Session 23 - Hunters | Newcastle Requiem

Session 23 - Hunters Feb 16, 2024 19:18:23 GMT -6

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Post by Cassian on Feb 16, 2024 19:18:23 GMT -6

Desires for the Night:

- Jack: To ghoul Royce McVaigh
- Harri: To make an ally of Jenner Lanius
- Cassian: To learn how to create a new Elysium

January 1, 2005 (New Years Day)
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:00 p.m.

It’s New Year’s Day and two feet of snow has fallen in Newcastle.
Jack Sr. rises visibly angry. Jack offers to take him hunting. Jack Sr. always targets blonde women.
Cassian contemplates the previous night’s conversation with Sasha. (Wits + Insight roll yields 5 successes and a Messy Crit.)
Cass feels as if there was no animosity from Sasha toward Balthazar. Her tone suggested that she considers him more like a business partner.
Cassian goes hunting in the museum district and targets a valet. Cass uses Compel to make the valet bring him a new black SUV and then he attacks the valet inside the vehicle.
Before Cass can feed, however, the valet’s face changes to that of the janitor with a rope around his neck! Cassian strangles the valet to death and gains a Stain. He puts the body in the passenger seat and brings it back to the Haven to dispose of it. His hunger remains unsated.

8:00 p.m.

Jack calls Nigel Fontelbain and arranges for a 10:30 p.m. meeting (4 successes) with Royce McVaigh at the McVaigh compound.
Jack sends his father to scope out Balthazar’s whereabouts.
Harri settles into the Virginia Marshall library, fires up Ask Jeeves, and researches 'vampire hunters'. He gets 3 of 6 successes and his research takes 4 hours.

St. Jude’s Cathedral, St. Jude’s Cathedral District
8:03 p.m.

Cassian reports to the Bishop. He arrives at St. Jude’s Cathedral in the lull between two evening masses and is hastily ushered into the Bishop’s office by Brother Ishmael.
Cass recounts the details of last night’s events at the Domum Carnis. The Bishop snarls at the mentioning of Sasha, but is otherwise stoic in his response. “What would you have me do?” asks the Bishop.
“I would return Cassius Vulpa and the Spear of Longinus to their rightful place in the Church. I would see our fallen Monseigneur restored,” replies Cassian. “And I would burn the Tzimisce to the ground.”
The Bishop refers to the Spear of Longinus as “a bauble” and tells Cass that “Viktor can endure.… and the Roman can wait.”
When Cassian informs the Bishop about the Invictus attack on Alanna in The Purple Rose, he then instructs Cassian to bring him Alanna, unspoiled.

McVaigh Mansion, Diamond District
10:30 p.m.

Jack arrives at the McVaigh mansion, an extravagant palatial compound with pools, marble fountains, courtyards, gardens. Jack activates Awe.
Nigel leads Jack to a drawing room with a fire in the hearth and walls lined with hundreds of books — from stoic philosophy to Shakespeare. Nigel pours Jack a scotch.
Moments later, Royce and another man in his 30s wearing a custom suit enter. Royce introduces the man as “Edward”, his new adjutant.
After pleasantries are exchanged, Jack tell Royce he wishes to discuss a business venture with him in private. He asks Edward to leave, and (with 4 successes) with a nod from Royce, Ed steps out of the room.
Alone with Royce, Jack slits his own wrist and uses Compel (5 successes) to force Royce to drink from him. But Royce refuses! He cooly explains that he is already Balthazar’s ghoul and that Jack has no power over him.
Jack considers his options. He then offers his own vitae to heal Royce’s burned son, Sean. (Persuade + Manipulation roll +3 yields 4 successes) Jack sees Royce react with a combination of horror and revulsion followed by hope.
In exchange for Jack’s “help” with Sean, Jack proposes a trust be established in his name where monies can be deposited. Royce agrees and offers to have his people set it up within two days. (Jack earns two Resource dots!)
As Jack makes his leave, he detects that Royce’s cool demeanor belied considerable consternation and fear while in Jack’s presence.

Morgan County Medical Center
11:18 p.m.

Jack sneaks into Sean McVaigh’s private room in the ICU and feeds him his vitae, making Sean his ghoul.
Cassian arranges to send over the beaten, surviving Lancea Sanctum priest to create a cover story for Sean’s miraculous recovery from his burns.

The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
11:39 p.m.

Harri continues his research into vampire hunters (4 successes) and comes across an organization known as “The Order”. The head of The Order is “Nico” and his bio reads: “Crossbow hunter by day or night”.
Jack continues making the salve for his fire blade and gains one more success.
Cassian succeeds in making two Winchester .308 caliber Dragon’s Breath rounds for his sniper rig.
Jack Sr. returns to the haven and reports that he can’t find Balthazar.
Harri sends an email to Nico at vhuntxxx@angelfire.com: Have info re: Dragon’s Breath. Interested?
The vampires bed down for the day.

January 2, 2005
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:07 p.m.

Harri receives an email response from Nico: how do I now ur leggit?
Harri responds: Like to bowl? Meet me at Strikers Bowling Alley. 10 p.m. I’ll bring samples.
Nico responds: don’t waist my time. I’ll be waring chekkrd hunting jaket.
Cassian gives Harri one 9mm and one 12-gauge Dragon’s Breath round.
The morning paper arrives. On page 3, the vampires see the following article:

Son of Billionaire Mogul Makes Miraculous Recovery
Doctors Stumped. Act of God?
Socialite Sean McVaigh (20) has seemingly healed overnight from 3rd-degree
burns covering 70% of his body. Doctors are stunned and can offer no
medical explanation. Morgan County Medical’s on-staff deacon summoned
priests from local parish, St. Jude’s, to examine McVaigh. Priests are
proclaiming the advanced healing is a miracle and a work of God.
The vampires call Roger to set up a meeting with Ivan later that night.
Harri leaves for the bowling alley to plant the Dragon’s Breath rounds in a locker. Inside, he leaves a note with his geocities email address and takes the locker key with him.

Strikers Bowling Alley
10:02 p.m.

The vampires arrive at the bowling alley in Cassian’s new black Escalade. The place is jumping with activity — flashing neon lights, arcade games, loud 80s music.
A big pickup truck arrives and two guys get out: one is a skinhead with a goatee and chiseled face. The other is a middle-aged, frog-faced man wearing a safety orange checkered hunting vest. They enter the bowling alley and rent a lane.
Harri exits to the parking lot and checks out the pickup truck. It is unlocked. He gets in the cab and finds the truck’s registration with the name “Nicolas Polly Carpenter”. Harri notes the name and address.
Harri sees a crucifix hanging on the rear view mirror and attaches the bowling locker key to it.
The two pickup guys finish bowling their frame and then leave. Their truck pulls out of the bowling alley. One minute later, the truck returns, tires squealing.
The men again enter the bowling alley. This time, they head straight to the lockers where they use the key and find the stashed Dragon’s Breath rounds.
The frog-faced man puts the rounds in his vest pocket and proceeds to ask every single patron, “You looking for me?”
When they approach the vampires, Harri casually responds, “Who the fuck are you?”
Frustrated, the two men leave the bowling alley.

Odds & Ends, University District
11:31 p.m.

The vampires arrive at Odds & Ends and find Ivan sitting in silence, staring intently at a blank wall. “Hmm,” he says after a few moments. “It didn’t work.” Ivan explains he was working on an invisibility spell.
After pleasantries and more awful attempts at humor from Ivan, Cassian explains that the coterie is in need of Ivan’s advice. He asks how they can go about organizing and hosting a conclave of the kindred leaders in Newcastle in lieu of Elysium. Cassian asks about kindred protocol for such an event (4 successes).
Ivan mentions that in the absence of the Prince, the Herald and the Host, the vampires should seek Armand Ostadar, the Senechal. He has the authority to make such an event happen. He can be contacted through the Sheriff. Once contacted, the vampires can attempt to convince the Senechal to speak to the primogens.
The vampires thank their Mawla for the information and then head out for The Purple Rose to find Alanna.

January 3, 2005

1:04 a.m.

email from Nico: got your heat. go big. go hard. Or GO FUCK YURSELF????? Cleerly, u now how 2 handle bloodsuckers. u left me hangin w/dick in wind. wtf. dude.
Harri responds: being cautious. i’ve seen some shit. do not want to fall in one of their traps. interested in REVENGE. they got my mother.
Nico: dude. totaly get u. these fucks can find u where u live....... if ur stoopid. down for revenge. LETS X SOME SUCKERS!!1!!!!
Harri: having tangled w/these fucks… hope you have the numbers, organization and balls. if so, i’m interested.
Nico: TOTALLY. were a small family. but 2A bitches!!! u came to the right place we don make stoopid misteaks. been at this a while. any time u wanna invite the vamps for stake diners let me now.
Harri: roger. wilco.

The Purple Rose, Fells Heights District
1:29 a.m.

The vampires arrive at the club district and park several blocks from The Purple Rose. Despite the snow on the ground, the clubs are active and many have lines of huddled, shivering clubbers wrapping around the block. The Purple Rose, however, remains closed.
The vampires scan the lines of club patrons looking for blood dolls. Harri rolls Composure + Streetwise (with help from Cassian) and finds a guy with a mohawk and a girl in a motorcycle jacket and boots. She and the guy are rocking the punk look with piercings, eye liner and tats. Jack recognizes the pair as “Jessie” and “Cal”, two regulars at The Rose.
Jack strikes up a conversation and asks if the pair know where Alanna is. Jack offers Cal cash (3 successes), but Cal refuses. “Sorry, man. Can’t help you.”
Harri searches the line of clubbers until he finds one that looks like a heroin user. He pulls him aside and uses Compel to force the guy to give up his stash. Harri then uses Cloud Memory to make the guy forget he ever saw him.
Harri returns to Jessie and Cal and offers Jessie the heroin (7 successes). Jessie eyes the drugs greedily and says, “Yeah, I know something. We’re all friends, right?”
Jessie reveals that Alanna has a boat moored in Waterbank Harbor (#34 on map) where she sometimes stays.
Harri gives Jessie his geocities email. “We’re all friends, here,” he says. “Stay in touch, love.”
The vampires decide to pay a visit to Jenner Lanius.

Jenner Lanius Haven, Butcher’s Row
3:00 a.m.

The vampires park near The Obsidian Hotel. They see the alley where Allison Shaw was taken. Above the building rooftops, they also see the large water tower with no apparent access points. Butcher’s Row is covered in snow and eerily silent.
Harri pops the make-up mirror from the visor of Cassian’s SUV, steps in front of the headlights and flashes the tower.
Moments later, Vixaen and an enormous white wolf emerge from the nearby alley.
Harri feels rising panic when he sees the wolf due to his Folkloric Bane.
Then, Vixaen sees Harri. Her eyes go wide and she stops in her tracks. “N-no… not you. NOT YOU!!!” She screams, turns and runs, disappearing into the shadows of the alley.

The vampires earn +2 Experience.