Princess: The Hopeful

[Inedible]

Shirley

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"Ah, I see... that makes sense, I guess", Shirley responds a bit unsuredly. Wait, I didn't ask that aloud, did I? Can it be that you're reading my thoughts? she tried to phrase addressing the other girl, even in her mind, just in case the hypothesis proves true. "So... the way you said it, does this mean you're fighting all alone? I mean, apart from Ziggy?

"Kind of. I don't really have anyone around to help me here, so I have to get things done by myself." She didn't seem to show any response towards thoughts directed at her. Maybe she was just used to having to explain herself. "But if you ever need help with computers or anything, you can let me know. I'm usually pretty busy, but I like to help when I can."

Sola:

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"But, but... the other guy said I had to come! His explanations seemed so much fun, you can't make me stay here after what he said... you know, about his own private room..."

She genuinely smiles, hoping to not overplay.

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2 successes!

The men at the door glanced between themselves, but Sola's words seemed to set them at ease somewhat. The one that stopped her shrugged, replying, "Well, alright. Go on it." The door is opened, allowing the two girls inside before shutting behind.

Inside was a slightly smaller room, filled with nice furniture and tables, still lit in the same blues and purples. There’s was a small crowd inside, clustered in various areas, most conversation droned out by the music. Patty peered around the room, frowning for a second. “Oh. Mary’s not here. She said she was coming this way…” She seemed briefly concerned, before shrugging. “Maybe she stepped out for a second. Oh!” She began to move quickly over toward a table. “There’s some of the people that invited us. The one guy isn’t there, though.”

Regardless, there was a small call of welcome from the table with several men and women, and they moved to make some room for the new guests. "Welcome to the party!"

[silphael]

Sola:

She took place at the table, smiling and answering their welcome with an out loud:

"Thanks!"

And she began to talk about music, given how loud it was here.

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Presence + Socialize, and I have 8 instead of 10, my mistake, then I don't take the 2 last into account, therefore 2 successes

[Inedible]

Sola:

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She took place at the table, smiling and answering their welcome with an out loud:

"Thanks!"

And she began to talk about music, given how loud it was here.

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Presence + Socialize, and I have 8 instead of 10, my mistake, then I don't take the 2 last into account, therefore 2 successes

For the next several minutes everyone chatters on about music and the club in general, Sola able to integrate herself into the conversation effortlessly.

She learns in short order that Mary and the person who invited the group went into one of the employee areas of the club, and apparently he's one of the new owners.

"I guess they bought the place dirt cheap..."

"Ever since it's been under new management it's been so awesome..."

"I hear there are even more rooms like this in the back..."

"I know! I've seen people all the time who are only allowed back there. It's like the same people, every time!"

"You know, I see the new owner almost every other night. I guess he brings new people back here every time."

Time passed like that, everyone seeming to be enjoying themselves. More drinks were brought on the house by the bartender, and after an hour Mary has yet to return.

As she waited she could see a few things. From one of the employee doors another bouncer arrived and spoke briefly to the bartender. They seem to be pointing out specific guests in the room. Sola was one who received the most interest, lots of bowing heads and pointing fingers when they obviously thought she wasn't looking.

She also caught a glimpse of another person being led out of the back by an employee. It looked like a guest, a woman in typical dress for a night out. She looked, though, a bit unsteady. As if she'd drank too much. She's escorted back to the main room in short order, before she can make a spectacle of herself.

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((I rolled a perception check for you, so you saw the above things. You got a whopping 4 success on it. Do you just want to stake out and wait for any more strange activity? would you like to ask the staff anything, go exploring? Also, if you're actually drinking while carousing make a Stamina+Resolve roll, I guess.))

[silphael]

Sola:

Simply drinking two glasses, Sola, after some time, stands up and go speak with the bartender, with a small smile on her face.

"Pointing fingers, even to pretty girls, isn't polite y'know? Except if it's to ask that girl's name. Send me your friend next time, but first... where are the toilets?"

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1 success on stamina + resolve roll

[Inedible]

“What?” The bartender stopped his task briefly to stare down at the girl addressing him. He paused, replying, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was talking about the table.” Which was clearly a lie, but he didn’t seem interesting in talking too much. Instead he gestures toward rooms in the back, saying, “That way.” And off he goes to serve more drinks.

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((You can try and sneak in the back area. You’ll get a +1 bonus to your stealth roll))

[silphael]

Sola:

Going in the direction pointed by the bartender, Sola first searchs the toilets. Once inside a cabin, she turns to her Light self, waits some time, and go out, in the direction of the inner rooms.

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Spending one wisp to transform.

1 success to the stealth roll.

[jamieth]

Shirley

"Kind of. I don't really have anyone around to help me here, so I have to get things done by myself." She didn't seem to show any response towards thoughts directed at her. Maybe she was just used to having to explain herself. "But if you ever need help with computers or anything, you can let me know. I'm usually pretty busy, but I like to help when I can."

"Sure, thanks for the offer. And feel free to ask me, too, if you happen upon some crime... and can't trust police to handle it properly. Or, if you just want to talk, you know", Shirley takes a sheet of paper from the table and writes her internet contacts there: e-mail, Skype name, ICQ number..."

[Inedible]

Sola:

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Going in the direction pointed by the bartender, Sola first searchs the toilets. Once inside a cabin, she turns to her Light self, waits some time, and go out, in the direction of the inner rooms.

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Spending one wisp to transform.

1 success to the stealth roll.

The hallways leading through the back rooms were surprisingly dark, just a few security lights above illuminating the long corridors and small offices that line the walls. The music from the main area was muted to just a dull thump as Sola began to navigate through the area.

The thing was, there was nobody around. In theory there should have been at least one or two people behind the scenes, but she couldn’t see anybody. Continuing down several corners she does find something, however. Wandering along down the hallway is a girl Sola is familiar with, the one that was absent from the VIP room earlier. She seems a bit unsteady, her hand balanced on the wall as she moves forward.

“Hello?” She didn’t sound panicked. She sounded, actually, very happy. “Is someone there? Do you work here? How do I get back to the main room?”

Shirley

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"Sure, thanks for the offer. And feel free to ask me, too, if you happen upon some crime... and can't trust police to handle it properly. Or, if you just want to talk, you know", Shirley takes a sheet of paper from the table and writes her internet contacts there: e-mail, Skype name, ICQ number..."

Megan handed over her own contact information, and spent a while longer talking about various things. Mostly about robot things, or sci-fi things. Eventually she parted ways, vanishing back into the Academy and presumably to her own dreams, taking the zebra with her.

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So now you have a friend. If you want Megan to do Streetwise or Computer rolls for you she can, but there's going to be a delay on it because she's got her own stuff to do. So you can tell her to do stuff like hack into systems and come back a few days later and see if she learns anything. If you want stuff done any faster you may need to do her favors.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th

Days where everyone didn’t have to spend time at a school might have been becoming a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the Nobility have more time to devote to their respective causes. On the other hand, the respective causes have a whole day to get them killed.
It’s still early when they met at their Palace, and there was a busy day ahead.

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((Do stuff!))

[silphael]

Sola:

"Where are you coming from? Way out is that way, by the way."

She points her finger toward the path she took to reach this place.

[Inedible]

Sola:

"Where are you coming from? Way out is that way, by the way."

She points her finger toward the path she took to reach this place.

“I was just-“ She pauses, as if she can’t remember. “Having a tour. Thank you!” And she began to move off the way that Sola indicated. “Thanks!”

Shortly after she’d moved out of the area something else came into view. This one was taller, male, sharp features half-hidden in the light. What part of him was illuminated showed a dark haired man probably in his twenties, his lips parting into a warm smile when he spotted Sola in the hall. “Hello. I think you’re lost. Can I help you?” His voice and smile were almost magnetic, his movements graceful as he stepped down the hall.

[sun_tzu]

Erin

Laptop and mystical book in hand, Erin made her way to the palace. Might as well keep researching this book a bit before I get back to the shop. It'll be less suspicious than coming back the next day, without having even bothered to read what I bought last.

[silphael]

Sola:

She smiles.

"Hello! If I'm lost? No: I was looking for an handsome guy, looks like I found one."

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Presence + Socialize: 5 successes, or 8 if any of my specialties apply: I'm his new best friend ><

[Inedible]

Erin

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Laptop and mystical book in hand, Erin made her way to the palace. Might as well keep researching this book a bit before I get back to the shop. It'll be less suspicious than coming back the next day, without having even bothered to read what I bought last.[

So far Erin has just been able to tell that it's a book of spells. Some of them actually seemed to be practical occult practices, though nothing of earth-shaking significance. It'd be a good introduction if she could do mundane magic. Thankfully, she had somethin much better.

Sola:

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She smiles.

"Hello! If I'm lost? No: I was looking for an handsome guy, looks like I found one."

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Presence + Socialize: 5 successes, or 8 if any of my specialties apply: I'm his new best friend ><

He seemed to believe it, taking only a second to consider it before he replied, “I see. Well, this part of the club is off limits. You really shouldn’t be here. What’s your name?” He moved to block the way further down the hall, but didn’t seem at all opposed to actually talking to Sola. Or getting her back in the right direction just yet.

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((Make a Manipulation+Empathy roll along with your next post. You do have a new friend!))

[silphael]

Sola:

"Oh, sorry. You're part of the staff, then? I'm Sola, by the way. What's yours?"

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0 success

[sun_tzu]

Erin

Well, this is educational to the very least. But last time, I got the impression the shopkeeper was surprised this was even on the shelves. Not that I would know much about the operating practices of occult shops...
Erin kept at her research, waiting for others to show up. Hm. Come to think of it, shouldn't I call Kim to check up on her?

[Inedible]

Sola:

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"Oh, sorry. You're part of the staff, then? I'm Sola, by the way. What's yours?"

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0 success

"Marcas." The man replied. He smiled again. "Well, since you like to explore so much, I supposed I can give you a tour. Come with me." He began to move down the hall, past several more offices. He led to a smaller room, opening a door into what appeared to be a smaller bar and lounge area.

She spotted something slightly amiss, however. The corner of one of the pale yellow couches was stained by a few specks of blood. A cushion almost covered it, but not quite.

[jamieth]

After her, habitual by now, morning run, Shirley, decides to drop into a warehouse, to find Erin there already, immersed in a tome on occult matters. Saying hi, she sits opposite and tooks her own book of forbidden knowledge out of her backpack; even thinking of opening it is repulsing, but it's not like she could just pass it onto someone else... and even if she could, she wouldn't; this was her case, and she wsa determined to see it to the resolution... and pushing it back in the order of priorities could only end bad, after all. Besides, she thought, after that, even a murder scene would be a pleasant change of scenery...

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http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=185
2 successes on learning info; 3 on not getting mad from it; current willpower is equal to lower of (the amount I got through sleeping) and 3. Possibly 0, if you rule that Shirley didn't actually get any restful nights since getting into this story...

[silphael]

Sola:

Looking at the specks, Sola says:

"What happened here? Does you happen to lead often women here?"

She points her finger toward his nose, jokingly grumbling.

[Inedible]

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After her, habitual by now, morning run, Shirley, decides to drop into a warehouse, to find Erin there already, immersed in a tome on occult matters. Saying hi, she sits opposite and tooks her own book of forbidden knowledge out of her backpack; even thinking of opening it is repulsing, but it's not like she could just pass it onto someone else... and even if she could, she wouldn't; this was her case, and she wsa determined to see it to the resolution... and pushing it back in the order of priorities could only end bad, after all. Besides, she thought, after that, even a murder scene would be a pleasant change of scenery...

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http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=185
2 successes on learning info; 3 on not getting mad from it; current willpower is equal to lower of (the amount I got through sleeping) and 3. Possibly 0, if you rule that Shirley didn't actually get any restful nights since getting into this story...

Erin had been working on it long enough to get the gist by now. Her book was a ritual. It was hidden behind layers of metaphor and warnings, the collected works of those who’d cast or studied the spell and put down what little they could after the act was finished.

It was more of an idea and less of a spell. The entity the book describes lies somewhere outside the realm of the world that she occupied, but seemed to be able to brush past it in some instances. It seems attracted to despair and suffering, and latches on to hosts that attract it, coming to them in dreams and hallucinations, giving them power in exchange for allowing it to act in the real world.

She’s also realized by now that the entire journal is a trap, constructed to implant the ideas that would specifically attract it. She seems to have avoided doing so, however.

Sola:

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Looking at the specks, Sola says:

"What happened here? Does you happen to lead often women here?"

She points her finger toward his nose, jokingly grumbling.

The man’s eyes moved to the fleck of blood, but there was no change in his expression. Instead, he replied, “Come in.” His voice kept the smooth tenor it had, but there was an air of something different in it. Something strange. Something less than a request.

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((Roll me Resolve+Inner Light. You’re probably going to want to make this. I’d suggest burning willpower. JUST SAYING.))

[silphael]

Sola:

Biting her lip to not slap him, Sola gets worked up, and begins to take the way out.

"Are you calling me a slut to believe I'll follow you that easily? Not on the first evening!"

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4 Successes on the Resolve + Inner Light roll, and 1 on the Intelligence + Occult.

[Inedible]

Sola:

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Biting her lip to not slap him, Sola gets worked up, and begins to take the way out.

"Are you calling me a slut to believe I'll follow you that easily? Not on the first evening!"

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4 Successes on the Resolve + Inner Light roll, and 1 on the Intelligence + Occult.

There was something wrong. Something with the words themselves, the man’s command reverberating in Sola’s skull like a drum. It sounded like a thing she should do. Really do. Right then. Stop everything and do exactly what he said.

But she didn’t. Her mind recoiled from it, if barely. Something was very wrong here, but the man still seemed to expect her to comply.

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((Sola realizes some bad **** is up! What does she dooooo.))

[jamieth]

Shirley

"There, done", Shirley shuts the journal close and stretches tiredly, "Too bad, though... I really hoped to find something useful, something that would help us in our job... but it seems the best we can make with this journal is to make sure no one reads it." she sighs, "Such is the truth, unpleasant though it may be..."

[sun_tzu]

Erin

Shirley

"There, done", Shirley shuts the journal close and stretches tiredly, "Too bad, though... I really hoped to find something useful, something that would help us in our job... but it seems the best we can make with this journal is to make sure no one reads it." she sighs, "Such is the truth, unpleasant though it may be..."

"Hm?" Erin looked up from her arcane book. "What?"

[jamieth]

"Right, sorry", Shirley replies, "this journal. I got it from Gerald, and spent several days reading through it... It describes summoning some kind of... being, a nasty one. But that's not the dangerous part; no, the worst thing is that it seems to be written in such a way to mess with the reader's head, drive her insane... I did my best to treat it like an abstract problem, and yet it almost got me a couple of times. For someone with a less analytical approach..." she shaked her head,

[sun_tzu]

Erin

"Right, sorry", Shirley replies, "this journal. I got it from Gerald, and spent several days reading through it... It describes summoning some kind of... being, a nasty one. But that's not the dangerous part; no, the worst thing is that it seems to be written in such a way to mess with the reader's head, drive her insane... I did my best to treat it like an abstract problem, and yet it almost got me a couple of times. For someone with a less analytical approach..." she shaked her head,

"Jeez," said Erin. "What kind of being are we talking about?" She paused. "...And if there are traps like this around, and this thing could still end up being summoned by someone...do you think there are ways to eliminate it?"

[jamieth]

Shirley
"Well, I believe..." No. That's not the correct wording. "I conclude that the journal's author believed it to be a... and I'm using the word here in its current pop-culture inspired meaning, not the religious one or the original from Greek mythology..." oh, you have to say it anyway, so no point in dragging it out. "... a demon. That is, a malevolent being of otherworldly nature, sustaining itself in our reality by despair and suffering. Of course", she adds after a small pause, "this has a lot in common with the concept known as Darkness... our natural enemy. In which case, our weapons should be able, potentially, at least, be able to harm it... but that is strictly a hypothesis by now, mind you."

[sun_tzu]

Erin

"I see." She paused. "See, the thing I'm wondering is...Gerald supposedly wasn't a higher-up at the Cult. If he received a journal like this, he probably wasn't the only one. There are probably others, less lucky than him. So this entity...or entities, if there's more than one...are going to get summoned sooner or later.
Which begs the question of whether they can be exterminated methodically. Mind you...if they have replenishing infinite numbers, that obviously wouldn't work. So it's a question of what's more efficient - cutting off the flow of summoning, or destroying the source."

[silphael]

Sola:

Stepping inside the inner bar, Sola grabs her phone through her pocket, letting it hidden from the eye of Marcas, and begins to dial a mail:

"Danger at the nightclub, don't come alone or without weapon, or let me inside. Don't call."

While she type it, she speaks to Marcas:

"What do we do now?"

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Don't get me wrong: either the noise is too high if the phone isn't mute, either the phone is muted, therefore no vampire would be able to hear it (and auspex would turn them deaf if they try it in a nightclub ><). If there is no music, I simply call one of the champions. I know I'm in danger, but trying to flee would be even more dangerous. I'm trying to behave as if his order had worked.

No success...

[sun_tzu]

Erin

Sola:

Stepping inside the inner bar, Sola grabs her phone through her pocket, letting it hidden from the eye of Marcas, and begins to dial a mail:

"Danger at the nightclub, don't come alone or without weapon, or let me inside. Don't call."

While she type it, she speaks to Marcas:

"What do we do now?"

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Don't get me wrong: either the noise is too high if the phone isn't mute, either the phone is muted, therefore no vampire would be able to hear it (and auspex would turn them deaf if they try it in a nightclub ><). If there is no music, I simply call one of the champions. I know I'm in danger, but trying to flee would be even more dangerous. I'm trying to behave as if his order had worked.

No success...

Erin's musings were interrupted when her phone signaled a message. Reading it, she paled a bit.
"...Looks like we need to get going. Do you have a car?"

[Inedible]

Sola:

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Stepping inside the inner bar, Sola grabs her phone through her pocket, letting it hidden from the eye of Marcas, and begins to dial a mail:

"Danger at the nightclub, don't come alone or without weapon, or let me inside. Don't call."

While she type it, she speaks to Marcas:

"What do we do now?"

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Don't get me wrong: either the noise is too high if the phone isn't mute, either the phone is muted, therefore no vampire would be able to hear it (and auspex would turn them deaf if they try it in a nightclub ><). If there is no music, I simply call one of the champions. I know I'm in danger, but trying to flee would be even more dangerous. I'm trying to behave as if his order had worked.

No success...

((Once again, roll me Resolve+Inner Light. Roll it twice this time. Once again, probably don't want to fail. If you win the contest you can send your message, if not something else happens!))