The Cycle of Spectra Illuminos: Introductions: 1.1

This is a recount of the introductory sessions with Armando’s (Mundy’s) character Alonzo Petrovsky for Mage: the Awakening roleplaying game.  This introduction took two sessions to complete (about 4 hours) and is the initial hook to an epic, character-driven story.   To make things more memorable for the player, I asked him to provide specific music tracks he wanted to apply to his PC (Player Character).  I will provide a listing of those tracks with tracks of my own selection in the retelling of this adventure; this was an attempt to provide imagery for the PC relating to his change into the World of Darkness and to give the player a greater connection to the PC.

Alonzo checks his cellphone; it’s a number he doesn’t recognize. Its vibrating pulls his attention away from his last final before the beginning of summer break from the University of Texas. He lets the call go to voice mail with no resulting message. The phone rings again moments later, and through annoyance, he tosses the LG flip phone into his backpack for the remainder of the day.

Once he returns to his dorm room that night, Alonzo flops onto his bed, imagining what the weekend will be like with his family and friends. Alonzo has invited his three best friends, Esther and Phillip (twins), as well as Clayton (an object of Alonzo’s affection) for a weekend by the pool. It will be a much needed break before he starts his internship with the district attorney’s office in San Antonio at the end of May.

Alonzo stands up as his phone buzzes again from within his backpack; he reaches for it.

“Hello?” – Alonzo

It’s the same number as before; it had called at least 20 times since the first.

“Alonzo, is that you?”

It is the voice of his uncle Roman Petrovsky, his father’s older and only brother. Uncle Roman is a balding man in his early 50s, with patches of gray at the temples and sideburns. He has a slender swimmer’s build with a high fashion sense. He normally sports a mustache.

“Yeah.” - Alonzo

“Are you sitting down?” - Uncle Roman

“No.”

“Well you may want to.”

Uncle Roman begins relaying what had happened the night before.  At 0330 that morning, Alonzo’s parents, Maximillian and Maria Petrovsky, died in a car crash off the Arsenal Street Bridge while returning home from a firm party. There were no witnesses, but an oncoming car found them overturned below the bridge on the river sidewalk about a half hour after the crash.

Alonzo begins to panic, disbelieving what he is hearing as the truth.  He even adheres to the idea that this is some kind of joke, a small initiation into the world of law. What he learns is that the police think alcohol was involved with the accident, that the bodies of his parents are being held by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, and that the family Escalade has been taken to the impound year.  Uncle Roman tells Alonzo that he is trying his best to catch a flight to Texas and should be there tomorrow night at the latest. Alonzo hangs up with Uncle Roman, finding an unheard voicemail on his phone. It’s the medical examiner’s office; they need Alonzo to come by to identify the bodies before release into the custody of funeral services.

From this point forward, and throughout parts of Mundy’s investigation, I play the whole soundtrack of X-Files- I Want to Believe

Alonzo drives to his family home, a small mansion located in the countryside south of San Antonio. In travel, he tries calling Esther and Phillip with no answer.  He can’t understand why his friends are not answering his calls. For the last year, he has heard less from Esther, Phillip, and Clayton than he normally hears from his father; the four of them were inseparable throughout grade school to high school. It’s unlike any of them to be so distant.

Once at the house, Alonzo is greeted within the foyer by his dog Oscar, an aged yellow Labrador retriever. As he passes the dining room, he sees a marquee in bright colorful letters that reads, “Congratulations!” Traipsing through the house, he realizes that the entire place has been prepped for guests, as all guest rooms are supplied with towels, washcloths, and soap. In his room he finds a rack; hanging from it are nearly a dozen, new Armani suits. He finds a note beside a pile of ties that reads: “Just a little something to help during the internship- Love, Mom and Dad.”

Further searching leads him to his parents’ bedroom. Atop his mother’s dresser is an elaborate arrangement of purple orchids dressed with baby’s breath. A note within the flowers reads: “I’m sorry about earlier this morning. I can’t wait to see you tonight. I hope you like the dress - Maximillian.”

Mundy rolls enough success through an extended Bypass Security check.

He checks the safe behind a family portrait in the room, guessing the electronic password as his mother’s birthday; his father has several passwords and changes the security codes once a week. Inside are titles to properties, college diplomas, birth certificates, a stack of 20,000 USD, his mother’s diamond necklace, his father’s gold signet ring with an emerald inlay, his grandfather’s round ocular lens, and a 9mm automatic.  He leaves everything as is, satisfied nothing has been tampered with.

Alonzo continues to search through the house, shock urging him to find signs that his parents are still alive.

With a success on a Perception check, Alonzo notices the following.

Every now and again, he thinks he hears footsteps throughout the house and that maybe someone is watching him.  Oscar seems to pick up on this, whining and growling every so often; the dog even refuses to walk into the garage when Alonzo searches there. Alonzo comes to a dead end with a search of his father’s study. Maximillian’s computer is password protected and Alonzo cannot figure out the password. Frustrated, he takes his motorcycle out of storage from the garage and takes off into town to examine the Escalade at the impound yard.

During Alonzo’s motorcycle treks, I play the song Son of Flynn from the movie soundtrack of the Tron: Legacy 

Arriving at the impound yard at 3625 Growdon Rd., Alonzo comes upon a disgruntled police office manning the front counter. Alonzo notices a white gold wedding band on the man’s left hand.

A Perception check points out the presence of the wedding band to Alonzo. This knowledge will come into play later.

The man looks to be in his mid-30s, with dark wavy hair. The name plate on his uniform reads: “Valenzuela.” Alonzo can’t figure out the man’s rank, assuming him to be a beat cop probably stuck in this place as punishment.

“What can I help you with?” – Officer Valenzuela

“Um, my parents were in a crash last night and I was told that the vehicle ended up here.” – Alonzo.

The officer looks perturbed.

“Okay.” – Office Valenzuela

Not a question.

“Um- I was wondering if I could see the vehicle.” – Alonzo

“Listen, buddy, I’m just here to watch the desk and direct questions. The guy you need to talk to is out on a run and probably won’t be back for a couple of hours.”

A success is rolled  for Persuasion.

“My parents died in that crash and I really want to get this taken care of tonight. Are you sure there isn’t anything you can do?”

“Ah, you must be here for the Petrovsky vehicle. Yeah- I was one of the officers on site at the collision.” – Officer Valenzuela

“Can you tell me what happened?” – Alonzo

“Sure, follow me.”

Officer Valenzuela opens the gates to the impound yard and walks Alonzo to the wrecked Escalade. During the walk, the officer reiterates what Uncle Roman had told him earlier. He waits and watches while Alonzo searches the vehicle.

The following points were discovered through several successes on an extended Investigation roll

The Escalade is nearly destroyed and all that can be opened is the driver’s side door. For an hour, Alonzo examines the vehicle. Right away he notices that the windshield is nearly gone; all that remains is an open mouth of sharp glass. Blood is smeared on the steering column and the dashboard on the passenger side and both airbags have been deployed.

Underneath the front seat, Alonzo pulls out a silver flask. It’s the same he gifted his father five years ago for the man’s birthday.  He shakes it; only a few drops of liquid are left. Curious, he opens the lid and inhales, the strong scent of peppermint schnapps wafting from the lip. Odd, his father drank nothing but cognac.

Further investigation leads Alonzo to the inside roof and the upholstery. Sporadic scorch marks are seen, even along the dashboard. More confusing is that some points of the glass from the windshield are melted.  The teeth from the broken windshield are also pointing in an obvious outward fashion, like his mother and father had kicked and pushed it from the inside.

Baffled at what is found, Alonzo leaves the impound yard and heads to the crash site off the Arsenal Street Bridge.  Arriving, he finds the path the Escalade took off the bridge. The black tread marks on the street displays the signs for loss of control. Street crews have already begun starting the repairs on the bridge; a tree-removal crew has begun working on the tree at the base of the river sidewalk below where the crash came to a halt. 

Seeing the Escalade and the crash site, Alonzo begins to realize that his parents are really gone. Through a mix of emotions, he dials the number to the medical examiner’s office, receiving a voice message entailing the office’s normal hours.  He calls the police station, seeking information on how to get in touch with the coroner. Through argument and understanding, the police officer on the other line says he will page the coroner to get in contact with Alonzo. Minutes later his phone rings, and a woman name Wanda instructs him to meet her at the office so she can let him in.

Alonzo rides to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office on 7337 Louis Pasteur Drive. There, a voluptuous African American woman (Wanda) allows him entrance into the building, consoling him for his loss. An elevator trip to the ground level of building opens to the morgue where two men are standing in the middle of a discussion. When the two men see Wanda and Alonzo arrive, they conclude their business. The younger of the two men with a badge that reads “J. Holguin CMI” nods with a kind smile to Alonzo, and continues with Wanda to the elevators where they begin discussing weekend plans. The older of the men steps forward, introducing himself as Dr. Randall Frost. The man is short and squat, with a balding head; his demeanor is a solemn grandfatherly type. His thick southern draw adds to his persona.

“I understand you are here for the Petrovsky case.”- Dr. Frost

“Yes, I just need to get this over with. I really just need to see them to prove this is really happening.”

Dr. Frost pulls the bodies from their cooling units, allowing Alonzo to identify them. His mother and father appear peacefully asleep, like they could wake up any moment. If not for the dull coloring of their faces and lips, he would suggest they died without pain. With further sinking emotion, Alonzo fights back tears as Dr. Frost hands him the paperwork needed to release the bodies to funeral services.

“Do you know what your parents had planned for funeral arrangements?” Dr. Frost.

Alonzo nods, expressing his parents had requested services performed by Hillcrest Funeral Services by Jack Bernal. Dr. Frost then hands him a manila envelope containing his father’s white gold Rolex watch, his father’s gold wedding band, his mother’s diamond earrings, as well as her diamond and sapphire tennis bracelet. He then places the bodies back into refrigeration.

Suddenly, a phone rings from another room outside of the morgue. Dr. Frost excuses himself and lets Alonzo know he is more than welcome to stay around to ask questions once he finishes the phone call. He leaves the young man alone within the morgue.

Alonzo finds the medical files on his parents and reviews them; simultaneously watching for Dr. Frost’s return; he can hear the doctor’s muffled voice in the background. His father’s file notes that the man died from a myocardial infarction.  Faxes from previous medical records show information on lab results, cholesterol checks, and even his resent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. His mother’s file notes that she died from the impact of the crash. A cranial bleed and crushed chest cavity led to death.  Faxes of medical history appear in chart. Pap smears, blood work, and breast checks all appear normal.

Mundy rolls an Idea (Intelligence + Wits) to point to variations in what he saw on the bodies compared to the medical records.

Once again, Alonzo is perplexed by what he sees. He listens for Dr. Frost, making certain the man is still involved with the phone call. Satisfied, he pulls his mother and father’s body out from their units and pulls the zippers back to examine the bodies more closely. No bruising is seen on the faces or necks of his parents. His father’s form is intact; no incisions are present that would point to any investigation of a heart attack. His mother’s condition is just as frighteningly opposite of her final diagnosis; no physical evidence exists of a crushed chest cavity or cranial injury.

Alonzo quickly places the bodies back into their refrigeration units moments before Dr. Frost returns. Before Alonzo can inquire about his investigation, Dr. Frost rushes to pick up his coat and keys and tells him that he has been called out to a homicide scene and has to leave.

“If you have any more questions, please give me a call or stop by the office when you wish. I really need to get going and I deeply apologize. I am truly sorry for your loss. Feel free to stick around if you need to say your goodbyes. Just let yourself out when you are finished. I’ll make sure to get ahold of Hillcrest tomorrow morning.”- Dr. Frost.

Dr. Frost runs out of the morgue and Alonzo is alone. He rides the elevator to the first floor, stopping before leaving. He hears and sees no one. Looking at the office listings on a wall, he finds the number for Dr. Frost’s office and rides the elevator to the 3^rd floor.

At this point, the tracks Prologue and Main Title from the original Nightmare on Elm Street are played through the investigation of the office. I wanted to make it a little creepy for Mundy during the search.

Once at the office, he checks to see if it is locked; it’s not. He walks into the room and begins searching for anything he can find on his parents’ case. He searches the file cabinet, trash can, desk drawers, and even tries to hack through the password protected computer to no avail.

Successes were made on Investigation rolls, but nothing was available to find. Rolling for Hacking into the computer resulted in no successes, allowing enough time to pass for the following to happen.

He looks for diplomas indicating Dr. Frost’s education, which is hung on the wall along other diplomas and certificates.

As Alonzo tries the computer again, he hears footsteps coming from outside in the hallway. He quickly hides underneath the desk, noticing that he left the door open a crack when sneaking in. A shadowed set of legs appears that the door, walking into the room halfway before pausing. After several moments, the person leaves, locking the door. Alonzo, realizing the building would obviously have security measures in places, leaves Dr. Frosts office. 

Across the hall, he sees the door to “James Holguin, CMI”. Still unsatisfied with his investigation, he checks the door; it’s locked. He tries to shimmy the lock with a credit card and it breaks in half. Frustrated, he takes the elevator back down and leaves the building.