Post by Cassian on Apr 14, 2024 11:03:43 GMT -6
Racing against the coming dawn in the early morning hours of January 6th, 2005, the coterie is downtown, outside the Garvanti Building construction site…
Garvanti Building, Downtown District
4:38 a.m.- The vampires prepare their weapons: Harri loads a shotgun with 6 Dragon’s Breath rounds. Jack has a 9mm with 6 Dragon’s Breath rounds, the Spear of Longinus and his sword. Cassian has a 9mm Beretta with 6 Dragon’s Breath + 9 armor piercing rounds in the magazine, and his sniper rifle, scope and tripod with 7 .308 caliber Dragon’s Breath rounds.
- The lower ten floors of the Garvanti Building are mostly done. Above the 10th floor, though, most of the walls, ceilings and floors are still open with exposed framing and wiring, creating a treacherous maze in the dark.
- Two construction elevators are on opposite sides of the building. One elevator car is at the top and the other is at ground level.
- Cassian identifies an unoccupied building directly across the street that provides an optimal vantage point to set up an overwatch position.
- Harri looks for a way to get Cass into the building (7 successes + Messy Crit) and finds a service door in a side alley propped open with a block of wood.
- Harri opens the door and finds that it leads to a stairwell to the upper floors. However, he startles a security guard and is forced to kill him (Stain!).
- Harri takes the guard’s 9mm pistol and two full magazines and hides the guard’s body in a dumpster in the alley.
- Cassian climbs to the 25th floor and finds an unoccupied office with a balcony facing the Garvanti building across the street. He sets up his tripod and sniper rifle and then looks through his scope. He sees Jack Sr. tied and gagged in a chair. He’s not moving. Cass can also see a blinking red light on Jack Sr.
- Cassian calls Jack’s cell and tells him that the coast looks clear and that his father is definitely there. Possibly wired with explosives. “Stay in contact. I’ll be watching your back.” He places his cell phone on speaker mode.
- Jack and Harri enter the Garvanti building. Harri activates Cloak of Shadows and Unseen Passage. The vampires open the construction elevator door, enter the cage and press the button to ascend.
- As the elevator rises to the highest floors, wind tunnels shake the elevator. When it arrives at the 25th floor, the vampires experience slight vertigo and feel as if the building is swaying ever so slightly. Night sky in all directions can be seen through the gaps in the superstructure of the building.
- Cassian focuses on Jack Sr. and provokes a Premonition:
A bird made of fire approaches the building, circling around it. The bird squawks unnaturally in repeated, short screeches. It suddenly turns white and then the entire building is engulfed in a massive fire ball. - Stepping out of the elevator, Jack sees that most of the 25th floor and ceiling is open to the floors below and above. He presses the button to make the elevator return to ground level, then dials Jack Sr.’s cell phone and listens. He hears it ringing from somewhere in front of him and moves toward the sound.
- Jack and Harri (in stealth mode) see a lone figure on a chair on a steel platform near the exposed edge of the building. The figure’s arms are tied behind its back with rope. From behind, the figure appears to be slumped over and asleep or unconscious.
- Harri moves onto the platform to get a better look. It is Jack Sr. and he is staked with a chunk of hawthorn wood protruding from his chest! He looks like a corpse. His phone is on his lap with the red message light blinking.
- Jack screams, “Balthazar!”
- Harri activates Heightened Senses and suddenly smells gasoline and hears the sounds of radios squelching nearby.
- Jack calls out to Balthazar again and then calls Cassian to put him back on speaker phone. Jack walks to his father and picks up his father’s phone. It rings immediately.
- It is Balthazar. He says, “I suppose I ought to thank you. You’ve done what that bitch Sasha was too afraid to do. And now it’s only a matter of time before the most powerful weapon in Newcastle finds his way into our welcoming embrace. I’ll give him the place he deserves. And a new era will... ‘dawn’ in this city. Pity you won’t be around to see it. Give Sasha my regards... when you see her in hell.”
- At that moment, three familiar Brujah bikers drop down from the scaffolding above them: Axel with a cleaver, Shotty with a 12-gauge and Tats brandishing enormous brass knuckles.
- From his concealed position, Harri unloads his own shotgun on Shotty (5 successes). Cassian fires his sniper rifle at Shotty a heartbeat before Harri and hits the biker with 6 successes! The combined Dragon’s Breath rounds explode in the Brujah’s chest and send him flying, burning and boneless, against a wall.
- Jack levels his 9mm at Axel, who is charging him. The Dragon’s Breath round hits the massive biker and does 2 Aggravated Damage.
- Harri moves to Jack Sr. and pulls the stake from his chest. Jack Sr.’s eyes flutter open and he gasps as if struggling to speak.
- Cassian chambers another Dragon’s Breath round, aims and holds his shot. He tells Jack via his phone, “One down. Get me a clear shot.”
- Axel attacks Jack with his cleaver and hits for 6 damage. Jack’s Toughness reduces it to 2 Superficial Damage. Tats swings at Jack with an unopposed strike and, again, Jack’s Toughness reduces the hit to 2 Superficial Damage.
- Harri’s Heightened Senses alerts him to the Brujah’s radios squawking… and the sound of a helicopter approaching in the distance.
- Jack glances at the wound caused by Axel’s cleaver and says calmly to the biker, “This again?” He draws his sword and whirls away from Axel to slash at Tats getting 7 successes and a Messy Crit!
- Axel, enraged, swings his cleaver again at Jack hitting with a glancing blow for 1 Superficial Damage.
- Harri charges at Tats and tries to grapple him (4 successes). He tackles the Brujah and attempts to pin him down.
- Cassian fires at Axel and hits with 9 successes! The Brujah’s body explodes in a shower of flaming sludge that turns to ash.
- Jack suffers a Dominance Compulsion. He sees Harri and Tats wrestling on the ground. Jack draws the Spear of Longinus and strides over to them.
- A helicopter swings around the side of the Garvanti building. From his vantage point, Cassian sees that the helicopter’s side door is open with a sniper perched in position and a man in a white suit behind him.
- Cassian experiences another premonition:
A ghoul loads a Dragon’s Breath round into his sniper rifle. Cassian can see through the sniper’s scope. He’s aiming at canisters filled with gasoline and accelerant hidden in the ceiling above the 25th floor. - The noise from the helicopter engines roars. Tats stops fighting Harri, looks up at the helicopter and yells, “What are you doing, boss? NOT YET!”
- Jack Sr., from the platform, yells at the helicopter. “Balthazar! Take me now!”
- Jack grabs Tats and puts the Spear of Longinus against the biker’s chest and says, “Beg for mercy!”
- Tats takes 3 Willpower Damage and suffers a Fear Frenzy. He rips free of Harri and bolts for the other construction elevator.
- Cassian fires a shot at the helo sniper and makes him miss his shot! “Get out now,” he says to Jack. “The roof is rigged to blow.”
- Harri chases after Tats, but the biker has disappeared in the maze of hallways and construction debris.
- The helicopter moves between Cassian and the Garvanti building and hovers as the sniper sets for a second shot.
- Cass fires at the rotor and gets 8 Successes and a Messy Crit! The shot damages the rotor, but it caroms off the engine casing and hits the gasoline canisters, instantly igniting them!
- Harri sees the construction elevator beginning to descend. And then he feels the heat of a massive explosion behind him!
- The entirety of the 25th floor erupts in a giant fireball, sparking panic in the vampires. From across the street, Cassian resists a Fear Frenzy.
- Jack fails resisting a Fear Frenzy! He makes a Soaring Leap onto the top of the construction elevator.
- Harri leaps onto the elevator and lands beside Jack, snapping an ankle for 2 Superficial Damage.
5:25 a.m.
- The 25th floor is an inferno. The helicopter spins wildly out of control, smoke billowing out of the damaged rotor. The helo almost clips the edge of the building, but manages to clear it. It disappears into the night sky.
- Harri heals his ankle by rousing his blood. He drops to lay on the roof of the elevator, swings his arms and shotgun over the edge and says, “Knock. Knock. Going down?” and blasts Tats point blank in the face. The shot blows the biker’s head off and the body collapses into dust.
- As the elevator continues its descent, Jack glances up at the glow from the fire. He uses Soaring Leap and climbs back to the burning floor to look for his father.
- Cassian packs his gear into his duffel bag and heads back down. He meets Harri at the BMW.
- Jack gets back to the 25th floor. Everything is on fire. He masters his terror and forces his way through the flames taking 2 Aggravated Damage.
- Jack makes it to the steel platform. He sees the remnants of the chair, plastic containers, burning construction materials. He sees the chains and charred clothing of a Brujah. And then he sees the burned body of his dead father.
- Jack takes his father’s head in his hands. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.” He takes his father’s wedding ring, gently picks up the charred body and tosses it into the flames.
5:45 a.m.
- The vampires drive to their Haven. The ride back is silent and somber. The vampires are all extremely hungry.
- On the way, Jack calls Rick and summons him to a meeting near the Haven. He pulls over, gives the car to Cassian and Harri and says he’ll walk the rest of the way.
6:15 a.m.
- Several blocks from their Haven, Harri spies a two-man garbage crew making the rounds. Cassian pulls the BMW in front of the garbage truck to make it stop. He gets out and flags down the garbage man riding on the back of the truck.
- “Hey… g’morning… Sorry to stop you guys, but you just picked up my garbage a couple of houses back. I left something in the trash. Can you help me find it?”
- Cassian uses Compel and says, “Get in the trash compartment.” The garbage man obeys and Cassian climbs into the compartment with him.
- Harri tries to distract the garbage truck driver, but fails (-2 to Social rolls). The driver gets out and starts yelling, “Hey, Gary?”
- Harri uses Mesmerize and says, “Get in the driver’s seat and wait.” The driver obeys.
- Gary starts to resist Cassian. The vampire uses Compel and says, “Stop moving.” and then feeds on Gary. Cass drains him, kills him and earns a Stain.
- Harri uses Mesmerize again on the driver. “Close the bin. Return to the dump and empty the truck.” He then uses Cloud Memory to erase the whole event.
6:30 a.m.
- Jack feeds on Rick, kills him and earns a Stain. He steals Rick’s Honda Accord and barely makes it back to the Haven just as the sun crests the horizon. Jack takes 1 Aggravated Damage from the sun.
- Harri and Cassian race home (Harri gets 4 successes) and make it back to the Haven in time. They find Jack sitting in the living room with Bones, staring at the empty wingback chair where Jack Sr. liked to sit.
- The BMW smells like ass. So does Cassian.
- The vampires retire for the day.
The Haven, Marshall Manor, Marshall Campus District
6:04 p.m.
- Harri checks his email. Nothing there.
- Jack wakes ravenous and feeds in the Museum District. He finds “Bridget”, a data analyst, in a parking garage. He charms her into his car and kills her, earning another Stain.
- Back in their Haven, the vampires hear the skittering of rats in their walls. They discuss what they’ve learned about their enemies and what their next steps should be.
- Cassian proposes that they set up a permanent, reliable solution for feeding. The vampires discuss having Harri set up a club in their hunting ground to attract affluent, high class clientele; preferably those who enjoy using opioids and narcotics recreationally.
- Jack suggests they ward the Haven.
- Jack completes his modifications to the Spear of Longinus. He presents the weapon to Cassian and Harri: A beautiful, wicked long dagger with a textured handle and sharpened wooden pommel for stabbing. Perfectly balanced.
- Unfortunately, Jack has inlaid the scabbard with malachite in the shape of a cross and spear, which Cassian abhors due to his Folkloric Bane for holy symbols.
- Cassian asks Jack to re-do the design and explains that the spear is a holy relic belonging to the Church, but all three vampires need to be able to use it.
- Jack says he’ll make a replacement scabbard in wenge and bloodwood with a symbol of the coterie (TBD). Jack also offers to train Cass in knife combat.
- Cassian checks in with Hank to see how the Dragon’s Breath rounds are coming. It will take a couple more days, says Hank.
- Harri checks in with Fakkir via text. The Sheriff responds: I am well. Have you found anything new about VII?
- Harri tells Fakkir about Balthazar blowing up places around Newcastle and attacking them relentlessly.
- Fakkir asks: Did Balthazar deliver final death to a Kindred? That is a breach of the Prince’s law.
- Harri tells Fakkir about the Brujah bikers getting killed due to Balthazar’s scheming. Because of his Blood Bond to the Sheriff, Harri also admits that his coterie had a hand in taking out their enemies, but it was in self defense.
- Fakkir responds: I will personally take up the matter with the Duke.
- Cassian sets to brushing up on his Latin, studies more Blood Sorcery and hits the gym (skill/discipline changes to come…).
- Jack finishes his Wyldfire salve to coat his sword blade. He calls the blacksmith to inquire about the status of the custom sword he ordered. The blacksmith says it will be delivered in three days.
January 7, 2005
12:02 a.m.- Jack’s cell phone rings. It is Duke Almengore. “It is time for you to come home.”
The vampires earn +3 Experience.
[Harri loses another Humanity!]