[V20] The Tale of the Crone

[Lord-Leafar]

"There's some vato I'll be doing business with, and I want to know what kind of person he is, but I doubt he'll have much of a paper trail to follow. Can you get started with a name and a general location?"

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani





Bela gives her the bare minimum before withdrawing, stepping back. Staring her down.


"I'm sure you can already feel the benefits?"


He waits a bare moment, then turns to Boris.


"This room must be prepared for our new guest, Boris. She is to be confined to the house and cared for as any hostage of noble birth." He paces, thoughtful. "Send Camille to me at the next opportunity."


He pauses in front of Boris, tapping his chin, elbow in his other hand.


"I trust you come with news?"

 

[Arynne]

Justine Adler


"I hope that will continue to be true," says Justine. "However if Juliette fails to perform her duty tomorrow, my displeasure will be considerably greater if it is because she allowed her loyalties to waver." She reaches out to run a strand of the ghoul's blonde hair between her fingers, her voice low and vibrant. "Though Juliette is merely a daughter of Eve, and thus flawed and inferior even to mortal men, by loving and serving her dear Mistress she rises above her foul origins. All her past is forgiven, made clean...so long as she remains perfect in loyalty."

 

[Esbilon]

• Álvaro
• Bela
• Justine

• 
  
  
  "Sure," Ramon says with a grin, "no problem. Who's the asshole?"
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  "Yeah," she says, her smile growing wide and predatory as she looks at Bela with dark eyes that sparkle in the room's faint light. "This is one hell of a drug," she adds and holds out her hand before her, observing it as she flexes.
  
  
  Boris nods obediently at Bela's directions. "Yes, my lord," he responds when pressed, "and hopeful news at that. A man has contacted me who claims to be in possession of Erzebet. In return, he demands 5000 dollars and a boon from you, my lord. He sounded impertinent, but genuine."
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Juliette leans in to have Justine's fingers touch her cheek when her Mistress takes hold of her hair. "Juliette understands, Mistress, and she will remember to whome she belongs."
  
  
  

 

[Lord-Leafar]

Álvaro takes the map Else gave him earlier and points at the territory mentioned as being part of Bela Dragosani's domain. "This guy lives somewhere in this area, his name is Bela Dragosani but I doubt his name will turn out anything, however he has someone working for him named Boris Obertus. If you can find him, then you can find this Bela guy."


Making sure Ramón gets in the necessary information, Álvaro then adds. "Caution is the keyword here, I might don't know much about him, but I can tell you that he is dangerous, and his lackey or lackeys equally so. ¿Comprendes?"

 

[Esbilon]

Álvaro





Ramon nods and types out a couple of things on his phone. "Sure thing, boss. I'll take a look at it." Then he looks back up at Álvaro, "you need anything else from us tonight?"

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani





Bela strokes his chin, thoughtful, but his pleasure is difficult to hide in the set of his shoulders and glint of his teeth.


"Arrange a meeting with this individual at the earliest opportunity; invite him to the manor," he says, "I would take his measure."


He does not admit that the precise value of five thousand dollars is nebulous to him.

 

[Arynne]

Justine Adler


"Then let Juliette be strong and skillful today. Let her also remember to attend to Theodora as well. If she carries out her tasks without flaw, this last morning's failure will be completely atoned for. If she does not, some other payment will be required of her. And leaving that thought in her head, Juliette' s Mistress bids her a fond goodnight."

 

[Esbilon]

Bela





Boris nods in acquiescence. "It shall be as you ask, my lord."


As the ever servile man begins his work, Camille returns to the manor.


Justine





Only long hours of training allows Juliette to contain her relief at her Mistress's forgiveness to a demure smile and a soft "thank you, Mistress."

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani





As Boris leaves, Bela turns to Miranda and spreads his arms.


"Well, I have much to do before the sun rises. Make yourself comfortable - Boris will attend to your needs. And if you wish to test the limits of my gift, Camille will doubtless be willing to indulge you."


With that, he returns to his study, expecting to find Camille waiting to deliver the results of her search.

 

[Esbilon]

Bela





"What should I do if the police show up while you're... sleeping?" Miranda asks Bela before he can leave her to the ministrations of the Revenants.


Once he has given the girl her instructions, Camille is indeed waiting for him in his study. "The Anarchs and other malcontents are assembling at a public house by the name of 'Greyskull.' They are not numerous, no more than half a dozen of them are around on most days, and they seem to be rather more bluster than brawn."

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani





"My staff will instruct you," he says, without elaboration, before meeting with Camille.


"Raw iron is no use until forged," he says, in answer to his agent's comment on the Anarchs. "See to it our guest does not escape, and consider distracting her with combat training."


I will not have craven scribe carry my legacy.





He dismisses Camille, and retreats to his grave for the day.

 

[Esbilon]

• Sunday, August 2, 2015
• Álvaro
• Bela
• Justine
• Susan
• Terezi

• 
  
  
  The sun set at 8:44 pm, and will rise again at 6:24 am. It is a clear night with the only slightly gibbous moon shining down on the city of Cleveland through a cloudless sky. The temperature ranges between 30 and 20 degrees celsius.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Waking up in a nice soft bed is something a man could get used to, even if it still feel strange after so long on the road. Time's a-wasting, though, the night is young and there's a message on his burner phone from Ramón: "Whoever this guy is, he doesn't get out much during the day and the fuzz is interested in him too."
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Nothing is amiss when Bela awakens, though the faint sound of sirens can be heard somewhere in the night. Camille and Boris stand ready to carry out his orders.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Justine rises in the darkness of her resting place, and for once she is alone. Contrary to her standing orders, Juliette is nowhere to be seen, though faint noises can be heard from elsewhere in the manor.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  The day with her family passes too quickly, and like so many days this summer, it passes cloudlessly, forcing her to stay indoors and away from the windows all the time. The kids seem allright, they're used to her strangeness by now. Jason has a football game in the afternoon, and Kimberly goes to visit a friend and hang out in her parents' pool.
  
  
  By evening, an email ticks in from Tom Wolfram outlining the basic facts of Veridian Dynamics she requested. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, except that they're doing much better financially than she would have expected for such a green company. It's a sad fact that it's generally the big polluters that make the big money, but Veridian is doing very well indeed, and has done since the new CEO, one Humphrey Penrose, took over two years ago. She does, however, have all the information she needs to start poking around herself while she waits for a more complete report.
  
  
  There is one thing in Tom's package that cause a shiver to run down her spine, however. He poked around a little more in the life of Yuzuki Oshiro, and found a child. Apparently, five years ago she gave birth to a young baby girl who has been living with her parents down in Crown City practically since birth. There is no father listed in the child's papers.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  The daymares were not nearly as severe as they were the two previous times Terezi had slept in Cleveland. Perhaps the danger is more distant, perhaps the Chantry is shielded, or perhaps the strange images of the manuscript keep them at bay.
  
  
  

 

[Arynne]

Justine Adler


Unease lances through Justine when she registers Juliette's absence. Several possibilities spring to mind, few of them pleasant to contemplate. Swiftly, she rises and dresses herself. A folded pruning knife sits discreetly tucked away among tangled vines; Justine retrieves it and tucks it into a pocket before cautiously heading out to investigate whatever has happened.

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani





Bela favours his servants with the merest glance before proceeding to dress.


"What news of the day?" he asks, pulling on the same clothes he has worn for the better part of a century, that Boris has nigh-miraculously kept in serviceable condition. Something else to do with the due income, he muses.

 

[Esbilon]

Justine





The noise leads Justine through the manor to the room assigned to Christopher, where she is greeted with an unexpected sight. The lid of his coffin has been thrown against the wall with great force, and the man himself has managed to break the chains that bound him and rise from his faux-grave. Juliette has intercepted him and is grappling with the neonate, but even her vitae-fueled strength looks ready to break in a moment. Christopher has bitten through the gag in his mouth, and his teeth are approaching the young girl's throat.


Bela


Boris speaks first, "the local constabulary came by inquiring about a certain young woman's whereabouts. They tried intimidating their way into the house, but left without a fight when refused firmly. I fear, however, that they may return and not take no for an answer the next time." Camille quickly steps in to add, "there is also an unsavory man who looks to be of mestizo descent who has been lurking around the manor, but made no move to enter the premises proper."


"Regarding your new student," she continues, "she seems to have some discipline when properly motivated. She has no formal training in the fighting arts, but her past activities have left her in decent shape, though favoring grace over strength."

 

[Arynne]

Justine Adler


"Juliette!" shouts Justine, fingers gripping the knife in her pocket. "Get away from him right now!"

 

[Esbilon]

Justine





At her Mistress's orders, Juliette jumps backwards, wresting herself out of the vampire's iron grip with a sickening snap and a scream of pain as her left arm breaks. She tumbles onto the ground and with a bestial growl, Christopher turns his attention to Justine.

 

[Epiphany]

Susan Rosenthal


"Honey, what was that?" Sam's voice. Of course.


Susan took a shuddering breath and recaptured her composure. Her eyes drifted to the wall of her office. She'd just stepped in to read Tom Wolfram's thorough summary while Sam used the bathroom before they sat down for a movie together. It should have been a nice way to finish family day before she put her husband to bed and went on with her nightlife.


Instead, she'd left four long rents in the drywall. Undeath hadn't given her prodigious strength as it did for some Kindred but she was much more durable, able to exert the muscle she did have more fully without damaging herself. Leading to the unfortunate situation that would require repair work.


In the meantime...


"Give me 7 minutes, sweetheart," Susan says, already typing one handed on her smart phone while pulling out her bluetooth keyboard for email.

Tom Wolfram

me

Very nice work. When you get a chance, I'd like anything you can find on a Terezi Pyrope, law student. Also, I'd like you to purchase a pair of season passes to all the theaters in Playhouse Square and have them sent to the address in the attached contact card, along with a note stating "A small recompense for my Lord's inconvenience" and my signature. Delegate if you wish. Have a good night.

Then Susan pulls up her Account Representative with Joyeuse Investigations, a...Mister Henry Conrad, and took a minute to review her notes on him. Mirror Print Industries LLC had a very capable and loyal staff but much of their success came from playing to their strengths, namely finance. It was time to bring in people with other expertise.

Send New Email

New Email Received

H. Conrad, Joyeuse Investigations

Req - Paternity Check (TS)

Mr. Conrad, it's been ages. How is Seattle these days? I need a paternity check of all things. I'll upload the details to your secure server and provide the prospective father's DNA via blood draw. Let me know where it should go and I'll drop it off tonight. This requires the utmost discretion, for which I'm thankful to retain your company's services. I'll check for the results on that server, once I've received notice from you that it's done. Give my best to Nancy and the next time you two are in Cleveland, there's an art gallery I know she'll love. Thanks!




This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain information that is confidential or privileged. Unauthorized use is strictl probibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible for delivering to the intended recipient, you should not read, copy, disclose or otherwise use this message, except for the purpose of delivery to the addressee. If you have received this email in error, please delete and advise the IT Help desk at IT.Help.Desk@mpcllc.com

Next on her agenda...

Follow up on Admiral Zheng's 24 hours Chinese food delivery service for N. update.

Check in with Else on her sources.

See if Álvaro has anything.

...Leave a note with hotel staff, asking him to call me when he's up.

Follow up with Tremere Regent on permission for research.

...Background check on Terezi Pyrope, prospective recruitment.

Send an apology note to Bela Dragosani with a season pass to the Playhouse Square theater.

"...Right. One minute more, honey!"


Susan places a quick call with the hotel staff and instructs them to deliver her number and a request for a call in person. Then she wraps up 'work' and returns to the couch for a movie before Sam goes to bed.


The rest can wait a little while...

 

[Esbilon]

Susan





The hotel clerk responds that her guest left the hotel last night and hasn't returned, but she will make sure that when he returns, he will be informed.


Sam puts his arm around her and smiles when she returns. He frowns a little when she settles in against him, "what is it, honey? You seem tense."

 

[FeMChara]

Terezi looked around her room, sighing. She used a brush in her purse to put her hair to rights and checked the desk. Wasn't there papers? She checked her phone-they hadn't thought to search her, so she breathed a little easier.


They weren't going to kill her. There was no reason to suspect her of any wrongdoing per se beyond what they knew about. Nobody still knew but her.


But still, something nagged at her. And she sighed and rubbed her head. "Damn."


She doodled a little in a terrible drawing with uneven lines and odd curls and squiggles. And then began to record all the details of her dreams and the information the garou source had provided. Snakes. Insects. It seemed so be just within reach.


Carthage. Antiquity. So an old clan, which ruled out minor lines like Daughters of Cacophony and still existent, which ruled out extinct lines. Probably not a Camarilla clan. Antitribu? No, that made no sense.


And she recorded the clans and what she knew of them, both from teachings and rumors. She put the first papers aside and took a new one.


She started doodling, as if writing more than drawing. She called into mind the crazy writing of the manuscript and pondered.

 

[Esbilon]

Terezi





There is a knock on Terezi's door. Out side ist he same ghoul as last night, a bald man of Caucasian descent who looks to be in his late thirties. "Please come with me, Initiate," he says and turns, clearly expecting her to follow him through the Chantry.

 

[Epiphany]

Susan Rosenthal


Fatigue pulled at the Lasombra as she folded into the sofa next to her husband. Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed slightly before picking one of her stray black hairs off his shirt. In life, she'd been rather fastidious. In death...well, she was still quite fastidious but there was something in her, perhaps the Beast, that liked symbolic markers like her hair on his shirt. Mine.


But not my child.


"It'd be easy for me to just say 'I'm fine, sweetheart," Susan said, sighing softly. "But our marriage works in part because we're both adults, old enough to be past the kind of ridiculous drama that our kids watch on television. Something recently occurred to me and I decided to just put it in the past but if you're noticing tension, perhaps I should just talk about it."


The pale woman presses herself against Sam briefly, enjoying the hot life of his body, before withdrawing enough to scoot herself around, facing him on the couch. "I'd like to ask you a question. And though I can't promise not to be upset depending on the answer, I can promise that I won't be upset with you. Okay?"


She took a deep breath for courage, nodded once and finally said "Did you see anyone else while we were separated?"

 

[FeMChara]

She folded the papers and left a penny in one before she followed him, reflecting on how she had once been in that ghoul's position. "You do well for your master. May the same be for your master." She said quietly to the ghoul. "Do you have a name?"

 

[Esbilon]

• Susan
• Terezi

• 
  
  
  Sam lets go of her when she sits up and puts down the TV remote to somberly give her his full attention.
  
  
  At her question, he hesitates for a moment, but keeps looking her in the eyes all the while. "Yes," he says finally, "I did. How much do you want to know?"
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  "I serve House and Clan Tremere, as you do, Initiate," the man says. "I am called Matthias Black," he adds without looking back at her. The Chantry is a well-built old house, by American standards anyway, and clearly constructed to host the undead. Notably, much of the building's living space is beneath the ground where the hateful touch of the sun cannot reach them.
  
  
  After some time, they enter the hall of ceremonies. The Chantry back home had one not too different from it. Here, the ceiling is high, the moon shines in through a trio of stained glass windows, and four people face Terezi from high-backed chairs. The Regent, Clayton Lee Baker is dressed not in his normal tweed, but rather in the crimson ceremonial robes and golden chain of office as befits a Regent of House and Clan Tremere. On his left is Amy, looking distinctly uncomfortable, but her gaze is turned clearly towards Terezi, though she looks like she would rather turn it anywhere else. On his right is a young man of middle eastern descent Terezi has not seen before, he appears bored, though he is doing his very best to hide the fact. On Amy's other side is a petite girl with strawberry blonde curls who looks like a fish out of water, and does not appear to understand quite why she is here.
  
  
  In front of the four is a pedestal carrying a silver chalice very much like the one Terezi drank from when she swore the Code and Oath of the Tremere and was inducted into the House and Clan.
  
  
  The Regent stands up once she has taken a few steps into the room and the Ghoul has closed the door behind her. "Terezi Pyrope, Initiate of House and Clan Tremere, you have placed yourself in the hands of our ancient enemy and thus placed yourself and the House and Clan in danger. Through fortune, nothing was damaged except for pride, but the wounded pride of the Tzimisce is not a thing to be scoffed. Thus, it has been decided by your Elders, that you shall drink once more of the Cup that binds us all together, and thus never again forget that your actions must before all other things be for the advancement and protection of House and Clan Tremere."
  
  
  With that, he gestures at the chalice and sits down once more.