Chavah nailed the notice to the job board in Temperance, Tennessee. She had completed a circuit: Mount’n End, Knash, Twickenham, and a dozen smaller cities and towns in between. Every roadside tavern that would take one, she posted. Now, after weeks away, she returned to Temperance to find it in a sorry state. The town was a shell of its former self. City Hall lay dark and foreboding. The Priory looked deserted, dead even. The coves on the way down the Spine of the Ancients were wild, feral places full of spirits and fiends and monsters. The town itself was like something from a dream. People stumbled from place to place in a haze. The buildings looked to have aged decades in days. Not a single animal could be seen in any paddock or surrounding pasture. She knew that Jeremiah and Company had failed. It was the only explanation. She knew that those four valiant men went into that Vault and had not returned as themselves. She knew the Powers was well and truly free.
So she set to work sending telegrams and posting the wanted signs. She passed on the need to demon hunters, cryptid trappers, brawlers, practitioners, clerics, and anyone in between. She stepped back from the job board to review her sign:
Wanted:
People with the gift for hazardous work. Low wages, supernatural enemies, time spent in remote corners of Franklin County, Tennessee, and beyond. Must have tools. Must have dedication. Must be willing to save the world.
Apply in person at the Blue Rooster Tavern, Temperance Tennessee, after the dinner bell. Ask for Chavah.
Resigned that she had done her best, Chavah retired to her rooms at the Rooster. At dinner, when she had just settled down with tea and a book on demon hunting, an enormous shape settled in the chair next to her.
“You Chavah?” The bearded man wore furs and was covered in pistols, a long knife, and at least two bearded axes.
Wiping her mouth and setting the napkin down with perfect poise, she simply nodded.
“I’m here to answer your call. My name is Hrothgar Rustreigh. I am a demon hunter. And I am at your service.”
Chavah’s lips curled into a delicate smile. She was sure more would answer the call. It was only a matter of time now.
Ealdsmyth Tabletop Role Playing System 