Material from The Price: Under-Hedge

Originally published July 18, 2014

In my Chronicle the Price, I made an effort to personalize the Hedge in every location. One of the more evocative sections was the Under-Hedge: a subterranean realm that bordered on the Underworld.

The Under-Hedge

Beneath the Wilds and Mo-Hedge (as the Hedge of Detroit is called) hides a subterranean realm of cracked masonry covered in thin pale brambles. Damp marble walkways wind beside inky black waters like a Morlock Venice. In places overgrown railway lines lead to unknown quarters while above vaulted ceilings give way to root clogged dirt.

Infrequent lanterns illuminate the labyrinth with cool blue flames, masses of fireflies or even odder lights.

Under-Hedge remains unclaimed, not subject to the laws of the Night Market. Only the lowest members of the Freehold come here to scavenge. They risk the ire of the diminutive Under-King, the hob lord of the devolved humanoids that haunt this realm. Rumors also circulate of ghosts and entrances to the land of the dead.

Mechanics

Despite the maze of tunnels, the hard confines of the Hedge make it relatively easy to navigate. Rolls to travel through the region gain a +1 bonus, with a +2 bonus for attempts to reach upper realms of the Hedge.

Characters of the Under-Hedge

Several people, mortal and Hob, have their destinies tied to this dark realm.

Under-King

The Under-King could be found sitting upon an earthen throne in a hidden grotto. The deformed figure resembles a hunchbacked dwarf, squatting amid his misshapen court, surrounded by hundreds of tree roots. Despite having but one eye, his gaze always seems to find those who visit. Dressed in elegantly made armor of blackened steel, his twisted body fidgets uncomfortably within its metallic confines.

Attended by his brownie warriors, dressed in their ant carapaces, he was once the dominant force in the Under-Hedge. His downfall was the same as that which gave him life.

The tale of the Under-King begins in a Detroit hospital in 1988 when a young woman gave birth to a set of conjoined twins. One, Yvette Gambol, was healthy and beautiful. The other was twisted, an undeveloped parasite. The doctors excised the twin, discarding its broken body removed.

But the Hedge remembers things.

The Under-King was born of the lost flesh, seeking to rejoin with his source. After the customary seven years, he stole Yvett from the mortal realm. Her friends and neighbors luckily managed to convince him to let her go. Soon after, she moved to Chicago to live with her father.

Permanently separated from his other half, the Hob withered and died.

Virtue: Honor
Vice: Misleading
Attributes: Physical 3, Mental 5, Social 6
Contracts: Hearth 2, Darkness 2, Fang and Talon (Worms) 3, Fang and Talon (Ants) 3

Brownies

These tiny men dress in rat-skin cloth and wear helmets made from hollowed out giant ant heads. Armed with 3 foot long spears and tiny blades, they are weak but still dangerous.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 1
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 1
Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 2

Mental Skills: Crafts (Traps) 3, Occult 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Larceny 2, Stealth (staying still) 3, Survival 2, Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Persuasion 1, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Brownie’s Boon, Fleet of Foot

Wyrd: 1
Contracts: Artifice 2

Virtue: Loyal Vice: Avarice
Initiative: 4 Defense: 3
Speed: 9 Health: 3 Size: 2
Gear: Tiny spears and swords (deal Lethal damage)

Yvett Gambol

Back in Detroit, Yvett was a tiny African-American girl with braided hair. Despite her bright pink clothing, her smile was always troubled. Followed around by a coal-black cat named Mr. Soot, she could often be found playing in the overgrown lots near her home or tagging along with her older brother Everett. She also spent a lot of time over at the Callaghan’s when her mother is too busy (or drunk) to take care of her.

Rumors still swirl that when Yvett was born in 1989, she was deformed somehow. Her mother refuses the speak on the matter and the little girl seems normal enough.

In the spring of 1996, she was kidnapped by the Under-King but the Callaghan and McQueen kids managed to rescue her. But the Under-King continued to send her disturbing and magical gifts while his servant Ulf watched over her at night, crawling in the walls.

In the end Social Services saved her, taking her from the monsters and her troubled mother and sending her and her brother to Chicago where her father lived.

Aspirations: Help her family get along, Do well on the big test at school, figure out how to tell Mom what really happened
Age: 7

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 2

Mental Skills: Crafts 1, Study 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Stealth 1
Social Skills: Animal Ken 1, Empathy 2, Persuasion (Adults) 2, Socialize 1
Merits: Defensive Combat: Brawl 1, Pet 2, Small Framed 2, Unarmed Defense 2

Willpower: 5 Integrity: 6
Virtue: Kindness Vice: Self Centeredness
Initiative: 5 Defense: 5
Speed: 8 Health: 5 Size: 3

Everett Gambol

In the late 90s, Everett was known as a skinny African american kid who ran with the local gangs. Failing to look tough in his bright T-shirt and scuffed up jeans, he was the bullied more often than the bully.

In modern-day, he keeps his hair in a crew cut and fills out his T-shirts with bulging muscles. He speaks with confidence and an air of command.

Everett had a reputation as a cocky kid but everyone knew he had no guts. His neighbor Marco McQueen used to shake him down frequently for cash when he wasn't fast enough to run away. In school he attended class with Nicole Callaghan and Rocco McQueen where he regularly earned F’s.

Everett was born in 1986 and his presence kept his folks together long enough to have his sister. But it didn't spare him from his mother's bitterness. He was simultaneously neglected and smothered, scolded for anything he did wrong and seldom praised. After his father left, Everett strayed to the gangs, seeking positive attention. They turned him into a runner.

He was picked up by the police in July 1995 on suspicion of drug possession. Rumor has it his mother locked him in his room without food for three days as punishment. Later that year his sister went missing. He knows something strange happened to her, something he doesn't like to think about. It involved creepy talking dolls and something moving in the walls.

All of that eventually went away when he and his sister moved to live with his father in Chicago. There things improved for both of them.

Later Everett graduated from school with an adequate education and enlisted in the army. He is currently on his second tour.

Aspirations: Get out of the gang, Get a new video game, Earn some money
Age: 10

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 2

Mental Skills: Crafts 1, Occult 1, Politics 1
Physical Skills: Athletics (running) 3, Brawl 2, Larceny 2, Stealth 1
Social Skills: Socialize 1, Streetwise (avoiding trouble) 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Contacts (gangs) 1, Eye for the Strange 2, Fleet of Foot 1, Odd Jobs 1, Parkour 2

Willpower: 4 Integrity: 7
Virtue: Protective Vice: Ambition
Initiative: 5 Defense: 6
Speed: 11 Health: 6 Size: 4