Post by Cassian on Feb 14, 2023 19:15:43 GMT -6
Desires for the Night:
- Jack: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
- Harri: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
- Cassian: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
- Jack: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
- Harri: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
- Cassian: To track the crate and report back to Ivan
December 24, 2004
Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:39 p.m.
Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:39 p.m.
- Jack receives a text from Alanna: remember what i said, babe... i have friends in many places. i can help w/ the old man. just say the word. i’ll be ready.
- Cassian receives a call from Ivan with instructions: A black half-ton truck marked “Madrigal” will depart the docks at 11:30 p.m. sharp from Gate 10-A.
- The vampires create a plan to get Harri on the roof of the truck with a GPS transponder.
- Outside the manor, in the distance, carolers sing “What childe is this?”
- Jack calls Nigel Fontelbain and sets up an appointment with Royce McVaigh for right after the holidays.
- Cassian takes Alanna’s journal and heads to St. Jude’s to visit with the Bishop.
- Harri leaves to check on Petey at the hospital.
December 24, 2004
St. Jude’s Park, St. Jude’s Cathedral District
7:18 p.m.
St. Jude’s Park, St. Jude’s Cathedral District
7:18 p.m.
- Cassian parks his Suburban across the street from the cathedral. He phones Brother Ishmael to inform the Bishop that he awaits him in the park.
- In the main doorway of the cathedral, Cassian sees a man standing with a rope around his neck, looking directly at him. He opens his mouth and Cassian hears “Help me-eee!”… as if the man were sitting right next to him! The man disappears.
- Cassian delivers the journal to the Bishop. As he explains how he acquired the journal, Cassian senses within the Bishop a bestial rage toward Alanna.
- Cassian warns the Bishop not to trust anything written inside it; instead, he proposes they use it to hatch a plan to turn the tables on Alanna, since she is clearly an enemy of the Church. The Bishop seems pleased.
- Cassian drinks from the Bishop and temporarily gains Daunt (1) until he feeds again.
December 24, 2004
Morgan County Medical Center
7:19 p.m.
Morgan County Medical Center
7:19 p.m.
- On his way to the hospital, Harri stops at a red light and a large black raven lands on his hood. It croaks, “Harri! Harri!”
- Harri’s phone rings. It is Mama and she is upset. She hasn’t seen Girl in a couple of nights. D’Angelo is out looking for her, but there’s no sign of her. She is desperate and asks Harri for help.
- Harri buys pies and visits Petey in the Psych Ward. He finds Petey and the other patients watching A Christmas Carol in a sitting room.
- Harri offers his old apartment to Petey and presses him to recall details of his attacker. But Petey doesn’t want to remember what happened to him.
- A black raven taps on the window behind Harri. Harri asks Petey if there’s a bird behind him. Petey looks and confirms, albeit a bit confused.
- Harri leaves Petey and heads to the hospital security room. He knocks and finds a single guard.
- Harri uses pies and some fast talking to gain entrance. He then uses Compel to make the guard close and lock the door. Harri feeds on the guard and slakes 2 Hunger.
- Harri gets on the computer and emails the Balthazar footage and images to Jack’s email address. Then, he wipes all traces of his work.
- Harri uses Cloud Memory on the guard to make him forget he was ever there.
- Moments later, Jack receives Harri’s email. He sends to Sheriff Fakkir one image of Balthazar at the nursing station and a copy of the disciplinary form for nurse Neal.
December 24, 2004
Madrigal Enterprises Dockyard, Newcastle Harbor District
10:28 p.m.
Madrigal Enterprises Dockyard, Newcastle Harbor District
10:28 p.m.
- Jack and Cassian are in Jack’s BMW two blocks from the dockyard entrance gate. The car is in full stealth mode.
- Harri breaks into the dockyard (9 successes!) and hides among the stacked shipping containers. He sees a large open courtyard where the black truck and the gate are in plain view.
- There are two men with SMGs wearing boots and tactical gear guarding the truck. More men are loading a large wooden crate with a dolly.
- Harri uses Cloak of Shadows and pads up to the truck undetected.
- As two guards get into the cab, Harri climbs the rear ladder to access the roof of the truck.
- Once he’s secure on the roof, Harri calls Cassian to report that the crate is on board and they’re about to move out.
- Harri uses Heightened Senses and hears the driver talk to the gate guard (nothing unusual). Harri secures the GPS transponder to the roof with duct tape.
- As the truck drives past Jack’s parked BMW, Cassian uses Sense the Unseen (rolls a Crit) and focuses on the truck to confirm its contents. He is jolted by the same feeling of extreme dread, power and evil he felt the last time he was near it!
- Jack follows the truck a safe distance behind while Cassian tracks it on GPS.
- The truck heads west across the city, avoiding downtown. As it drives through Fincher Park, the truck gets on the freeway… and leaves the city! The vampires are headed into unknown territory in the blackness of the night!
Unknown Church, Outskirts of Newcastle City Limits
11:55 p.m.
- The truck exits onto a coastal road that begins to wind ever upward.
- With an eye to the clock and sunrise, Cassian and Jack discuss stopping the truck if they reach a point of no return.
- Then, the vampires see lights at the top of a cliff. From the top of the truck, Harri sees a building with a huge wooden crucifix rising from the roof and disappearing into the dark mist above: a church or a convent, clearly long abandoned.
- As they near it, the vampires see that the building is very old, perhaps from the 1920s. Parts of it have been recently repaired, though. Fresh wood and new stained glass windows and doors contrast starkly with the Art Deco lines and architecture of the original design.
- Jack parks the BMW some distance from the front entrance. The vampires can see flickering candles in the church windows. Hundreds of candles.
- The truck backs up to the front door. The doors open, spilling candlelight onto the entrance, and a cowled figure emerges.
- Harri hears the figure say in an Italian accent, “Put it by the altar, please.”
- The guards unload the crate, set it inside the church as instructed, and get back in the truck. They begin to drive away.
- Harri sees the face of the cowled figure. It is a hawkish, thin man with a long nose and dark, intense eyes. Harri jumps off the truck and takes 1 superficial damage.
- Jack calls Ivan and relays all details about the crate’s journey. Ivan says, “You’re on your own.” The vampires decide to explore further.
Ed. Note: From here onward, dear reader, shit gets real. The following may, or may not, have actually happened. The vampires’ recollection is hazy, as if in a fever dream. There is still discussion around whether or not Harri spiked the herd vitae before the coterie fed and headed out to the Newcastle Dockyard earlier.
December 25, 2004
Unknown Church, Outskirts of Newcastle City Limits
12:04 a.m.
In the early minutes of Christmas Day…
- Harri tries a side door to the church. It is a new door and barred from the inside.
- Cassian uses Premonition and focuses on the church. He receives conflicting sensations: a feeling of evil and power versus a feeling of safety and peace inviting him in.
- Jack peers into new stained glass windows but only sees the flickering of candles.
- Harri uses Heightened Senses (1 success) and only hears some rustling of movement within the church.
- Cassian opens the front doors. The inside of the church is illuminated with hundreds of votive candles.
- Brother Solomon is kneeling by the rebuilt altar, near a closed coffin. He is praying and chanting over the coffin and making strange gestures and signs with his hands.
- Cassian interrupts Solomon and demands to know what is going on. Solomon seems pleased that Cass has arrived and greets him warmly.
- Solomon says he’s been working in secret to end the Newcastle vampires, who he refers to as an “abomination”.
- Solomon opens the coffin. Inside is a man’s body in a black robe, face sunken, Roman nose, wearing a red and gold tunic. The body is staked with a spear head adorned with ancient Roman markings and holy symbols.
- Harri uses Cloak of Shadows to enter the church and make his way up to where Cass and Solomon are. He peers into the coffin.
- The body is that of Cassius Vulpa, says Solomon to Cassian. “Your namesake! He was seeking Golconda.”
- Solomon explains he has worked very hard to bring to Newcastle the actual Spear of Longinus — a powerful holy relic to use against the vampires and eradicate them once and for all.
- Further, he says that Cassian was destined to be here… for that is the very reason why Solomon embraced him: to be the wielder of the Spear!
- An unkindness of ravens suddenly begins pecking at the church’s windows. Amidst the cacophony of the squawking and wings beating, they say, “Harri! Harri! The Prince! The Prince is in torpor!”
- Harri’s phone suddenly rings — right next to Solomon. Startled, Solomon begins to understand that Cassian is not alone. He asks the other vampires to reveal themselves.
- Jack enters the church, shuts the main doors behind him and bars them.
- Harri emerges from the shadows and checks his voicemail. It is from Allison Shaw. She says, “Papagenno is awake and raving. Call me!”
- Jack’s phone rings. It is the Duke. He says, “The old man is awake and talking. This is your mess. Take care of it.” And then hangs up.
- Suddenly, headlights from an approaching vehicle are seen by all. Outside the church entrance, a vehicle arrives and the vampires hear car doors open and shut.
- The front door is rammed repeatedly from the outside with violent force, but it holds.
- Then, two stained glass windows explode as two hideous, malformed ghouls leap through them to enter the church. One ghoul has a snapping, toothed mouth for a hand, and a long, sword-like bony appendage where its other hand should be.
- Solomon shouts, “Szlachta! No! It cannot be… This is the Ordo Dracul!” He throws himself over the open coffin.
- Harri uses Cloak of Shadows to disappear again.
- Cassian moves to the altar and quickly fashions a makeshift torch by wrapping a candle snuffer with cloth and oil.
- Jack draws his sword and attacks a ghoul (Crit!) hitting it for 7 superficial damage.
- The sword arm ghoul moves toward the coffin and stabs Solomon through the stomach!
- Jack swings on the first ghoul again for 8 superficial damage.
- The sword arm ghoul stabs Solomon again, this time downward through the collarbone and into his torso. Solomon screams and spews vitae from his mouth.
- Jack makes a Soaring Leap at his ghoul and makes a downward thrust (Messy Crit!), impaling it and leaving it impaired.
- Cassian finally lights his torch and uses Daunt (creature resists) to threaten the sword arm ghoul. It tosses Solomon aside and attacks Cassian.
- The ghoul knocks the flaming torch away and skewers Cassian (4 Crits with Feral Weapons!) for 9 superficial damage! It flings Cassian to the floor and then tries to lift the body out of the coffin. The torch and oil set the altar ablaze!
- In desperation, Harri tries to pull the spear out of the staked vampire, but fails!
- Jack uses his Ventrue Compulsion from the Messy Crit to order Cassian to stand up and get the fuck out of here!
- Cassian Blood Surges to mend 1 superficial damage and wearily gets to his feet.
- Jack is hit for 3 superficial damage.
- The ghoul lifts the ancient vampire’s body from the coffin and throws Harri into Cassian. Both vampires are knocked prone.
- The ghoul turns and runs toward the church entrance.
- Harri and Cassian get to their feet, draw their 9mm pistols and unload on the fleeing ghoul. The shots hit, but the ghoul keeps running.
- Jack turns to the impaired ghoul and slices it for 3 more damage. It still remains standing!
- Flames spread quickly through the wooden church. All vampires enter Fear Frenzy due to the fire and bolt for the doors.
- Harri and Cassian tumble out a side door and Jack runs out the smashed front door.
December 25, 2004
Unknown Church, Outskirts of Newcastle City Limits12:18 a.m.
Epilogue
The vampires emerge from their frenzy in a copse of wood overlooking the cliff side and moonlit sea below. It is like waking from a dream. Or a nightmare. They have no sense of how much time has elapsed, or how they arrived at their present location. A hundred yards straight down, the waves crash against craggy rock and reef, releasing plumes of salt, mist and foam. It takes a full second for the sound from below to reach their ears. The delay is mesmerizing and somehow soothing. Behind them, the horizon glows orange as the church burns to the ground. Sparks and embers burst and rise from the glow like solar flares, cutting into the inky blackness of the western sky.
Again, Cassian is acutely aware of the utter lack of physical stimuli. He should be panting, heart pounding in his chest, leg muscles ablaze with lactic acid, pain contorting his abdomen where the foul beast’s bone-sword pierced him. But he feels nothing. Only the beginnings of a deep hunger reminding him that vitae is life. Only blood matters.
Harri squints in the direction of the church, trying to recall what the hell just happened. Had the fuckin’ spear in me hands! Suddenly his keen ears detect the sound of movement in the shadows between them and the church. Snapping branches in the understory. The rasp and scrape of leather on rock. “Fuck. Someone’s comin’…” Jack slowly and silently slides his long sword from its scabbard.
Brother Solomon — or what is left of him — stumbles out of the darkness into the moonlight. The priest is burned from head to toe, exposing bone, muscle and sinew. Naked from the waist up, charred patches of robe cling to the braided rope around his torso. His movements are labored and stiff, like those of a zombie or skeleton from a horror movie. Dark pits of black flesh are all that remain of his eyes. And yet, somehow, he turns the dark pits in Cassian’s direction, approaches, and raises his burned hands plaintively in supplication.
“C-C-Cassian! Finish this! Don’t let the Tzimisce get their hands on the Spear!”
Cassian grimaces in revulsion at the sight of his sire’s agony. A ragged gasp of air escapes from Solomon’s throat as he tries to say something. But then his body crumbles into ash and is carried off by the wind to meet the sea and cliffs far below.
In the distance, a Mercedes-Benz sedan tears down the coastal road headed away from the church, its brake lights snaking through the night, mocking the vampires for their hubris and defeat.