JacobStern

Shallows Bastet character in Nero's Boot's Game.

Name: Jacob Stern

Concept: Treasure Hunter Breed: Bastet – Swara (Were-cheetah) Demeanor: Bureaucrat (Regain WP when you resolve a situation “by the book”) Nature: Caregiver (Regain WP when you protect or nurture another.) Pryio: Daylight (Regain WP when you face a challenge head on and win through courage or good nature.)

Str: 2, Dex: 5 (Fleet Footed), Sta: 3, Chr: 2, Man: 2, App: 2, Per: 2, Int: 2, Wits: 5 (Level Headed),

Talents: Lockpicking: 1 Awareness: 1 (Sense Weirdness) Alertness: 1 Athletics: 1 Acrobatics: 1 Brawl: 2 Dodge: 3 Empathy: 1 Primal Urge: 1 Subterfuge: 1

Skills: Drive: 1 Etiquette: 1 Firearms: 1 Stealth:1 Survival: 1

Knowledges: Computer: 1 Enigmas: 1 Investigation: 1 Law: 1 Linguistics: 1 Occult: 1 Lore: 1 Rituals: 1 Medicine: 1

Backgrounds: Allies: 1 Former Mentor Resources: 3 Jamak: 5 Mistress of Catkind Fetish 5

Heightened Senses (In non-homid forms, may taste the air, reduces difficulty of perception rolls) Common Language: (Can speak to any other Bastet.) Accidental Shifting: (If he fails or botches a WP roll, must roll again difficulty 7, if this fails he will begin changing.) Yava: Gifts: Lick Wounds: (Spend a gnosis, Int + Medicine, Difficulty 6 or rage for bastet. Each success heals one health level.) Sweet Hunter’s Smile: (man + primal urge, used against one person at a time, difficulty WP vs opposed/6 normally/4 if positively inclined. Adds 1 die to social rolls for remainder of the scene.) Impala’s Flight: (sta + athletics (diff 6) max speed is doubled. Gift lasts 2 turns per success.)

Renown: Cleverness 1/Ferocity 1/Honor 1 Rage: 4 Willpower: 9 Gnosis: 5 Rank: 1 Merits/Flaws: Overconfident 1, Phobia Snakes 1, Too Curious 3, Sensation Junkie 2

Backstory:

Jacob Stern moved gracefully through the airport. JFK was not the most convenient airport to fly into or out of, and since 9/11 security had gotten much tighter. That had, conveniently, allowed him an excuse to raise his own rates. Though most of the items he ‘couriered’ were legal, those who were willing to hire a private deliverer enjoyed a certain desire for discretion. Otherwise, they might as well use FedEx. Thus was Jacob’s job made more challenging and more lucrative.

As he moved through the airport he realized he had a pair of tails. Furry ones he suspected, since they weren’t regular security or even in uniform. They smelled like dogs, and regardless of whether they were servants of the Wyld or the Wyrm he didn’t much care. No cat wanted to be at the mercy of a hound regardless of the beast’s master.

He picked up the pace, though the apparent rate of his movement remained the same, the distance he was traveling as he weaved through the crowd was doubled. It only took a few moments for his tails to realize that he was getting away, but that moment was all he needed. He was out the door before they could negotiate through the people and once outside, his speed was blinding. Had the bystanders seen the well-tailored man sprint across to the parking garage they simply dismissed it as a figment of their early morning coffee needing brains.

A quick smile to the lady attendant at the garage later, and Stern was off to the delivery sight.

A short time later, Jacob was standing before a trio of ‘men’ in dark suits that were looking down at the briefcase he had given them. They had met in an old warehouse, which Stern appreciated, since there was no surveillance to see any of the proceedings. Jacob was in turn closing the briefcase full of money that had been waiting for him. They stank of the Wyrm. Though Stern had not yet learned the particular trick of actually smelling the foul reek, these ones were almost obvious about it.

He prepared to leave, when he heard the click of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of a gun.

“Just a moment Mr. Stern, we would like you to see what it is you have brought us.” The man had a vaguely German accent.

“Damn, this is gonna hurt.” Stern muttered as he heard the clasps open and threw himself to the floor.

The bomb exploded, and the three agents of the Wyrm were shredded in the blast. Jacob found himself bleeding, but alive. After a few minutes and the channeling of his healing energies, Stern walked away in shredded clothes and got into his car.

Mohammed Zabian was not the sort who was regularly seen receiving an affluently dressed Caucasian into his home. Much less seen hugging the same in a fatherly manner. The ebony skinned man made some exception though, especially for a Swara he had mentored from cub to man so long ago.

“Smiling Moonlight, I have the package the worms were looking for.” Stern passed over the briefcase to his mentor, and turned to leave.

“You don’t have time to sit and take tea with an old friend?” Zabian, known to his tribe as Smiling Moonlight asked of his former student.

“Well, that depends.” The young man answered. “Do you still have that chess board laying about?”