Wages and Home Owning

[Xander]

Wages

Yes, this is a job, and yes, you do get paid. There are no raises no benefits—other than, you know, massive strength and immortality—and no 401(k) plan. If you want to set it aside for retirement or spend it as soon as it lands on your dining-room table, it's up to you. More than likely, you will have sufficient funds to do both, with a bit left over after to buy a small country.
Speaking of which... Artemis does have a tendency to drop your pay packet in on you when-and where-you least expect it. She hasn't quite gotten the whole "direct deposit" idea down just yet. She's more of a "trunk full of jewels and precious stones on the hood of your Maserati" kind of gal. If you do have some pre¬cious furniture in your house, you might want to make some sort of arrangement with her beforehand. But always be prepared to kiss it goodbye.

[Xander]

Home Owning

I know, it's an odd subject to put before weapons, but consider: A Dark-Hunter's home is his castle. It is your safe haven, your base of operations, your first line of defense, your port in a storm… you with me?
Before purchasing property with all that loot Artemis dumps on you every so often, you (or your Squire) need to do some thor¬ough research. There are two main reasons:

Soul-searching In case you haven't figured it out already, Dark-Hunters don't fare well around holy places. Back in the old days of Dark-Hunters living in crypts, those were usually built on unconsecrated ground, and were each a significant distance from any other grave.
Think about it this way: Disembodied souls and spirits are always eager to take up residence in a nice, healthy, immortal body with no soul, such as yourself. So while you can enter a church—even bless yourself with holy water if you're into that kind of thing—don't spend a whole lot of time there. You are beachfront property for the dearly departed, baby, and there's no such thing as time-share.

If you do become possessed by a soul, one of two things will happen. If the soul is a strong one, it will take over your body. That's it. End of story. End of you. You may have heard stories of the Dark-Hunter Ulric? Maybe not. In a nutshell, his body was taken over by the disembodied soul of the Spathi Daimon Desiderius. That one killed a lot of people, a lot of Dark-Hunters. We don't talk about it much. It's still too painful.
If the soul is a weak one, may the god of your choice have mercy on you. You will hear this weak soul within you—tortured and screaming, begging and whimpering like a whipped dog. It is enough to drive you mad, and it will. The only choice you have at that point is to kill yourself and set the soul free—if you con¬demn the soul to wither and die within you, you break the Code, and are no better than a Daimon. So make sure when you buy a house that you are the only preternatural critter calling it home.

Open invitation If the home you decide to occupy has ever in its existence been a bed-and-breakfast, hospital, restaurant, community center—any gathering place of some sort—any Daimon can enter without an invite.
So, what have we learned, boys and girls? Always do a thor¬ough property search. Buy a new house, or have one declared ghost-free by a licensed psychic.
One more side note if you're stationed in the United States: Always be on the lookout for undisclosed Native American burial grounds. You don't want those puppies sneaking up on you, no sirree. Think Poltergeist without the happy ending.

[Xander]

Tips for Buying a Home

• Always check the trees. If the trees around a house are humongous, it’s got a history. Find out what it is.
• Buy new, or build your own. If your house has only ever belonged to you, it’s an invitation virgin.
• Investigate the plot of land and surrounding areas. Even small family plots can be a very large thorn in your side.
• Invite a psychic to tea. Extra cleansing never hurt anyone.
Better safe than really, really sorry.
• Basements are your friends. If your dwelling is mostly underground, no one will wonder why your bedroom has no windows.
• Have a readily accessible garage, shaded porch, or foyer. Don’t be known as the Dark-Hunter who got fricasseed while fumbling for his keys.