Deathknell Chronicles IC, Chapter 1: Eyes Open

[Strawberries]

Amy

" Really, Mike? I don't know where I got the impression from. Say, because they put a FRIGGING SHOTGUN in my hand and said that this was a TEST?" She passes a hand through what's left of her hair. "Which, by the way, I probably failed. Just to let you know." She doesn't think that effectively telling the Sheriff to shove it where the sun doesn't shine counts as a success. "But you know what gets to me the most?" Picking up the note and thrusting into his hands "This mess was all YOUR friggin' fault to begin with!"

[daelrog]

"Oh come on, Amy! Did you really miss the family straight from Deliverance? Yeah, their number was up, I didn't know Yuri would slap us in the face as well! You're fine Amy, if you didn't want to hold a gun, then the Elders will get the message. Long as you do your computer stuff well, you'll be fine. Me? Yeah, last night I'm the Prince's favorite. Now... I don't know. I don't know what my standing is, because you're right it was my fault, and everyone knows it."

[Strawberries]

Amy

"You are missing my point, Mike." It's not that she cared particularly about the skinhead family, it's that the whole mess would have been so easy to prevent. "Look, Mike, why the HELL did you do nothing? You knew it would happen, didn't you? You... Oh. " Her brain has finally caught up with her mouth. She looks at him strangely, then, very slowly "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Sh-t, Mike, you couldn't find a better way? What the hell are you going to do now?"

[dancrilis]

Danielle

Well it hadn't been a complete waste of her time, there were links - she had confirmed that, and assuming that the undead mind was similar to a human mind she could extrapolate that the physical conditions would not occur but that the mental ones would - irritability, lack of control, seeing things etc.

She had experienced the lot of them, of course now came the problem with actual feeding - animal blood wasn't working properly, attacking people was dangerous, tricking people for blood - seemed creepy, and stealing blood from a hospital put lives at risk - she was unsure how to proceed with this problem as she returned the books to the shelves. Leaving them on the tray would have been easier but she wanted the time to think.

Seeing the man on the way out she was inclined to shrug it off, she wanted other to mind her their own business and so leaving them alone was a good step - but what if he owned the place and she had trespassed on the traditions? Should she introduce herself.

Worse what if he was not known to the city and as an interloper she needed to direct him to the prince? - how was she supposed to handle that.

Than she had to consider that this might be simply mundane - not everyone that acted weird was a blood sucking parasite after all - in which case he seemed healthy and might be a good meal, she snapped herself out of that thought.

Waiting until he split from the clerk to go about his business she approached him cautiously viewing him for signs of life, "Excuse me, sir" the tone mild and respectful as expected from a polite teenager addressing an adult - with luck he would allay her concerns with his first comment but him saying stop bothering me caitiff trash, I am X of clan Y and Jean will hear of your folly was likely asking too much from the universe.

Spoiler

Show

I am suspecting that it is Jules of the Ventrue at the moment.
But Danielle not having met him wouldn't be able to know that, and that while she might have heard of him (so it would click if he mentions it) in her current mindset she is not putting that together. And would need to confirm anyway.

Rolling Perception and Medicine for signs of death:
Perception+Medicine: (4d10)[2][6][3][6](17)

Rolling Appearance and Etiquette for not making a terrible impression:
Appearance+Etiquette: (4d10)[8][3][1][9](21)

[Thundercracker]

Erica

Spoiler

Show

"Well, hopefully I made a good impression on Al and Iris, then, because I'm pretty sure I managed to annoy pretty much everyone else who was there," Erica replied bitterly.

"The bars," she thought, "idiot, of course. You could find someone in a bar, talk to them, find out if they played, then... then what, get them to drive you someplace to make out with you? Ugh, this sucks. (and that was a terrible pun)."

She almost gave up and went home to listen to her new tapes, but Erica Lee was never one to give up when things got difficult.

"Okay, no need to get fancy tonight, just get the first one out of the way, even if it's ugly and lacks originality," she thought. With that, she resolved to follow the couple to the bars.

[daelrog]

Amy

Mike threw up his hands exasperated, and stood up. Yeah, he was like other boyfriends. Cool and confident at first, but once you get to know them...

"Listen, I didn't know. It was an educated guess. Yuri's an animal, he doesn't negotiate or play fair. We just wanted the blood getting spilt outside the city where we wouldn't have to deal with any of the fallout. I didn't know Yuri counted us among his enemies, and now we have to figure out what to do. Sure, we could easily take him and his men down, but at what cost? Send ten kindred, lose three? Good luck getting the volunteers. Jean could probably handle it by himself, but the Prince doesn't do the leg work, and he's not risking the 1/100 chance that he'll find a firebomb instead of Yuri if he goes to his office.

"What do you want from me? I'm trying!"

Danielle

Spoiler

Show

You are indeed correct.
Decent enough rolls.

It's a bit different with a black man, than a white one. He's not pale, but he does seem rather ashy. He looks at Danielle curiously, most likely trying to assess her as well. "I don't think I know who you are."

The way he said it wasn't disrespectful, nor was it inviting. It was neutral, and he was waiting for Danielle to correct him, or confirm.

Erica

Spoiler

Show

"You did. Of the four, only you gained a vote of confidence from the two Toreador. Andrew and Faruq each got one vote of confidence out of two. It's not to say that Amy is in trouble, only that it will take more time for her to become adjusted."

Jean turned back to the book he had been reading. Remember what I said. Take control over a mortal without any use of your disciplines. Once you have accomplished that, our sessions will begin anew."

Spoiler

Show

What kind of bar will Erica go to? A pub? A country bar? A nightclub?

[dancrilis]

Danielle

She shuffled her feet a bit, she didn't want to have to get involved in others business and make herself look like an idiot or even make herself known.

"Oh you don't, sorry", she considered she couldn't use the words caitiff - while an actual word it was to much of a give away if people overheard things - "sorry my name is Danielle, just street trash really" it was annoying to have to say but it was the clearest method of explaining herself.

"Just thought that you looked like you might be new in town, so just wanted to make sure you knew your way around", that covered it she thought. The message was clear enough are you new and do you need to know where to go?, alternatively if he was not a vampire she looked like she was a junkie hitting him up ... which while disgusting - and sent a wave of revulsion through her - at least didn't put her in the firing line talking about the walking dead and the like.

[daelrog]

Jules looked at Danielle with a penetrating stare. He was an attractive man, but the intensity was a bit much. It wasn't a creepy intensity, but he was probably the kind of guy that would wear a girl down quickly by constantly analyzing them.

"I see. Follow me." He started moving towards the back of the library. Danielle could hear the lady at the counter beginning to hum to herself.

[dancrilis]

Danielle

Dammit all she wanted was to get out of here and ... and well she wasn't sure, but getting involved in vampire politics was not her idea of fun, or safe for that matter.

She didn't meet his eyes but felt them on her in an unnerving manner, of course it might only be unnerving because she was on edge. If it turned out that he wasn't dead and he tried anything she could probably mug him as a cover - maybe even get some blood. The thought was not reassuring.

The humming didn't put her in a pleasant mood either as she followed him cautiously - I should have ignored this, there were other vampires around who make a job of this and a library is hardly a hideout for a criminal keeping a low profile.

[Thundercracker]

Erica

Erica followed the couple downtown, where there were a high concentration of establishments with licenses to distribute liquor. She was looking for a place that was slightly more run down, perhaps something in a basement, with a small stage, a slightly unwashed band playing that new grimy sound coming out of Seattle, and that ever so distinct smell of pot haze in the air. It was the kind of place she wouldn't have been caught dead in in New York, but many things had changed since then.

She figured that would be the best place to find a washed out jock trying to relive his glory days, be it behind the bar or in front.

[daelrog]

Danielle

They moved to a door near the back, looked like a service door, the kind that was for maintenance staff only, beige and unmarked. The key worked, and the door revealed a metal, spiral staircase going down.

When they got to the bottom of it, there was another, smaller library beneath. Only two shelves of books, and two tables with chairs.

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Occult please

Erica

The place is unoriginal called underground. It's a Friday night, so it's alive with the sounds of college Freshmen pretending to be Seniors, high schoolers pretending to be in college, and an assortment of regulars who were older, and kept to their own part of the bar.

Not surprisingly, it was a younger man who approached her first.

"Hey, babe, can I buy you a drink?" Frat boy, though kind of skinny with a young face. By the half smile it seemed like he was doing it mostly to try, didn't expect Erica to accept.

[Strawberries]

Amy

"FRIGGING HELL, MIKE, I picked up on it, and till two weeks ago I was selling washing powders!" Really, does being a vampire for long make people blind as well? "Friggin' Yuri had it in for you, didn't you notice? HELL, he had it in for ME from the first moment he saw me, I thought you had SEEN that it was a way to get a shot at you! What in the..."

She takes a breath and stops mid-sentence. Alright, she is not getting anywhere by shouting at him, and even if she needed the outlet, now it's probably a good time to start acting like a big girl. Especially because the seventy-years-old guy isn't doing a good job of being particularly mature. She shakes her head and forces her voice down "Right, you want to know what I want, Mike?" I wanted to be left the hell alone, but this doesn't look like it's going to happen, does it? "I want you to friggin' talk to me. You're my friggin' sire. Your ****-ups are my ****-ups as well. Are you planning to get off your butt to try and fix them or not? Because I am friggin' trying to help, if I can, you friggin' idiot." And where the last sentence n came from would forever remain a mystery to everyone, Amy included. She does a quick double-take with herself to check that she really means it. Yeah, she does. Friggin' hell, I'm worse of an idiot than he is.

[dancrilis]

Danielle

She mulled it over as they descended, if he was not established in the city he wouldn't have access to something like this - so she had attracted attention for no reason. Unless he was unknown and was luring her down to destroy her or mind wipe her - the fate of Billy and Desmund gone insane on some odd compulsion was present in her mind.

But luring her into a place to kill her made no sense, for all he knew she was a obfuscated assassin pretending to be caitiff - and it was unlikely that vampires reached any real age by taking chances like that, if he wanted to use her he would likely seek her out rather then the reverse. Of course that implied that he wasn't able to simply see right through her and had simply taken an opportunity. This trail of paranoia followed her as she walked.

What did he want?

Entering the mini library her eyes flicked over the books momentarily forgetting her place they might have something I could use answers to her visions and what animal blood does after time. But back in reality she doubted it was kindness that brought her down here. She held her tongue for now, but he wasn't helping her take the edge off with his silence.

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Occult: (4d10)[9][4][1][6](20)

[daelrog]

Amy

Mike wanted to argue, but instead deflated. "You're Evaz. I'm an idiot." He fell back into his chair. "How can I make it up to you. Damn it, I just want to do this right." She sighed, probably from habit, not need. He looked up to Amy and winced. "So... I take it things didn't go so well tonight."

Danielle

The man finally spoke when they were down below. "So you're the Caitiff? I'm sorry for you." Once again, it was more blunt than anything, neither empathetic nor demeaning. "It's truly a shame the way they treat your kind, unfortunately those that are kind to the Caitiff often suffer with them" He looked at her again with those piercing eyes. "I think you must have been looking for something. The books here were written about our kind. It's not as full as the library that Josef keeps, and some of the books have misinformation, written by men who thought they knew about Cainites. Still, it's better than what you were trying to do."

What was a Cainite?

Danielle could feel the hairs of the back of her neck tingle a little bit.

[Strawberries]

Amy

"Gee, Mike, I don't know. Does telling the Sheriff that she can **** right off because I am not going to kill anyone count as 'going well' in your book? Why the hell didn't you warn me in advance?" She isn't shouting anymore. If anything, she sounds tired. "I hope you don't mind being stuck with me as your responsibility for quite a while, because I don't think I made a very good impression tonight." Not that she particularly cares about what Al Rowe thinks of her, mind you. And not like she would have changed her actions tonight if given a chance.

"And you can make it up to me by talking to me about things. We have to share the screw ups anyway, at least we can try to fix them together. And there's another thing, Mike." She looks at him in the eyes. "I want to ruin Yuri friggin' Votswathever." And I know you do, too. "Don't cut me off from that. Let me help."

[dancrilis]

Danielle

She was unsure about a lot of this the term Cainite stood out - perhaps another word for vampire like Kindred - but perhaps not, it could be a special group of vampires as well. If Caine was the mythical founder it would make some sense for him to have worshipers in a similar manner to Christ - she would ask Jack later.

How was not the time for such speculation however, she needed to keep her wits about her, he mentioned Josef which might mean that he was the other Ventrue she had heard was in the city - which meant his motive for helping her was worrying.

Although based on the colour if his skin he might remember what being a second class citizen - or in her case likely forth or fifth - is like and simple be doing a kindness.
She shot that thought down fast - people didn't get anywhere by being kind they got places by pulling up the ladder to make it easier to use on the next slope.

Still she didn't want to be disrespectful or ungrateful regardless of his reasons for helping her "Not that I don't appreciate this sir, because I do" he hadn't given his name and she wasn't sure the protocol here anyway - sir seemed the best option. She tried to collect her thoughts about how to phrase the next bit but came up with nothing better then the direct approach "but why bother helping me?".

[Thundercracker]

Erica

Erica paused, letting him sweat for a moment.

"Sure, why not," she said quickly, gesturing for him to lead the way.

[daelrog]

Amy

Mike gave her a bit of incredulous look. "Serious? Al Rowe is one you turn to if things get too dangerous. She's the one who saved your friend Danielle, you could have been polite about it?" He seemed more frustrated with the world at this point than Amy herself. "Don't worry about it. It's not like you told her you wanted to make a... uh... 'female dog' kennel for her and Iris. Still makes you better than Mr. Loveless."

He leaned back. "All right, I'll let you know, if they let me know. I think they're still figuring out how best to handle this."

Danielle

"Helping you?" The man raised an eyebrow. "This is just making sure a fledgling isn't researching vampires where others can see her. We do have the masquerade to uphold." There was no amount of sarcasm in his voice. He was kind of attractive, but man, did he have a personality?

"Kindred do not help each other unless they have something to gain, and there is nothing I can gain from you. If another acts generous, it only means they are hiding what they want." He grabbed a book from the shelf, and began reading it. "Now excuse me, I have my own research."

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Alertness to get a clue what he's reading.

Erica

"Really? I mean, sure!" He turns around, giving two thumbs up to a table of other guys of varying levels of inebriation and looks, a few of whom give the thumbs back up. "This way, my lady." He gestures over to the bar.

[Strawberries]

Amy

With no small amount of sarcasm in her tone "Sorry, Mike, I was a bit distracted by her asking me to kill seven people, you know. My mum didn't teach me the proper manners for that occasion". She sighs "I didn't tell her in so many words, but I kinda implied it. Oh, and I'm sure I said that I didn't friggin' care about what the elders wanted. Sorry, I could have been more subtle. Not that I didn't mean it, though. And you can say bitch, you know, I've heard worse " She's said worse, actually. Rowen Street isn't exactly an hangout for the high society. Even if, now that she thinks about it, if he grew up in the twenties... yeah, makes sense that he is a bit less casual with language.

She opens her mouth to reply something to his second sentence, closes it, takes a deep breath, and tries to reason with him without starting to shout at him again. "I don't get it, Mike. You messed up, you're in trouble... and your answer is waiting for other people to tell you what to do?" She shakes her head disbelievingly Not the best way to regain people's confidence, isn't it? "Shouldn't YOU be working on a way to fix it?"

[dancrilis]

Danielle

Nothing to gain, she repeated to herself, but plenty to lose. Up to now she had no dealings with the Ventrue so any mistakes she made were not on them - in fact the Nosferatu could suffer as Jean had spared her, the Toreador could suffer as Al defended her, the Gangrel could be blamed for not prosecuting her well enough, Cassidy could be blamed as it was his job to make sure she didn't go off the deep end, hell even the Brujah could be blamed as it had been Brent that had saved her. She initially thought that the only two clan exceptions would be the Tremere and the Ventrue, but Rick had associated with her and Henry had argued with Al at the hearing ... so blame could be provided in some manner.
Only the Ventrue seemed untainted - and that had changed now, if she learned something and used it criminally it was now on them also.

Wait her mind screamed he just implied that I was potentially breaking the Masquarade, and therefore that I owe him a lot for helping avoiding it this needed to be handled.

Still not meeting his eyes she noticed him again before she spoke - attractiveness stood out, which surprised her. She had never been that interested before she died and had been well dead inside after, so it was an odd thing to find someone attractive ... could this be presence, or was lack of blood causing her to react with base instincts, or was it a placebo - she knew that he was attractive and thereby considered whether she was attracted?

It was all beside the point, she needed to defend herself from the Masquarade accusation, "I wasn't looking into vam ... kindred. I was looking at eating disorders and diets and their effects on peoples mental health" she left the hallucination research unsaid.
She probably sounded like a child explaining that they were reading the comic section of a paper when everyone had thought for a second they were advanced - but she could take that, she would not have false blackmail used later.

Looking at him as he grabbed his own book she tried to catch what it was, before beginning to review for any items dealing with the effect of only drinking animal or dead blood on a vampire.

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Alertness: (5d10)[9][1][3][5][2](20)

[daelrog]

Amy

Amy's sire looked at her curiously for a solid ten seconds. Then he spoke. "You mean like come up with a good excuse?"

Spoiler

Show

Spoiler

Show

Promise more description next post, just couldn't resist being blunt this time.

Danielle

Danielle had noticed that many kindred continued mortal habits. Sighing, breathing in, just small little things done because that's what they knew. This man had seemed to overcome such things. He merely paused, then looked up, resigning himself that he would need to address her if he could focus. "I see. So you have mortal friends with eating disorders?"

Spoiler

Show

Your roll failed.

[dancrilis]

Danielle

Half the girls at school she thought would be a low estimate, but that would be misleading "I was trying to extrapolate data based on human health reviews - particularly mental health - to confirm the affects of a poor diet, so that I could perhaps draw conclusions based on such for how one of the kindred might suffer if they tried to survive on animal blood, or the blood of the dead", or both in her case. She took a breath, "this place will likely be a great boon, but I wanted it noted that I was not looking up 'how to be a vampire' or some such. I am aware of the masquerade" she finished.

Throwing an eye to the shelves to avoid a reflexive glance to his eyes, "sorry just feel that might be the kind of thing I need to be clear on. I should be quite now" unless he wanted to talk which he didn't seem too. She moved to look around the library.

[Strawberries]

Amy

Amy looks back at him, open-mouthed "Friggin hell, Mike! " It's a groan more than anything else I have seen Mary own up to her messes more readily when she was five. "Are you seventy or seven?" She rubs her eyes, frustrated. I'll try to put it in simple words, because I don't think you are really understanding what I'm trying to tell you "I mean you getting off your ass right now, and find a solution to the Yuri problem yourself, not waiting for the friggin' Elders to tell you what to do. Come on, Mike, dammit. Start acting your age. " She offers her hand to him, to help him get off the chair, and also to emphasise that she's ready to help him. Hell, better tell him outright. Mike isn't doing a very good job of reading the nuances, tonight "And you've got me, dumbass. We can solve this if we put our heads together."

[Thundercracker]

Erica

Erica followed the the guy to the bar and forced a smile as she accepted the drink.

"So tell me about yourself," she said, loudly, to be heard over the band, "I don't even know your name."

[daelrog]

Danielle

"Very well, it is clear then." At first it seemed like he was done, but then thought better of it. "Caitiff." He looked up from his book. "Don't try to answer what you are in logical terms." He held up his book to reveal writing on one side, and a drawing of what to all intents and purposes appeared to be a demon on the other. He pulled it back as quickly as he showed it.

"And it sounds you like you're trying to stick to animal blood. Don't. You'll frenzy if you keep it up, and then it all would have been a waste."

Amy

Mike let's Amy help him up with a sigh. "All right, all right, together. Worth a shot I guess." He checked his watch. Sun'll be up pretty soon though. Maybe get this problem solving starting tomorrow?"

Amy could hear Slick for just a second. Looked like he was eavesdropping... poorly.

Mike was being pretty reluctant, but he was at least standing there, running his hand through hair that didn't exist, playing along with her.

Erica

"Hey baby, my name's Jon. You?" He had already said 'Hey baby', was he a broken record or something. He ordered a gin and tonic for Erica, and a rum and coke for himself. Original.

A few more people were walking in, looked like it would be a crowded night.

[Strawberries]

Amy

"We've got an hour, Mike. You can start telling me what you know about Yuri. What he does, what exactly does he know about us, where is he more vulnerable, this sort of thing. You deal with the man, you must know something." And another thing. "And oh, I didn't tell you. I sent seven of his men in prison tonight, Dominated into testifying against him. Well, Erica did the Dominating bit" She shrugs "It's a first step, at least."

She turns towards the door "And Slick, you can come in, if you want, I know you're there." Trust Slick to love a bit of gossip. Not that she had been exactly subtle, what with the shouting and everything. She expects her point has been clearly perceived by all the people in the apartment complex.... Elizabeth and Flat face included, if they are around. Oh, hell, I hope I haven't put Mike in deeper trouble. She doesn't think that's how sire-childe relationship are expected to go in proper kindred society.

[dancrilis]

Danielle

This time she did meet his eyes as he offered advice momentarily forgetting herself. Book on demons - well book on something, could be eastern she supposed - and not my business anyway.

He had answered her question however frenzy she thought might have happened before when she attacked that junkie and so it tracked that it would happen again - which meant that she would have to feed on people - which a sizeable part of her was repulsed by, the remaining part however wanted it like nothing else in the world - which was creepy all by itself.
But it didn't answer the question of the visions.

She bowed her head "thanks".

Moving to the bookcase she began looking for anything on vampires having visions and the interpretation - she didn't expect to find much but something might turn up.

But she knew she couldn't stay long - partly so as not to overstay her welcome, and partly so as to get to work for the late shift in one of the bars - if they were staying open late. She needed the money, and frankly she likely needed a drink.

Spoiler

Show

Assuming that another roll is needed same as the upper library.

Plan is to research for an hour baring interruption.

Int+Investigation/Academics: (5d10)[10][2][10][9][6](37)

[Thundercracker]

Erica

"I'm Jenny," Erica replied.

"Jon eh?" She said, "simple name."

She let comment hang for a moment, hoping he was bright enough to get the implication that s simple name might mean a simple person.

"So tell me about yourself, Jon," Erica said, swirling her drink, then looking up at him, "are you in school?"

[daelrog]

Amy

She can hear Slick scuttling away, caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Mike chuckles at Slick. "All right, you better sit down." He tells her what he knows.

Yuri Votslav is at the center of smuggling in the American northwest. He stays out of Portland and Seattle due to the higher activity of law enforcement, settling for Havensworth which has an infamously bad police department. Growing up in St. Petersberg, his rise to power actually came from sheer luck. His old boss had run afoul of the kindred there, apparently Brujah ran the show in Russia though there was little contact with them and outside kindred, and in the ensuing conflict Yuri was left on top. Just merciless enough to survive, just unimportant enough not to be targeted. Tired of the conflict, and not wanting to become like his predecessor, he moved out to America, first to L.A. to get a better idea of how America worked, and then moved up north to carve out his empire where there was less competition.

Although the old Prince was considering doing something about him, he met final death before that happened, and Jean actually liked Yuri's aggressiveness. Easier to deal with one man, than several, and appointed Mike as the contact person beyond his other duties of influencing city planning to help keep up the masquerade. Yuri had played nice with the kindred, but as his power grew, so too did his impatience. It seems he thinks he's ready not to be beholden to anyone.

It's unlikely he knows how strong many of the elders are, but then again, the elders won't get involved personally, why risk their unlives? However, Yuri knows just enough that he can be a threat. He knows about fire, sunlight, and a stake to the heart. Also knows that though bullets aren't most effective, they do eventually bring a vampire down.

Spoiler

Show

Anything else before a time skip?

Danielle

Danielle found information on kindred diet, though there was nothing that suggested hallucinations. As Jules, who hadn't bothered to tell Danielle his name, said, frenzying was the usual side effect. Hallucinations were generally cause by other kindred powers. Something call chimerstry used by a rare clan, and dementation used by the Malkavians.

Spoiler

Show

What type of bar is Danielle going to? Also, does she have a fake ID? She needs to roll manipulation + subterfuge to get in either way.

Jon

"Yeah, guess it is kind of simple." He seems to be taking it as a point against him. "But yeah, I'm a student at HU. Just finished my last Final for my second year. I'm a Business major." He leaned closer. "So... you a student too? Haven't seen you around before?"

[Thundercracker]

Erica

"Yeah," she said, "well, it's complicated."

She looked down at her glass.

"I want to start taking classes again as soon as I save up enough. Maybe next semester."

She looked up again and smiled.

"Whatever. So what do you do for fun, play any sports or anything?" she asked.