Previously on Shadowland
Four students at Croatan College had driven a 6x6 Mercedez Benz pickup to San Diego.
At their final stop, they had witnessed an all-out battle between vampires and werewolves.
Three of them had died! All of them had been transformed into something more.

To save the unlives of two, all four had entered the shadow world of vampires in the service of Baron De La Vega.

And they then scattered to the winds to find their own part of Shadowland.


It has been a strange few days. Living in a luxury apartment has in some ways been the least strange. Watching the most beautiful woman in the world training your friend in the ways of magic was otherworldly at times and nothing but study hall at other times. She didn't even flirt with you anymore.

It's Friday and Abe is on the way to see his family. While you are on the way to an address in La Jolla that might be the only clue you have regarding who you are now. It might also be your death.

As you get there you see a large red brick building. A series of buildings really.

When you drive onto the driveway, you note that she has a large garage. You park the car and note that the middle building has a sign for Ming Antiques and Design near what must be the entrance.



[OOC: The photo shows you what the building looks like. The flora is obviously different. Vines are growing on the brick wall and gateway. There are some indigenous trees. There is a fourth building on a third side too that you cannot see from this view. Beyond the rightmost part of the image, there is a driveway onto the property and between the buildings, there is a mostly asphalted driveway. From this gate, there is a path to the asphalted area in the middle and there is a corridor in the archway above that path that connects the left building and the right building.

The five large archways you can see on the building to the right is this side of the garage.

What in the text above is called the middle building is from this view the left building.]

For some reason, Tom had been expecting some kind of antique shop on a sunny La Jollan commercial street, maybe tucked between a hipster cafe and a rare books store. The reality is completely out of his expectations and seems more like a manor than an antique store.

The tang of the salt in the air tickles his nostrils, and not for the first time does Tom think he’s making a mistake in coming here, but he needs to know if Daiyu is a Hunter or something else.

He looks for the front door or entrance.

Having parked in one of the several parking spaces on the driveway between the buildings, Tom finds the entrance to Daiyu's place of business.

The inside reminds you more of an antique dealer than an interior designer. Though there were a number of framed photographs on the walls showing how various spaces had been furnished. She sees you and places a sword she was holding on display.

"Tom," she says and approaches you. "How are you doing?"

As he approaches, the same pain that Tom has felt twice before erupts once more in his mind. And then Tom sees Daiyu. He manages a weak smile before he realizes what she is holding.

A master of the sword. Their blades do kill us. The rarest of the Shadowlanders, and all they want is our heads. Sparrow’s words: She is the most normal person I know. And Daiyu’s question: Are you here for me?

”Hey, Daiyu,” he says. “I’m alive, I guess.” He takes a deep breath. “This is a really nice place you have here. No wonder Sparrow hired you as her interior decorator.”

Tom puts his hands in his pockets and tries not to imagine her sword going right through his heart. ”I’m not sure if you know this, but a few of my new friends were killed recently,” he says slowly. ”By a Mediterranean man, shoulder-length hair, goatee, mid 30s.” He looks at the weapon Daiyu has just replaced on its stand. ”He was a master swordsman.”

The college student feels completely out of his element. He is certain Daiyu is a Hunter, certain she picked up the sword when she felt the same pain that he did. What he doesn’t understand is why she has not attacked him. If she does, he knows he will run, but he doubts he will get far.

”I just thought you might know something about me. I’m certain you sensed me when I approached.” He looks around himself. ”Is it safe here?”

"That's good to hear," Daiyu says. "Don't lose your head."


"Thank you."


"Was? He's dead then?"



"That depends. Why are you here?"

”Don’t lose my head? Is that some kind of joke?” Tom grins uncertainly.  So Hunters took trophies of other Hunters as well? Does Daiyu have some kind of trophy room somewhere in this complex filled with the heads of Shadowlanders she’s taken? But Sparrow ought to know if Daiyu were like that. Maybe Tom should have told Sparrow where he was going before he borrowed her car.

”I don’t think he was dead. My friends tried to fight him and died, and some of them fled. As to why I’m here…” He looks around, a bit uncomfortable. ”Well, I guess because you invited me. I thought maybe you could help me, uh, get my head on straight.”

"It's a lot of things," Daiyu says cryptically.



"We can speak freely here. What do you know?"

”Yeah?” Despite Daiyu’s assurances, Tom still feels uneasy, and he glances over his shoulder as though expecting someone else to enter the building.

Turning back to Daiyu, Tom says, ”So Sparrow tells me I’m a Hunter. And if what she told me is right, I think you are one, too. Sparrow said Hunters fight each other and take the heads of other Shadowlanders. I can sense Shadowlanders, at least, I can recognize vampires, whatever those half-vampires are, Fae, and other Hunters. The pain is pretty intense. I also heal really fast.”

After a moment, he adds, ”I asked her if you were a Shadowlander, too. I didn’t name you as a Hunter to either her or to De La Vega or my friends. But I think you are one. Why have you hidden yourself? And are you going to try to kill me now, like that other Hunter in town?”

"What are you talking about," Daiyu asks. "That's nothing but superstition." Pause. "Wait." You can see her thinking. "Are you telling me that the laughter I sense around Sparrow isn't just us vibing, but that she isn't human either?"

Tom stares at Daiyu in disbelief. Is she joking with him, or does she not know about the supernatural beings who live around them? And has Tom just outed someone who has been a benefactor to him?

”Let’s back up for a minute,” Tom says, uncertainty in his voice. ”Did you feel pain the two times we’ve met before? And what were you going to do with that sword?”