The Deal

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:21 pm

You win some, you loose some.

Last night I ventured out of my building on a mission for the first time in way too long. I had reliable information on where I could find not one, but three monsters.

Not that I totally trusted the source, since one of them was a monster himself. Bloodbane had offered me a deal. If I came to aide him in a fight with this vampire controlling demon of his, he promised to give me some information KonThaak would find useful for protecting his family. He also promised I'd get a shot at my evil twin - who had been showing up as well.

I know you folks in Chi-town will be unhappy I didn't pay a visit while I was up there . . . but knowing the Not Me was in the area too made me leery of a meeting in case either I caught you with your guard up . . . or got you to lower your guard.

Anyway, I met Bloodbane in a mall. About the only thing we could agree upon as public enough to be sure neither of us tried anything.

"I thought you'd be taller." He started after we'd shown sign and countersign. I wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"If you have what I'm here for, put it on the table. If I like it, tell me where and when this party of yours will be."

"All business are we? Here I was hoping to get to see what you're like beyond the bold yellow font."

"That's fine. If you don't want to deal, you don't want to deal." I started to get up.

He tossed a large envelope onto the table. "What the druid needs is in there."

I sat back down. He needed me after all. Good. I slipped the contents out of the envelope and thumbed through them.

"You should find it all in order"

I let him wait a while.

"Yeah, this meets the first part of our agreement. So where and when?"

"The last sheet has the location and timing on it. We should get together in advance to work out our strategy."

"We don't need to do that. You've told me enough of what this creature is vulnerable to to let me figure out what I need to do. As long as you can draw it out into te open I promise you'll get you chance to sink your weapon home."

He didn't like that, but I didn't care. I don't consort with bloodsuckers any more than I absolutely have to. "How certain are you that the other me will show up?"

"As certain as I am that the real you will be there."

So not very certain at all. Fair enough.

"I will be there. I want to make sure we both get exactly all we were promised out of this."

His tired smile let his fangs show."I am looking forward to all parts of this bargain being fulfilled."

We got up, nodded to each other, and went our seperate ways . . .

A few hours later I was laying in the snow and slush in a ditch on the outskirts of a Chicago suburb, peering through a starlight scope at an indistinct little house.

I'd been there for hours . . . I made sure to set up early so I would know what was going on. I'd only taken just enough time to send KT the documents Bloodbane had given me.

I was cold, but not as cold as I would have been had I not gotten those winter utilities and that winter camouflage pattern thermal blanket. As far as anyone who was not me was concerned, I was just another snowbank.

Even with the starlight scope, I could barely see Bloodbane as he slid up to the house and carefully opened the door.

Apparently these folks had been some of the "donors" who have been keeping him alive in exchange for protection. These demon, called Nebuchadnezzar or some such, apparently was growing increasingly frustrated at Bloodbane's refusal to submit. So the demon started hunting Bloodbane's food supply.

Bloodbane had a way to kill the demon, but he needed to be able to administer it. He wasn't sure he'd get the chance without some backup.

So I was that back up. In part because I get to kill a demon, in part because I get to help KT and in part because the Not Me had apparently shown up near Bloodbane the last couple of nights, so I would have a shot at him too.

The starlight scope picked up flashes of light from within the house. It was on. I just had to wait until Bloodbane brought it all outside.

I didn't have to wait long as the door busted off it's hinges and Bloodbane hurtled outside the hard way.

A few moments later the demon squuezed through the ruined door frame.

I can't really described what it looked like. It was big, and there was smoke and flame coming from it. I can't really say that much else. Whenever I try to think about what it looked like my mind just sort of slips off of my memory.

It trudged towards where Bloodbane was lying and raised its . . . fist? claw? weapon? I'm not sure, but I did know that it was my cue.

Breathe, squeeze, clack.

The suppressed SR-25 and cold load silver ammunition made no more noise than a switch blade. At this range the demon probably could hear nothing louder than a butterfly's flatulence.

But it sure could feel it. I was right on target. Bloodbane had told me that silver alone couldn't kill this thing, but it sure would hurt it.

I started squeezing the shots off as fast as I could. The demons tarted flailing and turning. Like a man in a swarm of invisible hornets, he didn't know where to swat or how to escape. But he did know it hurt.

Soon it just raised it's arms in an attempt to guard against the stings. I slid the bullet between them and struck it square in the eye.

I'm sure they could hear the roar at Wrigley Field.

Bloodbane, either just regaining consciousness or playing possum, sprung up at that moment and drove his custom stake deep into the beasts heart.

The demon clutched at the stake, but it was too late. In fury and agony it grabbed onto Bloodbane and exploded.

My starlight scope overloaded from the flash. I waited a few moments and slid away to where Bloodbane and I had agreed to meet to finish up our deal.

He didn't come.

After a couple of hours I slid back to where the fight had happened.

Bloodbane was still there.

Or what was left of him.

I don't know if the demon had done it just before he died, or the explosion did it, but Bloodbane had been neatly and completely decapitated.

So I didn't get to deal with the other me.

I did get to see a demon put down though.

I did get to make sure that people could go to bed safely tonight.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:36 pm

Some pretty nice huntin' there Ron, shame to hear about Bloodbane, but sometimes we loose our own. He'll be remembered.

I look alot of chances there Ron,
but to help KT and stop a monster like that, I could see why.

Glad to see you back in action.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:43 pm

Trust me. I had the eyes in the back of my head peeled wide the whole time.

Maybe the way Bloodbane went out forgives what he was, maybe it don't.

It's in someone else's hands now.

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:55 pm

Maybe the way Bloodbane went out forgives what he was, maybe it don't.

It's in someone else's hands now.

I simply must ask you. Was such ever truely in your hands Mr. Caliburn?

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:03 pm

My job isn't to judge. My job is to protect.

Those who harm or threaten to harm must be stopped.

Even at his nicest, Bloodbane still was a parasite who fed on human blood.

I feel no sorrow in his death.

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:10 pm

My question was not meant to be insulting, merely to ask if you had thought Bloodbane's forgiveness was ever within your hands. You are who you are, Mr. Caliburn, my role is not to judge you. I merely try to understand the people around me more fully.

"Only by understanding others, does one begin to fully understand himself." Ryokan

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:20 pm

I never thought it was nor expected I would forgive him.

I think too many on this board may be too eager to forgive him and others like him.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:27 pm

" To error is human, to forgive is devine. "

Bloodbane died protecting others, humanity, from monsters worse than himself. He didn't do out of apathy, revenge, or a need to fight. He did it to protect the inccoent. I admit the guy creeped me out, but he was deined by his actions in the end.

If not forgiveness, maybe it is just a matter of respect. In all come rounds, that could have been you and Not Me down there with Bloodbane looking upon your corpse.

You may not like some of the people here because of what they are, but you should at least show them te respect Im sure they'ld show you. For for being a Human being, but as a fellow hunter.

PS: I shot Master Li I was part of The Horsemen. Guess what, I am human. Should I get any more forgiveness than say Bloodbane, Celeste, or Greydawn. As a race Ron, we are capable of far worse evils. Remember that.

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:30 pm

And I am one of them. As long as doing them harm is not needed to defend another, I belive they have as much right to exist, and even to be protected, as any other sentient being.

Of course I do have that view on most things. If you are doing no harm, you have the right to be free from harm and fear. My question is would you bring harm to the harmless?

(I suppose it was time I just came out and asked Mr. Caliburn.)

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:38 pm

Perhaps he was protecting innocent humans, perhaps he was guarding his food supply, perhaps he was settling some demonic rivalry. Perhaps it was all of the above.

He did a few servces to us yesterday, I admit. He stopped that demon, he gave me the way to help KonThaak and we won't have to worry about him feeding off of people.

The final equation . . . again, I'm not the decider on that. He's had his day in front of the judge by now and unless one of you care peer through the veil between these worlds and asked him how it turned out, I think it's pointless for us to speculate about the end.

When he died, he wasn't all bad. But when he lived he wasn't all good.

As for respect - I respect the way he died. I don't have the same opinion of the way he lived.

AdamaGeist · Post by **AdamaGeist** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:42 pm

I think the biggest point everyone's trying to press is that none of us is without sin. Let's be honest, I'll never forgive myself for some of the things I've done... I was called a Soul-Eater, and they were right. I have. And I can never totaly forgive myself for destroying somthing that should never cease, regardless if I did it for the greater good.

The thing we're asking you Ron, is to set aside what the man was, which I know for a fact you have wrong... He was never a vampire. I don't know what he was, but that's somthing we all made a mistake about. Instead, judge him on what he did.

Same question as before, Ron. If Celeste became human tomorrow, would you still hate her? Would you kill her as she was on the way to returning to human?

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:45 pm

If Celeste became human tomorrow, she would still have a lot of back rent to pay.

As for what Bloodbane was, he was a vampire in the sense that he still needed human blood to survive.

The information I have called him a Wampyr. In either case he was a blood sucker.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:46 pm

Don't count Bloodbane out yet, unless he had less than six hours until dawn.

AdamaGeist · Post by **AdamaGeist** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:49 pm

Wampyr... Well, that adds up... Do you happen to know what one of those are?

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:53 pm

Im sure she ain't the only one round these boards with "back rent" as you like to put it. Most of us, if not all, have skeletons in the closet. Some just have bigger closets. I sure you have a nice big ol' walk in there yourself "Mortikai" but the past is the past. Personally, if it weren't for Celeste, Ild probably still be under Shepard's control if not worse, plus she saved my Molly from harms way. So if you ever think of
of knockin on her door askin for "back rent", Im the door. Alot of people here might agree to that.

Rest in piece Bloodbane, you died with honor and I for one salute you.

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:55 pm

back rent....

I ask you again Mr. Caliburn Would you bring harm to the harmless?

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:26 pm

AdamaGeist wrote:Wampyr... Well, that adds up... Do you happen to know what one of those are?

Apparently another kind of vampire. A little more alive than undead though.

As for back rent . . . Celeste's will come due at the proper time. Just like all of ours. As my grandpa said, Ain't nuthin' can't die. When we die, the sum of our deeds in life and death come due.

I don't trust her, and I don't like her. But some people I trust keep vouching for her, so I don't go looking for her.

If she crosses my path . . . she hasn't yet, so no point speculatin'.

As for harming the harmless. If I really ever believed they were harmless, I wouldn't be hunting them. I'm not sure you and I would agree on what exactly is harmless Shang.

AdamaGeist · Post by **AdamaGeist** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:51 pm

Vampires, as a whole, should be exterminated, one way or another. More than that, the deep evils that create vampires in the first place need to be rooted out and destroyed, so that vampires can never return.

And I know for a fact that we don't have a chance in hell of taking out any one of them, let alone all of them. Sad as it is, the entirety of Lazlo, with the possible exception of our unknown friend Pendragon, would all die rather quickly if we went to eliminate one. I won't say for certain of those who are rarely here, because they spend all their time traveling to other relms, but those of us who stay home are not exactly in their league.

As for a Wampyr... It's kinda a vampire. In the way a dog is kinda a wolf. In truth, they are a vampire's worst enemy, a victim that became somthing other than another vampire. If the legends are true they are imune to a vampire's charm, have nearly the same strengths and speed as a vampire, can survive the light of day, and can sense a vampire's presence. They need a minimal amount of blood, so little that they could live off of a human for it's entire lifespan with minimal harm, little more effect than anemia.

Vampires hate them, and the feeling is mutual. Each one is a true tragedy, because it is another human life destroyed... yet at the same time it is a triumph, for instead of another vampire being formed, a being that is able to fight the vapires is created instead, able to defend itself and kill it's creators.

If vampires are snakes, a Wampyr's a mongoose. Maybe ya can't trust the vicious little thing not to bite you, but it will kill every snake it can find.

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:20 am

A good analogy Mr. Geist. How much do you know about a mongoose however? Did you know that a mongoose will not bite a man (even a child) unless it is cornered, molested, or very, very sick?

Most vampires did not ask for their lot in life (whatever subtype). The change that overtakes them places a very powerful set of instincts in their human minds, even as their bodies are changed. Alas, that more do not have enough will to overcome their instincts. (this is true of most beings)

As for a definition of harmless, anything that does not seek to cause harm.
(I have had the misfortune of having to send a few well meaning beings back to where they came from - they did not understand that their mere proximity was painful, if not fatal to us.)

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:53 am

Execpt a Wampyr is not a Mongoose. It's a Vampire.

It still needs human blood to survive. It may have an instinctive hatred of Vampires, but it still views and uses us as food.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:29 pm

Of for God's sake...wampyr, vampire, what the hell difference does it make. The guy was a hunter just like us Ron. Cut the guy some slack, choke it up, say from frickin decent last words, and move on. Stop gleerin down the good ones and focus on killin' the bad ones, like that damn Nightmare you got runnin' round. For such a damn good hunter, that thing is still loose.
So stop yer gripin', kill it, and get back to helpin' the rest of us, cause if ya haven't realized we're -4 & 0 and its still only January.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:46 pm

I respected his death. If I have to go out, I want to go out watching some demon's death throes.

I just have difficulties in the amount of hero worship that is being accorded the bloodsuckers on this board.

If he was so brave and noble, why did he ask me to off him? If he was so concerned with the negative impact he had on humanity, why didn't he have the courage to go out and get rid of himself?

Just because he died a good death it doesn't erase the rest of his life and the pain and suffering he did cause.

I think it's dangerous to forget the life of a person just because of the manner of their death.

PSC died because his wheel chair didn't let him get out of danger in time. Does this mean we should remember him as a cripple in a wheelchair? I prefer to define him by the way he lived, a dedicated investigator who did not let physical disability stop him.

Bloodbane died well, but he lived by drinking human blood.

As for keeping score. The demon that was destroyed could not have been destroyed without my involvement. I've also been able to force the other me into a retreat. So if you want to keep score, I haven't exactly been blanked so far this month.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:26 pm

I was referring to the death count round Lazlo as of late.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:34 pm

So? The demon did go down.

So did the horsemen on that platform.

We've lost people, but we've been winning the battles.

Hopefully we will be winning without as many casualties in the future, but in this line of work death is far more likely than success.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:45 pm

You my friend put a frighteningly simple way of making death sound septic.

Good people don't have to die, or does that mean in your logic that only the strong survive.

As a Society, we are only strong when we are united. It is when we are divided do these things attack with the arrogance they do. I ust found out that kid Billy J., a 12 year old kid, with cancer was still fighting a loosing battle, even after we turned owr backs on him.

He died Ron, (PMs you a picture),
get that. Does that mean he was weak. This kid stood the ramparts and lost. Now its up to us, together, to bring what ever did it down.

You are with us, all of us Ron, your pathetic racial predujudices aside, or are you going to wait in your hidy hole until Not Me shows its ugly head again so you have something to play with.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:05 pm

We all die, good or bad, weak or strong, on our feet or in bed. It's a matter of when and how. Denying the eventual outcome of life is pointless.

We have and will continue to loose members. That is a fact. Facing that fact doesn't mean I like it. All it means is that I have dealt with this fact and moved on to do what I do.

It's a combination of talent, skill, determination and luck that keeps us alive. At any moment they might not be up to the task and we could find ourselves dead . . . or worse.

If you can't deal with that reality, I suggest you find a safer hobby, like knitting.

As for coming out of my hide and taking care of the other me? That's why I was in Chicago this weekend. I had a lead that I might find me there. It didn't pan out. I still got to take out a demon.

I will follow the leads where and when I can to track Not Me down. Unfortunately he has a mobility edge and he has the benefit of having read my mind. I don't expect an easy or prompt victory since it took me a month to flush him out from my mind.

I'm sure you know how frustrating it is to have someone wearing your face doing evil, don't ya Ben?

I do expect that one of two mes will kill the other. I'm doing my best to make sure I'm the one who wins . . . but I know it could just as easily go the other way.

But knowing my number could be up anytime I go out there doesn't stop me from going out there.

I am not some fool who thinks himself invulnerable. I have the scars and hospital bills to show I'm not.

I just do what I do so that someone else who isn't ready for it doesn't have to face these things.

It's the sum of our deeds that make us who we are. The manner of our death is just one of those deeds and I don't think it should be used as the sole measure of a man or beast.

Gothicfox · Post by **Gothicfox** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:44 pm

Ya know, sitting here typing away on computer at a library where weird shit is going on. You guys sure got a lot of time to jockey for a moral high point in this conversation.

Gotta respect Ron for sticking with his guns. Vampire is vampire, rather they fight for humanity or not. Ya never know when the so called good vampire is going to turn because of hunger. They still represent a danger that we don't need. So with that in mind, you anin't going to change the mans mind about how he deals with monsters.

Lord knows, I deal with the human kind all the time. So cut the guy some slack.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:20 pm

At least someone understands.

Shadowstalker · Post by **Shadowstalker** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:25 pm

More than one Ron.

Natasha · Post by **Natasha** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:54 pm

Yea, there are two Rons.

Sorry, could not resist.

Seriously though, that makes three of us...