Post by Cassian on Jan 31, 2024 16:00:35 GMT -6
Desires for the Night:
- Jack: To kill Masuko and Balthazar
- Harri: To figure out the source of his trance/vision
- Cassian: To investigate the Tzimisce and the Domum Carnis
December 30, 2004
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:00 p.m.
- The vampires find a cardboard box outside their front door. Inside are several smaller boxes marked “Zirconium”, “Magnesium” and cases of empty shotgun shells, 9mm casings, a scale, mixing instructions, and various other supplies for making Dragons Breath rounds.
- Harri shows the coterie the plague doctor mask, which triggers Cassian’s vision of the masked figures and the chant. The mask has flecks of dried vitae on it.
- The vampires discuss sending Jack Sr. out as a double agent to keep Balthazar off the trail.
- Cassian uses his new blood sorcery powers for the first time. He activates A Taste for Blood (4 successes) and learns that the vitae on the mask comes from a vampire with Blood Potency 2.
- Cass then casts the Blood Walk ritual. He mixes his own vitae with the vitae on the mask. After an hour, the vitae swirls and forms two names: Vixaen (subject) and Jenner Lanius (sire).
- Cass says, “We’re being played by our old enemies.”
- Harri emails Sheriff Fakkir and requests a meeting.
- Jack texts Alanna: You alright?
- Jack receives an immediate response: I’m ok. Burning down gallery didn’t go as planned. We should talk. Come to Rose.
- Jack responds: The gallery? Can meet u soon. Have stuff to take care of.
- Alanna: Time is running out. Come to the Rose.
- Jack: tty soon
- Sheriff Fakkir responds to Harri: “They’ve struck again. But there’s a survivor. Meet at midnight under the Ironworks bridge in Harbor District.”
- Cassian receives a message from Brother Ishmael: “Between 11 and 12 midnight tonight, go to St. Francis, stand under the crucifix and speak the name ‘Viktor’.”
- Cass calls Hank and gets him to agree to set up a Dragons Breath reload station (5 successes). Cassian leaves to deliver the supplies provided by Ivan.
- Harri hunts at a nearby party, rolls 7 successes on a Manipulate + Stealth roll, feeds on two victims and slakes 2 Hunger.
- Jack goes hunting and feeds on a young, rich guy outside a museum holiday party who is ranting into his phone. (5 successes, Charisma + Etiquette) Jack slakes 2 Hunger, uses Lingering Kiss and makes Rick his thrall.
- Jack returns to the Haven and works on his fire blade recipe. He gets 2 of 5 successes. 5 successes will yield a vial of enough flammable liquid to coat the blade.
- After leaving Hank’s apartment, Cass stops by the Newcastle Gun Club, singles out a victim and slakes 2 Hunger.
St. Francis, Walter Chadwick District
11:03 p.m
- Harri and Cassian arrive at St. Francis church. It is in a slum. The neighborhood is extremely poor, decrepit and sketchy.
- The church is a modest building between a convenience store and a boarded up Army surplus store.
- Cassian burns a Willpower to ascend the wooden front steps and stand beneath the enormous cross affixed to the church steeple. Harri stands at the base of the steps.
- Harri uses Heightened Senses and is assailed by the scent of drugs, the sight of needles, the smell of curry.
- Cassian scans the street and says, “Viktor”. Above a fabric shop directly across the street, an unnatural wind gusts from the window of a darkened room. A figure appears silhouetted in the window and beckons.
- Cass and Harri enter the shop and find an explosion of color, spices, perfumes. Bolts of cloth are piled everywhere.
- The vampires make their way upstairs and find a long hallway. At the end is an open door. The smell of human blood is everywhere.
- They enter the doorway. From the shadows, they first see green eyes, and then Viktor is there. He is a menacing Nosferatu.
- Cassian tells Monsignor Viktor that the Tzimisce have stolen something that belongs to the Lancea Sanctum and that he needs Viktor to infiltrate the Domum Carnis and retrieve it.
- Viktor asks, “Can you fight?” Cassian says they can, but they are no match for the Tzimisce and their szlatchta. They will provide back up for Viktor.
- Viktor says, “I am the tip of the sword. Command me.”
- Cass commands Viktor to secure the body of Cassius Vulpa and to bring it back to this room within 24 hours.
- Viktor nods and disappears into the shadows.
Ironworks Bridge, Harbor District
11:48 p.m.
- Harri and Cassian drive to the Ironworks Bridge. Harri puts the plague doctor mask in a backpack and uses Cloak of Shadows. Cassian stays with the car.
- From the K-car, Cassian sees Fakkir’s car parked nearby. Moments later, the sheriff emerges from the shadows and approaches Harri.
- Harri makes a Wits + Insight roll and gets 2 successes.
- The Sheriff says, “I was contacted by Jenner Lanius. His haven was attacked. He was not there but Vixaen was. She was assaulted by two individuals wearing masks.”
- Harri nods and says, “One mask was a plague doctor mask. What was the other?” Fakkir is surprised by this. “It was a president,” he responds.
- Harri then asks, “Did we meet at The Purple Rose?” The Sheriff is confused. He can’t remember.
- Harri describes the visions he had about the white wolf. He shows the Sheriff the mask with Vixaen’s vitae on it. Harri says he suspects he’s being framed as a member of VII.
- At this, Fakkir looks Harri in the eye and asks directly, “Are you VII?” Harri says, “No.”
- Harri asks, “Did the attack happen in the woods?” The Sheriff says it happened in Jenner’s haven — the water tower. “Then, what happened?” asks Harri.
- Fakkir says, “My memory is clouded. As for our meeting at the Rose, I feel as if I told you to call it off. There is a kindred trying to seize control of my mind. This changes everything. We still have a survivor. It is our best lead. Jenner Lanius wants to speak. He is enraged because his favorite ghoul (Allison Shaw) is missing; but he still respects title.”
- Harri says, “I’m curious to find out if Alanna is part of this. We know she has a mask in her office…”
- The sheriff says, “I reached out to her and got no response. It is highly unusual for a primogen not to respond to the Sheriff. We should do nothing at the moment.”
- Harri says, “Let’s go see Lanius.”
- Fakkir says, “He’s in a foul mood, but I will follow your lead.” He glances in the direction of Harri’s car. “Can your friends be trusted? Tell me your plan before dawn and we will take action.”
- Harri hands the plague doctor mask to the Sheriff. Fakkir leaves noticeably shaken.
- In an apartment building nearby, a clock strikes midnight. Harri hears twelve cuckoos.
- Harri and Cass decide to return to the Haven to discuss the latest developments.
December 31, 2004 (New Years Eve day)
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
1:20 a.m.
- Cassian and Harri research The Chant in the stacks of Marshall Manor’s vast library. With 5 successes on an Investigate roll, their research consumes the rest of the waning evening, but they learn the following:
- The phrase is linked to a Charles Dickens novel, Dombey and Son about a shop owner who desperately wants to a son to succeed him.
- They find references linking the phrase to mesmerism and the works of German physician Anton Mesmer.
- There’s a cross reference to a doctor Erich Iznang from 19th century London. Dr. Iznang had a love of Greek philosophy and the tragedy of Oedipus Rex.
- Another reference points to Tiresias, the blind prophet of Apollo famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a hermaphrodite.
- The vampires find a reference to a Tiresian Society in 19th century London. They find a photo of a man in a physician’s office — Dr. Iznang — with a plaque on the wall behind him with the Sophocles quote: “Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise!”
- Harri sends an email to Sheriff Fakkir telling him to hold concerning Lanius and that they need to discuss new developments soon.
- The vampires sleep for the day.
6:03 p.m.
- Cassian receives a voicemail from Hank. “Hey, buddy. Got yer fire rounds ready. Whoo, boy… This stuff burns like gonorrhea! Got ten 9mil and I’m workin’ on the shotty’s now. Oh, and Desiree’s doin’ fine. I’m lookin’ out for her. She’s off the stuff. Hey, man… time to party. Really lookin’ forward to New Years!”
- Jack Sr. says he couldn’t find Balthazar. He asks what the coterie is planning to do to celebrate New Years Eve.
- Jack sends his father to buy a voice recorder. He gives him $100 and the daily newspaper and tells him to find something interesting in the paper for them to do tonight to celebrate.
- As Jack Sr. exits the haven, he scans the paper and says excitedly, “Hey! Did you see this?” He holds up page two and the vampires read the following headline: Massive Explosion in Diamond District: Billionaire McVaigh Heir in Hospital
- Jack Sr. says, “Isn’t this where you guys were last night?” Jack tells his dad to check in with them at 11:30 p.m.
- Harri sends an email to Fakkir: Meet at Black Lake 8 p.m.
Hank McGough’s House, Fells Heights District
7:30 p.m.
- Cassian and Jack go to Hank’s house. He’s half dressed in his tuxedo, drinking beer, and three sheets to the wind.
- Cass picks up 20 Dragons Breath 12ga shotgun shells and 10 9mm rounds.
- Jack and Cass load their weapons and head to the Domum Carnis to stake it out.
Black Lake, Drover’s Park District
8:02 p.m.
- Harri meets Fakkir at a fishing dock in Drover’s Park. He tells Fakkir about the research findings: VII and ties to mesmerism and mind control. “What if the attack on Lanius’s haven was the two of us?” he posits.
- Fakkir responds, “How is that possible? Can you prove it? If we are VII, there is only one way to guarantee we do not strike again. You know of what I speak.”
- The Sheriff suggests he and Harri visit The Rose in his car.
- Harri agrees to accompany Fakkir and sends a text to Cassian and Jack: with s.f. going to find @11@N@
- Jack responds: wdym? be careful. u know how they get.
- Cassian responds: wtf? gotta catch the opera?!?
- Harri: may be late
- Cassian: we’re saving ur seat
The Domum Carnis, Edge Harbor District
9:01 p.m.
- The Domum is situated a block away from the docks. It is an old, 19 century art deco opera house that must’ve been grand in its day. It is largely a ruin now, with boarded up windows and doors.
- The headlights from Jack’s car are the only lights in the area. The district is a ghost town. No snow. It is a clear night.
- Cassian fixates on the opera house, uses Premonition and has a vision:
- A vast red gallery with a massive candelabra. Hundreds of people gathered in the room. Then, a blur like a whirling dervish moves through the throng leaving pieces of people — body parts, arms, torsos, heads, legs — strewn about the room. Then, stillness and a stairway leading down. A baby carriage in an open area with a woman beside it. Then, a sea of blood and a gargantuan pillar composed of a thousand twisted limbs and bodies, melded together. A hideous, multi-jointed arm reaches out for Cassian and then… the sound of a sword clanging as it hits the ground.
- Cassian turns to Jack. “Let’s go in.”
The Purple Rose, Fells Heights District
9:07 p.m.
- Harri and Fakkir make their way to The Rose in the shadows. They climb up the fire escape and survey the building.
- The Rose is locked up tight. No activity.
- Harri uses Heightened Senses and hears two black Escalades roll up in front of the club. He hears the clink of the chain on the front doors. He sees one vehicle vanish down a side alley while an Invictus ghoul exits out of the other SUV. He smells gunpowder. Two ghouls flank a third figure who emerges from the Escalade. It is Masuko. She scans the street and Harri hears her say, “Secure the area. He may be coming back.”
- Masuko enters the club. Just as the doors are about to shut, Harri’s senses pick up the taste of fear emanating from deep inside the club.
- Ever so faintly, Harri hears whimpering and pleading: “No more. Please…” It is the voice of Alanna Belko.