Jeremiah. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you just let me go?&#8221; Extending his hand full of money towards him. &#8220;I&#8217;ll give you the rest of this, and,&#8221; he nods towards the soon-to-be corpse on the ground there. &#8220;You can probably still save him. If you let me go.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah shakes his head. &#8220;So you can do this to someone else, another time? No fucking way.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Eventually <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> steps back beside Jeremiah, &#8220;Right, ambulance coming, and, some Order people are on the way.&#8221; He informs Jeremiah. &#8220;They&#8217;ll more than likely deal with it once they&#8217;re here.&#8221; There&#8217;s a rocking back on his heels, snorting a laugh towards the robed figure. &#8220;He&#8217;s going a point you know, can&#8217;t just go around drinking &#8217;em dry. Think that&#8217;s a big no-no.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I do not see the problem. I pay them. They know what they are getting into.&#8221; Another growl from the figure, angry. &#8220;Just let me go. It does not concern you.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah nods. &#8220;It does. It concerns us because you went too far, and you did it in the open, alleyway or not. We all know there are vampires, and &#8216;wolves, and people who can shoot lighting out of their fingers&#8230; but we also all agree to keep it quiet, keep it hidden. You broke that agreement, and you don&#8217;t get to walk away from it.&#8221; he says, angrily. The pistol is still aimed and is not wavering. <\/p>\n<p>Soon the sirens of an ambulance can be heard, alongside some other vehicles making their way onto the scene. It&#8217;s the backup that was called, coming to.. well, be the backup. <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> slinks back, flagging vehicles down while Jeremiah continues to keep the suspect in check.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The one fucking time&#8230;&#8221; the robed figure murmurs under his breath, but, it would seem ultimately, has no real response. It does not seem like it&#8217;s planning on getting in a fight here. <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah nods. &#8220;The one fucking time. Because there are supposed to be zero fucking times. And you should know that. Or whoever turned you should have, and they should have told you.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yeah.. well,&#8221; the robed figure replies, glancing up at Jeremiah. The rest of the backup as arrived, beginning to really flood into the scene. &#8220;Good work, Sir,&#8221; one person mentions to Jeremiah, giving him a quick nod. &#8220;Let us take it from here. We&#8217;ll have a talk with him, and see about getting the other medical attention.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah nods. &#8220;Thank you.&#8221; He pockets the pistol and turns off the flashlight before putting it away, too. He looks over at Preston. &#8220;And thanks to you, too.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You did most of it,&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> mentions to Jeremiah, &#8220;From the looks of it.&#8221; Rubbing idly at his face, &#8220;Name&#8217;s Preston, by the way.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Jeremiah Deacon, nice to meet you. You&#8217;re&#8230; Navessa&#8217;s boyfriend, right? Or am I mistaken?&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> asks. <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> nods at Jeremiah. &#8220;Yup. You know Navs?&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve met, yeah. We&#8217;re not close friends, but she&#8217;s nice, and I&#8217;ve been around her in social situations.&#8221; <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Jeremiah<\/span> says with a smile. <\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a smile from <span style=\"color:#ffffff\">Preston<\/span> at Jeremiah. &#8220;Makes sense.&#8221; Checking his watch briefly. &#8220;Hate to introduce myself and run, but, I gotta get going.&#8221; Most of the scene now has been dealt with, paramedics rushing the poor man to the hospital, Orderites taking care of the vampire. There isn&#8217;t any real reason to stick around. &#8220;Maybe I&#8217;ll run into you some time. Nice to meet you. And good work here.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah nods. &#8220;Thanks. Take it easy, yeah?&#8221; He offers the other man a wave. <\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah says &#8220;<span style=\"color:#00afff\">Thanks! <\/span>&#8220;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Date: 2025-10-26 16:49 (Preston&#8217;s Sunday afternoon odd encounter(Preston):Preston) [Sun Oct 26 2025] In At High and Blackstone78The hardwood79 floors have 79been recentl80y sanded, buf80fed, and sea80led. The08 wal51ls h94ave 94been31 pai31nted31 a p31ale 94shad94e of51 gre08en, with 20the n19orth w54all a 55bit d56arker,57 addin57g a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encounterlog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havenrpg.net\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}