Sanctuary
Of course the clandestine societies
that exist within the supernatural circles tend to get aggressive
from time to time. Sometimes you may find yourself at the center of
that aggression and need a place to lay low for a while until the
heat blows over. That's where the fine folks at Sanctuary come in.
They promise to take you someplace completely off the map for how
ever many days you can afford to pay for. They claim you can't be
tracked by any means, traditional or occult, so you can spend your
time waiting at ease.
Getting there.
Sanctuary representatives pass through
various places of commerce and interest to the occult minded on a
regular basis. Dressed in an all black doormans outfit, usually and
older man or woman, always courteous and polite. They will hand out
business cards to anyone who asks. The cards simply state the name
'Sanctuary' and a phone number followed with the line 'call for
reservations'.
When you call you will be talking with
an operator and the immediate questions are how long you will be
staying and how you will be paying. They accept all current forms of
currency, will also accept various objects and items of occult
interest and, if you are well known enough, you can even trade in
promises of services in the future. The prices are never the same but
they are always steep. Objects will get you the most days, especially
if they are something unique or of some renown. When the desired deal
is met they will give you a nearby address to get entrance at.
At the location given you will meet
another doorman in the some outfit. It may be in a private home, in
the back streets of a slum, inside a business, anywhere. But they
will be there in front of a door waiting for you to show up. With a
smile the door will be opened and you will step through into
someplace completely different from where you were, the doorman will
follow closing the door behind and will then lead you to the front
desk of the lobby where you can check in and make your payment.
Sanctuary itself appears to be a lavish
five star hotel of immense size. You show up inside the lobby doors
surrounded by large comfortable chairs, tables, a fountain on either
side and various people milling about. Once you step through the door
you cannot go back through, you are there until you inform the front
desk that you need to leave. In the hotel you find every luxury you
can imagine, indoor swimming pool, private spas, a restaurant that
rivals the best in the world, a small casino, everything.
Your room will have a mini bar, private
bedroom, a bathroom big enough to ballroom dance in. Everything you
could possibly need. Room service is available, laundry, you can
phone the desk for something you forgot like a shaving razor to
medicine. There is even an in house escort service should your desire
be in that area.
The big thing missing is windows. There
are no windows to the outside at all, no doors leading out that can
be opened except by a doorman. Any attempt to figure out where you
are, magical or not, will end in failure.
When your negotiated time has run out
you simply go to the front desk and tell them you are ready to check
out, you will not be allowed to leave until that time has come. In
short order a doorman will show up and lead you to the front door and
open it for you. You will always appear back where you originally
entered from and the door will close behind you. Your clothing and
anything you had with you will be in the exact same shape as it was
when you passed through originally. Any notes you had written down
will be gone, anything you left behind will be back on your person
except for the payment. You will appear as if you never left but you
will still have been gone for the set amount of days.
What's going on?
The doormen are a small cabal of highly
skilled sorcerers who specialize in creating and maintaining a pocket
dimension of their own creation. When anyone else passes through a
door they open to Sanctuary they fall into a hallucinogenic trance
and their body shifts into a magic stasis. The payment is removed
from the customer and they share what is basically a 'dream world' of
sorts with everyone else who is currently in that pocket dimension
inside the hotel. All of the experiences there are simply 'all in
their head'. Although while actual material possessions aren't
exchanged once a person leaves any actual knowledge they may have
learned stays with them along with all the memories of being in the
hotel.
The cabal itself has made itself very
rich over the years and acquired a great deal of various artifacts,
many of which they later sell on the black markets. Nobody is the
wiser and they do actually provide the service they offer. The
customer is safe for that set period of time no matter what.
