Post by Cassian on Dec 27, 2023 13:08:50 GMT -6
Desires for the Night:
- Jack: To conclude his transaction with Rachel Rierson
- Harri: To get Petey back onboard
- Cassian: To enlist a Lancea Sanctum brute squad
December 29, 2004
The Purple Rose, Ashton Park District
2:37 a.m.
- On his way to The Purple Rose, Jack receives a text message from Alanna’s burner phone:
Hey babe… i’m sorry… new plan:
Travel to the
Rose
Alone
Please
🙁 - Jack sends a text message to his father: check in @ haven.
- Jack parks two blocks from the club. The area is not busy. On foot, Jack approaches the Rose carefully from an alleyway. He sees a side door to the building and no one there.
- There is no music coming from the club… no line of people, windows are dark. He moves down the alley until it hits a T intersection. At the end of the alley, Jack sees a hooker blowing some guy, but detects no one else nearby.
- 3 successes on a Wits/Awareness roll allows Jack to notice a black Escalade with tinted windows parked across the street. Crouched behind a garbage chute on a 2nd story landing, Jack sees somebody with a rifle pointed toward the street and front door of The Purple Rose.
- Jack texts Alanna’s number: everything okay? The response: you here?
- Jack conceals himself in the shadows and sends another text: not a good night to meet. c u soon. The response: need 2 c u. come now. front door. : (
- Jack hears the crackle of a radio from the sniper position above. It is quickly muffled. He sees movement behind the tinted windows of the Escalade.
- Jack texts: ur worrying me. something happen @ club? The response: club closed 4 u. r u here?
- Jack makes a long circle around the Rose to approach the building from the side. He tries to flank the Escalade. With only 2 successes on a Dexterity/Streetwise roll, he manages to loop around the Rose, but gets turned around in the maze of alleys, canals and iron bridges.
- Another text from Alanna: in trouble. hurry. : ( followed by another text: STAY AWA
- Jack replies: sorry. keep getting error msgs. will try u again later.
- Jack makes his way back to his car and heads back to the haven.
St. Jude’s Cathedral, St. Jude’s Cathedral District
3:01 a.m.
- Cassian and Harri park the K-car across the street from St. Jude’s Cathedral. Cassian phones Brother Ishmael and requests an audience with the Bishop.
- Harri tries to hunt in the park but finds no blood bags there this time of night.
- Ishmael ushers the vampires through a side door to the cathedral. [It costs Cassian 1 Willpower to enter.] He warns the vampires that the Bishop is in a foul mood after the attack on his priests.
- Ishmael leads Harri and Cassian to a confessional booth. Moments later, the Bishop enters and opens the small screen separating the confessional chambers.
- The Bishop has not used Blush of Life and appears in full Nosferatu face—a monster. He greets the vampires wearily and then says, “I smell the Arab on Harri. What secrets, I wonder, does he hide…?”
- Cassian asks the Bishop’s permission to assemble a squad of Lancea Sanctum faith militants to seek revenge against the enemies of the Church. He asks for Viktor and any other warriors that may be available.
- The Bishop says, “Viktor’s blade is granted. He will contact you. Bring me evidence of our enemies conspiring against us and the wrath of God will rain fire on Newcastle!”
- Cassian asks to drink from the Bishop but is denied. “My beautiful Hand… I am weary from the evening’s events. I must rest…”
Odds & Ends, University District
3:39 a.m.
- Harri and Cassian visit with Ivan and find him in the back of his shop poring over a ledger written in a Cyrillic language that appears to be Russian.
- Cassian asks Ivan if he’s up to date on recent events in Newcastle. Ivan mentions he is aware of the lockdown at The Sovereign and of an “attempted” arson at Masuko Ryokai’s gallery.
- Ivan tells Cass that at 11 p.m. Roger will deliver to his haven the materials he requested to make Dragon’s Breath rounds. Cassian asks Ivan to make sure Roger is not followed or seen.
- Cassian then tells Ivan about the attack on the Lancea Sanctum priests and that war is being waged openly in the streets among the clans.
- Cass reveals that his coterie has learned that the Tzimisce are in the Domum Carnis. Cass wants to recover the body of Cassius Vulpa that was stolen from his sire.
- Ivan explains that the Domum is an opera house built in the 18th century and has been closed since the 1920’s. It is a historic building and protected as such. If the Tzimisce are indeed there, then they are hiding in plain sight.
- Cassian asks about any weaknesses the Tzimisce may have. Ivan says they are an extremely arrogant clan known as “flesh weavers”.
- Ivan says the slatchta are akin to zombies—flesh puppets controlled by their masters. The closer they are to their master, the more adaptable to changing conditions they are.
- Cassian asks for Ivan’s advice on how best to prepare to engage the Tzimisce. Ivan says, “The Domum is a wooden structure. Old. If you enter with Dragon’s Breath rounds… don’t miss.”
- Ivan asks, “All these questions. Curious… Are you, perhaps, working for someone?” Ivan expresses that the vampires have perhaps gotten in over their heads. He makes awkward attempts at humor.
- Cassian explains that they work for no one — their coterie exists to pursue its own interests (per their Questari coterie type).
- Ivan understands and says that he would be very interested in examining the Spear of Longinus as a historic relic and artifact, should the vampires recover it.
- Harri asks Ivan about the leadership of the Tzimisce clan. Ivan says it is an impure bloodline. “Like mongrels.” He explains, “The Tzimisce descended from a mad vampire… the Father of the Tzimisce Clan, known as Vlad the Impaler.”
- Ivan suggests the vampires speak with The Beast for more information, but warns them about the cost of such information.
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
4:43 a.m.
- The vampires regroup at their haven.
- Jack coats a knife with engine oil and an accelerant and researches how to create a flaming blade.
- Jack Sr. is nowhere to be found.
- Jack shares the text message thread from Alanna with Harri and Cass. The entire thread was a cryptic warning to Jack about a trap set for him at The Purple Rose.
- The vampires discuss Alanna being compromised. They suspect the text messages were sent under duress.
- Jack Sr. enters the haven and says, “I did it. I made contact with him!”
- Harri uses Mesmerize on Jack Sr. and asks him, “Are you being completely honest with us about your relationship with Balthazar?” [7 successes and a Messy Crit!]
- Harri suffers a Dominance Compulsion. Jack Sr. responds, “How could I lie to you?”
- Detecting defiance from Jack Sr., Harri feels the bestial need to utterly dominate him.
- Harri drops his Blush of Life, grabs Jack Sr. by the shoulders and growls, “Because your life depends upon it!”
- Jack Sr. is terrified and cries, “Harri! I told you everything!”
- Seeing his father and former touchstone in peril, Jack enters a frenzy! He activates Awe and puts his sword to Harri’s neck. “Get out before you lose your head.”
- Harri pushes the sword away and says, “Relax, Wallace… Had to be said…” Furious, Jack is barely able to keep the Beast from taking over.
- Cassian is sitting on the couch with Bones on his lap. “Jack… Stop this madness. Fight the Beast or we ALL lose.”
- Furious, Jack breaks the haven front door and storms outside. Jack Sr. follows him. “Son! Wait!”
- In the street, Jack finds a parked Lexus and unleashes his fury on it, smashing every window and light and rending the car to bits while his father watches in shock.
- Through gritted teeth Jack says, “Fucking Toyota.”
Desires for the Night:
- Jack: To conclude his transaction with Rachel Rierson
- Harri: To set a trap for Balthazar
- Cassian: To interrogate the surviving priest about the attack
December 29, 2004
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:03 p.m.
- Jack heads downtown to a ball event, but fails to feed. In the local newspaper he sees headlines: “Attempted Arson at Ryokai Art Gallery” and “Gang Violence and Gunfire Erupts in Streets”
- Harri sets up an 8 p.m. meeting with Sheriff Fakkir at the boarded up dental office in Kellogg Slum where the investigation into VII began for them.
- Harri feeds on a pizza delivery guy, slakes 3 Hunger, kills him and earns a Stain.
- Cassian feeds on a blood bag in the gun range and slakes 1 Hunger.
- Back at the haven, the vampires discuss how to handle the meeting with White Frankie Ardelino.
- Cassian suggests a courtesy call to Stanislav Dorostal, Regent of the Dockyards, would be prudent; but they are unsure how to reach him. They consider regent-to-regent contact may work.
- Harri tries to reach Rachel but she is not available.
- Cassian gets 3 successes on an Intelligence + Politics roll and realizes that communication with the regents is best handled via ghouls. There is no time for this, so they abandon giving Stanislav a heads up.
Abandoned strip mall, Kellogg Slum
7:54 p.m.
- Harri meets Sheriff Fakkir at the boarded-up dental office. Harri asks, “You have news?”
- Fakkir says, “What transpired at Ryokai was a great transgression of The Masquerade. If Alanna Belko is behind this, we must obtain evidence immediately so that she is brought to justice. We must break into her offices at The Purple Rose and find definitive proof of her involvement. But know this, Harri… What I do is in the name of the Prince. I am not the Prince. I uphold His law. Make no mistake… It was Alanna Belko who started that fire. You have never lied to me. Are you willing to do this?”
- Harri nods. “Then at 3:15 be at the corner of Atkins and Oak Avenue. See that you are well fed and ready to proceed.” The Sheriff leaves.
- Harri leaves in pursuit of pressure cookers and supplies to rig up explosives. With 5 successes, he finds all items he needs within an hour.
Morgan County Medical Center
8:07 p.m.
- Cassian goes to Morgan County hospital to check on the convalescing Lancea Sanctum priest. He finds him awake in a private room and questions him about what he remembers.
- The priest says, “I felt a call outside. I exited the cathedral and… they came out of nowhere. They were wearing all black.”
- Cassian asks if he remembers what kind of weapons were used during the attack. “Y-yes… they had brass knuckles.”
McVaigh Enterprises Dockyards, Newcastle Harbor District
11:00 p.m.
- The vampires arrive early at the meeting point in the Dockyards. They park under a bridge next to the Newcastle River in a secluded spot just around the main gate.
- Jack is wearing an Armani suit. Harri is wearing an Adidas track suit. Cassian is wearing urban camo.
- Cassian takes his sniper rifle and moves to an overwatch position on the roof of a nearby building.
- Jack gathers his fake manifest and other prepared documents and activates Awe.
- A few minutes later, two black sedans roll up and the drivers get out and look around.
- Jack and Harri approach and allow the Ardelino goons to pat them down. They find Jack’s knife and Harri’s brass knuckles and take them for safekeeping.
- White Frankie says to Jack, “So… my interest is piqued. For what reason, precisely, have we come out here? Enlighten me.”
- Jack shows Frankie the documents and explains that intercepting the incoming shipment is an easy score. Frankie looks at the manifest and says, “It’s an impressive haul.”
- Jack offers an 80/20 split, with Frankie getting the 80. Frankie is impressed, but still skeptical. “Why me?” he asks Jack.
- Jack uses Compel on Frankie and tells him, “Let’s take a walk.”
- Harri tries to mingle with the other Ardelino goons, but they’re having none of it.
- Through his scope, Cassian sees movement in the shadows on the dock by the waterfront. He sees four unmarked cop cars positioned around the meeting area below.
- In one car, he sees a detective with binoculars focused on Jack and Frankie.
- Jack says to Frankie, “Anyone else would have dismissed this, but you have the business sense.”
- Cassian watches as Jack and Frankie continue to walk toward the hidden police. He sees a police lieutenant signal and, suddenly, the cop lights flash, sirens wail and all cars move in to encircle Jack and Frankie!
- Harri says, “Oh, shit. We’ve been made!” and disappears behind a shipping crate into the shadows.
- White Frankie turns to Jack. “This was YOU!”
- Jack (rolling a Messy Crit) responds, “The hell it was!”
- Jack is filled with a compulsion to harm Frankie. He Spartan kicks Frankie and screams, “How dare you? You led them right to us!” Frankie goes flying and tumbles to the ground.
- Police exit their vehicles with weapons trained on Jack and Frankie. As the cops move to engage Jack, a female voice says, “No, not him.”
- Laura Brody, wife of D.A. Nelson Brody, gets out of a police car accompanied by two detectives.
- White Frankie is cuffed. He is furious and shouting threats at Jack and the police officers.
- Laura says, “Mr. Wallace… Will you come with me?” She leads Jack to a nearby vehicle and opens the door. Inside is a stunning redheaded vampire, Rachel Rierson.
- “Ah, Ms. Rierson,” says Jack. From his coat pocket he produces the oeil jaune and presents the flower to Rachel. “Your yellow eye.”
- “Yes,” she says cooly, taking the flower. “It is certainly… yellow.”
- The police transfer White Frankie to another vehicle — one that is not a police cruiser.
- “I had hoped that this would be a more discreet meeting,” says Jack. “I was under the impression that I would not be implicated in this.”
- Rachel smiles. “I wish Invictus to know what happened here tonight. The Duke will know you were involved. I wish him to know that his reign is over. Our business is concluded. Have a good night, Jack… and give my regards to Harri.”
- Jack recovers his knife, returns to his car and finds Harri waiting for him inside. “Your bitch set me up, Harri. This was supposed to be… subtle.”
McVaigh guest residence (Jack’s former lair), Diamond Street
December 30, 2004
12:30 a.m.
- The vampires arrive at Jack’s former lair to find the house occupied by about 25 young party-goers.
- Cassian and Harri stay with the cars while Jack enters the house to search for Sean McVaigh.
- The house is a mess, music is blaring, lights are on in every room. Guests are hanging out in the kitchen and patio by the pool, while others couple up and make their way to the upstairs bedrooms.
- Jack finds Sean and uses Compel to make him walk upstairs with him. Jack feeds on Sean and slakes 2 Hunger.
- Then, Jack lights a fake fire in the kitchen and clears everyone out of the house, including Sean.
1:30 a.m.
- Two bikers on Harleys roll up to the guest house. Harri and Cassian recognize them as two Brujah vampires from the attack at Phillip Blakely’s house.
- They park their bikes a block away and see Jack inside the house. One of the bikers makes a phone call. Then, they both turn their bikes around and leave.
- Cassian finds a hidden perch in a nearby tree and sets up his sniper rifle with a clear view of the guest house front door and windows.
- Harri rushes to set up the pressure cooker bombs in the main living room, hiding them and rigging up a cell phone detonator. With 5 successes, he manages to finish setting up the bombs in an hour.
- For the next hour, Cassian sees no activity at the guest house.
2:35 a.m.
- Harri leaves to meet Sheriff Fakkir at their agreed upon rendezvous point before their planned break-in at The Purple Rose.
- As the second hand of the clock strikes VII, Harri suddenly hears: Cuckoo! Cuckoo! … and shit gets weird.
- The Sheriff emerges from the shadows and says, “Cuckoo. Cuckoo, Harri.” He points to a large clock in the shadows. A cuckoo bird exits the clock.
- Then Harri is walking in snow in a forest. He hears the howling of a wolf. The Sheriff says, “It is what must be.”
- Harri closes his eyes. When he opens them, he is in a cave with six men in homespun robes. They look like shepherds.
- The men turn to Harri and, in unison, say, “The intensity of the wish gives me power over another, said the First. Though the wish is unexpressed, said the Second.”
- Then, as if time were accelerating, the men’s faces age, become young and then age again in endless cycles. Their hairstyles change; their clothes change to reflect the changing styles over centuries.
- The Sheriff points to Girl—she is in the street, alone, blood flowing from stigmata wounds on her hands and feet. The Sheriff says, “Cuckoo, Harri.”
- The howl of the wolf again. Harri is back in the snow. He sees a white wolf and feels terror.
- The Sheriff says, “Express the wish, Harri…”
- “No… No! I can’t!”
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
5:00 a.m.
- Harri is back in his lair in the attic of Marshall Manor. The clock says 5 a.m. His boots are wet and his sodden coat is thrown over the couch.
- Harri sees a plague doctor’s mask partially covered by his coat.
- “Cuckoo. Cuckoo,” says the bird.
- The mask is in his hand.
6:00 a.m.
- Jack and Cassian return to the haven. Nothing happened at Jack’s old lair.
- Jack checks his messages. No word from Alanna.
- As the vampires enter the freshly repaired front door, Jack Sr. asks them, “Well, did it work?”
The vampires earn +3 Experience.